Today (October 17th) the painting that has been described as the world’s most travelled artwork will be put back on display in its perfect setting. William Holman Hunt’s ‘The Light of the World’ has been restored and returned to a more prominent and better lit position in the south transept of St Paul’s Cathedral, London.It has been on display there since 1908 but the new position will allow the million people who visit the cathedral each year to get a better view. The artist Holman Hunt had already completed two earlier versions of the painting of the same subject when in the final years of his life he embarked on a third, bigger version than the ones that reside in Keble College, Oxford and Manchester Art Gallery.Holman Hunt took four years to complete his most acclaimed painting in 1904. It had an impact few paintings have achieved before or after. Between 1905 and 1907 it was sent on a tour of the British Empire, visiting Canada, Australia and South Africa. It was a sensation. It’s claimed that 80 per cent of the population of Australia queued to see it. In Melbourne there was even a stampede though once inside the building the crowd fell into awestruck silence, with men removing their hats and a few ladies fainting from the emotional intensity of the experience.On the tour it was viewed by seven million people. Eventually, on its return to England. It was purchased by the shipping magnate and social reformer Charles Booth and donated to St Paul’s. Recently it has been cleaned and looks better than ever. Holman Hunt claimed he was working by “divine command” as he illustrated two separate Bible passages. The first is from St John’s Gospel when Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” The second is a sentence from the Book of Revelation: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come to you and sup with you and you with me.”The common interpretation is that it’s the door to the soul and because it has no handle on the outside it can only be opened from within if Christ is admitted. The power of the image was so acute because it suggested everyone - no matter what their social standing, moral blemishes and levels of wealth or poverty - could have access to “the light” if only they opened their souls and their consciences to God.Holman Hunt was in tears when The Light of the World has hung in St Paul’s in 1908. Two years later he was dead. His ashes were interred in the cathedral next to the remains of Christopher Wren, Joshua Reynolds and JMW Turner. Perhaps his artistic career did not elevate him into such acclaimed company but there is no doubt with one painting he staked his claim to immortality.
On Sunday, November 3rd at 4pm we will hold our special ‘Time to Remember’ service when we think, pray and reflect on our loved ones departed. It is a quiet service that many people have found to be particularly helpful as they deal with a deep sense of loss in their lives.Please come and join us at Dunsfold Church and stay behind afterwards for a hot drink and refreshments. Many of you have revealed in the past that you’ve welcomed the opportunity to share with friends and fellow worshippers your memories of the loved ones who now rest in God’s care. We hope you can join us again.
If people know a prayer, it’s the Lord’s Prayer. Even if we don’t always get the words right. Someone recently told me they’d heard one child recite it: “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from email.” From out of the mouths of babies, as they say. Yet having been translated into 1,000 languages, the Lord’s Prayer is recited by millions of people every day and on every kind of occasion.For comfort, for spiritual sustenance, for joy, sadness, and for routine. By soldiers going into battle. In Church Sunday by Sunday. At the christening of a new child, and at the coronation of a King. Walking the dog and burying the dead.But not everyone knows it. And not everyone knows it well. Not everyone remembers it correctly. Even those of us who know it very well and say it every day, don’t always stop to think about what it means. It is, for some of us, almost too familiar. We say it. We know it by heart. But it hasn’t got into our hearts.Which is why I’ve just published a book to help adults know and understand the Lord’s Prayer.And a book for children as well, with resources for schools. And why next year I’m going to be travelling across the north of England telling people about the Lord’s Prayer and issuing a warning. This beautiful prayer will change you.It has certainly changed me. And goes on changing me. It was walking across northern Spain on pilgrimage in 2016, a large part of the Camino del Norte from Santander to Santiago, when for just about the first time in my life I wasn’t sure where I was going to sleep each night, or where the next meal was to be found. This taught me the meaning of the words: “Give us today our daily bread.” I’ve said these words so many times but now I began to understand what they truly meant: ‘Give me enough for today; save me and spare me from wanting more than my share.’It was praying with a large international community of young people that taught me how important it is that the prayer begins with the word “Our”, thus binding us to each other across all barriers of separation and difference. In less than 70 words, Jesus gives us a prayer which tells us how to live as well as how to pray. He teaches us that we belong to each other. It isn’t “my” Father, but “our” Father. He teaches us to make earth like heaven by building God’s kingdom of peace.He invites us to stop asking for more all the time. In fact, is there anything more vital for our world to learn at the moment, than that we might be satisfied with daily bread – all of us! – not always craving more than our share? The planet itself cries out for us to learn what this means. He challenges us to be realistic about ourselves and to say sorry for our sins. Then to forgive others.In giving us this prayer, Jesus is saying: this is what we should be asking for. And if we did ask for these things, what a difference it would make. If we truly lived out the values of the Lord's Prayer, the world would move towards a place of justice, compassion, and balance – where no one takes more than they need, and everyone receives what they truly require.Today I believe the Lord’s prayer is as important as ever. It is part of our spiritual and cultural heritage. It is a corrective for all the wrong turns and self-seeking desires that mess up our lives and threaten to convulse the world. And yes, the prayer ends with the words: deliver us from evil - though perhaps the child I quoted above had a point. One of today’s evils is the endless chatter of the digital world, preventing us from stopping, robbing us of silence, inhibiting reflection, getting in the way of saying the prayer which could change us for the better.By stepping away from constant connectivity, we rediscover the space for inner stillness – a place where we can truly encounter God. We open ourselves up to reflect more deeply and to hear what is truly important. Our capacity to forgive, and our ability to be grateful for our 'daily bread' are strengthened when we detach from distractions and reconnect with what matters most.So, here’s my advice: don’t say this prayer if you think your life and the world around you is just fine as it is. But if, like me, you think things could change, then say this prayer, and let that change begin in your own heart.• Praying by Heart: The Lord's Prayer for Everyone, by Stephen Cottrell (Hodder, £14.99) is out now
