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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Richard Reddie from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland

Good morning!

I’m an avid cricket fan – always have been, always will be. As such, I’m looking forward to the first Test Match between England and Australia, which starts today at Edgbaston cricket ground in Birmingham.

Test matches between these countries are invariably played for the right to keep the ‘Ashes’ - the supposed burnt remains of cricket bails that are kept in a small urn or container. Although Australia currently holds the Ashes, the actual object itself, always remains at Lords, which some within the cricketing fraternity still regard as the home of international cricket.

Although Australia are arguably the favourites to hold on to the coveted prize, England with their newish Captain, New Zealand-born Ben Stokes and their New Zealand born and raised coach Brendon McCullum stands a real chance of seizing The Ashes this summer. Anyone familiar with Test cricket knows that it has its roots in empire. Those nations playing Test Cricket were formerly part of the British Empire, and rightly or wrongly, the rules that still govern the game are rooted in the values, culture, politics and ideas of that era and institution.

At its heart, Test cricket is all about testing one’s prowess and character against that of an opponent with bat and ball, over five days. However, it is also a team game in which eleven players must rely on their teammates if they are to be successful.

This is reminiscent of St Paul’s ‘one body but many parts’ analogy in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, in which the Apostle noted that if we are part of the ‘Body of Christ’ (Jesus’ team), we need to value and trust each member of that team.

With that in mind, I pray that we try our best to live connected lives, and know that we are stronger together.’

Amen.

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