A sporting moment?

For many of us interested in sport, our thoughts this past month have been focused on the men’s football World Cup. I hesitate to add to the comment online and in the ‘papers except to say that I was shocked by some members of the Argentine team mocking their crestfallen opponents, the Netherlands, on the pitch after their quarter-final match. I was also perturbed to see Ronaldo leave the field quickly after the Portugal semi against Morocco without, it seems, shaking hands with his opponents or consoling team mates. Perhaps this came later? In contrast, the sportsmanship of the French in the ways they approached the English team after full time, and also the genuine support offered to the distraught by the coaching team and other players, were heart warming. Images, too, of the Japanese tourists helping pick up litter in the stadia and the bravery of the Iranian team speaking out about the treatment of women in their country, brings much uplift to the human condition.

The ‘professional’ foul

In thinking about sporting behaviour, I don’t suppose I am alone in hoping that one day in the so-called ‘Beautiful Game’, there will be a move to be more honest on the pitch. The ‘professional foul’ is clearly a misnomer, a euphemism for cheating, and it always baffles me when a ball goes out of play and inevitably players from both sides claim the throw-in or the corner kick when in most cases it must be very obvious to the players immediately involved who it was who last touched the ball. What a moment it would be when a professional footballer actually ‘owns up’ to having touched the ball last and asks the referee to change the decision that initially went in his or her favour! And don’t let me start on the way referees themselves are abused, hassled and intimidated by so-called ‘sportsmen’.

True sportsmanship

Whilst of a very different era, and no doubt our minds are impacted by images in the film ‘Chariots of fire’, it is abundantly evident that Scottish athlete Eric Liddell was the consummate sportsman in all senses of the word. At church two weeks ago, I met a 90-year-old lady who had been interred with Liddell in China in the 1940s, a prisoner of the Japanese. Two things stood out in our conversation: Liddell could have been released (after Churchill’s intervention) in a prisoner exchange. He chose instead to have a pregnant woman take his place. The other incident especially referred to by the lady I met was Liddell’s willingness to put aside long-held beliefs about Sunday sport and to organise games on the Sabbath for other internment camp children. As we go through the week ahead and endure the Press ‘noise’ over the victors in the World Cup final, let’s consider afresh the legacy, compassion and sportsmanship of athletes like Eric Liddell and be thankful for positive role models.

Don’t make waves?

It was 50 years ago today on 4^th May 1972 that the Greenpeace Movement was formed, taking over a fledgling anti-nuclear protest group known as ‘Don’t make a wave Committee’ – a name it had given itself based upon the fear that an atomic blast would create a giant wave that could swamp West Coast cities in America.

A tidal wave

From being a radical action group, which had been the thorn in many politicians’ sides across the western world, many of the values of Greenpeace have been recognized, praised and absorbed into our way of thinking today as we’ve become more conscious not only of nuclear threats but of more general damage inflicted on our planet and compromising its future survival.

Waves of injustice

I would dare to suggest that in all manner of ways we need to revive the former tagline but make it a positive instead to: ‘Let’s make a wave.’ We should as people be standing out against all kinds of injustice and imbalances in society and be ‘waving’ and ‘flagging these up’, and not least things that are Green and involve Peace. We have seen over recent weeks, all too many scorched earth campaigns of destruction which have left vast swathes of Ukrainian territory devoid of anything green and inhabitable and shattered any peace that once existed.

Shockwaves from Easter

From a Christian perspective, however, what the Easter message encourages us to do is to make ‘huge waves’ in spreading the good news that Christ has brought through his resurrection. His disciples were huddled together in a ‘bunker’ underground, frightened by the shockwaves of Jesus’ death, and looked anything but green and peaceful. What was their future? How would they cope with the maelstrom of feeling from both Romans and the Jewish leaders in the aftermath of such cruel vindictiveness? Jesus appeared in front of them and simply said, ‘Peace be with you’ and invited them to see his hands and side as proof of his triumph over death. He even asked them to produce a piece of fish for him to eat, to dispel myths that he was just a ghost. From this time, Christ equipped his followers to go out and proclaim the Good News, and once filled with his promised Spirit at Pentecost to turn the world order upside down, beginning with the injustices within the human heart, announcing peace with God as sins are forgiven. Indeed, it is with this realization that we can be set free within that all else follows: we then see the need for the love of God to reach equally to all people, we have a passion for human life and for the world we care for. Let’s all make waves for peace…within, and make the world Green with envy, but without excluding any. At least, let’s test the waters!

