Disturbed Thoughts

This has been an extraordinary week in Britain; I have watched with increasing horror at the devastation being wrought in our cities by a relatively small number of individuals.
That horror has been mirrored/ commented upon and generally magnified by the variety of comments posted by any number of my FaceBook Friends. Some I have heartily condoned - these have called for prayer, for love and for support. Others have disturbed me - for they contained great violence - not physical obviously - but verbal abuse: using swear words; calling for dire punishments; angry, angry words which I find I cannot support at all.
Which has led me to reflect further about how we apportion blame, and how we respond when we see injustice and conflict, especially when it is on our own doorstep.
I am not ashamed to be British; I am saddened that a few hundreds out of the 65 million inhabitants of our land have managed to tar everyone with the same brush:
it isn't every young person in England;
it isn't every minority group;
it is just a small section of the community who see no hope, no future and have grabbed an opportunity to jump on the bandwagon: there was an interview with a young man in Manchester on the news this morning, his attitude:

"well if I can get free stuff, I'm going to... I don't have a criminal record, what they going to do about it?!"

Like many I remember the 80s, and the 70s and the riots that happened then - there was unemployment, recession, fear and it led to great unrest and disturbance

This morning I once again turned to the wisdom writings and again I read:

"Whatever is has already been,
and what will be has been before
and God will call the past to account...
God will bring to judgement both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity
a time for every deed"

(Ecclesiastes 3)

We have seen it before; we will see it again
We will recover
We will prevail
We have seen hundreds of people resonding positively - getting organised to clear up, to work together - to bring hope to the hopeless... concentrate on that and remember the Wise Teacher!

August....

Gosh!! It's August already, and seems like an age since I last wrote; I think I got properly into holiday mode and relaxed into reading and walking and generally being on holiday - which is (of course) what holidays are for.
Today is Wednesday, so I've been home a week and back at work almost the week - today I finally finished unpacking and putting the suitcases away!!

I have been trying to keep hold of the refreshment of holiday relaxation by continuing to read for pleasure... and do a jigsaw... this one is called impossipuzzle - it's one of the double sided ones with a very difficult picture - sweeties!!! One side is all smarties, which really is impossibly difficult; the other side is just lots and lots of sweets: cola bottles; jelly beans; foamy marshmallows; shrimps; jelly babies; snakes; kisses; mini eggs... ah! such sweet treasures! It's difficult, but not impossible, and it got me thinking...

The sweets brought back memories of childhood, and the challenge of making them last; or gobbling them down fast; of eating so many you'd feel sick... sucking on a fruit pastille until all the sugar was gone.... or peeling back the layers of licorice allsorts... sweet memories.

Too much sugar is of course not a good thing; too much of any food group is not good for us - it will have an effect one way or another.
So I got to thinking of the things that we just can't have too much of: the love of friends and family; affirmation and encouragement; kindness and caring - not only can we not have too much - we can never give too much of it away...
take time for those sweet, sweet pleasures of telling someone they are special and that you love them...

sand between the toes

Holiday time; I had a brief discussion with the beloved this week about why I/we holiday in July when neither one of us has small children any more.
At first I really didn't have a reply - habit or conditioning both seemed to be fairly obvious answers.
But the more I thought about it the more I wondered; I may not have small children, and I may not be a teacher who has holidays imposed. However, I do have term-time rsponsibilitites - I'd have hated to go away in June for instance and missed the end of term assemblies and concerts at "my schools"; or the end of term service and party for "my" Sunday School; May was GA and although I wasn't there, staying in the office and watching the live streaming was both fascinating and informative; April - Easter; March - various Lent/ school activities; move the clock forward and you get to September - school starts up again; and so does the round of meetings; maybe November... yes November might not be too bad (so long as it doesn't hit Remembrance of course!)


