Don't be afraid. Be a good and faithful servant

 

Reflection Sunday 15^th November 2020

 

One of the challenges for any preacher when faced with the well-known parables of Jesus is trying to find something fresh to say. Or, even if not fresh, at least not overly familiar.

I’m sure many of us know the Parable of the Talents. The rich man who gave his three servants money (“talents” were money in Jesus’ day) and told them to use the talents. There are several ways to think about this parable.

Traditionally sermons on this parable encourage followers of Jesus to discover and use their gifts and abilities for God’s glory.

Sometimes a sermon on this parable can include thoughts of God’s generosity. Reminding us how God is like the wealthy man in giving to us with great generosity, not least the most precious gift of his son.

A third way is in thinking of the greatest treasure we’ve been given to steward by God. And that I would suggest is the responsibility for being custodians of the Good News of Jesus Christ and of sharing that treasure with others.

(There you are. If during lockdown you’ve felt called to be a local preacher, I’ve just given you three ideas for sermons!)

But I’d like us to think about the parable in a fourth way. And that is to think of the parable as showing us that God does not want us to be ruled by fear.

The parable as we know tells us about three servants or slaves. When the master gives them these vast sums of money two of the three aren’t concerned or frightened at all. They take their talents and make a profit for their master.

Let’s just stop and think about that for a moment. One talent was worth 15 times a year’s salary of a day labourer. Therefore, one servant had 5 x 15 times a salary, another 2 x 15 a salary and the third 1 x 15. I don’t know about you, if I was given responsibility for such sums of money, I’d be frightened. What if I physically lose it? What if the investment choice I make goes wrong? Won’t my Master be angry if I do the wrong thing?

Clearly the Master trusts his servants entirely. He doesn’t tell them what to do with the money. And the first two seem to know their Master well enough that they make their own decisions and as we know get a good return for him. And the Master is pleased with them both:

 ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ Matthew 25:21 and 23

But as we know the third servant does not fare so well. He buries the money and the Master punishes the third servant for his inactivity.

You wicked, lazy servant! So, you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Matthew 25: 26 and

³⁰ And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Matthew 25:30

Why did the servant react in this way? And why is the servant treated in this way?

I feel we have to assume that the third servant sat back and did nothing not so much as out of laziness as out of being afraid to do the wrong thing. Therefore, he sits back and does nothing rather than get it wrong.

For me, Jesus wants his good and faithful servants to be active. And by that I don’t mean in “doing” lots of things. Often we can busy in the wrong ways! We can be active through showing Christ’s love to those we meet. We can be active by praying for others. We are not expected to be faithful servants by sitting back and letting it happen around us. We are not just to sit in the pew on Sunday, or in our armchairs in front of Songs of Praise! We are not to be apathetic.

Of course, I can’t help wondering what would have happened if the first two servants had lost their Master money. Would he have been angry? If this was a story about human relationships he might have been. But this story is a parable of how things are with Jesus. And I feel he forgives us those times when we get it wrong when we have been trying to do the right thing for him. We only have to see the stories of the disciples. On many occasions they get things wrong. But Jesus is not so much angry as exasperated with them. But he understands that they were trying to be good and faithful servants.

That is all Jesus wants from us. To be good and faithful servants. To trust him; not to be afraid of him.  To accept that he will not be angry when we get things wrong as long as we have been serving him to the best of our abilities.

When I was aged around 5 or 6, I had to learn a recitation for a Sunday School anniversary. It’s one of the few bits of poetry I have ever memorised:

A simpleton went into a bank and said with the greatest of ease

“I’d like to draw out fifty pounds in ten shilling notes if you please”

The cashier replied “Ah well, well, well. You must pardon me sir if I grin.

You cannot take anything out, if you haven’t put anything in”

The moral is easy to see. You’ve seen it already no doubt

If you put little into each day, I’m afraid you won’t get a lot out!

It’s hardly Wordsworth or Dylan Thomas! Nevertheless, that piece of doggerel is the perfect illustration for the point I’m making. Not to sit back. Not to be afraid. To take the investment Jesus makes in us and give him the return he desires - Our souls, our lives, our all.

 

Peace and reconciliation

 

Reflection 8^th November 2020 Remembrance Sunday

 

When we were on holiday at Wareham in October, we decided to have a wander around the town. We ended up at the parish church and looking over the low wall to the cemetery, we realised there was quite a large Commonwealth War Graves section. We were intrigued and went to have a look.

