Month: January 2021

According to the BBC, it’s becoming less likely that I’ll see again anything like this fuzzy picture from fifteen years ago…

A pleasant walking morning, with subtle pink shades in the dawn clouds and a just-past-full moon on the opposite side of the sky.

A cool breeze, and the Trail drying out, with not too many icy patches (none hidden). It got quite busy from about half past eight onwards. Even in lockdown, weekends are still a thing. And people in demanding and essential jobs, they need every bit of relaxation they can get.

A rough cold wind this morning, making the supergrid sing like an aeroplane coming in to land. There were a few small, sleety showers, and a suggestion of white on the sides of the valley above about 400m.

No experience of COVID is good, but that of the asylum seekers trapped in Napier Barracks where the infection is rife is at the terrifying end of the spectrum.

We pray for all whose lives have been changed by COVID,
for bereaved people who couldn’t say ‘goodbye’,
for people trapped and in terror,
for those who have a long wait
to be vaccinated,
for people who have no voice
who suffer from others’ political games.
Christ, have mercy.

In the gospel reading of Sunday’s Lectionary, Jesus taught ‘as one having authority, and not as the scribes’. What gives someone authority? Training? – Jesus as a rabbi would’ve had some. But so did the scribes. Using other sources, as essay-writers are always supposed to do? Jesus knew his scriptures, but so did the scribes. It just sounds right? But so, in many people’s ears, do conspiracy theories. It’s what I wanted to hear? Not everybody wanted to hear what Jesus said – good news for the poor is not good news for everyone – though you could say Jesus meets everyone at their point of poverty. He had a deep manly voice? Obvious nonsense – but you’d be amazed how much it matters for some people. What he does fits what he says? – That’s more like it. Obvs, we (and probably Jesus’ listeners) see his authority as coming ultimately from God, but I’m thinking more about how this works with the evidence of our eyes and ears.

The weather here is quite quiet at the minute, ideal for splashing along the muddy Trail.

Drizzly this morning, an ideal time to walk up the zigzag path as far as the gate into the trees. You get a good feeling of being alone on this quiet path, with the hills around turned a gentle grey by the weather. On the way back I saw a cluster of roe deer skip panickily around then out of my path. When I say ‘I saw’ – I’d left my glasses at home because they’d probably have got wet and steamy. So I saw some deer-ish blobs with white blobs roughly where you’d expect their bottoms to be.

Meanwhile in the real world, a Conservative MP thinks the effect of COVID isn’t as bad as it’s cracked up to be. Folks like this seem to have an undue influence – talk of the tail wagging the dog.

Just so you know what it’s like to walk in the almost-dark before dawn…

Have a quick look at Sunday’s Lectionary reading from 1 Corinthians.

Is that similar to supposing that a government epidemiologist, knowing that both he and his grandmother were free of COVID, went to visit her, against the lockdown rules? They were safe, but they’d broken the rules, and his photo appeared in the press. He was sacked from his role by the government. Now that’s a bit hypothetical – you can’t be sure it’s safe – but it seems to me the same kind of issue that we read about in 1 Corinthians. You may think it’s OK, but we’re a community and if it’s not OK for everyone, it’s not OK for you. You’ve got to consider others, lest they copy your behaviour and it’s their downfall. Besides which, our brains seem to be very flexible when thinking of reasons why “it’s OK for me to do something other people don’t do”.

Very thin covering this morning from a small shower in the night, and one or two bits of old snow remaining. As I walked eastwards, the new snow got less and the old snow got more.

In the Big Bang Theory (an American comedy show), the character Zack is invited to take part in a superhero costume party. The dialogue goes like this…

“Sheldon: Congratulations. Zack, how would you like to be Superman?
Zack: I don’t know, sounds like a lot of responsibility.”

“It sounds like a lot of responsibility.” So does speaking on behalf of God, as we see in the Deuteronomy reading of next Sunday’s lectionary. It’s not something to be done lightly – it needs to be done with humility – and it needs to take cognisance both of the accumulated wisdom of community(ies) in interpreting God’s word, and the corporate defects of that same community (like favouring the rich and powerful very often). Also that reading is a timely reminder of how powerful speech – communication can be. A lie can spread across the internet faster than a speeding superhero … and so can a more helpful meme.

The snow may or may not just about nudge as far as us before it retreats again. Won’t worry the scorers though, even if it does snow.

Modest walk this morning in fair but chilly weather, then going to virtual church.

Next time I say the Lord’s prayer, I want to remember “our Father” … “give us” …plural – all those other people I’m praying together with.

A little snow this morning…

…just a shower.