The Dome of the Rock of our salvation

  Julia and I went on holiday to Italy very soon after the terrible bombing incidents occurred in London. As we left, the impact of these events was still sinking in and the developing news stories of who had been responsible - and why - were beginning to seep out.
  Inevitably, Julia and I hovered around the news stands to glean, from the various international newspapers, what we could about continuing developments - only for us to be shocked again later by events in Egypt, a country we had visited not long ago.
  Apart from trying to understand the depth of motivation of those who were prepared to take the lives of others as well as their own, I was left wondering how the necessary trust and confidence between people can be rebuilt, how God's forgiveness and love and can shine through after such events.
  Then we visited Florence. There, we saw the famous eight-sided Dome over the Cathedral, built by Brunelleschi in 1434. The Dome not only dominates Florence's skyline, but it was also the first of its kind. Many people said that a dome of this scale could be never be built. Early models of it collapsed but, by using a new and untried technique of interconnected herringbone brickwork, the impossible was achieved, over-arching the massive space of the cathedral and housing the magnificent frescos of the Last Judgement.
  The Dome had been built, slowly and laboriously, one interconnecting brick at a time.
  We climbed up it, walked around inside and outside of this magnificent feat of building and work of art. We were amazed at the vision, skill and patience of its designer and builders.
  Here is an image of God himself. His love and peace are like the great dome of Florence. His love and judgement encompass the whole world in ways in which many would regard as being impossible to achieve.
  Just as Brunelleschi used a painstaking method of individual interlocking bricks, so God - the Master Builder - uses each one of us to build his kingdom. The relationship each one of us has with each other, along with the love and forgiveness that God expresses through our relationships with others in the world, all interlock to contribute to create something that is strong and holy.
  As God's individual building blocks, we each have a task to do, to bring his kingdom of love, justice and peace into being on earth as it is heaven. We can only do that by recognising that we are interconnected, supporting one another, bearing each other's loads, and held together by the love of Jesus.

by Graham Clarke.