What do we give?

OIKOS is a fantastic ecumenical initiative in Brigg, that run a Christian shop, a Food Bank, a Community Pantry and more!  I was asked to write some short 'thoughts to start your week' for October 2023 for their Facebook page. This is an expanded version of the thought for 15th October.

Harvest Festivals are a chance for us to thank God for the food that we have. As we think about the world we cannot help but be struck by the over-abundance of food that we can have. We are not limited to one type of food but can eat many different types of plants, animals, fish, fruit, vegetables, seeds and so on. And that's just the food that naturally occurs: as we exercise our God-given and God-reflecting creativity we can create other foodstuffs by cooking, mixing and processing natural ingredients. As in last week's reflection, we should remember that this is not the necessary way that God had to create the world. Koalas only eat eucalyptus and blue whales only eat krill, so there's no reason why humans had to be able to have a varied diet. Even less was it necessary for us to be able to eat so many different foods. The super-abundance of food and drink that can sustain us is testament to God's super-generosity towards us.

As we reflect on God's generosity towards us, exemplified by harvest, we should also feel an urge to imitate God's generosity ourselves. As we look at the variety of, for example, bread or baked beans that we can choose between we should praise God for his wondrous provision, but it should also make us feel chastened that 10% of the world's population regularly go to bed hungry. And the problem is not just global: 7% of the UK population live in food poverty. Therefore harvest is a time (though it shouldn't be the only time!) when we think of those who don't have as much as we do. So it's great that many churches and schools have taken donations for Brigg Food Bank at their Harvest celebrations.

When we announce that we'll be taking donations for the Food Bank the first question is usually “What do we give?” and food banks usually give a general list of things they want, and sometimes give 'live' updates on what specifically they are short of at that moment. But there is a perhaps a deeper meaning to the question “what do we give?” that we need to ask ourselves, and it is linked in some way with the variety that we've just been thinking about.

The anecdotal, but possibly common, experience of Harvest Festivals is of waking up on the morning of the festival, be-it school or church; remembering with horror that you've forgotten to get something to donate; then desperately rummaging around in cupboards trying to find something! What you end up with is usually the tins that are nearly at their best-before date, or strange jams that have been given as presents or won on tombolas. Alternatively, if you have remembered about Harvest whilst at the shops (and I am guilty of doing this) you buy your own shopping and then get extra of some of the products to donate, but you buy your usual brands for yourself but what you donate is from the value range. We justify this second-best giving because of the cost to our own budgets and perhaps also (and again I own up to this myself) with the thought that those in need will be grateful for whatever they get. This way we can feel good about ourselves for being charitable, without it costing us too much.

Our generosity is measured not just in how much we give but on what we give; remember Jesus' commendation of the widow who gave all she had, even though it amounted to a tiny amount of money (Luke 21:1-4). Monetarily she didn't give very much but sacrificially she did. Paul reminds us that God loves a cheerful giver, whilst also telling us to sow generously (2 Corinthians 9:5-11). Giving cheerfully and sacrificially not only expresses gratitude for God's generosity to us; and not only reflects Jesus' self-giving (Philippians 2:6-8); it also honours the people that receive. In this way we love others in the same way we love ourselves.

Perhaps you're not as selfish as I am, in which case please pray for me! But those of us who are tempted to give second-best, maybe we should meditate more on God's super-abundant generosity to us, and also on the God-given dignity of those to whom we give.

Photo from: https://www.churchofengland.org/news-and-media/stories-and-features/how-harvest-festival-services-are-supplying-food-banks

The antidote to intolerance and inhumanity

Here's my sermon from this year's Civic Service at Broughton. The readings were: Philippians 2:1-11 and Matthew 6:24-33

Last week I was having a conversation with a few people about the new exhibition in York of artefacts connected with the Gunpowder Plot.  It contains a crucifix belonging to a Catholic priest, Fr. Edward Oldcorne, who was innocent of any involvement in the Gunpowder Plot, but was captured in its aftermath with Fr. Henry Garnet, the then Catholic priest in Brigg.  Garnet did know of the plan through the plotters the Wright brothers of Twigmoor Hall, and even though he opposed it, he was found guilty of treason and was hanged, drawn and quartered.  Oldcorne faced the same fate and the label on the cross states that Oldcorne was ‘Born York. Racked 5 times. H.D.Q. April 7th 1606. Worcester.’

The conversation revolved around amazement of the fear of different beliefs and horror of the barbarism of the punishments: racking and being hanged, drawn and quartered being commonplace for those accused of treason. Whilst we rightly baulk at the intolerance and inhumanity of those times, perhaps the most remarkable feature of those times, at least to many people today, was that anyone could get that animated about matters of faith.

