Delivered this today on the occasion of the outbreak of the Balloon Fiesta weekend.
Have
you seen the Disney animated film simply called 'Up'? It's the
adventures of an old man who, due to the demands of life, never got
round to his ambitions.
But
circumstances conspire to make him desperate and, rather than have
his home repossessed, he attaches balloons to it and floats off on an
incredible journey.
It's
fun, it's moving and it's full of talking points. I defy you not to
be tearful after ten minutes.
I
loved the film but I'm afraid I don't do up. I don't like
heights. If someone bought me a trip in a balloon as a gift I'd give
it away. I get nervous on the kerb. I content myself with
photographing the balloons as they drift over my house at Fiesta
Time.
People
have always been fascinated by up. In biblical times this was
because the most up anyone had ever done was hill or tree. It
left us with a body of writing that identified God with mountains,
clouds and sky. Jesus ascended into heaven. Going up.
Today
we still find people looking up to the heavens. Those
goal-scoring footballers of faith. Noticed where they look?
Famously
the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin announced that God was not there when he
went into orbit. Yet moon-walking astronauts detected a creator in
the cosmos. Up proved nothing. England and Australia seek it
in opposite directions. Wouldn't out be better?
And,
from time to time, things go wrong and remind us that up
is still dangerous. We are not in total control. We fall.
The
heavens declare the glory of God
The
skies proclaim the work of his hands
What
do you see?
1 comment:
Lovely bit of writing. You are right about 'out' but somehow it doesn't cut it, does it?
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