A Theological Hobby

I’ve had an interesting week! From Monday morning through Wednesday evening, much of my time has been spent in “virtual University” as my ministerial friends at Regent’s Park College gathered together (or rather, not together) to resume our studies via Zoom!
 
We always start a new term with what they call a Block Week, which under normal circumstances means we’re in residence at Oxford and spending almost all our time together. This one was rather different of course – I don’t know about you, but I find virtual meetings rather more draining than real, face-to-face ones, and it’s much harder to absorb information from a PowerPoint presentation than from a person!
 
That said, it’s been a week in which we’ve been thinking deeply about Theology – specifically about the Theology of death and funerals (Monday), weddings and marriage (Tuesday) and children and infant presentations (Wednesday). Really thought-provoking stuff and here’s an observation for you – the more you think about God, the more you find God – or rather, the more aware you become that God is there all the time, in everything. And the more grateful you are.
 
In our staff prayer meeting this morning (Zoom again!) some of us mentioned how they had been enjoying and thanking God for some things. Little “God-incidences”, nature, the beautiful weather, kindnesses and so on. It reminded me again of how we can see God at work in innumerable ways and in seemingly mundane things.
 
One of the things I have been abundantly blessed with in my life is a variety of hobbies. I know many friends at church who also have hobbies and – if I could draw you a Venn diagram (remember those?) I’m sure there would be lots of circles crossing over one another, showing where our sets of hobbies intersect!
 
I hope you have hobbies that are bringing you some joy in this difficult season. And I wonder if, like me, you are finding God in them? That is, do your hobbies lead you to think about God? Mine do. Not all the time of course, but often and deeply.
Let me share some examples –
 
1) Music 



I guess this in some ways an obvious one – if you listen to or sing worship songs, of course that will get you thinking about God! But I mean all kinds of music. Just recently, on the run-up to Easter, I was thinking about a song by my musical hero, Bruce Springsteen and I shared some of the lyrics on Facebook –
 

In the garden at Gethsemane
He prayed for the life he'd never live,
He beseeched his Heavenly Father to remove
The cup of death from his lips

Now there's a loss that can never be replaced,
A destination that can never be reached
A light you'll never find in another's face,
A sea whose distance cannot be breached

Well Jesus kissed his mother's hands
Whispered, "Mother, still your tears,
For remember the soul of the universe
Willed a world and it appeared

 
Obviously, those are still words about God, so what about music that seems to have nothing to do with God? This week I was listening to Luciano Pavarotti’s recording of the well-known aria, Nessun Dorma, from Puccini’s opera Turandot. Frankly, the story behind the opera and the aria requires somewhat of a stretch of the imagination, but when Pavarotti sings it I’m reaching for the hankies and my soul is lifted to the heavens. Such beauty! Such a sound! Such emotion! Thank you, God!
 
What are you listening to? And are you hearing from God in it?
 
2) Fishkeeping



Here’s my rather lovely Andinoacara rivulatus, commonly known as a Green Terror cichlid. Sorry about the reflections, but isn’t she lovely? Keeping fish involves caring for them, providing for them, interceding for them and, sadly, a bit of piscine euthanasia when they’re beyond saving. The most important thing is providing them with an environment that helps them to flourish – clean water, good food, stable temperature, good filtration and so on. If you’re a fishkeeper, you alone are entirely responsible for their environment, and getting it wrong can have disastrous consequences…
 
Not only do my fish help to relax me, but they remind me of the beauty of God’s creation, they remind me of my responsibility to foster a good environment for those in my care, and they remind me that life is precious, fragile and to be cherished while it lasts.
 
3) Weight-training



Ahh…. This is a hobby that has provided me with some of my best sermons! (I know, I know - “’Best sermons’, Simon? I guess I must have missed those…” Ha ha!). This wonderful hobby reminds me what a gift it is to be strong and healthy – not something to take for granted but something to work on diligently and to be thankful for. There are so many lessons that transfer from physical training to life in general and to our spiritual “fitness”.
 
I’ll just remind you of my favourite – to paraphrase Jesus’s brother James (see James 2: 14-22), “faith without deeds is dead”. And I say that real faith works itself out – and thereby grows stronger - in the gymnasium of deeds.
 
So, thank you God for hobbies! Whether it’s model-making, poetry, birdwatching, railway dioramas, crosswords, gardening, walking the dog or watching films! Find God in them – or rather, be aware that God is seeking you and speaking to you through them.
 
Blessings

Simon