REFLECTION FOR AUGUST 2013 PETER MILLAR
petermillarreflects.blogspot.co.uk
God and the Edinburgh International
Festival
As I write this the annual Edinburgh International Festival
of arts, music and drama is coming to a close. The festival started in 1947 and
was planned to be a sign of reconciliation in a Europe so recently torn by war.
It is now one of the biggest festivals of its kind in the world. There is the
official Festival and for the last 33 years there has been the Fringe Festival
which this year had over 2,500 separate shows. Alongside these festivals there
is also the Edinburgh Book Festival and the Just Festival which used to be
called the “festival of peace and spirituality.” Vast numbers of people from
all over the world come to Edinburgh during
August, and it’s true that the city’s old streets are “alive to the sound of
music.” And looking down upon it all is Edinburgh Castle home to the famous
military tattoo and one of Historic Scotland’s most visited buildings.
These great events in Scotland’s
capital bring to the fore the range and depth of human creativity. Through the
centuries many writers and people of faith have reminded us of the basic truth
that everything is shot through with the glory of God. The divine energy at the
heart of matter: at every moment empowering the depth and range of human
imagination. The Edinburgh Festival invites hundreds of thousands of people of
different traditions and faiths to encounter in a great variety of ways the
human condition both in its agony and ecstasy. It mirrors much of the goodness
and bleakness of modern societies. It reminds us that we are part of a greater
whole, intellectually, spiritually and in terms of our global inter-connectedness.
The 2013 Festival has also had much to say about the future of the planet, global
justice and the place of the arts in uncertain times.
Such a torrent of creativity all in one place can be
overpowering. From the young jugglers on Edinburgh’s ancient High Street to the
great orchestras of the world performing in many locations, all are engulfed in
an almost indescribable outpouring of culture. One afternoon during the
Festival I sat with some visiting friends in the beauty and calm of St Giles’
Cathedral right in the heart of the city. St Giles’ - the national church of
the Scottish people - has been intimately linked to Scotland’s history for
centuries and its stout walls reflect that story. The Cathedral (to which
entrance is free!) was filled with visitors, many of whom were seated and
listening to an amazingly gifted pianist from China. (Much of the Festival
music in St Giles’ can also be heard freely – a wonderful part of the
year-round out-reaching ministry of the congregation.) And as I sat within
these ancient walls, I thought of how much the living Spirit of God is embedded
within this great annual Festival. This moving, surprising Spirit, richly at
work in an event like the Edinburgh Festival is sadly not recognised by some
Christians. They see the whole thing as rather pagan and if not pagan as purely
secular – meaning it’s godless. In my book, nothing could be further from the
truth. More and more I feel that we have imprisoned God (however we understand
that word) in structures of our own making. An example of this is that unless
an event uses traditional religious language, symbols or beliefs, it is somehow
not of Christ. What inspires me so much about many of the events within the
Edinburgh Festival is that they take this world and our human condition
seriously. They recognise that we are all people of depth, of awareness and
also of contradiction. This is truly something to celebrate in our age of many
doubts and questions, and it is perhaps why events like the Edinburgh Festival
have never been more popular. Or more
needed. Or more enjoyable.
A Vision Statement for our times
Recently I have been sharing this Vision Statement with
various church groups. It is based on some words of the late and well-known
writer/monk Thomas Merton although I have adapted it. It is a “vision
statement” for any congregation regardless of denomination. It can form the
basis of a challenging and encouraging discussion/reflection for any group of
people seeking God’s guidance. It is a “vision statement” attentive to the
times in which we live and recognises that our worship and our daily living are
intimately connected.* We believe that the role of any congregation is to simply seek God.
* We believe that God’s people are called to be faithful in
prayer, even in difficult times.
* We believe all of us are in need of forgiveness and
healing.
* We believe that no one has a monopoly on truth: this
belongs to God alone.
* We believe that God understands our doubts and our
uncertainties.
* We seek to be open to those of other faiths and traditions.
* We seek a closer connection with the good earth which
often cries in pain.
* We seek to work for peace and for justice, locally and in
the wider world.
* We believe that God is speaking to us in a special way
through the poor and those on the margins.
* We know the value of both being active and of sitting
quietly.
* We seek to encourage people of all ages to be true to
themselves and discover their inner gifts.
* We wish our leaders to be servants more than rulers.
* We pray that love will guide all our actions, and that our
personal lives may know peace.
* We celebrate the beauty and wonder and mystery of each new
day.
A Time to Mend
Several of you have sent e-mails asking where you can obtain
my latest book “A Time to Mend: Reflections in uncertain times” published by Wild Goose Publications, Glasgow.
Please contact Wild Goose Publications
at www.ionabooks.com or send an e-mail
to admin@ionabooks.com. The UK
telephone number for Wild Goose Publications in Glasgow is 0141
332 6343.
A Blessing for the
day (from: A Time to Mend)
Go gently, my friends:
feel the good earth beneath your feet, celebrate the rising
of the sun,
listen to the birds at dawn, walk tenderly under the silent
stars, knowing you are on holy ground.