Cathedrals and Sunsets
Last week I was on holiday and I had the chance to visit Lincoln Cathedral.
I’ve been before as a child and although back then I will have marvelled at its grandeur, I probably learned little of the history.
Lincoln Cathedral - too big to fit it all in!
I didn’t learn much this time round as the tour guide was softly spoken and competing with rehearsals for a local college’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (I’ve been singing I close my eyes… ever since)
A few odd facts that have filtered through into my brain are:-
the surname Palmer comes from the name given to paid pilgrims,
getting down to brass tacks is a reference to the nails left behind when the brass was removed from graves stones on the floor
and a fact specific to Lincoln Cathedral – there was once a terrible organist called Mr Mud and this is where the saying “his name is Mud” comes from. Although the guide said an American tourist once disputed this and Wikipedia is apparently unsure!
I guess learning two and a half new facts are better than none.
And the place is stunning, how they built these places back in the day is nothing short of remarkable. The attention to detail in every carved piece of stone and wood is exquisite and we are lost many of the skills, or maybe they are just not valued in this day and age. Fashions come and go and the ornate gothic style of this period is no longer in style.
Grand and imposing
Grand cathedrals were built to the glory of God, although I have no doubts that money, greed, status, and prestige came somewhere in the mix.
I’m not sure I personally met God in the splendour of the building that day. God is far more expansive and cannot be boxed in, even into the largest Cathedral. The most amazing architecture pales into insignificance to the magnificent sunsets I watched in the evenings.
As God shone in all the pinky golden hues, I positioned myself to take photos and somehow capture a hint of glory on my phone. Framing it for my delight.
wispy clouds and golden skies
On reflection I think I have much in common with the builders of the cathedrals than I originally thought, even since I started writing this blog post – back then they used the stone, the skills, and the creativity they had available to worship God.
In the same way I use my phone to reflect the beauty I can see around me.
And the young people singing that day expressed themselves in their own way.
We can find God in all of it, art, music, photography, writing, if we only take time to stop, look, listen, and wonder.
weeds in a wheat field