'Free Beer Tomorrow' - weekly reflection 13th October 2024

A good number of years ago when we were living in Cornwall, I made the long trip up to Oldham to see my stepfather who was in hospital and close to death.  As I was about to take my leave of him, I guessed rightly for the last time, I gave him a cuddle and told him that I loved him. With the most wonderful, puzzled look on his face, he said, ‘do you.’  Showing affection in this very particular way was not overly common amongst our family, or indeed generally.  And certainly not amongst men.  

That remains a treasured memory.  And when someone we love dies, we often reflect on our last words or maybe even our actions.  There are times of course, when sadly, those last words spoken could be angry words or unkind words.

My thoughts are landing here this week because last week on the 9^th October it was the second anniversary of Jane’s great-niece being murdered during a night out in Oswestry. She was just 22 with a whole life ahead of her.  Just a few months before that, again very suddenly, Becca’s grandmother had been found dead in her bungalow by her cleaner. She was 70 and suffered a stroke.

And then on the 10^th October we were back in Cornwall for the funeral of Gary Parnell. Our son’s brother-in-law who died by suicide at the age of 35.  Gary had been fighting his demons for some time but had always reached out to family or friends who had helped him through the darkness and despair.  

But sadly, not this time leaving his family and friends asking those questions about the last conversation and the last words.

At his funeral in Bodmin Crematorium the chapel was packed with people standing. At the ‘wake’ afterwards there was a crowd of at least 50+ friends and family come to offer their support to the family.  Gary’s sister, Tracey had a ‘Gary Music List’ playing and there was some good banter and a little drinking and merriment going on. As I sat there looking at all these people, all sorts of people, who knew and loved and supported Gary I reflected upon what state of mind must someone have to come to not to know of this love, care and support.

I was reminded of that adage, ‘send me flowers when I can sniff, not when I am stiff.’

Just how good are we at telling someone we love them. Just how good are we at making every effort not to let anger have the last word.

And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry… Ephesians 4.26

Let us not take people for granted, let us not take our family and friends for granted, let us seek as much as lies within us to live in peace. Today is the only day when we can say, I love you, I forgive you, let us talk, let me talk, I need help.  

Have you ever seen that sign in a pub, ‘free beer tomorrow.’    Think about that, it’s simple and yet profound.  I will tell them tomorrow, I will say sorry tomorrow, I will forgive them tomorrow, I will tell them how much they mean to me tomorrow, I will tell them I love them – tomorrow, only to discover it was too late!

 

 

'Where Do You Live' - transcript of Sermon, St Oswald's, Rugby 13th October 2024

 Romans 6:1-14

I don’t know how many of you know this, but some years ago I spent above five years behind bars – serving drinks while working in various hotels in Newmarket and Cambridge.

Today sees the start of Prisons Week which runs until the 19^th October.

And prisons are very much to the fore at the moment in the UK, where we incarcerate more people than any other European country.

Where to quote a former PM, we have been tough on crime and criminals – but yet we have failed to be tough on the causes of crime.

The average IQ for 57% of male prisoners across the whole estate is that of an 11-year-old.

However, I am not going to talk about prisons or prisoners but will address the text we are engaging with, Romans 6.1-14.

But should you wish to know more about a charity I volunteer with, the Prison Fellowship, check out there web site. Home - Prison Fellowship

What I will say however, is that if we were searching for a text that would help us to meaningfully reflect on prisons and prisoners, we would be hard pressed to find a more suitable section of Scriptures as this one.

Tom Wright in his ‘Everyone’ series splits these fourteen verses up into three sections.

And if you are not familiar with these very accessible commentaries that cover the whole of the New Testament, I cannot commend them highly enough.

Wrights three headings are...

1)   Leaving the state of sin through baptism

2)   Dead to sin and alive to God

3)   The call to Holy Living

We can easily see the progressive nature of these three headings.

And this progressive concept recalls our journey as God’s people here at St Oswald’s. Where we continue to explore and seek to walk into a life lived for God where holy habits are formed and shaped.

