Tomorrow, we celebrate the feast of St Giles.  We are all invited to the patronal festival at St Giles Church on Lamb Gardens at 10am.  There will be no service at St John's tomorrow. 

St Giles is a fascinating character whose legend has strayed a long way from what we will ever be able to call historic fact.  He's one of those saints whose story has become embellished and elaborated over the centuries so that it is impossible to trace the real person that it was based on.  However, it is possible to find important gospel themes in his story.  He was a hermit who lived simply off the land in the woods.  He befriended a deer who provide him with milk as well as companionship.  one day, a king shot an arrow at the deer while out hunting but missed and hit St Giles instead.   The king was so filled with remorse that he built St Giles a monastery.  Embedded in this story is the idea of living  modestly and in harmony with the environment, not exploiting the land.  It also highlights how those with power can often use their power for harm but can choose to use it for good.  In the legend, the identity of the king is unclear.  Some versions think it is the Visigoth Wamba, but the dates are wrong, others don't even give the king a name at all.  It is Giles who is remembered for his gentleness and kindness, not the king.  It perhaps invites us to reflect on what we hope to be remembered for.  Do we want to be someone with a title or an award or do we want to get on with things quietly making life better for others if we can?

The summer holidays draw to an end and the autumn is upon us.  Children return to school.  The earth turns again.  But God remains faithful and unchanging.  What we know from everything we read in the bible and the traditions of the church expressed in the legend of St Giles, God has a special interest in the poor and marginalised, those who live on the edge: geographically, economically, socially and culturally.  When we read stories like the one about St GIles, ask the question, who do I most identify with?  Are we Giles, trying to live in harmony with the world, are we the deer, vulnerable but giving what we can to support others, or are we the hunter, not thinking about who our fun might actually harm?