An American tourist on a whistle stop tour of Europe screeched to a halt outside Charters Cathedral. He jumped out of the car and shouted to his wife, "You do the inside. I'll take outside. See you back here in five minutes". In this way the couple finished their tour of the Cathedral in record time and sped on to the next tourist attraction.
Maybe this hectic tour says a lot about the way we live life today. Like those American tourists we can never seem to stop. Life is very full. Very busy. So much to do. So little time to do it, even though now we can shop seven days a week and soon, maybe 24 hours a day.
This might bring us many benefits. But, as happens so often, there are losses too. Perhaps the greatest of this is that we are losing any sense of the rhythm of life. Maybe our ancestors understood this better than us. They knew were effected more by the cycle of the seasons. They understood the need, after a hard week's work to have a rest day to re-charge the batteries.
It was here that the seasons of the Churches year come in. They fit those rhythms of life. Times of celebration and rejoicing, like Easter and Christmas. Times for reflection and preparation like Advent and Lent.
This year Lent begins on February 17. Maybe it will give us the chance to slow down for a while. To think about what we are doing, and where we're going. Maybe one of the Lent Groups run by the Churches would help. Perhaps a time of quit at home or in Church (and St Botolph's is open every day for anyone who wants to use it for a bit of peace and quiet, or reflective prayer) would give a bit of space.
Lent does give us a bit of an opportunity in a world where so often we're rushing about doing, to pause, reflect and be for a while.
So much of our lives are spent like those American tourists. Always in a hurry. Always on the move. The trouble is we can be living a life so that it goes by so fast we never really have the chance to stop and think. What is it all about.
Rev'd RHYS PROSSER