Where we are seeking to learn how to practise the way of Faith both in our individual lives, but also as a Community of Faith.

Let’s have a look at each of these three steps towards holy living.

1  1) Leaving the state of sin through baptism.

I remember the first vicar I worked with at the Church of the Holy Cross, Marsh Farm, Luton. When preparing for baptism he used to say that symbolically, when you hand your child into my arms, you are giving up that child. You are dedicating this child to God. In effect, you could walk away and leave the child with me. Rather like Samuel’s mum did. I accept the gift of your child to God, and then hand that child back to you into the care of parents and Godparents. 

Baptism remains a contentious issue and something around which I have heard hundreds if not thousands of conversations offering different views and understandings. 

But let us not wander down that rabbit hole and see if we can discern the main point that Paul is driving at here.

Paul has just been exploring the grace of God in the face of human sinfulness. Basically, there is no level of sinfulness that will separate us from God’s love. Therefore, it might be argued, as it would appear from this letter, some where saying, great, if we want to experience more of God’s love and grace then we must sin even more.

That was Rasputin’s take, and he became involved in the most awful types of depravity on the understanding that where sin abounds, so God’s love and grace abound even more.

I don’t know if any of you recall an episode of ‘Only Fools and Horses’ where Rodney had married Casandra. The hapless Rodney after a day at work, came into the flat where he used to live with his older brother Derek, (Del boy). He sat down and made himself comfy, asking what was for tea. Del’s response was, ‘I don’t know, you better ask your wife, you don’t live here anymore.’

That’s Paul’s point here in a nutshell. If you have been baptised, then you have died and been raised to new life. Paul has the Exodus in mind and the release of Isreal from captivity in Egypt.

Symbolically we once lived as slaves in Egypt, but we passed through the Red Sea, i.e. the waters of baptism, and we emerge as God’s free people, led not by Moses, but by Messiah Jesus.

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  Romans 6.4

We have entered a new state of being. We have exchanged landlords, and we don’t live there anymore.  Our former landlord may threaten us, tempt us and try to persuade us to come back. But we have moved and now belong to Christ.

And if I may slide in one comment about prisoners. Surely this is what we pray for and work towards. That being held captive to sin and as a result finding themselves physically imprisoned, that they can find freedom and change their landlord. I have seen the results of this happening, and it is truly beautiful to see.

But some cynics may say, they are using the system to get an easier ride. 

Which leads onto Paul’s second point which Wright references as…

1)   2) Dead to sin and alive to God

So, you have moved in, got a new landlord, and a new life.

Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. Romans 6.13

When we lived in Saltash, Cornwall I remember being invited to preach on a Sunday morning at HMS Raleigh Shore Training Facility in Pymouth. One of the Officers told me that one of the first things they did with new recruits was to get them out of the civvies and into uniform. This gave them an immediate sense of belonging. They were now, quite literally, going to march to a different drum.

We don’t have anything like a uniform that declares we have put ourselves under the authority of the just and gentle rule of God. However, our behaviour is our distinctive clothing, our speech is our badge and our actions our code of conduct.

That’s how you can tell if a prisoner has truly exchanged landlords.

That’s how people can tell if we have truly passed over through the baptism of death and been raised to new life, as Jesus said, 

^“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

Of course, of course, of course we will mess things up and get things wrong this side of glory, because we are still living in the world as it is, not yet fully redeemed and restored and conjoined with heaven.

This is the now and not yet – the beginning of the end but not yet the end. But let us remember, always remember, and forever remember…

^“…sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” Rom 6.14. 

This is Wright’s third point,

3) The call to Holy Living.

Alan Redpath in his book ‘The Making of a Man of God’ wrote ‘The conversion of the soul is the miracle of the moment; the manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime.’

The Message has a great way of putting this in Hebrews 10.24 and a good way to end this brief exploration of Romans 6.1-14…

So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.

