大象传媒

26 November

Good morning

In Egypt鈥檚 Valley of the Kings, British archaeologists Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon became the first people in more than 3,000 years to enter the tomb of King Tutankhamen, on this day in 1922.

By 1913 most experts believed that the Valley of the Kings had already revealed all its secrets. Many of the tombs had been robbed and Carter and Carnarvon feared the same for this one. But having broken through two mud brick doors they discovered a chamber in which the dust on the floor still bore the footprints of the tomb builders. Carter leaned through the break in the door holding a candle. Carnarvon, eager and excited urged him, 鈥楥an you see anything?"

"Yes" replied Carter, "wonderful things".

Over the years that followed they explored the four-room tomb and uncovered thousands of articles, including the famous solid gold inner coffin which bore the mummified body of the boy-King.

I once spent some time with some archaeologists on a dig in an old graveyard in inner city Belfast I marveled at their infinite patience and their attention to detail. Their ability to read the minutest changes in the colour of the soil and their capacity to recreate the background of an individual from the remains in a grave.

It struck me that it is a thing of great grace to tell again the story of a life that had all but been forgotten, whether of a powerful Egyptian King or a humble grocer in Belfast.

Lord God, we give you thanks that the significance of our lives is not measured in our power or our wealth, but in how we will be remembered by those who love us. May our lives this day make an impression for good that will last beyond us. Amen.