God hears our prayers - even if they are a word salad

 

Reflection Sunday 26^th July 2020 Romans 8: 26 – 39

 

I last led a service in church on Sunday 15^th March. Since then I have produced a service and reflection for each Sunday. And I will continue to do so for some time. (Even when our churches reopen, I envisage producing something similar every week for those people who feel it won’t be safe to come back to church due to their health concerns.)

I am very grateful for the messages I get from you telling me how appreciative you are of the services, and the work that goes into preparing them. I do not think of it as work or a hard task. After all, I’d be writing a sermon each week anyway. And if anything, the present set up allows me more time to think and prepare than normal. Usually writing a sermon has to come between church meetings, Bible studies, pastoral calls (whether in person or on the phone) and other things. Now I have been gifted more time to prepare these services.

But there is one thing that causes me more work than anything else in my preparations and that are the prayers. For I must confess, I find prayers the most challenging part of any service. Not so much prayers of intercession or prayers of thanksgiving but the other prayers. The prayers of praise and the prayers of confession.

In part, this is because I can’t put into words my own praises, and my confessions might be different to yours!

Therefore, I am grateful to the many gifted writers of prayers who I can draw on. I know some of you have been keeping the services I’ve prepared. If so, if you look back, you’ll see certain names feature regularly - Nick Fawcett, Donald Hinton, Neil Dixon and Christine Odell as well as the likes of Ruth Burgess from the Iona Community and the various writers of the Methodist Worship Book. These women and men have been gifted the prayers to write by the Holy Spirit, to enable people like myself to have the right words to offer as prayers. I thank God for them and for their ministry.

We all know we should pray, and we even know how we should pray  - remember Jesus gave his disciples what we call the Lord’s Prayer as a template on how to pray see Matthew 6: 9 – 13 and Luke 11: 2 – 4. (We’ll keep for another day why these versions of the Lord’s Prayer differ slightly.) And undoubtedly, many people have no issue with praying.

But some of us find prayer difficult. We want to pray but we get ourselves in a muddle somehow. Not knowing how to start, what to say, what to pray for, who to pray for. We hear of other people who find prayer easy who seem to pray as if they’ve just picked up the phone to God and that makes those of us who find prayer a challenge (or even a chore?) guilty. Why can’t we pray like them?

A few weeks ago, I was sent a little video. A kind of animation. (If you are a Facebook member, head to the Central Methodist Church Group and you’ll find it there posted on 24th June.) The animation shows a magnetic board. The kind that children sometime have to stick letters to, to make words.

A woman’s hand sticks at the top of the board letters spelling out “DEAR GOD”. The woman then starts to write various things such as “HOW DO I” and “I JUST”. They are the starts of prayers. But each time she clearly doesn’t know what to say next and she removes the letters, leaving “DEAR GOD” in place and starts again.

After a while she gets frustrated and dumps a whole load of letters on the board before writing “AMEN” at the bottom.

Then the board is cleared by an invisible hand and a message is added:

“DEAR CHILD,

I KNOW.

I LOVE YOU

GOD”

That is all. And the video ends.

When I saw the video for the first time, I found it such a comfort. It could have been me trying to write those initial prayers. As I watched the video some words of scripture came to mind. They are words we find in the passage from Romans for today – Romans 8: 26 – 27

I like how the Living Bible puts it:

²⁶ And in the same way—by our faith^[e]—the Holy Spirit helps us with our daily problems and in our praying. For we don’t even know what we should pray for nor how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with such feeling that it cannot be expressed in words. ²⁷ And the Father who knows all hearts knows, of course, what the Spirit is saying as he pleads for us in harmony with God’s own will Romans 8: 26 - 27

It is encouraging to know that no matter how jumbled up our prayers are, no matter how inadequate we feel our words are, no matter if we never get past “DEAR GOD” on our equivalent of a magnetic board, God hears our prayers through the Holy Spirit making sense of our groans, our “word salad” (a phrase I’ve heard recently.)

Paul isn’t saying we shouldn’t pray and rely on the Holy Spirit to do the job for us. We still need to pray. Even if we say the prayers in our hearts and minds. We still need to pray. But we can be assured that through the Holy Spirit God hears our prayers no matter how messy or inadequate we think our prayers are.

Don't be a judge

 

Reflection 19^th July 2020 – Matthew 13: 24 – 30, 36 – 43

 

In one of his books, C. S. Lewis points out that when people become Christians, if they are not careful, their sinning often shifts from the overt, outward, visible sins of lying, cheating, stealing, cursing and swearing, to the more inward, hidden, non-apparent invisible sins.  Among them Lewis lists "a critical spirit" ... a spirit of judgmentalism, a censorious attitude. In fact, he points out that this sin is more commonly committed by church people than by those who are not. So prevalent is it in church circles, that it is sometimes labelled "Christian cruelty."

In the Parable of the Weeds (or Tares) we’re thinking about today, Jesus is thinking about the sin of judging. What exactly is the sin of judging? It is jumping at unverified conclusions. It is relating as fact that which is only hearsay or conjecture. It is reading evil into another’s motives merely because it seems obvious.

This squares with Webster’s dictionary definition: "Judging is to criticize or censure, to think or suppose ... by pretending to know the motives of the person doing the acting." It is Judging that Jesus scorned when he said, "Judge not." He was condemning the common act of appointing oneself to be the judge and jury in matters where only partial knowledge or evidence is available. As Byron J. Langenfeld has said, "Where is the person who can weigh the faults of others without putting his thumb on the scale?"

The sin of judging is a dangerous business and should be carefully avoided by those who wish to prevent this sin from becoming part and parcel of their lives.

First, we should not judge because things are not always as they appear. Not only are we so often lacking in background information for what we see in others; we do not always understand what we see them doing.