In summary therefore, let us ensure that we have moved from Adam humanity to Messiah humanity, through the waters of baptism, now accounted dead to sin but alive to Christ, and clothed with the robes of righteousness freely provided by God so we can witness to the best way, the only right way, of living and navigating our way through God’s world on its journey to a full and final redemption.    

'Whare do you live?' - weekly reflection 6th October 2024

 Where do you live?

I am back into reading another book about Henry V111. This one by Tracey Borman, ‘Henrry V111 And The Men Who Made Him.’

Although serfdom in England began to decline after the Peasants' Revolt in 1381 and largely died out by 1500. It wasn’t fully ended until Elizabeth I freed the last remaining serfs in 1574.

In the system of serfdom, serfs had limited rights and privileges within the feudal system. They were not free to pursue other opportunities or move to other lands. Moreover, they were subject to the whims of their lords, who had the power to tax them, demand their labour, and even control their marriages.

In Romans chapter Paul explores what it means to be baptised and references the Exodus. The freedom from slavery, and the passing through the Red Sea and eventually on into the promised land. 

(Another story for another time!)

What Paul is seeking to emphasis is that we have exchanged landlords. We are no longer slaves to sin.  We are not serfs bound to Satan and sin as our liege lord.

‘We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.’  Romans 6.4

You may recall an episode of ‘Only Fools and Horses’ where Rodney had married Casandra. He came into the flat where he used to live with Del boy after work. He sat down and made himself comfy, asking what was for supper. Del’s response was, ‘I don’t know, you better ask your wife, you don’t live here anymore.’

We don’t live in ‘Egypt’ anymore!

Surely this is what we pray for and work towards. That being held captive to sin and as a result finding themselves physically imprisoned, that prisoners  can find freedom and change their landlord. I have seen the results of this happening, and it is truly beautiful to see.

So, you have moved in, got a new landlord, and a new life. But some cynics may say, they are using the system to get an easier ride. 

And Paul’s answer, ‘Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness’. Romans 6.13

When we lived in Saltash, Cornwall I remember being invited over the border to preach on a Sunday morning at HMS Raleigh Shore Training Facility. One of the Officers told me that one of the first things they did with new recruits was to get them out of the civvies and into uniform. This gave them an immediate sense of belonging. They were now, quite literally, going to march to a different drum.

We don’t have anything like a uniform that declares we have put ourselves under the authority and the just and gentle rule of God.

However, our behaviour is our distinctive clothing, our speech is our badge and our actions our code of conduct.

That’s how you can tell if a prisoner has truly exchanged landlords.

That’s how people can tell if we have truly passed over through the baptism of death and been raised to new life, as Jesus said,

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

Of course we will mess things up and get things wrong this side of glory, because we are still living in the world as it is, not yet fully redeemed and restored and conjoined with heaven.

This is the now and not yet – the beginning of the end but not yet the end.

But let us remember, always remember, and forever remember…

“…sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” Rom 6.14

Alan Redpath in his book ‘The Making of a man of God’ wrote ‘The conversion of the soul is the miracle of the moment; the manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime.’

The Message has a great way of putting this in Hebrews 10.24.

So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.

Let us ensure that we have moved from Adam humanity to Messiah humanity, through the waters of baptism, now accounted dead to sin but alive to Christ, and clothed with the robes of righteousness freely provided by God so we can witness to the best way, the only right way, of living and navigating our way through God’s world on its journey to a full and final redemption.  

And let us be those who share this ‘Good News’ and help people move house!

 

 No longer slaves to fear...

https://youtu.be/f8TkUMJtK5k?si=DT4c0Utt426pN5C5

  

'Is love all you need?'

In July 1967 The Beatles released ‘All You Need is Love’ – and I loved it.  I was 16 years old and into my second year as an Apprentice Jockey indentured to Bruce Hobbs in Newmarket.  

It was going to be another ten years before I came to know the source of real love and the answer to the question that set me off a long journey from Royton (Lancashire) to Newmarket. But that’s another story for another time.

