skip to main |
skip to sidebar
As we stand almost on the verge of the closure of the year 2016, many commentators have been focussing on the relatively large number of 'celebrities' who have died during the year. In just the last few days, for example, four major figures from the entertainment industry, Rick Parfitt, George Michael, Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds have slipped their mortal coils. The earlier losses of figures such as Terry Wogan, Paul Daniels and Ronnie Corbett were particularly poignant to me, because in different ways they brought me great personal enjoyment and many happy memories during my formative years.
One of the people whose face I will miss as much as most is someone who will have been far less well-known than most of the other celebrities. Indeed, he would probably not have regarded himself as a celebrity at all. I learned only yesterday of his recent death, aged in his mid-50s. His name was Graham Lay; a name which you may not recognise. He was one of the experts in The Antiques Roadshow. What attracted me to Graham was his boyish enthusiasm and his genuine interest, not only in a particular object but in the story behind it, and in its owners. His warm smile was always apparent. It seemed to me that he was someone I would have enjoyed meeting. I loved the fact, too, that he was so proud of his Blue Peter badge that he wore it on just about every occasion! Antiques Roadshow won't be quite the same without him.
I had noticed, over the years, that on occasion Graham seemed to have to make a special effort with his breathing. I have now learned that he was a lifelong sufferer of Cystic Fibrosis, which can be a very debilitating illness. From what little I have been able to learn about Graham, he bore his illness with remarkable fortitude and without complaint. He gave the impression that he was one of those people with the knack of making others feel better for being in his presence. He will be much missed. My prayers are with his family and friends.
One of the celebrity deaths which caused great public comment was that of singer George Michael. I was interested by Gary Lineker's subsequent tweet, "Wouldn't it be nice if death gave us a day's notice so giants like George Michael could see how much they were revered and adored?" Leaving aside the interesting question as to what qualifies a person to be classed as a "giant", I'm convinced that being given 24 hours' notice of one's impending demise would not be an altogether unqualified blessing!
Leaving that to one side, however, the point is that death generally doesn't give us that kind of warning. As I've said before on more than one occasion, if you love and appreciate someone, if you're grateful for their input into your life, or simply for who they are, tell them while you still can!
A few days ago, someone from church mentioned to me that at the church's Christmas Market event I'd been noticed standing with my arms folded. Body language experts would no doubt say that having one's arms folded gives a signal that you are "closed" to other people and that you not wanting to engage in conversations etc.
I was quite surprised to learn that I'd had my arms folded, because ever since I heard a friend some years ago talking about the body language implications of folding one's arms, I've tried to avoid doing so. It's not always easy, because sometimes folding my arms, especially when sitting and relaxing, seems to be the most natural and comfortable thing to so. Having said that, I certainly don't want to convey an unspoken message that I want to close myself off from others.
Having set off down the track of thinking about body language, my mind went back much further to the time when I was training for the Methodist ministry. One of our lecturers, who was a kind and gentle man, was extremely soporific in delivery. I vividly recall a particular lecture he gave on the subject of body language. As I struggled to stay awake (I think it was an after-lunch session), I glanced round the room, and noticed that most of my fellow students appeared to be in various stages of stupor. I wondered whether the dear old lecturer was able to read our body language!
I read recently an autobiographical work by the late crime writer P.D. James. In the book, she writes quite openly about her Christian faith, and of regularly attending church, but she states that her image of God was of someone who is remote and unknowable. To put words into her mouth, she saw God as an "arms folded" figure.
The wonderful Christmas story reveals very clearly that is God is not like that at all. One of the names given to Jesus is "Immanuel", which means "God with us." As the gospel writer John puts it, 'And Christ became a human being and lived here on earth among us.' God stepped into our world - he became one of us! The good news is that God is not remote, far away, or disinterested. He is one who promises that when we open our lives to him and put our faith in the one who was born 2000+ years ago in Bethlehem, he comes to make his home in our hearts through his Spirit.
The glorious good news of Christmas is that through all the ups and downs and joys and sorrows of life, we have one who will never leave us or forsake us. So let's celebrate!
I used to have a book on my bookshelf with the title, "Difficult Sayings of Jesus." It was 'twinned' with another book called "More Difficult Sayings of Jesus." Both books were aiming to address some of the sayings of Jesus from the Gospels which are not so easy to understand. The truth is that although the Bible is a truly amazing book through which God can speak to us, there are some passages which appear rather obtuse to the modern reader. Having said that, I remember one commentator saying, "It's not the things in the Bible which I don't understand that trouble me, it's the things I do understand!" The point he was making was that the Bible can be very challenging indeed.
Jesus made it very clear to his hearers that his teaching was not mere theory; he expected that all those who followed him would put into practice what he taught. Indeed, he told the parable of the two housebuilders to emphasise the point that his words are to be obeyed.
As Christmas draws near, I have been thinking about one particular saying of Jesus, namely that 'it is more blessed to give than to receive.' (Acts 20.35). When I was a child, much of the excitement at this time of the year was in anticipating what presents I might receive on Christmas Day. These days, I find much more joy in giving someone something which they really appreciate.
There is real blessing in giving, perhaps something which our consumerist society is in danger of overlooking. I was fascinated to read of some research recently undertaken by researchers at the London School of Economics. What they discovered is that we human beings seem to be 'hard-wired' for helping others. By measuring brain activity and hormones they have discovered that helping others delivers immense pleasure. The more we give, the happier we feel. The recent issue of a magazine published by Pilgrims' Friend Society also pointed out that 'studies have found that people who regularly help others live longer than those who don't.'
Just another example to show that Jesus really did know what he was talking about. All we have to do now is put it into action! I can't help but think of the words of Winston Churchill, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.'
