‘We all have said and done things we are ashamed of’

I have been reflecting on the recent anger vented at people in history whose memory is encapsulated in statues or plaques.
Students march past Oxford University's Oriel College and the statue of Cecil Rhodes that they are campaigning to be removedStudents march past Oxford University's Oriel College and the statue of Cecil Rhodes that they are campaigning to be removed
Students march past Oxford University's Oriel College and the statue of Cecil Rhodes that they are campaigning to be removed

Many of them are memorialised for the good things they achieved.

They also have a history of less worthy things they may have said or done, which today causes offence.

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The reaction has been to deface them, or call for them to be removed.

The Reverend Jonathan HaighThe Reverend Jonathan Haigh
The Reverend Jonathan Haigh

We need to be cautious.

If we try to rewrite history by somehow erasing the memory of every good thing a person achieved, just because they also have some skeletons in the closet, we may find that eventually, someone might turn to look at us in the same way.

Psalm 14 verse 3: “All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

We are all like cracked pots. We all have things we have said and done we are ashamed of.

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Out of the many things I have learned from this pandemic is that God sees the good in us and can use that goodness for the benefit of others in the way we care, serve and support each other.

I am reminded of the Japanese art of Kintsugi – repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.

It treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise, and its finish sees gold gluing the pieces of a broken pot together – it looks stunningly beautiful.

From brokenness to transformation.

Christians believe Jesus came to forgive our brokenness and refine us with the love of God. He restored us.

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St Paul is an example of this restoration, turning from persecuting others, because of their beliefs, to uniting people in the love of God.

Romans 12vs2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

I just wonder if this is a better way of looking at the lives of others in history, before taking a look at our own lives too?

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