But the question I want to ask is, where the Beatles right, that love is all we need? There was certainly a lot of talk around'love' in the 60’s and ‘the summer of love.’ 

 However, Jonathan Sacks thinks otherwise as he argues in his book ‘Not In God’s Name.’

Taking the foundational stories of Isaac and Ishmael (and Sarah and Hagar), Jacob and Esau, Leah and Rachel, Jospeh (of the many coloured coat fame!) and his brothers.

He lays out the ‘top-level narrative’ that is basically sibling rivalry where the younger seeks to usurp the older.  (I am obviously précising Sack’s more detailed analysis and insights)

Underneath this top-level story is another counterintuitive story.  This counterintuitive story leaves us with an empathy for those who are apparently wronged. We feel for Hagar and Ishmael at the hands of Sarah and the seeming compliance of Abraham.  And what a scum bag is Jacob, (and his mum) plotting and deceiving blind Jacob in giving Esau’s blessing to him instead of his brother.  It is the same with Leah and Rachel, and for Joseph and his brothers. Although you have to dig deeper into the narrative to appreciate all the nuances in the colourful coat saga.

So, if love is not all you need then what is needed?

There are occasions when I go to the supermarket with Jane, my wife. And then, as often happens, particularly if we had a coffee before, I need to ‘pay a visit.’ Then in the crowded supermarket it becomes a game of ‘hunt the wife’.  (I sometime use the phone, but I like the challenge of ‘hunt the wife.')   What I have pondered over (and perhaps this is just me!) is that there are all these people, anyone one of them might be a suitable wife or partner.  But I am looking for a very particular person. The one I have made a vow to love, the one I have entered a covenantal relationship with. I love Jane more than any other woman. My love for her is exclusive.  And in my loving Jane I have ‘forsaken all others’ as it says in the marriage service.

 Sacks argues, love is exclusive!

An extract from the Leah, Rachel and Jacob story, Genesis 29. 30-32

³⁰ Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years. ³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, ‘It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.’

Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah.

Sacks argues that it is justice that we all need as well as love. Justice is universal to everyone, and I can seek that justice is done for everyone, whereas I cannot love everyone in any meaningful sense of that word, except perhaps in a platonic sense.

The Rachel and Leah story shows this very clearly. Having declared his love for Rachel over Leah God brings justice for Leah. ‘When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. ‘

Hagar is cast out, but God provides for her in the desert when she thought she and her child were going to die.

I find this deep Scriptural wisdom very helpful in seeking to navigate through life.

If we take for example prisoners, or even a single prisoner.

We may be unable to love them, but we can seek for justice for them.

I was chatting this through with someone recently and they said that insight was so helpful. They had a real problem with their mother-in-law finding it impossible to love them and then feeling guilty because as a Christian, surely, we are called to love, and especially those of our household and family.  This wisdom enabled her to be released from that pressure but then to seek that her mother-in-law received justice. In practical terms this means seeking for her mothers-in-law's wellbeing. Ensuring her husband makes time for his mother, etc.

Hate divides, but so does love!

To quote from Sacks, ‘But love is not enough. You cannot build a family, let alone a society on love alone. For that you need justice also. Love is partial, justice is impartial. Love is particular, justice is universal. Love is for this person, but not that, but justice is for all. Much of the moral life is generated by this tension between love and justice. Justice without love is harsh. Love without justice is unfair, or so it will seem to the less loved.’

 I still like the Beatles song but continue to seek the deep wisdom of Scripture as it offers insights into the human condition.  And it is to the Scriptures that I leave the last word.

From Amos 5:24, “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream,”

 

 

 

 O Lord The Clouds Are Gathering - Graham Kendrick 

https://youtu.be/Xfv9OI59_7o?si=lGtI7jwv42Tf5Gfz

'Playing a part - or playing apart' - Weekly Reflection 15th September 2024

Have you heard about the Helicopter Church – the one where there is a danger that as soon as you get close enough you will get sucked up into the rotas!

