Marking the passing of the year. (Martin Mellor)As I write this, I have just returned from a trip to Hunstanton. My father and I have not been away on holiday at all this year, for obvious reasons, and I had a yearning to see the sea. As I drove back this thought started to formulate itself in my mind.In our lives we all have significant days that trigger memories or are part of the yearly cycle marking the passing of the year. Birthdays, Anniversaries and the like, but what about those less obvious but still nonetheless important, Holidays, Harvest, Bonfire Night, Remembrance Sunday, and All Souls, Christmas Fair, Carols round the Tree. I am sure you will have many others.When I started singing in the choir, the first major service we sang for was Harvest. We used to sing a full Choral Evensong on Friday evening at Burbage, and there would be a guest preacher. The church was decorated, and I can still remember the smell of autumn flowers and apples gently warming on the heating pipes. On Sunday morning all the Sunday School and others bought baskets of produce which were spread out around the High Altar, then in the evening we sang Evensong again, but not fully choral. The following weekend a bus (or as Rev Grimwood would announce, a Motor Coach) would leave Burbage to go to Aston Flamville on the Friday evening, where we would sing a full Choral Evensong again. In those days a choirboy was responsible for pumping the bellows for the organ, I did that a number of times. On the Sunday afternoon, the choirs boys alone, would get on our bikes, weather permitting, and cycle to Aston for a service of Evensong at 3.00pm. From those days on, Harvest Festival has always been important in my life. As an aside, I had my first pint of pedigree at the age of 17 after a Friday Evensong at Aston, nearly 40 years ago! Another such time was Bonfire night. All of Sapcote Road knew we held a Bonfire on the nearest Saturday to 5th November, and in the run up we would get people offering rubbish, old furniture, hedge trimmings and wood for the fire. Four families were involved on the night, all friends from school. We knew all the parents as Aunty or Uncle so and so, even though of course they weren’t proper Aunts or Uncles. Each family was responsible for one particular thing. Aunty Muriel Bonfire Toffee, Uncle Edwin Hot Dogs, Aunty Megan Jacket potatoes. Mum provided warm drinks and soup.Dad and Uncle Alan would let the fireworks off. We would have proper Aunts and Uncles and cousins would be invited to come along too. All in all a great family occasion. After the fireworks were finished we would all stand round the fire and reminisce and talk about all sorts of things. As we left we would all say “See you at Christmas” the next family gathering. On most occasions when we got home the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance would be on the Television. I could go on with so many other stories of past days. This year, it has dawned on me, that, as a result of the situation in which we find ourselves, I am not going to be able to mark and remember these significant days in the same way.I must say, the thought of this has made me feel quite at a loss and a bit depressed. So, what am I going to do about it? Well, get on with life, of course, and create other memories for one thing, after all we are now in the new normal. Changes in life at the moment are quite momentous, we are not able to do things as we used to. Change in one form or another is always happening to us, it is how to deal with it that becomes the issue. Are we Ostriches who stick our heads in the sand and hope they will go away? Do we confront them and fight against them, change what’s change? I prefer to go along with them, no matter what, as life nearly always seems much better in the end.Assist us mercifully, O Lord, in these our supplications and prayers, and dispose the way of thy servants towards the attaining of everlasting salvation; that, among all the changes and chances of this mortal life, they may ever be defended by thy most gracious and ready help; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.In these times, let us all accept change and create new memories. Hopefully one day our descendants will look back and wonder what it was their ancestors did during lockdown.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD15th Sunday after Trinity – Proper 20 in the Church LectionaryThis parable could be a good trade-unionists excuse for never attending church again. A person who only works for a short time gets the same pay as someone who toiled for ages. How can that be? Well the wages are The kingdom of God, and how can we be gifted only partial admission to God's kingdom? Surely we are either of the kingdom or we are not. Many years ago when I was a curate I decided to join a health club (no giggling I was very fit at the time and ran several miles a day), you know, one of those add-ons to a hotel with a swimming pool. The problem was that full membership was very expensive and beyond a curates salary, so I opted for an off-peak membership, which if my memory is correct was Monday till Friday each week from 9.00a.m. until 4.00pm, which was about half price. It sounded really good and I worked out that I only needed to go three times a week and it was cheaper than paying