There is a scene in "The Magician's Nephew" in which Uncle Andrew, whose selfish experiments have caused so much trouble, dresses up in all his finery to impress the strikingly beautiful witch-queen Jadis. All this finery gets covered with mud and soaked in water by well-meaning but confused animals. Whatever we consider to be beautiful is vulnerable to being damaged or dirtied.
We can see that in Church music turning into entertainment. We can see that in deforestation for motorways and commerce. We can see that in the institution of marriage being cheapened to a legal process and watch as couples get divorced and remarry again and again for the pretence of legitimacy.
The same is true for our churches. There has been a spate of church vandalisms in the news. Statues have been defaced, crosses broken, churches set ablaze Even in our little Diocese, we have not been immune when, some years ago, the boot of a vandal crushed a full ciborium. Even the Body of Christ is not immune from being sullied!
[PAUSE]
If this distresses us then we can take heart.
Ask yourself this: why are you distressed by the damaging of beautiful things. Why does the desecration of a church bother you?
There are two answers and we need to learn the difference.
The first is that we are distressed because we like the beautiful things, the painting, the decorations, the finery. And we like them because we're in love with the things themselves. That way lies idolatry but we don't always get that far.
The second is that we are distressed because of the dishonour it shows God. The One Who truly loves us is having His gifts to us thrown back at him smeared in hatred and cheapness. We are offended on His behalf.
And yet, if the sight of the Body of Christ trodden under foot appalls us, then already we have begun to recognise the indignity Our Lord suffers on the way to the cross. What we must realise is that the reason why Our Lord suffers this indignity is precisely because you have been sullied by Sin. If you are appalled at how Man treats Our Lord then realise now that this is nowhere near how furious God is that His creation has been damaged. His wrath is so great that, to do something about it, He is made man in order to suffer and die and, in doing so, become the means to our restoration.
In Christ, we are beautiful again!
So how do we proceed?
[PAUSE]
St Paul tells us that we should stay away from those who live lives that seek to desecrate the dignity of being human. We must never lose that sense of being appalled at the way that the beauty of being human is treated at the hands of those who will not see it. We must recoil from the children of disobedience and walk as children of light behaving in a way that reflects the light of Christ into the darkness. That's not to hate them. We can walk apart from the children of disobedience but we can still pray for their good. If we are truly appalled then we must be appalled on their behalf and pray hard for their attainment of Heaven at our side.
[PAUSE]
If you are appalled at the treatment of church property then rejoice, because it means you care about shining light into the world. It means you value God. It means that you are responding to His love.
Be appalled but rejoice at being appalled!
No comments:
Post a Comment