VERSION|0.5.1|SUBJECT|Rev Dr Giles Fraser - Grumpy Ex-Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral |CONTENT|[b]Rating[/b] 3 out of 5 (Fairly platitudinous)

[url=http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap130102.html][img=images/2013/01/pic130102.jpg popup=false float=right][/url]The new year is like a blank exercise book: all pristine and empty, holding forth the promise of new exercises, full of high marks and praises from the teacher. But just as the new year quickly begins to tarnish, so too does the exercise book of fate, rapidly becoming dog eared and full of doodles.

Christianity teaches us that we cannot become a new person. As Nicodemus wisely pointed out in Saint John's Gospel, "How can I return my exercise book to mint condition? I cannot remove all trace of my doodles, nor can I straighten out its corners to their once glorious state of perfection."

It is a mistake to believe that the exercise book of life can be restored to its former manufacturer's glory, fresh from the printing press, unblemished by scribbles in the corners. We must learn to forgive the poor marks that the geography teacher gave us and move on. Likewise, geography teachers must learn to forgive the rude picture drawn of them or the depressing caricature painted of them on their pupils' Facebook pages.

Forgiveness is the key to putting the past behind us, to obtaining a clean exercise book in which to begin afresh. Let us resolve therefore to forgive, and to begin our new exercise book, with it's fresh, empty pages and it's neat parallel lines with the beautiful red margin.

[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0138g7t]Listen/Read[/url]|CATEGORIES|55,37|IP-ADDRESS|94.168.119.214|CREATEDBY|admin|DATE|1357117426
