I have always been fascinated by old clocks; the intricacy of a mechanism is astounding but so is the precision of time keeping that is possible when all is well. We have inherited several clocks which tick away happily and require almost no attention apart from their weekly wind.
The cogs in a clock movement do not necessarily all turn in the same direction, are not of uniform sizes and yet they contribute to a common outcome.
We are in the midst of Christian Aid Week. When I looked at the website for the organisation I saw the phrase, ‘help turn hunger into hope’. When people of goodwill give help to people in need they shine the light of hope in the form of relief, however briefly, from need and so from anxiety. All over this country during this week, all sorts of activities along the continuum of scale are contributing to the business of making a difference.
It is a reality that as well as the connectedness of goodwill, the world is also connected by the causes of problems. The war in Ukraine makes us think of needs of the people of Ukraine itself, but that is not the end of the matter. The disruptions to the output of Ukraine, apart from being economically difficult for the producer nation, will be felt across the world. Christian Aid cites the example of the link to food supply in Zimbabwe in another continent.
People often refer to the connectedness of international trade as though it were a modern phenomenon but in fact some trading relationships go back into history. The distribution of assets across the planet may be easier with modern transport but it has been important for centuries.
The disruption to Ukraine’s way of life is unacceptable on so many levels. It has put grit into the mechanism of global interconnectedness. The corrective action needed is the oil of goodwill to make sure that the global mechanism does not seize up entirely. It must be preserved for eventual repair when the madness stops.
Saint Paul wrote of this in a different context to the Corinthians. Not in context, but in summary: ‘The body is not made up of one part but of many…as it is, there are many parts but one body…if one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.’ (1 Corinthians 12:14,20&26).
A prayer
Lord, help me understand where I fit into the mechanism of your body on earth and help me realise what I can do to play my part to look after the health of that body, for Jesus Christ’s sake, Amen.