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Good morning.ÌýÌýIt’s hard to believe that it’s a year since Britain was gripped with Olympic fever, and the nation, maybe the world, stopped to watch Danny Boyle’s breath-taking opening ceremony in the London Olympic Stadium.

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I still have vivid memories of the Queen’s cameo role as a Bond Girl, and then seeing the spectacular set changing from a ‘green and pleasant land’ into a harsh, smoking industrial heartland, mirroring the history of Britain over recent centuries.

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What a challenge – to sum up a nation as diverse as the UK, in a way that tells a story to the world, while gently poking fun at some of our famous characters and national characteristics.

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Of course there are some aspects of our diversity which we would rather not draw attention to.Ìý In some areas, our nation includes extremes of wealth and poverty and such realities can make us feel decidedly uneasy.

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Yet I also see plenty of examples of practical generosity and real altruism that are often carried out quietly day by day, and these too are features of our communities that rarely make the headlines;

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And a sign of maturity for any of us is to be able to take criticism positively and know our own strengths and weaknesses.Ìý That can be tough sometimes, especially if we feel the criticism is unfair or unwarranted;

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Seeing ourselves as others see us can be an eye opener, and to my mind there can also be real value in attempting to see ourselves as God sees us.

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That means being equally realistic and just as analytical; but it also means embracing and loving ourselves and one another, not despite our faults and failings, but because of them.

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Lord, you are giver of all good gifts and we see your hand in the beauty of the world and in the wonder and diversity of human life; renew us by your grace and sustain us by your power, that we may see you and one another afresh each day, and be delighted.Ìý Amen.