'Who do you think you are?' - Weekly reflection 27th September 2026

 The Church had appointed a new minister and were looking forward to hearing her preach for the first time.

The sermon was delivered with a clear injunction at the end for some sort of action to be taken.

Next week the Minister preached the same sermon and again with the call for action. This continued for another two weeks. Eventually the Churchwardens approached the minister and said, we like what you are doing, but we have noticed you have preached the same sermon four times now.  Yes, the Minister replied, and when you have acted on that one I will give you another one!

A couple of weeks ago I went along to a J. John Preachers Session. He offered us twelve words all beginning with C. (I can send you a copy of them if you would like to see all twelve along with the many aphorisms he used to expand each word)

The final one was, Commission. He said, 'don’t take people on a journey and leave them at a roundabout without direction.' Adding, ‘the sermon doesn’t end when the preacher stops talking, but when the people stop walking.’

For those who follow the RCL the Gospel reading set for this morning was Matthew 21.23-32.

There is a question put to Jesus by the ‘authorities’ in the Temple asking what authority Jesus had to do the things he was doing. (He had for a moment stopped the functioning of the Temple by chasing people out and overturning tables. 

(He also called the blind and lame into the Temple and healed them. The intriguing link here is with David taking the city of Jerusalem from the Jebusites – see 2 Samuel 5. 6-8, especially verse 8, ^“On that day,” David said, “whoever attacks the Jebusites should strike the windpipe because David hates the lame and the blind.” That is why people say, “The blind and the lame will not enter the temple.”)

Jesus then goes onto to tell a parable of two sons, not the one of ‘prodigal fame’ but having some echoes.

This parable is a key to understanding Jesus' view of ‘authority’ and what he saw as his vocation.  

Having been asked about his authority to do ‘these things’ Jesus answers with a question of his own. Much like a politician might do today in trying to deflect the question. However Jesus is not trying to deflect the question but to help the Leaders answer it for themselves.

Jesus references the ministry of John the Baptist, where had John got his authority to call people to repentance, was it from heaven or from human origin.  They find they are unable to answer directly and either ascribe John’s ministry to  being mandated by God or coming from human design. The answer is of course, both. John was appointed by God from birth and began his ministry being called of God to be herald of the coming Messiah. And yet, John, unlike Jesus, is conceived and born and brought up in the natural order of things.  This is 'incarnation' of a kind, God working through a defined human agent.  

And then onto the parable and the key phrase is in verse 29 (Matthew 21)

Having been asked to go and work in the vineyard the first son said no, (an absolute scandal to go against the ‘authority’ of a father!) – but then, ‘he changed his mind.’

That’s repentance, a change of heart and mind, that is the call of John the Baptizer. And more than a mere change of heart and mind but a change of direction. John challenges people to change their behaviour, not to merely talk the talk but to walk the walk.

This is one the arguments Stephen Cherry posits in his book, 'Unforgiveable?' - that repentance in every sense of that word must proceed forgiveness. (Even remorse is not acceptable without repentance.) It can be unwise and even dangerous to forgive without evidential repentance, especially in case of ongoing harm and abuse. 

Jesus picks this up, 'repent for the Kingdom of God is here, and goes further in this message.

“Not all who say, Lord, Lord, shall enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father.” Matthew 7.21

To ram home the point Jesus says, ^32 “For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”

This leaves us with a powerful cautionary story. The Chief Priest and the Elders said to Jesus, ‘Who do you think you are?’ (hear that with an accusatory voice) – Jesus’s response, ‘Who do you think you are?’

Then hear that question put to us – ‘who do you think you are?’

May we say along with Paul, “So I am not the one living now—it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God. He is the one who loved me and gave himself to save me.”  Galatians 2.20.

Or, as in the words of a contemporary worship song, 'I'm no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God.'  https://youtu.be/f8TkUMJtK5k?si=JP_LC40vfjRPmKaq

How might living into that truth direct the course of your life, moment by moment, day by day and month upon month - for all of your days?

 

 

"Did it happen to you?' - Weekly Reflection 20th September 2026

 

Did it happen to you?

School sports and setting up for team games.

Two of the brightest and best are chosen to be the captains who then take it in turns to pick their team.

You watch the line get smaller and smaller and you notice the anguish on the faces of the captains as they struggle to make their final choices.

