All you need is love ...

What a funny world we live in ...

It seems to me, as I sit and try to think of something new and fresh for this Sunday's All-Age Service (that is to say, the Sermon ought not to be boring as the piffle I normally barf out on a bi-weekly basis) - it strikes me that we live in a world where love has gone bonkers. Incidentally, the 'text' is "love one another as I love you".

So, we have a General Election looming - The Tories True-Blues love Britain, the Labour Lefties love Britain, and the LibDem Yellahs love Britain too - so what is the sum of love + love + love? Answer : Smear and name-calling.

On Saturday we have the Grand Visit of the English Defence League. They just love England. Greeting them will my brothers and sisters from the Muslim faith who, quite understandably, love their faith and way of life. The party will be hosted by the Anti-Fascists who just love us all to love. In the mix will be some folk who love football, some who have a love for the pugilistic art and others who love music (but hate racism, according to their posters). So, the formula would be 

=sum(love)*(edl + mdl) + (uaf + lmhr)/TVP : answer - 'potential difficulties of an undisclosed nature'.       TVP = Thames Valley Police

So much for love so far. 

The world often blames religion for many of the wars that have scarred human history - but I think I am discovering the hidden fact. It isn't religion at all, its love that people are fighting for. Religion is but one expression of loving in our world, but not by any means the only one. 

I then wonder how "love your neighbour as yourself" might work - perhaps that is the solution to the mismatch error of love. But lest we forget, dear reader, we overfeed ourselves, over-work ourselves, neglect our spiritual needs, we polute our bodies with alcohol, caffiene or worse. If we loved a neighbour like that, we'd be arrested for an abuse or two I think. 

Maybe my sermon should be focussing on the great benefits to the world of utter indifference - that way none of us would give a toss about anyone else, and drift off to live is splendid isolation. Lovely jubbly, n'er a care anywhere! The EDL wouldn't pay us a visit because they wouldn't care enough to hop on thr train. The General Election would be won by brown envelope of cash and not by polsters and slanging matches. 

Why, though, does that sound worse? I don't know what the answer is, and in truth no-one does I think. I'd sooner love and take the risk that other people will love too. I think that a life without love would be a grey world without colour, and I don't want to live in a world like that. Disregarding those who attack and hurt others behind a facade of false love (and they are lower than a snake's belly), I think I can live in  place where people let their own real love get carried away from time to time. I guess that is the thing with love - it is the most potent force in the Universe - it just needs to be handled carefully and properly.