DEAD RIGHT

Our sermon today was based on the reading from Sirach – a eulogy to Elijah and Elisha, stalwarts of their time and comparable to none.  Their conduct was blameless and their exploits legendary.  And they did what they did for God alone. Who could hope to match them? 

The priest reminded us of the eulogies we hear at funerals – all good and sometimes even better than the person we remember.  He asked us if we would be able to live up to our eulogies and then set us an exercise.  He told us to write our own – everything we would want said about us – and then check and see if we were living up to our better selves!!

So, how do I want to be remembered? First as having a sense of humour – definitely that!  To be able to laugh (with a little bit of the ribald thrown in) and make others laugh with you is to me priceless.  Second, as being punctual because punctuality is a mark of respect and time is precious. An inbuilt military upbringing has taken care of that.  Third, a caring heart – that’s a toughie.  Because it means sharing yourself even when you don’t want to share.  Genuine caring is never selective. And fourth – making a difference for the better.  What other reason do we have for being here? That’s a tough ask too.

If I were to be honest – as eulogies are sometimes not – I would need to put a curb on a critical tongue, impatience and ‘justified’ anger.  I grew up being measured against the better achievers and have inherited the attitude.  Some legacies are best surrendered.

I love being my own person, so I won’t change that – who cares what other people will say! If I choose to serenade on a full moon night, I will. I once joined in a midnight barking contest with the street dogs – it puzzled them no end (I was dead sober)!! Oh yes – eccentricity is one more thing that I would love to be remembered for.

Now that that’s off my chest, I can rest in peace.  By the way, I love coloured flowers. Ditch the white.

From as far back as I can remember, I have loved St Peter.  He was a big, burly fisherman with foot in mouth disease who loved Jesus at first imperfectly and then so wholeheartedly that he died for Him.  Peter was totally human and he is the rock on which my church is built - the stuff of legend.

My fascination with Peter grew through reading and movies: The Big Fisherman, The Shoes of the Fisherman (this was more about a Pope in the mould of Peter than Peter himself).  Both books and movies were epic; they fuelled imagination already coloured by Biblical accounts.  How could I resist one more narrative linked to Peter, linked to my faith and one that promised a really good read?  I bought the book by John O’Neill, settled into a comfortable chair and blocked all distractions.

The book is really well written in clear and readable prose, and adheres to the best journalistic principles of providing, upfront, the ‘Who, What, Why, When, Where and How’.  The pace is easy – neither fast nor slow.  One does not have to move back to go forward and it is totally factual (annotated as well); there is no room for doubt about veracity.  If there is one problem that I had it is that there is too much repetition – identical statements and phrases – sometimes even in consecutive paragraphs, much like a favourite family elder repeating stories, forgetting that they have been told before.  Once is forgivable, more is not. A proofing oversight?

It is historical in that it traces back to 1939 but could only be told now because Pope Francis provides the end note.  It also gives an inside view to the functioning of the Vatican – both happy and appalling: humanity at its very best and clericalism at its very worst.  Strangely – or, perhaps typically – it is the individual personality that typifies both. There are those who spent their lives in exemplary faith and those who arrogated power to themselves in the worst possible way.  And, at the same time, it is the story of the foundation and amazing growth of our faith, built upon the ‘Rock’.

Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) who have published the book, have also provided an online interview with the author.  His concluding remark is worth attention:

“…it (the book) gives you the ability to see physical relics from the first and second centuries. With the wave of secularism that is overwhelming the world, people want to treat people like Peter as though they never existed, as though it’s all a fairy tale or Santa Claus story. Just go look under the Vatican. It’s not a Santa Claus story. They really did exist. Peter really was killed in Rome, and there were a lot of really brave people who prayed to him, who sacrificed their lives to transmit this great faith down to us in the 21st century.”

Find the interview here: https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/Article/TabId/563/ArtMID/13751/ArticleID/24487/Finding-%E2%80%98The-Fisherman%E2%80%99s-Tomb%E2%80%99.aspx

TITAN HAS MOST DEFINITELY LOST ITS EDGE

Boosted as the ultra slim watch from Titan – truly world class, unmistakably Titan – it did not come cheap.  But it did come from a brand that had served me well for the best part of twenty years. Unfortunately, this time the brand did NOT live up to its name.

To know the whole story, we have to go back to the beginning.

As a Tata employee, I received Preference Shares when Titan was floated.  Those Preference Shares got me a discount to purchase products from Titan, which I dutifully did.  Result? Some really good wristwatches and Time Pieces for hubby, home and me.  The Time Pieces were phased out and so were the spare parts and when they stopped working, they made the trip to the junkyard where worn out timepieces go. 

The wristwatches have done duty for many a year, without a glitch and only the mandatory battery change.

Now comes the ‘edge’.  This model was a little out of budget but I succumbed – after all it was a Titan and over the years it would be paisa vasool.  Unfortunately, just two years on – and just outside the guarantee period – it stopped working.  Time for a battery change, or so I thought.  While waiting in line, the previous customer, who also came in for a battery change, was told that her watch needed a new motherboard!  I commiserated with her.  It was expensive.  Then I was told the same thing!!  My watch which I had used so carefully and caringly also needed a new motherboard.

A very expensive watch is now costing me money instead of living up to its price.

Shame on you Titan.  You sold me a lie!