You are left, last and least wanted. Okay, says one of the captains with some reluctance, I suppose we will have to have you on our team.

When in active ministry I developed a skill set around playing games and often used to say that I am not merely playing games when I am playing games! Well, sometimes I did, but most of the time there was a point and a purpose behind each game, a life lesson that could be learned.

I learned and developed better ways of getting people into mixed teams rather than use the awful captain and choose your team.

I left school sixty years ago but I still remember the feeling, and it lives with me.

(If you would like to know some of the more creative ways of getting people into teams I have put one idea below. And do get in touch if you would like any other ideas)  

Today the Gospel reading in the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) was Matthew 20:1-16, commonly referenced as ‘The Parable of the Workers in the Vinyard.’

(I am cautious about using the ‘titles’ of parables since reading A.J. Levine’s book, ‘Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi’ where she invites us to put aside titles because that can predispose our reading, we can begin to disengage because of familiarity)

And although it is helpful to have chapter and verse sometimes again this can interrupt the flow and cause a disjunction.

In the preceding chapter 19 we have ‘little children’ leading the way, we have a rich young man being told to give up on his possession and exchange them for ‘heavenly treasure.’

Then Peter steps up and steps in commenting on what they have given up for the Kingdom and in following Messiah Jesus. What are they to expect?

Jesus’ response is to promise a return of a hundred-fold - and eternal life.

But then concludes be adding the dictum, ‘But many who are first will be last, the last will be first.’  

And then Jesus tells a story, another of his parables.

And his hearers would have known that a vineyard owner is a common metaphor for God. (See for example Isaiah 5)

Here, the way in which this landowner selects his team does remind of my school days. 

However, in this parable there is a twist.

The story is of the landowner going to the market early to hire his first batch of workers. He returns at 9am and finds others standing around and he hires them. He returns at noon, then returns at 3pm and finally at around 5pm, inviting people to come and work in his vineyard.

And this isn’t so far from living memory, men and women lined up at the factory gates or at the dock side hoping to get work for that day.

Today we might be thinking about zero-hour contracts!

As in all good parables there are rich pickings in this story.

We are left to conjecture why there were still people waiting to be hired at 5pm.

However, lining up with all that has been said in chapter 19 and elsewhere, we do see that it is the poor, the weak and the vulnerable, the little children, who are welcomed and have a place in God’s kingdom, often portrayed as leading the way.

Is it too far of a stretch to imagine those still waiting at 3pm and 5pm as those who were weak, ill, feeble and not fit for manual labour, unable to work throughout the heat of the day.

However, like me at school, they are the last to be chosen.

But now comes the twist.

And somewhat intriguingly the dictum of Matthew 19.30 is flipped around to become, “So the last will be first and the first will be last.’

“Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and going to the first.”

Now imagine if the landowner had called those who had laboured longest first, paid them, and sent them on their way. They may never have been aware of being treated the same as those who came later and did hardly an hour’s work.

But no, those who came late in the day receive full day’s pay. It is very easy to see the other labourers getting increasingly excited and thinking, well, if that is how much they have been paid, just what are we going to get by way of a bonus.

And imagine their utter disappointment at being treated equally.

These labourers give the landowner the ‘evil eye’ which in the Bible is a metaphor for envy, greed, and selfishness—seen in passages like Deuteronomy 15:9, Proverbs 28:22, and Matthew 6:22–23—rather than a supernatural curse.

In Matthew 20:11, Jesus addresses the question, "Is your eye evil because I am good?", which is often interpreted as a reference to the evil eye concept. Used here to illustrate the dangers of envy and comparison, where the labourers grumbled about being treated unfairly by the landowner who pays them all the same, regardless of their hours of work. The question posed by Jesus invites reflection on the nature of envy and the importance of contentment and gratitude in life.

It was written all over the faces of those captains choosing their teams when I was at school. The anxiety and disappointment as the choice of students diminished.

But hold onto this thought, and let it sit deep in your soul.

This landowner went out four times looking for workers for his vineyard.

God continues to seek out and search for workers in his vineyard.

And for me, this landowner has a huge welcoming smile as he greets and invites the least and the last to come and help in the vineyard, not at all begrudgingly.

And if, as we might suppose, they are those who have ‘challenges’ how wonderfully generous and loving of God that they are asked not to bear the heat of the day. But given task commensurate with their abilities and skills.   

