When we feel uncomfortable as we notice a book and wonder whoever loaned it to us; when we look in vain for that bill we have to pay; when we can’t remember one of the many pass-words we need; when any of these things happen, we may well sink into a pool of uncertainty. We should not despair. Uncertainty is part and parcel of life on our planet. We cannot avoid it. True, we may circumvent it with insurance, with schemes of risk avoidance – or we may simply pretend that things are otherwise. We may, in other words, cultivate denial.
That may require us to retreat into isolation. It may send us into the arms of cult leaders who offer an alternative structure clear of the rough and tumble of everyday life and cushioned by trust in an infallible leader. We have seen examples of this in the USA. Security is also sought in gated communities in South Africa and elsewhere. It may also be provided less obtrusively by close-knit Christian groups with boundaries so tightly defined that few can accept them.
Most of us, however, recognise that there is a mis-match between ideals and experience. If we endeavour to put into practice the Sermon on the Mount, we know that we shall put ourselves at a disadvantage in a society that sets store by economic achievement. Our present emergency is an abrupt reminder that we cannot legislate uncertainty out of existence. We all have to cope with it when it is thrust upon us.
There is more to this. We find that the Sermon on the Mount does not encourage us in the view that it is not only political careers that end in tears. All life does, as Virgil pointed out in his maxim lacrimae rerum (the tears of things). We do well to regard the human scene as a comedy but it is equally valid to see it as a tragedy. The Beatitudes (Matthew 5) help us to see where the balance lies. A passing reference to the birds of the air and the lilies of the fields indicates something of the providential purpose in the Creator’s mind as he surveys the human scene and its environment.
Christian faith does not remove uncertainty. We should not expect it to. It guides us through it and directs our gaze to the weight of glory, to the things that are eternal (2 Corinthians 4.17,18). That is not denial; it is going beyond appearances and finding delight, fulfilment during our days on earth and beyond. As the hymn-writer puts it: ‘We trace the rainbow through the rain.’
HEBREWS AT SWYNNERTON
There may be a vacancy in the parish of Swynnerton but a stylish Wednesday morning coffee-shop continues to offer cappuccinos, lattes, filter coffee, hot chocolate, tea and home-made cakes etc. It calls itself HeBrews.
‘WE ARE AGREED’
St Matthew’s, Tipton in the West Midlands is another parish with a vacancy. The church is clear about its purpose and the kind of incumbent it seeks. ‘We have an agreed vision – to know Jesus and make him known.’
BACK TO NEPAL
Kathmandu International Study Centre was founded in 1987 for the children of mission workers in Nepal. It has primary and secondary sections and has 30 different nationalities on the school roll. Returning to Nepal, the Revd Craig Watson and his wife continue to have the support of St Peter’s Halliwell, where they have been serving for the past six years.
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