There once was a minister who was seen staggering from a bar at 1 in the morning being held up by another man. The next day he was summoned to give an account of himself before the elders of the church. “It’s not what you think. I went into the bar to bring out the man you saw me with. His wife phoned me in desperation as she was worried about him. I was carrying him out and tripped as I left, that’s why I staggered.”

But the story with all its lurid implications would not die. It grew and spread out of all proportion in that small town. The minister’s deacons upbraided him for what they considered an indiscretion, and finally the man was dismissed from his parish. This exemplifies the "Christian cruelty" which is frequently practiced.

False, misinformed, bribed, and prejudiced witnesses did the same with our Lord Jesus. Here we are not talking about the ignorant rabble, but about men experienced in law. An INNOCENT MAN was unjustly convicted, and the cross was his sentence. What a terrible miscarriage of justice! We sinful people; how prone we are to make mistakes and be guilty of erroneous judgments.

Secondly, we should not judge because we may be setting our own (rather than God’s) standards and judging others by them. Matthew 7:2 seems to hint at this when it says,

² For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

All people stand under the same judgment of Christ Jesus. In his presence all our defences topple over like the walls of Jericho. So why do we think that we can set the standards of judgment based upon our own preferences?

In John 8 we hear of a woman caught in adultery by Pharisees who brought her to Jesus for him to judge her. Jesus did not condone what she had done, but he knew that these men were not blameless either. "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her," (John 8:7) he said, and no stone was ever cast. The Lord helped them to see that they were being inconsistent in their judgment. Well, then as now, the Lord Jesus penetrates into the dark corners of our thoughts and words, and at that point no person can stand up and say, "I have no sin!"

Thirdly, we should not judge because we may not understand the weaknesses and battles of others. Often, we see only people’s failures, not the hundreds of battles they win. This makes many of our judgments not only incorrect but often downright cruel.

Rev Dr Leslie Weatherhead told of a young girl who enjoyed an Atlantic crossing in pre-war days on a luxury liner. The chef on this ship was an original man who liked to make the ice cream in different shapes each night. One night it was served in the form of a ship; another night it would be like a statue, and so on. One night it was served in an ordinary dish without being shaped, and this spoiled girl complained that the chef was getting slack. What she didn’t know was that the chef had received a radio message that very day that his wife had died.

We may sometimes be unconsciously cruel, but we are cruel nevertheless and often grossly unfair.

The plea in the Parable of the Tares is not that we condone sin or wink at evil, but rather that we be charitable and reticent to condemn. We need to maintain the open opportunity to witness to the offender. We should want every transgressor to join with us in seeking the love and forgiveness of Jesus.

Because Jesus was willing to absorb the punishment we all deserved on account of our sins - including those of misjudgement - we who repent of our critical spirit, can receive full forgiveness and pardon at the hands of a loving God.

People who have been forgiven much, should forgive and pardon much. Perhaps as we go about living lives without an unduly judgmental spirit, we can show others just how much we realize that we ourselves have been forgiven. As Paul’s says to Timothy, “… set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”  1 Timothy 4:12

Covidiots and sinners

 

This Reflection was produced for Sunday 12th July 2020. It looks at Romans 8: 1 - 11

I wonder what you’ve made of the photographs and TV footage of the vast crowds on the beach at Bournemouth or crowds gathered outside pubs? I have to say these images made me cross. Like many of you, we’ve had to “shield” over these last 3 months. It’s not been too bad, but it has certainly been frustrating at times. Nevertheless, we’ve done it to protect our own health and also in consideration of the NHS and other people.

No doubt those people on the beach in Bournemouth or gathered in pubs all feel justified in what they’ve done. No doubt some of them have been stuck at home for weeks. No doubt their children have been driving them to distraction. No doubt there are all manner of reasons why people felt they could do what they do, including testing their eyesight! But they’ve “sinned” haven’t they?

When I looked at the Bible passages for this Sunday, I was immediately drawn to Romans 8: 1 – 11, In particular verses 6 and 6 which, in the Contemporary English Version read:

⁵ People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves. Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things. ⁶ If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace. Romans 8: 5 – 6 CEV

Oh yes I thought, those words of Paul entitle me to write a stinging rebuke of a sermon to those “Covidiots” on Bournemouth beach or in pubs. (Covidiots is a phrase coined to describe the behaviour of those who appear to be unconcerned with the risk of catching Covid 19.)

But then I thought “Wait a minute. Which one of us at some point in our lives has not behaved in a way when we’ve thought only of ourselves as opposed to others? Which one of us at some point in our lives has sinned we have sinned against God or against our neighbour in thought and word and deed, through negligence, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault?” (If you feel you haven’t, I suspect you’re suffering from severe headaches as your halo is too tight!) And it’s quite possible that amongst those hundreds of thousands of people there were some Christians.

We’ve all sinned. It might not be majorly, but we all have sinned. And we know that God hates sin. And by rights, we should be punished for that sin. We should be condemned. But Paul reminds us

“… there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” Romans 8:1 NIV

The key part of that verse are those three words “in Christ Jesus”. There is no condemnation from sin for those who are in Christ Jesus.

What does that little phrase “in Christ Jesus” mean?

To be in Christ Jesus is to be part of something far larger than oneself. As David M. Greenham puts it in the Feasting on the Word Bible commentary for this passage

“To be in Christ Jesus is to encounter a power astronomically greater than the sum of all the will power you have ever mustered, added to all the physical power you have ever exerted, added to all the clout you’ve ever had”.

To be in Christ Jesus, is to be swept up by the power of the Holy Spirit and to be free from the things of the flesh that bind us. In other words, to be in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit means the the things of the world, “the flesh” has no control over us. To be in Christ Jesus means we see things from Christ’s perspective not the world’s perspective.

