Isn’t it remarkable? In a widely atheistic age, in a secular republic, a fire at a medieval Catholic landmark has brought people and nations together. It has caused them to unite, to pray and to thank God.<\/p>\n
I am, of course, talking about Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. I am obviously not a Catholic, so this building holds no religious significance for me. \u00a0Matthew 18v20 Jesus tells us, \u201cFor where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them\u201d. We don\u2019t have to worship God in a vast and ornate cathedral.\u00a0It is hard, however, to be unmoved by the unfolding of recent events. But, in this largely post-Christian age, how is it that Notre-Dame has outlasted its original reason for existing?<\/p>\n
Even if religion is set aside, historically and architecturally this building is of immense significance. Cathedrals such as this are, without doubt, great works of art. They have in their time been centres of community. They have witnessed and hosted both their nations greatest and saddest events. They were built in an age before machines by the hands of the very people who would congregate there to worship.<\/p>\n
As an avid tourist of history and literature, it is fair to say that few houses of faith have such a vivid story to tell as Notre-Dame de Paris. Notre-Dame has been, for all of us, an embodiment of Paris and its history, of the city’s medieval Catholic past, its religious wars, its national triumphs and disasters. It was the backdrop for the Disney film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame<\/i><\/span>. <\/span>The film begins with the song, The Bells of Notre Dame<\/i><\/span>, which poignantly summarises the part this building still plays in the lives of the people of Paris: My own story with this building began as a little child when I first encountered Disney\u2019s The Hunchback of Notre Dame<\/i><\/span>,<\/span> not just because of the vivid colours and the enchanting music, but because this cathedral is the stage for a story of hope, of acceptance for outsiders and those who see the world a little differently. It is something which the apostle Peter brings out for us in his first epistle,\u00a0\u201cAll of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tender-hearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.\u201d 1Peter 3v8-9.<\/p>\n As I got older my love of this story caused me to read Victor Hugo\u2019s, Notre-Dame de Paris<\/i><\/span>,<\/span> one of the great works of French literature and the story that inspired Disney. Whilst the book is darker than Disney\u2019s interpretation, it holds a wonderful quote, which I often bring to mind, \u2018A one-eyed man is much more incomplete than a blind man, for he knows what it is that’s lacking.\u2019<\/p>\n That\u2019s really the crux of my ponderings here today. Is the modern, confused and agnostic world around us the blind man? Has society travelled so far from \u2018The Age of Faith\u2019 that it doesn\u2019t even know what it is lacking?\u00a0As Jesus asks in Luke 6v39, \u201cCan the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch?\u201d<\/p>\n This has happened at a time of miserable squabbling over the future of Europe. The truth is that, whatever we think about Brexit or a customs union, or any of the esoteric options lying before our politicians, we are all heirs of a great common history. If only the world had one eye that it might recognise what is lacking and seek out the hope set before them in the Bible \u2013 to be heirs of a future, not just a past, to be heirs of the promises of God.<\/p>\n In Hebrews 12v2 we are told to, \u201cLook unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.\u201d Rather fitting really when we remember that this weekend is Easter Weekend, a time when Christians worldwide reflect on the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n However, for the first time in nearly nine centuries there will be no Easter at Notre-Dame.<\/p>\n You are warmly invited to join us this Sunday, April 21st 2<\/span>019 at 6pm for a Bible talk about \u2018Jesus Christ, The Cross and You\u2019. Find out how Jesus\u2019 sacrifice can have a positive effect on your life and what it could mean for your future!<\/p>\n *All quotes are from the King James Version.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nMorning in Paris, the city awakes<\/span>,
\n<\/span>To the bells of Notre Dame<\/span>.
\n<\/span>The fisherman fishes, the <\/span>baker man<\/span> bakes<\/span>,
\n<\/span>To the bells of Notre Dame<\/span>.
\n<\/span>To the big bells as loud as the thunder<\/span>,
\n<\/span>To the little bells soft as a psalm<\/span>,
\n<\/span>And some say the soul of the cit<\/span>y<\/span>,
\n<\/span>The toll of the bells<\/span>,
\n<\/span>The bells of Notre Dame<\/span>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
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