Introduction
There is an old joke in which one person instructs another to call him a cab (taxi), to which the response is ‘You’re a Cab!’. This week, in our Gospel passage, Nicodemus calls Jesus, ‘Teacher’, to which Jesus later responds, ‘You’re a teacher too!’ Both are identified as teachers and as such are expected to understand much about life and faith. We too, as descendants of Abraham and followers of Jesus, ought to be seeking a greater understanding about how we live faithfully in this world and travel responsibly through life. This week, our journey begins by hailing a taxi.
Context
The new London black cab has been spotted being tested in the Arctic Circle incognito. Despite camouflage it’s difficult to hide the identity of this design icon!
In an optimistic deal for the future of Vauxhall manufacturing in the UK, under new ownership, there is hope for 4,500 people working in the automotive industry.
A new series of BBC Top Gear drove onto our screens last Sunday with a road trip adventure across Kazakhstan in an old London Taxi.
In a week of coverage BBC News explores various problems caused by air pollution, including the effects of vehicle emissions: ‘so I can breathe’.
Reflection
Whilst many of us who live outside the city of London might bemoan the fact that if you asked visitors to the UK to think of something that is iconically ‘British’, many of their responses would focus on London – red London buses, the London Underground trains, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye – that list would inevitably include the infamous London black taxi cab.
I live and work in Coventry – a city that has long been associated with the automotive industry. The city might be seen to have lost much of this rich history over the years, as the industry seems to have declined. But the city is still a focus for much automotive innovation through the likes of Jaguar Landrover, two universities and the many supporting and research facilities in the surrounding area. Just one block away from my church is part of the London Taxi Company, one of several sites in the city which makes Coventry the home of the black cab.
The brand new design for the London taxi currently being tested may pay homage to its predecessors’ iconic silhouette, so is easily recognisable from many angles, but there is something very different about this new one. The noise. In short, there is very little of it. The new black cab is being hailed as taking a major leap forward in technology. Gone is the clattery old diesel engine, and in comes a new electric engine, supported by a small petrol motor. This is a brave letting-go of old modes of internal-combustion and an embracing of a new eco-friendly identity.
The black cab might be seen as a symbol of our right to travel freely, where we chose. But unlike the wind in John 3.8, we might no longer hear the sound of where it comes from or goes to, as our taxis embrace modern and cleaner fuels. Whilst we might argue over human arrogance in respect of our perceived right to drive where we want, when we want, at least we can now admit that we know better and are doing something to change things. John 3.17 tells us God doesn’t want to condemn the world, and presumably doesn’t want us to either. So, having faith in our God-given ingenuity, we can try to save this planet. The previous verse also tells us that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that by faith in him we (and this planet) shall not perish.
Psalm 121.1-2 reminds us that we only have to look to the hills, those glorious big bumpy works of creation, to see what God the Creator has gifted to all who share this planet. As we meander through the psalm to verse eight, we are reminded that God goes with us on our travels through life. The hymn which draws on the psalm, by Timothy Dudley-Smith, ‘I life my eyes to the quiet hills’, expands our horizons as we escape to those hills, not just to take in their visual beauty, but also their quiet. Which is hardly something that comes to mind when consider the sound of clattery diesel engines of London taxis of old!
In terms of our embracing our identity, Genesis 12.1-4a begs us to ask the question as to whether we are still the Great Britain we once thought we were? Many might respond, ‘Hopefully not!’, in a bid to escape romantic or nostalgic notions of ‘old empire’. Verse 4a begins: ‘So Abram went…’ If we are to move forward like Abram, we need to be ready to let go of the past and embrace new identity, as Jesus urged Nicodemus.
If Abraham and his descendants are promised that they will inherit the world (Romans 4.1-5,13-17), then we must do so by faith. Being true to that faith and to all who share this earth with us, we have the God-given responsibility to care for this planet. Do we understand these things? As we search for a new identity as a nation post Brexit, we must recognise our identity as descendants of Abraham and stewards of creation. Do we accept these things? Do we act upon them? If we are to put right so much of what has been blamed on Adam, we’ll need to follow in the footsteps of our iconic ancestor Abraham, who began that journey to put things right. Can we, by faith in God’s Spirit, accept that our actions can be a blessing to this world, rather than a curse. There will be things that in the past we may have assumed are part of our identity, but we need to set aside – especially those things which pollute this planet, such as our modes of transport. Maybe the eco-identity of the new black cab is a sign that we are travelling in the right direction. Taxi please…!
Prayer
A prayer of confession
Creator God,
you call us to travel with you.
Yet too often we fail to climb on board,
or to grasp the concepts you are teaching us.
With the multitude of teachings you offer us through the gospels
we should know better than most how to care for your creation.
Forgive us when we have driven rough-shod over this planet;
when its other inhabitants have become the road-kill of our arrogance;
when we allow finance to become an excuse for our poor environmental behaviour,
whether it be behind the wheel, in our homes or in our church buildings.
Help us to change;
to lift our eyes to those quiet hills;
to let go of that which hurts and scars your creation.
May we embrace what it means to travel in the footsteps of our ancestor, Abraham,
and accept our responsibility as stewards of creation.
Amen.
Questions
- How does the gospel passage prick your conscience about your methods of transport?
- What could you do differently to reduce your carbon footprint?
- In what ways do our churches need to be ‘born again from above’ in terms of our relationship with planet Earth?
Action
- Do a quick survey of how members of your congregation travel to and from church, or how they commute to work or travel to school. Are there more efficient and environmentally friendly ways to travel? What do you need to let go of and how can you embrace new modes of transport?
- Explore becoming an Eco Church (England and Wales) or Eco Congregation (Scotland). Take a look at Christian Aid & Tear Fund’s ‘Big Church Switch’ campaign What can your church do to embrace being better stewards of God’s creation and leading the way in your local community?
Young people
It could be said that our government, transport and automotive industries have long been holding back in accepting their responsibilities towards the environment in terms of our mobility. Taking into account all the technology and knowledge at your fingertips in this present age, how would you redesign our transport system in the United Kingdom? How would you design a car today, accepting that we should know better and must care for God’s creation? What principles do you want to see put in place?
Tim Lowe is a minister of the United Reformed Church, serving four churches in North Coventry. Tim is particularly in interested in using visual art forms as expressions of faith.
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