Flog it!

Those of you of a nervous disposition may wish to look away now, for "this blog contains matters of a sexual nature that some readers may find disturbing" as the TV continuity announcers say.

The Independent newspaper carried a story today about a young woman called Elizabeth Raine (apparently not her real name) who is going to auction her virginity.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/elizabeth-raine-medical-student-plans-to-auction-her-virginity-9208342.html


According to the story Ms Raine, a medical student in America, is doing this for “money, the adventure, the eroticism, the scandal, the absurdity”. But apparently she plans to donate 35% of the winning bid to a charity bringing education to women in developing countries.

Now I suppose it is entirely up to Miss Raine to do with her body whatever she wants. But I cannot help but reflect on the irony of how, in effect, she is prostituting herself in order to educate women in developing countries. These would be the women who in many developing countries are often treated as chattels themselves or at least as second class citizens. Miss Raines seems to be saying "Don't do as I do, do as I tell you"

(By the way, apparently the auction is due to start on 1st April and I wonder whether there is some connection?)

This coming Sunday (23rd March) the Gospel reading from the Lectionary is John 4: 5 - 42. It tells of Jesus' encounter with a Samaritan woman at a well.

Jews, notes John, do not associate with Samaritans. And later in the story it is suggested that this was also a woman of questionable morals.

And yet Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

As they talk something real begins to happen in this woman’s life. As they talk a transformation starts.

As I said a moment ago there is a suggestion that the woman has a somewhat chequered history. Jesus says to her to go and tell her husband what they have been talking about and she replies

‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband.

And usually this is interpreatted as meaning she has slept with five men and is now living in sin as it were with a sixth.
However, I should point out that this can be interpreted in a different way. The fact that the woman has had five husbands and is now with a sixth man may suggest a scarlet woman. But it is very possible that the woman was subject to what is termed Levirate marriage – which was a tradition in some parts of Judaism.

Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow, and the widow is obliged to marry her deceased husband's brother. A levirate marriage is mandated by Deuteronomy 25:5-6 of the Hebrew Bible and obliges a brother to marry the widow of his childless deceased brother, with the firstborn child being treated as that of the deceased brother.

The passage suggests that the woman realises her need for forgiveness – no matter what the sin is.

The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’

And later

She said to the people, 29 ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah,[e] can he?’
The woman wants forgiveness for whatever reason and she is clearly given forgiveness by Jesus. Jesus’ grace forgives her no matter what she may – or may not – have done. This really is an example of “Hear then the words of grace ‘your sins are forgiven’”

Forgiveness through grace comes about following repentance.

In the newspaper article Miss Raine says that:

“I have never been very religious. This probably explains in part why I am able to do this without moral objection”
“I am not devoid of a moral code though, as some might like you to believe. I have just formed my own code - one I like to believe is founded on a world education and human emotion.”

As I said a moment ago I accept that it is up to Miss Raine what she does. I am not judging her - just as Jesus did not judge the woman at the well. But there may come a time in the future when Miss Raine regrets what she has done and may well feel guilty about it. If so, I hope that she will then find the moral code of Jesus that provides forgiveness and healing.

There’s a season for everything and a time for every matter under the heavens

On 6th January this year I conducted the marriage of Hayley and Will Tsang. The wedding had come about through the generosity of the people of Swindon and because Hayley wanted the marriage to take quickly to enable her father, Gary Savory, to be there to walk her down the aisle. Gary was suffering from terminal cancer.

Sadly, on 1st March, Gary died at home and I was hugely honoured when the family asked me to conduct the funeral.

The local press had been following the story since the wedding and they were at the funeral - with the family's permission - yesterday. You can see the report here. http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/11076416.Farewell_as_doting_dad_seen_off_with_a_blast_of_reggae/?ref=mr

Inevitably the newspaper report doesn't really capture what I said at the funeral so I'm sharing an abridged version, in the hope that people will be able to take comfort from my words:

Outside the window of my office are some bushes. What kind of bushes they are I can’t tell you, as we’ve only been in the house about 3 weeks. But in that three weeks I’ve noticed a change come about. In the middle of February they had a dead look of winter but now – following the sunshine of last weekend - they are starting to come in to leaf. It is almost as if the bushes need to be greeted by warm sunshine to enable them to grow.

