Dear Friends

Yesterday, I had an e/mail from someone in Australia reminding me that exactly one year ago his mother had died. She had just celebrated her 100th birthday and her death had been peaceful (non-Covid related). During her funeral we had reminded each other how it was that she had been born during the tail end of the previous global pandemic – Spanish flu – and had died during the early stages of the present one. She was one of very few people to experience, albeit unknowingly in part, two such events. No doubt in years to come, for many of us as we look back over these last couple of years, we will have many ‘something to tell the grandchildren’ moments. The passing of time will have smoothed out much of the pain, the fear, the frustration, the anxiety, the hurt, the upset, and most likely we will find ourselves recalling those times and occasions which made us smile in spite of everything. We will all need to appreciate the need for some form of catharsis – what might be thought of as ‘learning to laugh at the devil’ – even in the aftermath of events as awful as we continue to witness around the world. More than ever, we need to (re)discover a sense of humour; to understand just how important humour is in ensuring we live a balanced life. The playwrights of ancient Greece hovered between comedy and tragedy, realising each to be effectively, ‘the two sides of the same coin’. Otherwise anonymous actors in the chorus would wear masks – either with edges of the mouth turned up, smiling, or with them turned down, crying – mimicking the boundaries of our lived experience. Sometimes, life can appear unbalanced. Tragedy upon tragedy sweeping over us, wave after wave. Then again, we can too easily fall into the trap of making a joke out of everything only to suffer the embarrassment of being the only person laughing. There will be times when it is appropriate to tell our funny stories; and in time, these last two years will provide a rich vein of comedic recollections which we will enjoy sharing with one another. As the cliché has it, no shadows without sunshine: with sunshine, always shadows. Which leads me to ask, ‘Did you hear the one about the…Neither did I’…

…Anyway, getting my e/mail from Australia reminds me of one of the ‘unexpected benefits’ of having to be a minister during times like these. For so long denied the opportunity for ‘face to face’ meeting, social media has been a Godsend; even to the extent of bringing into the family of the church folk who would otherwise be strangers to us. It has also allowed friends from across the country, throughout the world to reconnect with us. Not that I’ve been sold completely on this techie revolution. I take pride in having avoided ‘attending’ any ZOOM meeting – except for one. Well done to all of you who have enthusiastically embraced all the opportunities afforded to us. Having said which, it has to be said that there is no substitute for being in the same room, sitting around the same table, sharing the same space, breathing the same air. Something that has been quite properly denied us for so long. But hopefully, the day is coming when we will be able to do just this, but until then, be patient a little while longer…

No shadows without sunshine: with sunshine, always shadows