This is good news. But it is difficult to believe. Yet it is not impossible to believe. To believe we are in Christ means that we have reoriented our lives toward a power greater than ourselves. A power greater than any in the world. (And that, Paul reminds us, is the power of death. Even that power has no control over us if we are in Christ Jesus.)

The Spirit we have in Christ Jesus can do so much more than we are able to do. On our own we are not able to get it all done; so much is left undone. By this tiny phrase “in Christ Jesus” Paul shows us we are not constrained by our own limitations or shortcomings or failings. We are not even condemned for our cruelties, our hurtful ways or our hateful actions. There is no condemnation for our sins. We are forgiven. In Christ Jesus we are free.

That is not to say we can sin without impunity. Paul reminds us that

“… those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” Romans 8:5

We are frail people. Even when we are in the Spirit we will sometimes sin in some shape or form. But we have the assurance of forgiveness if we seek it and if we are in Christ Jesus.

In 1973 a gang of bank robbers held up the Kreditbanken in Stockholm, Sweden. The police interrupted their heist, but the bank robbers proceeded to hold several bank employees hostage for six long days. When at last they were rescued these kidnap victims, who had been terrorized and abused by their captors, stunned the authorities by demonstrating considerable emotional attachment to their victimizers. Swedish criminologist Nils Bejrot termed what had happened as Stockholm syndrome.

Since 1973 Stockholm Syndrome - a captive showing loyalty and concern for the captor — has been repeated and recognised thousands of times. Including in domestic abuse cases. The captives get their own identity so wrapped up in that of their captors that no matter how bad their reality, it seems better than facing the fear of an unknown, undefined future.

One of the dominant sicknesses facing our world today is a kind of cultural "Stockholm Syndrome," blindly defending and claiming as good for ourselves the very things that keep us captive. Whether it is not caring for our neighbour, lying, cheating, or whatever.

It is only recognition of being held captive by sin and the need to be freed from sin by Christ Jesus that can help us. Whether we’re Covidiots, or sinners, or both!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Take the yoke I give you

 This was originally produced as a Reflection for Sunday 5th July 2020

How restful is your life at present? Do you manage to get some rest? For some people these questions mean rest in the sense of getting sleep.

Others want a different kind of rest. In ordinary times they seek relief from a busy schedule. The rat race gets to them. Relief from family tensions is the goal of many today. There is too much nagging between parents and children, between parent and parent, and between one child and another.

It is in this light that the words of Jesus here in this text sound so inviting. He says,

  ²⁸ If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take the yoke^[f] I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me." Matthew 11: 28 – 29 CEV

Very often we feel "yoked" - burdened, exploited, loaded down. So what is the promise that Christ holds out here? What is the yoke of Christ?

We need to remember  that Jesus says his yoke is "easy," but a yoke is still a yoke. This, then, is no invitation to sail through life. There's no promise in Christianity that we will ever be completely and finally relieved of all burdens and challenges on this earth. The yoke of Christ doesn't ever mean no yoke at all. Christ’s yoke is not a promise of sweetness and light, so we don't have to lift a finger again. The yoke is still a yoke. The load is still a load.

The word "yoke" is an agricultural term, of course. It refers to a wooden frame for joining two oxen or cows together in their task of pulling a load. Jesus is now offering us this piece of subservience. He wants to fit us with a yoke of his own making. What kind of a yoke, then, is Jesus offering us?

The yoke of Christ is easy and light when compared to other yokes. It’s still a burden but a lighter burden when compared to other burdens.

We have the challenge of dealing with our own sins, with our human failures, with our bad relationships with other people. Jesus is saying that there is an easier yoke or a more difficult one as we deal with these matters. He asks us to choose the easy yoke he offers.

Let's illustrate this. A ten-year-old boy and his friends love to play cricket. The boy's father has warned him many times to keep away from the houses so as not to break a window. The boys ignore the warning and our ten-year-old friend sends a “Six” right through a window.

Now the boy has to deal with his "sin". He has a choice of burdens to bear. He could choose the route of concealment. That’s what his friends tell him to do. It will be an easier way out. But in doing that, the boy soon realizes that he has a yoke to bear anyway. By following this choice, his father becomes an object of fear, and fear is a burden. An innocent look from his father across the dinner table becomes a suspicious glance in the boy's eyes. Every time the phone rings, the young lad wonders whether someone is calling to report the deed and the culprits. Life becomes uneasy. A heavy yoke is being borne.

On the other hand, the boy may choose an easier yoke to bear. He could choose to go to his father immediately. Yes, there is the burden of self-humiliation to bear. He must painfully hear his father say, "I told you that would happen!" As every young person hates to realize, he must suffer the pain of admitting that in some ways his parents are more intelligent and better informed about life than he is. He may even have to bear the burden of ultimately working at summer jobs to pay for the window.

But this yoke is still easier than the route of concealment. For there is also the distinct possibility of hearing his father's word of forgiveness, of knowing that this deed has not really separated him from his father's love and grace.

This is the kind of easy yoke Christ offers us in view of our sins and human failures. Many are bearing the yoke of guilt, of concealment, of sin that nags, of sin not ever really confessed or faced.

On occasion people have unburdened themselves to me of some of the yoke they’ve been carrying with them for years. Inevitably once they’ve “confessed” they feel better for doing so. Their burden is lighter. This is no accidental feeling. They have taken on the easier yoke of Christ. Still a yoke, yes. Still some pain. Still some humiliation. But an easier yoke.

Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who suffered for our sins and died for us on the cross, now lovingly invites us to choose a lighter load.

The yoke of Christ is easy and light when compared to the alternatives. And it is a well-fitting yoke too. That is, well-fitting and therefore easy in comparison to a bad-fitting yoke. William Barclay tells about the legend in the Holy Land concerning Jesus the Carpenter. The legend says that Jesus helped his father, Joseph, make yokes for oxen in their carpenter shop at Nazareth. So successful was their workmanship, so well-fitting were their yokes, that a sign above the shop door read, "My yokes fit well." That's what Jesus is saying to us today, "My yokes fit well!"