And then comes the crux of the argument - I am on holiday on the North East Coast of Scotland.... it is refrshing and stimulating in November - but not exactly warm and relaxing!! I'd not get the sand between my toes, nor the opportunity to walk barefoot on the beach... taking photos of the sea and the sunshine in November is not impossible, but you wouldn't do it in your T-shirt!!

who is without sin?

Like many others over the past few days I have looked on in horror and disgust at the depths that so called journalism has sunk to. Hacking into, and deleting voicemails and text messages - of the famous, and the infamous; and then more worryingly the innocents, the victims and the anonymous bystanders.
It seems to be a step way, way too far.
And yet, in all of this, I find I ask myself - who is really to blame?
I do not think I have ever read or looked at the News of the World; I have occasionally (some years ago now) read the Sun, as my "ex-Father-in-law" took it daily. But I do read the Times on a regular basis and that comes from the same stable.
We all are tempted by tabloid titilation - whether we admit it or not; because if no-one was, then the newspaper would not be 160 years old!!!
If so many of the advertisers had not withdrawn their support this morning would things have gone the same way? I doubt it...

But still I ask - have I contributed in any way to this?
I am sure that there is a vast section of the population who really do not care; do not know; do not want to know all of the stories of so called celebrities. But there are enough left who do - who soak it up, and who believe what they read... which is far more worrying.

This hunger for more gossip; for more sensationalisation; for more catastrophes; for the human interest angles seems to be insatiable. And as long as the demand is there, papers like the News of the World will continue to exist.

The blame is not solely with the journalists, the researchers, the snoops and the gossips... the weight of blame is shared between those who write and publish and those who buy and read.

Unless we each can honestly say we have never gossipped; we have never listened in on someone else's story; we have never read a single word that might stretch the truth - unless we can really claim a clean sheet - then who are we to cast the blame?

The writing is in the sand... let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

pass the balloon

What is family?
Family is the people you are related to
Family is the people you relate to
Family is the relationships we value
Family is the relationships with people who matter in our lives
Family is all of the above and much, much more

Our Family gathered yesterday - some were related by invisible ties - and others by visible ones - some were related by association - others by neighbourliness - some had met only rarely - others live together in the same household - but All, ALL were related and part of that bigger, wider, more wondrous family - God's Family

I'm in!
Are you?

Trinity

Andrei Rublev’s icon of the Trinity has been reproduced in varying forms; first created in the 15th century it is an image which has stood the test of time and stirs within the observer something often un-named, something indefinable

I have had a little copy of the icon since my student days - it was a gift from my friend Eileen, and often meditated on it; prayed about it, and studied its meaning and symbolism.

I did not know where the original was kept – although I assumed somewhere in Russia.
I did not know where it was until about six years ago.

In the summer of 2005 I was lucky enough to visit Moscow for a holiday; one of my closest friends was living there whilst her husband had been posted to the Moscow office... and she had thoroughly enjoyed having visitors to stay and showing them the sites.

She and I had visited many churches and monasteries – and everywhere we went there were copies of the icon- old and new, plain and simple or rich and gaudy; towards the end of my stay we had spent the day in the city, and had sat in Red Square drinking coffee and watching the world go by – a very surreal experience!

We then went into St Basil’s Cathedral – an iconic church instantly recognisable the world over!

St Basil’s is actually seven churches, each built around the central core church so that as you explore you spiral round from one to another, each different, each from a different era. I was telling Barbara once again about Rublev, and how much I’d love to see the original...

She was a few paces ahead of me in a narrow, winding passage when she suddenly halted
She held my arm and pushed me gently forward
And there it was
Behind glass
With a bench in front to sit and gaze
Rublev’s icon
So beautiful
Burnished Gold
About a metre square
Protected from light, and heat, and people

It moved me then
And it moves me still

One of the first things I did as I sat and took in the wonder was think of Eileen - so I sent her a text, right then! From Moscow to Aberdeen with love!

