“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.”

“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – that’s all.”

Lewis Carroll in ‘Through the Looking Glass’ puts his finger on a major issue.  Words can mean exactly what you want them to mean.  And when it comes to the political landscape and current world affairs the euphemism ‘We live in interesting times’ seems to apply.

Fundamental to so much of what has been happening has been the way in which words are used, often with threat and intent, and yet often we’re not sure what it is that has actually been said at times. I don’t think we can blame Brexit for this or lay all the blame at the door of the White House. I think, rather, that it’s the other way round – that recent events in the world are the product of a shift in culture and the way we live and view the world.

Something strange happens when the Internet becomes synonymous with your world. If you only inhabit a digitized space of memes and rage, where partisan expression is the lingua franca of the realm and being on the “right side” is a badge of honour, then bothersome things like evidence, data, and knowledge are steamrolled by ideological fervour. We trust the right to express our feelings above everything else; and since we all have feelings, what we think and feel is equally important and worthy. We’re all somehow experts of expression.

But that is a world where expertise means nothing – where wisdom, skill and knowledge are treated as irrelevant. It’s also a world that gives cover to corrosive ignorance.

We live in a time where ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’ seem to have an equal currency with anything based on what I would see as core values like honesty, integrity and justice.

And, paradoxically, when we see every opinion as equally valid and with equal merit – rather than seeing an increase in democracy and freedom we actually cease to have a framework with any values, meaning, morals or truth at all.

The Christian faith is about God honouring every human being and loving each with an equal love. And yet it is also about recognising within that framework of love that some people are better at some things than others. If we are to honour God fully it is about recognising the gifts that each has been given and using them to the full for the benefit of all; not denying the gift to create a sort of false equality.

The political system works on this basis. Every adult gets a vote which is equally valuable. And yet there is an assumption that that some people are better at some things than others, and so we delegate our responsibilities and decisions to them. The heart of good democracy is not about everybody having an equal say on every issue (we could be in danger of seeking a referendum for every major decision if we’re not careful) but rather recognising that we vote, empower and then trust others to get on with making those decisions wisely and well.

As we approach a General Election, my prayer is that we would return to a time when what is said is what is meant, and that what is meant honours the value of every human being. I believe in a God who cares passionately about every person – this is the Good News of Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that what unfolds in the coming weeks would be truthful and honourable and that whoever is elected would actually want to serve all people, and not just their own. And that it would be a time where the voices and the needs of the most vulnerable are equally heard and valued and responded to. This really would be Good News.

Will

Once upon a time, there were two brothers. Their father had a large farm and when he became too old to work, he called his sons to him. “I am too old to work anymore,” he said. “I will divide my farm in half and give each of you one half. I know that you will always work together and will be good friends.”

When the brothers first started farming on their adjoining farms, they were the best of friends and would share everything together. Then, one day there was an argument between the two brothers and they stopped speaking to one another. For many years, not a word was spoken between them.

One day, one of the brothers was at his house when a carpenter came to his door and said, “I would like to do some work. Do you have any work that I can do?” The brother thought for a moment and then replied, “I would like for you to build a fence on my property. Build it down near the stream there that separates my farm from my brother’s. I don’t want to see my brother anymore and I would like you to build a high fence there please. I’m going into town and I’ll be back this evening.

When he came back that evening, he was shocked to see that the carpenter had not followed his instructions. Instead of building a high fence there, he had built a bridge over the stream. The man walked down to take a look at the bridge, and as he did so, his brother walked toward him from the other side. His brother said, “After all the terrible things I’ve done to you over the years, I can’t believe that you would build a bridge and welcome me back.” He reached out to his brother and gave him a big hug.

The brother then walked back up to his farmhouse to talk to the carpenter. “Can you stay?” he asked. “I have more work for you to do.” The carpenter answered, “I’m sorry but I can’t stay. I have to go, for I have many other bridges to build.”

Author unknown

Sometimes we have disagreements with members of our family or amongst friends. It started small but nobody is willing to back down or make the first move and now we’re stuck with division, suspicion and bad feeling. Sometimes we fall out with a neighbour and we stop talking and just mutter and chunter instead. Sometimes we even fall out with God, blaming Him for what is happening in our lives and we fall away from church.

Lent, which begins on 1 March, is a great time to ‘build some bridges’, to heal those divisions that eat away at us, and to join ourselves with the reconciliation, hope and love that we find in Jesus. As this parable reminds us, it is never too late…

Will

Happy New Year, Happy Christmas, or simply Hello. These are all ways in which we might greet each other at this time of year. Whilst we are all familiar with January being a time of fresh beginnings and new resolutions, what you might say all depends on the type of calendar you are following: the Gregorian, Julian, Islamic, Jewish or Chinese.

The truth is that the way we measure time can sometimes be a peculiar thing. Depending on what we are doing and how happy we are, life can either go quickly or drag along slowly. As Shakespeare observed:

Time travels in divers paces with divers persons.

I’ll tell you who Time ambles withal, who Time trots withal,

who Time gallops withal, and who he stands still withal.                  

As You Like It, Act III, Scene 2

For most of us it will be the month of January when we look at ourselves and decide if the way time travels for us is at the right pace and heading in the right direction. We tend go about this by deciding what we are going ‘to do’ about it. Is this the year we are going to lose a bit of weight or find a new job? January is aptly named for this as it is derived from the pagan god Janus who had two heads, one for looking back and one for looking forwards. The start of a new year provides us with the energy to try and do new things.

Yet within the Christian calendar, another way to look at this time of year can be found. One thing I like about the Church calendar is that the 40 days after Christmas follow along the first 40 days in the life of Jesus until his Presentation at the Temple on 2^nd February. This was a time when Jesus, as a vulnerable small baby, was not about to do anything. All he could do was ‘be’ in the loving arms of Mary and Joseph.

Imitating the example of Jesus we could approach this time of year not by worrying about what we are going to ‘do’ to make our lives better. Instead we can practice ‘being’, just like a small baby. We can do this by trying to live in the present moment, to be fully attentive to those around us, to slow down, and to live the next 40 days, one by one. In so doing, we can give space in our lives to discover or re-discover that which is most important. In the words of the 14^th century German mystic, Meister Eckhart ‘The most important hour is always the present. The most significant person is the one sitting across from you right now. The most necessary work is always love’.

Whatever this time of year means to you, I wish you well in your endeavours.

Tim

The Revd Tim Vickers

Assistant Curate – St Mary’s Church, Redbourn