to go to the local municipal swimming pool. The problem was that each visit took about two hours and finding six hours a week was just about impossible in my busy schedule, so after a few months I didn't renew my subscription.Medieval theology taught of the possibility of purgatory, or in their eyes certainty, where following our death we could earn our way to heaven from this half-way-house between hell and heaven, a place of purification. The medieval church also saw it as a nice little earner in that you could buy indulgences which were supposedly signed by the Pope which remitted certain time from purgatory. The Protestant Reformation saw purgatory as an invention which was not biblically based, but the Roman Catholic Church still holds to it and backs it up with some biblical texts that show that from even Old Testament times people have prayed for the souls of the dead, that they might be purified of their worldly sin. I suppose in my humble limited theology, I think that we earn our closeness to God and his Kingdom in this life, but I do believe that God wants us all to be with him, and I think that a God of total love cannot give his grace a cut-of point.This parable is not really about workers, but is about the infinite generosity of God. Matthew probably adds it here in his Gospel to counteract the criticism he was getting from the Pharisees, for eating with tax collectors and sinners. He wanted to make the point that we don't just earn our passage to his kingdom though our pious acts, but through grace. The kingdom of God is not necessarily a place, but is the reign of God. One of my favourite hymns is “The kingdom of God” by Bryn A. Rees. You will probably remember it and it best sung to the tune “Hanover”. It is a great theological hymn so I have printed the words for you.The kingdom of God is justice and joy;for Jesus restoreswhat sin would destroy.God's power and gloryin Jesus we knowand here and hereafterthe kingdom shall grow.The kingdom of Godis mercy and grace;the captives are freed,the sinners find place,the outcast are welcomedGod's banquet to share;and hope is awakenedin place of despair.The kingdom of Godis challenge and choice:believe the good news,repent and rejoice!His love for us sinnersbrought Christ to his cross:our crisis of judgementfor gain or for loss.God's kingdom is come,the gift and the goal;in Jesus begun,in heaven made whole.The heirs of the kingdomshall answer his calland all things cry 'Glory!'to God all in all.Jesus displayed God's love and generosity even when he was dying on the cross, when one of the criminals who was crucified next to him said, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom” to which he received the reply, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise”.A problem we all have is letting God be God, and because we have tried to be good Christians we think that we should be at the front of the queue for his generosity, which brings to mind a story.A priest and a bus driver both go to Heaven at the same time. St. Peter shows the bus driver his house, which is three houses away from God.During this time, the priest is thinking to himself, "Since I'm a priest I should be right next to God!" Then St. Peter turns towards the priest and beckons him to follow. The priest follows for three miles when they finally come to a house. St. Peter tells the priest that this is his house. The priest looks horrified and says to St. Peter, "I don't understand! The bus driver is really close to God and I'm a priest! That doesn't make sense! St. Peter replies, "Oh, that's easy to explain. When you preach, people sleep. When the bus driver drives, people pray."The incarnation, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus all display messiahship, which was predicted in the Old Testament. The Messiah was to institute the reign of God. The Jews always referred back to their good king David, who was their great leader who they saw was anointed by God, and it was important for the early church to reinforce the fact that Jesus came from the line of David. They had had so many bad kings over their history, so it was important for them to know that their Messiah would bring about a reign that was a true Godly kingship.The New Testament describes the ministry of Jesus, the Christ, sometimes in differing ways, but always as the coming of the reign of God. The synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) are very keen to reflect upon Jesus' words “then they will see the the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory”(Mark 13: 24-27). The second coming of Christ was greatly anticipated by the early church and St. Paul's negative attitude to marriage was probably because he couldn't see the point, if we were all imminently going to be raised up with Christ. St. John in his Gospel and in his Revelation instead stresses the present return of Jesus in the Spirit as a personal experience (John 14: 16-22).So keep the faith, try your hardest to be the sort of person that reflects God's reign now, and when you die be confident of His grace to welcome you to the kingdom of heaven.And one final story to end with.An atheist is fishing in a boat on Loch Ness when all of the sudden, the Loch Ness Monster comes up and begins thrashing his boat around. The monster tosses him into the air. On his way down he shouts "God, help me!"Everything stops. He is mere feet from the monster's mouth. Then a loud booming voice comes from the heavens and asks: "You have not followed me for your entire life and have discouraged those who did. Why should I help you now?"The atheist thinks for a moment before saying:"Look, five minutes ago, I didn't believe in the Loch Ness Monster either."Keep the faith.AMEN
