Richard Littledale

Richard Littledale's
Views on the News: June 2016

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Of worms and heavenly bodies

When Beethoven's 9th symphony was played for the first time in Vienna in 1824, the great man himself conducted the orchestra. At the end of the second movement, unable to hear what was going on, he continued to conduct - even though the orchestra had stopped playing. In the end, some kindly soul turned him around to face the audience, so that he could see their delight at his new musical creation. An unknowing conductor directing a silent orchestra before a bemused audience seems like a portent of what was to come.

Beethoven's symphony used the words of Friedrich von Schiller's poem 'Ode to joy', and it was by this name that the piece was chosen 142 years later by the Council of Europe as the 'anthem for Europe'. In 1985 it was then adopted by the EU leaders too. Schiller's flowery language seems a long way from the Europe of political debate and uncertainty over which it plays today:

Even the worm can feel contentment,
And the cherub stands before God!
Gladly, like the heavenly bodies
Which He sent on their courses
Through the splendour of the firmament;
Thus, brothers, you should run your race,
Like a hero going to victory!

Later this month, the place of the United Kingdom within the European Union will be decided. For some, there will be joy at the prospect of continued union, and for others at the prospect of withdrawing from it. A united kingdom is far from united on this issue. I suspect that Schiller would wince to hear his words used in such a context. His vision was of another kind of Kingdom entirely.

Christians should vote in this referendum, and do it thoughtfully. What they should never do, though, is to confuse political entity and spiritual reality. The future of Europe's people will be affected more on our knees than in the ballot boxes.

If not 'ode to joy' then what song would you choose to sing over Europe?

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