9th May 2022

As we often do, Denise and I went to the theatre last week. We saw an amateur production (a very good amateur production I must add) of the musical ‘Rent’. I had never seen the show before and knew very little of the story. In short, it’s set in East Village New York City (a deprived area at the time) in 1989 / 1990 when recession is bad, AIDS is rife, drugs are being used by this community to escape their lives and homosexuality and gender identity is just beginning to be challenged and tested. It’s a tough watch that explores all of these issues as we well as death, hatred and depression.

So, how does this lead me into todays ‘Thought for the day’? ….

The opening song of Act 2 is called ‘Seasons of love’ and it asks ‘How can you measure the life of a woman or a man?’ i.e. how can you value someone’s life, value their contribution to society? How can they be part of society? An extremely tough question and one that can as easily be asked of today’s modern world as it was back in the late 80’s. The song concludes that it’s easy, it’s very simple, in the end it’s all about love. The love we have for ourselves and for each other is ultimately what we all need to make a difference, to be accepted, to be valued and to make a difference. Love will enable us to be tolerant, to be understanding, to be caring and kind (and any other adjectives that you want to use)  – being a good Christian is following Jesus and simply sharing love.

Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus showed His love for others by blessing and serving the poor, the sick, and the distressed “This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12).

Let us all go out today and serve our community.

Graham Lewis