Do you have a favourite journey, a road or railway journey that is never boring however often you take it? Filled with memories maybe, or overlooking a beautiful landscape or with a view of some grand castle or cathedral. One of my favourite journies is along the M40 passing through the Chiltern cutting and passing through the Oxfordshire countryside which stretches away for miles on either side of the motorway. Or maybe even more beautiful is the stretch of the A303, not everyone's favourite I know, but as you get past the bottleneck at Stonehenge there are wonderful views across the hills to the south as far as Shaftesbury. You may have guessed why these are some of my favourite journies, they are all along roads that I take home or go on holiday. Living and working in Oxfordshire the M40 passed right down the middle of my parishes and in Dorset, famous for not having any motorways, it is our holiday highway! The journey that Jesus sets out on is in one sense a journey home for Jesus is going to Jerusalem, and as events unfold, to his home in heaven, but here in this world he tells his disciples he has no home, nowhere to rest. Stanley Spencer captures the essence of these words as he portrays Jesus, arms outstretched as on the Cross, travelling through a barren landscape with only the foxes for company. But notice, though he has no home of his own his outstretched arms have sleeves big enough to make a home for the foxes! Jesus though he has no home of his own invites his companions to make their home in Him. Today our reading takes us on a journey along a road where we meet three characters one eager to follow Jesus the others more hesitant, to each one he offers a challenge “Come join me as a homeless traveller” and an encouragement, “and I will bring you home” none are turned away. None are condemned all are invited on the journey. But the first group he meets on the road are the Samaritans, they resolutely refuse to follow him and the disciples are keen to condemn but Jesus rebukes the zealous disciples. He will not condemn those who follow another faith and as we learn from the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’ Jesus commends them for their neighbourly love to the stranger. There are others who would-be followers, ready to sacrifice all. Surely Jesus would welcome them to his band, but his words are a warning to those who would commit themselves that this is a journey that involves leaving home and becoming a traveller like him. Then there are those who are cautious. They have family commitments that they fear will keep them from giving themselves wholeheartedly to the life of a follower of Jesus. His words to the cautious are an encouragement to trust him, he will give us a home. “Go and announce the Kingdom of God” Luke 9: 60 for that is our true home. Then there are those who would follow Jesus part-time. It is an interesting offer that Jesus makes and worth exploring they say, but there are so many other interesting offers that must be explored. ‘Let’s see how it goes. Here Jesus gives a warning: There can only be one home for those who follow Jesus: “No one who puts his hand to the plough and then looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God” Luke 9: 62. Four different types of people: It takes all types to make a Church and Jesus holds the door open to all of us. Jesus continues to attract discussion and disagreement amongst us all today. His life and teaching are still centre stage in the debates about how we should live. For each one Jesus has a word, “Come and join me and make your home with me, my arms are big enough for all” To each he gives time, refusing to condemn, always challenging, inviting us to consider how life might be if we followed him and made our home in Him. We have no idea how each of responded to Jesus' invitation, it is not for us to judge or condemn, but only to consider how we ourselves respond to the challenge of Jesus' invitation.For Stanley Spencer, there was only one true home. At his memorial service at St James’s Piccadilly on 27th January 1960, the Revd M Westropp said: ‘He told my wife that dying and reaching heaven would be a sense of relief being safe again, of being home where one belongs’ Rev. Simon Brignall We continue to pray for healing in our lives, both of body, mind and soul, remembering especially Rory, Adam and David. Prayer for UkraineGod of peace and justicewe 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 decisionsAbove 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.
