My dear parishioners, all over the world people like to fly kites. Kites were invented 5th c BC in China which has an abundance of silk and bamboo. A kite looks simple, but the mechanics and forces that make it work are not. It’s heavier than air, but it acts lighter than air. There’s the lift and drag, the lower pressure above the wings, the higher pressure below. Kites have fixed and moving anchors, bridles and tethers. Kites are cheap to make, happily, and the biggest effort involved is human time for enjoyment and pleasure. Kite-making should be on every child’s to-do list. To grow up without kiting is to miss out on a real pleasure. It’s easy to read things into a flying kite -- a glorious aloofness, a sky-dance of artistry, bright colors and ribbons, the human desire to break free and heartfelt aspirations. The cold hard reality, however, is that we live our lives on the ground and not in air. At one time or another, we wished faith was autonomic like breathing or like the variable winds. But it doesn’t work that way. If you don’t make a great effort, your faith will never ‘take off’. You will leave its parts and pieces in a box or crush them underfoot. By ‘looking up’, I mean looking up to God. To know Jesus ascended to heaven is priceless information: “No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man.” [Jn 3:13] Belief in God and what God teaches and putting faith into practice concerns eternal life. Faith, like child’s play, should be shared joyously. By faith we love Jesus. By faith, we contemplate him. By faith, we act benevolently in his name. With great effort and growing skill, one’s trust in God enables him to soar above the obvious difficulties -- human pride, greed, selfishness and sensuality. Even human play needs a savior and redemption. Our Lord has given us the materials for our adventure: “. . . righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”. [Rom 14:17] He has given us a flight path to follow: “And when I go and prepare a place for you,” says the Lord, “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” [Jn 14:3] Sincerely in the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Your pastor, Reverend Richard Barker +++