OPINION: There’s so much to be positive about right now
We are down to the last four! This is the state of play with our national men’s football team and the World Cup at the time of writing.
It’s worth celebrating! My prayer is that by the time this article is printed, there will be even more success to celebrate.
Perhaps the sunshine and heat are getting to me. But there does seem to be so much to celebrate and be positive about at the moment. Countless people are getting pleasure out of the football, and the tennis, and the cricket and so many more sports fixtures and tournaments at local, regional and international levels.
Here in Ripon over recent days, we have been enjoying the fantastic Ripon Theatre Festival, bringing together many of the city’s organisations and people. There is something for everyone.
The city’s Spa Gardens, the Market Place, Kirkgate, the cathedral and its forecourt, and Minster Gardens were amongst those venues awash with theatrical talent and people enjoying themselves. And this is only one of many arts festivals which happen across the region at this time of year. This is all life-enhancing and worthy of celebration – we certainly celebrate those whose vision and hard work make it all possible.
And there is more, much more. This week there is the Great Yorkshire Show, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s world-class celebration of agriculture, rural life and communities, and Yorkshire.
And beyond Yorkshire, thanks to the British Museum, we don’t even have to cross the English Channel to be reminded of the last successful invasion of these islands. For the first time in almost a thousand years, the Bayeux Tapestry is back within our shores. The list could go on, there is simply so much positive, life-enhancing activity worthy of celebration.
Yes, all of this is in a still-fallen world in which there is great suffering and sorrow, in which wars rage in far too many places, and in which the people of Venezuela and elsewhere are suffering the consequences of natural disasters. This is still a world, lamentably, in which we can be shocked by the tragedy of a former government minister being murdered in her remote Devon home; a world in which too many lives are spoilt and diminished by self-destructive habits and addictions.
Things were far from perfect when Jesus walked this earth. He was keen to bring joy and celebration as a way of opening eyes and minds to the possibility of the life of heaven being experienced in the here and now. He turned water into excellent wine to make a wedding celebration even better. He healed the sick, calmed fears and shared challenging but life-changing teaching.
He challenged injustice and sent his disciples out to further his world-transforming work. Of course, some thought they knew better and opposed him, but many saw in him the presence of God and access to the life of heaven in this world and the next.
Christ’s Church carries on his world-transforming work in remarkable ways. This is something for which I and millions around the world give thanks. There is much to celebrate! But in these days when there are so many positive things around us, bringing people together in life-enhancing ways, many of us see Christ’s Spirit present and active through countless initiatives and people - many of whom would not consider themselves to be Christian or even religious.
There is simply so much to celebrate! And for that, I thank God.