Love your neighbour - even if you don't like them!

 

This piece was written early in the week commencing 19th October 2020. By the end of the week, 320 Conservative MPs had voted against extending Free School Meal provision for those eligible into half term and Christmas holidays. 

I feel my Reflection poses a few questions. Of course, the importance of loving and caring for "our neighbour". But also the need to try and love "our enemies". (Note the quotation from the Monk Thomas Merton towards the end. And as I go on to say "who I label as enemy may say more about me than about them."

Reflection Sunday 25^th October 2020

 

Throughout Matthew’s Gospel, we have various encounters between Jesus and “the scribes and Pharisees”. (Last week, you may recall, we looked at the passage where the Pharisees and Herodians tried to trick Jesus with a question about paying taxes to Rome.)

This week’s passage comes after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem (on what we call Palm Sunday.) The scribes and Pharisees are becoming desperate for a way to stop Jesus. And once again they publicly confront Jesus to discredit him. This time one of the Pharisees “a lawyer” poses he question of which commandment is the greatest.

In reply Jesus quotes Judaism’s most fundamental, ancient, and widely used biblical passage, referred to in Judaism as “the Shema”

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Deuteronomy 6:5

But unwilling to leave it simply at that Jesus adds another Scripture which he says is “like” the first he’s quoted:

“You shall love your neighbour as yourself” Leviticus 19:18

Together these two passages of scripture provide a summary of Jesus’ mission and ministry. They are alike in the sense that they interpret one another, as Jesus goes on to say.

“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”. Matthew 22:40

And later in Matthew 23: 1 – 12 Jesus goes on to criticise the Pharisees for misunderstanding and misusing the Jewish law to draw attention to themselves and to place heavy burdens on other people.

In quoting the Shema, Jesus is saying that the aim of the Jewish law is to direct one’s entire life toward God. But by adding the second verse Jesus is pointing out that one cannot love God, without loving who and what God loves. While the scribes and Pharisees used the law to place limits on those whom they were obliged to recognise as their neighbours, Jesus joins the two texts to break down the limits and boundaries of neighbourliness.

In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus says

“God makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and send his rain on the righteous and unrighteous” Matthew 5: 45

Therefore, one who truly loves God will also love his or her enemies just as God does. To love God is to love in the way that God loves – indiscriminately. To love God is to love what God loves – everything and everyone.

So, what does this all mean to us? How are to live in this way as Jesus’ followers?

Lewis L. Austin, in a book called “This I Believe”, wrote: "Our maker gave us two hands. One to hold onto him and one to reach out to his people. If our hands are full of struggling to get possessions, we can't hang onto God or to others very well. If, however, we hold onto God, who gave us our lives, then his love can flow through us and out to our neighbour."

Edgar Guest was a renowned American poet of the early 20^th century. Guest told of a neighbour by the name of Jim Potter. Mr. Potter ran the drug store in the small town where Edgar Guest lived. Guest recalled that daily he would pass his neighbour and how they would smile and exchange greetings. But it was a mere causal relationship.

Then came a tragic night in the life of Edgar Guest when his first-born child died. He felt lonely and defeated. These were grim days for him, and he was overcome with grief. Several days later Guest had reason to go to the drug store run by his neighbour, and when he entered Jim Potter motioned for him to come behind the counter. "Eddie," he said, "I really can't express to you the great sympathy that I have for you at this time. All I can say is that I am terribly sorry, and if you need me to do anything, you can count on me."

Many years later Edgar Guest wrote of that encounter in one of his books. This is how he worded it: "Just a person across the way a passing acquaintance. Jim Potter may have long since forgotten that moment when he extended his hand to me in sympathy, but I shall never forget it never in all my life. To me it stands out like the silhouette of a lonely tree against a crimson sunset."

What better way can there be for people to say of us, when we come to the end of Life’s pilgrimage “When we were ill she came to us; when we needed help, he was there; when I was down, she lifted me up.”?

 

Of course, it’s relatively easy to be neighbours to those we like, or those who are like us. The challenge is to love everyone, every neighbour, as God loves them. To love our enemies and those we dislike.