Love is to a child what sunshine is to a flower. The experience of being loved as a child gives us something that no amount of money can buy. Love gives us a warm feeling about life. The love of parents and the love within a family enables us to feel good about ourselves and for us to grow – physically and emotionally.

God is love and God entrusted the important task of passing on love through our parents. It is from them that we got our first and most important experience of love. Parents don’t have to be clever, or talented or rich. All they need is a warm heart.

(At this point I shared Gary's life story with the congregation.)

I suppose all of us here today must be thinking “It’s not fair that Gary died at 53”. I’d include myself in this. It isn’t fair. And it is a question Christians constantly try to find an answer to. How can God who loves us allow suffering? There is no answer. It is one of life’s mysteries.

Earlier I read a passage of scripture from an ancient part of the Bible called Ecclesiastes. (Ecclesiastes 3: 1 - 8) You may know the words if you’re familiar with 1960s pop music, as The Byrds had a hit single called “Turn turn turn” which used these words.

The Bible passage is a poem really and what the poet was trying to get over was the message that although we may not understand it at the time, things happen at the right time and for a purpose. This can be hard for us to accept – especially when we are gathered for the funeral of someone we knew and loved.

And yet Hayley, in the words she asked me to read on behalf of the family, hit upon something

Dad when you came back in our lives, it felt you hadn’t ever been away, it was meant to be, you made us complete. I know you never wanted to leave us again, it doesn’t seem real, it doesn’t seem fair. I’m so grateful for the years we had with you. You’re no longer in pain and now at peace,

The time was right for Gary to come back into the family and for the family to be complete again. It isn’t fair that Gary developed cancer and it isn’t fair that he died at 53 he died before his time we may think. But death came at the right time to free Gary from his pain and suffering.

What Gary has taken with him, from this life into eternal life, is the knowledge of the love that surrounded him. The love of his family, but also the love of all of you here today. But most of all I believe that in death Gary would have known the greatest love of all – the love of Jesus Christ. A love that promised that those who believe have nothing to be afraid of in death for they have the promise of eternal life in heaven.

God is love, and those who live in love live in union with God and God lives in union with them. 1 John 4:16

God bless you Gary. Amen.

Photograph from Swindon Advertiser

The long goodbye

Someone who reads this blog regularly, recently commented that I'd not posted anything for five weeks. That's true but I have been a bit distracted. In fact I've been a bit distracted for the last 6 months or more.

To recap. Last summer I spent 6 weeks in Mooresville North Carolina as part of an exchange. (If you've been following this blog, you'll know all about that.) It was a very transformative experience. We made some friendships that will be lifelong. I learned so much and we had a wonderful time. And I was tempted to explore being a minister in the USA.

At the time of the exchange I had been in Swindon for six years. I went to Mooresville feeling tired and if I am honest feeling somewhat jaded. The love and care people at Fairview showed me (and my family) was restorative. I came back from the exchange feeling refreshed and reenergised and with a sense of “What does God have for me next?” I was not expecting this and I have felt blessed by the exchange.

But I also went to Mooresville knowing that the Chairman of District was asking me to move from Swindon early (I was due to be there until 2015) to take up a difficult vacant appointment elsewhere in the District.

On returning from the exchange (in late August 2013) I had a meeting with the Chairman of District and a couple of colleagues about the move and I visited Chippenham. It felt right and God was in the move. So I agreed to move.

But this was only the start. Because I had to break the news to friends at my three churches. I was surprised how hard they took the news. I suppose I had no idea how much they cared for me and valued my ministry. There was a lot of anger - though none of it directed towards me but at the system that allowed this to happen.

So we prepared for the move to Chippenham. And the process of saying goodbye began. And also the round of "Lasts" - Last school assembly, last school governors meeting etc etc. Christmas was hard as I entered the round of last Carol services. And all the while I felt I was not being true to the people in Swindon as I started to think about Chippenham.

And then the time to say final goodbyes to the churches arrived. With the big final goodbye being a joint service for all three churches. This turned out to be hugely special. There was a very good representation from each of the three churches (a combined congregation of around 140.) The service included a baptism of an 8 year old boy who has been attending St Andrews with his mum, for some time. And communion.

It was communion that was so special as virtually everyone in the congregation came forward. And as they received, so many memories came back about the connections I'd made with these people.

And now I'm in Chippenham and the next adventure begins. Watch this space