HMS Royal Oak was one of five Revenge-class battleships built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Completed in 1916, the 30,000 tons ship first saw combat at the Battle of Jutland as part of the Grand Fleet. In peacetime she came under accidental attack more than once. Attempts to modernise her throughout her 25-year career could not fix her lack of speed and, by the start of the Second World War, she was no longer suitable for front-line duty. On Saturday 14th October 1939 the Royal Oak was at anchor at the war time station of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Isles. Able Seaman Henry Beswick who was born and grew up with his parents William and Eliza and younger sister in Frankley was on board. He was only 20 years old. Even though one would think the Orkneys were a safe place to before Britain declared war his ship was sunk by German submarine U47. Of 1234 men and boys on board 833 died. Harry was missing presumed dead, probably killed immediately by the German torpedoes. If he managed to escape the sinking battleship he may have drowned. Most likely his remains are entombed in the hull of the Royal Oak. Because of the fear of aerial attack all ships were darkened, showing no lights. The Anchorage was believed to be impenetrable to submarines. However Captain Gunther Prien got through the defences. He made two torpedo attacks the first being successful but the explosion was put down to an air attack or internal explosion! The second attack saw 3 Torpedoes hit the Royal Oak and she capsized and sank in less than 15 minutes. As all ships were darkened many other ships didn't realise what was going on. Tragically, many of those who managed to get off the ship either drowned or succumbed to frost hypothermia in the water within sight of the shore and other ships because of this lack of understanding. A net had to be put over the wreck to catch debris and the bodies which floated to the surface. The loss of the outdated ship, the first of five Royal Navy battleships and battle cruisers sunk in the Second World War did little to affect the numerical superiority enjoyed by the British navy and its Allies, but it had a considerable effect on wartime morale. The raid made an immediate celebrity and war hero out of the U-boat commander, Günther Prien, who became the first German submarine officer to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Before the sinking of Royal Oak, the Royal Navy had considered the naval base at Scapa Flow impregnable to submarine attack, but U-47's raid demonstrated the German navy was capable of bringing the war to British home waters. The wreck of Royal Oak, a designated war grave, lies almost upside down in 100 feet of water with her hull 16 feet beneath the surface. In an annual ceremony marking the loss of the ship, Royal Navy divers place a White Ensign underwater at her stern. Unauthorised divers are prohibited from approaching the wreck under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. Harry probably joined the Navy because of the opportunities it gave young men to see the world. He would not have believed he was in danger. In wartime death comes suddenly and is always shocking. It comes out of the hatred of one tribe of people for another and the battle for supremacy. The huge number of young men and boys that lost their lives in the Royal Oak shocked the nation. The shock of losing their only son must have been immense for William and Eliza who were probably farmers. The Jewish temple during the time of Christ was very grand. Jesus and his disciples were looking back at its grandeur. Like the Royal Oak, It seemed impregnable and indestructible. It was one of the wonders of the world, built about 20 years before the birth of Jesus by evil Herod the Great who attempted to have Jesus put to death as an infant alongside anyone who he felt was a threat to him, including his sons, and wives. It was built to glorify Herod, not God and enable him control the Jews more easily. It dominated Mount Moriah. Some of the stones were forty feet long, 12 feet high and 18 feet wide. It was magnificent, covered with plates of gold with pillars of marble, the summit of human achievement. Jesus said “Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” In 70 CE, during the lifetime of some of those disciples that prophesy came true. The Roman armies marched into Jerusalem to crush rebellion. The temple and city was demolished and left unoccupied by the Jewish race until after the Second World War. According to Josephus 1.1 million were killed and 97000 enslaved. The Jews lost their religious centre, the place where animals were sacrificed so they could be forgiven. All they had relied on, their achievements, building, pretensions of ruling the world through the coming Messiah and their religion as they had known it was destroyed and Jews were scattered throughout the world. Only one wall of the temple remains, the Wailing Wall, where Jews come to place their prayers in the cracks and pray for the restoration of the temple. Although the Jews have finally got their land back, in the place where their temple once stood, the Al Aqsa Mosque now stands with its beautiful gold dome which gleams in the distance, much as the temple once did. For Moslems this is deeply significant. It represents the demise of Israel and the rise of Islam. No wonder Palestinians and Israelis find difficulty in living in peace! Even the most beautiful and tallest buildings fall to rubble. It is only twenty years since the collapse of the twin towers in New York. The largest towers today are found in Arab countries and in China showing the changes in economic wealth. Jesus tells us that when we hear of great upheaval, when we hear of wars and rumours of wars, and when there are earthquakes and famines we are not to be alarmed. We are alarmed! Though, famine is most widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa, even in our country there is food deprivation and a need for food banks. We have a growing numbers of refugees from climate catastrophes arriving on our shores and many homeless people sleeping in our city’s doorways.. Calamity and destruction caused by wars or climate change can strike anywhere. No one is safe. If we continue to conduct our lives based on the ABCD of achieve, build, compete and destroy life on our planet will end. The Jesus way of extraordinary love and humility is very different. The ABC of salvation is asking, believing and confessing. A. The disciples asked questions. Sitting with Jesus on the Mount of Olives they were developing a relationship with him. We need to ask for salvation and forgiveness. We need to ask for wisdom and bring God into all ourdecisions if we are going to live his way. B. We believe Jesus has forgiven us because he died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. There is no longer need for temple sacrifice. Jesus has paid the price. It’s not our achievements which count. It’s his sacrifice which might look to our secular world like failure. C. We confess him as our King and commit ourselves too following his way. Early Christians died because of this testimony because they were considered a threat to Caesar. Jesus, no one else is Lord. Jesus said wars, rumours of wars, earthquakes and famine are the beginning of birth pangs. We labour with Christ and each other. Most labours are long, hard and painful but we need not be alarmed. God’s Kingdom is coming. When Jesus comes to reign there will be no more bombing, earthquakes or famines. Until then we labour with Christ to bring an end to hunger and wars on earth.