(With thanks to Revd Alex Aldous, chaplain at Prestfelde School)

Heart Beat

This week sees the inauspicious anniversary of the death of William Harvey in 1578. He was a London doctor, credited with being the first to discover that blood circulates around the body, pumped by the beat of the heart. The heart as our life-source, sends oxygen and nutrients through veins and arteries, so that, physically, we as humans can operate as we do. The pump of the heart has, however, become the symbol of what we are emotionally and psychologically. We talk of the ‘heart racing’ when there is physical attraction towards someone; we speak of the ‘heart being full’, may be of praise and admiration of others’ accomplishments; and we articulate the words ‘our hearts are heavy’ when referring to tragedy or crisis in our lives.

Heavy hearts

It is certainly the case that the lattermost ‘heart expression’ is all too true for large swathes of the globe at this moment, as we are facing what is a second world crisis – first pandemic and now the fall-out of the war in Ukraine. As we sit in front of our screens and are confronted daily with heinous atrocities perpetrated against the most innocent and defenceless, such as in Mariupole, our hearts are, indeed, heavy as we stand and watch what was a normal, thriving, Western city suffer such decimation, and its inhabitants reduced to starvation, homelessness and loss of all semblance of life as they knew it.

Broken hearts

In the Psalms, King David writes: ‘the Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.’ Jesus echoes this sentiment in Matthew’s gospel: ‘Come to me all you who are heavy laden and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.’ The incarnation of God in Christ is a message from the heart of the Creator and Sustainer that he forever identifies with pain and trauma – with those who are suffering and with those who feel for the pain of others, and it is the responsibility of all those who claim to follow him, to be those who carry burdens and share in the heaviness of heart that others experience. But emphasis should be on the ‘sharing,’ for none of us is expected to bear the weight of the world upon one’s shoulders and heart. On reflecting upon the import of Lent, it is that we who may be ‘heavy in heart’ are driven to prayer and to share with, and inquire of, God what he may be asking any of us to do in response. It is then to understand that it is His task for us, and not the task of the lone stoic with the sense of ‘ought’ around his or her neck. It comes back to the Christian’s understanding of service, which we can do with purpose, but also with joy, even in the midst of pain: holding both these things in tension is to reflect the very nature of the passion and triumph of the cross and resurrection.

Heart restored

So let us go where the heart says but be directed by the one whose heart beats for each one of us, whatever state we find ourselves in.

(With thanks to Revd Alex Aldous, Chaplain of Prestfelde Prep School)

Where there’s no vision…

As we enter a new year, some of us will have taken on resolutions and some, perhaps, embraced a vision for 2022. Can I encourage us to hold tight to the latter – the vision on our hearts and in our minds for a better tomorrow for ourselves and those with whom we have been called to serve and to live and work alongside?

Interview challenge

I remember, as part of my interview for a Headship post, being asked: ‘Mr Reid, what three things would you change if you were appointed as Head here?’ It flashed through my mind that this was a key moment in the appointment process: I sent a quick ‘arrow prayer’, took a deep breath and said: ‘Firstly, building on the work of my successor, I will do all I can to make this a more family-focused school.’ (Safe ground, I felt: there was a general desire to slow down the pupil expansion and consolidate.) ‘Secondly, I’d like to put in an Astro-Turf field hockey pitch.’ (Also safe ground: my love of hockey was well known and this much needed facility would benefit boys and girls as well as have wider community use – and there was money in the school ‘kitty’ for it.) Then, taking an even deeper breath and realising that what I said next was ‘make or break’, I looked round the interview room (actually the small school chapel which had been turned into a multi-faith classroom) and said: ‘Thirdly, I’d remove much of what’s on the walls in this room and return it, sensitively, to being a school chapel at the heart of the school.’ My first point had been greeted with knowing looks, my second by encouraging laughter and my third…by a dramatic pause, almost a gasp, and then a collective sigh of agreement. I got the job!

I mention all this because I know that ‘vision’ can be contentious and unsettling at times. It can also be life-changing and energizing – so long as we have the courage to embrace it.

Don Quixote

Many will be familiar with ‘The Adventures of Don Quixote’ by Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra. There is a musical based on his story, too, called ‘Man of La Mancha’. In this there is a scene where Don Quixote and his servant stand gazing at a dilapidated inn. When Quixote describes his vision of turrets and magnificent gates, his servant tries hard to see the same picture but all he can see are ruins. When he attempts to describe them, Quixote say, ‘Stop! I will not allow your facts to interfere with my vision!’

All too often great visions are undermined by those who can’t see beyond the hurdles, difficulties and ruins of the present. Look up and look out – embrace your God-given vision for 2022 and be blessed!

