The Eternal Conversation

I came across the following passage in a book about Jesus and how he has been perceived:

We are all part of an unending conversation. It is an image of human life, a parable of our lives, powerfully and insightfully developed by the twentieth century American scholar Kenneth Burke. Being born is like entering a parlor where there's already a conversation going on. The conversation began long before we were born, and it will continue long after we're gone. The conversation is about life itself - about what is real, what's worth paying attention to, how we should live, and what "this" is all about. When we have listened long enough to have some idea of what the conversation is about, we join it ourselves. Then, in Burke's words, "The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress."

I don't know about you, but I find this image reassuring.

From
Jesus - Understanding the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary
Marcus J. Borg
Harper San Francisco, 2006
ISBN: 10: 0-06-059445-4
13: 978-0-06-056445-9
Page 310