Unprecedented

Dear Christian Writer Friends,

I know that this blog is supposed to keep strictly to the subject of writing, but I’m finding it difficult not to think of more urgent matters right now. We are all at a solemn moment in history, and so it’s not all that easy to strike an upbeat note. To get the tough thoughts out of the way first, let me just say that, unless something preternatural happens, we are going to witness some sad events in the next few weeks.  We all know the situation our doctors and nurses are in. We all saw the pictures of people crowding on to beaches, into parks, and around markets at the weekend. I don’t need to tell you what heartbreak that is likely to lead to. So we who can should pray earnestly. And over and above the present crisis, something else is brewing which I can’t mention here because it’s political: not the short-term strict measures we are seeing in Spain and Italy, but something much longer-term and more comprehensive, which is rather worrying. You will have to look it up for yourself, but I urge you to contact your MP and to pray.

But let us pass on to brighter matters. In the interval between the Referendum and the US elections in 2016 I wrote a dystopic piece about the immediate future: the events which actually happened bore little resemblance to it, except in one detail. It ended with all the places of worship being closed. We have just experienced our first Sunday of virtual church services. Christians are rediscovering the fact that they don’t need to go into a physical building to worship together. I imagine that most of these services still came from a church building, but it’s perfectly thinkable that, as long as we have the right equipment, they could come from anywhere. It is a wonderful rediscovery. The Christian community remains a Body even when its members are not in physical proximity. Christ’s Body is one, but as is the way of a body, it is made up of many cells, membranes, ligaments, and organs. From the Head flows the transformative power that enables us to become like him. The great thing for us all to do is recognize and interiorize the knowledge that we are each a tiny piece of that Risen Body, hidden for a while, but one day to be revealed along with the new creation. That is something to bear us up in the present dark time.

On a lighter note: the other thing about major events and trends is the way they generate cliches and jargon. The current crisis is no exception. Lexicologists have reported an unprecedented level of use of the word unprecedented. And everybody keeps talking about uncharted waters. If you are anything like me, cliches are your pet aversion and you avoid them like the plague. But seriously, the problem about cliches, jargon, and buzz words is that they rapidly lose their ‘cash value’. Christian discourse is as prone to this devaluation as any other. Somebody in the circle uses an expression like, say, ‘grace’ or ‘God’s love’ and everyone else nods gravely to show they’re on board. But if we’re honest we often have only a vague idea of what they mean in ordinary everyday experience. Even worse, people on the outside don’t understand them at all and think we speak a funny language which probably means nothing. So here’s a self-isolation writing challenge: for the next piece you write, do not allow any item of Christian shorthand language on to the page. Translate it into words that a totally secular person would understand. Tease it apart, or, to use another well-worn cliche, unpack it.

Yours, in the Body,

Edmund
Note: this was written before the Prime Minister’s address to the Nation was announced.