There is room and a place for everyone in God’s Kingdom.

But here's the question, how will you respond to God's invitation?

_______________________

O Christ in the synanagogue in Nazereth,

O Christ in the pulpit of our Churches,

O risen and cosmic Christ.

O voice of the compassionate and righteous God

Give us no peace until we become workers for your Gospel.

'A Song of the Vinyard'

https://youtu.be/iFCdFcbn9f4?si=6TCn7YwR-d7y4NqK

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 Getting into teams...

 If you have 40 partipants and you want four teams of ten, invite people to move around and form teams of three, teams of seven, keep this flowing as you shout our various numbers, eventually everyone will be mixed up. Then you can say, get into teams of ten. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'Forgiveness is a story not a text message' - transcript from Sermon at St Andrew's Shilton 13th September 2026

Sunday, 13 September 2026
The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

Romans 14:1-12 & Matthew 18: 21-35

On the 23^rd August I preached at my home Church of St Oswald’s Rugby. That day the Gospel reading concerned Peter’s confession of faith and his declaring Jesus as the Christ, or Messiah.

Following on from Peter’s confession the Gospel story turns towards the gathering dark clouds of Calvary, and Jesus begins to try and prepare his disciples to see just what kind of Messiah he is and what path he is going to follow.

On the subsequent Sundays we might entitle them as, ‘Life Lessons with Peter and Rabbi Jesus.’

The first lesson came hard on Peter’s confession and hard on Peter’s heart and ears. “Get behind me Satan.”

Peter learns, and we are invited to learn, as we read in Isaiah 55.8-9…

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

    nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Then last week we have a lesson to learn about reconciliation and about a practical process of seeking to be reconciled. And crucially if not somewhat uncomfortably, we note that reconciliation may not always be possible.

And then this morning picking up on this life lesson Peter thinks he has it cracked and so asks if he should forgive his brother seven times. Interestingly there is a Jewish tradition of forgiving three times. So, Peter may think he is doing well here and especially choosing such a number as seven, often taken to denote completeness in biblical thought. That sounds like a good Biblical number. No, Jesus replies, but rather seventy times seven, which doesn’t mean 490 times!

And this number seven and seventy times seven is not plucked out of the air. It is the same formula we see in Genesis 4.23-24

“Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, “Listen to me, wives of Lamech; hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.” 

In this passage from Genesis, we hear the words of Lamech, who is a descendant of Cain. He’s speaking to his wives, Adah and Zillah, and his remarks unveil a culture of violence that seems to have escalated since Cain killed his brother Abel. Lamech boldly states that he has killed a man for wounding him. His actions express a sense of vengeance far exceeding that of Cain’s. In fact, Lamech asserts that if Cain was to receive revenge sevenfold, then he would receive revenge seventy-sevenfold.

Revenge feeds revenge and sets in motion a vicious cycle.

Forgiveness creates the possibility of breaking that cycle.

Then to make his point, Jesus does what Jesus does and tells a story of a forgiven servant who doesn’t offer the same grace and mercy he has just received to a fellow servant.

This is fleshed out in all senses of that word in 1 John 1.19-21.

We love because he first loved us.  Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.  And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

And note if you will the king forgives the debt and sets him free as a grace gift – nothing required, a free gift of grace, salvation offered without cost to the recipient, but at a cost borne by the king. Ponder on what this might be saying to us.

But then the now freed person enslaves himself again by not offering the same grace and mercy he has just received and finds himself locked up and being tortured.

Which is often what harbouring hatred and seeking revenge does, locks us up, closes us down and can bring pain and suffering.

And then we step into the whole world of forgiveness, and it is hard to think of saying anything that hasn’t already been said or discussing anything that hasn’t been discussed.

But please allow me to say a few things, to highlight some of the thinking and reflecting and experience around forgiveness.

First off, forgiveness is central to the Christian Faith and offers a way of living that reflects God’s kingdom. It breaks the cycle of revenge and retribution as outlined by Lamech.

But one of the key things about forgiveness is to learn what it isn’t?

It isn’t saying, ‘O it doesn’t matter.’  Well, in some cases it doesn’t matter. If you came into Church this morning and you accidently spilt some water all over me, well, that’s pretty straightforward.

However, if you came into Church in a rage about something and deliberate threw water all over me, and maybe for good measure threw the glass at me as well, now that’s something of a different order altogether.

