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Hallo again to all. Here we are in the thick of Lent, and are charged with concentrating on fundamental
values and priorities. The vagaries of the church calendar being what they are, it is also Dydd
Gŵyl Dewi Sant, St David's day. St David died on this day in the year 589. In Wales there are
real celebrations and real parades. Not every dead person can hold the spotlight like St David. Recently the Diocese of Ely published a brief reminder that we should remember the life of George Herbert, poet, priest, and pastor. We'd been meaning to read about the Ely 900 celebration (the diocese was founded in 1109 and is currently on its 68th bishop). There is so much that needs to be remembered and reflected upon, and so little time to do it. Somehow the quote from Glinda in the hugely popular musical Wicked keeps popping into our head. She's frustrated with Dr Dillamond, her history teacher. 'Sir, can't you just teach us history, instead of dwelling on the past?' Izaak Walton (1593 - 1683) wrote a biography of George Herbert, but we must confess we haven't read it. Have you? We didn't think so. Dwelling on the past. Ah, yes. There is such a difference between the gloom of dwelling on the past and the joy of celebrating it, but where is the line? We like to think that we celebrate the past, but we have occasionally been accused of dwelling on it.The way that one celebrates the past, as we see it, is to read about it and then look at it and touch it and follow in its footsteps. If you live in an ancient city, there is often plenty of past around you to see and touch and follow, but thriving cities haven't usually been able to afford to do anything but pave over the remnants of the past and build something new.
When cemeteries close to new burials, and are situated so that no one passes by on their way to somewhere else, they fade away. Soon enough there is no one left alive who actually knew any of the people who are buried in that cemetery, and so it gets very few visitors and therefore there are very few reasons to keep up maintenance. The earth reclaims the cemetery, and its next wave of visitors might be archaeologists. This cemetery in Florence has found a guardian angel who works to restore it and to raise money for further restoration. Thousands of similar cemeteries around the Anglican world do not. Have you ever been to the cemetery in the place where you live unless you have a close friend or relative there? We didn't think so. Do you even know the location of the cemetery in the place where you live? As the Diocese of Ely suggested, please do remember the life of George Herbert. But don't wait until All Souls Day to remember the life of everyone else. During Lent, why not try to reflect not just on your own life but on the lives of people that you've never met, and maybe not even read about. See you next week. |
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The
Welsh remember Dewi Sant, parade, party, and wear leeks.*
Several
times we've visited what is usually called the