Again & Again
Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.
—Psalm 133:1
We have a VCR player in our house, and my children love to watch movies. If they had their way, they would watch the same tape over and over again every day (at least our youngest would). Going back to something familiar is comforting, and even when the story is well known, it is always possible to see the familiar in a new way. Perhaps that is why I never grow tired of looking at my wife.
A Russian expression that, in a way, characterizes the Orthodox Liturgy is paki i paki. This is heard often in the Slavonic version of the Divine Liturgy, and it means “again and again” (as in “again and again, let us pray to the Lord . . .”). As an expression, to me, paki i paki has come to mean returning to that which is comfortable, noble, and true.
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Thomas S. Buchanan is the George W. Laird Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Delaware. He has studied at UCSD, Northwestern University, and MIT, and has held visiting professorships at the University of Western Australia and the University of Aix-Marseille. He has served as department chairman, deputy dean, and institute director, president of the American Society of Biomechanics, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Applied Biomechanics. He is on the Board of Trustees of Saint Katherine College, the editorial board of Touchstone, and the board of The Fellowship of St. James.
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