Solomon Grundy

There are key dates I have to remember each year – Christmas, Easter, family birthdays, wedding anniversary, Valentine’s day…

Yesterday Boris gave us key dates – March 8^th, April 12^th, May 17^th, June 21^st – our  ‘roadmap’, our way out of Covid, our ‘one way road to freedom’.  

We work out how that affects us – work-related changes, family gatherings, summer events, holidays, important surgery, weddings, sport, theatres, cinemas, restaurants, church …

I’m concerned that we spend so much time looking forward to what might be that we fail to make the most of today with what is.

Remember the old nursery rhyme? – Solomon Grundy, born on Monday, christened on Tuesday, married on Wednesday, ill on Thursday, worse on Friday, dead on Saturday, buried on Sunday, that was the end of Solomon Grundy.

One man’s life reduced to one week, 30 words.

A couple of weeks ago we ‘watched’ a funeral at a local crematorium. The deceased requested that no one attended. Tributes and memories from a number of friends were read. A life reduced to 45 minutes….  

I fear that 2021 may be reduced to a few key dates.

Jesus’ story – ‘The Good Samaritan’ describes five men who were affected by an event that wasn’t a key date in their diaries.

The first was beaten up, robbed and left for dead. The next two walked past and ignored him. They had other priorities. The Samaritan made an unscheduled stop. Unexpectedly he used his own resources – his time, care, effort, first-aid skills, donkey, money… For the innkeeper it was part of his day’s work – but he probably got blood on his sheets.

If we focus solely on key dates our life is reduced; we become a ‘Solomon Grundy’. If we pay little attention to the apparently unimportant days in between we may miss the opportunity, the unscheduled event that changes our life or the life of someone in need. It might be today…