A journey justified

As the Omicron virus variant begins to bite, again the question lurks in our minds in this merry month of December: ‘Will journeys be curtailed to keep Christmas alive?’ As travel cancellations escalate and holidays are again delayed, there’s a growing fear that visiting relations and friends may be reduced to avoid the ‘Déjà voodoo’ of a hapless lockdown.

Journeys, however, feature strongly in that first Christmas story, and risks were taken – well beyond the realm of the sensible, sanitised, modern mind-set of the West. Firstly, through the demands of a Roman census, a heavily pregnant mother was forced to travel seventy miles by donkey through the dangerous Samarian countryside which would have taken four days at its smoothest – not quite the 1 hour 50 minutes that it takes today by car from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Joseph, who would naturally have wanted to protect his wife, might therefore have opted for a safer route, but this could have extended the journey to a week, despite knowing that she was ‘great with child.’

Then there was the epic journey of the Parthian magi from the borders of Afghanistan and Syria guided not by sat-nav but by the stars, or rather, one in particular. It had been their conviction after much soul and sky searching that a regal birth had been ushered in, and a sense of mystery and divine curiosity goaded them on to cover the 500 miles, taking them eighteen months or more.

For the shepherds out on the Judean hills, the journey was not nearly so long – but they were ‘under the influence’ of angels and bright lights, and this caused them irrationally to abandon their flocks, potentially to the ravages of wild animals.

For all the central figures that first Christmas journey was fraught with risk and danger, but they were put aside for greater purposes: the celebration of a new-born king who would ‘reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever,’ as the prophet, Isaiah puts it.

It is a similar sense of daring and abandonment that the Christian message calls us all to make: to go with haste and inquire into what this story could mean for us in our hearts. Of course, it might mean disposing some of the excess baggage that we’re so tempted to carry at this festive time – an over-emphasis on self-indulgence, a preoccupation with consumerism and ‘stuff,’ and a scant regard for how the poor and marginalised might be coping as they languish in Yuletide shadows. Our travelling to meet the Saviour face to face, like the crib figures, is down to will power and a heart-felt conviction. Do we want to make that journey? For those who are making it now and have done for centuries it needs no justification. As Ralph Washington Sockman once said: ‘The hinge of history is on the door of a Bethlehem stable.’ History was changed by that journey, and ‘his-story’ for each one of us can begin there too… and transform us.

May each of us consider making that personal journey this year and keep Christmas alive– a very happy and joy-filled season to you all!

(With thanks to Revd Alex Aldous, chaplain of Prestfelde Prep School, Shrewsbury)

A timely word

A recent daily devotion led me to Proverbs 15:23, ‘A person finds joy in giving an apt reply – and how good is a timely word!’ In the NLT version it reads, ‘Say the right thing at the right time’.

I was in London this week taking my 88 year old mum to a musical as a birthday treat. Mum is a Londoner and she hadn’t been to the City, let alone live there, for many years. She is proud of her place of birth and it didn’t disappoint! Looking somewhat lost in the street, someone stopped and helped us find the theatre. On the crowded tube, Mum was given a seat three times and, on the last occasion, the young man who had given up his seat took the time and trouble to wish us a pleasant evening as he left the train. Mum was thrilled with ‘the timely word’.

Whilst from a radically different era and setting, our experience this week reminded me what Victor Frankl, a former concentration camp inmate, wrote: ‘We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances’.

Let’s choose to smile and to give that ‘timely word’, even to strangers, even if we are rebuffed or ignored. I suspect we shall find our attitude and our words accepted many more times than they are ever refused or scorned.

Dealing in Hope

Napoleon once said that ‘a leader is a dealer in hope’. During the Tokyo 2020 Olympics I have been following the progress of the Indian women’s field hockey team. (I served in India for nine years and all three of my children played representative hockey there.) I have been inspired by the incredible story of hope from Rani Rampal, the Indian ladies’ hockey captain. In her own words…

“I wanted an escape from my life; from the electricity shortages to the mosquitoes buzzing in our ear when we slept, from barely having two square meals to seeing our home getting flooded when it rained. My parents tried their best, but there was only so much they could do – Papa was a cart puller and Maa worked as a maid.

There was a hockey academy near my home, so I’d spend hours watching players practise – I really wanted to play. Papa would earn Rs 80 a day (under 80 pence) and couldn’t afford to buy me a stick. Every day, I’d ask the coach to teach me too. He’d reject me because I was malnourished. He’d say, “You aren’t strong enough to pull through a practice session.”

So, I found a broken hockey stick on the field and began practising with that – I didn’t have training clothes, so I was running around in a salwar kameez. But I was determined to prove myself. I begged the coach for a chance.

