20th March 2026

I have recently been reading a novel – Peter Abelard – by Helen Waddell. It is about a cleric in France in the 12th century. As a priest he is supposed to remain single, but he secretly marries and, while he manages to avoid being condemned by the church court (which could have meant excommunication), his conscience remains troubled.

Towards the end of the book he is approached by a young man, Thibault, who is considering entering the priesthood. They have a long discussion about Christ’s crucifixion and God’s forgiveness. God, Thibault points out, suffered through Christ’s suffering on the cross. But that was not just a ‘one-off’:

He points to a fallen tree beside them, sawn through the middle. “That dark ring there, it goes up and down the whole length of the tree. But you only see it where it is cut across. That is what Christ’s life was; the bit of God that we saw.”

As we approach the annual remembrance of the crucifixion on Good Friday, I find that a helpful ‘parable’.

What do you think?

David T Roberts