The Pendulum never stops

On Friday evening I found myself at the Tate Modern's new exhibition in the Turbine Hall. The normally vast and largely empty space has been filled with a gigantic playground of swings, all adult sized. To the forefront of this play area, is a metal ball pendulum, swinging back and forth with a faint swish marking the relentless passing of time.

On our occasional visits to art exhibitions with children in tow, I have got used to not reading the explanations of said works of art. This time I stood even less chance. They eagerly embarked upon swinging back and forth, mirroring in miniature the pendulum. After a while they tired and we all went and lay on the vibrantly coloured carpet admiring the reflections caused by the changing people on the floor. The swinging of time a constant, only the changing masses of people causing the art to be always unique. As I lay, slightly hypnotized by the pendulum I contemplated how we pass our time. Can we as adults pass our time with a child like innocence? Do we allow ourselves the time to asses  where we are, where we are going? Do we make time to listen to the silence? Do we listen to the voice of God in our Lives? Or do we constantly rush around, so we do not notice the constant swish of time and before we know it our clock has stopped.

The passage of time happens whether we want it to or not. It marches constantly on, never am I reminded of this more than when I walk along the route of a pilgrimage. The footsteps of people, their many reasons always unique, always different but still the pathway followed throughout the passages of time the same. The culmination of the journey always the same, us reaching out to Christ aiming to deepen our relationship with him. What once may have been an eroded muddy path constantly walked on by bare feet or sandals, is now invariably a hardened surface most commonly walked on by modern shoes. The numbers over the years may have swelled and dwindled, only for their numbers to rise again with time. But these places still stand, the roads to them still exist and many still walk to them contemplating their place in the continuity of the Christian Faith.

When walking a pilgrimage it is easy to feel daunted by the sheer number of people who have come before you and those who will come after. Each one of us a tiny,molecule in the vastness of Christian history. What difference can one make, when some many others can and do make such world changing differences. It is easy to forget that the simple things change the world too, starting with the Mass. Each and every Mass that is said changes the world bit by bit. Each sacrifice brings God closer to us. So it is too, with every act of kindness, generosity, tolerance, charity and prayer.We change the world for the better, maybe not on a global scale but locally we do. Each person who comes to faith through our actions, our kindness, our Christian example can  go on to change the world. Then action by action we can start to change the world into a better more Christian place.