But when I told my family, they said, ‘Girls are supposed to do household work – and we won’t let you play in a short skirt.’ I’d plead with them saying, ‘Please mujhe jaane do. If I fail, I’ll do whatever you want.’ My family reluctantly gave in.

Training would start early in the morning. We didn’t even have a clock, so mom would stay up and look at the sky to check if it was the right time to wake me.

At the academy, it was mandatory for each player to bring 500 ml of milk. My family could afford only 200 ml; without telling anyone, I’d mix the milk with water and drink it because I wanted to play.

My coach supported me through thick and thin; he’d buy me hockey kits and shoes. He even allowed me to live with his family and took care of my dietary needs. I’d train hard and wouldn’t miss a single day of practice.

I remember earning my first salary; I received Rs 500 (under £5) after winning a tournament and gave the money to Papa. He hadn’t ever held so much money in his hands before. I promised my family, “One day, we’re going to have our own home,” I did everything in my power to work towards that.

After representing my state and playing in several championships, I finally got a national call up at the age of 15! Still, my relatives would only ask me when I was going to get married. But Papa told me, “Play to your heart’s content.” With my family’s support, I focused on doing my best for India and eventually, I became the captain of the Indian hockey team!

Soon after, while I was at home, a friend papa used to work with visited us. He brought along his granddaughter and told me, ‘She’s inspired by you and wants to become a hockey player!’ I was so happy; I just started crying.

And then in 2017, I finally fulfilled the promise I made to my family and bought them a proper house. We cried together and held each other tightly!

And I’m not done yet; this year, I’m determined to repay them and Coach with something they’ve always dreamed of — a gold medal from Tokyo.”

They didn’t win Gold this year (GB won the bronze medal match against the Indian ladies) but I wouldn’t be surprised if they do in 2024 in Paris if they all demonstrate such determination and passion as Rani Rampal. She is truly ‘a dealer in hope’ and has now inspired many to dream their dreams into reality.

Love conquers all

In the wake of the last-gasp failed penalties at the Euro football finals a week ago, most of us were appalled at the racist comments on social media and then the defacing of footballer Marcus Rashford’s mural which followed. (For those reading this who are not British, Marcus Rashford is a Premiership and England footballer – soccer – who is black and has been vocal on a number of key social issues in the UK, not least securing school lunches in the holidays for the most disadvantaged children.) However, I was then moved this week by the positive response to the defacing of the Marcus Rashford mural in Manchester – messages of hope, love and reconciliation with pictures of hearts, flags and flowers. In Proverbs 16:7 we read: ‘When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them’ – and I pray this happens with those who have lashed out with abuse, unkindness and hatred.

One of the greatest examples of someone who responded with love in the face of hatred was Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the USA. Born into poverty, Lincoln was faced with adversity throughout his life. He lost eight elections, failed twice in business and suffered a nervous breakdown. He could have quit many times – but he didn’t, and because he didn’t give up, he is now considered to have been one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States of America.

One of Abraham Lincoln’s earliest political enemies was Edward Stanton. In one speech he called Lincoln a ‘low, cunning clown’. In another he said, ‘It’s ridiculous to go to Africa to see a gorilla when you can find one just as easily in Springfield, Illinois’. Lincoln never responded in kind and, when elected President, he appointed Stanton as Secretary of War, explaining to the incredulous that ‘he’s the best man for the job’. Years later when Lincoln was slain and his body lay in state, Edward Stanton looked down with tears in his eyes and said, ‘There lies the greatest ruler of men the world has ever seen’. His animosity had been broken by Lincoln’s long-suffering, non-retaliatory spirit.

It is so easy to gloss over the poetry of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13, but let’s remember that these are the words of someone who was frequently thrown into prison for doing good, given 40 lashes five times, beaten with rods three times, shipwrecked three times, starved, denied water, stoned and left cold and naked (cf 2 Corinthians 11). As we re-read what Paul wrote about love, let’s see what we can do to apply at least one of these actions to our daily lives – and thus be part of the fight to ensure love conquers all:

‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails’ (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 NIV)

Fallen from grace?

It will have escaped few people’s attention over this past week that another figure in the public eye has been shamed by his own actions and ‘fallen from grace’: a seemingly small indiscretion which then revealed family betrayal and a display of double-standards to a watching world. The old smoothly-shaken cocktail of money, sex and power in varying proportions is an age-old tripping-rope which can seldom be eluded in this camera-present world.

