SUMMER REFLECTIONS - September 2007
What a summer! I found my favourite quote of the summer on the top of a fridge offering ice creams for sale. It read, "Summer is a state of mind." After a fairly miserable and record breakingly wet summer I guess summer was nothing other than a state of mind for many people!
Certainly, the images that will live with us from this summer have nothing to do with sun. The big blue eyes of Madeleine MacCann; the flooded streets of Tewkesbury and the lines of people queueing for water; the BMX teenage killer of Rhys Jones and the appalling scenes of flames engulfing large areas of Southern Greece. These images of fragility will be our memory of the summer of 2007.
The one thing our society hates is to confront its own fragility. The reasons for this are obvious. If you have no hope in anything beyond the here and now then any reminder of life's temporary nature is deeply unwelcome. I believe that our fundamental responsibility as the people of God is to help our society to face up to the temporary nature of this life, and to help people to see the life and our planet from God's perspective.
It is interesting to see how the green agenda has advanced over the last few years. It isn't so long ago that it was the preserve of fringe new age groups. Thank God that that has come to an end and that everyone seems to be aware of the responsibility that we bear for this planet. But it is only as we worship the God of Creation that we will have the true inspiration to care for God's earth.
The fragility of society has been agonizingly illustrated throughout the summer. It is too awful for words that young children can resort to murder. But we dare not fail to learn the painful truths that this teaches us about the dysfunctionality of our society. We have work to do, and it is our responsibility to work with people of all creeds and colours to help to rebuild a fractured and confused society.
Facing our own fragility is something most people choose to avoid. But facing the facts of our humanity and our mortality are crucial because they are at the heart of finding true liberation. God sent Jesus into the world to share completely in our humanity so that, through him, we could live life to the full.
If we learn the lessons from these poignant reminders of our fragility then Summer 2007 will have left us with something of incredible value as we head into the autumn.
Previous articles...
Moving On (August 2007)
Looking at old age with new eyes! (July 2007)
To assemble or not to assemble?! (June 2007)
Freedom - The Search Goes On! (May 2007)