Miroslav Volf is a theologian whose work has built into an impressive corpus of reflection on the nature of the church and its mission. He has consitently explored the relation between Trinitarian theology and the life of the Church, and the theology and practices of forgiveness, reconciliation, peace and graced living with which the followers of Jesus Christ are called to address the disturbingly compelling realities of human conflict, historic hatreds and the resort to violence.

Reflecting on the nature of forgiveness and reconciliation, and the consequent practices of peacemaking, conciliation and openness to the other, Volf offers at times a profound and demanding challenge to the contemporary Christian and the contemporary Church, whatever the Christian tradition. His  Exclusion and Embrace is a seminal work whose relevance and argument go beyond any narrow theological concerns. It grew out of his experience of violence fuelled by historic hatred, depersonalising mythology and these expressed in barbaric behavious in the Balkans in the 1990's.

It is a hard book to read – rigorous and determined theological reflection on the darkest and hardest human experiences, arguing towards a conclusion that those who follow Jesus ought to be able to forgive. But recognising that the human reality, emotionally, spiritually and therefore practically, is all but impossible for those who have witnessed such brutality or been the victims of such violence. This paradox, of categorical imperative and human incapacity lie at the heart of the dilemma – how can Christians love their enemies in obedience to Jesus' command when the person they are to embrace and welcome is guilty of atrocity against them or their family? What are the resources of the Gospel of reconciliation that would make such a miracle of embrace possible? Volf's book grew out of precisely that question, asked at a seminar where Volf was teaching and Jurgen Moltmann was present, and asked the question. Volf's account of it is better told by himself:

This poem by e e cummings is just the thing for weather like this! And it's a  sonnet, one of my favourite forms of poetry. Hard to read this and scowl, or frown, or moan – and notice where the higher case is used – not the first person singular, but the second person transcendent! Love it.

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any–lifted from the no
of all nothing–human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

The following is the list of the top ten hot social network trends for this morning. Just curious at the descending priority list of people's interests and concerns. The Greek Crisis is in the relegation spot as the one least commented on.

Now I don't want to become all preachy, doomsday and grumpy, but is there a fascination with the emphemeral and transient here, and an avoidance of the stuff that concerns rather more than the fortunes and failings of footballers, who aren't likely to need payday loans?

 However, given a recent immersion in the world of Qoheleth for my own good, astringent and uncomfortable as his observations are, I'm not surprised he is described by one scholar as the gentle cynic.

And on that note, I hesitate only slightly to suggest that enigmatic phrase "Vanity! Vanity! All is Vanity!" could stand as a cautionary comment on the fast turning temporal and semantic kaleidoscope that is social networking in an increasingly techno-relating society. The same Qoheleth raises the stakes when he says "God has put eternity in human hearts", and "God is in heaven so let your words be few." Whatever else we might do to acknowledge or ignore the reality of the transcendent God, to cherish our humanity, face our mortality and make peace with our finitude, it seems we are way past any possibility of letting our words be few..myself and this blog included!

I leave you with the list of captured concerns in Current Trending for 11.31 this morning….. and ask which of them have universal, eternal or even life affirming significance?

1. Didier Drogba
2. Robin Gibb
3. Fernando Torres
4. Part Time Jobs
5. Fibre Optic Broadband
6. Euromillions
7. West Ham
8. Payday loans
9. Robert0 Di Matteo
10. Greek Crisis

Sometimes when I intend to pray I don't so much pray as dutifully get the job done, like drying dishes or washing the car.

Other times life is overloaded with stuff to do and prayer becomes one of those things I do while doing other things, prayer as multi-tasking and God given a percentage of my attention.

Or under pressure send God a text, U R my 4tress[ ]

Then feeling guilty because I don't pray properly (what would a proper prayer sound like) I come across a poem like this and realise again, prayer isn't calibrated on my pious thoughts and wayward intentionality. Prayer is paying attention, in those moments when God is present, and I notice.

Spectrum

A little window, eastward, low, obscure,

A flask of water on the vestry press,

A ray of sunshine through a fretted door,

And myself kneeling in live quietness:

Heaven's brightness was then gathered in the glass,

Marshalled and analysed, as one by one

In terms of fire I saw the colours pass,

Each in its proper beauty, while the sun

Made his dear daughter Light sing her own praise.

(As Wisdom may, who is a mode of light),

Counting her seven great jewels: then those rays

Remerged in the whole diamond, total sight.

The globe revolved subservient: that just star

Whirled in his place; water and glass obeyed

The laws appointed; with them, yet how far

From their perfection, I still knelt and prayed.

(Ruth Pitter, Collected Poems, page 370)

The window is the Daily Bread window in Durham Cathedral, gifted by the staff of Marks and Spencers in Durham. Those who have been in my College study will recognise it. I did a stranded cotton tapestry of this years ago, and the vivid, vibrant, vital colours are themselves a form of praise. The poem is one of my favourites from Ruth Pitter.