My eye was caught by a BBC podcast featuring the Chaplain to the Anglican church in Moscow. Just outside the Kremlin’s walls, it hosts both a Russian and expatriate congregation. The chaplain spoke of the last few years, as you would expect, as being extremely difficult, but added that he had never before in his ministry experienced such a hunger for God as amongst the Russian people.The expression ‘Hunger for God’ reminds us of the close links, indeed, the identification of food with spirituality. We approach God through food as we consume the bread and the wine of Holy Communion. We experience, at times, a longing for the divine presence just as we experience hunger. It might be added that we also lose our appetite for God, at times!Today’s gospel is all about food, not literally but used as a metaphor illustrating our approach to God. The food laws that the Jewish people observed were designed to remind the Isrealites of God’s holiness. They were not to eat unclean flesh as a marker of their distinctive religious identity as God’s people. Jesus, however, redefined holiness not by what went into our mouth’s but what came out.‘Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles.’ Matthew 15: 17-18The significance of food as a gift of God, however, has not been lost and it is that theme that Jesus picks up as he is confronted by the Canaanite woman who pleads for her tormented daughter and throws herself on the mercy of Jesus.‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs. She said , ‘Yes Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.’ Matthew 15: 26/27In this exchange we can find an echo of the sharp confrontation between Moses and the children of Israel in the desert. The food that God had provided for the Isrealites in the desert was ‘Manna from heaven’. It was a sign of God’s mercy and a reminder of their dependence on God’s provision. Jesus, here also talks of food as a means by which God’s people access his mercy. The Canaanite woman is quick to take up the point, even the little dogs can feed on the crumbs that fall from the table, but Jesus is not going to give way without knowing her heart just as Moses sought to lead the Isralites into a deeper relationship with their God.Jesus' tone in this encounter seems confrontational and we are offended by the language he uses, but it has the tone of a real conversation without any gloss or attempt to evade the force of Jesus’ argument. I understand it as a test thrown out by Jesus who is searching the heart of this woman to see whether her desire is for the gift or the giver. Is it just her daughter's healing she is seeking or is it really God’s mercy? Again we see the same dilemma that Moses encountered when the Isrealites demanded food. The demand is offensive because it lacks faith in God’s goodness and Moses is angry with the crowds who protest that God has abandoned them in the desert. God provides but only to remind them that all good things come from God.The distinction between food received as a gift from God and food that serves only to satiate our desire for good things is a distinction made by the Dutch still life artists of the 16th/17th centuries. Early still life paintings depict the typical peasant diet of bread and cheese, the stuff of life, but as the Dutch republic grew fat on trade with its newly acquired colonial empire all sorts of rich and exotic foods began to flow into the homes of the rich merchants of Holland.Banquet piece with Mince pie 1635. Willem Claesz Heda Our painting today depicts such a feast, featuring a mince pie that was stuffed with the spices from the Dutch East Indies. Alongside it is a plate full of oysters and a lemon, both symbols of rich living. Front and centre, though, are two plain bread rolls that have not been eaten. The point is made! Whilst the rich enjoy the rich food of the East the plain and wholesome food is ignored. The uneaten bread is further used to depict the spiritual poverty of the rich, for it is the food that God provides, the food that feeds the heart, the bread of heaven, the body of Christ.The same point is made in many other Still life paintings of the period where huge piles of exotic fruits and flowers are piled together in a display of bounty that is meant to impress. Indeed that was the purpose of these paintings. We are, as guests of this rich merchant, meant to marvel at the magnificence of the food displayed. This is all about ‘Conspicuous consumtion’, but look closely at these paintings and you will notice that the artist often includes a fly or maggot eating away at the fruit which itself has begun to rot! Food is not for display, but to be eaten with thankful hearts for God’s goodness.Our own society is certainly one of conspicuousness. Is that, maybe, why we in the West have lost our appetite for God? Let’s not count our blessings, but forget to give thanks to the God from whom all good things come.Rev Simon Brignall
