Thoughts for Today 5th May 2020From the real world sublime and challengingSalvador, Brazil - slavery, poverty and exuberance….We called in at Cape Verde on the way to Salvador. Cape Verde was pretty barren. We saw many half-finished houses and small holdings that had been deserted after the stressed irrigation due to the lack of affordable water supply out of town.Salvador was a hectic port. Our guide, Emmanuel, told us of the history of slavery from 1653 until its abolition in 1888. He pointed out the contrast between the lavish of the Cathedral and Franciscan Church with the poverty of the city. Outside the Cathedral we enjoyed thirst-quenching milk of the fresh coconut. The vendors were busy! Inside the Church of St Francis we were surprised by the lavishness of the Cathedral-like building compared with the simplicity of the convent attached to it. The original church was burned down during the Dutch invasion of the 16th Century. The rebuild happened soon afterwards.In the photograph we see Francis helping Christ down from the cross. Francis has one foot on the globe signifying the global care we all share with Christ. The decorative gold was mined locally to adorn the refit and is overwhelming.It was the stark contrast of the place and the history that struck us. The contrast of the lavish and the poverty of the fovellas with the Franciscan way of life.There was a historic theme of slavery recurring throughout our journey around South America. It has followed us home as the modern manifestation of the selling of human beings still goes on.Last Monday a BBC re-showing of the 1980 film ‘The Elephant Man’ told the story of Joseph’ JohnMerrick’ (1862-1890) born in Leicester. It is the real-life story of his slavery for gain, being hawked around the ‘freak’ shows of France and different parts of Europe from the age of nineteen. Dr Frederick Treves first saw him across the road from the London Hospital in a shop window, where ‘the Elephant Man’ could be seen for a price. Treves assessed him at the hospital (in recent times Joseph was found to have Proteus disease) and later controversially admitted him in 1886 into a room where he remained until his death in1890. Treves was a famous surgeon of the time performing the first Appendicectomy in in the world in1884. He saved the life of King Edward VII two days before his coronation in 1902.Slavery takes many forms. It takes great courage to gain an insight into suffering. It emanates from the cross of Christ, to reveal the pain and extent of it. The portrayal of the ‘Salvador Jesus’ being taken down from the cross by Francis takes me back to the story of the saint at the Little Church of San Damiano in Assisi. There, Francis was called to build the Church of God, and as he found out it was to be a global compassionate church, not just another church building. In the act of taking Christ from the cross he also embraces His suffering. We have never seen such a picture but thanks to Salvador…it gives a new insight into the pain of the world and the golden strengthening of the redeeming glory of God in Christ transforming the ugly and the painful to new life.These words were found in Joseph Merrick’s papers after his death at the age of 27:“Tis true my form is something odd,But blaming me is blaming God,Could I create myself anewI would not fail in pleasing you.If I could reach from pole to pole,Or grasp the ocean with a spanI would be measured by the soul:The mind’s the standard of the man.”With blessings,Edward and JaneNext stop Rio de Janeiro….
