Raymond, visiting, preached today about the theology of beauty. He was responding to a recent writing by Sara Maitland, probably from her column in the Tablet, but had an interesting starting point: that of technology. Television, and David Attenborough's programming in particular, has given us the ability to see much more of the earth in its immensity and its tiny detail. And awe-inspiring images from telescopes also bring the heavens close. So the beauty of the earth and the rest of the universe reflects God's beauty. He also spoke of the beauty of humanity, though marred, and the beauty of Jesus, even as the suffering servant on the cross. The glory of God was revealed on the mountain of Transfiguration; can beauty be the same as glory?
As I write this, I find myself reflecting instead on the strangeness of the earth and the heavens, as revealed by television and telescopes, and am reminded of Janet Morley's invocation: "O Unfamiliar God". And on the other hand, I think back to my afternoon walk with friends around the estate in glorious spring sunshine. We haven't been here long enough yet, but for example Roger Deakin's "Notes from Walnut Tree Farm" reveals the deep beauty in the familiar, the well-trodden and well-known, the expected and yet unexpected seasonal round, and in waiting for a place to grow and mature.
Between September 2010 and September 2011, I lived alongside an Anglican Benedictine community of monks and nuns. In November 2010, we moved from Broad Marston Manor near Evesham to Mucknell Abbey, a new eco-monastery near Worcester. This blog was about things that I observed and things that interested me. I have now stopped writing it. Thank you to all who were also interested.
I had been enjoying a certain smugness about you having to endure preaching (something we seem to happily avoid) but then you wrote about your kite and now I must needs concede smugness victory to you henceforth.
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