Click here for Astrid's video messageFourth Sunday after TrinityMatthew 11:16-19; 25-end Zechariah 9:9-12‘It is a truth, universally acknowledged…, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.’ As strange as it may sound to some, even those who have never read the opening phrase of this book, would probably know that it’s from ‘Pride and Prejudice’, by Jane Austen. And if you have had a chance to see the BBC series from the 1990’s that was based on this novel, you may also appreciate that the story, as depicted there, has more than just one appeal – and I’ll have to leave it at that for now…But ‘Pride and Prejudice’, those words as the title of Jane Austen’s famous novel, evokes a picture or a series of pictures, about a particular story, in which the main characters come to see, over time, how their pride and their prejudice change, almost to the opposite, because of their experiences with one another. In other words, it’s when they get behind the façade, behind the particular image of the person each is dealing with, that they begin to learn the truth, and find how it liberates them! What do we know about another person, if we’ve only just met them? How can we know another person, unless we spend time with them, make an effort to engage with their lives and their thinking, their experiences; whatever has made them the way they are. It’s probably why we now seem to have more and more prequels to certain TV series, to give us more of an insight into the characters.In Jesus’ days, there were those who had studied Jewish writings, very thoroughly indeed. Those writings had, for a thousand years or more, spoken warmly about the wisdom of the wise. God gave wisdom to those who feared him; a long tradition of the study of Torah – the Jewish Law – and piety, indicated that those who devoted themselves to learning the law and trying to tease out its finer points would become wise, would ultimately know God. A small problem, of course, was that this level of study and knowledge was totally out of reach for the average person: as far out of reach in fact, as being a brain surgeon or a test pilot would be for most people today – no offense to those who are brain surgeons or test pilots. You needed to be a scholar, trained in languages and literature, with enough free time to muse and meditate, and to talk about the complicated matters at hand. A favourite pastime for some…And then there’s Jesus. And what does Jesus do? Well, he has none of it! He slices through all those notions with a stroke. No, he declared, you just need to be a little child, not a scholar, to know God. Jesus had come to know his father in the manner every son or daughter does: not by studying books about him, but by living in his presence, listening for his voice, and learning from him like an apprentice does from a master: watching and imitating.Jesus sees how the wise and learned were getting nowhere, really, and that the so-called ‘little people’, the sinners, the poor, the tax-collectors, the ordinary folk, were discovering more of God, simply by following him, Jesus, than the learned ‘specialists’, who declared that what he was doing wasn’t in line with their own theories about God.Jesus, the Son, was like a window onto the living God, the Father. That’s why those who had ears to hear and eyes to see, were coming to know who ‘the Father’ really was.‘Come to me, all you that are weary, and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’ The yoke of rules and regulations that the Pharisees and teachers of the law had been heaping on the people’s shoulders got them nowhere. But Jesus, who tells them that his yoke is easy, and his burden is light, offers them real hope. The yoke of mercy, and love, is liberating for all those who are struggling and weighed down by moral, physical, emotional, financial or any other burdens. Not because God heaps them on our shoulders – he doesn’t – but because God offers Jesus himself. He is our fellow yoke-bearer. Or, perhaps more precisely put, he carries not just our burdens, but ourselves with them. And then we find how our perception of God changes, the more we spend time with him. We get to know God as the Father, as he really is, because we are enabled to look behind the image that others may have given him, without really knowing him. [Back to that book:]‘Good gracious!’, cried Mrs Bennett, as she stood at a window the next morning. ‘If that disagreeable Mr Darcy is not coming here again with our dear Bingley! What can he mean by being so tiresome as to be always coming here? I had no notion but he would go a shooting, or something or other, and not disturb us with his company. What shall we do with him? Lizzy, you must walk out with him again, that he may not be in Bingley’s way.’If you know the story, you know how it ends. If you don’t know it yet, you may wish to read it now, and see how perceptions can change. And the same goes for the story of God. If you want to know it better, I’d encourage you to get into it, so that you may know and experience God’s loving grace in your life. Amen.
