Sunday 13 November 2011

Television

For all her faults, Britain has some good TV.  Like what?

Well, last night I saw great documentary about George Harrison, almost as good as those I watched about Pink Floyd and then Harry Nillson.  There's an entire channel called Yesterday, devoted to 20th century history and modern England.  There are four BBC channels and other less serious news channels, like Mock the Week, in which comedians entertainingly present the news of England and the world.   I usually skip over Antique Road Show but sometimes I watch a show called Country House, in which people buy old castles and mansions and try to restore them into high-end B&B's or reception halls.  The English love travel programs, especially when it takes them sailing, and I've learned that Britain has A LOT of little towns across the nation.  The movie channel here shows a lot of old American films, especially Westerns, and in general, I often get an altogether different picture of the USA as shown through English eyes. 

There is some TV trash and reality shows but after having no TV for the last two years, it's a nice distraction now and then.  The other faith-based volunteer group here in Liverpool, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, lives in a house without television and I think they are missing out on a piece of British culture.  an important piece?  I don't know but part two of the George Harrison documentary starts tonight. 

imago dei

Two months ago my Vincentian experience began with a week-long conference and training.  During that training our Liverpool "community" (three persons) set goals for the year and were asked to agree upon a mission statement.  Our house decided on the following: "TO SEE GOD IN ALL THINGS ...especially in those whom we serve, in those whom we live with and in those whom we encounter." It's not bad.  We even threw in a little Latin at the end: AD MAJOREM DEI GLORIAM.  To the glory of God.  When we started our year of service we hung a framed printout of this mission statement in the main room of our community house to serve as a reminder and source of inspiration. 

Now, two months later, I am starting to see the shortcomings of the idea that all we have to do is look for the image of God in others.  There is more to serving than only that.  Once the imago dei is identified in the other person, then what?  (long pause)  What form or purpose does service then take?  I have begun to ask these questions more often now that the honeymoon phase of my service year has passed.  Any amount of experience reveals that the natural goodness of people has to be developed in the presence of their other not-so-holy traits, especially self-centeredness. 

In my case I have seen this past month the less-than-flattering truth that modern poor people are not always the victims of society.  Sometimes they are poor because they have poor ways. Their habits aren't healthy or helpful or pleasing to God.  Good hearts and hopeful intentions are not enough in themselves.  It is a start but without any proper formation, the poor that I have been asked to serve remain "stuck" in a cycle of underachieving. 

My time in England is my first experience living in a post-Christian society.  Although there are definitely practicing Christians here, the society itself (the news, holidays, and general public conversation) is at best ambivalent about religious faith.  People will speak of church in a clinical, detached way.  When I asked kids about God or the Bible, they have heard of Jesus, Moses, maybe David.  But they are unaware of the biblical stories and all share the general assumption that the church is not relevant to them.  Coming from a church environment this is different and difficult for me and I now see that to not offer children some version of faith formation is to damn them to ignorance.  There was a time when I wondered how effective it was to have kids memorize Bible verses or watched the cartoon versions of Bible stories, but now I see the other side, a biblically illiterate society.  Both parents and children are forming lives without any real grounding in Scripture or prayer or church community.   Not pretty.    

There is a limit to what I can accomplish in this year, so I'm going to accept that I may not be able to turn around a group of people that isn't willing to pay attention to what faith has to offer.  But I can be a good example and am learning here that the imago Dei is a privilege, not just an assumption.  The gift of Jesus Christ is not automatic salvation but the chance to discover and develop the image of God in self and others...through convictions, choices, and even service.