HELLO!

Mortality is a strange matter to ponder. It’s there, it’s not going away and yet, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Well, around the edges we can make our quality of life better, we may be able to live a decade longer, if we are lucky, by adjusting some of our lifestyle. Maybe. But death comes for us all, and there is no escaping it. One of the reasons I describe myself as a realist, not an optimist or a pessimist, is I carry the reality of life’s fragility, life’s mortality, with me all the time. My late mother took me with her to all the funerals for persons she knew or knew their loved ones. I will never get to ask her “why me” but I thank her for that strange introduction to life and death. It made me aware all of this will end one day. The afterlife, Heaven, is something I believe in, but it’s also something I can’t describe in detail, it remains a mystery. I believe love is stronger than death, that resurrection created the church, gave believers the courage to love when the Empire threatened crucifixion. Resurrection made us who we are as a church. Jesus reminded us of who we are a persons and communities. Love is the answer to all questions.

Last night I watched an hour-long speech by the new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The theme was hope. But there were concrete proposals as well, it was not all “vibes”. But at the end of the speech, he did something some have said was emotionally manipulative when he spoke about the recent death of his father. At one point he was overwhelmed, and he stopped his speech to regroup. I believe the break was genuine, I believe the reference was meant to remind all politicians and the political volunteers in that conference of one thing, we are measured by the legacy of love we leave to those who come next. Life is short. Burnham was/is an ambitious man. He ran for the leadership of his party twice before and did very badly. He left Parliament and became a mayor. He speaks often of his Roman Catholic roots, and the aspiration of his parents. When he talks now, he refers to a shrinking timeline, there is urgency in his voice. Obviously, he wants to win. But you can sense he wants to leave a legacy of “good”. When I write these blogs, or share a sermon, or speak at an event, my sole goal is to move people to be part of something bigger and more lasting than themselves and their ambition.

I find nostalgia, tradition and the ambition to be a success not very inspiring for my remaining years. I want to be part of “doing good”. Micah’s words resonate. “With what shall I come before God…God has told you what is good, and what does God require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”

I do not expect things to work, nor am I convinced they won’t, but I know nothing will get better unless I try. So I try. And trying works for me.

Peace, Kevin