Category: Thought for the Week

Some may know of the magazine, “The Big Issue”. It was launched over 25 years ago as a way of helping the homeless. The people who sell the magazine are usually homeless, or at least living in hostels. They buy the magazine for £2 and sell it for £4, so this gives them a small income. They effectively have their own income. I pass through Snow Hill Station on my way to work, where there is often a vendor. If I have time, I will usually buy a magazine and over the years I’ve come to know some of the vendors. Earlier this week, I had a few minutes to chat to the current vendor. He was telling me of his experiences. His best customers were often the ones who seemed to have the lowest paid jobs; the more affluent tended just to walk past him. He said this had also been his experience when living rough; the street-dwellers usually looked after each other and some were very generous with what little money they had.

I have no idea if the vendor has any religious faith, but his story struck a cord with me. Two thousand years ago, Jesus, visiting the temple, observed people donating money for its upkeep. The rich apparently gave large amounts, but in reality it was just small change for them. A poor widow gave a single coin, but that was all she had. Jesus’s words still seem to apply: “I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood”

Rev David Poyner

I do not like having to admit be ignorant about a topic; so much better to have knowledge! However, in a new series on Radio 4, the former politician Rory Stewart extols the virtue of ignorance, or at least the awareness that we are ignorant about a topic (BBC Sounds – Rory Stewart: The Long History of… – Available Episodes). I haven’t actually heard any of this series, apart from a brief trailer, but that itself made me think about the topic. As humans, we are all curious to know more; another way of looking at this is that our search for knowledge and understanding only begins when we first realise our ignorance about a topic. An admission of ignorance does not necessarily mean that we wish to research a topic for ourselves, but at best it can lead to humility and a willingness to listen to others who do know about it.

Recognition of our ignorance is important for shaping many aspects of our lives. A wise politician will know when they need to take advice because they are dealing with an issue they do not understand. As a scientist, my daily work is driven by curiosity; I see something I about which I am ignorant and want to find out more. My spirituality is also shaped by my recognition of my own ignorance about that what I call God. St Anslem in the Middle Ages famously spoke of “faith seeking understanding”, a phrase that speaks to me about who I am. I am ignorant; Lord, direct my ignorance.

Rev David Poyner

Yes, I know that is a misquote; Simon and Garfunkel actually sang that it was silence like a cancer grows. But sometimes misquotes can be inspired and I modestly claim this as an example.

There seems to be a lot of anger around. Sometimes we see it burst into the public arena; I suspect a lot of the rioting of a few weeks ago was down to anger of people who thought they were not being given the attention they deserved. I also see anger in individuals; an emotion that is eating and embittering them. Anger can be a positive emotion, if it is justified by a moral wrong; it can energise individuals and communities to work for a better world. But where it is rooted in self-indulgence and self-centredness it is destructive, ultimately of the person in whom it originates.

There are perhaps two antidotes to destructive anger. Firstly, a greater self-awareness by individuals, a recognition that they are part of a bigger picture and others matter. Also, we all need hope that the present is not the final word and that we can achieve something better, no matter how hard that might be. That might just turn the cancer of destructive anger into something that is constructive.

Rev David Poyner

Tony Morris has just been featured on the “Today” programme on Radio 4. He is a 72 year old Glaswegian, who graduated with a 1st in psychology in 1976 and, by his own admission, has spent the years since then trying to work out to do with life. A few years ago he went to a class to learn how to play the bongo drums and quickly discovered that was another thing he wasn’t cut out to do. But his teacher introduced him to electronic dance music, recorded at home and then released on social media. After a serious illness, Mr Morris could only perform for around a minute before needing a rest, but that was perfect for short electronic clips, which can be joined together for anything longer. His recordings have sent the dance music scene in Glasgow and Edinburgh alight and he is now about to release his first single.

Heart-warming though this story may be, what really caught my attention was the title of the new single. It is “Going to Church”, one of Mr Morris’s great pleasures. In it, he tells of how a church can uplift him.  In a recent interview (How Tony Morris became Scotland’s most unlikely pop sensation | The Herald (heraldscotland.com)) he explains why he recently described himself as “ancient and justified”.

” I am an extremely religious person and the Biblical term to be ‘justified’ before God has a special nuance. And since I believe that God wants us all to find our niche in life and so use our talents well, I am happy to use the word justified in that sense too. Also, Wittgenstein [a philosopher] was a strong believer in human beings realising their humanity by finding a niche where their talents can be unleashed, and he is a hero of mine.”
The dance scene in Scotland may soon find itself dancing unawares with both Wittgenstein the philosopher and the Holy Spirit.

Rev David Poyner

Some of the more striking images this week have been of rioters, now alone in the dock of a court, being sentenced to imprisonment.  The contrasts are striking. Previously, emboldened by the mob, they were full of bravado when confronted by police officers but now they are isolated and full of regret at being led astray by their emotions.

It can be a good experience to be part of a crowd. At football matches I have shared the emotional highs and lows and be glad to be carried along with others. But there are dangers; when a crowd gets excited, the quiet voices of reasons are often not heard, with results that have been obvious over the last week.

Emotion, magnified by a group, has always been part of religious experience. The Bible has many accounts of groups and crowds sharing in powerful experiences. But there are also warnings. In the Old Testament, prophets confront the mob and its ring leaders and challenge their actions. New Testament writers also warn of false prophets, of listening to rumours and not testing the spirits behind any message. Today, when every time I switch on my computer I am confronted with so-called “warnings” and social media is full of lies, the wisdom of these writers is needed more than ever.