Who are my enemies, and who do I feel justified in putting outside my circle of concern?

These words of the 20^th century monk Thomas Merton are most helpful:

“Do not be too quick to assume that your enemy is a savage just because he is your enemy. Perhaps he is your enemy because he thinks you are a savage. Or perhaps he is afraid of you because he feels you are afraid of him. And perhaps if he believed you were capable of loving him, he would no longer be your enemy.

"Do not be too quick to assume that your enemy is an enemy of God just because he is your enemy. Perhaps he is your enemy precisely because he can find nothing in you that gives glory to God. Perhaps he fears you because he can find nothing in you of God's love and God's kindness and God's patience and mercy and understanding of the weakness of men.

"Do not be too quick to condemn the man who no longer believes in God. For it is perhaps your own coldness and avarice and mediocrity and materialism and sensuality and selfishness that have killed his faith.”

In other words, 

 

Apparently, at the entrance to the one of the harbours on the Isle of Man there are two lights. One would think that the two signals would confuse the pilot. But the fact is, to arrive safely in to harbour the pilot must keep the lights in line; as long as he keeps them in line, his ship is safe. It is the same with these commands of Jesus: the love of God, love others, and love of self. When we keep them in line, we remain safe and well in the channel of the Christian life

Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's

 

Reflection Sunday 18^th October 2020

 

 You may recall from your history lessons that one of the main reasons for the American colonies breaking away from Great Britain was a dispute over taxes. “No taxation without representation” was the slogan.

 A similar attitude could have been found in first century Palestine. Palestine was a Roman colony, and the Jews were paying taxes that supported the army and government that occupied their country. For many Jewish people this was grossly unfair.

But as at the time of the American Revolution when some in the Colonies were loyal to George III, there were some in Palestine who supported the Romans. These were the Herodians. As their name suggests they were followers of King Herod Antipas – a puppet king installed by the Romans.

 In many respects the leaders of the opposition to the Romans were the Pharisees. These were committed to knowing every detail of Jewish law and they opposed paying tax to Caesar for religious reasons. Their objection was based less on the fact of the occupation, and more on the special coin that had to be used to pay the tax. This coin carried an image of the Emperor and the inscription “the divine Caesar”. The Pharisees saw the use of the coin as violating the first and second commandments.

 Normally the Pharisees and Herodians did not cooperate. But on this occasion, they saw an opportunity to join forces to remove Jesus from the scene. And this came about by posing the question “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” The Pharisees hoped Jesus would say “Yes” so that they could label him as a Roman sympathiser. The Herodians hoped he’s say “No” so they could label him as a traitor. No matter which he answered the question, it looked as if Jesus was trapped.

 Jesus’ answer ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’ was brilliant. Jesus made it clear that his followers have a dual allegiance; both to the teachings and commands of God but also to the government under whose laws we live.

Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ is not just a question of economics or politics. It is a question of conscience. What do we do when our allegiance to “Caesar” conflicts with our allegiance to Christ? What should Christians do when the God we serve and the government to which we owe allegiance, are pulling us in different directions?

Jesus seems to be saying that neither “side” outweighs the other. Therefore, Christians should render what is due to Caesar and God until they come to the point where obedience to one, leads to a moral conflict with the other. Jesus’ answered in a way that places believers in the position of having to balance their responsibilities as citizens of both the earthly realm, and the heavenly realm.

The issue for most people in the twenty first century is not really about paying taxes as much as it is about paying attention to what their government is doing. In fact, Christians should see the payment of tax as the right thing to do. In 2018 the Methodist Church Central Finance Board published a paper on this topic and in it said: “The payment of tax is a contribution to the common good that enables a state to provide a range of public services for the benefit of all. It is the position of the Church that individuals and corporate bodies have an ethical obligation to obey the spirit, as well as the letter of the law on tax.”

https://www.cfbmethodistchurch.org.uk/ethics/position-papers/cfb-tax-justice-position-paper.html

And as much as anything this is a reminder that we as Christians we should challenge Governments to clamp down on those very wealthy individuals and companies that seek to avoid taxes.