This year is the 75th Anniversary of the signing of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Article 18 of the Declaration says that “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”  This fundamental right to freedom of religion is a precious thing, but in the West which has been influenced by relativism, this leads to a general belief that because all religions are to be equally protected, that must mean they are all equally true and valid; and if they are all equally valid they are also all equally irrelevant.  Because if it doesn't matter which faith you have, then faith itself doesn't matter.

So we live in a society that is generally ambivalent towards God: as Jesus says in our reading from the gospel of Matthew, people are devoted to money and worry about what they will eat, or drink, or wear.  Easter is reduced to a matter of chocolate and chicks, and Christmas is all about Santa and parties.  Or they point to things like the Gunpowder Plot and its aftermath, or the Crusades, or the World Trade Centre attacks and say that religion is a cause of wars and atrocities.

The irony is that the justified criticism of these barbaric events is itself a product of the revolution brought about by Jesus.  Before Jesus' followers gained widespread influence, the Darwinian concept of the 'survival of the fittest' was seen to be the common sense, natural order of society – if you wanted to gain power you needed to fight for it, if you wanted to hold onto power you had to destroy your enemies.  Just ask the early Roman Emperors.  

But in Jesus we see a different way of living.  As our reading from Paul's letter to the Philippian church says, although he was divine, Jesus did not use his divinity for his own gain but emptied himself and became human.  He humbled himself, being executed like the worst and most shameful of criminals on the cross, so that by his death he could take the punishment we deserve for our sins.  As he taught many times, if you want to be great, you should be the servant to all.

The Church and those who follow Jesus have failed many times to live up to this ideal, and too often have followed the natural instinct that might is right. But even though our society is ambivalent to God or even glories in its rejection of God, we still revere the Christian instincts of justice, human rights, tenderness and compassion, disapproving of selfish ambition and vain conceit; and venerating 

valuing others above yourself.

However we cannot reduce Christianity to a set of moral values taught by a self-less spiritual leader, nor can we detach the Christian moral values from the faith that inspires them.  This is because, as Paul reminds us, we can only live out these values as far as we are united with Jesus and have his Spirit within us.  Without the recognition that we need forgiveness from God for the times we fail to live up to his standard, and the acknowledgement that we are unable to live his way without his help, we become intolerant of others and inhumane in our behaviour towards them.

Paul also reminds us that the Jesus who humbled himself is now exalted to the highest place, and will return to judge us all, and when he returns everyone will acknowledge that he is the Lord.

Ambivalence is not an option.

Being good is not enough.

Only a true and living faith in Jesus can enable us to live like him in this life and be with him in the next.

Father Edward Oldcorne's crucifix – Photo by Anthony Chappel-Ross from https://middlesbrough-diocese.org.uk/research-reveals-york-priests-crucifix-could-be-last-gunpowder-plot-raids-survivor%EF%BF%BC/

Harvest: a created illustration

OIKOS is a fantastic ecumenical initiative in Brigg, that run a Christian shop, a Food Bank, a Community Pantry and more!  I was asked to write some short 'thoughts to start your week' for October 2023 for their Facebook page. This is an expanded version of the thought for 8th October.

 

As you read through the Gospels you may notice how many times Jesus uses images from the natural world or agriculture: parables set in fields and vineyards; lilies and sparrows to teach us about God's provision for us; trees to warn us of coming judgement; and famously he calls himself the Good Shepherd. In some ways this is no surprise; Jesus lived and taught in an agricultural society so like any good teacher he would have used illustrations that his audience were familiar with, and you can imagine him standing in the countryside pointing to what's around him as he talks.

But perhaps there's more to it than that. This possibility arises when we consider that the Jesus who tells these stories and uses theses illustrations is the same Jesus who made that creation in the first place! This then raises the possibility that he designed and created them in order that he could then use them to teach us something when he came to earth. Therefore creation itself becomes a way in which God communicates to us.

We see this in Psalm 19:1 when Psalmist exclaims “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” And Paul also teaches us that “what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:19-20). So the natural world isn't just a convenient illustration, but it is designed to be an illustration.

So what then might harvest teach us? We take for granted that harvest is part of the natural agricultural cycle of preparation, planting, tending and harvesting, but it is not a necessity that nature works in this way. God could have created a world where all foods were available all year round but instead he created one that involves this cycle. And perhaps he did that so that we have a part to play in the process - as the great harvest hymn reminds us: “We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the land, but it is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand.” In co-operating with God in the tending and production of food we exercise the likeness of God in which we were made. We are co-creators with him – not, of course, in the original creation but in the ongoing creation.

Harvest itself, as Jesus highlighted, primarily teaches us about a time of judgment (for example Matthew 13). The crop is gathered in and the wheat is sorted from the chaff, the good and the bad are separated with the good going to the owner's barn and the bad being destroyed. Jesus says that on the Day of Judgement the 'good' will be the people of the kingdom who have heard his word and obey it, who repent and turn to him as their Saviour and Lord.

