And so another football season draws to it close, this Sunday (24th) with the last round of games of the Premiership. Some matters have been decided, but not all; glory or dejection still await the supporters of Spurs and West Ham, Bournemouth and Brighton. I am basking in Manchester Utd finishing 3rd and qualifying for the Champion's League (despite playing awful football until the manager was replaced); Aston Villa finally wining a trophy after a 30 year hiatus, Kidderminster Harriers getting promotion. Who knows what glory awaits with World Cup in June/July? And yet, come August, none of it will matter as a new season starts with probable misery and dejection at the end. That is the glory of sport; it can uplift, it can give memories that will not fade, but ultimately, none of the results actually matter. It is all a game and there will always be another coming up. But for followers of sport such as myself, what does matter is the camaraderie and the spirit, the ability to applaud excellence whenever I see it. Perhaps in this there is something close to the generous spirit of the Kingdom of God?
I am sometimes greeted with surprise when people find that I am a vicar and also a scientist. Around 20 years ago, some prominent scientists did try to take on religion but their arguments soon faded, not least because they often attacked ideas of God that few people of faith hold. When I attend scientific meetings to give talks or present data, I always wear my clerical collar. I rarely get a second glance, although some people have thanked me for openly displaying my faith, most recently at a meeting where I spoke in Zurich. Science and faith should not be in conflict if they remember they are asking different questions. Science is a way of looking at the natural world and understanding how it works. It cannot say much useful about the existence and nature of God, because God is above and beyond the natural world. Scientific methods do not work when we encounter the spiritual; that is when we must listen to our souls as they respond to mystery.