O’er each continent and island
1 Mar 2017 • Articles
O’er each continent and island
Author: Geoffrey Lowson
A while ago I heard a lovely programme on the radio. In short, the presenter recalled his grandmother telling him that Spring moves north at walking pace, and so he decided to test this out. He left Bournemouth as the first daffodils began to bloom and walked north in the hope that he would enjoy daffodils all the way to John O’Groats.
Depending upon how fast you walk, quite steadily in this case, his grandmother was more or less right! Spring moves north at the rate of 16 miles per day plus an extra day for each 100ft above sea level. What a delightful notion – enjoying daffodils all the way from Bournemouth to John O’Groats!
One of my favourite hymns is ‘The day thou gavest Lord is ended’. There is not space here to quote the hymn, but it expresses the sentiment that, as the world turns, ‘o’er each continent and island’, there is always someone somewhere beginning the day with a hymn of praise; there is always someone somewhere saying their midday prayers; there is always someone somewhere saying Compline.
I find that a powerful image, particularly because for 21 years I worked for the mission agency USPG and so knew and could visualise acquaintances in many corners of the world.
As with the daffodils, there is a wave of prayer and praise which, in theory anyway, one could follow around the world.
So often today regular worship can be neglected. There is always something more urgent to do; busy lives mean that Sunday is the only day for a bit of family time or indeed the only day to catch up with household chores. Giving time for worship is difficult and I fully understand and appreciate that.
But worship is never-the-less important. It is the one thing we can offer to God that is of our very self. Sometimes at church we say ‘All things come from you O God and of your own do we give you.’ The blessings we have, even the gifts and talents we offer others, come from God. What we can offer God from deep within ourselves is worship. Furthermore, scripture reminds of the duty of worship. ‘Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name… Come before him. Worship the Lord in holy splendour’ (1 Chron 16.29). However, if you have not managed to say your prayers yet today, don’t worry too much. Someone in the world will be saying them for you. And if you have not seen any daffodils yet, don’t worry. Someone else will have done and you know they are coming, albeit at walking pace.