Click here for Astrid's video messageThird Sunday after TrinityMatthew 10:40-42 [Psalm 89:1-4; 15-18]I picked up a book recently – as one does from time to time – mainly to try and find somebody: it’s a ‘Who’s Who in Christianity’. As I opened it, I came upon a William Ames first of all, 1576 to 1633. I’d never heard of him, but my eyes fell on a few particular references, which caught my attention: This William Ames was a theologian, who became known as an extreme Calvinist. After living in Colchester (which I know), where he was prevented from holding a parish by the Bishop of London (how intriguing!) he settled in The Netherlands… ahh… There he was an observer at the Synod of Dort .. (learned about that at school). He was appointed Professor of Theology at Franeker (that’s in the province of Friesland, in the north), where he was regarded as one of the best theologians in Europe. How enlightening!I’ve forgotten what made me look at that book in the first place. But it’s interesting what you can learn, about a certain name that represents a story in history.‘What’s in a name’, we sometimes say, quoting from a famous author. Well, a lot, I would say. We all have one, whether we like it a lot or very little. My Mum, for instance, hated hers; she shortened it and if you wanted to annoy her, you would call her by her full name, although that was not really advised… Our name is part of our identity. It’s how we are known from others. It’s important on identity papers, but it’s also important in our relationships. A family name gives us a context from our roots, and a first name gives us character. When we say, ‘our Mary, our John’, we put certain characters close to ourselves too, as family. So, Yes, I’d say, names are important. When we refer to an ‘unmarked’ grave, we are saying that the person who is buried there is unknown to us, because there is no name on a memorial. There is nothing to bear witness that they ever existed. Did you see the last in the recent series of ‘A house in time’? It was about a house in Bristol, and the final episode told the story of one resident of whom very little was known – his fiddling with his name, his ‘fluid’ identity didn’t help – and how sad it was that he died and was buried in an unmarked grave. What made it more interesting for our community as viewers was that this man died at Ham Green Hospital, Pill… Bringing it closer to us in the context of space, as it were.In Psalm 89, we find descriptions of God that would serve as special attributes to the name of the almighty: his steadfast love, his faithfulness, his righteousness, his favour, are all parts of his name, who is the Holy One of Israel.When Jesus, then, talks about ‘whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me’, he speaks about welcoming people in the name that describes their authority. It’s that name that determines both character and witness, and is able to issue a reward. We rely on the name of Jesus, because we know who he is; where he came from, what he did, what he has given us by that name. He says so in John’s Gospel, what we call the high-priestly prayer, how God the Father has kept safe the disciples ‘in his name’ (John 17:12). The name Jesus signifies divine authority, protection, guidance, peace, salvation, love. It’s because of that connection between Jesus and the Father that we know we are held in their embrace, by relying on the truth of the name of God. We are called to stand on the name of Jesus, by accepting him and by proclaiming him. Acting in the name of Jesus for the good of others connects us to Jesus and through him to the Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit. What’s in a name? In the name of Jesus, I’d say is our life and our destiny. When I looked at ‘Who’s Who in Christianity’ again, I noticed that Jesus Christ, not surprisingly, is also in it, and with a longer paragraph than most. It finishes saying, ‘The title Christ attached to his name signifies that he is the long-awaited Messiah and the Church teaches that, as second person of the Trinity, he is a co-equal, co-eternal person within the Godhead, ‘God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God’’. To that, I can only say, ‘Amen!’.
Click here for Astrid's video message2nd Sunday after TrinityMatthew 10:24-39 [Romans 6:1b-11]There’s a new word that’s found its way into our vocabulary: ‘lockdown hair’; with or without a hyphen. More than 3 months since my last haircut, the meaning of the word doesn’t escape me: it’s ‘grown’ onto me, quite literally! So, when I read in Matthew 10 that ‘even the hairs of your head are all counted’, I am thinking that’s a bit more of a challenge now. But reassuring at the same time. For I don’t have to do the counting myself… It’s a bit like that with our faith: we often think that it depends on us, when in actual fact we are called to be channels of God’s work of peace, not the directors of it. In other words: we don’t call the shots, God does!And that opens up a whole new perspective. Read in that way, the message of today’s reading is not restricting but liberating. ‘Have no fear,’ says Jesus, ‘are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.’Now, the reason for not being afraid, here, may not be spotted immediately. The passage from verses 24 to 28, about a disciple not being above the teacher, and everything being uncovered in time etcetera, refers to what is going to follow in due course: when Jesus has finished his work, the disciples will see that he is the true Messiah, and they will be seen as loyal and faithful followers of him. Their patience, their steadfastness, their perseverance, will shine like light in the darkness. Their determination to follow the Lord of life wherever he leads will be seen and vindicated. In other words: the truth will out! Therefore, do not fear.Yes, there is somebody out there, Jesus indicates, who would rather that his followers would remain in the darkness, and stumble and fall. Someone who tries his utmost to destroy their souls. We should be aware of that, and make sure that we keep to the right path and not be lured away from Christ. But we have such a loving and caring Father God, who is interested in every part of our lives, that we do not need to fear, but need rest only in him. He takes care even of the hairs on our heads, even during lockdown!Now I know that some people will say that the little things are too trivial. That we need pray for big things, because they are more important. It’s true that big things like a pandemic and racism and injustice and poverty are important and we need to bring them before God. But let’s not forget that he is our Father, who has brought forth good things, nurtured them, saved them, delights in them. I have prayed for little things, small and trivial on the larger scale, like a parking space on a busy street, good weather for an outdoor event, something lost to be found – and had those prayers answered! If God takes note of a sparrow and every hair on our heads, then, surely, he also delights in looking after us in the bigger picture. Nothing is too great for him, and nothing is too small for him to notice and care about it.There are other references to the greatness of God in the little things, like Matthew 6:25-34, and the story of Samson is another one. A lot of hair there! You and I may face troubles and temptations, dangers and dark moments in our lives, but we are worth more than a great many sparrows, so let us not forget that the one we follow and serve is greater and stronger than the strongest opponent we will ever meet.So, next time you look in the mirror and contemplate your ‘lockdown hair’, don’t split any, and above all think about the love God has for you and rejoice! Amen.
