This summer I was fortunate enough to sit in on a graduate level class taught by my nephew at Phoenix Seminary on the Psalms of the Bible.
One of the things I learned is that many of the Psalms are framed by ‘inclusio,’ or a repeated phrase at the beginning and the end of the Psalm. ‘Bracketed’ is another way to put it’s similar to book ends.
I grew up in a family of brothers. There are four of us. We were â’strongly encouraged’ by our parents not to fight with each other, and strongly encouraged to fight for one another. Today that’s called ‘having each other’s backs.’ I was born in the middle, (just like in the photo). I’m the hairy one standing in the center.
The brother on my left is the oldest and the brother on my right is the youngest. I guess you could say they are my inclusio - my book ends.
Believe me, we still had our ‘disagreements’, but tempered by the wisdom of my parents, we were able to bypass things we could regret later in life, because of things said or done when we were younger. That has strengthened our relationships over all. We still laugh at each other’s quirks, and draw on each other’s strengths.
Maybe my parents should run for public office.