A tired beauty

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God and Disaster

 

I am told that everyone remembers where they were when President Kennedy died. I do not. But I know where I was when I heard of the Aberfan disaster. As its fiftieth anniversary arrives this week I recall its impact, the question I live with still and a man who has come the closest to answering that question for me.

A parable of a girl who lost her trust

 

 

A parable is a story which points beyond itself. It is a story that holds a truth which it can only reveal to the curious. It may be fiction or fact. This parable is true; apart from the names of the participants.

The Gatherer: Was there something I was supposed to do?

A time comes when life is no longer about what we will achieve but what have done with our achievements.

Harold Kushner wrote a series of reflections on the experience of the Gatherer. He compares them to a point in our life when we move from asking: ‘what is the meaning of my life’ to ‘what will my life have meant’?

We might call this mid-life or the Second Journey but it comes with a haunting question:

Was there something else I was meant to do with my life whilst I was living it?

The Gatherer: Coping with incompleteness

If you have read this series I hope you will feel that I am a fan of Ecclesiastes. I discovered the book when I was training to be a minister. It was a companion through the first of a number of faith-crises. I am glad it is in the Bible. I am drawn by its pragmatic wisdom and hard-won faith in God.

But it leaves me with a longing and an ache. I follow where the Gatherer takes me but then have to say: this is all well and good. But I’m left wondering is there anymore to say?

The Gatherer: The Mystery in the Muddle

It is claimed by some people of faith that our reasoning powers need the gift of faith to meet head on life’s perplexities.

The Gatherer speaking from before scientific enquiry became the norm nevertheless respects and uses logic and the powers of a reasoning mind to explore life’s puzzling muddle. Yet, he is a person of faith. He does  not deny the existence of God. He just finds the divine’s participation in the muddle of life confusing.