June has begun. Some look to exams or college balls. Jewish friends will celebrate Shavuot and Muslim friends will be getting ready for the start of Ramadan. Sikh brothers and sisters will be remembering with great sadness the 30th anniversary of the storming of the Golden Temple.

As a Christian I am looking forward to the feast of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

On June 12 all faiths in Oxford come together for the annual Friendship Walk, starting at Richmond Road Synagogue in Jericho at 6.15pm, and going via town centre churches to the Manzil Way Mosque in Cowley. All are welcome as we celebrate our unity as human beings in the midst of religious diversity.

What else unites us this month? Well, as British people we remember the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Landings and those of every race and religion in our British Commonwealth of nations who went with such courage and fortitude to free Europe from Nazi oppression.

Ten years ago I met with many of our veterans on the beaches of Normandy, listening to their stories, and being able to say thank you, and what an honour that was.

And then, how could I forget the event that will gain more attention across the world than any other?

The 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil.

All the agony and the ecstasy – well to be honest for England, mostly all the agony – of playing in the most popular, most universally watched sporting event in our planet’s history.

I was four years old when England last won the World Cup.

I don’t remember a thing about it.

By the time I was eight, England were playing in Mexico and with my book of football stickers there wasn’t a team or a player I didn’t recognise when they came on the television, even though we were still watching in black and white.

Losing to Germany, Maradona’s ‘hand of God’ goal, Gazza’s tears, Beckham’s sending off, the nightmare tension of penalties scored and missed. How will it all end this year?

At least there will be one image standing above it all. Something that can help us all to find a sense of perspective.

One iconic picture will be on every TV screen, in every town, every village, in every country and continent, the world over. The towering figure of Christ the Redeemer. Back in 1850 a Brazilian priest, Pedro Boss, had a dream. He dreamt of a beautiful statue of Jesus standing high on the Corcovado mountain, looking down on Rio de Janeiro, and all of human life below.

It took 80 years for that dream to become a reality.

Standing 10 stories, over 100ft, the massive yet graceful figure of Christ the Redeemer towers over the Sugarloaf mountain, the bay and city beneath. Conceived as a symbol of peace, Christ’s arms open wide to embrace and to bless creation.

One of the seven new wonders of the world, the only one from the 20th century, this dream of a long forgotten priest will now be bringing the image of Jesus Christ into almost every corner of the inhabited world – no longer restricted to a corner of the Roman Empire millennia ago, but present in every part of our planet.

And much as Christians the world over remember and celebrate at Pentecost as it happens.

Look out for it in the TV trailers now, and in all the World Cup coverage to come.

Despite the sleaze and scandal, I hope the World Cup will be a great international spectacle, a celebration of unity in diversity, and I hope England win.

Look out for that figure of Christ the Redeemer, watching over this fragile, beautiful world, watching over us all with arms outstretched in peace and in love.

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