In my family, we are approaching the second anniversary of the death of a close family member. The death was not unexpected, I hasten to add, they had been ill for a long time. But I remember that before they died, we all lived in mournful anticipation of the inevitable while the family member was peaceful.

This was because they also had dementia, and while they still recognised us until the end, they had no memory of being ill, and no sense of fear for what was to come. They lived simply in the present.

That led me to wondering how much of the anxiety I feel about life and the world stems from my regret about events in the past that I can not change, and my fearful anticipation of a future that I can not control. Where if I focussed on today, the only time I actually have any control over, I might see a lot more good.

The Christian faith has a word for that kind of living in the present - the ancient Greek word “pistis”, which translates as trust and faithfulness, amongst other things. In following Jesus, we are invited to entrust ourselves to him, to lay down our past into his forgiveness and healing and to place our future into his care, so that we become free in the present to love our neighbour as we love ourselves and as we love God. Or, put slightly differently, as my German great-grandfather used to say, “We can complain about all the darkness in world, or we can get on with lighting a candle where we are.” So I think I will try to live a bit more pistis, to notice how I can love my neighbour as I love myself today. Perhaps you might like to join me.

Erik Peeters

Wakefield Cathedral