Clearing away the rubbish
Returning recently to my former parish in Crystal Palace, South London, I was reminded of the glorious glass edifice that once stood atop Sydenham Hill, overlooking the city. It was a quite extraordinary building, one of the wonders of the Victorian age and entirely destroyed by fire one night in 1936. All that remains of the Crystal Palace are some grand steps and stone sphynxes leading to a deserted platform: a bleak and thought-provoking spot to this day.
It is thought to have been a single cigarette end that ignited the blaze, although what truly caused it was the build-up of decades of combustible gubbins lying beneath the floor. The boards of the palace had been constructed with gaps between through which dust could be swept by cleaners, which meant that, over the years a metres-deep tinder box was being prepared.
The story has lessons for our soul, not only health and safety, I think – especially at the start of Lent. Sweeping things under the carpet rarely works and, whether in our relationships, work, or worship, ‘taking out the rubbish’ by honest self-examination, discipline and penitent prayer is both healthy and helpful for us - and can prevent all kinds of disasters.
‘Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me’ cries the sorrowful King David in Psalm 51. A good prayer for us all, together and alone, as the church makes its way through this holy season, following our Lord to the cross and the celestial city beyond.
+Andrew