lurchersontheedge

I approach holy week with excitement, a sigh and no little trepidation. Most things are prepared, not all things, but most. I will work through the holy week booklet with my smallish Anglican congregation. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we will meet in the church at 12 Noon followed by lunch in The Vicarage. We will say Mass each evening. On Maundy Thursday, in the morning, I will be with the Bishop in his Cathedral renewing my ordination vows. In the evening, we will again celebrate the Mass, and I will wash feet of those who wish. Then the church building will be stripped, and we will abandon Christ leaving the sacrament in the sanctuary. On Good Friday, we will hold a Three Hour Devotion from 12 Noon until 3:00pm. This, for me, will be a wonderful experience. That evening, we will join our RC friends on an ecumenical walk of witness. On Holy Saturday, we will have a service of light followed by the first Mass of Easter. Easter Day will be a glorious celebration.

For many of my congregation this will seem a little too much. For me it will be glorious. Standing in the place of Christ for a week will be exhausting, exhilarating, draining, restoring, harrowing and exciting.

It will go some way to compensate for the times when ministry appears shallow, and I am frustrated. Then I remember, Christ did the shallow things too… and I wonder whether I will ever fully be read for Holy Week.

On Facebook, I have recently found myself defending the Anglican Covenant, which has will not return to the General Synod given that it has not carried the support of the majority of Diocesan Synods. Those who are into statistics will assert that more people actually voted for the Covenant than against it.  For many of my friends, supporting the Covenant would seem to be an odd thing to do. The reason for my defence is that I am passionately keen about supporting Christians, who live in difficult circumstances, in the Global South. I do not necessarily mean their bishops and archbishops, but the ordinary person.

I love belonging to the bigger picture. This stems, I think, from my earliest introduction to the Christian faith in the Methodist Chapel on Parkwood Springs and then at St James and St Christopher’s Church in Shiregreen. Both were situated on outer council estates. At the latter, I remember how supported we felt when we were visited by those from overseas. I do not know where they came from. The then bishop of Sheffield sent a number of black priests to be with us from other parts of the Anglican Communion. They came for 2 or 3 weeks at a time. These visitors nourished my young faith, if faith indeed it was, with their enthusiasm, compassion and smiles. Both estates would now be considered ‘white highlands’, where to be from an ethnic grouping other than White British would have been difficult. It was these visitors who gave me the courage to be friends with ‘Roy’ the only Black British boy in my school. I remember asking my parents whether I could bring Roy home to play. The reply was of course. Then I added, ‘we don’t mind that he is Black do we?’. It was over 30 years ago, so I imagine I did not use the word ‘black’. The visits from these Black priests enabled me to do this. The Anglican Communion, even though I did not know that was why they were with us, gave me this courage and I am indebted to it.

When I was just 18, I left the metropolitan city of Sheffield to seek my fortune in London. I actually spent two years working for £6 a week, plus bed, food et al on the London City Mission’s Voluntary Evangelism Scheme. It was there I discovered Evangelicals. I also again met Anglican Christians from other parts of the world. I was enriched by what they offered.

I was finally persuaded to go to University. Boys from my estate, or girls for that matter, did not go into HE. Newcastle-upon-Tyne beckoned. It was there I was introduced to a variety of Anglicanism. I am sure all Anglicans are guilty of thinking their own parish church is the epitome of what the Church of England is like. There I have done it used Anglicans and the Church of England in the same sentence. One of the problems is that most members of the Church of England do not see themselves as Anglicans; or Anglican can simply mean a member of the Church of England. The world may or may not have become smaller, but it certainly seems to be more insular.

After Newcastle, came London and doctoral research, spending time whenever I could at Tyndale House, Cambridge (www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk) which is the largest biblical studies library in the UK. It has an evangelical foundation. Even then, I suppose I just thought of evangelicals as what my local church had always done; rather than a particular tribe.

Teaching came, and then ordination training at Queen’s Birmingham (www.queens.ac.uk). I must admit that was quite a challenge. But a challenge because of an eclectic group of Anglicans, not to mention Methodists and the odd URC, were training together: Evangelicals, liberals, Anglo-Catholics. I could speak at length about what I thought about some of the training, but it is clear that one of the good things about the place was, and continues to be, that I was taught to rub along with others, regardless of theological backgrounds and/or personal conviction. During my time at Queen’s, I spent the summer in Volos, Greece at an Orthodox Theological Academy. I wrote an icon, after much dispute with the two monks who were leading the session about whether they could teach a heretic, who had let the sacking of Constantinople happen. I am responsible for a lot, but you know I did not realise my powers extended that far. Gradually over 6 weeks, Fr Antonios and I became great friends. Personal relationships break down many barriers.

