As the preacher expounded Romans, where Paul writes a litany of human sinfulness (think of the first three chapters at least) the congregation sat there convicted and, I imagine, distinctly uncomfortable. And, as the preacher talked further about what destroys and builds relationships, I heard the soft voice of the little boy seated behind me say ‘that’s a little bit true of us all’.
He liked the churches in Paris. Not so much the Notre Dame Cathedral. He liked the little churches in Paris - the ones built hundreds of years ago, by hand and with devotion, still used as places of worship rather than places of tourism. He liked that these churches were well worn and lived-in. No polish on these pews. Dust settles and stays. The panelling is scratched. There was, he said, something beautiful about these churches.
I was about 18 at the time. And Geoff was probably about 70. For three hours we talked about his life. We covered everything from his poor upbringing in London, brought up by his Aunts, not knowing his Father, his mother dying when he was young; to his joining the Merchant Navy during World War II, talking of how he couldn’t love a God when he saw his crewmates burning in the oil on the water after his ship was struck by enemy fire; to going AWOL to the US and then NZ; and then to becoming a Christian and meeting his wife Noeleen. Geoff would say that those two particular events – meeting his wife and meeting God - changed his life. As he headed down a path of despair, God intervened and Geoff’s life was forever changed.
There are few people who can be equally conversant with Scripture and with society. Some are very conversant with society and are virtually illiterate in Scripture while others are very literate in Scripture but their understanding of society is akin to an alien’s understanding of earth.
Sunday 16 August, St. Paul’s Chorale, Choral Eucharist, 10am, Wellington Cathedral of St Paul,
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I know nothing about soccer. I was probably the only person in a five block radius who was not vaguely interested in the World Cup. Unlike many of my friends, I did not wake up at some unearthly hour of the morning to watch a team of players I knew nothing about play a game of which I didn’t know the rules.
