{"id":1316,"date":"2025-01-31T20:27:45","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T20:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ilchester-district-churches.com\/?p=1316"},"modified":"2025-01-31T20:27:45","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T20:27:45","slug":"i-might-be-getting-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ilchester-district-churches.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/31\/i-might-be-getting-old\/","title":{"rendered":"I might be getting old!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I might <\/strong>be getting old<\/strong>, but looking back over the years I have been Rector here, and writing pieces for the IDCA news it is obvious that some things in the world do not seem to have changed.\u00a0\u00a0 People and nations seem to be filled with the same hatred, and exercise violence time and again against each\u00a0other. It is easy to get depressed when you think on these matters.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But I am also aware of such acts of generosity, kindness and selfless love that I have witnessed time again between neighbours across our villages. There are very many Good\u00a0people round here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than abandoning all hope, seeing these acts of human kindness fills me with an anticipation to see more, to look harder for glimpses of light and love in the\u00a0darkest of times and to applaud goodness; to affirm goodness even.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in 2016 I wrote following attacks on a magazine in Paris and of the many\u00a0people showed solidarity at the time with the magazine\u2019s workforce but more so with all their fellow human beings, no matter what colour, age, ability or gender. They did this through the \u2018Je Suis …\u2019 campaign.\u00a0 \u2018Je Suis\u2019, of course, as my fellow CSE French students will know simply means – \u2018I Am\u2019! \u2018I am you\u2019, we are one and the same was the basis of the campaign \u2014 your pain is my, is our pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two words, \u2019I am\u2019,  were often on Jesus\u2019 lips. His use related both to God, who simply \u2018is\u2019, but also to Jesus’ solidarity with the entirety of humanity.  \u2018Who are you?\u2019, was the question asked of  Jesus; his reply \u2018I am\u2026\u2019.    I am the son of God, but I am also a son of humanity, of Adam.    Whether folks were the world\u2019s \u2018no-bodies\u2019, the blind, lame, old, rejected, foreigners, young, powerless, or the \u2018some-bodies\u2019, kings, national rulers, empirical masters Jesus is simply \u2018I am\u2026\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through his words and actions Jesus both reveals he is with us and for us; for the poor, for the broken hearted, for justice, for peace with the earth, for healing, for all human flourishing.  And he shows what it is to be against oppression\u2019, against the abuse of power, against  violence towards others.    He sought to put into words and actions what God was saying \u2018I am love and I am for all of humanity! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he was for all, so Jesus calls us to follow, to be for all ourselves in love, justice and peace.   As this year spreads before us I wonder who we might stand with?  Who might we, in word and deed, say \u2019Je Suis\u2026\u2019, I am with you, for you to?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I might be getting old, but looking back over the years I have been Rector here, and writing pieces for the IDCA news it is obvious that some things in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ilchester-district-churches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ilchester-district-churches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ilchester-district-churches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ilchester-district-churches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ilchester-district-churches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1316"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ilchester-district-churches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1317,"href":"https:\/\/ilchester-district-churches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316\/revisions\/1317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ilchester-district-churches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ilchester-district-churches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ilchester-district-churches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}