It would be tremendously sad if Christians and other people of goodwill could not find it possible to be friends with those who differ from them.

This booklet will be handed out in the hallowed space of St Michael and All Angels, Bartley Green on Palm Sunday during Parish Mass.

Booklet – Titles- bookfold

Hope all is well

I thought this review the Parish undertook of our relationship with Bartley Green School might be worth a wider audience.

This assumes that the blog does get a wider audience of course.

affiliation review

Final topic before we enter into the Christmas period

biblical readings – heaven and hell

theological reflection – heaven and hell

We have had fun working with this material.

I will reflect further later in the week.

After an action-packed week, focussing on the first of our Last Things: Death; we turn this week to Judgement.

I am attaching our three pieces of study material.

For information; St Michael and All Angels, Bartley Green is a largely working class congregation; who are discovering how to do theology together; and sometimes allow the Vicar to use big words; as long as he explains them.

biblical readings

images of judgement

theological reflection

At St Michael and All Angels, Bartley Green; we are exploring the Four Last Things during Advent 2011.

The Four Last Things are Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell. These have been topics for meditation and study for Christians from both East and West for generations.

This morning we began with ‘Death’. As well as the sermon, on the news letter; we had the following questions that members of the congregation are encouraged to engage with during the week (I am ever hopeful)

Questions for the pew sheet

1. Death is a negative subject for many people; why do you think that is the case? In other countries, death is a public event; shared by the whole community; in the UK, we tend to hide things away.
2. We pray in our services as part of the Lord’s Prayer, ‘your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth; as it is in heaven’. What do you mean when you are praying that part of the prayer?
3. What does it mean for Christians to have hope?

On Tuesday evenings and Thursday lunchtimes we will meet in small groups to look at the topic for the week.

I am “publishing” the material here, in the hope that others might find it of use.

We will begin with the case studies, move to New Testament readings and then funeral poems.

I offer them here so that others might be able to join in.

case studies

new testament readings

funeral poems

This is the handout we will be using in Church this evening to explore this wonderful piece of work that will be central to our thoughts over the next 12 months.

Introducing the Gospel of Mark

I realise that I am not supposed to say this, but I wonder whether or not at times those of us who are clergy or ministers actually can turn ministry into a form of idolatry.

I know stand back in horror. But could it be that for some of us ministry becomes more important than the one we are supposed to be serving? The problem is ministry can be a despotic deity, demanding everything.

Many moons ago, I worked as an Evangelist for the London City Mission. One of my colleagues, David (now also an Anglican priest) talked about how for him one of the hardest lessons to learn was that preaching could be an idol. I think, given that I was only 19 at the time, I dismissed this. However, now when a child waves a cheery ‘hello Rev Kev’ as he or she goes past; I realise that any form of ministry can become more important than the gospel, or even of God.

Now, I know on one level the ‘hello’ is evidence of the good work I am doing in schools, and when teenagers call out ‘Rev Kev’ then that is a far better alternative than just being ignored. I realise when having done a good funeral, people say ‘vicar, if there were more like you, we would come to church’ is just having done a good job. But there is part of me that draws far too much self-esteem from such things than I should.

Ministry can be a two-eyed monster; and if we are not careful. No, let me rephrase this; if I am not careful it could become an idol that takes the place of my God.

The saddest bit of all is that would mean I would be robbing myself of the possibility of being fully alive.

There, I knew it would be a hard thing to say…

In the Name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.

The Parable of the wise and foolish virgins, or
bridesmaids told by Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel could at first glance be mistaken
for some important advice about being prepared. Jesus therefore becomes an
antecedent of Baden-Powell’s whose motto has shaped the lives of many a former cub
scout; even the vicar, who on occasion wishes he had taken the motto more
seriously at times. In a week that has seen the rebirth of the bob a job week
that might seem appropriate. Being prepared is important and not to be belittled.
To take this though as the thrust of the parable is to grasp only part of what
Jesus was trying to convey.

