I have two thoughts for you today and I’d like to know if you agree with them or at least the broad gist of them. This is the first one:
When we come together, as we do, at the heart of this school community to start off a new academic year, we usually turn our minds to what lies ahead. We often pay some reference to the past, especially in a school like this, with its great history, and its great people gone by; and we hope that we can play our part while we are here, too. We want to be successful but are also taught to be humble with it – the notion of “with privilege comes responsibility”. We know that we will not be perfect, but we do want to try our best.
We usually commit to helping others and to trying to play a part in our community; we would like to think that we will work hard, have some success and make friends.
You will have lots of other things to think about, of course, but is this about right for most of us?
I think it is.
Here is the second thought I found in a book last week. It is essentially a philosophical look at life. I’d like you again to just consider these words carefully and see if you agree with them.
Don’t think automatically like everybody else, but try hard to work out what is good. Don’t be arrogant, thinking yourself better than everybody else, but think clearly. Consider that we are all part of the same body of humanity; we all have different strengths and weaknesses. Love one another; stick to what is good; enjoy each other’s successes; play your own unique part in the needs of the community; show empathy – laugh with those who are happy; cry with those who are sad. Look after newcomers and show hospitality to strangers. Reject what is wrong, but do not compound it by replying with something else wrong. If it is at all possible, and so far as it depends on you, try to live peaceably together.
I think this all sounds sensible advice, do you not? And I do wonder whether we might all agree, probably, on most of this; it certainly paints a picture of something to work towards – a sense of community, selfless and together, one which is happy and caring towards one another and one in which you can feel you can play a part.
So, where did I get those two thoughts for the day from? Well, I got them from Chapel last week, on New Boys’ Day. I have, on purpose, removed any reference to God, the Saints, or to Christ; I have neglected to mention that the first one was a prayer for the start of term, and the second was a reading from the Bible. I have, on purpose, not mentioned Chapel until now.
And the reason is this: if I were to ask for a show of hands in here of those boys who are Christians, I would get a pretty low response. Only 46% of the UK identified as Christian in 2021; and of even those, the average age was 51. And likewise, our relationship with our own Chapel can sometimes feel complicated; many would say, at least openly, that they would prefer not to spend too much time there. But most would also say that they can feel a connection of some sort – a beautiful building, great singing, a sense of community and somewhere to which they will almost certainly return, whether they feel that way right now or not.
Indeed, it is almost always on the Chapel steps at the end of an Upper Sixth’s time here that they wish to gather for year group photos, and it is pretty regular for OBs to come back to get married there or simply to visit and reminisce.
So, the reason I removed all references to God from those thoughts for the day was because I feared a high number of you would not have listened nearly so hard to what I had to say.
You would have switched off straightaway, thinking that this did not really have much relevance to you personally – feeling that this is not for you as you do not ‘believe in God’. But I would like you next time you go to Chapel to think that through again – not necessarily the “believing in God” bit (though please do think about that as well and keep questioning), but think more clearly about whether these thoughts are for you. Because they are. They are universal, and you can see how they, along with almost identical thoughts from other religions – about the importance of community, of loving one another, of doing good – bind us together as one humanity and help us all to live a happy life. Chapel is a great place of learning, a place to be curious, where thoughts are provoked, whether you feel you are religious or not, and I hope that, whoever you are and whatever you believe by way of religion or none, you find that you can learn there, too.
We will end by listening, much more closely now, to the original passages, and I would like to ask the Chaplain to read them. And here they are, in reverse order:
Romans 12: 2-6, 9-18
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us. Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Bidding Prayer
Beloved in Christ, we are come together at the heart of this School community in the presence of God to mark this new beginning. As we set our thoughts on what lies ahead, we call to mind the great history of this School, the great heritage into which we enter, asking that we may be made worthy to follow faithfully in the footsteps trodden by those who have here gone before us. We pray that we may learn to temper success with humility, to moderate triumph with generosity, to balance personal achievement with selflessness. We know that we will not always live up to these aspirations, and so we pray for integrity to admit our faults and failings when they occur, committing ourselves to forgive others as well as ourselves. We place into God’s hands all our anxieties and concerns, our hopes and fears, knowing that God is faithful and will uphold us to the end. We ask for the grace to uphold one another in the bonds of peace and mutual affection, that as we grow in godliness and the studies of good learning, we may grow together in love and mutual understanding.