Bedlam from the Rake's Progress 1735 William Hogarth If I was to mention some of the most pressing social issues of the day, mental illness, social exclusion, male violence, and racial prejudice, it might surprise you that all of these are addressed in this account by Luke written almost two thousand years ago. It is the story of Jesus's encounter with a violently disturbed man, shunned by his community, abandoned by his family, and living naked with a herd of pigs! Yet Luke describes this man, not as a madman but as a ‘Citizen of this country'. The encounter with Jesus begins innocently with the kind of question we might address to someone who is soon to be friend, “What is your name”, and the conversation continues after he is freed from his demons as the two sit side by side, with talk about his home and family. It took centuries for the Church to model this kind of compassion for the mentally disturbed. The treatment of the mentally ill, until the 19th century, was not unlike that meeted out by the people of Gerasa, the hometown of this poor man. They were chained, excluded, and sometimes exhibited for the entertainment of the crowds. This is the scene Hogarth painted in the last of his great series of paintings, ‘The Rake’s Progress’. The Rake lies prostrate, almost naked, there are manacles on his ankles and wrists and although it appears that his family tends to him, he is an object of amusement to the ladies who have come to gawp at these poor creatures. The scene is one that would have been common in ‘The Bethlehem Royal Hospital’ in the 18th century. Here a certain Margaret Nicholson was imprisoned after an attempted assassination attempt on King George 111 in 1786. The knife was blunt and the King was not harmed, he even felt a certain sympathy for the woman who believed herself to be the rightful heir to the throne. As the guards took her away he shouted after them: “The poor creature is mad: do not hurt her, she has not hurt me.” These words undoubtedly saved her life as even an unsuccessful regicide was treason and carried a death sentence. Margaret was certified as mad and committed to living out her life at Bethlehem Royal Hospital more notoriously known as Bedlam. She died there 42 years later in 1828. It is probable that George recognised a fellow sufferer as he himself suffered from delusional thoughts and uncontrollable actions. The King however was fortunate to have a doctor who understood that mental illness required sympathy and began a strict regime then termed ‘Compassionate moral treatment’. Though he was ill for long periods during his life this treatment helped to bring him back to his family and his people. Power corrupts Our gospel reading for today describes a man who has lost control of himself, his family, and his life. The picture given to us is of a ‘wild man’ but there is much to suggest that he was once sane, maybe even someone of importance in the community. Not only does he have a home and a family, but he is described as a: ‘Citizen of the city of Geresa’ Luke 8:26. Maybe once he was a man of power, but now he is a man driven to violence by the demons that possess him. We might guess at the causes of his madness. Maybe like Hogarth’s Rake, he is the victim of his own downfall. Could it be that having once been powerful he is now powerless and is consumed by an anger that is dangerous to others and to himself? My name is Legion’ Luke 8:30 Though he could break free from his chains it was his ‘Demons’ who controlled him. We can understand the term demons in both a literal as well as a metaphorical sense, indeed the only way for a pre-scientific mind to understand the uncontrolled violence of mental illness was to ascribe it to forces beyond our control. When we seek to dominate and control we end up by being controlled by demons we cannot tame. Master of the waves and the wind. Luke gives us a lovely parallel portrait of Jesus in contrast to this man called ‘Legion’. He has just described the moment when Jesus calms the waves and the wind. He is a man in control not just of himself but of the elemental forces of nature. But Jesus is not a man who seeks to control or dominate. As he meets Legion he does not attempt to subdue him as others have done but speaks to him by his name. “What is your name?” Luke 8: 30. Perhaps for the first time in many years, this man is being treated as a human being. Instead of the fear and the force with which Legion had lived here is someone who will befriend him. But there is a curious detail here, for whereas Jesus speaks gently to the man, he commands the demons to come out of him. Jesus can command the demons but he does not command the man. The master of wind and waves, the one from whom demons flee, is not willing to command obedience from this man. The power of love: John tells us in his prologue that the one who created the world by his command comes into a world but is not received by the world. ‘The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him, He came to His own and his own people did not receive Him’ John 1: 11 This reminds us of the mystery at the heart of the Christian gospel - the human heart cannot be controlled by force but only won through love, a love that respects our humanity. The power of love is clearly seen in the transformation of this man. When his friends and neighbours come to see him he is: ‘Clothed and in his right mind’. Luke 8:36 Isn’t it remarkable that Jesus sends this man straight home? The family is the place where we are to prove that we are transformed, people. It is in these intimate relationships that we reveal our real selves and find wholeness and healing. King George 111 was a family man and his family was a source of strength to him. How fortunate he was to be able to return to them unlike poor Margaret Nicholson manacled for eight years and imprisoned for life. Jesus gives us a model of healing not by a display of power but by the power of love. Now this citizen of Gerasa is to seek out and serve his family and community as God has sought out and served him. He is re-clothed in his rightful mind. Rev. Simon Brignall We continue to pray for healing in our lives, both of body, mind, and soul, remembering especially Rory, Adam, and David. 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