Jesus is an expert on life and on how to live. He knows the way we were meant to live, the way God always dreamed we should live on his earth. Look at the witness of Christ's life in the Bible. Christ knows how to love, to forgive, to heal. Christ knows how to die, and to rise again. He knows life! He wants to give all of that to you and me.

We think we know life and how to live. But so often we make even the simplest and most beautiful things of life a burden. We often end up with a yoke that doesn't fit very well. It rubs at the neck. The nerves become sensitive, the skin grows raw. And all the time an easier way is waiting for us. A gracious Lord is offering us a lighter load.

²⁸ If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take the yoke^[f] I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me."

The cost of being a disciple

 

This is the Reflection I wrote for Sunday 28th June 2020 on Genesis 22: 1 - 14

“They mess you up your mum and dad, they may not mean to, but they do” so wrote the poet Philip Larkin in his poem “This be the verse”. (Actually, it’s a bit ruder than that but this has the same meaning.) And I think it fair to say that had Philip Larkin been writing at the time of Abraham, Sarah and Isaac, Isaac would have related to those words.

Imagine for a moment you are Isaac. Probably, you are in your teens, as we would say. (The Hebrew word translated as “son” can be translated as “lad” which suggests an older boy.) You have these two elderly parents. You have a vague memory from childhood of playing with a boy called Ismael (did someone say he was your half-brother?) But one day Ishmael and his mother Hagar had gone. Apparently, your father had sent them away. Why?

So, you have that concern about your father. “Could he do that to me?”

One day your father tells you “We are going on a journey to make a sacrifice to God.” “Why do we have to go on a journey Dad? Why can’t we sacrifice here?” But you are a good lad and you go along with your father and the two servants. Even though your father Abraham seems a bit subdued and can’t look you in the eye.

You reach the spot and you help your father build an altar. “But Dad. You forgot the sheep. What are we going to sacrifice?” And your Dad goes all mystical “God will provide the lamb for sacrifice”. But next thing you know your father is making you lie down on the altar. You’re bound, you can’t move. Then your Dad produces a knife and looks as if he’s about to kill you, even though he’s got tears in his eyes and says he’s sorry and asks you to understand it’s God’s will.

But then there is a voice that tells your Dad to stop and points your Dad to a ram that can be used to make the sacrifice.

Your Dad does this and the same voice, an Angel of the Lord, says that because your Dad had been prepared to sacrifice you, God will bless your Dad and his descendants. And all subsequent people will be blessed too including you Isaac.

Of course, the writer of Genesis doesn’t tell us how Isaac feels after this incident. But surely his relationship with his father must have been marred by it? For the rest of Isaac’s life, he must have always been wary of his father or resentful.

If you remember, last week we looked at the story of Hagar and Ishmael and I commented that I didn’t think the story cast Abraham in a good light when he throws Hagar and his son Ishmael out in to the desert. And we could feel the same about Abraham in this week’s story too. But setting aside our empathy with Isaac, I think we should not be so hard on Abraham.

Although I have started this reflection thinking about the relationship between Abraham and Isaac, the story isn’t really about that. The story is about God and Abraham. The story is about Abraham trusting God and more so God trusting Abraham.

Reading the story, we know that God is testing Abraham. We know that God does not intend to kill Isaac, but that God is testing Abraham’s faithfulness. And for God, this is important. The story of Abraham in Genesis is about God seeking to create a people, followers, who will be descended from Abraham. If Abraham cannot be trusted wholeheartedly by God, then God will need to find someone else to help God deliver His plan. Is Abraham the faithful one who can carry God’s purpose along? Or does God need to take some other course of action?

This is why God tests Abraham. The Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann says “this test by God is not a game; God genuinely does not know how Abraham will react. God did not know. Now He knows.”

As for Abraham, he shows his faithfulness and he shows his complete trust in God. And for me the story shows that for Abraham, God will always come first. God comes before Sarah and even Abraham’s beloved son Isaac.

Coming back to Isaac for a moment. Perhaps as Isaac grew older, Abraham explained to him what was really happening on that strange day. Perhaps Abraham said that he felt obliged to do God’s will first and foremost because Abraham trusted in God. And maybe, Isaac grew to understand something of this as he too became one of the Patriarchs of Israel.

This passage raises the question though of our own obedience to God and our own priorities.

A couple of days before we moved from Cirencester to Swindon, for my first appointment, a gentleman called John came to see me. John had been instrumental in nudging me into ministry. John gave me a small carrier bag containing a small wooden cross about 6 or 7 inches high. “This used to sit on my father’s desk and it’s only right that it goes to another minister.” (I hadn’t realised John’s father had been a minister.) Then with tears in his eyes John said something I’ve never forgotten “Promise me you’ll still make time to take your son to watch rugby. My Dad was always too busy to take me to watch football.”

John’s words reminded me of something one of my lecturers at college said. “God has called you to be a husband, a father and a minister. In that order. Don’t forget”.

I have tried to follow John’s advice; I’ve tried to follow my lecturer’s advice. But it is not always easy to do. I want to remain faithful to God and that sometimes dictates priorities. Abraham did not want to sacrifice his son, but for Abraham ultimately faithfulness to God came first.

John’s words made me realise the cost all of us face from time to time in being faithful followers of God. Sometimes we all have to put God before the needs of our families and friends and our own interests.

I do not feel God tests us to check out our faithfulness. I do not believe God sets traps for us or deliberately puts things in our way to see if we remain faithful to him. Though I am sure God is pleased when we remain faithful to Him during the trying times, we all encounter from time to time.

