HHow many people did I sleep with last night?’

Have you ever asked yourself that question after a night flight from Bahrain to London Heathrow or Amsterdam Schipol? The answer may shock you into thinking about the whole concept of flying in a rather different way. You had no say in the choice of sleeping partners. How often do you let that happen ordinarily? Perish the thought and you actually pay for the pleasure! The implications are horrendous so you don’t think about it. Sleep on an aircraft is disturbed by loud snoring, persistent talkers, testy children or charming cabin crew tempting you with in-flight food at stupid hours.
 

Think of this as a metaphor of life. Admittedly we can often choose with whom we share our pilgrimage or journey of life as friends or partners (marriage or otherwise) although we can’t choose our relatives. For the rest of it we are thrown together with anyone and everyone, for better or for worse, in the most unexpected arbitrary and sometimes bizarre ways.

Christianity is clear and realistic about this basic fact of life. This is what life is like. Jesus not only gives specific teaching about how we must live together as brothers and sisters all made in the image of God (whoever we are). He demonstrates by his life and death the implications of his teaching which for him, taken to the extreme, meant his dying the cruelest death. “We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:19-21)

That seems to me to be what Lent is all about. The least we might do during Lent, stimulated by a little self sacrifice is reflect upon these words every time we read the newspaper or watch the TV news. Every time we see one group, culture or faith community having a ‘go’ at another we need to ask ‘Are these actions really consistent with the profession to love God and do these actions really display the love of God for our brothers and sisters?’

In case we have a problem seeing life as a journey or a pilgrimage shared with a rag bag of assorted people down the years, reflect upon the Resurrection appearances of Jesus in the four gospels. The most formative event of the Christian faith, the Resurrection, is recorded in relatively few verses of those Gospels. But what verses! They are a drama of dynamic movement; Jesus coming and going, travelling about with different groups of disciples in Galilee (Matthew 28:16f) (Mark 16) in Jerusalem (Luke 24) and the Sea of Galilee (John 20 & 21). As you read, note how all the other characters in this drama are drawn into the action like being sucked into a whirlwind and sent spinning off into history.

We are all traveling together as pilgrims on the Kingdom journey to God. If we say we love God then we must love our brothers and sisters also as Jesus did, even if it means putting up with that brother who snores on the plane or that dear lady who needs to use the loo at 3 a.m. Or more seriously learning to respect and understand those who have a completely different faith or world view from ours.

Use Lent well and wisely in order to fully appreciate the significance and joy of Easter. May God draw you into his loving embrace so that you may go forth to serve him as his Easter people with whomsoever he puts you.

Yours very sincerely,

Alan Hayday