In uttering the phrase ‘fallen from grace,’ two assumptions seem to be evident: firstly, that grace has been the code of life by which we live normatively, and secondly that grace is something from which we fall. In addressing the first idea, here is a reminder that there is a givenness to life, that we come into the world with nothing and to nothing we return, and the life that is given to us is through the handiwork of God and Spirit-breathed, and not something that should be taken for granted. The very word ‘grace’ – meaning, ‘undeserved love’- is itself suggestive of a Being who acts beneficently, who wants to bestow good gifts on humankind, but redolent of the fact that we as homo sapiens are not in ultimate control – something which has been a painful lesson over this pandemic. For some, whose sole compass in life is a secular mindset, then the concept of grace is anathema: we simply make of the ‘stuff of life’ what we will and any moral bearings that we acquire are learnt responses to improve the lot of the species. For such, grace has no place.

However, we now turn to the second concept that someone can ‘fall from grace.’ We are all aware of reputations that can be shattered, trust broken, and perceptions altered of those we formerly held in higher esteem. Notwithstanding the fact that we all make mistakes which are pardonable and so-say, ‘acceptable,’ society appears to have a collective pool of moral obligations by which it judges people, and if that code of behaviour is breached then it is regarded as a ‘fall from grace’: a person was something and now he or she is not. But whilst one is not advocating a compromise of standards, and that there is a place for punishment and a ‘cooling-off period’ where those holding responsible positions should have time to reflect and show genuine remorse (and not just for being found out) how does grace operate if not in forgiveness and with the hope of redemption?

The message of the Christian faith is that ‘All have sinned and come short of the glory (or standards) of God’ – no-one can stand blameless before a perfect God; but St Paul continues in the following verse in Romans chapter 3: ‘and are justified (put right ‘just-as-if-I’d never-sinned’) freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.’ With Christ, there is no concept such as ‘falling from grace’: this is a human construct, for with Him, whilst there is no dumbing down of sin and wrongdoing (since all have fallen because of a bias in our human nature), nevertheless, there is hope because of the underserved love shown by Jesus through his cross in offering total and complete pardon, forgiveness, mercy and redemption. The message of the Christian faith is that if we choose to accept it, there is always hope and the offer of a new start, because there is always grace.

(With much thanks to Revd Alex Aldous, chaplain at Prestfelde School)

Smoke alarm moments!

I recently attended an excellent conference organised by CCE (Centre for Chaplains in Education) on the theme, ‘People of Hope in times of change‘. One of the workshops was led by Dr Kate Middleton (not a royal personage!) who spoke engagingly about mental health issues facing young people today. It was an upbeat message but she did relate, from her work with teenagers especially, how some no longer look forward to the future with keen anticipation but consider it may now be ‘rubbish’. Many adults perhaps also share this jaundiced view of the future. She then encouraged us to consider how we might help change this perception.

Wired brains

Our brains are wired to recognise three ‘systems’ in particular: threats, a drive for pleasure and a sense of clam and soothing. Unfortunately, perhaps, the only one ‘turned on’ all the time is ‘threat’: whilst a necessary response mechanism to perceived and real danger (a speeding car, an aggressive dog, a sharp drop…) it is also increasingly engaged by a negative and scaremongering Press which causes a ‘smoke alarm’ reaction in us. We rush to detect the danger which we then spend time analysing, dwelling over and imagining further. There may indeed be a ‘fire’ but more often than not it’s a false alarm – an insect walking across the sensor, a battery which has run down or a faint wisp of harmless moisture. We need to find ways to balance threat’s adrenalin with dopamine, stimulated by a drive to engage in pleasurable hobbies, sport and work routines. In addition, threat and desire are best aligned with the soothing effects of oxytocin which is released through positive social connections and love.

Hormones

I am no scientist and won’t pretend to understand what these hormones are, but I do relate to the need for all of us, and not just young people, to engage each harmoniously. Dr Middleton recommended three measures whereby we can take control of our wellbeing and, in modelling them (particularly to family members and young people damaged emotionally by the lockdowns and the pandemic), help others to do the same. The first is doing something over which we can exercise personal control: this might be engaging in art, building a Lego model, tidying out a cupboard or completing a puzzle. The second suggestion involves ways to stimulate endorphins, chemicals released by the body to relieve stress and pain: exercise, social connections and engaging in ‘awe’ such as watching birds soar, clouds move and stars sparkle. Finally, we should pursue joy (safely and legitimately!) by making time for those hobbies and pursuits we so enjoy.

Listen

I believe there is every reason to expect that we shall emerge from the difficulties of these past two years stronger, resilient, more caring and complete but we need to be gentle on ourselves, take sensible advice and listen wisely (and not just to the ‘smoke alarms’). As it says in Proverbs 16:4, ‘Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones’.