There will be acts of remembrance for those who died during the wars at the war memorial outside the shops in Arden Rd at 10.45 am on Thursday 11th November and a Remembrance Sunday Service at St Leonards starting at 10.15 am an hour earlier than usual on Sunday 14th November
Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming he is the good news of God by words and actions. People saw him setting people free, bringing forgiveness and healing. Blind people saw, deaf people heard, lame people jumped and the dead received life. When the poor looked at Jesus they saw God was on their side. He had power over demons and authority when he taught. Christians are often portrayed as bad news in the media, bigots, abuser, haters of women and homosexuals, spoil sports, control freaks, money grabbers, racists and war mongers. Some people attribute all wars to religion. Because some Christians have behaved badly we all suffer the stigma of the evil they have done. We are stereotyped by others and feel ashamed making it more difficult to share our faith. If we talk about what Jesus has done for us we run the risk of accusations of thinking we are better than others. Being hurt by other Christians blocks us gazing on the loveliness of Christ. We can become stuck in negativity. Jesus’ words are good news for us. He calls us to repent, believe and follow him. Repentance means more than being sorry for the consequences of our sin. It means hating anything that makes God unhappy, that is not conducive to his Kingdom. We are shocked by what Christians have done in the past. We may also feel condemned as a result of personal wrong doing. Jesus does not leave us wallowing in self-condemnation. When we confess what we have done, repent and do all we can to put things right we are forgiven. Jesus died on the cross for our transgressions. He loves us and lifts the weight of our history from our shoulders. Repentance enables us to move from the darkness of the past into the freedom of God’s presence. Jesus’ love for us enables us to forgive others, letting the hurt go. Through the power of his Holy Spirit we develop our relationship with God in prayer and pray for those who hurt us because God loves them. Jesus came to Galilee, in the northern province of Israel, a tiny nation about the size of Wales, not to Jerusalem, to ordinary people not to a super spiritual centre. Jesus’ first disciples were “northerners.” He talked in the open air on a beach by a lake, not to the clerical elite. He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;” The timing wouldn’t have seemed right to most of us. Israel had been conquered and was oppressed by Rome. The way Jesus came didn’t seem right either. He was born into a carpenter’s family. His father was not an educated man or a soldier. Jesus proclaimed that something wonderful was happening. He was the one prophesied about in the Old Testament who John the Baptist had pointed to before his arrest and imprisonment. In Jesus we see the kingdom of God come near. He obeys his Heavenly Father fully. Through him we see a little of what it will be like when the Kingdom of God comes into completion and there is no more sin, sorrow, or wars. The closer we live to Jesus and the more we allow him to reign in us the more others will see of his Kingdom. When Jesus walked on earth, the kingdom had not fully come. Corruption, hatred and death still existed as it does today. We pray, “Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven trusting that one day Jesus will be King everywhere. Vices often begin when there is a hole in our lives sometimes caused by bitterness, unemployment, shame or lack of friends Alcoholics, drug addicts, thieves and control freaks know they are destroying their lives but feel unable to stop. They need Jesus to fill that hole. We need to believe and trust in him. His dying for us is not too good to be true. Jesus is good news for everyone. He still comes among us, loves, forgives and heals. He still has power to save. Simon, Andrew, James and John were called to leave their families and their security behind because Jesus had another job for them to do. Instead of being experts in their trade they had to become disciples, followers, learners. Jesus’ first disciples were fishermen. Jesus calls us to follow him whatever our job or position in life. It involves transformation. We don’t necessarily have to leave our homes and families to follow Jesus. He lives and reigns wherever we will let him. Sometimes it’s difficult following Jesus in our present places of work or homes. Showing love, honesty and integrity may be a challenge in our target driven, money orientated society. The disciples were to use their fishing skills, to draw people into the kingdom. Jesus said, “I will make you fish for people.” Jesus uses the skills he has given us to increase his followers. We share in the ministry of Jesus. We are called to tell and show others that God is good. Jesus’ ministry on earth was exciting and powerful but it only lasted for three years before he would be beaten, betrayed and crucified. His disciples would also suffer martyrdom. Our opportunities to share our faith may be short. Ordinary people like us are called to proclaim the good news of the Jesus story and the good news of what he has done in our own lives. The pandemic has shown us new ways of doing this. There are times when I don’t want to do this and like Jonah would rather run away. Most people feel highly offended when asked to repent and turn to Christ. However our testimony is important. Because Jonah eventually gave God’s message, Nineveh repented and wasn’t destroyed. In our apocalyptic times where so many suffer as a result of climate change and COVID 19, the world needs to know we have hope and forgiveness through Christ if we repent and change. They need us to speak up. We long for our friends and family, those hurting, doubting, those who have lost hope, those persecuted and in warzones to see God loves them. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, our words, our love in action and our prayers for and with others may we see God’s Kingdom come today?
