Sabbatical 5

Christmas really has been overshadowed by the illness and death (on Boxing Day night) of the friend I wrote of last time. He would have been 80 next year. Bob was a former Archdeacon of Liverpool and, while still in office, bought a house in this parish at about the same time I arrived. When he subsequently retired, he served here most willingly and faithfully, with his wife Rachel who is a Reader on our team. Bob was a very good friend to me in my early years of ordained ministry, and one of the distinctions of his life was the way he encouraged and nurtured many young vocations: he was Director of Ordinands for the diocese before becoming Archdeacon. Though changing jobs, he never lost that acute desire to see others flourish, to help them find opportunities to serve the living God. Bob was inspirational in many ways: I regarded him not only as a superb priest and pastor, but also a wonderful human being - a great example of Christian manhood. He was a devoted husband (Rachel being one of those whose vocations he nurtured), and loving and supportive father, who also took special delight in his grandchildren later in life.He was always willing to step in and help us here, while keeping contact with a number of others both within church life and elsewhere. He had a particular interest in church law (there's archdeacons for you!) and in retirement gained an academic qualification in the subject. And on top of all this, there was his wicked sense of humour, delighting to pull others' leg and often laughing at himself. He was an inveterate story teller: 'stop me if you've heard this before,' he'd say. But we never did! Thanks be to God for Bob, for his godly life, his inspirational companionship, his deep love for God and all whose lives he touched. I think it will be standing room only at his funeral.

Because of Bob's death, and the big funeral to organise I have suspended my sabbatical. I could not possibly sit this out, neither supporting the family nor helping to coordinate the funeral arrangements. This morning, I went to St Barnabas church, where I was so glad to see many familiar faces I have not seen for nearly two months. Joy!

Today in the church is Holy Innocents Day, when we commemorate the ghastly slaughter of new-born babies by the mad, bad king Herod, who desired to get rid of the infant Jesus. He could not bear the thought of a rival to his throne. How little he understood the kingship of Jesus! It's made me think of the suffering of children today, who are still victims of ideological tyrants, who see the massacre of children as a way to maintain power and control. It is one of the devices of IS, who are trying to rid northern Iraq and Syria of Christians by killing the children of believers in front of their eyes. Chilling. But there are other ways in which children's lives are 'lost'. Day after day, we hear stories of historical child abuse: their bodies abused, their spirits killed by the loss of their innocence at a tender age. All signs of the utter corruption of some people's minds and hearts.

We have my sister-in-law staying with us over the Christmas period. Yesterday, she was going to visit a friend in Bebington and stored the address in her sat-nav. According to the device, there was no such address, until she realised that the official address was 'Wirral' not 'Bebington'. A sat-nav is only as good as the information fed into it - and even then, judging by the stories I've heard, it's not 100% reliable! I've just read an article which compares a sat-nav to direction-finding in national life: we cannot achieve the society we want to be unless we are clear not just about where we're going but the 'data' which will help us get there. Values in other words. (Have you noticed, politicians in the UK and America often talk about national values, but they are never defined: 'toleration' is about as far as they get.) Before the Scottish referendum, Evangelical Alliance Scotland published a document entitled 'What kind of Nation?' It concluded with this set of values:

• poverty is unacceptable
• welfare is effective and dignified
• relationships are treasured
• marriages are honoured
• children are nurtured
• freedom is protected
• justice is transforming
• communities are empowered
• the environment is cherished
• resources are stewarded
• land is shared

Not bad! Maybe we should reflect on these as we prepare for the General Election next May.

And what about that film The Interview? In all the arguments about artistic freedom, democratic rights etc, no one seems to have asked the question, 'Was it not disrespectful at best, offensive at worse, to make a film about a current foreign ruler being assassinated? We may not like North Korea, its values and its leadership but we don't live there. I wonder how the West would react if North Korea (or any other foreign nation come to that) were to make a film which imagined the assassination of our Queen or the US President? I'm afraid I do regard this film as unnecessarily provocative and foolish in terms of foreign relations. It would have been better not only not shown, but also not made. How can we show North Korea a better way in terms of our values if we deliberately insult them? For although this was the production only of the film-makers, it reflects badly upon our Western way of life as a whole.