My wife’s great niece, a lovely girl just finishing Uni and home to celebrate mum’s birthday, was tragically killed by a car while out for an evening with friends on October 9^th 2022.

However, this wasn’t simply an awful tragic accident. This accident came about because a young man, high on drugs and drink and driving a powerful car weaponised his vehicle and drove purposefully into a crowd of people outside an All-Night Eatery. The awful long, drawn-out court case saw him convicted of murder and receive a long jail sentence.

Now it simply wouldn’t have been right for her parents to say, O it doesn’t matter and we forgive him anyway.

It did matter and it does matter and when it does matter we need to say so.

However, there are some truly remarkable stories of those who have their sons and daughters murdered and then finding forgiveness and eventually in some cases a reconciliation with the perpetrator. 

I watched a short video of one such case from ‘The Forgiveness Project’ (one of the Founders was Desmund Tutu). The mother of a murdered son made the journey of meeting with his killer in jail. She talks about how she was filled with rage and anger. She began by saying that she did not know him, he did not her, he did not know her son whom he had murdered.

At the end of their conversation, she offered to give him a hug and as she did, she said she felt something starting in her feet and going right up her body and felt all the bitterness, anger and rage leaving her body.

(www.theforgivenessproject.com) 

I am a volunteer with Prison Fellowship and a Volunteer with the Chaplaincy at HMP Rye Hill.  This is the sharp edge of where forgiveness – or not, is everywhere and is palpable.

Sadly, I would say our prison system in the eyes of most of the public is predicated on punishment and retribution. Restorative justice and rehabilitation are viewed as soft, woke, leftwing. Lock them up in a hard regime for a long time. If you can’t do the time don’t do the crime.

Thankfully people like James Timpson, of the family firm, Timpson’s and allied Max Speillman, take a different view. They have been working in prisons for some years giving the inmates a skill set and then seeking to employ prison leavers.  And there are other companies that do the same. In HMP Onley there is a café used by the staff, run by the ‘residents’ with the backing of Greene King.

Another thing that forgiveness is not is forgetting, especially if real injustice or harm has been done. That needs to be addressed.

And then there are times when a long-standing sleight has rumbled on through generations of families. These sometimes pop up at family gathering like funerals or even weddings.

I have some of those in my family, and perhaps you do as well.

One thing we know for certain is that unforgiveness is ugly and distorts and robs people of peace. It can grow and fester like the worst kind of cancer. It can bring on physical and mental maladies and illness.    

Paul who suffered much physical abuse wrote in Romans 12:17-18, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone. Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: ‘Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.’

There is more than can be said about forgiveness, much, much more.

Can I invite you this week to explore some of the remarkable stories of forgiveness, like the one I mentioned of the mother forgiving her son’s killer and then seeking to develop a relationship with him.

Maybe watch ‘Les Misérables’ a story of grace, redemption, restoration and the policeman Javert who only sees the letter of the law, his inflexibility leading to his death by his own hand.

I can commend the book, ‘UNFORGIVEABLE - exploring the limits of forgiveness.’ by Stephen Cherry which explores some of the complexities around forgiveness.

Then consider if you are carrying any resentment, any unresolved issue of forgiveness towards another person. Are you able to move into a place of forgiveness?  And you might want to consider if it is right to make contact and offer an apology if you have wronged someone. Even from years ago. 

However, if you are going down this route, if it was something serious, then tread with caution and care.

But remember carrying unforgiveness can rob you of your peace, and even your health and wellbeing.

On Tuesday last I was in HMP Rye Hill taking part in a course, ‘Living with Loss’ with a focus on bereavement.

And I told a Native American story…

An old Cherokee tells his grandson that a fight is happening inside him between two wolves:

• The “evil” wolf: anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self‑pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, ego. 
• The “good” wolf: joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, faith. 

When the grandson asks which wolf wins, the elder replies: “The one you feed.”

 

Amazing Grace was written by a former slave trader John Newton. Once sailing a ship full of slaves from Africa his ship was hit by a fierce storm. Newton feared for his life and got down on his knees and begged the good Lord to spare his life. He promised the Lord that if he would only spare his life, he would change his ways and stop trading slaves. The storm calmed down and Newton wrote the song Amazing Grace, full of sorrow and love and hope that he would be forgiven of his sins.

