Just as a painting without a background has no perspective, a society without shared values and faith may appear unified, but will never be. A society cannot only believe in itself, it has to be able to believe in something outside itself as well. That is why businesses, companies, schools and communities still want to hear words of wisdom and love from the traditions of faith, and they want to be able to live in a way that does themselves, and those words, justice. We are realising again that faith is not the luxury it was once thought to be. Nor is faith the necessity it was once made to be.
Faith is rather a reality, a constant resource.
It can be played very loudly, trumpetted abroad, at annoyance to the neighbours, disruptive and discordant. Or it can be gently lulling in the backround of our souls, causing no offence, unremarkable, perhaps subliminal. But best of all, it can be distinctive, providing a soundtrack that responds to and reflects the needs of Society. It should - and can, resonate with the pattern of our lives, tuning us in to our dilemmas, our fears, our troubles, and our joys and delights. Like the God to whom our faith directs us, it encounters and deals with us in all events, at all times and in all places.