Scotch College

Just a touch of paradise

Graham Bradbeer, Chaplain

Dresden Frauenkirche

I first saw the Dresden Frauenkirche 50 years after its destruction by Allied bombing. It was still a heap of rubble. Deep in the ruins they found the bronze cross that had surmounted the once magnificent dome. Bent and twisted, it lay in the rubble.

Human beings have enormous destructive potential. We can easily reduce the good and the beautiful to ruins.

In his recent interview with Andrew Denton, Billy Connelly said when he couldn’t find his way out of a phone box he realised that alcohol didn’t make him smart. ‘There were only four possibilities,’ said Denton. ‘Three,’ replied Billy. ‘One wall’s got the phone on it!’ It was funny, but it came across as candour about a ruinous time in his life. It was interesting and indeed lovely to hear how Billy Connelly credited his wife, Pamela, with transformations in his life.

Jacob was smart, but he was a bad man. Genesis tells us his story. Early in life he tricked his brother out of his birthright, and then cheated him of his father’s blessing. Jacob’s brother determined to kill Jacob for this dishonour to his father and his brother, so Jacob fled. His family life was shredded; in ruins. On his flight from home he had a dream. He saw a ladder reaching from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending. Despite everything, he heard God promise to be God to him and his descendants forever. He named the place Bethel meaning House of God. ‘Surely God was here,’ he said, ‘and I didn’t know it.’

Jacob was gone for years. He found a new life and became very wealthy. But he yearned for something more: he needed to be reconciled to his brother. So he set out to return. It was a long and complex journey, and as he got close he was anxious. What would his brother do? Would he want reconciliation too? Cautiously Jacob sent a peace offering. Tentatively, he even sent his wives and children ahead with the realisation that there were issues he alone could face. The night before the big day, hesitant and with a head full of uncertainties, Jacob wrestled with a stranger. That night as he faced up to reality, he discovered God was right there, determined to do him good; to restore him. It was a touch of paradise.

I had a phone call last week from a man who was in ‘deep shit once again – excuse the language, padre’. He seemed desperate to speak. He talked for 50 minutes, and eventually he became calmer.

Not everyone has an available listening ear, a friend. But the Dresden Frauenkirche had friends who were planning to restore their once beautiful building. In 1995 there were signs of change. A rack of scaffolding to one side held a collection of numbered stones. Could the ruin be made beautiful once again? Vision, goodwill and planning led to financial backing and the diverse skills of many, many people. Friends included the reconciled descendants of those who had been involved in the destruction.

Amazingly, last year the Dresden Frauenkirche was rededicated. Over the summer we revisited the church and were amazed at its beauty. We queued to get in as tourists and returned later to worship God with a full house! Inside was the bent and twisted bronze cross from the top of the old dome. It is permanently fixed in the position in which it lay for years, a potent but gentle reminder amid the beauty of the chaos from which it was redeemed.

When it comes to restoration, sometimes a man might ‘come to himself’ like Billy in his phone box, or the prodigal son. Other times we need the help of friends, maybe just a stranger on the bus. We need to awake and discover that God yearns for a restored humanity.

Jacob’s story reminds us that heaven can be closer than we think. It can even touch us here and now, precisely because God is a rescuing and restoring God. In Christ he will bring all things together. It is a touch of paradise.

Graham Bradbeer
Chaplain