Good Lord Deliver Us

A Guest Blog by the Revd Canon Jim Rosenthal, Staff, Awareness Foundation

The year 1981 was a troubled year for me. I, to this day, have no intelligent reasoning for why this was just the way it was -  but - alas, thanks to a good Welsh Anglican priest-therapist, I made it through and maybe even with more understanding of myself and even the Christ I worship.

One of the first things I did was to stop buying and reading the secular press, local or national, I would not even touch a newspaper.  In this year I never once felt I was either aloof or ignorant of what was happening – as, trust me, in any given day people around you make sure “you know” the news and, like the media, usually with their own commentary.

The next thing I did was turn off the television (this is something I highly recommend). Friends, our news and entertainment have meshed together to become either fantasy or violence. What we as a world watch as pleasure is appalling and feeds the minds of those who copy the dreadful deeds on screens on the streets of our cities, and we wonder why?  We watch a programme and either the amount of swearing overwhelms you or no less than 12 people are killed on screen in the opening minutes. Sit back and enjoy!  (I am not silly enough to think there are not some outstanding programmes, but my friends, try to see my point). The telly is only second to the power of the cinema and the internet.  If I were a parent (lucky kids I am not) I would watch even the most innocent web search. Just last night I was searching “St Nicholas” and was confronted by rather not so ‘ho ho ho’ photos of men and women without much on!

Today we are being bombarded by the violent scenes from Libya, Iran, changes in Egypt, the Holy Land frenzy as well as from our own streets; we see the tears and hear the cries of those fighting for so much. Many of these are our own Christian brothers and sisters, trying to live their lives, day by day, hoping and praying for peace with justice in our troubled world.  The scenes of unrest in Athens, Paris and Madrid (and even the student marches in London!). What will be next? I guarantee (editorially) it will come.

Once we come to grips with that fact that our diverse world is divided by many things, from race to religion, from language to customs, we are shocked by the intensity of such division. Our awareness of the world needs to be an informed awareness and grounded in our faith in him who is our peace and our hope.  Christianity is not magic but it is transforming, if we let Christ “dwell in our hearts richly” and learn to say “father forgive” and “turn the other cheek”.

Each day as we plead “Our Father...” we do ask many things of the Lord including “deliver us from evil” – which my friends is what many face endlessly and mercilessly.

Maybe the words of St Augustine may help us see where true freedom and liberty can be found: