Article for the March Parish Publications

Pam Ayres published a little poem on social media recently, here it is...

An algorithm’s watching me, I am not certain why,

It sends advertisements for things I do not want to buy,

It makes me feel uneasy, that upon me it has preyed,

And if I could locate it, I would whack it with a spade.

I have long enjoyed Pam Ayres, she is funny and gentle and, unlike some modern poets, she makes intelligent observations in easily intelligible ways. The notion we are being monitored online by an impersonal mechanism is disturbing, and that desire to “whack it with a spade” is very democratic. As I understand it, these algorithms sift through our online behaviour, interests, and details to show us “relevant” adverts. This helps businesses target more effectively, and make more money, while helping us discover things we might actually want or need. Mind you, the algorithm isn't always that effective, I recently searched online for an English translation of the epic poem 'Lenore' by Gottfried August Bürger, and since then adverts for Lenor Fabric Conditioner have been appearing on my time line.

I wonder what the algorithm makes of Lent?

Lent ought to forestall the algorithm as it is a time for self-examination, penitence, self-denial, study, and preparation for Easter, and as such would not seem to lend itself to shopping. Though, of course, for anyone who likes accessories, there are Lent books, devotionals, and calendars that can be purchased. Lent asserts that we do not find meaning through acquisition, but through repentance. Lent strips back our lives to that which is essential, and there we may rediscover who God created us to be. As Jesus said,

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?”

Christians are called by Christ to follow him through death into new life – a journey of self discovery dramatised in the progress from Lent to the resurrection joy of Easter Day.

When I was a shop keeper I learned the value of getting to know my customers, but understanding who we are should be more than just an opportunity to sell us something. So keep your spade at the ready, just in case you happen across the algorithm.

Rev'd Stephen Gamble