June 2025 - Magazine - Page 35
“My strength was sapped as in the heat of Summer.” (Ps 32:4)
A few years ago, I returned to West Kent from a holiday in a hot place, to find
that the weather was even hotter at home, only without a convenient pool to
hand. For a week or so we had a scorcher by day, and sultry hot nights of tossing
and turning in the still warm and humid air. Cold drinks and a considered seeking
of shade barely saw us through the heatwave, and I resolved to ask Santa for a
ceiling fan, which arrived wrapped for Christmas. An unhurried installation with
screwdrivers and smugness led to eager anticipation of a repeat performance the
following Summer, and it turned out that the weather was rather more temperate
the next year. But there were more Summers to come. In due course, the heat
returned, and I was ready for it, sleeping soundly with a cool breeze (and selfsatisfaction), dreaming of visits to Miami and Madagascar, memories of Cannes
and Colombo.
It’s less of a surprise these days when a warming climate gives us hotter weather
than we would like. Storms, flash floods, drought, and sunburn are not so much
unexpected and extraordinary events, but something of an annual expectation.
This is what we have to live with. Get used to it. Get ready. Get a water butt. Get
your own fan.
The same might be said for our own social and spiritual lives. In a complex
and complicated world, life is not so straightforward as it might have been in
previous generations. International news and events come to our doorsteps,
communication is instant and extensive, and information is plentiful and not
always what it seems to be. It can be difficult to make sense of who we are in the
place where we live, and relationships can be hot and testy, even stormy, with
little understanding for other people and their own struggles. Jesus observed this
about the people of his day: they could see the signs of changes in the weather
(Luke 12:54-55) and they acted accordingly, so they ought to be able to respond
appropriately and intelligently to hard times and social unrest instead of just
arguing among themselves and blaming each other (Luke 12:58).
Good decisions are essential, and they come from living in harmony with our
environment and with our neighbours instead of rash and thoughtless grumbling
into our cups of tea and wishing that things were different. Life isn’t always easy.
It never has been. It’s not all holidays by a pool or exotic adventure. Sometimes
it’s hard work, hot and difficult, and requires of us greater depth of patience than
we might be used to. But there are solutions if we look for them. There are times
of quiet and prayer if we seek them. And there is respite from the heat of the day
in the shade of a life shared in care and concern for others if we can lift our gaze
beyond our own concerns and enjoy the gentle breeze of our collective spiritual
flourishing.
The choice is ours (Luke 12:57). Choose well. Enjoy the weather.
“
It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and
hiding place from the storm and the rain.” (Isaiah 4:6)”
Fr Paul Kish (In Matfield Parish’s vacancy, we are using letters from the Area Dean)
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