God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. 1 Cor 10:13 NRSV

Reflecting on Father's Day

 

This is the Reflection I wrote for Father's Day 21st June 2020

Today is Father’s Day. And I’ve done some research about this day. It originated in the United States. Not, as you might assume as some commercial opportunity. Rather it came about through the actions of a woman called Sonora Smart Dodd. Sonora was by all accounts enormously proud of her father who had served in the American Civil War. Apparently one Sunday, when sat in the Methodist Church in Spokane Washington, and being told of the origins of Mother’s Day, (not to be confused with Mothering Sunday by the way) she thought there should be a Father’s Day. And the first one was held on 19^th June 1910.  I don’t know how or when Father’s Day arrived on these shores.

I mention Fathers’ Day though as the inclusion of one of our Bible readings from the Lectionary seems odd for today. I’m thinking of Genesis 21: 8 – 21. On the face of it a passage that doesn’t portray Fathers in a good light.

Let’s go back a couple of chapters and have a recap of what has taken place before we arrive at today’s reading: Abraham is incredibly old, and he has a big problem. He has no heir. To compound Abraham’s problem, his wife Sarah is also old, way past the child-bearing years of her life. But Sarah comes up with a wonderful idea. She has a young Egyptian slave named Hagar. Sarah suggests to Abraham that Hagar could provide him with an heir. And Abraham agrees. Hagar has no choice in the matter. She’s a slave, and she must do what Sarah tells her to do. Sure enough, Hagar becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son, who is called Ishmael. Abraham must have been very proud of this son that he had given up hope of having, and undoubtedly, he must have also felt differently toward Hagar than he had when she was just Sarah’s slave. Big problem.

Sarah realises it was not such a good idea. The relationship between Sarah and Hagar began to change. Hagar had given Abraham something Sarah could not give him. And Sarah was extremely jealous of Hagar, and when jealousy enters a relationship, trust begins to disintegrate.

Then, miraculously, Sarah becomes pregnant and has her own son, Isaac.  Sarah’s jealousy shifts into high gear. She can’t stand the thought of Abraham’s other son, Ishmael, inheriting Abraham’s wealth and family name as eldest son. Something that Sarah believes should belong to Isaac. Sarah demands that Abraham throw Hagar and Ishmael out of their home, sending them off into the desert. Again, without one word of protest, Abraham agrees. (You understand now why this was a difficult text for Father’s Day.)

Any humane modern reader of the Bible will empathize with Hagar and Ishmael in this story. Ishmael didn’t ask to be born, and as a slave Hagar had no choice but to do what Sarah commanded her to do. And what does Hagar get for her obedience? She and her son are driven out into the desert and abandoned. But God does not punish Abraham and Sarah. In fact, God says to Abraham, "Don’t worry about the boy or the slave woman. Just do what your wife says." (See Genesis 21:12)

It’s not a story we can lightly explain away. Sarah was green with jealousy, and Abraham didn’t have the backbone to stand up to his wife when he had to know that what she demanded of him was wrong. These were big, important people, heroes of the Old Testament, but they were envious and cowardly. Yet despite their all-too-human frailties, God would make something out of their lives. Surely that’s not right? That’s not fair.

What do we make of it? This story doesn’t paint anyone (other than Hagar and Ishmael) in a good light. Even God doesn’t look good. Just a couple of weeks ago I was talking to a friend who is a local preacher about this passage and Genesis 22: 1 – 19. And we both said we feel very uncomfortable with the way God appears in these stories. After all in Genesis 22 God  sends Abraham out to sacrifice Isaac, and Abraham was on the point of doing it before God intervenes.

As I’ve said, I don’t think this story (or the following chapter in Genesis) paints God in a good light. And yet there is a positive side to this sad story of Hagar and Ishmael. God makes something out of them. Alone in the desert, dying of thirst, God comes to Hagar and tells her of the great destiny that awaits Ishmael, that he too will be the father of a great nation. (Understood today to mean the Arab nation.)

There are many ways in which this story can be used. It is through this story that Muslims see Abraham as a patriarch of their faith. (They regard Ishmael as a prophet.) And, as I understand it, many African Americans and Afro Caribbeans relate to the story. It’s not hard to see why – the story of a slave woman exploited and cast aside must ring true for many. It is the story of so many of their ancestors. Sadly, for many people of colour it is a story that still resonates today. That sense of being treated as second class citizens, of being rejected. The Black Lives Matter protests stir up all manner of feelings and views. But let’s not forget that deep down they have been sparked by the injustice experienced by many people of colour in many parts of the world.

Professor Fred Craddock was a highly thought of American preacher of the second half of 20^th century. In fact, he was Professor of Homiletics (preaching, in other words) at several universities.

Craddock related how he and his wife were once on holiday in Tennessee. One night they found a quiet little restaurant, where they looked forward to a private meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, talking to the other diners.

In due course the man came to the Craddocks’ table and they struck up conversation, with Craddock explaining what he did for a living.

"Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I’ve got a story to tell you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with Craddock and his wife.

The man stuck out his hand. "I’m Ben Hooper," he said. "I was born not far from here. My mother wasn’t married when I was born, so I had a pretty hard time growing up. When I started school, my classmates had a name for me, and it wasn’t a very nice name. I used to go off by myself at recess and lunch time because the things they said to me cut me so deep.

"When I was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to our church. I would always go in late and slip out early t avoid the name calling. But one day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. I could feel every eye in the church on me. Just about the time I got to the door I felt a big hand on my shoulder. I looked up and the preacher was looking right at me. The preacher said ‘Who are you, son? Whose boy are you?’  I felt so ashamed.” Hooper said. “Even the preacher was putting me down. But as he looked down at me, studying my face, he began to smile, a big smile of recognition. ‘Wait a minute!’ the preacher said. ‘I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God. Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.’”

The old man looked across the table at Fred Craddock and said, "Those were the most important words anybody ever said to me, and I’ve never forgotten them." With that, he smiled shook hands with Craddock and his wife, and moved on to another table to greet old friends. And as he walked away, Craddock remembered who Ben Hooper was. A former governor of Tennessee.