Matthew's account of Jesus ‘Walking on water’ has given comedians the opportunity for a good joke! ‘The Baptist, the Catholic and the Vicar’ The question for me is not did it happen – I believe it did, yes, but what does it mean? The early church: For the first Christian believers this account of Jesus and his disciples in the midst of a storm would have had a clear reference to the persecution that the Emperor Nero unleashed against the Church. The message is, Jesus is with you and will get you to the other side of the sea. That message has been picked up down the ages as communities and countries have faced the onslaught of persecution, or the overwhelming forces of nature as we witness today is the devastating effects of the wildfires sweeping North America, Hawaii, and recently Rhodes. The resilience of communities in the face of disaster, to a great extent, is dependent on a determination to ‘smile through the tears’. In other words to hold on to hope whilsts grieving for the lost. Chagall. The Circus Horse. 1931 The artist who best expresses this sentiment of determined hope and faith is Chagall. Born in Belarus, then part of the Russian empire in 1887, he was a child of a large Jewish community in the city of Vietbsk. The community was confined to settlements within the city known as ‘shetetls’ and constantly menaced by the pogroms that swept Russia in his early years. His art and life were shaped though, not by persecution, but by the rich cultural and religious heritage of his community. Chagall constantly draws on the images and memories of his early years in Belarus and his gift for happiness and his instinctive compassion sustained his art for more than 70 years. For him, clowns and acrobats always resembled figures in religious paintings. In his later paintings, as war darkened his worldview, the circus performers, indeed, are replaced by prophets and sages in his work, but they float and cavort like the circus performers. Chagall described his love of circus people in this way: “Why am I so touched by their makeup and grimaces? With them I can move towards new horizons…Chaplin seeks to do in film what I am trying to do in my paintings. He is perhaps the only artist today I could get along with without having to say a single word.” So a miracle could be seen as the overcoming of circumstances as we hold on to faith and hope. Faith and hope enable us to ‘smile through the tears’ - even the impossible is possible. The message of this miracle, as understood by the early church, “Stick together and we’ll be alright” or as Jesus’ disciples would have put it “Stay in the boat and Jesus will make sure we survive the storm”. But, of course, there is one disciple who doesn’t stay in the boat but gets out and gets his feet wet. Peter: What are we to make of Peter? In Matthew’s account we see the rash impetuous Peter, but can we maybe, also see the faith of the clown or the acrobat willing to take risks? He fails, but he gets up again smiling, this the same Peter who leads the early Church. There are several hints that Matthew thought Peter was a clown! 1. Jesus doesn’t ask him to step out of the boat but Peter seems to want to prove that Jesus can do anything! “If it is you Jesus prove it and let me walk on water” – not a good idea, just showing off really! 2. Not surprisingly Peter ends up in the sea and has to be rescued. 3. When he gets back into the boat the other disciples are not impressed. There is no praise for Peter. 4. Jesus then gets into the boat. He’s going to be traveling with them in the boat. This was an important message for the early church which used the ‘Boat’ as their secret symbol. Jesus is with us. 5. But maybe there is just a suggestion that Peter is destined to be the leader of the Church, even if these first stumbling steps are clownish. Can we even imagine the disciples all enjoying a laugh as they safely reach the shore? The message for us today: What can we take away with us today from this account? For me the message is all about a God who cares for us, and is in control of the circumstances of our lives. The sea and the forces of nature were deeply troubling elements for the people of Jesus day. We are not in control but subject to the buffeting and sometimes battering of nature, but here is Jesus in control of the sea and sky. We can trust him to get us through disaster and disease. He is in the same boat as us and, though subject to the same forces of nature, has overcome disaster and death, he is the Lord of life and Master of destiny. The writers of this text want us to understand that history has a purpose and meaning because God is able to bring order out of chaos, victory out of defeat, and turn the clowns into heroes of the church. Peter, as a leader, is certainly flawed and often fails to live up to his promises, but who like all great leaders, learns from his mistakes. When the moment comes he is ready, humbled and obedient. He is ready when his master does call him out from the boat and into the storm. It is a message for us all because faith does involve risk, the risk of looking like a clown. The risk of trusting this God who tells us that our security does not depend on the boat we are in but the person in the boat that will take us to the shore and into the haven he has determined we will go. Rev. Simon Brignall We give thanks for the good health of Saskia and baby Estella, still in hospital but out of danger. We continue to pray for Derek Daley in hospital and Jackie. Prayer for Ukraine God of peace and justice we pray for the people of Ukraine today, and the laying down of weapons. we pray for all those who fear for tomorrow, that your spirit of comfort would draw near to them. We pray for those with power over war and peace, for wisdom, discernment, and compassion to guide their decisions Above all, we pray for all your precious children at risk and in fear, That you would hold and protect them. We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen I am contactable from Thursday to Sunday.
