More than one f word is obnoxious.
There’s the infamous f which ends in k… originally an offensive expletive of great emphasis and passion. Now, depending on the social circle, not so much...
There’s the pejorative use
of fat… foolish… funky… feeble… fickle… flaky… even funny can be high-jacked on
occasion as an insult. There’s a forlorn
feeling in other f words too, like: forgetful, frail, frosty, frigid, foppish,
frantic, fake, frustrated, furious, fumbling, furry and fragmented. Even failure starts with an f. And freak, well, that’s just awful.
Is there a connection
between troublesome f words and the negative connotations of feminism? After all women’s problem – whatever name you
give it – is that, the world over, they simply do not have the same power or
freedom as men. The revolution, that
was, is far from won, and the need for greater equality and participation very
real. The theoretical thinkers who have
analysed language at great length (I won’t call them French Feminists as it’s
proved to be a contentious label) did much to illustrate
the patriarchal bias in the way we speak and therefore the way we think. Even the word female is a mere prefix stuck
to a male.
Nevertheless, the f word most
preoccupying me at the moment, is faith: faith in others and faith in
oneself. Five little letters which
together are greater than the sum of their parts. An important f word… On which we can all get wobbly, sometimes for
good reason, but life is always better when we find a way to get past the hurt
of disappointed faith and reboot. This
is particularly important when it comes to self-faith – the quiet trust in one’s
own value and potential.
Reminding ourselves of our
intrinsic worth - and, by inference, the value of every human being, every life
- is not just a good way to keep up morale or kick-start a challenging day,
it’s also the link to the other f word, the big-brother Faith.
It’s not surprising I should
be thinking about God. We are approaching
Easter, the season when Christians are supposed to think about Jesus Christ,
about what we believe in, and the Hope our Faith affords. We are called in this season to rediscover
and renew our relationship with God, our awareness of, and faith in, His
presence.
The period of Lent, leading
up to Easter, is about mental and spiritual preparation, about creating space
in our busy lives to focus. I didn’t
give up anything for Lent this year, but I have kept up my New Year resolution
to read something reflective most days and it has actually helped me to feel
more peaceful and centred. Recently I
read: “do you believe God loves you?” Or
more to the point, “do you believe He loves you enough?”
Good question really. Because if brutally honest I’m inclined to
think, however subconsciously, that He’s often slacking – answering other
people’s prayers and not paying me enough attention.
But sounds awful put like that, doesn’t
it? For as soon as the complaint is out
of my mouth the flipside is immediately obvious: that it’s probably me not
paying Him enough attention. I mean, if
I phoned a friend dozens, let alone hundreds, of times and they didn’t return
my calls, you’d give up on them right (stalker types and neurotics aside)? Yet He hangs around and patiently waits for
us to tune in. And then when we do pick
up the phone, metaphorically, He is all ready to listen and love, without
resentment or judgement. If you do have
Faith, in a God, in the God, in a Higher Being or perhaps a less defined Higher
Purpose, it’s pretty cool to feel the love, the interest, is
unconditional. It is a true Blessing…
when we trust it, when we have faith in our Faith.
[Have you noticed there are
lots of brilliant b words too? Maybe
another time…]
Anyway, feeling sluggish yesterday
after a late night at a party, unusually I went to Mass for Palm Sunday in the
evening. When coming home on the bus I
was carrying a palm tied in the shape of a cross. It wasn’t until a girl asked “have you just
been to Mass, may I ask where?” that I realised what a potent symbol I was
carrying. I don’t think I ‘hide my light
under a bushel’ if engaged in conversation about God or spirituality. In fact I’ve been told I’m in the habit of switching
my conversation (and writing) from the sacred to the profane with some
regularity. Yet I don’t automatically presume
people share my spiritual beliefs or wish to talk about God. This girl’s question, however, made me think
I should perhaps be more conscious of occasions when I can ‘bear witness’.
So that got me thinking:
bear witness to what exactly? How does
my knowledge and faith in Jesus affect my life or the way I conduct myself?
The short answer is
“probably not enough”. By which I mean, it
is too easy to compartmentalise one’s life such that Faith exists in one realm,
and most other activities in another. I
suspect that is a common phenomena, so no wonder we sometimes feel
schizophrenic. For surely, to be most
healthy or helpful, our spiritual life should be integrated with other dimensions
– like good food and exercise, not just a Sunday add on. So maybe that’s the feature of Faith I’ll try
to concentrate on this Easter, as I head north to visit friends who are
currently surrounded by blankets of snow.
(BTW if God is responsible
for the change of seasons then I’m afraid his UK
The other f word which is
prescient in the Easter season is of course forgiveness. Forgiveness and Faith are tied inexorably
together. Yet the key message in
Christ’s death and resurrection is the one we all struggle to comprehend and
action. Forgiveness is tricky. It is tested in our relationship of faith in
others, our faith in ourselves, and our Faith in God. And that’s why Jesus came to give us the
ultimate example – the standard we’ll never reach but which we’ll be all the
better for trying to emulate.
It’s a big call. It’s a life long mission. So when those f words get too heavy enjoy
these… for God gave them all: feisty, fit, fair, fine, finest, fortune, faithful,
favourite, fancy, familiar, fertile, fervent, flexible, flirtatious, flamboyant,
floral, fluorescent, fond, forthcoming, fragrant, fruity, friendly, fresh,
full, frank, fun, free and fantastic.
Happy Easter! Find family and friends and fabulous fare and
have a festive and fruitful time!
