World Cup Blogs 8: Denmark

Should England not do well - I can hardly believe I used 'should' there, as if there is some doubt - a decent option (historically speaking) is to transfer support to Denmark.  It's been awhile but there was a time when England and Denmark had the same King.  More accurately, what is now England was then the Danelaw and subject to the Danish throne.  That was King Canute (Danish: Knut).  He famously sat on the beach to show that, for all his power, he could not hold back the incoming tide.

Denmark remains a monarchy, and other Danish kings have had pause for thought about their limitations too.  Here's the Marble Church (Frederik's Church) in the royal district in Copenhagen, a picture from my most recent visit to the city.  Marble, but made largely of limestone - not enough cash available you see.  It isn't just the tide that earthly kings cannot control.

Over its entrance is written 1 Peter 1:25, The Word of the Lord endures for ever.  How good it is to remember that our passing lives are lived in the context of something that will be as true when we die as it was when we were born.  

This church also speaks of other monarchical frailties.  It was opened about 125 years ago.  This means that it has currently been open for fewer years than it took to build!  Lack of funds and effort meant it was 150 years from foundation stone to opening.  It is a monument to what the Word of a King cannot do - except the King of kings.

Unfortunately we look in vain for a Biblical prophecy of English sporting success . . .  150 years perhaps?

Copenhagen

As the United Nations Climate Change Conference descends gently and inevitably into inter-nation political squabbling, we can only pity those unpolitical scientists who claimed this was the 'most important conference in the history of the world.'

Bombs in Baghdad have simultaneously reminded us that Climate Change takes an early back seat when power takes over. Especially power expressed in war and violence. Tanks running on biofuel? Eco-friendly bombs delivered by low energy bombers? Nuclear warheads that preserve rare species? Dolphin-friendly depth charges?

This is the kind of Conference that only happens in peace time. It has laudable aims but there will come future days and places when human beings are so busy trying to kill each other that the fate of delicate ecosystems will be the last thing on their minds.

The chief planetary problem is in the heart of its dominant species. A heart that doesn't always seek peace, but always seeks more things for itself and its interests. The problem is more Greed than Green.

Christmas, because it points to how God changes souls, matters a lot more than Copenhagen. And the humblest conference, or Carol Service, that applies the lessons of Christ likely offers greater hope than any portentous gathering of the political elite. For we need the power to lay down the power, and that is a very illusive form of power indeed.