IonaThere are some places where it seems possible to touch other worlds, or at least feel the presence of the divine. One of those places is on the island of Iona, just off the coast of Mull. It was the home of a monastic community founded by the Irish monk St Columba in the 6th century. In the century that followed the monks from Iona evangelised Scotland and the north of England.Today there is still a flourishing community there in the restored monastery leading retreats but also bringing to the world a message of hope and renewal. Many thousands of people travel there each year to reconnect with the divine so they too can return to their places of work with new energy and vision.Science, too, as it explores the boundaries of existence appears to lead us to a world where matter is not all there is. Behind the surface of things lies a world which we can no longer explain by using our physical senses, and yet whose existence is necessary to make sense of our material world.So how do you get in touch with this invisible world, touch the untouchable, measure the immeasurable? Some are content to accept the world as they find it but increasingly we are turning to ancient cultures or cultic practices to tap into the hidden forces that hold together our world. Some tune in through nature, others swing crystals, others even rearrange their furniture! But another way of exploring the unknown is through Science fiction. Please forgive a slight diversion.Interstellar. 2014 Christopher NolanFollowing the hype around Christopher Nolan’s new film, ‘Oppenheimer’, I thought I would watch another of his blockbuster films. ‘Interstellar’ is a parable for today as it tells the story of a dying planet and the secretive attempt by a mad scientist, (Michael Caine) to escape to another planet. They recruit a daredevil pilot (Matthew McConoughey) to explore possible habitable planets beyond our solar system, of course, this involves ‘Wormholes’ and other improbable escape routes! The heart of the story though is the touching story of the pilot and the family he leaves behind. Sensing that this is a no-return journey, his daughter (Mackenzie Foy) pleads with him to stay. The message ‘Stay’ is also communicated by strange gravitational forces that arrange the word ‘Stay’ in binary code written in the sand blown in by one of the many sand storms that are devastating MidWest America. Sorry, but I now have to give away the plot! The message is being sent by no other than the same pilot in the distant future through a time warp. He has discovered that the worlds he has been sent to explore are either barren wastelands or water worlds. He now desperately reaches back into his past to send a message, ‘Stay’. Stay with your world in all its suffering and devastation and work towards its rebirth and renewal.The TransfigurationThe links to the Transfiguration may appear tenuous, but at its heart the message is the same. The disciples are given a glimpse of heaven and see Jesus in his transfigured glory. Surely, Peter thinks, this is where we should stay as he suggests building an altar to mark the spot. Maybe he is thinking of future pilgrims visiting the sight, as they do! But this is not the plan as Jesus leads the disciples back down the mountain top into the valley where suffering and danger await. Peter, as we do, looks for security either in a remembered past captured in a monument to this sacred moment, or in a pain free and glorious future in glory with Jesus. Like the mad scientist of ‘Intestellar’ he is looking for other worlds, but Jesus leads them back into our world, where equipped and strengthened by this vision, they are to work for a better world. The message is the same ‘Stay’, stay with this world, it is the only one we have and we are stewards of it. We cannot escape, either into the past or the future, our place is here and now equipped with the presence of our risen Lord.Theophanes the Greek (4th/early 5th century) captures this moment in his icon ‘The Transfiguration’. Like the time warp in ‘Interstellar’, the Icon works like a window into other worlds. Through it we catch a glimpse of heaven as Jesus appears in shining white robes, accompanied by Moses and Elijah who reinforce his authority as law-giver and prophet. Jesus , though, is also the true High Priest who mediates between heaven and earth. Theophanes shows the beams of his dazzling robes reaching down into the darkness and confusion of earth. Here the disciples are shown lying in a confused heap, but the message is “You are not alone, I am with you.”. As the vision fades, he leads them down into the valley where a lost and confused generation waits for them. ‘Stay’ with the pain and confusion of the world that God loves.Staying with the worldWhether we choose to visit Iona to reconnect with the divine, or just go out into the beauty of our Cotswold countryside we go not to escape from our world but to refresh ourselves to re-engage with renewed energy and vision. We do not go alone, because we have been touched by the presence of the one who comes amongst us to renew the face of the earth.