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: “Let Adversity be thy Friend”4th May 2020As we reach the midpoint of our 6th or is it 7th week of lock-down (I’m beginning to lose count) there are, understandably, increased calls from many quarters for an exit strategy which will return us to normal life as soon as possible. However, will the “normal” of the future be the same as the one before Covid 19? Well that remains to be seen but my hope is that it won’t. Out of this crisis have come so many pointers about how to care for our planet and for each other in the future.I found myself musing on these the other day and couldn’t help but feel that God, or nature as some prefer to believe, is trying to tell us something.Thinking about the benefits to our environment I came up with:1. Cleaner air caused by fewer vehicles on the road and fewer aircraft in the sky.2. Fewer cars on the roads meaning shorter journey times for our essentials and less frustration as a result.3. The, often obscenely rich, oil producers of the world have seen the price of their product become almost worthless prompting them, perhaps, to reflect on how they have spent their wealth in the past and how they might be more philanthropic in future.4. The Canals of Venice have run clear as a result of the reduced traffic using them.5. The newly hatched turtles of South America and other locations have been safely crossing roads instead of being decimated by the ubiquitous automobile.Adversity often brings out the best in people and this pandemic has been no exception. Examples we all witness are:1. People being extra kind and considerate to each other by observing the lock-down and coming out in the thousands every Thursday evening to applaud the NHS and all key workers.2. Capt. Tom Moore who will be 100 years old tomorrow has inspired enough people by his gritty perambulations to raise over £29 million for the NHS and with Michael Ball and the NHS Voices for Care Choir has achieved a charity Number 1 single. How absolutely and unbelievably brilliant!3. Our appreciation of the beauty of God’s creation has been greatly enhanced by enforced time in our gardens. Whilst our behaviour has had to change, Nature just gets on with what it does best. 4. The number of quizzes being held each week is bound to have increased everyone’s general knowledge. And it is not just quizzes. I learned a new word last week “medicant” thanks to Nick’s reflection on Claire of Assisi.5. People are discovering new skills and things to enjoy. As someone who had never boiled an egg in his life I have discovered the joys of cooking. 6. Church attendances through things like Zoom and Facebook are 10 times higher than actual church attendances before the pandemic. 7. Crime is way down.8. Judging by the number of joggers I see whenever I venture out (for a walk) a lot of people are going to be a lot fitter than before.In short, we have been able to concentrate on the golf balls. I refer to Fr. Terry’s sermon a few months ago when he proceeded to place golf balls, gravel, sand and water into a glass jar. The golf balls represented the important things in life like family and friends and by putting those into the jar first all of the other items fitted in too. When we deal with the gravel, sand and water first, i.e. the smaller more insignificant items, there was no room left in the jar for all of the golf balls.There will be many other benefits that this challenge has brought about and I know not every development has been a good one. However, I feel there is enough good going on to be ultra-positive and to be thankful for our blessings.God bless you all and I look forward to the day when we can all share the Peace in person.John BevingtonP.S. A small though none-the-less significant outcome for an eco-church like St Catherine’s is the paper saving that the Zoom meetings have facilitated. Perhaps it is time to look at some form of IT solution for our services once we return to our beloved Church.
NINTH STATIONJesus Commissions the DisciplesReadingA reading from the Gospel according to John (20.21-23)Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’In this passage Jesus is giving the gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples on the day of the resurrection, however it not meant to be a parting gift, just something the remember him by, but an empowerment to be him in the world. St. John in his Gospel assumes that Jesus has already ascended and been glorified by God bypassing the Ascension and as proclaimed in the other gospels and Pentecost as described in the Acts of the Apostles.In this short passage Jesus uses the traditional Jewish greeting “peace be with you”, which John says Jesus had used when he initially came to be with them. However this time he continues with, “as the Father sent me, so I send you”. So we have a greeting and a command, however the command becomes a commission when Jesus breathes on them and says “Receive the Holy Spirit”. To use a contemporary analogy a command might be to go and nurse those sick with the coronavirus and a commission would be and here is the PPE to use.How do we greet each other? Well in the Church we do say “peace be with you” when we share the peace during the Mass, but I doubt if we use that expression at other times. I brought up in Coventry which was a melting pot of people from all over the United Kingdom, refugees from Europe and immigrants from our Commonwealth counties; all drawn by the economic benefits derived from manufacturing industries. I am sure that everybody brought with them their own greetings, but “are you alright?”, shortened to “alright?” seems to be the one that crossed cultures easily. The problem being that it was a question which the enquirer really did not want to hear a negative answer, so that they had to engage in further conversation. The expected answer was “alright” without the question mark. I did not mind this salutation as it was part of my culture but I did get rather annoyed with one young man when I was Vicar of Willenhall who insisted on shouting