Remaining faithful

That most beautiful bird of lake and river, the swan, usually pairs for life though in exceptional circumstances, such as the death of a partner, they may take a new mate. Magnificent in their passage through water, majestic in take-off and flight, the swan is indeed a bird of power and grace.

We are faithful in many ways and every instance of being faithful has counter stories of our failure to live up to the challenge. Being perfect is not a reality in our human journey. We might aspire to some high ideals but only rarely do we achieve them and the consequent knocks on the way can be painful.

Many of us in an idle moment have made our choice of music for a possible exile on a desert island - the BBC radio programme ‘Desert Island discs’ is still popular after many years of transmission.

One who would enter my own selection would be the American singer, Bruce Springsteen. Not only do I enjoy his voice and the music of the E-street band, but I also respect his faithfulness to his roots. Many artists attain celebrity and forget where they came from. Springsteen's lyrics are still closely tied to his New Jersey, blue-collar upbringing. There is no way that he has sold-out, in spite of huge acclaim.

I am sure you can think of others who have been constant to a person or an ideal, often encountering hardship as a result. Remaining faithful was an evident struggle for the apostles and disciples. They were challenged by the demands of the teaching they received from Jesus the Nazarene, caught out time and again by their lack of faith. The storm on the lake when, in fear, they woke the sleeping Lord to quell the waves as well as Peter trying to walk on the water, only to cry out that he was drowning, are two such instances. On another occasion when Jesus foretold the gift of the Eucharist, we are told many found this too much and left his company.

When there is real difficulty and the challenge to leave is placed firmly before us, the question that each of us must ask is the same as that of Peter, "Where do we go?"

Remaining true to principle demands a willingness to experience a rough ride. Political activity, religious conviction, honest writing exposes us to challenge, ridicule and engagement. You must accept the consequences that arise from personal integrity.

The path of non-violence espoused by Ghandi, practiced and preached by Martin Luther King, taught and lived by men such as Oscar Romero and countless others whose names are unknown, is a path that Christians are called to follow.

Harder still, when the critical comment and restraint comes from those we regard as brothers and sisters on the journey. Recently mention has been made of Teilhard de Chardin, the great French Jesuit and palaeontologist. Banned from publishing in his life time, his work is now seen as being seminal to late 20th century Christian thought.

In spite of being rejected, he remained faithful to his Master and his religious order. Many others have experienced that same darkness and remained faithful to the only home they knew.

Faithfulness in marriage often faces stress that is unsettling, whether it arises from financial insecurity, emotional anxiety or the social pressure that it is our lot to bear. In many ways it is a miracle that so many marriages survive the onslaught they experience. The lyrics of the Simon and Garfunkel song, the Boxer, spell out the huge pressure facing young people approaching their adult years. It opens with these words.

I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told,
I have squandered my resistance for a pocket full of mumbles, such are promises, all lies and jests; still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.

When I left my home and my family I was no more than a boy
in the company of strangers, in the quiet of the railway station
running scared, laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters
where the ragged people go, looking for the places only they would know.

So we continue on our journey, aware that the pressure to remain faithful is a burden that others share with us. The time taken to listen, the pause taken in a busy day to make a phone call or the gentle hug to ease the pain of upset, are all so important. We can only share who we are, for without personal integrity there is little that will last. Returning to Springsteen and two lines from his classic song ‘Thunder Road’

"Don't turn me home again, I just can't face myself alone again".

Being alongside someone is about remaining faithful.

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