Do you remember the ‘Bruce almighty’ comedy film? Bruce believes he can do a better job than God if he is allowed to answer people’s prayers. Of course it doesn’t work out that well! That was followed by ‘Evan almighty’, another blockbuster comedy. Evan prays that he will be able to change the world for the better. He has just been elected to the U.S Congress and wants to make a difference. The answer he gets from God is that he can change the world, but not in Congress, instead he is to practice acts of random kindness. The film takes a very bizarre twist when God tells him to build an ARK. Yes, It’s all about saving the world through Acts of Random Kindness. I won’t explain the plot, but it might be a good choice for the Coln film club! Here is a definition of ARK. ‘An act of random kindness is giving your best self to others without requests or promise of return on investment. It’s simply doing something nice for someone else, without them asking and without you doing it for anything in return.’ Dido and Elizabeth A celebrated act of random kindness is the subject of this week’s painting thought to be by Joseph Zoffany. (1779). The painting is unique in 18th century art to portray a coloured woman and a white woman as equals. The two girls are cousins. The name of the coloured girl is Dido Elizabeth Belle, her cousin is Elizabeth Murray. Dido is the child of an English naval officer, John Lindsay, and a slave girl, Maria Belle, captured from a Spanish warship. On returning to England Dido was put in the care of the naval captain’s uncle, Lord Mansfield, Lord Chief Justice. Later in his career Lord Mansfiled, in a landmark ruling in 1772, declared slavery did not exist in English common law. The case was used in the Abolitionist campaign to abolish slavery throughout the British empire. At the time it was thought that Mansfield’s personal experience of raising Dido Belle influenced his decision. This act of random kindness changed the world! Rewards and recognition We are used to a culture of rewards and recognition for work done or of achievements that contribute to society. There is nothing wrong with that but it is not the principle on which God’s Kingdom works. Jesus talks about ‘rewards’, but here the meaning of reward is a relationship of love. God’s Kingdom works on the basis of gift and grace. That is to use the language of ARK, ‘Giving your best self to others without requests or promise of return on investment’ Jesus talks about a culture of relationships built by a mutual giving of oneself, one of gift and grace: ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcome the one who sent me’ Matt 10:40 Maybe the best way to think of the difference is to compare the giving of a school prize and a birthday present. One is given for achievement, the other is to recognise a relationship of love. The key word here is ‘Receive’. ‘whoever receives me… he will not lose his reward.’ The culture of gift and grace is to value a person not because of what they can give to us but because of what I can give to them. The most precious gift a person can receive is the gift of love and acceptance. I once experienced this as a community worker in charge of a team of unemployed young men. They were very marginalised and never ‘fitted in’, but we took them away on a camping holiday with lots of other young people. On the campsite we all wore t-shirts and sandals and no one stood out as odd or poor. In a week we were all muddy and smelly and it didn’t matter! The change in the young men was amazing. Love and acceptance liberates a person to be who they truly are. It also changes us. Here is a list of the benefits (Rewards) to our health that an act of random kindness gives back to us: Taken from the Positive Psychology website. Recipients of kindness can feel loved. Recipients and givers of kindness can experience a sense of awe when they think about profound acts of love or virtue. Whether you are recipient or giver or merely just a witness you can feel the benefits of an increase in oxytocin. Oxytocin is commonly called the “love hormone” and this helps to lower blood pressure, improve overall heart health, increase self-esteem and optimism. Kindness can increase the feeling of strength and energy due to helping others. Kindness can also make one feel calmer. Less depressed. Increased feelings of self-worth. For those that volunteer their time or money for charitable causes, they often have fewer aches and pains. Kindness is most similar to a medical antidepressant. Kindness pushes your body to produce serotonin, which is commonly known as the “feel-good” chemical that provides healing and calming feelings. Kindness decreases pain, by generating endorphins (the brain’s natural painkiller). Stress, it has been shown that people that are more kind have 23% less cortisol (the stress hormone) and age slower than the average population. Anxiety, the University of British Columbia did a study on a group of highly anxious individuals in which they performed at least 6 acts of kindness a week. After one month, there was a significant increase in positive moods, relationship satisfaction and a decrease in social avoidance in socially anxious individuals. Depression is reduced, mortality is delayed, and wellbeing and good fortune are improved when we give of ourselves. Lowering blood pressure from giving acts of kindness, creates emotional warmth, which releases a hormone known as oxytocin. Oxytocin causes the release of a chemical called nitric oxide, which dilates the blood vessels. This reduces blood pressure, and therefore, oxytocin is known as a “cardioprotective” hormone. It protects the heart by lowering blood pressure. Dido eventually married and had children of her own, the rest is history! Prayer for Ukraine God of peace and justice we pray for the people of Ukraine today, and the laying down of weapons. we pray for all those who fear for tomorrow, that your spirit of comfort would draw near to them. We pray for those with power over war and peace, for wisdom, discernment, and compassion to guide their decisions Above all, we pray for all your precious children at risk and in fear, That you would hold and protect them. We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen Rev Simon BrignallI am contactable from Thursday to Sunday.