Many of the graves were from the late First World War and included a large number of Australians and members of the Tank Corps. Given that even to this day the Tank Corps is based at nearby Bovington, this wasn’t too surprising. But the Australians? We found a sign with all the graves plotted out and it told us there had been a military hospital just outside the town and this explained many of the deaths – including a significant number who died in 1919 of Spanish flu.

But reading the sign we realised that there were graves from the Second World War too. One poignantly “To an unknown British sailor” whose body had been found on the coast close by. But for me two graves said so much. 

Side by side they were for RAF Sergeant Pilot George Nicol killed on 15^th September 1942 aged 22 and German aircrew Feldwebel (Sergeant) Horst Huffsky killed on 24^th April 1944 aged 23.

In life these two young men were enemies, but in death they are laid side by side. They were similar ages. They were someone’s sons, they might have been a brother, they might have been a husband or a father.

I’ve no idea whether Sergeant Nicol or Sergeant Huffsky have descendants still living. I don’t know whether they are remembered by anyone alive now. Though at least today we are calling to mind their names. I am purposely using their names for us to focus our thoughts on as we Remember those who have died in war, whether members of armed forces or civilians.

I know I’ve quoted a saying by Roy T Bennett on several occasions, “The past is a place of reference, not a place of residence; the past is a place of learning, not a place of living.” It is a quote that can be used in many contexts but nowhere is it more appropriate than on Remembrance Sunday.

For me in our acts of Remembrance, we should be seeking to learn from the mistakes of the past so that we don’t repeat them.

This year marked 75^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Mr Nicol and Mr Huffsky (and millions of other people) did not survive to see the end of that conflict. Would they be alive today had they survived? Who knows? They both would have been very elderly men – just slightly younger than Captain Tom who inspired us all earlier this year with his sponsored walk to mark his 100^th birthday and raise money for NHS.

I must admit that I was slightly relieved that the VE Day and VJ Day commemorations were much lower key than they might have been due to Covid19. That’s not because I do not respect those (such as Captain Tom) who played their part in the Second World War. I do. But because it seems to me there are many in this country who seem determined to think of that period in our history as a time of nostalgia. Some, often those too young to have known the war, think of it as a time when everyone got misty eyed at the sight and sound of Spitfires and we all gathered round the radio to sing “We’ll meet again”. I suspect it wasn’t like that at all.

For me what VE & VJ day should be about is not so much the ending of war, but of the outbreak of peace. When age old enemies have found ways of turning swords in to plough shares. Many women and men of the generation who fought in, or lived through, the Second World War found ways of building bridges. Found ways of putting aside their differences. Found ways of loving their enemies.

This was courageous, for loving our enemies is the hardest thing to do. You may recall that in a Reflection on 3rd September I mentioned a story of Corrie Ten Boom coming to love her enemy; a man who had been a prison guard at Ravensbruck concentration camp were Miss Ten Boom had been a prisoner. I won’t retell the story here, but it is a perfect illustration of the way we as Christians are to be at the forefront of forgiveness and demonstrating love. 

https://notanormalvicar.blogspot.com/2020/09/forgivness-and-reconciliation.html

Going back to Sergeants Nicol and Huffsky for a moment. Through the internet I have found out a small amount about both men. Sergeant Nicol came from just outside Wareham and was killed when his plane crashed during a training flight in Yorkshire. Sergeant Huffsky’s plane was shot down by anti-aircraft fire near Wareham. He came from Dresden.

Since the Second World War the bombing of two cities - Coventry and Dresden – has come to symbolise the horrific nature of the bombing campaigns. This is not the place to go over those arguments. But since the war Coventry and Dresden together have promoted peace and reconciliation.  The cities have been twinned since 1959 and when the decision was made to rebuild Dresden’s Frauenkirche cathedral in 2005 (it had lain in ruins during the days of East Germany) the reconciliation team at Coventry Cathedral were closely involved.

Coventry Cathedral is a powerful example of forgiveness and love for our enemies. When the cathedral was destroyed by German bombs on 14/15 November 1940, the Provost, Richard Howard, had the words “Father forgive” chiselled into the ruins of the sanctuary wall. Above these words, on the altar, stands the original Coventry Cross of Nails. In the smoking ruins of the cathedral after the destruction, some medieval carpenter’s nails were salvaged from the beams of the vaulted ceiling. Three of these nails were later bound together in the shape of a cross. Thus, remnants of the destruction were turned into a new sign of Christian hope, showing that the wounds of war were healing.

Since then steps of reconciliation have been taken in various ways around the world in the spirit of the Cross of Nails. More than 200 Crosses of Nails have found a home in places where the people beneath these crosses have chosen to lay aside old differences and live in a spirit of reconciliation.

