archive: november 2011...

editorial...

“Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...”

There are many things that we British people can be proud of. Yorkshire pudding, Chicken Tikka Masala, afternoon tea, that 1966 world cup win, the stiff British upper lip and Bonfire night. Hang on, wait, we all love a few fireworks and burning stuff, but isn’t it time we showed a bit of forgiveness to old Guy Fawkes?

On the fifth of November, all around the country you’ll see children, and young children at that, actively encouraged to burn an effigy of a 17th century anarchist. Very bizarre. From a detached perspective it must seem like culturally conditioned arson; promoted by adults and responsible parties all over the country.

The thing is we don’t stop there. In nearly every househould in the UK, through the controlled medium of the firework, is the unconscious (though maybe conscious) re-enactment of Guy’s plot to blow up Parliament and destroy the monarchy.

It gets weirder. In 1605, a year after Guy’s capture, a command was made on behalf of parliament and the King ensuring that a sermon about the Gun Powder Plot was commissioned annually to commemorate the failed assassination attempt. I’m pretty sure most churches around the land ignore this command nowadays, but hey, maybe we should talk about it a bit more. Maybe there is a reason why “gunpowder and treason should be forgot”.

After capture Guy was tortured, hung, drawn and quartered. We remember him, not for his success, but for his failure – that is for the British success in capturing him and succeeding over the evil anarchists and their plots.
 
Although I’m totally up for fireworks and bonfires it does seem the tradition surrounding bonfire night assumes that we want to continue to punish and look for instant vindication when people do stuff that is wrong.

Strangely enough, Jesus, hanging on a cross, turned to a repentant criminal and forgave him. Even more strangely Jesus turns to all of us and extends the same offer. Jesus doesn’t seek to punish us for our sins or our wrongdoings. Instead he seeks to love us and teach us how to love one another. It is in this process that we learn what it is to be human. We learn that responding to violence with violence makes us less human and distorts the image of a loving God within each one of us.

We all get stuff wrong, some maybe more than others – I mean if Guy Fawkes succeeded he would have been a mass murderer. However, maybe it’s time we stopped burning his likeness in our back gardens and began to think of ways to respond to evil, destruction and terror that don’t play on our desire for revenge, but endorse our hopes to become more human - hopes that seek to find and cultivate the image of the living and loving God in all of us.

So before you prepare to go out and set alight the night sky with fireworks and enjoying massive fire pits (supervised by responsible adults and checking for hedgehogs first of course), take a few minutes to read this month’s Mag. It’s packed, yet again, with articles and ideas so make sure you get a nice cuppa and relax into your seat.

As ever, send your comments and thoughts to...
editor@soulsurvivor.com