The icon shows three individuals; each face is identical
All three figures wear a blue garment – some more visible than others
Blue is the colour of heaven and of divinity
Each also wears a garment that speaks of their individual identity
We begin with the figure on the right
The Spirit
The Spirit wears a blue robe, for divinity
And a green robe representing new life
The Spirit is also touching the table, bringing to earth the divine life of God
Think about the Spirit’s touch during communion; we invite the Spirit to come; in one of the prayers are the words: “Lord you are holy indeed, fountain of all holiness, let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy”
Behind the Spirit is a mountain
Mountains have long been associated as places where people meet with God
Jesus was transfigured on a mountain – allowing Peter, James and John to glimpse God’s glory
Reflect on your own mountaintop encounter with God
The Spirit is inclined slightly to the left, drawing us to look at the central figure:
The Christ
Again we see the blue robe of divinity, this time paired with brown for the earth, confirming his humanity
He also has a gold stripe on his robe- signifying his kingship
The Christ rests two fingers on the table: showing both his divinity and humanity were present on earth; with his other hand he points to the cup, showing the cup he bore, and the price he paid...
Behind the Christ there is a tree
The tee represents the cross – the tree on which he died
The cross is the tree of death, which in turn became the tree of eternal life
The tree of life was lost to humanity when Adam and Eve disobeyed
It is restored to humanity now, because Jesus obeyed
Reflect for a moment on the paradox of the cross: where death and life collide
Death gives way to resurrection and eternal life
The Christ is inclined to the left and once again our eyes are drawn onwards, this time to the third figure
The Father
This figure is at rest within itself
There is a blue garment, but it is almost hidden by the shimmering, ethereal robe of gold – kingship
The Creator is not visible to human eyes but is known through the Son and the Spirit; the Creator clasps his staff with both hands
All authority in heaven and earth belong to the Father
Behind the Father figure we see a house
The dwelling of God
“In my Father’s house are many mansions....”
“I go there to prepare a place for you”

All three figures show us God, united, yet distinct
Creator
Inspirer
Redeemer

each: Father, Son and Spirit touch us, move us, change us - and through them our blessings multiply - what a blessing!

Death and Dying #2

Last night as I watched TV I experienced huge emotions:
The programme was Terry Pratchett - Choosing to Die

Much publicity was given last year when this very talented author let it be known that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He set out to make this documentary to investigate assisted suicide (not of course legal in this country) and options available to UK residents

Now, I somewhat naively assumed that those who chose this end would be close to their end, in constant pain or suffering hugely from thier disability.
The young man interviewed was only 42; he had MS and was certainly suffering; but he was also totally cognisant; he talked very calmly about how he didn't want to get worse, how he had reached what he considred to be his limit.

The interview with the doctor from Dignitas I found more alarming - the person being 'assisted' must be capable of administering the drug themsleves - if they left instructions, but had reached a point were they were incapable of speech, or of holding a glass to the lips then the drugs would not be given.

Terry and his assistant visited two men at home in England, and then in Switzerland. One they stayed with right to the end - filming the drugs being taken, and the cameras staying on while he died - off camera.
I found it incredibly disturbing - and hopeless - and so wrong!!!

The very fact that the phrase 'helped to die' is used gives a softer light to somthing that is not at all soft - it is hard, hard truth. Suicide is not an easy answer, and suicide in this manner - clincalised somehow did not feel right.
To my mind euthanasia is for those whose life is beyond any treatment, any help - not just because if it's not done now - while I have strength, while I can speak, then it won't be an option.
One of the other, horrifying statistics quoted was that not everyone who passes through that door is ill - terminally or otherwise - just 'weary of life'

I am appalled
I was revolted by the programme
But I also recognise that this is an issue which is not going to go away; is not going to die a natural death
When I wrote about euthanasia in January it was after much heart searching as I took the decision to let my dog die - that decision took me months to come to

Human life is precious - our life is a God-given gift.
Having witnessed the assisted death of a man who was still vital, who still had life in him I cannot see that it was a good decision

I wonder how many others watched?
And how many are filled with questions today?