But as I was saying, the issue is not so much about paying taxes, but about weighing up what we as Christians are called to do by Christ against what governments are doing. It is when our consciences are pricked by other levels of government activity that the passage about rendering unto Caesar and rendering unto God takes on real meaning. 

Should Christians remain silent on the subject of refugees? Should Christians remain silent on environmental issues? Should Christians remain silent on modern day slavery?

These, and many other issues, speak to the places where this passage of scripture challenges us today. Of course, there are devout Christians on both sides of many of these issues. And some things are not clear cut. As I’ve said, the question raised by this passage is not whether or not we should pay taxes but rather, as Christians what do we expect from our government in return for the taxes we pay? Do we or don’t we expect our government to act ethically? (And I am talking about ANY government not just the current one.)

This has never been an easy issue, but Christians have never been excused from engaging with it.

Pastor Martin Niemöller he was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known for his opposition to the Nazi regime during the late 1930s. Although he initially supported the Nazis, he became one of the founders of the “Confessing Church”, which opposed the Nazification of German Protestant churches. For his opposition to the Nazis' state control of the churches, Niemöller was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1938 to 1945.  He narrowly escaped execution.

 

After his imprisonment, he expressed his deep regret about not having done enough to help the victims of the Nazis. He famously said the following in a post war speech:

 

First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

For me, these words are reminder of how important it is for Christians not to remain silent when governments seek to act in ways that are contrary to the values of God’s kingdom. Yes we must ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s’ but we must also always be ready to ‘Give back to God what is God’s’

Called and chosen

 

Reflection 11^th October 2020 Matthew 22: 1 - 14

 

The parable of Jesus we are thinking about today is perhaps one of the more difficult to understand and it also uncomfortable to think about.

For those hearing the parable, it was a reminder that God (“the king” in the parable) had initially invited the people of ancient Israel to be God’s people. God chose a people who had begun as nomadic wanderers (see the story of Abraham) and who ended up being slaves in Egypt (see the story of Moses.) God did so in order to demonstrate how much God can bless people and how God can place people highly if they are willing to honour his will and his word above all else.

The coming of Christ into the world, the parable goes on to suggest, was now the big even that God had been preparing for. This is the moment God had invited his special guests (the people of Israel) to join. But by ignoring Jesus, by being hostile to him and, ultimately playing a part in Jesus’ death, the special guests had turned down the invitation.

There are three things we need to think about regarding this parable:

1. Everyone Is Invited to the King's Reception.

The parable demonstrates that when God’s chosen people rejected his invitation, God extended the invitation to other people.

⁸ ‘Then the king said to his servants, “The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.”

This was the real difference Jesus’ ministry made. We know of the stories where Jesus related to sinners (tax collectors for example), we know how he related to women, (the woman at the well, John 4) we know how Jesus related to people who weren’t Jewish (again the woman at the well, and in Luke 7, a Roman centurion’s servant.) These and more show that Jesus’ ministry extended God’s invitation to people not on the original guest list. And this is the example the apostles adopted in the early church - taking the message of Christ’s salvation to all, “Jew and Gentile slave and free” – Galatians 3:28

2. Not Everyone Will Respond to the King's Invitation.

Although the invitation has been given to all people, still some will not respond.

 

God offers the invitation, but he allows people to respond or not. We are his children and just like any parent God wants us to be loved, he wants us to feel loved which is why he invites us to the best wedding reception ever! But he allows his children to make the choice of whether to come or not. Of course, the parable suggests that God is angry with those who reject his invitation. And who knows, God may well deal with them on another occasion? (Though God’s grace and love is beyond our comprehension and our standards.)

 

 

3.  The King Chooses Who Can Stay.

 

Perhaps the most perplexing part of the parable is found in verses 11 – 14.

 

In his Gospel, Luke relates much the same parable, but Luke does not include these verses.

