Will Shortz has two strong associations with Sundays: He's "Puzzle Master" on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, and, as editor of crosswords from the New York Times, he compiles the books of Sunday crosswords that I've worked for years.[Photo: Will Shortz, by Diane Christensen]
The Sunday connection inspires me to reflect on theological insights to be learned from crosswords:
When you begin a new puzzle, it's the Creation all over again: a paradise of potential.
Inspiration comes amid the perspiration: You suddenly know that "_ _ _ _ _ R I N" must be MANDARIN, and out roll the words "muMs," "basAl," "eleNa,""larDs," and, fittingly, "ahA!"
Like the cornerstone that the builders rejected (Luke 20.17), a three-letter word can be the key to solving one-fourth of a puzzle
Little sins have consequences that spread wide: so many words "across" went awry because I misspelled "Omar Kaayyam!"
Sins can be erased, once you recognize that all of the "across" words make sense after you change your one bad answer "down"
How wonderful to perceive a pattern! ("Whoa! Birds are concealed in miCROWave and T. E. LaWRENce!")
Often words mean more than they seem to mean: "English channel" can be the BBC.
Reincarnation makes sense. How else could I, vegetable - challenged, know instantly that a "leafy vegetable" is chard?
Trust that the creator has a plan, even though you can't see it (and you won't peek in the back!)
Z: When you fit the final letter in place, it's time for renewal: Next page!
[Will Shortz appears frequently in Adrienne Raphel's Thinking Inside the Box, her book about the phenomenon of crosswords. Read about it here. Will Shortz's introduction to a book of cartoon-related puzzled inspired somewhat more serious reflections, detailed in a blog entry in 2007,The Real Intelligent Design ]
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