Photo: Duygu, pexels.com
Last weekend I was shopping for a birthday present for our granddaughter.
Christine Bryant
I was impressed with one store’s great display – they had of books by New Zealand authors for the eights to young adults. It led me to think about the key books of my childhood and remember when I was given them: Peter Pan (seventh birthday), the Heidi stories (eighth birthday) and my first Bible a year later. I still have them all. Dickens and Shakespeare came later.
The cold days and long evenings of winter turn our mind to books and the joy of reading. Literature is undoubtedly powerful. Whatever our age, a good book can move us to tears, to laughter, to horror, to reflection. We remember all our lives the story of the little boy who didn’t want to grow up and lose the innocence of childhood, the little girl who adapted to living with a taciturn grandfather and the bonds of love which eventually bound them together. Dickens wrote about the grinding poverty of Victorian England, Hugo about how giving someone a hand up could transform their life, Zola about antisemitism. In Aotearoa writers such as Witi Ihimaera, Patricia Grace and, more recently, Becky Manawatu have caused us to reflect on issues of injustice in our own country.
Flat Lay of the Holy Bible and Items on the Desk. Photo: Chris Liu, pexels.com
Out of literature also come the quotes which stay with us. The Bible and Shakespeare are responsible for many which we remember. We may have been obliged to learn “To be, or not to be, that is the question” or “The quality of mercy is not strained”, however, these speeches also caused us to think about the big existential questions: How far do people have to go in absorbing the blows which life deals them before they are overwhelmed? Or What does true mercy look like when “mercy seasons justice”? Some Year Nine students I know have just been studying Paikea’s speech in The Whale Rider, and considering what whanaungatanga and assuming responsibilities mean, especially for a young woman.
As we approach the local elections, I have been thinking about how Jesus chose his disciples. For the most part, they were practical, full of the common sense of fishermen and with a deep faith in God. In the early church these same disciples had to choose a replacement for Judas who had betrayed Jesus. They prayed and came to the decision that Barnabas, a man of great faith, should join them. Barnabas would go on to support Paul on his missionary journeys and during his imprisonment in Rome. How then should we go about selecting our local leaders? What sort of person has the right combination of leadership and care for the community? The Old Testament prophet, Micah, writing about 700BC, gave us a clear portrait of a good leader: “[God] has shown you… what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”. (Micah 6:8)
If politicians at all levels took these words seriously, we should surely live in a more equitable world.
