The photos above are from a couple different visits to York Minster Cathedral, probably my favorite place on earth. One time, as you can see from the photos above, we were on the rooftop, taking photos of the swirling snowflakes.
Although the photos are of York Minster (because I've not yet visited Lichfield), the following excerpt is from the book, For All God's Worth, by N.T. Wright. Writing about Lichfield Cathedral, where he was dean at the time, he said,
"...let's get hold of one thing: St. Chad did not come to Lichfield to tell people that if they were already good enough God would be happy to have them on his side. The eighth-century Lichfield Gospels, which we treasure in the cathedral, were not lovingly illuminated because they said that if the people of God were without blemish then God would bring in his kingdom. No. The reason why Chad came to Lichfield, and the reason why an ancient scribe lavished such craftsmanship on those priceless pages, is quite simply that the message in those Gospels is even more priceless: the message, that is, that the true God takes our brokenness and in Christ makes us new; that he picks up the pieces of our life, yes, even of our muddled attempts to follow him, and sticks them together again in a new way; that he heals those who are broken in heart, and gives the medicine to heal their sickness; that he promises new life, resurrection life, beyond all our sickness and death. To celebrate precisely here is to celebrate not the wonderful achievements of the church but the healing power of God to build his church with battered and broken building-blocks, including people like you and me. Celebration and healing; it is all God's work.:"
Have a blessed Lord's Day.