I remember years ago preaching at HMS Raliegh in Plymouth. One of the comments made by an Officer stuck with me. He said they liked to get new recruits out of their civvies and into uniform as quickly as possible. This helped cement the idea that they now belonged to the Navy, they were on the team, and that came with a raft of expectancies.

And we are back with the dilemma of paid and volunteers I have reflected on before.

On Saturday last I attended a lovely Service at Coventry Cathedral. The core of the Service was the Licensing of Readers and the giving of PTO  (Permission to Officiate) licenses to current Readers to authorise their ongoing ministries – as volunteers!

This year this Service was broadened and an invitation was given to all Churches in the Diocese of Coventry to nominate a ‘lay person’ who had given notable service over the past year.  These people were also called out by name and invited to give themselves afresh to the various ministries to which God had called them. Those ministries were also read out and it was a long list, a very long list, but very exciting and encouraging to note the breadth of ministires being exercised. 

In addition to this we also had some who had taken part in a training course (or courses) run by the Diocese called, Pathways for Lay Ministry. (See below for link)

There was much rejoicing and clapping at the willingness of so many people to give so much, often sacrificially.  

Michael Quoist in his book ‘The Christian Response’ wrote…

‘You are a unique and irreplaceable actor in the drama of human history, and Jesus Christ has need of you to make known his salvific work in this particular place and at this particular moment in history.”

Likening the Church to battleship presents some difficulties. However, it does help us to remember that the Church is not a Cruise Liner on which we can relax and be served and entertained by a hard-working crew.  “O, you know what, I didn’t get anything out of the Service this morning, and those songs, don’t even get me started…”

In a consumer culture we can very quickly become consumer Christians and spend time searching around for the ‘Church Cruise Ship’ that does it the way we like it done.

Now, on a battleship there will be three main groups. Seasoned sailors operating as a team towards a common goal and purpose, there will be recruits who are in various stages of learning the ropes and there will be some in sick bay.

It can be a valuable exercise to reflect on our Church community and ask how many people are in each of those groups.

It can also be interesting to ask, ‘how quickly should we invite people to become involved in the ‘ministry’ of the Faith Community.’ (Invite is a key word here)

On Saturday we heard of ‘ministries’ that engaged with the wider community, care for the elderly, those with dementia, etc. For example, for my own part, I volunteer with Riding for the Disabled, The Farming Community Network, and Prison Fellowship, all of which minister outside of what we might consider ‘Church.’

That needs to be recognized as well, the life and witness of the Church goes well beyond the confines of any building, or at least it ought to if it is being true to its God giving calling.  

Then finally, returning to the quote from Michaelle Quoist above that presents us with a personal challenge.

And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ.…

Ephesians 4.11-13

Could it be that if you are not playing your part, you are playing apart.

And here is an idea with Harvest Celebrations coming up. Instead of, or alongside, why not celebrate a ‘Harvest of Gifts’ amongst your Faith Community. I.e. what gifts, skills and talents do your people have? You might invite them to bring something that symbolises their gift, talent or skill and offer it as a gift to God. These ‘gifts’ are offered to God with prayers of blessing and then people are invited to pick up their offering recognising that all things come from God and that their gifts, talents and skills are now to be used for God's plans and purposes. 

(Early in the New Year (Epiphany) is also a good time for such a ‘Service of Gifts.’)

In short it comes down to a simple question I invite you to ask of yourself as you go through the week ahead, ‘just what am I doing for God’s sake?’

 

 If you are interested in Pathways to Lay Ministry follow the lead in this QR Code

 

 

 

 

 

'Did Jesus just call me a dog!' - Homily Tuesday 10th September 2024 St Oswald's Rugby

 

St Oswald’s Rugby Tuesday 10^th September 2024

Mark 7:24-37

The last time I led Tuesday Morning Worship was on the 13th August and we were reflecting on John chapter 6 and Jesus as the bread of life.