It has sometimes been seen not only as an exemplar
of preparedness; but also of about prudence in economic affairs – I jest not –
and again given the worldwide economic uncertainty that would seem particularly
apposite.

However, whilst I believe Jesus had much to say
about the management of financial affairs; again this would be a partial
understanding rather than perhaps a fuller one.

The Parable is meant to describe the Kingdom of
Heaven, which you will recall is Matthew’s term for the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom in the teaching of Jesus is not to be seen as a specific place; that is to say like the United Kingdom; nor is it a political entity, in terms of party politics; although the Gospel has particular political things to say that sometimes bring it into tension with the kingdoms of this world. Christianity is an earthy religion: it has to be, since it is firmly rooted in God becoming human.

You cannot get more earthy than a wedding: they are
so easy to get wrong. This is why there is an enduring popularity with the film Four Weddings and a Funeral, with Rowan Atkinson’s portrayal of the bumbling vicar bringing a smile to our faces. Middle Eastern weddings, according to the anthropologists have changed little in pattern from the time of Jesus to the present day.

At a Palestinian wedding, a bridegroom would party
with his friends and family during the day, and come often late into the night to collect his bride. It was the duty of the bridesmaids to be ready to meet him; and was a cause, and still is, of social disgrace if they do not greet him. The disgrace is interestingly enough on the bridegroom; rather than the bridesmaids. By their failure to understand what was expected, the bridesmaids brought disgrace on the bridegroom. It is interesting to understand why there would be such a severe reaction from the groom: ‘I do not know you’ following not only a breach in etiquette, but in relationship.

This Parable, along with other Parables, is sometimes called a Parable of Judgement.

I would like us to hold that thought as we move to our OT reading for the day. Amos is a prophet who is a very fierce social critic. Sometimes, I think, we get the impression that the prophets are people who always were speaking of the future and whose eyes were always fixed on the hereafter rather than in the present. This would be to do all of the prophets a profound disservice; even if it would make their message more comfortable and easier on our ears.

Amos, however, is someone who knew how to grab his
hearers’ attention. In our small passage for this morning; he proclaims: ‘woe to you who desire the Day of the Lord’. This is perhaps the first time this term ‘Day of the Lord’ appears within the canon of Scripture. Now we could fall immediately into the trap of thinking that Amos is saying ‘woe to you if you desire the end of the world and God to put everything right’, which would be a very odd thing to say (presumably). The Day of the Lord though was not the end of the world; but rather an anticipated day of celebration when Israel as a nation-state could celebrate victory over her enemies; almost akin to Independence Day for the citizens of America or Bastille Day for the republic of France. This particular prophet is not afraid in this context that the great anticipated celebration would bring gloom rather than joy. The reason for this for Amos was obvious, whilst the people of God could claim to be pious they did not practice justice. Let us be clear that Israel’s God judges their lack of morality so severely that the prophets puts it like this; God cannot stand their worship; what they offer to God. This is interesting: I wonder whether we stop and think what God thinks of the worship we offer? There are two things we might like to take from this; (1) God might not like (very English way of putting things) our insular worship or activities which ignore the needs of those around us and (2) morality is not confined for the writers of the Scriptures to private deeds, but to public acts. As I have said many times; there is no such thing as a private Christian faith. This why the Church can and does have something to say not only about private conduct; but about the sometimes immoral ways in which wealth is distributed within society. For the prophet, Amos; God would judge.

Judgement can therefore be seen as something happening in the present. This might lead us back to assuming that the foolish bridesmaids were simply unprepared.

Whilst in our tradition; judgement can be about the present; it could also about the kingdom that is coming. Paul writes to the Thessalonians who were concerned about what would happen to those Christians who had died before Jesus returned. For Paul the Day of the Lord then was, for the believer, an anticipated future hope.

So, back to the Gospel:  what is the judgement occurring when the
bridesmaids are shut out? Is it occurring now or later?

The answer is relatively simple. When Jesus talked of the Kingdom; he was offering a way of life; asking those who would follow him to live their lives according to different values and be subject to God’s wise, just and gentle rule. The bridesmaids, all had a particular task to do, and some were in breach of relationship with the bridegroom.

God sets before us a choice: if we do not listen; God will eventually close the door.

Uncomfortable words: but God is not always as comfortable as we have sometimes made him.

In the Name of God: creator, redeemer and sustainer.