St Martin's & St Paul's
Parish Canterbury
St Martin's & St Paul's
Parish Canterbury
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When I read the detail of the tragic suicides of the couple who died at Beachy Head alongside the body of their child, I thought of John Humphrys. I had been reading John Humphrys' book entitled In God We Doubt and I felt that this event was just the sort of thing that would prompt him to ask the question How can you believe in a just and loving God?
Humphrys is not an atheist; his book is written from the perspective of an agnostic and he reckons that that is the most difficult position of all, since those who are convinced of their beliefs and those who are convinced of their disbelief don't suffer the anguish of doubt. Brought up in a Church of Wales family, Humphreys went to church regularly and then drifted away; as a journalist he was developing a necessary scepticism; and events like the tragedy of Aberfan in which a school was crushed by a coal tip, and many children and teachers killed, made him ask where was the God he had been taught about in Church and School, a God who loves, who defends, who protects the little children?
Humphry's agnosticism prompted him to record a series of interviews with leaders of the monotheistic faiths called, Humphreys in search of God. The Chief Rabbi, our own Archbishop, and a Muslim leader were interviewed in turn by Humphreys who makes it clear in the book that he wasn't seeking to make prove or disprove the existence of God; what he wanted was to ask the faith leaders to explain why God behaves as he does.
Now not many of us would want to be interviewed by John Humphrys about anything! As a journalist, his sort of ferocious determination must be a strength; but something worries me about it. Cross examination may be the best way of questioning a witness in a court of law when the question at issue is what really happened; is it the right way of questioning politicians; is it the right way of getting at the truth about God? In the event, does it actually help us? Do we really find out the truth about God by grilling the people who believe in him?
To stand aside from that question for a moment, I want to share one of the most impressive images in painting of faith that I have ever seen. It's a Dutch picture and it shows an old peasant woman sitting at a table before a very humble meal; her hands are clasped and her head is bowed in prayer. What she is doing brings a whole new significance and dignity into something otherwise quite ordinary and even rather sad; she is not surrounded by wealth or comfort and her meal is sparse, yet she is offering thanks to God for what she receives and therefore her humble situation is lifted up into a whole new horizon. Whatever may be lacking in her life, there is a steadiness and centeredness about her that you feel will withstand all the buffetings of life.
The question of God and suffering is a huge question and a right question, but why should any of us who believe in him be able to give a satisfactory answer? Is it possible to take that particular strand of the whole reality of our existence now and in history and say, I'll have it all - except that bit? The possibility of suffering is part of a long thread of things that includes the challenges that people rise above, the problems that make people discover qualities of compassion and commitment in themselves that they knew nothing of before. So much of the suffering of the world comes down to our own account: as Cranmer put it, though negligence, ignorance and our own deliberate fault.
What we remember on Trinity Sunday is that if the possibility of the reality of pain and suffering is written into the necessary blueprint of our world, then it is not a suffering or a reality from which God stands aloof. In Jesus he has come among us and shared our sorrows; through the Holy Spirit, he continues to dwell with us and to share in the reality of every life that welcomes him, like the unseen presence acknowledged in prayer at the peasant woman's simple meal. I don't recommend that everyone read John Humphrys book but I do recommend it to anyone who feels called to share in the mission of Jesus Christ, because it reminds us that the people among whom we share our faith may have some very challenging questions. It covers a great deal of ground besides the issue of suffering, and it takes the trouble to express, in fairly accessible ways, some of the complex scientific challenges to belief.
When we reach Trinity Sunday, we have travelled with the Church a long way: from the birth of Jesus; through his life and ministry; his suffering, death and resurrection; his ascension and the coming of his Holy Spirit. On Trinity Sunday, we reach the point in which Christian belief is as it were firmed up and expressed in doctrine and creed. But we will come this way again, next year and the year after and so on. We are on a journey, as our Parish vision says, and there is time to think about these things and to think about them again.
John Humphrey's book ends thus: "In the end, if we make a mess of things, we shall have ourselves to blame - not religion and not God. After all, he doesn't exist. Does he?"
He's on a journey too.
Amen
.