'Amazing Grace' - but sung in a way that you probably haven't heard before....

https://youtu.be/89g9yMGFGlM?si=QO5e3qv1-i46zQhu

 

 

  

 

'A Copernican Revelation' - Weekly Reflection 6th September 2026

Towards the end of the school holiday we went to pick up our twin grandchildren on the final day of three-day basketball coaching session. Last year one of them won an award for the most improved player. As all the children bundled out one was full of banter with a T-shirt and a basketball, the other was in a grump. We learned that he was in a mood because someone else won the award for the most improved player. Thankfully his sulk wasn’t very long-lasting. And it is not unusual for children of primary school age. They are asserting themselves and developing their own sense of personhood, their own ego.

Richard Rohr in his book, ‘Falling Upwards,’ speaks of the two halves of life. The first half is all about developing the ego, the period of acquiring and getting and establishing. Roles, money, property, positions, salary. At one level a good ego is part and parcel of our human development. However, Rohr goes onto argue that there comes a period when we need to learn to let go of our ego, to move into the second half of life.

There is a logic to this, and an inevitability no matter how much we may have acquired. Remember the story of the bigger barn building man with a bumper grain harvest. In the story the man, after building bigger barns,  is told by God, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself.’  Luke 12:16-21.

On Friday I joined the group who gather every week to discuss either the Gospel passage set for the forthcoming Sunday, or some other related topic. On this occasion we were exploring the Letter to the Galatians. One of the earliest of New Testament documents, possibly written around 48AD by Paul.

(For a useful overview of Galatians see this short video and read allied material from The Bible Project. https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-galatians/)

One of the broad themes of this Letter is that in Jesus we have an opportunity of being put back into a right relationship with God, with each other and with ourselves.

However, and this is a very important however, this cannot be done by anything we can do – particularly in this case by the keeping of the law as Torah observant Jews.

The Bible I was reading on Friday was from St Andrew’s, (where we meet) and someone had obviously been doing some reading and thinking. In pencil written against Galatians 3:1-5 were written the words, ‘ego, ego, ego, ego.’

Part of Paul’s larger argument, here Paul is taking them to task for having begun to be in this right relationship as a ‘gift of grace’ were they now going to turn back to works of the law.

Let me remind you of another story Jesus told. (Luke 18:9-14)

This is the story of a self-righteous Pharisee and a tax collector praying in the temple.

Christianity is unique in its vision for a world where everyone has an opportunity to become righteous, to be made right with God, with each other and with our selves.

You might have it said that all faiths/religions are but different paths up the same mountain.

Okay, but just suppose you could pay for the best guides, you were able to get the best food, that you had the time to learn about mountain climbing.

Doesn’t that put you at an advantage over others not so blessed?

‘Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.’ Romans 3.27

I remember once standing in line with the ‘residents’ of HMP Stafford to move forward, hold out my hands and humbly accept the wafer before moving on to dip it into the wine.

It was a moment of the deepest profundity. I stood before God, to receive Him, symbolized in bread and wine. I was in the eyes of God on a par with these men with whom I lined up, some of whom had committed the most heinous of crimes against the weakest and the most vulnerable. Loved no more nor no less.

On Saturday last I was in Coventry cathedral for a Celebration of Lay Ministry in the Diocese of Coventry. Some people were mentioned by name, having been nominated for their ministry in their parish or in some other ministry they exercised. This year I wasn’t one of them!  However, I didn’t sulk or feel in anyway slighted.

Back to the teaching of Rabbi Jesus, “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”  Matthew 6.2.

The question for us all then is to consider where we are on our life’s journey.

Are we developing a ‘good ego’ – an ego that doesn’t wallow in self-abnegation or even self-pity or loathing. But an ego that doesn’t become all consuming, all self-consuming. Just consider someone with an over inflated ego. It isn’t helpful or healthy, especially in someone in the ‘second stage of life.’

Have a little mental check in your conversations over the week ahead. How many times does you use the term, ‘I’ in your conversations. How often do you seek your way, to impose your will, to demand that people do things your way. Do you listen or has your mind gone on ahead as to what you want to say, and you are just waiting for the opportunity to jump in.

And a final word for us to chew over from our guide Messiah Jesus, “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” Matthew 10.39.

And the Copernican Revelation - 'you are not the centre of the universe!'

 https://youtu.be/5tYEo0DXclE?si=5RiliTah87gFVgok