Click here for Astrid's video messageMatthew 9:35-10:8 Exodus 19:1-8a1st Sunday after TrinityMy son’s driving license dropped on the mat and after he had shown it to me with some appropriate pride, I said, ‘Alright, then; you and I, we’re going to pick up the car and you will drive it home.’ The car was at the garage for its MOT and service, and ready for collection that same afternoon. So that’s what we did. If he felt any trepidation at the prospect of driving my car with me as a passenger, he didn’t show much of it! It was interesting, though: we had been on those roads often enough, but I had to tell him which lanes to take, where to go left or right, etc. It wasn’t the first time he made that journey, but never as a driver himself… You may remember the little story of the person who asked for directions at a cross road, from a man standing nearby. This man looked up the person asking for directions to, say, Upton, and then said, ‘Upton, you say? Well, I wouldn’t start from here!’We spoke about directions before, and following a map. And about sheep. All some kind of images about following Jesus. Up until this point in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus has been doing the driving, but now he is commissioning his followers to do what he has done. They have been astounded by his work, but he’s made all the decisions. This included steering them through towns and villages, and taking criticisms. Now, says, Jesus, it’s their turn. Their turn to do what? To go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, to proclaim to them the good news ‘The Kingdom of heaven has come near’: To cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. All in a day’s work, really. ‘Just’ do as I do, says Jesus, and don’t take any back-up provisions. You’ll have all you need, and you won’t be paid for your effort, either. ‘You received without payment; give without payment.’ Well…, that was different, wasn’t it!Verses 5 and 6 seem a little puzzling: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ Hmm. Why would Jesus give this instruction? Hadn’t he said before that others would come flooding into the Kingdom as well? (Matthew 8:11). And we may well remember that foreigners had come to pay Jesus homage at his birth… Well, that’s all true. After the resurrection, Jesus tells the disciples plainly that they are to go out to all the nations; the reverse of this instruction to them now. But there is an urgent task for the Twelve at hand first: to give Israel itself a chance to hear the message and repent. If Jesus and his followers had taken their message to the Gentiles first, no self-respecting Jew would have paid them any more attention, saying that he was in league with the devil. But he isn’t. He has not come to destroy but to fulfil. Israel’s God is the Creator God, who loves the whole world and is working out his plan of saving all of it, including the Gentiles, the non-Jews. But the way he is doing this is by fulfilling his promises to Israel. That is Jesus’ primary concern, as the Church realised later (eg. Romans 15:8). The Gentiles will follow later; now it is time for the chosen people of God to hear that the fulfilment of their dreams has arrived, according to the prophets.Now, would the task that Jesus laid before the disciples have made them nervous? I wouldn’t be surprised if it had! But if they’d paid attention to Jesus before, they might have known that with Jesus’ authority they could carry it out, if only they obeyed. It’s daunting, isn’t it, to carry out a new task. So is driving for the first time. So is telling others about your faith for the first time. So is finding new ways for the Church to engage others in the life of faith. But I think it’s about attitude of heart. Jesus’ own identity is revealed as much by his compassion as it is by his power or his words. Even if we don’t raise the dead or cast out demons, we do have the power to act in ways that make the compassion of Christ known in the world, so that when we then talk about the Kingdom it sounds like good news. May we all, on that journey of living and sharing our faith, find that Jesus’ directions and instructions will get us there! Amen.