Image contributed by Good News Productions Int. to www.freebibleimages.org

Left-overs or harvest?

Here's my magazine article for October:

In our BASE (Broughton At Seven in the Evening) services this year, we've been looking at the Old Testament story of Ruth. Ruth was not an Israelite but was from Moab one of Israel's enemies. She married an Israelite whose family had moved to Moab because there was a famine in Israel, due to the Israelites disobeying God's commandments. However her husband, and his brother and father all died, causing Ruth's mother-in-law, Naomi, to return to Israel. Despite Naomi trying to dissuade her, Ruth insists on going with her. They arrived in Naomi's home town of Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning, so Ruth unknowingly goes to glean in a field belonging to Boaz, a relative of her late father-in-law.

The whole story is an amazing one about loyalty to family, God and his laws, but this detail about Ruth gleaning is one that often gets overlooked by the grander narrative, particularly as it's a practice that is strange to us. We usually use the word 'glean' to mean learning or finding something out little by little, but it actually has agricultural origins, and a particular significance in the Old Testament.

In Leviticus 19:9-10, God commands the Israelites to not completely harvest their fields. They were to “cut corners” in harvesting, and always leave some behind for the poor and the foreigner. This was a great form of welfare: it commanded the farmers to have a generous heart, and it commanded the poor to be active and work for their food so they could provide for their own needs with dignity. And this generosity was also extended to foreigners because the Israelites had once been mistreated foreign slaves in Egypt, so they were not to do the same to foreigners in their land (Deuteronomy 24:22).

Boaz however notices Ruth and, finding out that she had been working diligently all day and was also a relative, he ensures her safety by warning his young men not to touch her and telling her not to go to anyone else's field. He even commands his men to take out some of the stalks from the sheaves for her to pick up. There is another Old Testament law that plays an important rôle in Ruth's story and that is that Boaz, being a close relative, is a 'Kinsman-redeemer': a man required to help a weaker relative in need or danger, including sometimes marrying a widow. So Boaz marries Ruth and they become the great-grandparents of King David, and ancestors of Jesus.

This is a great story in itself but it foreshadows an even greater story. Because of our sin we are enemies of God and not part of his people (Colossians 1:21) but even in that state we can still 'glean' from God's blessings (Matthew 5:45) and some are content with these 'spiritual leftovers'. However God wants more for us than that – he wants us to accept Jesus as our Kinsman-redeemer through his death (Titus 2:13-14), and become part of his Bride, the Church (Ephesians 5:31-32). He doesn't want us living on spiritual scraps – he wants to give us the whole field!

Image: Ruth gleaning. Contributed to freebibleimages.org by Sweet Publishing

Songs of September and Song of Songs

Here's my magazine article for September:

By September the football season is well underway - although some would say the football season never really stops! The number of players changing teams during the summer means that though the names of the clubs stay the same, the actual teams can be quite different. If you follow a club on social media you will get updates on the latest signings, and following my team, Tranmere Rovers, on Facebook I saw the familiar name of a former player who is now returning.

Though I'm not a good enough fan to know all of the players, Connor Jennings, who has also played for both Scunthorpe United and Grimsby Town, sticks out in my mind mainly for a couple of reasons: firstly he was a great player who contributed lots to three consecutive play-off finals, including the winning goal in the 2019 League Two final. But secondly, he has a great fan song!

Sporting chants usually take their inspiration from popular or well-known songs. So we have the general purpose: “You're not singing any more” to the tune of “Guide me O thou great Redeemer”; “There's only one...” to “Winter Wonderland”; and “You only sing when you're winning / fishing / insert other regional stereotype here” to “Guantanamera.” Connor's song is to “September” by “Earth, Wind and Fire” but when I first heard the chant I recognised the tune but didn't know the original song, until it was on the radio a few weeks later.

One of the writers said about it “never let the lyric get in the way of the groove”, meaning that it's a song to dance to not think deeply about, but it does have a general message. Unsurprisingly, it is not about a footballer who “never gives the ball away”. The singer asks his partner “do you remember...dancing in September...never was a cloudy day...Remember how we knew love was here to stay?” Unlike many songs that speak of this first flush of love, the song doesn't then say that this love was great but never lasted. Instead, now in December they still share true love.

These months could be literal months, saying that this was not just a summer fling, or they could be metaphorical months (like they are in Sinatra's “September Song”) describing the human lifespan as a calendar year. But whichever way it's read this is a song about a love that has lasted. Some have suggested that the reference to bells indicates that this is a song about a marriage (possibly on 21st September) that has lasted.