Stanley Baldwin the prime minister said, “The Bible is highly explosive but it works in strange ways. It startles the individual soul into a new life, a new world, a new belief, a new conception and a new faith.” If we read it every day we will find that it changes us not because of our knowledge of the text and doctrines but because of the knowledge it gives us of the author. We will become more like Jesus and he will speak to us and our souls will be fed. Jesus was talking to the Jews who were outraged by his claim to be equal to God about how they could know he was who he said he was. He had the power and authority of God to perform his signs or miracles. He says his testimony is greater than John the Baptist’s because the works that the Father had given him to do testify on his behalf. John’s gospel contains fewer miracles than the other gospels. Each sign reveals more of Jesus’ godly character. In turning water into wine he reveals his glory turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. He heals a royal official’s son with a word and a lame man unable to heal himself, he feeds five thousand with five barley loaves and two fishes, walks on water, heals a man born blind and raises Lazarus from the dead after his flesh had been putrefying in the tomb for four days. Jesus demonstrated his power and authority over nature, sickness, the demonic depths of the sea and life and death by what he did. He shows us through his actions that he wants us to live his risen life in all its fullness. He brings us joy. He feeds and cares for us bringing us healing. He overcomes the terrors and storms of life and calls us from death into life. The finishing of the work that our heavenly Father called Jesus to do was to die on the cross. Jesus was the Lamb of God written about in Isaiah who takes away the sins of the world. The final sign that he was indeed God would be his rising from the dead three days later. Because none of us met Jesus when he roamed Galilee, we learn about his works and how they reveal who he is by reading the Bible. Because Jesus is alive and his character hasn’t changed, Jesus is still the all powerful Son of God. When we trust him he continues to do the works he did. Jesus told the Jews they had never heard or seen God and they did not have God’s word abiding in them because they did not believe in the one who the Father sent. The Jews knew the Old Testament scriptures very well and attempted to obey them. One of their criticisms of Jesus was that he didn’t. Jesus healed on the Sabbath and put the welfare of human beings and animals before the law. He had compassion on those in pain on the Sabbath and those condemned by the law such as the woman taken in adultery. Whilst Jesus didn’t always keep the minutiae of the commandments he kept the Spirit of them. He loved his heavenly Father with all his might and he loved those he came to save. Whilst the Jews sought to judge and kill him, he sought to love and save them but they would not come to him. They must have felt tired as a result of having to maintain standards and keep up with the learning. They must have felt that there was something missing in their lives. Jesus said they had never seen or heard God. They searched the scriptures because they thought they would bring them eternal life but they didn’t come to him or believe in him even though the scriptures testified of him. The New Testament is clearly about Jesus, his followers and the beginnings of the early church. The narrative is fast moving and exciting. Jesus appears in almost every page. Even though the Old Testament was written a long time before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Jesus says it also speaks of him. We can find in the first sacrifice to cover sin in Genesis found in the story of Adam and Eve and onwards. We see him in the temple layout, the royal psalms, the suffering servant verses in Isaiah, and in the prophecies concerning the Messiah and the future. It is one of the reasons it is important we read the Jewish scriptures. Most Jews do not read their scriptures this way. They don’t look for or find Jesus there. It is more important when we read the Bible that we come to Jesus, trust him and develop a relationship with him. We pray as we study. Jesus said the Jews did not have the love of God in them. They had not found eternal life, the abundant fullness of life Jesus wants us to have. Jesus invited the Jews and invites us to trust him and invite him into our lives. He is the living word of God who was with God and is God and created all things. He desires to dwell in us and speak to us and through us. When we invite him in the love of God dwells within us enabling us to love others and continue in the work that Jesus started. Through him the ordinary becomes extraordinary, the sick are healed, the poor are cared for and those dead in sin receive new life.
