During our visit to Germany over the summer we stayed with our son in Berlin, a city unlike any other in Germany. It has its share of monumental buildings dating from the time of the Reich but alongside a bohemian café culture and lively arts and music scene. It feels more like a southern European city than a northern one, certainly in the heat we experienced it felt like one!The most powerful thing that struck me was the brutal honesty of the German people in facing up to the truth of the genocidal Nazi regime. Right in the centre of the city there is a Holocaust memorial covering half an acre or so, grim sarcophagus like blocks of stone that remind us of the horrors of the Nazi genocide. Underneath is a museum cataloguing the events and the people involved in this murderous regime and their victims.Bishop Desmond Tutu who initiated the ‘Truth and Reconciliation commission’ in South Africa after the overthrow of the Apartheid regime said there can only be reconciliation on the basis of the Truth. Reconciliation and Truth are possible in the real world when we come to terms with what we have done. Such a process has made possible a peaceful future for Europe after the Second World War, after Apartheid violence in South Africa and after the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland.In our reading from Matthew today we see a different process in action, a process not of reconciliation but of retribution and revenge. Such was the case after the first World War. Imperial Germany inflicted on Europe a war that claimed the lives of millions, exacting a price in blood and treasure that could not be paid. The Allies, after the war demanded reparations, again, that could not be paid, crippling the German economy and fomenting resentment and anger that fueled the rise of National Socialism. After the 2nd World war the lessons learned from the tragic consequences of reparations following the 1st World War resulted in a rebuilt and restored Germany that had the confidence to face up to the truth of its past.War Triptych. 1929- 1932 Otto DixThe war deeply shaped the art of Germany during and following WW1. One of the principal artists of that time was Otto Dix. Son of a foundryman, a working-class lad, he served in the German army during World War I. When the war broke out, he had enthusiastically volunteered to fight. In the fall of 1915, he was assigned to a field artillery regiment in Dresden. After the war Dix soon began to move towards a socially critical form of ‘Realism’. He was deeply affected by the sights of the war and his traumatic experiences would appear in many of his works. Otto Dix wanted to be objective yet he was shaken by what he was seeing happen to the German society. Such a recognition of the terrible truth of war and its consequences, however, was lost as the National Socialists reinstated the militarist state.How different Germany could have been if she had listened and learned from its artists! Restoration not Retribution: Jesus lays out in this parable the futility of retribution and its consequences. ‘In anger his master handed him over to the jailers be tortured’ Matt. 18: 34.Anger is backward- looking, it focuses on the wrongs of the past and not on the possibilities for the future. It seeks retribution for the wrongs committed but has no vision for the future. Indeed in this case no future was possible, because the man was in prison unable to make restoration! Anger has and always will provoke a cycle of violence that blocks off all possibility of reconciliation. There can be no winners in that situation.Proportionate Punishment: ‘He had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt’ Matt. 18: 30.In the parable the debtor had been released from his debt, but his response is not mercy on his fellow servant but a punishment that is disproportionate and allows no possibility of repayment. If there is to be punishment it must leave the way to repentance and restoration, only then can there be a future for all. Our Lord’s teaching is even more radical for the debt is forgiven. Such forgiveness enriches and enables us all to move forward and build a better future.Matthew 18: 27 ‘The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go’.Forgiveness: Past sin is recognised and dealt with, but for us all the price is paid by a loving God who recognises that the debt is un- payable. The history of mankind speaks of the truth of this parable not just for the individual but for whole societies and nations. The ‘Blood feud’ mentality only perpetuates violence, the gift of God in his Son is peace. This week we remember in prayer three grieving families. The Beard family, the Coles family and the Bowman family. Prayer for UkraineGod 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 decisionsAbove all, we pray for all your precious children at risk and in fear,That you would hold and protect them.Rev. Simon BrignallI am contactable from Thursday to Sunday.
