Thought for the Day

Good morning. The appearance of a special planetary parade at the weekend was eclipsed by the coverage of the intense military operations in the Middle East that began on Saturday. But, it reminded me of an extraordinary astronomical alignment recorded by sages in India some millennia ago; seen then as an ominous portent of social and spiritual trends they believed would unfold in the times to come. Some of these seem prescient, or at least indicative, of persistent human psychology. They included warnings that wealth, not character, will confer status. To be poor will be seen as unholy. The law will be defined by power. Trade will thrive on deceit. Hypocrisy will become a virtue and audacity accepted as truthfulness.
The sages foresaw that ordinary citizens would have to bear the resulting injustice and hardship. In response the most valued Vedic texts were compiled to re-balance such corrupting tendencies.
For instance, the Bhagavad-gita describes that when we fear our interests or security might be frustrated or taken away, we behave irrationally, often lashing out in anger for revenge or retribution. The Gita cautions that this is a daily challenge for each of us. It says we must apply measured discriminative intelligence rather than act on our emotions, fears and bias
Carl Jung made a similar point: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” The world is watching closely as events develop in the Middle East. Despite being shrewdly orchestrated by intense military analysis and coordination, will the result, as Jung said, seem like fate? A result that can neither be predicted, nor planned.
The Gita asks us all to rise above emotional reactivity; and to act in wisdom, free from the belief that unless things go completely our way, there can be no acceptable result or compromise.
Today, there is a special observance in my Vaishnava tradition; the commemoration of the birth in 1486 of Sri Caitanya, a powerful social and spiritual reformer. In one of his most cited statements, he rejects being associated with any divisive identity of caste, communal or religious affiliation. Rather, he says, I wish to be known simply as the servant of the servant of that God who serves all those who are innocent, oppressed and who have no other shelter to deliver them from fear and want in this world. I pray that it will be measured conscious wisdom, and not unconscious fate, that delivers a welcome outcome to the current conflict.

Good Morning
Viewed from the comfort of our kitchens and living rooms, global conflict can all too readily resemble a twisted form of spectator sport. Commentators describe the flow of action, their remarks interspersed by expert analysts, who seek to clarify exactly what has happened whilst offering opinions as to what might next ensue. As news about the Israeli and American attacks on Iran began to break on Saturday morning, I found myself drawn into speculation about possible military and political outcomes. Who might win and who would lose. Would the UK be drawn into the conflict, and if so how?
It being a Saturday in Lent, later that morning I joined my wife in her church for a seasonal practice known as Stations of the Cross. Helen, the priest leading our devotions, invited us to reflect on each of fourteen traditional images. These mark successive moments in Jesus’s journey, from when he’s condemned to death to the laying of his body in the tomb. The reflection jolted me out of spectator-mode and reminded me that ….. Whatever the political outcomes of events in and around Iran may be, ….. the cost in human suffering, in lives destroyed, in minds and bodies left permanently maimed, will be immense.
My thoughts turned to the many Iranian Christians I’ve come to know and admire, and who are active members of my churches here in Manchester. I doubt if any of them will be mourning the death of the leader of a regime that has brutally ruled their homeland for almost half a century. But many have family members and friends still in Iran, whose lives are now at heightened risk. I thought too, of the Jewish community who live in the streets surrounding my home in Salford. Alongside their heightened fears for loved ones in Israel, they know all too well, in the aftermath of the recent terrorist attack on Heaton Park Synagogue, that actions of the Israeli government can expose them to reprisals here at home.
The Stations of the Cross remind me that even as Jesus journeys, literally, to Hell and back, there are moments of comfort and consolation, where humanity breaks through the horror. Simon of Cyrene helps carry Christ’s cross, Veronica takes up a cloth to wipe blood and sweat from his face. Both saw something more than the political machinations that were manoeuvring Jesus to his death. They focused, rather, on the human being caught in the centre of the suffering. As events continue to unfold across our screens and airwaves, we cannot avoid politics, but we can, perhaps, follow their example, refuse to be mere spectators and keep the need for human compassion in response to human suffering at the forefront of our thoughts.

