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WHY IS THE CRIB STILL THERE?

The Very Revd June Osborne, Dean (Wednesday 3rd January 2007)

It’s tempting to describe January as a quiet month, a time to recover from the excesses of Christmas and to hibernate in the face of deep winter. The inhospitable January weather keeps most of us indoors, grateful for the comforts and shelter of our homes. Superficially it might appear that the same is true in the Cathedral. There are no grand concerts and very few visitors about. However, behind the scenes there is plenty going on and this month finds us catching up and planning ahead. In the Cathedral itself the new lighting scheme is moving along towards completion. The fabric department has scheduled the electricians and fitters for this time so that their essential work might disrupt as little as possible. The visitors department is producing new leaflets and gearing up for the holiday months. The finance department is preparing budgets so that the Chapter can make clear sighted decisions about the priorities of the year ahead. Every department is contributing to ‘Faith in the Future’ so that in the course of the year we can publish the what? when? and how much? of our future planning. All these practical endeavours arise out of what is going on in the worship of the Cathedral at this time of year. The Sarum rite, the pattern of worship which Salisbury bequeathed to the medieval church in Europe, had a very particular approach to the month of January. It extended our celebration of God’s coming among us from Christmas right through this month. We believe God shares our life and that extraordinary fact isn’t just demonstrated in Christ’s birth. In Church we enact stories rich with meaning but all lead us back to that profoundly simple reality: God is with us. So those in our offices or workshops are themselves demonstrating that God doesn’t only inhabit sacred sites or religious ceremonies. His wish is to be known in the very fabric of our existence, in the plans we make, the priorities we set, the quality of relationships we build. It probably seems odd to many that we keep the crib in the centre of our life long after Christmas has gone. We do it to hold on to a Sarum tradition, and to remind ourselves that God inhabits the very texture of our life.

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