Of Popes and Polls, Piety and Pals

A new week has begun with another Sunday: this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! As I write this at coming up to 3.00 BST on a sunny Springtime Sunday afternoon in Feltham, there is good reason to be glad indeed, even though the week that has just passed has been one where on both a personal and international level there was more cause for solemnity and sadness- though it climaxed with the joy for at least one middle-aged couple of their long-delayed and often controversial marriage yesterday. Need I mention names...?

It has been a momentous and historic week indeed, one in which somehow I feel humanity is made a little humbler, and a little more aware of its maker. Pontiffs and princes, powers and dominions have been laid low, quite literally in the late John Paul II's case, and an heir apparent got down on his knees at the altar to confess his sins. But the hyperbole with which the press jumped upon one feature of Charles and Camillas's wedding service yesterday- or should I say their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall- was just a little over the top in my view. ALL have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God- but the good news is we are forgiven and God gives us innumerable second chances.

DON'T QUIT
We never know what the next moment will bring, let alone the next day. My dear, late Mum once gave me a poster of a poem called "Don't Quit"- easily found on the web with a quick Google if you are not familiar with it. Recalling the day on Friday on which a far smaller but no less loving group -family and friends of Rose Irene Savage, widow of this parish- said their final farewells to a dearly loved lady just hours after a great pope was buried with pomp and ceremony in front of millions worldwide, it seems appropriate to quote one of my favourite lines from this inspirational if rather secular poem:

"Life is queer with its twists and turns, as everyone of us sometimes learns"

Well, a Prime Minister, a Prince and a sometime preacher in Middlesex certainly found that to be true this week! A Requiem mass and due respect for His Holiness mean the postponement of the formal election announcement at the beginning of the week, and the Vicar of Christ's funeral on Friday meant even the Prince of Wales had to postpone his wedding. For my own part, I had to adjust my sermon last Sunday to take in the sad impact of the papal death, as did our dear friend Julia Spencer who preached at Christ Church this morning. And how could I do a eulogy to my own mother on the same day as the papal funeral. Somehow, though, with God's help, I did.

In the age of the global village, we have all been reminded that we are here for but a brief span, and yet each of us has the capacity in that brief appearance to do things which can change the world for the better and leave our personal contribution to history. Actually, every life matters! I suppose it is a kind of proof, if it were needed, of chaos theory. And a reminder that high or low, God has no favourites. His love endures forever, and nothing can separate us from it- neither death nor life! This was one of the themes of Julia's lovely service this morning at Christ Church here in Feltham, where we also held Mum's funeral thanksgiving on Friday.

What a comforting and enduring truth this is, which carries me now through a time of change and challenge as Matthew and I adjust to life without our Mum but also the opportunities and singular joys that mid life can bring. Unlike Tony Blair, just a few years older than me, who does not intend to see out the whole of the next parliament as leader (IF of course he is re-elected in 3 1/2 weeks time!) I'm certainly not ready to quit just yet, though I've enjoyed my rest! It's time to find a new purpose, and like cleaning my glasses to refresh the vision- for where there is no vision, the people perish, or so says scripture.

STARTING OVER
New beginnings are on many people's minds right now: for the newly wed royals as they start their new life, for the Catholic church as the daunting task of finding a successor to John Paul II begins later this month- and for the people of the United Kingdom as Tony Blair finally revealed the worst kept secret in politics with the calling of a General Election for 5th May.
We never know what the next moment will bring, let alone the next day. Therefore, let's enjoy and live life in all its fulness, as both a pope and a mother showed themselves to have done this week. But let us remember our creator, and give him thanks for each breath we take.