Hope for Peace

Last week, I caught a few minutes of the television coverage of the instalment of the new Archbishop of Canterbury and was struck by the inclusivity on display with leaders from different denominations and faiths present, a wonderful Nigerian choir, readings in Spanish and more. A few days later I was at a Palm Sunday time of reflection in a Guildford Church and was heartened to see the positive inclusivity seen as a priority in electing new members of the local Deanery Synod.

All this seems particularly timely as we face the threats posed by divisive voices at home and abroad, from the populist stirring of hatred by the far right here to the warmongering of Trump and Netanyahu. Another positive in the last few days has been the Pope rejecting as non-Christian, and unacceptable, the prayers for violence and death spoken by the US Secretary for War. I’ve been critical of both the Catholic and Anglican Churches in the last few months but while there’s plenty they get wrong (inevitably, they are human after all), there’s also plenty they get right, and this has been a week in which some of that has surfaced. I include the installation of the first female Archbishop in that list of positives.

This week seems a good time to be thinking about both sides of humanity as we approach Easter. There is a tendency to see Easter either as a purely Christian festival, arguably the most important time in the Christian calendar, or as a purely secular event – an excuse to eat chocolate, maybe attend a parade, enjoy roast lamb or Simnel Cake. It seems to me that the story of Easter itself has something to say to all of us, whether we arebelievers, non-believers, or adherents of other faiths, as it highlights the contrast between the cruelty and inhumanity we can see in the world with the presence of sacrificial love – and sacrificial love wins out. You can believe it as fact or see it as an allegory. Either way it is a powerful message. Don’t give up hope. There is life after pain - as the Dire Straits song has it “There must be sunshine after rain.” There is some hope to cling to – so have a happy Easter, whether it be a secular or religious one, or a mix of the two.

At a poetry meeting yesterday I was introduced to a new form (to me), the cinquain. Below is a series of three cinquains, making a longer whole.

Hope for peace

Our hearts
feel the burden
of anguish and sorrow
as the news feeds show us senseless
killing

World peace
is evasive
but needs to be pursued
because we need to stop killing
children

We hope
because we must
for hope is what we need
Knowing the good we have within
we hope