Putting aside how God is seen in this story, I prefer to think of the God we see in Jesus Christ. Every one of us is a child of God no matter who we are. Every person is the same in his sight. By God’s grace that is every person’s inheritance.

(The Fred Craddock story comes from www.sermons.com)

Could do better - but have faith

 

This is the Reflection I wrote for Sunday 14th June 2020 Matthew 10

Jesus made it look all so easy. Turn up in a city or village. Preach in the synagogue, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, raise the dead. No problem. Now it’s the disciples’ turn.  And suddenly it’s more difficult.

I used the analogy in my Pentecost reflection, that Pentecost was a graduation party for the disciples. They’d fully qualified to go out into the word and proclaim the Good News, after spending three years training. Continuing that analogy, I think we can think of this passage as the disciples doing a work-based placement!

The task Jesus sets the disciples isn’t an easy one. Whilst they don’t have to go to Gentiles or Samaritans and only have to concentrate on “the lost sheep of Israel” Matthew 10:6, they are told

 ⁷ As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”^[c] 8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,^[d] cast out demons. Matthew 10: 7 – 8

They must receive no payment; they must travel with the minimum belongings. They need to find out “some worthy person” to stay with. And so on and so on.

Is anyone, apart from Jesus, up to such a job? No human follower of Jesus could achieve all that surely? And yet maybe those first followers of Jesus set off feeling they could do these things. They had every confidence having had the best teacher ever. (Though as a reading of the Gospels shows, the disciples, before Pentecost often fall short of what Jesus hoped of them.)

If the disciples fall short after being personally trained by Jesus, what hope have we got? For starters, let me tell you during my ministerial training there was no training on curing the sick or raising the dead!

We do not know what “training” the disciples had before they set out. But what we do know is that they set out with faith and not much more. Although equally we know from elsewhere in the Gospels that Jesus often chided the disciples for not having enough faith. See for example Matthew 17: 14 – 20 where the disciples fail to heal a demon possessed boy.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’

²⁰ He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’ 

Therefore, although the disciples set out with faith, their faith wasn’t sufficient for the task.

And that I feel is the stumbling block for us. We feel our faith isn’t sufficient to go out into the world to get Christ’s work done. We also feel that even if we had faith to share the Good News, how will we get our message heard in a world where so much other “news” dominates?

And then of course there is the second part of the passage about not needing any money or clothes or possessions because they will be provided for. But by the way disciples, you can expect, floggings, to be arrested, betrayal by family members which might end up with you being put to death.

Would any of us be prepared to go out into our community, let alone the wider world, if that was what was required of us? I doubt it. I know I wouldn’t.

All in all, this passage is quite disheartening I feel. We know we should be better disciples. We know we are told to at least proclaim the Gospel (even if the healing of the sick and raising of the dead is above our pay grade.) But we aren’t able to do that effectively. What’s the point?

The point is, that throughout history, amazing things, seemingly impossible things, have been done and continue to be done through ordinary members of the Church. Jesus’ words have encouraged and motivated far more than the twelve disciples listed in these verses. 

I don’t know if you’ve seen the previous series, but I can recommend “A house through time” on BBC 2. It is a bit like “Who do you think you are?” but instead it focuses on a single house and who has lived there over the centuries. The current series looks at a house in Bristol and the house was originally owned by a series of ships captains and traders all involved in the slave trade. Without giving too much away the fortunes of the house changed when John Wesley set up a Methodist chapel in the street. The wives of various captains started to attend the chapel and these women, in a small way, started to bring about the end of the slave trade after hearing Wesley’s ante slavery sermons.

Nothing is impossible with only a small amount of faith. Having Christ with us, believing Christ is among us enables us to do things we could not believe possible ourselves.

One of the hymns I’ve chosen is “Rejoice”. It picks up this theme perfectly.

God is at work in us His purpose to perform Building a kingdom of power not of words
Where things impossible by faith shall be made possible, Let's give the glory To Him now.

Though we are weak, His grace Is everything we need We're made of clay, but this treasure is within. He turns our weaknesses Into His opportunities So that the glory Goes to Him

Once a Russian Monastery that was dying and declining. The brothers were growing old, many had died. The local villagers had stopped coming to visit the monastery. Young men were no longer interested in dedicating themselves to the monastic order. This decline led to worry, and the loss of hope led to bitterness. In desperation the abbot went to visit an old hermit he had heard about. He hoped that the old man might have some wisdom. The abbot arrived after a long journey and explained their problem to the hermit. The hermit prayed for the abbot but said nothing more. The two men sat in silence for an awfully long time and the abbot patiently waited to hear some word of hope - a blessing, a prophecy, just something simple to try. Finally, the abbot could abide the silence no longer and he begged the hermit for an answer. The hermit replied, "I'm sorry, but there really isn't anything I have to tell you. I don't know what the future holds for the monastery. I am sorry - oh, but there is this - I believe that the Messiah is in your midst." The Messiah? thought the abbot. Among us at the monastery? He rushed back and reported the unexpected news and the brothers began to question, "Who is it?" "Who among us is the Messiah?" Surely not Bro. Nicolaus, he gripes too much. Surely not Bro. Stavros, he is so whiney. But what if ...? And on it went.

And in time as the monks began to suppose that any one of them could be the Messiah, they began to treat each other with respect and kindness and love. That spirit extended into the village and rumours of the Messiah's presence continued so that everyone began to wonder if their neighbour might be the Messiah. And though no one was ever identified as the Messiah, the monastery was thriving, and the village was blessed, and young men devoted themselves to the faith.

Since Jesus is with us always, then discipleship is on-going, and it is every day. It is not something for a special day or a special evening or a special event. It is the pulse of every moment lived in the kingdom of God.

