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28/07/2016
A reading and a reflection to start the day with the Rev'd Dr Craig Gardiner, a lecturer at the South Wales Baptist College, Cardiff.
Last on
Thu 28 Jul 2016
05:43
大象传媒 Radio 4
Script:
Good morning. Today is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter, most remembered for her stories about Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-duck and many other animals.
听
Their escapades work as entertaining tales of farmyard antics cast for early readers. But enjoying them with my children I've sometimes felt they make a moral comment on our wider society - particularly the brutality of adult life. While we can't help loving the disobedient Peter as he enters the garden of Mr Macgregor, the story is foreshadowed by the ominous warning: Peter's father has been killed and cooked already by the farmer's wife. Jemima Puddle-duck's naive trust in strangers is disavowed in favour of the fox's shrewd self-preservation. Potter's moral mantra seems to be 'toughen up now, life is hard, you'll have to deal with it'.
听
How different to the parables of Jesus. He was no less aware that life was perilous. But his stories weren't just there to help us get through life, they were told to help transform it.
听
His parables of yeast and hidden pearls, his tales of seed that fell on stony ground or workers in the vineyard were told to help people see a world that could be different. Just as the prophets spoke of Lions and Lambs living together in peace, Jesus told his parables to inspire people to a different way of life.
听
The world can still be tough. There may be Mr Macgregors and wily foxes threatening our well-being and the lives of others. But we need more than admonitions to toughen up.
听
We need imaginative lives filled with compassion, community and kindness, we need parables that inspire us to build a better world and we need to become such living stories ourselves.
听
Good God
in a world with so many stories of despair,
help us not just to survive today.
but to flourish, and live in such a way
that all may enjoy the abundance of life.
Amen.
听
Their escapades work as entertaining tales of farmyard antics cast for early readers. But enjoying them with my children I've sometimes felt they make a moral comment on our wider society - particularly the brutality of adult life. While we can't help loving the disobedient Peter as he enters the garden of Mr Macgregor, the story is foreshadowed by the ominous warning: Peter's father has been killed and cooked already by the farmer's wife. Jemima Puddle-duck's naive trust in strangers is disavowed in favour of the fox's shrewd self-preservation. Potter's moral mantra seems to be 'toughen up now, life is hard, you'll have to deal with it'.
听
How different to the parables of Jesus. He was no less aware that life was perilous. But his stories weren't just there to help us get through life, they were told to help transform it.
听
His parables of yeast and hidden pearls, his tales of seed that fell on stony ground or workers in the vineyard were told to help people see a world that could be different. Just as the prophets spoke of Lions and Lambs living together in peace, Jesus told his parables to inspire people to a different way of life.
听
The world can still be tough. There may be Mr Macgregors and wily foxes threatening our well-being and the lives of others. But we need more than admonitions to toughen up.
听
We need imaginative lives filled with compassion, community and kindness, we need parables that inspire us to build a better world and we need to become such living stories ourselves.
听
Good God
in a world with so many stories of despair,
help us not just to survive today.
but to flourish, and live in such a way
that all may enjoy the abundance of life.
Amen.
Broadcast
- Thu 28 Jul 2016 05:43大象传媒 Radio 4
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