Found or discovered

There were four contrasting stories on the news yesterday about ‘finding’ and ‘discovering’.

17-year-old British boy, Alex Batty has been found in near Toulouse in France. The boy disappeared after going on holiday with his mother and grandfather in Spain in 2017. He was found in the early hours of Wednesday morning by a French delivery driver in the foothills of the Pyrenees…

Norfolk Police found a body in the River Wensum. Underwater search teams discovered the body believed to be Gaynor Lord, the 55-year-old mother-of-three, who was reported missing last Friday.

Tonight we shall discover the winner of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing final. Fans are speculating – Bobby, Ellie or Layton?

This afternoon we shall find the winner of the East Anglian derby. The Ipswich versus Norwich football match is eagerly anticipated by local fans who hope for the best but fear the worst…

With both events excitement for some will be boredom for others; good news for many will be bad news for many others.

Finding or discovering may be about what is already there, but has only just been discovered – like Alex Batty, Gaynor Lord… or Fleming ‘discovering’ penicillin.

Finding or discovering may be about discovering what is yet to be – like the football, Strictly… or Scrooge encountering the ghost of Christmas yet to come.

Throughout the world the old Christmas story is told of shepherds and wise men finding, discovering the baby Jesus… and through it, people today finding, discovering new meaning, understanding or truth.

We often sing the carol ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’, written by the nineteenth century poet Christina Rosetti. The carol concludes with the discovery of the Christ-child by shepherds, wise men and me.

Yesterday I discovered another of her poems: What Are Heavy?

What are heavy? Sea-sand and sorrow;
What are brief? Today and tomorrow;
What are frail? Spring blossoms and youth;
What are deep? The ocean and truth.

Perhaps finding a greater depth of truth would be a good discovery this Christmas.