It's enough to give you the PIP

This is a story about PIP. And compared to my usual blogs, it’s a long one.

PIP is Personal Independence Payment. PIP is a benefit paid by the Department of Work and Pensions. According to DWP “Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can help you with some of the extra costs if you have a long-term ill-health or disability.”

PIP is made up of two elements. The Daily Living element and the Mobility element. The Daily Living part is aimed at helping with extras costs for care and the Mobility element is to help pay the additional costs disabled people have in getting around.

I’ve blogged before about my illness and how I suddenly became disabled in 2016, so I’m not going to cover old ground. But in early 2017 I applied for PIP. At that time, I was in a wheelchair.

In order to qualify for PIP you have to be seen by a medical assessor, sometimes a nurse, sometimes a paramedic or physiotherapist. (These are all employed by a private company working for DWP called ATOS or the Independent Assessment Service as they call themselves now. I’m not sure who they are independent of.)

Anyway, in January 2017 an assessor came to the house and assessed my claim. He sent off his report to some minion in DWP who found all the right boxes had been ticked and I was awarded the Enhanced Rate for both daily living and mobility. And this was for 3 years.

For us, the best thing of this was getting the Enhanced Rate for mobility as people with that are entitled to a Motability Car. Motability is a charity originally set up to provide “Invalid carriages” (do you remember the 3-wheeler blue bubble car type things?) Nowadays they help disabled people on PIP (and other benefits) lease cars with adaptations. And the person receiving the car then signs over their PIP mobility to Motability.

So, this was fine. I got a new car, adapted so I can drive just using hand controls and with a hoist in the back so I can lift my mobility scooter in and out.
The car has been wonderful. Without it I couldn’t work, simple as that. And given my disability, and the need to ferry the scooter around, it needs to be a big car – one I wouldn’t ordinarily buy.

As I said, the PIP was awarded for 3 years which means I would need to be reassessed at some point. And in September last year a form arrived from DWP for me to complete. I did this to best of my ability and sent it back. Just before Christmas, I received a letter from DWP inviting me to attend an interview in Swindon for a reassessment. I say “invite” it’s a summons. If you don’t go, your PIP will be stopped.

On Friday 10th January 2020, my wife drove in my adapted car to Swindon. We knew roughly where the assessment centre was and knew that parking wasn’t great round there. (They don’t make it easy do they?) So we took my scooter. Just as well as we had to park a fair way from the centre and once inside it as a big building. My appointment was at 3pm My wife and I arrived at 14.50. I booked in at reception and was told the assessor “Karen” was “running late”. When I asked how long the delay would be, I was told it would be “about half an hour”.

At 15.20 the Receptionist came and told me that I would be seen by Karen but not until around 15.45. I was asked if I wanted to stay or rebook. I said I would stay.

I was already anxious about the assessment and this delay made me even more anxious. So much so that I felt nauseous and went to the toilet.

At 16.00 the Receptionist came and told us that “Karen was now reading the paperwork” and would be ready shortly.

At around 16.05 Karen came out to collect me. I askd Karen how far it was and whether I’d need the scooter. “No, it’s about 10m”.

We were shown into the room and I sat down. Karen apologised for the delay and said, “Because I was running late, I’ve not been able to read all the paperwork.”
It was also clear she was in a rush as she made a comment to the effect “Can’t wait to finish so I can go home for a glass of wine.” This might have been meant in a jocular way, but it did not fill me with confidence that the assessment would be carried out properly.

My assessment took about an hour. During the time Karen (clearly following a script) asked me a whole load of questions relating to my form. And crucially Karen asked how far I could walk. And this turned into a nightmare.

On the form I ticked I could walk between 20m – 50m. I wasn’t certain about this. The reality is I generally can only walk up to about 20m. But sometimes (operative word) I can walk more in fits and starts. I need to stop for the pain to ease. I thought they meant how far in total can you walk so that’s the box I ticked. Big mistake.

The assessment finished, and Karen went off for her glass of wine no doubt, leaving me feeling completely shattered.

A couple of months later a letter from DWP turned up. They considered that I am now only eligible for the standard rates of PIP. I had no gripe about the standard rate for Daily Living but to remove the Enhanced rate for mobility meant I would lose entitlement to the car.

The letter hit me for six. I was reduced to tears and sleepless nights wondering what we would do. My wife assured me that we’d be able to buy a car if needs be – though I know to buy a big enough car and have the adaptations done would be pricey. (The adaptations cost around £3,000.)

But the DWP in their wisdom offer something called “A Mandatory Reconsideration”. In other words, my case is referred to someone higher up the tree who reviews the whole application.

The PIP minion who made the initial decision, based on Karen’s handiwork, has to supply a statement for the decision. And reading through this I felt that Karen or the Minion had missed some crucial points about my claim. Therefore, I submitted a Mandatory Reconsideration – though more in hope than expectation. As my wife said, “All you’re doing is asking DWP to re-mark its own homework.”

(Oh, by the way. When DWP send out their decision letter they tell you clearly that you need to request a Mandatory Appeal decision within 1 month of the date of the letter. By the time my letter arrived a week of that month had already gone.)

Anyway, I applied for the Mandatory Reconsideration and sent a covering letter explaining why they had got things wrong. And the reason why was I believed they had not taken into account their own assessment criteria which states:

Considering reliability involves looking at whether the claimant can complete the activity as described:
• safely – in a manner unlikely to cause harm to themselves or to another person, either during or after completion of the activity
• to an acceptable standard
• repeatedly – able to repeat the activity as often as is reasonably required
• in a reasonable time period – no more than twice as long as the maximum period that a non-disabled person would normally take to complete that activity

I explained why I felt this in my submission, with examples.

My Mandatory Reconsideration request was sent off on 25th March. During April May and June, the sun shone, the birds sang. But in my world, there was a perpetual little black cloud of worry hanging over me.