And today, although it may not seem so at first, we are back with bread, we are back with the miraculous provision of food that led to Jesus’ pronouncement in John 6, “Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Today we are looking at Mark 7.24-37 – but please take a Bible and open it at Mark 7.

Now look at Mark 6 – and you will see the Feeding of the 5,000. Now look at Mark 8 and you will see the Feeding of the 4,000.

This is the framework in which we are to read and make sense of today’s reading from Mark 7.

This all leads up to the pivotal point in Mark’s Gospel, chapter 8:27-29. This is where Peter declares Jesus to be the Christ, the Anointed One, sent from God, long promised and hoped for.  From here the tone of the Gospel begins to move towards the Cross and Jesus’ death.

It is also important to note that the feeding of the 5,000 was in a Jewish context and the feeding of the 4,000 was in a Gentile context.

Now she was a Greek woman of Syrophoenician origin, and she kept asking Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. “First let the children have their fill,” He said. “For it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” …

Do you struggle with this grumpy, dismissive Jesus, being rude to this woman begging him to help her daughter?

You are not alone and there are various ways that people have tried to soften this and to interpret this apparent rebuttal by Jesus.

If this is Jesus a bit tired, frustrated and grumpy – is that such a bad thing! We have other instances of him showing frustration at the lack of his disciples understanding something he was trying to say.

For me however, once put it into the framework of the two feedings it begins to make more sense.

Some have suggested that the women helped Jesus understand that the Gentiles are to be included. That somehow this was a learning curve for Jesus and emphasizes Jesus’ humanity.

Remembering that Mark was possibly Peter’s recollections written by Mark for the largely Gentile Christians in Rome. 

But that won’t do – look back in your Bible to Mark 5 where we find Jesus healing a demon-possessed man in the region of the Gerasenes.

Jesus has done this before – healed a Gentile man of demon possession in Gentile territory.

I am deeply attracted to the idea that Jesus was Jewish Rabbi, and that this is a very Jewish way of seeking to bring more from the woman.

(And let’s not lose sight of that – Jesus is in discourse with a Gentile woman.)

Jesus lays down a bit of a riddle, a saying, that may well have been something that was already being said. It has been suggested that the Gentile community where exploiting the small Jewish community in the region, these Gentile dogs were stealing Jewish bread!

But even outside of Jewish context we are used to a verbal exchange.

One famous one notable exchange was when Sir Wilfred Paling (Lab) violated Parliamentary decorum by shouting at Churchill – “Dirty Dog.” To which Churchill responded, “The Hon. Member should realise what dirty dogs do to palings.” 

Worth noting where Jesus was, Tyre and Sidon, way up on the far northwest. (Modern day Lebanon) Two important cosmopolitan seaports with Phoenician traders conducting trade from around the world. Could Mark by placing this story here, be saying, this Gospel message is going to go out to all the known world. Well beyond its Jewish confines in every respect, geographically, culturally, ethnically.

And here let us go back to the Bible and look at the beginning of Chapter 7 which comes before Jesus’ long trip up to the far northwest coast. (And according to Matthew’s account he went with the disciples)

We have Jesus in heated debate about ritual purity, who’s in and whose out, what’s right and what’s wrong. (And as we read this type of discourse, let’s not make Pharisees out to be a pantomime baddy.) 

Is this Syrophoenician women in or out? Remembering that the Jews had a long and antagonistic animosity for the Syrophoenicians. And Sidon was Jezebel’s hometown!

There is a lot more I would love to explore with you about Mark chapters 6, 7 and 8, but time is against us.

Trying to pull all the various threads together and going back to the journey from the feeding of the 5,000 in a Jewish context, through to the feeding of the 4,000 in a Gentile context, I am left with a question for us to ponder on. Well, several questions, but I will land on just one, but one that also leads onto further questions for reflection.

“Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Question – who is allowed to get this bread from the bakery?

From the answer to that question flows a raft of other questions we might consider, such as…

Is there such a thing as an exclusive bakery and to get this bread you must abide by certain rules, customs and regulation?

Who have we told recently about this bread of life?

