The following is excerpted from some of my remarks at 8th Grade Grandparents’ Day last Friday. They seem appropriate for all of us on the days following All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day:
“Bernard of Chartres is reputed to have said, ‘We are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size.’[1]
The visual image of this appears in the stained glass of the south transept of Chartres Cathedral. A window shows the four major prophets of the Hebrew Bible (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel) as gigantic figures, and the four New Testament evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) as ordinary-size people sitting on their shoulders. The evangelists, though smaller, ‘see more’ than the huge prophets (since they saw the Messiah about whom the prophets spoke).
500 years later, Isaac Newton picked up this theme when he wrote to a colleague:
‘What Descartes did was a good step. You have added much several ways. If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.’[2]
AT EDS we often talk about those upon whose shoulders we stand ….father Clarkson and the founders of the school, the students who came before us, the teachers, family members --- and in a few days we will honor and remember the veterans who serve, who served, and who gave their lives for our freedom.
On a regular basis at EDS we talk about our interconnectedness and our interdependence. We talk about the role and importance of community in our lives -- how we need each other, how our actions impact others, and most importantly about our common humanity and brotherhood in Christ.
Every day we pray as a community and give thanks to God for our many blessings, including the rich blessing of those who love and support us….those on whose shoulders we stand.”
We only have what we have because of the love, support, hard work, and sacrifices of so many others. Most of all, we only have what we have because of the generous and unconditional blessings of our Creator.
I encourage you to take time to remember them. Slow down; stop for just a moment. Think of those upon whose shoulders you sit. If they are available, send them a word of thanks. If they are not, send them a prayer of thanks. I believe that by adopting an attitude of gratitude our considerable blessings will be deepened and enriched. It’s worth a try.
[1] Wikipedia contributors, "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants " Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia2010).
[2] "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants " , http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/268025.html (accessed 11/9/2010, 2010).
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