The saddest word

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Prayer for the Day presented by the Mark Oakley, Dean of Southwark. Good morning. Not too long ago I was giving a talk at the Oxford Literary Festival. Just as I was about to begin, I saw a man come in at the back and sheepishly take a seat on the back row. I could see who it was immediately. It was Peter Fanning, the man who had taught me English at school forty years ago, and the person who instilled in me a deep love of poetry and literature – the subject I was just about to speak about. I owe so much to him and, after the talk, I was, at last, able to tell him. As he asked me to sign one of my books, I felt tears well up as I knew there never would have been such a book without his passion and brilliant teaching, and there may never be a moment again when I could speak the gratitude for him that I’ve carried in me all my life. The Japanese say that one day with a great teacher is better than thousand days of diligent study. I experienced that at school, as presumably the disciples did with Jesus all those years ago on the shore. The poet Robert Frost used to say that he didn’t see himself as a teacher but an ‘awakener’. Some people in our lives have awakened loves and perceptions. Whoever has awakened a love in your heart, please, make sure you thank them one day. Try to do it soon because as Evelyn Waugh used to say, ‘the saddest words in the English language are ‘too late’. Today. I’m remembering in prayer those who awaken loves in us and so bring light into life. Amen.