Taylor Caldwell's book, The...
Illustration
Taylor Caldwell's book, The Listener, describes a town which is bequeathed a lovely garden and a marble two-room house by an enigmatic donor.
Inscribed above the door are the words 'The Listener.' Chapter by chapter different people in need enter the ante-room and then the inner chamber to pour out their troubles. Who is in that last room? No one seems to know. No one would tell.
One day a woman named Mary comes, pouring out her problems to the listener. At last desiring to see who it is she has been speaking with, she presses a button. Behind the curtain is revealed an immense crucifix, seemingly alive in its intensity. Kneeling at his feet, she worships the revealed God, the listener.
As Mary kneels at Jesus' feet and anoints them in love, according to John's gospel, her outpouring is recorded by Jesus. "Let her alone," he tells the parsimonious Judas. As in Caldwell's modern-day presentation of Mary, Jesus makes a space for Mary. He gives her opportunity to express her love, lavishly and as she wishes. He listens to the movement of her heart and acknowledges her gesture of devotion.
--Hedahl
Inscribed above the door are the words 'The Listener.' Chapter by chapter different people in need enter the ante-room and then the inner chamber to pour out their troubles. Who is in that last room? No one seems to know. No one would tell.
One day a woman named Mary comes, pouring out her problems to the listener. At last desiring to see who it is she has been speaking with, she presses a button. Behind the curtain is revealed an immense crucifix, seemingly alive in its intensity. Kneeling at his feet, she worships the revealed God, the listener.
As Mary kneels at Jesus' feet and anoints them in love, according to John's gospel, her outpouring is recorded by Jesus. "Let her alone," he tells the parsimonious Judas. As in Caldwell's modern-day presentation of Mary, Jesus makes a space for Mary. He gives her opportunity to express her love, lavishly and as she wishes. He listens to the movement of her heart and acknowledges her gesture of devotion.
--Hedahl