Rev David Poyner

R.S. Thomas was priest who spent much of his ministry in a seaside village on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales. He was also one of the great religious poets of the 20th century. Last week I featured a poem about why he prayed. Continuing the theme, this week is another of his poems. He imagines a sleepless night in his house, listening to the sounds of the night and the waves and this leads him to think of how  the God receives the constant hum of prayer, since the start of humanity. The God who neither slumbers nor sleeps.

The Other.

There are nights that are so still
that I can hear the small owl calling
far off and a fox barking
miles away. It is then that I lie
in the lean hours awake listening
to the swell born somewhere in the Atlantic
rising and falling, rising and falling
wave on wave on the long shore
by the village that is without light
and companionless. And the thought comes
of that other being who is awake, too,
letting our prayers break on him,
not like this for a few hours,
but for days, years, for eternity

Rev David Poyner

Some people find prayer easy; I am not one of those. Sometimes there are situations or people I can focus on, but without these, I struggle. At least, I struggle with prayer as a shopping list, but there are other ways and reasons to pray. One of my inspirations is the poet and priest R.S. Thomas, who words have often inspired me. This poem tells of how he found prayer a way of simply being with God, moving us from “the snake-haunted garden”, the Garden of Eden, our current world, to the “tall city of glass”, the New Jerusalem in the book of Revelation, the place where God dwells.

Not as in the old days I pray,
God. My life is not what it was…
Once I would have asked healing.
 I go now to be doctored…
to lend my flesh as manuscript of the great poem
Of the scalpel. I would have knelt
long, wrestling with you, wearing
you down. Hear my prayer Lord, hear my prayer. 
As though you were deaf, myriads  of mortals have kept up their shrill
cry, explaining your silence by their unfitness.

It begins to appear
this is not what prayer is about.
It is the annihilation of difference,
the consciousness of myself in you,
of you in me…I begin to recognize
you anew, God of form and number.
There are questions we are the solution 
to, others whose echoes we must expand
to contain. Circular as our way
is, it leads not back to the snake-haunted
garden, but onward to the tall city
of glass that is the laboratory of the spirit.

Rev. David Poyner

In many different spheres, leaders have recently been in the news. Let’s start with the most important; Gareth Southgate has stood down from being manager of England; after 8 years at the helm, he wants a change. Then we have the changing of the guard in Government; I have been struck by the gracious exchanges between Keir Starmer and Rikki Sunak as they adjust to their new roles. Then of course there is how they do things in the USA; the hatred that led someone to try and kill Donald Trump (and, let us not forget the person who was killed and the people injured) but perhaps signs Mr Trump may be adjusting his style and the warm words to him from President Bidden in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

There are many different ways of being a leader. Traditionally Jesus is said to personify “servant leadership”, humble and leading by example at cost to himself. This is certainly true, but Jesus had a number of leadership styles, depending on the circumstances. Any effective leader needs to use a number of styles, as the occasion demands. But equally, the leader will have a preferred style; for Jesus, this was servant leadership leading to the cross.

I was talking to a colleague in the week about the recent coronation, when  our symbolic leader was confirmed in office. He spoke of how one of the most moving part of the ceremony was after Charles and Camilla were crowned, after all the pomp and ceremony, their first act was to kneel at a communion rail to receive bread and wine. The crowned monarch, our liege lord and his consort, paid their homage to the servant king, their strength as leader. 

Rev David Poyner

I don’t think I ever watched Dr Michael Mosley on the TV. I did note the circumstances of his death, which seem to have been due to a tragic miscalculation on his part whilst walking. As a hill walker now in his 60s, that had an uncomfortable resonance with me. What I did not expect was the real sense of sorrow and loss that many people seem to have experienced at the death of someone who I had always thought of as just another TV presenter.

Reflecting on this, I think there are several lessons I can learn from this. Firstly, it is not to underestimate the influence of small acts on peoples lives. Dr Mosley’s signature TV series was “Just one thing”; the idea that a simple change can really make a difference to our life. I’m not going to start taking ice-cold showers, but I may try brushing my teeth standing on one leg. Behind this is a bigger idea; that single, simple changes can make a real difference.

We do not need to heroic acts to improve either our own lives or the lives of those around us. Look for fair-trade goods when shopping; supermarkets now stock these because enough people decided they would buy them.

I was also struck by an interview with Dr Mosley’s widow; how he was a shy man who would have been surprised at the reaction to his death. In all probability, he never really knew the impact his series of small acts was having on people; the TV presenter has no personal contact with the viewers who watch her/his programme. But that impact is real. We also will never really know the impact doing just one thing may have on others. It is enough that we do it. And for me, to leave the rest to God.

Rev. David Poyner

I had not heard of Simon Boas until a few days ago. He is an aid worker, living (as I write) with terminal cancer; he has written a book “A beginners guide to dying”, which will be published in October, although by then he expects to be dead. He was interviewed on the radio very recently. He was in good spirits, even though he was about to move into a hospice for the final phase of his life. As far as I know, he would not describe himself as religious, but his words chimed with me . He read a quote from “Middlemarch”, by George Eliot, a description of one of the characters in the book;

“The effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistorical acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.”

It speaks of how we influence people without being aware of it; the fleeting acts of kindness which we quickly forget but have meaning for the recipient. You do not need to have any religious belief to see this (Eliot herself had a complex attitude to Christianity), but with my Christian spectacles on, this is also about working with the Holy Spirit, the divine presence that is everywhere around us, seeking opportunities for us to let her/him work in our world. We are agents of that spirit, whether we realise it or not.

Rev. David Poyner