On the 2nd July the little black cloud burst, when I heard the DWP had not overturned its decision. For 3 or 4 days I was in a dark place. Darker than I’ve ever been before. I was frightened and I felt what’s the point. Thankfully, my wife realised what was going on and helped me through.

And one of the things she got me to do was to focus on an appeal. (And of course, DWP insist on an appeal request being lodged within a month of the date of their decision. My Mandatory Reconsideration decision letter was dated 24th June and it arrived on 2nd July.

After several days in which I scoured the internet for information, I thought I’d turn to social media to see if I could get some help. Now bear in mind that I studied law at university, I have another degree, and in my working life I was used to form filling and so on. But I was daunted by this process. I needed help. So, I put out a Tweet.

Within no time several people responded with some really good advice and one in particular sounded hopeful. It was from someone called Ben Furner of Furner Communications. Ben is disabled himself and specialises in PR work relating to disabilities. In a message he promised he’d phone.

He was good as his word and a couple of days later we spoke at length. He felt I had good grounds for an appeal and said he’d help. And first off, he helped me find the right words for the appeal form.

After that we spoke a couple of other times with Ben giving me pointers on the kind of evidence I needed to get together, including from a physiotherapist.

And this is where it’s useful having contacts. I have a cousin who is a retired physio and I asked her if she knew of a physio who might be able to give me a consultation. My cousin pointed me to her friend Charlotte. It turned out that Charlotte although no longer practising, she had experience of dealing with PIP appeals for patient. She gave me pointers too.

Then I managed to get back in touch with one of the community physios who saw me back in 2017. She came to see me and said she’d write a letter of support.

During all this, I’d heard from Motability saying that my car would have to go back on 20th August as I was no longer receiving Enhanced PIP. They take no account of an appeal pending. This seemed so unfair. I was appealing, and who knows I might win, but in the meantime the car would go back.

We reached the decision that we’d buy the car as we realised to buy a replacement and have £3,000 worth of adaptations done was beyond us. Fortunately, Motability were really helpful and offered to sell the car to me for a very competitive price.

Meanwhile I’d written yet another statement about my condition and why I felt the decision was wrong. I’d sent this to Ben to critique.

About a week ago Ben and I had another talk. He was pleased with the evidence gathering and we were talking about when we’d submit papers. Ben was also aware that DWP had until 11th of August to reply to my request for an appeal. And Ben said something interesting:

“I’m hearing more and more of DWP phoning up people applying for appeals and offering a settlement. If you get such a call be careful. Come back to me before you agree anything.”

I assured him I would and said that I was only interested in getting the Enhanced PIP so I could get a Motability car. And anyway, I knew I’d have to go all the way to appeal.

On 10th August I got a phone call from DWP. A lady tasked with reviewing appeal applications. She told me that she had reviewed ALL the papers and was pleased to confirm that I was entitled to Enhanced Mobility rate meaning I could continue with my adapted car. She told me that Karen the original assessor had not commented on the fact that I came to the interview in my scooter. I had pointed this out in the Mandatory Reassessment. “And I’m sorry Mr. Gray it should have been picked up then.”

I could not believe that DWP would not be fighting the appeal and neither could Ben Furner.

Upshot is my mobility PIP will be at the enhanced rate and I can go back on to the Motability scheme.

This has been a horrible experience. As I’ve said, I’m not unintelligent but I have found the whole process daunting. How would someone who finds paperwork challenging cope?

What have I learned?

Firstly, the importance of appealing. Don’t sit back and give in. I’ve heard several different people say that the chances of success are high. According to an article on the Independent Living web site, as of April 2020, 76% of PIP appeals to the Tribunals are successful.

Secondly, this begs the question why isn’t something being done to stop 76% of PIP cases being wrongly assessed in the first place? The cost of incorrect admin must be huge. Or has some Government minister worked out that it’s worth it compared to the 25% of appeals not upheld.

Thirdly. Benefit fraud versus tax fraud. The last job I did before entering ministry was managing a housing benefits fraud investigation team. Therefore, I know some fraud exists. But equally I know benefit fraud is minute compared say to tax fraud

A Government report provides estimates of fraud and error levels in the benefit system in Great Britain for the financial year 2018 to 2019.

The main points from the report are:
• 2.2% of total benefit expenditure was overpaid due to fraud and error
• the estimated value of overpayments was £4.1 billion
• the net government loss, after recoveries, was £3.0 billion, or 1.6% of benefit expenditure
• 1.1% of total benefit expenditure (or £2.0 billion) was underpaid due to fraud and error

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2018-to-2019-estimates#:~:text=The%20main%20points%20from%20the,or%201.6%25%20of%20benefit%20expenditure

Compare tax fraud / evasions

HMRC reported in June 2018 the total tax gap at £33 billion for 2016/17, representing 5.7% of total tax liabilities.

Throughout the tax year running from 2016 to 2017, the total cost of tax avoidance came to approximately £1.7 billion, while tax evasion was around £5.3 billion within the same time frame.

Overall, it’s estimated that the UK’s loss of revenue due to tax evasion comes to around £70 billion.

£2 billion has so far been recovered from perpetrators of offshore tax evasion in just under a decade.
https://www.patrickcannon.net/insights/uk-tax-evasion-statistics/#:~:text=Cost%20of%20Tax%20Evasion%20in%20the%20UK&text=Throughout%20the%20tax%20year%20running,to%20around%20%C2%A370%20billion.

Fourthly, why does the Motability car have to go back pending appeal? This is hugely unjust to those people who have their appeals upheld but who lose their car in the meantime. Some won’t be able to make other arrangements as we could have done. (Though if the call hadn’t come from DWP on Monday we would have bought the car incurring expense we didn’t ultimately need.)

I think my MP gets fed up of me writing to her about all and sundry. Well she’ll be getting another missive very soon.