The Glaven Valley Benefice
March's Letter
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The Glaven Valley BeneficeMarch's Letter |
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An army chaplain on Thought For Today described a Holy Communion service he had just held in Afghanistan. As it was Ash Wednesday he put some ash on the men's foreheads saying "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return". Sobering words always, but especially for men who knew when they next went on patrol that it might be their last day on earth.
Kiplings words about an earlier Afghan war "The flying bullet I own the Pass that whistles clear : 'all flesh is grass' still apply even if the weapons may have changed We don't need to be in a war zone for Ash Wednesdays to help put our lives in a truer perspective. We inevitably see things from our own point of view, and if told we are self-centered to say 'it's my life, after all', so a reminder of how tenuous that mortal life is can help us to a better sense of proportion. There are two sad things about war, apart from the actual horror of it.
One is that we never seem able to learn lessons from a war. Kipling wrote during the 2nd Afghan war; we are now on the fourth. The other thing is that we seem to need some jolt, like a war or perhaps some personal disaster, to make us see the things that really matter in life; in the words of a 17th century ditty, 'In time of war, though not before, God and the Navy we adore, In times of peace, all men requited, God is ignored, the Navy slighted'. War (and the Navy) apart, let these next five weeks be a time for us to get things in proportion.
Ash Wednesday reminds us that we shall one day be but dust and ashes, but it also tells us to 'Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ'. And Easter will remind us of that inexplicable event that changed the course of history and shows us that this mortal life is not everything. Life has a purpose that no bullet or disease or fatal accident can destroy; so we should worry about ourselves less and worry about God and our neighbour a bit more After all, that's what Lent is about.