Sometimes the Bible reading at a wedding service sometimes comes from Song of Songs, where all eight chapters are a poetic celebration of the love between a man and a woman, often using spring as a metaphor for young love. I often then say that the 'springtime' of love makes everything seem easy, but the challenge of the marriage vows is to keep that love going through the difficult autumn and winter seasons. A difficult if not impossible promise to keep, unless we have the God who is love (1 John 4:8) filling us with his love. And his love is is a true everlasting love, not just for those in love, but for everyone.

Not so silly season

Here's my August article:

In the media, August is in 'silly season' - the time of year when the news is full of frivolous stories because Parliament is not sitting, and so there is not as much 'important' news. Inexplicably in many other languages 'silly season' is called 'cucumber season'!

However, for thousands of young people August is not silly at all but very serious, because it is when GCSE, T Level, BTec and A level results are released. This is the time when future dreams can be dashed or come one step closer: apprenticeships, university places and job offers can all hinge on what is written on the result papers. It is no wonder that this can be a very stressful time for our young people. When as adults we try to help our young people at this time we can sometimes either make the mistake of minimising how important it is to them or make the opposite mistake of placing too much importance on them.

On the one hand, we can treat results day as just another part of 'silly season' – a chance for the media to be filled with claims that the exams are much too easy now or that no-one really cares about what qualifications you have. On the other hand, we can act as if failing to get the desired results means an end to any future prosperity and happiness. To get the balance right requires wisdom and a sense of perspective, and it is our job as adults of the community to help our young people to have that sense of perspective too.

It is hard to know how to shepherd our young people through this time, so we should to turn to God in prayer to ask him for wisdom and the right words to say, and also to ask him, as the Good Shepherd, to lead and guide our young people's thinking too. But one thing we should be reminding them is that, contrary to what the education system might suggest, our identity and our value is not dictated by those results.

So, a prayer for young people receiving results, from Liverpool Diocese, contains these words “May they know their worth and value is not based on academic achievement but on your great love for us.” And one from the Methodist church, to be said by the young person themselves: “Help me to remember that in your eyes, I am worth more than grades on a piece of paper.” These contain the wisdom that we all need to hear, that our value is not based on our achievements, whether they are academic, personal, or related to our employment or recreation. We are valuable because we are made in God's image and he loves each and every one of us equally and regardless of our achievements.

Psalm 23 reminds us that God, as our Good Shepherd, is with us through all our joys and our sorrows; rejoicing with us and comforting us as necessary. And so a prayer from the Church of England to be said by the young people says: “Help me to stay calm as I wait for news. Whatever happens, be with me, and help me to know the wisdom that comes from heaven.” Maybe that's a prayer you can say whatever your situation.

I'm dreaming of...

Here's my July magazine article:

This month the first live-action film based on the Barbie doll will be released.  From what we know about it already, Barbieland is a perfect place for perfect beings but Barbie starts to question it and becomes imperfect.  So she goes to the real world to search for happiness.  The film plays on the concept of Barbie's world being a dream or fantasy world, not necessarily in the sense of it being a fictional world, but in the sense that it is a world we'd dream about living in.  This of course is part of the appeal of the Barbie range of toys – through playing with the toys, children escape into an imaginary world where life is perfect and dreams can come true: Barbie lives in a dream house with her dream vehicles in a dream world.

Having dreams and aspirations are part of a child's development, helping them to shape their future life choices.  But because children can imagine a perfect world they are often more able to see the imperfections in our world, and want to do something about it.  As adults we often resign ourselves to an imperfect world (“that's just the way life is”) and lose the will to try to make things better.  Sometimes however people's dreams and lives are crushed by circumstances.

In a very different picture to Barbieland, at her lowest point the character of Fantine in the musical Les Miserables sings “I had a dream my life would be / So different from this hell I'm living / So different now from what it seemed / Now life has killed the dream / I dreamed.”  As she discovered, and as we all discover, the perfect world and the perfect life cannot exist, because all of us make mistakes which hurt and damage ourselves and others.  The Christian world view names this as sin: our rejection of God and his ways in order to make ourselves the god of our lives – and tragically we are naturally inclined to put our own needs above others.  The Genesis creation story tells us that the consequence of this sin is death: human sin spoiled the perfect world God created thus allowing death into it.

The trailer for the Barbie movie shows one of the moments where Barbie spoils the perfect Barbieland by asking “Do you guys ever think about dying?”  Even in Barbie's world the thought of death spoils the dream.  We don't know from the trailers how Barbie's situation will be resolved: whether she will have to choose between the imperfect real world and the perfect fake world; or whether she brings the imperfection of the real world into the perfection of the fake world and this somehow improves the perfect world.  Or will none of these questions be answered, making way for a sequel!!

What we do know is the Christian good news: that Jesus came from his perfect realm into our imperfect world, so that he could take our sins onto himself on the cross, that through his death we might be forgiven, and through his resurrection death might no longer reign thus opening the way to a perfect everlasting life.  Our dream world becomes reality through Jesus.