Thoughts for Today From the real world sublime and challenging The Dutch Antilles – Willemstad, Curacao - Fever, chicken, flamingoes, dementia, dialysis, bat-caves and the ‘Swinging Old Lady’… The first creature we met setting foot onto the Dutch Antilles was a hermit crab on the marina pavement. We were in search of good wifi… one of the staff at the sea-front hotel pointed us to a bench where there was good connectivity. That morning we wanted to receive the atmosphere of the place. We walked into the Dutch influences of the island Curacao, Willemstad. Columbus was again ahead of everyone, having found Curacao in 1493. The Dutch arrived in 1634, and so continued the development of the Lesser Dutch Antilles group of Curacao, Bonaire and Aruba – the ABC islands. Walking through the shopping area we came to the Queen Emma Swing Bridge which crosses St Anne’s Bay linking the Punda and Otrabanda parts of the capital city of Willemstad just six feet above sea level. It revealed a stunning classical façade of the waterfront with so much hospitality. The accolade of UNESCO Heritage site was awarded in 1997. The bridge is known locally as the ‘Swinging Old Lady’.After this stroll we returned to the ship for lunch before escorting on a trip to discover Curacao Island. Curacao actually means ‘Island’. Our coach ride took us out of town by the whole house mural of a chicken entitled “Come as you are” and one of a Rasta Car Wash. This was just before a medical centre for ‘Dementia and Dialysis’. Our first stop was at the Curacao Museum in Otrabanda housed in an old military Yellow Fever Isolation Hospital dating back to 1853. It reminded me of a Caribbean version of Bramcote Hospital which originally had a similar role at Nuneaton. Here we found a welcome shelter from the heat, heard the story of slavery and were shown the original constraining chains including a wooden dolly tub and pole. After a hard day the slaves of Curacao would bravely chant “HA” at the top of their voices to the beat of the pole. Slavery ended on the island in 1864. Dutch artwork abounded. The Grand Room housed a grand piano and a proud map displaying the geography of the Netherlands West Indies. In the outhouse we inspected one of the first planes to come to the island, a KLM plane of their Royal Dutch Airlines Royal Mail. Desalination is necessary on this island of 171 square miles (just 2.7 miles wide) with a population of 159,000 people. We travelled on to salt flats and saw the distanced flamingoes approaching their mating season (between March and June). Females have one baby a year and the whole family feed on brown shrimp and lobster. They keep to the same partner and are very shy weighing between 6-11 pounds. Most of the birds had their heads tucked under their wings. From June - November Curacao is on the edge of the hurricane belt and October to February is their rainy season (24 inches a year). Anglo Dutch Oil has a refinery on the island and serves nearby Venezuela just 40 km’s away.On our way to the ancient Hatu caves we had a commentary on the making of one of the local delicacies, Iguana Soup, which apparently tastes like chicken. On the way we saw the Dongo Arch made out of recycled plastic car bumpers sited in the middle of a large roundabout. The Hatu Caves were heralded by tall slim cacti and poisonous apple trees called Manicella. The caves are 300,000 years old and are part of the Pacific volcanic belt. They are full of a collection of grottoes filled with stalactites, stalagmites and crystal clear pools reflecting many marine colours. We were not allowed to take photos until the last cave which opens to the sky. Two kinds of rare bats live in the caves, and as we quietly walked through the living room of the Long Tongued and Long Nosed Bats the lights were dimmed. Our way back ship-ward included the inevitable visit to the local liqueur factory of Laraha. We tasted the thimbleful of ‘the golden orange of Curacao’, produced by the Jewish family of Senior and Co which has enjoyed many years of fame since 1896.With the tour party in good spirits our guide took the opportunity to teach us some of the local ‘lingo’ which we could all take advantage of. Dushi means – ‘Sweetheart’. Danki means – ‘Thank you’. Nusti marble means ‘I love you’. Ten = ‘Goodbye’. We didn’t say ‘Ten’ to the island as that fine evening we ventured out and revisited the ‘Swinging Old Lady’ with her arch of lights. The glorious sunset guided us over the open bridge to a local meal of chicken delight shared with our ship colleagues. We ferried back to the ship across the bay and came away with a warm feeling for this diverse island of Curacao. An island that is a blend of diversity, yes, but also of Dutch style and Caribbean exuberance now at peace with itself in its friendliness. ‘Danki’ Curacao…We are now a night away from Kralendijk and the white salty peaks of Bonaire…Blessings,Edward and Jane
