St George of Lydda

St George's Day. 23rd April, 2020

To my astonishment I used my old iPad to google St George this morning. I am a technophobe and usually a book man but lock down has restricted my access to libraries. Also I am beginning to realise the Internet has a vast accessibility ( so long as my wifi works, my computer skills hold up and the iPad functions: I am so suspicious of it all but the dinosaur stirs!) to stores of knowledge, fact, opinion, scholarship etc. I am rightly worried by AI but especially, in this case, by whether the facts are false or not...a much discussed topic of today. How do I check? Also I am concerned with laziness to which I am prone. A friend has an "Alexa" machine from which he tells me a prim lady gives him a 90 percent rate of answers to his questions: he tells me he has grown lazier. 

Researching, if that is the right word, St George I read a vast range of opinions, semi historical references and myths, legends, scholastic papers and other contributions about this George of Lydda. His standing and cult changed over the centuries and additions and accretions grew. Lists of miracles and stories of his intervention poured in to the frame over the centuries and decades If I recall accurately even in this century he has been sited as a miracle worker. 

Two particular personal points attract me to St George. I know Cappadocia and love the land and the people so I am biased in favour of a man from that region. Also in the history it is claimed that not only Christians but Moslems and Jews also revere him. A man, a myth that can unite believers from those creeds is indeed a miracle worker. 

My point is not about Internet access or personal prejudice but about role models. I am a man who needs heroes and role models galore. I draw energy, inspiration, compatriotism from them as well as the desire to try to emulate them. Of course to see courage in another does not automatically cause one to be courageous, models are not necessarily infectious, but it informs me that courage is a possibility, a reality and a goodly virtue to copy.

I have many heroes and heroines living and dead. I look back across my life and note those who have inspired me and given me a pattern of life I consider worthy of emulation. I had two remarkable parents: from my Father I learned integrity and the value of silence, from my Mother the virtues of loving action, especially for the down trodden, and a generosity of heart and inclusivity. They had faults, were not perfect, merely the best. 

Going on in life I had huge admiration for my house master at school, a monk of deep holiness and compassion, for a particular lecturer at University who introduced me to critical thinking and an appreciation of beauty and consideration. Then the various friends and public figures as well as people I met in my work and daily round of life. If I met a particularly esteemed hero I found I was never disappointed even if I saw flaws in their character. The human frailty made them even more heroic: almost as if one was given the chance, the invitation to be heroic oneself with ones many faults. If they had overcome flaws so could I. 

At present in this pandemical  time society has created heroes of the frontline NHS staff, of volunteers, of those keeping the necessities of life moving.

This creation has reminded us of so many virtues worthy of emulation: self sacrifice, hard work, the risk of illness and disease for another, consideration of others before ones own comfort and safety and also the professionalism and skills put to right use. 

The farmer, the flour grinder, the salesman, the bakery, the seller of bread is a line of heroic figures often forgotten and not always appreciated.

What of St George?

I appreciate his Patronage of the Country and peoples I admire and respect namely England and the English. I appreciate the stories and myths that tell me of his courage and of his preparedness to be martyred for his principles and for the God in whom he believed. I appreciate, whether true or not, his considered action in history, his miracles, his inspiration, his holiness. 

Of course St George himself was inspired by his belief in Jesus of Nazareth. Thus I too look to the inspirer of St George and note that I too am enamoured of this man, his teachings and his life. I am especially enamoured and inspired by his underlining of the one Commandment.....to love.

"Go and do likewise" as he said. 

#stgeorge #cappadocia #lydda #nhs #keyworkers #gratitude #virtues #selfsacrifice #emulatiton #compatriotism #heroes #rolemodels