Archaeology, so it is said ’is Rubbish’.

   In many ways that is true of course, visit any dig site and the folks working there will be seen searching out the broken bits and pieces thrown away or dropped by people from bygone ages. Archaeologists also love to find bones and foundations and even graffiti. And over the years our villages, with all the years of occupation have given much for folks to study and ponder about.

Some objects found are quite amazing, like the Roman mosaics in some Ilchester gardens. Some finds can be quite off putting like finding poo from hundreds of years ago. In each and every way these are the marks left by our forebears on the world in which they inhabited.

My job as a priest brings huge privileges, especially when it comes to taking baptisms and funerals. Baptism is of course  an event filled with hope and anticipation of the life that will unfold for the precious little bundle presented to all.

A funeral is likewise a time of hope, hope in the resurrection life that comes through Jesus Christ for all who would take his offer to ‘come follow me’.  Funerals are also times that naturally look back over a life, with celebrations and sometimes regrets. Whichever it is I am always reminded that our span of years present us with the chance to leave a legacy, to make a mark on the world and the lives of those we        encounter on the road of life.

There have been times when I have asked folks what they wished to say about their loved one they have struggled to think of anything out of the ordinary. Did they love those about them?, I ask. Did they look out for folks in need?  Did they look after the village, help and support events?  Well, yes they did this and that, comes the reply. Just the ordinary things, nothing special or amazing.  In a age driven by celebrity and folks thinking they only amount to something if they do an amazing act it seems the ‘ordinary’ is not something to celebrate, or worse even think to do. However, it is the ordinary, the simple, the small that make the impact in any community.

It is these things that leave a lasting mark on the local community, on the world at large.  This is precisely why Jesus calls all of us to ‘love our neighbour as ourselves’!

Blessings

Bruce