across the street “alright Vic” - bless him. The marvellous thing about the greeting, “peace be with you”, is that it is a gift, which which is lovely if it is reciprocated, but the gift is retained none the less.Jesus therefore gives his disciples two gifts, firstly his greeting of peace, and secondly his enabling gift of the Holy Spirit, gifts that are then inherited by all believers. In our mixed-up world at the moment we are transfixed by the “R” number. This is the reproductive number of the Covid 19 virus and we are constantly being told that we must get it to be as near to zero as possible. If it is above one the virus will do what viruses want to do, that is to spread and infect as many people as possible. If “R” is below one and hopefully near zero the virus will in time naturally die out and will leave us in peace.Now consider the “E” number – The Evangelization Number. What would have happened if those early disciples had kept the Gospel of the incarnation, the crucifixion and the resurrection to themselves. Well if they had each only told one person, Christianity would have been a minor religious sect in the Middle-East. However, as we know the Spirit that Jesus gave to those disciples gave them such enthusiasm, that the Gospel spread like a disease. Like a disease, the powers of the state and religion tried their hardest to destroy it by any means possible and Christians were made scapegoats for any and all of the worlds problems. The power of the Spirit was such however that those early Christians were prepared to sacrifice everything to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord.Let us hope that when this dreadful Covid 19 had been controlled by getting the “R” number down to near zero and hopefully a vaccine will come to protect us from future outbreaks. Then we as a church can really work on our “E” number and spread the Gospel with the courage and enthusiasm of those first disciples. Remember that you are Christ's disciples now – we have our part to play by staying self-isolated to reduce the “R” number and when we have opportunity to increase the “E” number.Fr. TerrySmile !!!One of the side effects of Covid 19 is that it can put strain on peoples' mental health, which might have been illustrated by President Trump's proclamation about the use of bleach and disinfectant this week.This was sent to me this week, which purports to have come from the pen of Pam Ayres. I have not verified that, but it is funny.At last we have a cure for all!Ailments large and small,Good health is not beyond my reach,If I inject myself with bleach.Radiant, I'll prance along,Every trace of limescale goneWith disinfectant my friend,Like him,I'm clean round the bend.Pam AyresAnd remember do not take anything Donald Trump says too seriously – he might be suffering.
Friday 1st May - The Apostles Philip and JamesOn Jeremy Vine’s BBC Radio 2 weekday programmes well known people from all walks of life are regularly invited to offer their thoughts about ‘What Makes us Human’. Each presents a short reflection about important issues that define the essence of humanity. Every reflection has been insightful and some have helped expand my own thinking and perspectives about what makes us human. For many, our ability to form friendships and to love and care for others is a key issue. Others have emphasised the importance of imagination because imagination can help us reach out beyond our temporal limitations to contemplate and even wrestle with the meaning of life in ways that are deeply personal and spiritual. Well, today we are remembering the apostles Philip and James. We might think of apostles as super-perfect and holy people called by God to live in a state of sanctity but they were people, not unlike us, who experienced doubts and fears and at times questioned their faith and sense of calling. Some of the apostles, according to accounts, were not totally confident in following Jesus because they were fearful about their safety and future and about being persecuted as disciples of Jesus. The apostle Philip was one who did not fully share the confidence and security of faith of of his fellow disciples, according to accounts, but despite his concerns he remained a loyal disciple. He was present at the feeding of the five thousand, preached the gospel in Greece and other countries, and is often represented in religious imagery with his brother Andrew. The apostle James, often referred to as James the Great, was the son of Zebedee and brother of John. James stayed with Jesus throughout his ministry and he was one of Jesus’ closest friends and trusted disciple. He was nevertheless, from some accounts, a somewhat impetuous and hot-tempered disciple (nicknamed ‘son of thunder’) who expressed a level of anger at a Samaritan village for not giving hospitality to Jesus and his disciples. James was one of the disciples who witnessed Jesus’ Transfiguration on the Mount of Olives and his agony in Gethsemane and he was the first of the apostles to be martyred. Life must have been challenging for the apostles as life is and continues to be for many today. Events, hardships, insecurities, fears and doubts about the future can lead us to wrestle with and question our faith but the example of such apostles as Philip and James can help lift us above whatever difficulties and problems disturb us and lessen our ability, willingness and humanness to love and care for one another and live the gospel as people of God. The opposite of faith is not doubt but fear. Love is important because love dispels fear. I think Philip and James knew this and it enabled them, inspired by the Spirit, to trust and believe and get on with the job God called them to do.With love and God bless,The Collect of the day is saidAlmighty Father,whom truly to know is eternal life:teach us to know your Son Jesus Christas the way, the truth, and the life;that we may follow the steps of your holy apostles Philip and James,and walk steadfastly in the way that leads to your glory;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.AllAmen.Fr Graham