Bedlam from the Rake's Progress 1735 William Hogarth If I was to mention some of the most pressing social issues of the day, mental illness, social exclusion, male violence, and racial prejudice, it might surprise you that all of these are addressed in this account by Luke written almost two thousand years ago. It is the story of Jesus's encounter with a violently disturbed man, shunned by his community, abandoned by his family, and living naked with a herd of pigs! Yet Luke describes this man, not as a madman but as a ‘Citizen of this country'. The encounter with Jesus begins innocently with the kind of question we might address to someone who is soon to be friend, “What is your name”, and the conversation continues after he is freed from his demons as the two sit side by side, with talk about his home and family. It took centuries for the Church to model this kind of compassion for the mentally disturbed. The treatment of the mentally ill, until the 19th century, was not unlike that meeted out by the people of Gerasa, the hometown of this poor man. They were chained, excluded, and sometimes exhibited for the entertainment of the crowds. This is the scene Hogarth painted in the last of his great series of paintings, ‘The Rake’s Progress’. The Rake lies prostrate, almost naked, there are manacles on his ankles and wrists and although it appears that his family tends to him, he is an object of amusement to the ladies who have come to gawp at these poor creatures. The scene is one that would have been common in ‘The Bethlehem Royal Hospital’ in the 18th century. Here a certain Margaret Nicholson was imprisoned after an attempted assassination attempt on King George 111 in 1786. The knife was blunt and the King was not harmed, he even felt a certain sympathy for the woman who believed herself to be the rightful heir to the throne. As the guards took her away he shouted after them: “The poor creature is mad: do not hurt her, she has not hurt me.” These words undoubtedly saved her life as even an unsuccessful regicide was treason and carried a death sentence. Margaret was certified as mad and committed to living out her life at Bethlehem Royal Hospital more notoriously known as Bedlam. She died there 42 years later in 1828. It is probable that George recognised a fellow sufferer as he himself suffered from delusional thoughts and uncontrollable actions. The King however was fortunate to have a doctor who understood that mental illness required sympathy and began a strict regime then termed ‘Compassionate moral treatment’. Though he was ill for long periods during his life this treatment helped to bring him back to his family and his people. Power corrupts Our gospel reading for today describes a man who has lost control of himself, his family, and his life. The picture given to us is of a ‘wild man’ but there is much to suggest that he was once sane, maybe even someone of importance in the community. Not only does he have a home and a family, but he is described as a: ‘Citizen of the city of Geresa’ Luke 8:26. Maybe once he was a man of power, but now he is a man driven to violence by the demons that possess him. We might guess at the causes of his madness. Maybe like Hogarth’s Rake, he is the victim of his own downfall. Could it be that having once been powerful he is now powerless and is consumed by an anger that is dangerous to others and to himself? My name is Legion’ Luke 8:30 Though he could break free from his chains it was his ‘Demons’ who controlled him. We can understand the term demons in both a literal as well as a metaphorical sense, indeed the only way for a pre-scientific mind to understand the uncontrolled violence of mental illness was to ascribe it to forces beyond our control. When we seek to dominate and control we end up by being controlled by demons we cannot tame. Master of the waves and the wind. Luke gives us a lovely parallel portrait of Jesus in contrast to this man called ‘Legion’. He has just described the moment when Jesus calms the waves and the wind. He is a man in control not just of himself but of the elemental forces of nature. But Jesus is not a man who seeks to control or dominate. As he meets Legion he does not attempt to subdue him as others have done but speaks to him by his name. “What is your name?” Luke 8: 30. Perhaps for the first time in many years, this man is being treated as a human being. Instead of the fear and the force with which Legion had lived here is someone who will befriend him. But there is a curious detail here, for whereas Jesus speaks gently to the man, he commands the demons to come out of him. Jesus can command the demons but he does not command the man. The master of wind and waves, the one from whom demons flee, is not willing to command obedience from this man. The power of love: John tells us in his prologue that the one who created the world by his command comes into a world but is not received by the world. ‘The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him, He came to His own and his own people did not receive Him’ John 1: 11 This reminds us of the mystery at the heart of the Christian gospel - the human heart cannot be controlled by force but only won through love, a love that respects