 

Peace and reconciliation, love of our enemies seems a fitting tribute to Sergeants Nicol and Huffsky. Two men united in death.

 

At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

 

Saints - living, working, in our world

 

Reflection 1^st November 2020

 

Relationship is at the very heart of the nature of God. The Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three in one and one in three - shows us this. As we are made in God’s image, God wants us to be in relationship too. With him and with other people. None of us is an island. We are not made to live only for ourselves. We are made for relationship, both with God and with each other and God's world. And for many of us of course Covid is all the more stressful because we cannot participate in relationships as we would normally do.

Perhaps more than other people, we in the Church turn toward each other almost instinctively as we celebrate our joys, mourn our losses, and when we need support through tough times and transitions. But even outside the church no person is an island. People work together to accomplish goals; we look to each other for reassurance that we're on the right track or for guidance if we're not; and we scarcely ever in adulthood make a decision that does not take somebody else into consideration. We look to our parents, grandparents, and mentors for wisdom; we look to our children for zest and inspiration; we look to our friends for help in sorting through the muddle of our daily lives. None of us is an island and thank God for that!

On the first of November every year, we in the Christian church remember that we are not islands, and give thanks for that, in the celebration called All Saints. As the name of the day suggests, it is a time for recalling all the "saints,"; saints known and unknown, who have preceded us, marking our way.

Who is a saint?

In the Roman Catholic Church saints are those who have been especially recognized by the for their exemplary lives. Protestants do not officially recognize saints in that sense, we have a more generalized vision of a saint as someone who is loving and Christlike, who not only knows what God wants them to do, but who always does it. A saint in this definition is an exemplary (and probably unreal) model of faith, whose example may make the rest of us feel like failures, or at least may tempt us to think that, since we're never going to be in their league, it really doesn't matter how we live.

There are other ways of describing saints. Paul's letters to his churches often begin with greetings to "those called to be saints," and those greetings were addressed to the entire congregation — in other words, to any and all Christians.

The word "saint," simply means "holy": one like, or one set apart for, God.  Frederick Buechner says, "A saint is a life-giver ... A saint is a human being with the same sorts of hang-ups and abysses as the rest of us, but if a saint touches your life, you become alive in a new way." Faith in fiction

This is like the definition of a saint given by a child who had been told that the figures in stained-glass windows were saints: "A saint is someone the light shines through.". And I’m sure we can all think of someone like that we know or have known.

It is people like them we remember, and who give us the courage to face our lives. We all have such saints in our lives — perhaps a much-loved grandparent, or admired mentor, or the friend who wouldn't let us be less than God called us to be. Such everyday saints help us to remember that it matters that we are faithful today; and they show us how to be faithful. We need them. We need to know that we are not alone, that we are not little islands. We need to know that we are part of a great community of saints who have kept the faith throughout history and who even now are doing so around the world.

That's what the communion of saints, the community of saints if you prefer, does for all of us. It reminds us of who we are, it gives us pictures of faith in action, and it encourages us to keep living out our calling in Christ Jesus.

We need that, because when we are baptized into Christ, although we remain part of the human family in the same way as everybody else, we are inducted into the Christian family, which has a unique way of looking at, and living in, the world. In fact, Christians look at the world in a way that the World thinks of as odd.

Nowhere is the oddness of the Christian outlook more clearly displayed than in the Beatitudes Matthew 5: 1 - 12. Blessed are you, says Jesus — or, according to some translations, happy — when you are poor, mournful, persecuted, hungry for a justice you don't see. That's hardly our society's usual definition of happiness. Blessed are you, says Jesus, who go ahead being meek, merciful, and peacemakers in a world where such efforts are doomed to failure and their doers to mistreatment.

None of us is such a saint that we can keep doing these things without support. We need the communion of saints to remind us that we are blessed when we live as if the love of God were the most important and the most reliable reality in life. We need the community of saints, and the community of saints needs us. With each other's help, we can live the life to which Jesus calls us, the life of God's kingdom on earth. “Living working in our world”  as Brian Wren’s hymn puts it.

None of us ever does that perfectly. But enough of us do it enough of the time that, over the centuries, the church has — through the daily life of its members as much as through its preaching and teaching — been able to nurture a distinctive vision, a unique outlook on the world that results in a different kind of living in it. That's a pretty remarkable achievement.

As Christians, we were never intended to go it alone. We are not islands; we are part of the body of Christ. We are part of the community of saints.

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.