Easter - hope springs eternal
I met an amazing man recently who had come over to Wellington for a short break. It was more like a time of recuperation. Do you remember the novels you read at school? Often people went to the seaside, or across to the continent (in those very English books) for health reasons.
Coming to Wellington was meant to be a tonic for him. He has some family here. His immediate family, sadly, died in the recent bush fires in the State of Victoria - his wife and his fifteen and thirteen year old children. Children the same age as the secondary students we see charging around the place each day at Scots.
This man came to church to connect with people of common faith and vision. It was a humbling experience to meet him. I had a great sense of admiration that he was standing there, sharing such a deep loss with me. He seemed so grateful for the ministry that had been offered. He was encouraging and full of faith. He was reflecting on what to do with the life – his life - that had been spared.
For many of us, life seems easy sailing. Others, however, experience the most devastating troubles and challenges. From the depths of our very being, through courage and often through faith, we seem to find the resources to cope, and to remain hopeful about the future.
As the celebration of Easter approaches in the Christian church, the season of Lent is a time when people deliberately go without ordinary things – a particular favourite food or drink, or a pleasure they may enjoy. The purpose of these disciplines it to focus the mind on the greatest sacrifice - the death of Christ Jesus on the cross
Now I know that our children (and we too, I suspect) are rather fond of the chocolate eggs and hot cross buns that come at Easter. But there is a deeper message of hope and new life. Christ’s example of courage in the face of what was clearly an unwarranted punishment and execution speaks of hope too – He entrusted His life to the Creator in the hope of resurrection, a fundamental pillar of the Christian faith.
Easter of course is a northern hemisphere celebration that coincides with spring.
The writer Alexander Pope who gave the English language phrases like “For fools rush in where angels fear to tread” also produced this: “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” Optimism, hopefulness, faith and confidence are all important in our human journey. Perhaps gratitude is the most important. When things are tough, we are never alone. The Easter message is about hope. May you be blessed and supported in whatever challenge you may face at this time.
Rev Robin Palmer
Wednesday 1 July 2009
From the Quad - the end of 2008 - a reflection on life
There is a children’s song you may well remember about a certain Duke from York who marched ten thousand men up a hill and then down again. At one point in the song the weary troops were only half way up, an experience described by the song writer as “neither up nor down”. The song is said to refer to one or more dukes who did badly in battle. It appears to have developed as a kind of post-battle mockery, deriding the hapless military commander (whichever one it refers to).
Perhaps life is a bit like that – climbing up the challenging hills, going back down the easy ones, or getting stuck half way. Much of what we do is repetitive and even mundane or ordinary. And when we’re stuck people are not necessarily kind to us. As I write this I am up a mountain. Skiers go up the lifts, and then hurtle down the bright white snow-clad slopes. Armed with the right gear, the correct ticket, and proper training, it is usually pretty safe, and most people get back home in one piece.
Education is meant to prepare us for life. The truth is that even with the right gear and ticket, we just don’t know what life will throw at us. Nothing really prepares us for real life in its entirety.
The Christian faith attempts to give more purposeful guide for this journey of life than merely the ability to climb up and down our challenging hills. It presents a meta-narrative – a bigger picture or story which gives cause, purpose, and destiny to the followers of Jesus. This faith journey is not definitive or prescriptive. It involves a sense of appreciation of life as a gift which is not to be squandered, but rather received and lived with gratitude. We are meant to be gifts to others along the way.
Much of our time at the College is spent on processing results – winners and losers in games, and successful or less successful students in assessments. To focus only on success of course is to mislead the boys in our care. Life’s richest lessons are often learned in the face of adversity and human failure, where we have to choose to try again, to forgive, or to move on to new opportunities.
As the end of the year approaches, there will be frantic studying, stressful exams, much marking and the usual prize givings and celebrations. For some students it may be the case of little work and extensive repentance afterwards. But for the majority of our boys, the year will end well because they have had the support of so many through their year’s journey. They have had the encouragement they’ve needed when stuck half way up their hills!
Our human care on the journey is an important consequence of our Christian faith. How we treat others along the way is as significant as the final grade on our reports and certificates. Regular thanks to those who help us, human kindness towards those who may be different from us, and good stewardship of our time and gifts, are signs of real learning and true growth.
I trust that this reflects your life and the life of your sons. The good news is that for many of us, life does not have to remain a battle. It can become more like a dance as we celebrate together all that is good in this community. May God bless you as you too strive towards a life that goes beyond the routine to the extraordinary.
Rev Robin Palmer
Perhaps life is a bit like that – climbing up the challenging hills, going back down the easy ones, or getting stuck half way. Much of what we do is repetitive and even mundane or ordinary. And when we’re stuck people are not necessarily kind to us. As I write this I am up a mountain. Skiers go up the lifts, and then hurtle down the bright white snow-clad slopes. Armed with the right gear, the correct ticket, and proper training, it is usually pretty safe, and most people get back home in one piece.
Education is meant to prepare us for life. The truth is that even with the right gear and ticket, we just don’t know what life will throw at us. Nothing really prepares us for real life in its entirety.
The Christian faith attempts to give more purposeful guide for this journey of life than merely the ability to climb up and down our challenging hills. It presents a meta-narrative – a bigger picture or story which gives cause, purpose, and destiny to the followers of Jesus. This faith journey is not definitive or prescriptive. It involves a sense of appreciation of life as a gift which is not to be squandered, but rather received and lived with gratitude. We are meant to be gifts to others along the way.
Much of our time at the College is spent on processing results – winners and losers in games, and successful or less successful students in assessments. To focus only on success of course is to mislead the boys in our care. Life’s richest lessons are often learned in the face of adversity and human failure, where we have to choose to try again, to forgive, or to move on to new opportunities.
As the end of the year approaches, there will be frantic studying, stressful exams, much marking and the usual prize givings and celebrations. For some students it may be the case of little work and extensive repentance afterwards. But for the majority of our boys, the year will end well because they have had the support of so many through their year’s journey. They have had the encouragement they’ve needed when stuck half way up their hills!
Our human care on the journey is an important consequence of our Christian faith. How we treat others along the way is as significant as the final grade on our reports and certificates. Regular thanks to those who help us, human kindness towards those who may be different from us, and good stewardship of our time and gifts, are signs of real learning and true growth.
I trust that this reflects your life and the life of your sons. The good news is that for many of us, life does not have to remain a battle. It can become more like a dance as we celebrate together all that is good in this community. May God bless you as you too strive towards a life that goes beyond the routine to the extraordinary.
Rev Robin Palmer
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