our humanity. The power of love is clearly seen in the transformation of this man. When his friends and neighbours come to see him he is: ‘Clothed and in his right mind’. Luke 8:36 Isn’t it remarkable that Jesus sends this man straight home? The family is the place where we are to prove that we are transformed, people. It is in these intimate relationships that we reveal our real selves and find wholeness and healing. King George 111 was a family man and his family was a source of strength to him. How fortunate he was to be able to return to them unlike poor Margaret Nicholson manacled for eight years and imprisoned for life. Jesus gives us a model of healing not by a display of power but by the power of love. Now this citizen of Gerasa is to seek out and serve his family and community as God has sought out and served him. He is re-clothed in his rightful mind. Rev. Simon Brignall We continue to pray for healing in our lives, both of body, mind, and soul, remembering especially Rory, Adam, and David. 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
You may remember a book published a few years ago called ‘Eats shoots and leaves’ by Lynn Truss. It dealt humorously with the pitfalls of punctuation. The sentence above could be referring to a murderer or to a panda bear, depending on where you put the punctuation. Or maybe you have read the poignant poem by Stevie Smith, ‘Not waving but drowning’ about the misinterpreted signals of a desperate person trying to attract attention. Our words and actions can so easily be misinterpreted unless understood in the right way. The Mona LisaArt works in the same way, it needs to be interpreted and the interpretation depends on how we read the signs or symbols that the artist puts in front of us. The great art of the Classical and Renaissance periods relied on geometrical form and proportion, the triangle and the rectangle, arranged in perfect proportions to give a picture that sense of harmony that brings beauty to nature. Yet for the artist there is more than just harmony, there is emotion and personality, that of the artist and of the subject. A perfectly harmonious composition would be boring, but one that combines harmony with emotion engages us in a relationship that lasts for a lifetime or indeed for generations of lifetimes. Consider, for example, what is acclaimed as the greatest work of art ever painted, the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa is not only a painting of exceptional beauty, combining the perfect proportions of geometry, but is also famously enigmatic, posing questions about the personality of the sitter. Is she smiling or is she frowning? Is she looking at me, do her eyes really follow me around the room? All this is the work of the genius Leonardo da Vinci whose understanding of anatomy and light enabled him to play tricks with our eyes that bring the face before us alive. The link between the Mona Lisa and our passage today rests on the same need for interpretation and the measure that is used is not beauty but love. How do we understand words such as Sin, Righteousness, and Judgement, that are so central to the Gospel picture? Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will interpret: “When he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin, righteousness and judgement” John 16: 8 Further, Jesus links these three words to what is to come: His Passion, Resurrection and Ascension: “He will make know to you what is to come” John 16: 13. The key to interpreting these three words is love. The love of God in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit who Jesus tells us will shine a light on the work of the Father and the Son: “He will glorify Me, for he will take what is mine and make it known to you. All that the Father has is mine, and that is why I said, “He will take what is mine and make it known to you” John 16: 14/15. The Passion: In the Passion, the spotlight shines on the Son. Here we see the love of God taking on Himself the sin of the world. The world had understood that sin was something for which each person must account, but the Spirit makes known that in Christ, God Himself has taken the sin of the world on himself. St. Paul puts it like this “Him who knew no sin, he made to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him” 2 Cor. 5:21. The Resurrection: As the Passion shows us how we die to sin in Christ, so the resurrection shows us how the Father raises us to a new life in Christ. The world had understood that righteousness was achieved by good works, but the Spirit makes known that this new life is made possible only by the Father, as we are raised up with Christ. Again St. Paul spells it out: “But God is rich in mercy, and because of his great love for us he brought us to life with Christ when we were dead because of our sins... and he raised us up in union with Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2: 4-6 The Ascension announces the final judgement of God as Christ takes his place in glory and ‘The prince of this world stands condemned’ John 16:11. The world had thought of the final judgement of God with dread but the Spirit reveals that it is not mankind that is condemned but the evil one. “The Spirit of God affirms to our spirit that we are God’s children; and if we are children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ... we are also to share His glory. Romans 8:16/17. Those three words, sin, righteousness, and Judgement that sound so severe are in fact words of comfort when interpreted by love. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one in love working together to bring the whole of broken creation back into perfect harmony through the Passion, Resurrection and Ascension of the King of love. Rev. Simon Brignall
