Thinking members of my family all told me that I should not read it, but never wanting to do as I am told and not wanting to criticise a book I had not read, I have just finished Prince Harry’s ghost-written memoir ‘Spare’. It is a sad story about a person beset by personal hurt and a sense of being more hard done by than most of us. In some respects, I see his point but what really concerned me was that so much of the news media commentary fails to reflect the person behind the soundbites, often quoted out of context. I am not going to bore you with my interpretation of the woes of royal relationship problems, but I do think we should all reflect on what we do to people when we think it appropriate to see them in monochrome; surely each of us is a complex image of God.
Lent is a time for reflection about our relationship with God. Many of us have to grapple with the way we are portrayed to others around us, or worry about what is said about us. Some of us may be anxious about many things while others take no notice of other people’s opinions and have a gift for ignoring what others find painful. When we read of Jesus’s wilderness experience and the temptations, we are reading about dealing with all these things at once.
One point stood out for me as I read the words of the Duke of Sussex. Where his Grandmother and his Father put God in their lives, as far as we can tell, by his own admission, the younger brother of the Prince of Wales has no time for God. That I find tragic, a waste of examples set, and an explanation for more than a little of the reported thrashing about to try to find identity.
A Prayer
Lord, thank you that you made us as you have, in your image. We may not deal well with the temptations of life but if we have found a relationship in you, we know we are valued and have both identity and purpose. Wealth, position, and achievements cannot give us what is ours because we can call you ‘God’, knowing that you love us and value us. Amen.