The Ven Sam Rushton, Archdeacon of York, writes:
No man is an island,
Entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
These words written 400 years ago this year by John Donne are as redolent of meaning and challenge today as they have ever been. This year also marks the 80th anniversary of DDay, a testimony both to what happens when one power tries to exert its individualism over another but also the remarkable things which can be achieved when people of different nations work together in the fight against evil.
We have a sporting summer ahead of us as I write. The Olympics and Paralympics in Paris, the Euros in Germany, the men’s and women’s T20 Cricket World Cup in the US and West Indies and Bangladesh will all see British teams battling for European or World supremacy, not on killing fields but on sports grounds around the world. Men and women of all shapes and sizes, races and creeds, will come together in a glorious pageant of effort and skill, reaping the rewards of long hours of practice, attention to diet and health, and sacrifice. The sporting great will eat together, train together, test one another – as iron sharpens iron so their giftedness and their skill will urge one another on to be the best that they can be.
When we come together as disciples of Christ we go beyond what we can achieve alone. We encourage one another, we challenge one another, we cheer on those who are flagging and raise up those who fall. And surrounding us is that great cloud of witnesses who cheer us on, the communion of saints praying and praising with us the God who is love.
So let us not be islands of individual faith but let’s go out there and show who we can be and what we can achieve together on the world, national and local stage. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and run your race well.
