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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Sarah Joseph.

Good Morning.

As a child, one of my favourite pastimes was to peruse my grandmother’s photo albums. She had a huge collection of historic family photos, including images of her parents and her grand-parents. There is a particular image of my Great, Great Grandfather, James Molyneaux, that I am thinking about today. In it, he is in military uniform adorned with a single medal. It says on the back of the photo that it is the Indian Mutiny Medal.

The Indian Mutiny began on 10 May 1857 in the garrison town of Meerut, and by today – 11th May 1857, it had reached the capital Delhi and then erupted across India. The uprising was against British rule, particularly the power of the British East India Company.

As a child I had no idea about any of this. I just remember having a sense of curiosity and also a sense pride at one of my ancestors looking very dapper in his uniform.

However, as an adult, I’ve read about the Indian Mutiny, or as Indians themselves call it – The First War of Independence, and I can’t say I’m utterly thrilled by my Great, Great Grandfather’s participation. On the contrary – my adult self would definitely have been against colonisation.

Having this opinion does not stop me being grateful for my Great, Great Grandfather’s life. However, I personally believe going through history and revising our opinion of it through modern eyes is not a bad thing. Standards change. We don’t have to carry history’s burdens but we can reflect on it to improve things in the here and now.

Our Merciful Lord – help us to be on the right side of history the first time, but if we are not, let us find the strength and courage to recognise that for a more just present day.

Ameen.

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