Not a summer fashion article about beachwear or male swim shorts, fascinating as that might be; a pair of Orlebar Brown's (fashionistas please take note) may be tempting, but I fear the Vicar's days of parading on the beach are well past even in high summer! Still we could all do with a bit of a laugh to cheer us up; although as I write we may be basking in a heat wave, it won't last long and then it’s back to the usual doom and gloom.

Why is it that everything seems to be turning rotten at the moment, there just seem to be so many problems facing us that its really getting people down. The recent public media frenzy about phone 'hacking' has brought to light some unpleasant revelations about the press, with the police and politicians lurking in the shadows. Sad to see the demise of the News of the World- I remember as a schoolboy sneaking a look at my granddad's copy a.fter Sunday lunch, having already had a sip of his Sunday pint!

We want a free press but there is something wrong when the press will do whatever it takes to get an exclusive, regardless of those they have to step . over, and giving little heed to the lives and reputations they delight in rubbishing. Some of the unsavoury dealings that have been going on, makes one wonder who exactly is running this' country; what part do the press and wider media play and on whose behalf? What kind of society are they promoting and is it one we want to identify with?

In all this, I am still trying to get a handle on just what the 'big society', mentioned every few weeks, actually means. Its all very well for the Prime Minister to call for 'big citizens' and for institutions that are 'beyond reproach', but in a society where many people seem to only be interested in themselves and their personal lifestyle, and some of our institutions seem to be collapsing under the weight of corruption, I am wondering what we can realistically expect. After all what kind of society are we that can go wild over 'hacking' for several weeks and the children starving to death in the Horn of Africa are largely relegated to the inside pages and a brief mention on TV? 'The Times' ( I know who owns it!) got it right with its cartoon depicting a group of starving children with swollen bellies and empty food bowls, with the words' I've had a bellyful of phone hacking and a little box with the word priorities in it!

For some those priorities may lie in choosing the right swim shorts, for others those priorities lie elsewhere, whether far away or coping with the economic misery at home. None of the issues are new, one has only to read the old testament prophets, some parts of society were just as rotten and corrupt then, though it was more open,' those who were turning justice to wormwood and trampling on the poor man and extorting levies on his wheat whilst building houses of dressed stone.'

The prophets remind us that God will see justice done, it may be a long time in coming but there is always the promise of change and a better future, a looking forward to one who will come, wearing 'his integrity like a loincloth' and free us from what oppresses us. For the church such a one is already in our midst, Jesus Christ; what we need in the public space is men and women with that same integrity who won't just play with words and make empty promises but will speak the truth and by the manner of their own living will inspire us all to seek the common good.

Your friend and priest
 

Father Keith


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