My one regret at going on a much needed post-Christmas break to Cyprus was that I missed the denouement of this year's "Celebrity Big Brother" (I know!).  Fortunately the number of ex-pats in Paphos ensured that there was a plentiful supply of English newspapers so I was able to learn that the glamorous Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty triumphed.  I did witness that disgraceful encounter between Miss Shetty, who kept her calm and dignity and Jade Goody, who certainly did not.  I think the over reaction and anger of Miss Goody was one of the nastiest things I have seen on television in a long time.  There she was - her face red with anger as a great torrent of obscenities and words she would later live to regret issued forth from her mouth.   How much we should all try to control our anger and certainly not allow it to spill out into the public arena for such displays are neither dignified nor seemly.

I remember just before moving to Kelvedon - Jenny and I went to India.  They say that travel broadens the mind and anyone who has been to India knows what a mind blowing experience that is.  The sights, the colours, the smells were all so very exotic and different to grey old England.  It was a wonderful life-affirming experience which we shall never forget.  I have seen countless photographs of the Taj Mahal but to actually see the graceful building itself is in fact breathtaking as it is so stunningly beautiful.  There are only so many organised tours that I can deal with so one day I decided to go off on my own.  A famous Indian Ambassador taxi took me off to Agra railway station (Indian Railways is the world's biggest employer of staff) and there I bought a ticket to Gwalia, where the Duke of Wellington won his spurs before going on to even more famous victories.  I got into conversation with a delightful Sikh family and the talk soon got round to cricket.  In India cricket is rather regarded as a religion - unexplainable for those, like me, for whom the sound of willow striking leather is guaranteed to induce sleep.  They told me that whenever India was playing Pakistan and India was winning they rang up a random telephone number in Pakistan and said - "We're giving you hell today!" and then put the phone down.  They then got round to comments about my attire - I was wearing a collar and tie and my white vicar's summer ice-cream seller's jacket - and said "Sir, I can just imagine you at home wearing a monocle and smoking a big fat cigar".  It seems that images from the days of the Raj still live on in such a rather unusual stereo-type.  I shall always remember that rather wonderful brief encounter with that delightful family who were on their way from Delhi to Gwalia to offer prayers at the Sikh temple.

Just as we should control our anger so too we should control our tongues which can be weapons which inflict much hurt and destruction.  Have you noticed how often sentences which begin - "I'm not a racist....." usually end with some sort of derogatory or racist comment?  In whatever form it is found racism is profoundly sinful, evil and wrong. There was a rather feeble attempt to try and justify the Big Brother onslaught by asking whether it was "Classist" rather than "Racist" - what nonsense.  The outburst we saw on television was shocking, ugly and terrible.  Acres of newsprint and hours of news coverage devoted themselves to this issue in an unprecedented fashion.  Questions were asked of the Prime Minister in the House of Commons.  The Chancellor of the Exchequer's visit to India was dogged and overshadowed by the issue.  The whole event was rather uncomfortable because some thought that it held up a mirror to our society which showed a rather disagreeable and unpleasant cultural reflection.  We must ask ourselves some unsettling questions - who are we, what are our prejudices?  Scapegoating is as old as the Old Testament itself there is a danger that Jade Goody is simply denigrated as a scapegoat, sacrificially stripped of her celebrity to make oblation and satisfaction for the sins of society.  Jade's comments and actions were wrong but so too are others who today will utter falsehood, manipulate, bully or allow their anger to diminish their humanity.

The most dangerous mirror that we can encounter is Christ.  He is the one who shows us who it is that God has called us to be, the one who shows us who God is.  He is the one who reflects his light into the darkest of places.  Soon, we shall be going with him once more along the Via Dolorosa - the road of suffering, as we think again about his Passion.  I cannot but recall that it was a black man - Simon of Cyrene who was conscripted to assist the Saviour in bearing his cross to dark Calvary.  I also think of those rather ridiculous Victorian stained glass windows which are to be found in so many English parish churches which depict Jesus as a white man with blonde hair.  The Saviour whom I worship and follow was incarnate with Middle-Eastern olive coloured skin - He is the icon whom I love and follow - not some airbrushed celebrity with a fake façade - He is God made man, may His reflection show me who I truly am.

Every Blessing,

FATHER DAVID