Good morning!
It seems like everyone’s at it - Muslims, Christians, and soon Jews will be too. Don’t be alarmed - I’m talking about fasting. On Ash Wednesday, some Christians began fasting for Lent, which can involve giving up certain foods. This week Jews will observe the Fast of Esther confirming what the Qur’ān says that it’s not just Muslims who fast, but so do others.
My wife and I, like many Muslims have the mammoth task of waking everyone up at 4 o’clock for suhūr - the pre-dawn breakfast as we prepare to fast from dawn until sunset. No food and drink in between, and yes, not even water. At sunset families, friends and neighbours get together for iftār - the breaking of the fast. It’s a joyful time uniting everyone – you don’t have to be Muslim to get involved.This Ramadān I was invited to JW3, the Jewish centre in London. Lanterns and flowers adorned the tables, bunting saying Ramadān Mubārak hung from the ceiling.. It was a wonderful time to meet old friends and make new ones. It renewed my hope for peaceful coexistence as we learn about one another to cultivate mutual respect.
As we said our goodbyes, many Jews came and appreciated my talk and said how much it spoke to them also. They delighted in our similarities
The Qur’ān says that the purpose of fasting is to help us become God consciousness, pious, righteous and God-fearing. The spiritual dimension of fasting is most important. The fasting of the tongue - not to backbite, lie or swear. The fasting of the ears and eyes - see no evil, hear no evil. Seeking purity of the mind and cleansing of the heart from hate, anger, revenge and all the spiritual ills and replacing them with goodness, love and forgiveness. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that God is not in need of our hunger and thirst, but He’s after our piety. Many a fasting person gains no spiritual benefit from their fast except the pain of hunger and thirst, he warned.
During the day, I sometimes find myself all alone in the house, but I don’t go and help myself to a sip of water or a secret bite because I know that although my family may not be around to catch me, God is watching. Like speed cameras and CCTV make me try my best to be on the right side of the law so should my awareness of God’s presence prevent me from doing any wrong for I will have to answer to Him.

According to Professor Hannah Fry, people’s lives are enriched by artificial intelligence. It makes problem-solving easier, helps medical diagnosis, and can improve productivity. Yet as she points out in her new BBC2 documentary, AI Confidential, there are risks: that jobs will be lost to AI; that we might lose the bedside care that comes with human diagnosis as machine intelligence takes over.
She also warns AI provides what she calls emotional junk food that demands nothing of us, by offering AI romantic partners. And then there’s tech grief, highlighted in a recent EastEnders storyline, when video and voice notes are used to create an avatar of a dead character to console his father. Real mourning is put on hold.
But it seems to me there’s another risky aspect of AI – that it rewrites temptation. Temptation is traditionally thought to be about testing will-power. Take Lent and Ramadan, currently being observed by Christians and Muslims. If a Muslim fasting all day has a little snack at lunchtime, or a Christian giving up sweets for Lent, eats chocolate, they’ve failed in their discipline.
But AI is a different, and remarkable tempter, encouraging people not to fail in some way but take the easier option that in some ways seems sensible.
Why read a book, for example, when AI can give you a quick summary, or make the effort to cook for dinner guests when AI can help locate a fancy restaurant in seconds and order a takeaway. And instead of the regret that comes from conventional temptation, AI offers something else. It’s all too easy to console yourself that you have done something good. You’ve saved time. The easy option has advantages.
The Desert Fathers – early Christian thinkers who retreated to the desert – did so because they believed a hard life was good for them. They believed it brought them closer to God. And with temptation, even if you give in to it but then regret it you can grow as a person by learning something about yourself.
Pope Leo who has expressed concern about the impact of AI on humanity has now urged priests to resist the temptation to use the short cut of AI to write sermons. AI might be clever, but there’s something lacking in AI preaching: it doesn’t come from the heart.
Perhaps this Lent and Ramadan, it might be worth not only giving up something that tests our will, but pondering something that appears helpful yet is temptation on another scale, reducing our need to think. After all, as Descartes said, I think, therefore I am. What am I, if machines have seduced me to do so much less thinking for myself?

Good Morning.
I’m enjoying the warmer weather this week, and in London atleast, a bit of sun. However as we begin to dry out, there is one weather story you may have missed. Today and yesterday a plume of red-tinged Saharan dust is blowing across the United Kingdom in the high reaches of our sky, as reported by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS for short.).
This is apparently not uncommon for this time of year, even if it can lead to what the over-dramatic among us call a ‘blood rain,’ actually just a dusty residue left on our cars and windows when the sun finally appears. I remember the last one in March of 2022. Today this plume of dust is likely to lead only to a more vibrant sunset for those of us with clear skies.
And the so-called ‘blood rain’ is a completely normal, if not everyday thing – no need to run to doom scrolling or talk of ‘portents of judgment’. That said, people living in times of difficulty have always looked for signs not least in unusual cosmic events. In the Gospel according to Matthew in chapter 16, Jesus addressed this directly: ‘…You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.’ He meant signs that were more social than meteorological.
His further point was that we shouldn’t be distracted by the sensational from what is right in front of us. Listening to the news I have become so taken up with scandalous abuse of power and the offence of some world leaders using racial epithets or national slurs, that I fail to see other ‘signs of the times’ closer to home: the continuing high cost of housing, or lack of access to timely care, the background anxiety that seems to make our day to day interactions more fraught – and my complacency in the face of these. There are other signs as well, of hope however tenuous: a child learning to read or sing or play an instrument, people willing still to give time to volunteer or vote or help a neighbour. These matter too.
In an 18th century sermon John Wesley spoke about the power each of us has over our attention. He said God ‘…made you free agents; …you have sufficient light shining all around you; …be assured God is not well pleased with your shutting your eyes and then saying, "I cannot see."
So today, as the red dust plume moves over our heads, maybe we can take back control of our attention, to see signs of hope as well as harm and heed them both.