Are we sustained daily by this bread of life – ‘give is this our daily bread’

And are we only offering crumbs from the table?

 

Above all we note that there is a widenss in God's mercy...

https://youtu.be/l5LN1ZvwWfs?si=x-RYN8FDVOMaTUhG

 

 

'Mind your mind and manage your language' Weekly Reflection 8th September 2024

Last month on the 24^th August, Sven-Göran Eriksson died. He was the first non-British manager of the England team, who led the Three Lions to the quarterfinals at three major tournaments during his five-year spell in charge between 2001 and 2006.  Amongst other famous names from Sweden you will probably know are Ulrika Johnson, ABBA and Ikea. 

But did you know that between 1952 and 1995, there was a Church Fee/Tax paid by everybody in Sweden.  In this system, up until 1995, the Swedish church tax was constructed as an opt-out system. Then it became an ‘opt-in’ tax. Interestingly however,  a 2019 poll shows that 68 percent of people in Sweden continue to opt-in to pay this tax.

 (Many Europeans Happy to Pay Tax to Churches They Don’t Attend - Christianity Today)

Around the year 2002 (or thereabouts, the memory of the exact date is a tad hazy) the Diocese of Truro Youth Department organised an exchange with the Strängnäs Lutheran Diocese in Sweden, one of Truro’s linked dioceses. A group of young people from Cornwall (including our eldest sone, Daniel) went to Sweden.  We then hosted a group of Swedish young people in Cornwall. (I was working as the Diocesan Evangelist with close ties to the Youth & Children’s Department)

One of the aspects that the people in Sweden were concerned about was the lack of funding. As the tax system was now optional would there be a lack of funds for youth work and other aspects of church life. What the church tax fee had done was to enable the Swedish church to employ people, youth workers and the like, plus all sorts of other amenities.   They were keen to know how you could organise the life of the church around volunteers, which in their thinking was the path down which they were heading.

Paid and voluntary workers in a charity is a minefield that can explode and become very messy and finding a way through takes a lot of care, love, patience and understanding. 

On Saturday last I sat with a fellow volunteer of a charity with which I am involved and a paid employee of the charity, who moved from being a volunteer to a paid position.

Without any malice intended he had sent an email, and in the ‘flat way’ text can sometimes be taken, was misconstrued by another volunteer. We met to try and find a way forward and a better understanding. (Which we did)

I am reminded of something Jesus said about bringing an offering before God…

‘“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell. So, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.… Matthew 5.21-24 (Sermon on the Mount)

There is a deep wisdom in this teaching.  But first note the counsel to ‘leave your gift and go and be reconciled.’

A lot of churches have a go at something like this during the ‘Peace’ – which is placed before we come to take Holy Communion. (Anglican speak here, hope others get my drift)

But here Jesus is speaking about being in Jerusalem – and you have brought your offering, perhaps a live animal, the best of your flock, and have travelled down to Jerusalem from Galilee! A round trip to sort things out could be anything up to a week.  This isn’t a simple handshake or even a hug – this is way may serious than that. (Not wanting to downplay anybody's sincerity, but you get the point – well I hope you get Jesus’ point!)  

The second very important thing to note is the progression.  Murder brings judgment, as does anger, calling someone ‘raca’ (empty-headed, worthless) brings a condemnation from the next level court, the Sanhedrin, (High Court we might say) but simply calling someone a fool brings a person into the fires of hell!!!

Why?

Because Jesus is inviting us to check the well- head of our thoughts and our desires.

The charity I mentioned earlier has sought for many years to help those who find themselves in desperate straits. However, over the last few years it has shifted its focus upstream and is working hard with other charities to try and stop people falling into the river in the first place.

Whether you are a paid worker, or a volunteer please heed this wisdom, this counsel. Seek early intervention if there is some ‘difficulty’ between people, volunteers or paid staff or volunteers and volunteers. Above all take care of the well-spring of your desires, because ‘the thought is father to the deed.’

Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. Romans 12.2