 

Who is this guest without the correct wedding garment? After all, if he’s just been brought in from the street how could he have the correct attire? Given that this guest only seems to have infringed the dress code why does the king tell the attendants

 

“Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 22:13

 

These few verses seem totally at odds with the idea that the invitation has been extended to everyone. Especially as the one being thrown out has at least responded to the invitation.  And to confuse matters further we have verse 14

 

¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen.’ NRSV or as NIV has it ¹⁴ ‘For many are invited, but few are chosen.’

 

The called or invited we can understand. That relates to the invitation. But what does the chosen bit mean? Clearly our fellow who is not wearing the right clothes has been called but is not chosen.  Why?

 

Living out the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, only begins with the invitation. Although many are called, only those who respond AND start living in a different way (putting on the wedding clothes if you like) will be chosen. In chapter 3 of the Book of Colossians Paul taps in to the imagery of clothes and putting on the right clothes:

⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. …. ⁸ But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator…. 

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

God invites everyone to share with him. All he asks that in accepting the invitation to be part of his kingdom we put aside our sinful nature and instead seek to live in a new way, to live a life in Christ.

Rest and admire and leave your baggage behind

 

Like so many people this year, our holiday plans have been shelved. This November we were supposed to be going on a cruise around the Norwegian fjords to see (hopefully!) the Northern Lights. Of course, that was cancelled. We were supposed to go out to Germany for a friend’s 60^th birthday party. That didn’t happen either.

With some trepidation, with some wondering about whether it would happen, and some concern about the weather, we booked ourselves two weeks to take our caravan to Dorset for the end of September and the beginning of October. And I’m pleased to say it all worked well. The Covid 19 measures on the camp site were incredibly good and out and about people were being sensible.

“Out and about” was a key phrase as we decided we would avoid going to places indoors as much as possible. But being out and about when you have a disability can restrict things. I’ve blogged before about how I used to enjoy putting my boots on and going for walks in the countryside. Going along the promenade at Swanage or Weymouth on my mobility scooter is ok but not the same.

Thankfully, several places in Dorset have “Trampers”. These are off road mobility scooters designed to go over rough terrain and gradients. And having access to these made such a difference.

I belong to a scheme called South West Mobility. It’s a charity that aims to put Trampers for members to borrow in places that disabled people could not easily access otherwise. In Dorset there are several Tramper locations, but we visited two. The RSPB nature reserve at Arne (which we’ve visited several times and adore) https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/arne/ And a new one for us Durlston Country Park  https://www.durlston.co.uk/

We’d heard that some places were allowing the Tramper to be borrowed because of Covid 19 (obviously they need to be wiped down) but at Arne and Durlston they were available.

Country Parks can be a bit boring in my experience. Just lots of parkland. But Durlston is quite different. It is set right on the top of the cliffs above Swanage and a section of the South West Coastal Park runs through it.

 

And thanks to the Tramper I’ve “walked” a section of that long-distance path and gone down to the Anvil Point Lighthouse. 

The views were wonderful. The weather glorious. Then to cap it all, on one of the other designated Tramper routes (not even a Tramper can cope with some sections of the coastal path) we came across a specifically created viewpoint looking back towards Swanage and Old Harry Rocks in the distance towards Poole.

The people who look after Durlston and Dorset Council have created a little quite place and we sat there for some time looking at the spectacular scenery, enjoying nothing but the sound of waves crashing below, seabirds calling and the gentle whooshing sound of the wind in the trees.

To emphasise the point (in case visitors couldn’t work it out for themselves) a stone mason has carved a stone with the message “Rest and admire”.

That’s what I did. And I realised that’s what we both had been needing. Time to rest. Time to be. Time to forget about meetings on Zoom (or in my wife’s work Microsoft Teams.) To forget how to be a minister to churches in Covid. Time to lay aside for a while the concern at not being able to visit my parents. I needed to rest, to admire, to reflect, to offer a prayer, with no distractions.

We always make sure we take all our litter home with us when we spent time in the countryside or wherever. But on this occasion at Durlston I did leave something behind. I left behind all that baggage I’d been carrying for months. It was all dumped at the viewpoint overlooking Swanage. No one else will see it. But I suspect, my baggage has joined a pile of other people’s baggage dumped there as people have rested and admired, in this glorious place.