What Fagin counts

Here's my article for Broughton's July Magazine:

This year's end of year production at Broughton Primary is Oliver!.   With a recent rise in anti-Semitism, it might be relevant to think about the portrayal of “the Jew” Fagin, particularly in Dickens' book, as the personification of evil.   The overt anti-Semitism we see today, and perhaps more worryingly society's lack of condemnation of that anti-Semitism, mirrors closely the Victorian cultural views around when “Oliver Twist” was written, and that we thought we'd moved on from.   However, that's a complicated topic with much nuance needed that a short article cannot adequately cover.

Instead we'll think about the much less controversial topic of money!   When Oliver is brought to Fagin by Dodger, Fagin explains what their 'business' is.  He sings “In this life / one thing counts / in the bank / large amounts. / I'm afraid these don't grow on trees / you've got to pick a pocket or two.”  Fagin is avaricious and greedy, he loves hoarding money but doesn't use it either for himself or for the boys he looks after (and who get him the money!)   Because he believes that the only thing that counts in this life is large amounts of money, his self-worth is based on how much he has, not what he does with it.   And he is prepared to do anything to increase the amount he has – or more correctly, he is prepared to let others risk themselves to increase his wealth.

The Bible has a lot to say about wealth, and it is one of Jesus' most common subjects to teach on.  In Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus teaches us to store up treasure in heaven not treasure on earth, firstly because earthly treasure will perish.  Secondly, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Whatever we value most, we will strive to obtain – “you cannot serve both God and Money.”  Famously, Paul writes “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:9-10).  One of those evils is the exploitation and oppression of others to gain wealth, which is an insult to their Maker (and our Judge) (Proverbs 14:31).  Fagin gives us a working example of that evil.

We may not go as far as Fagin does, but for a lot of people their self-worth lies in how rich they are or in the things they own, and so they are never truly content because they can never have enough money, nor all the possessions they want.  Jesus teaches “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” instead we are to seek his kingdom first (Luke 12:13-34).

Fagin considers leaving his life of crime but the lure of money is too much for him.  Our attitude to money and possessions can become idolatrous and God calls us to trust him for what we need, and perhaps demonstrating that trust involves generously using what we have for the benefit of others.

Click here for other articles on Oliver!

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

Harvest or hubris?

Here's my magazine article for September:




What do Superman, the Addams Family and 'Wir pflügen' all have in common? Answer: they are all tunes that my family uses to sing a 'grace' before a meal. 'Wir pflügen' is better known as the tune to 'We plough the fields and scatter' but you'll have to ask me the lyrics to the other two next time you see me!

As things slowly start to return to normal, so does the regular cycle of special services, the first major one being Harvest. Despite living in a rural area surrounded by people whose living depends on farming, we, like our more urban neighbours, have largely lost a sense of how dependant we are on the natural processes of food production, and in particular on the importance of the harvest. So a bad harvest will affect the livelihood of agricultural workers but rarely affects consumers. I would guess it is also fairly rare for people to start their meals with a 'grace' – thanking God for the food they are about to eat and those who had any part in producing it.

This can lead to an unconscious hubris that we as humans are no longer subject to the vagaries of nature; that we can control nature to produce what we want, whenever we want it.  This arrogance also extends beyond food to everything we have – we have gained or earned it and it is ours to do with as we please. Perhaps this is why natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes shock us so much – they remind us that the natural world is actually beyond our control. 

So the dwindling importance of harvest celebrations may not be just because we've lost the connection between what we eat and how it is produced, but because harvest itself is a reminder that we are not in control, that we are dependant upon God's provision through nature. Harvest is an affront to humanity's sense of self-sufficiency.

But harvest is also a reminder of God's generosity to us: he didn't have to create us, but he did; he didn't have to give us a world with all its variety for us to enjoy, but he did; he didn't have to send his Son to die so we could be forgiven, but he did. Our response should be thanksgiving but also a desire to be generous as God is generous. One of the prayers we use in church when we receive the collection is “everything in heaven and on earth is yours. All things come from you, and of your own do we give you.” We need to go along a journey that starts with ‘how much of my money do I give away?’ to ‘how much of God’s money do I keep?’

It’s not an easy or straightforward journey – but this harvest is a good time to start.