Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

(Psalm 141:2)

We sometimes use incense in our worship, following ancient Biblical and Church tradition, as a reminder of our prayers ascending to heaven, and as a way of involving another of our senses - smell - in worship.

But when people are censed the meaning is different.  The censer and congregation bow to each other, the censer censes them and they bow again - this is incense used in blessing, and a reminder that each of us is created in the image of God - we each contain a spark of the divine, and are each of infinite worth in God’s eyes.  In thinking of this, I was reminded of the Hindi word Namaste, an Indian greeting, given with the palms together in front of the chest, one of the translations of which is The Spirit in me greets the same Spirit in you.

It was profoundly distressing to read reports of a UNICEF study, which showed the British children are some of the least happy and least well-cared for in Europe.  The children of the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark came out top, and those of the UK and US bottom.  This in the same fortnight that three teenagers were shot dead in London.  Why, in such a prosperous country, is there so much unhappiness among the young people in certain parts of society?  One commentator suggested that the problem was too many young people being expected to be adults, and too many adults acting like children!

Each member of our society, made in the image of God, needs love, care respect, and an environment in which they can flourish.  Too often our young people are unsupported, seemingly uncared for - or at least their material needs are placed above their spiritual and emotional ones - and far too many are living in environments where they cannot flourish as God wants them to.

Children, like all of us, need stability, love and a feeling of self worth.  Only then can they reach their full potential as bearers of the divine image.