‘What is truth?’ asked Pilate at the trial of Jesus. The witnesses had carefully arranged their stories and twisted the facts in order to condemn Jesus to death as a criminal. How are we to discern the truth of a statement when we rely on the frailty and prejudices of our human nature? In the passage from Matthew that we read today Jesus points to the ultimate bearer of truth, himself. The context is originally the small community gathered around Jesus, the disciples had just had a big row about who was the greatest! We can see, however, that the early Church must have turned to this passage as they attempted to work out their differences. The Kingdom of Heaven: It is important to read these passages with the ‘Big picture’ in mind. Jesus is not just giving us good advice, he is setting out a vision of what the Church should be – a community of fallible and frail people, learning to build each other up as they seek out truth. Frail and fallible as we are, he entrusts us with the task of discerning the truth. Psalm 85 Vs 10-13 links truth with mercy righteousness and peace:‘Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other’ But truth telling comes only when they come together with what is right and good and leads to peace. What we seek for lies beyond us and must be discerned in the light of the bigger picture. This process of discernment mirrors the way in which we come to appreciate beauty in art. How is it that we come to value some art as great and truthful and other art as imitative and clichéd? ‘Ceci n’est pas une pipe’ René Magritte 1929René Magritte teases us with an image of a pipe with the words:‘Ceci n’est pas une pipe’. He is correct, of course, this is not a pipe, it is a painting of a pipe, but we want to say, but it is a pipe. We struggle to arrive at the truth because all art is an illusion, but it is an illusion seeking to tell the truth! Pablo Picasso put it nicely:“We know that art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realise truth at least the truth that is given us to understand.” There is, then, a bigger picture by which the truthfulness of a work of art is to be judged just as there is a bigger picture by which we recognise all truthfulness. The artist seeks to examine his/her own thoughts, feelings and sensations in order to express the genuine and authentic art that moves others. The creation of great art requires the bold exploration of Truth and the bravery to present it to a potentially hostile world that will ultimately make a judgement on its worth. Each step is like a ‘Leap of faith’ or a ‘baptism of fire’ but the successful artist is courageous in giving us works of art that are authentic. Truth: Jesus describes the same process of ‘soul searching’ and discernment as we seek for truth. There must be an opening up of ourselves in order to know where the truth lies. Here we need to admit that the wrongs committed are not always on the other’s side! This is not a charter for the critical but a chance for the light of truth to shine on us. Where there is no recognition of failure, or no attempt to know oneself we cannot arrive at truth. The process of ‘Truth seeking’ is practical, firstly to attempt to deal with issues that arise face to face. Such openness is only possible when each party comes to the table willing to see the other person’s point of view. Where this is not possible then others should be brought into the process so that the ‘truth’ can be discerned. Truth is the object, not judgement! Helping each other to see the truth is part of the reconciliation and healing of relationships not about condemnation. Ultimately if no agreement can be reached then the matter is to be brought to the whole Church. Again we find that the purpose of such a meeting is to discern the ‘Truth’. The words of Jesus here about ‘Binding’ and ‘Loosing’ puts our decisions in the light of eternity, for what we discern as truth has ultimate authority. Just as a work of art stands or falls in the light of human judgement so, amazingly, Jesus places in our hands the power to decide where truth is to be found. The Presence of Jesus: The authority of such decisions rests not on the people who make up the Church, for we are all fallible, but the promise that: “Where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them” Matt. 18:20.Jesus promises to be present when we bring these decisions to him in prayer. The Kingdom of Heaven: Where Jesus is present, there is the Kingdom! Jesus brings us back to the ‘Big picture’. Here we see that this is not just about sorting out the wrongs in the past but building for the future on the foundations of truth, goodness, and peace, just as in art we seek truth, beauty and goodness. Building a Kingdom in which we live in the presence of the one who said “I am the way, the truth and the life”. Prayer for UkraineGod 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 decisionsAbove all, we pray for all your precious children at risk and in fear,That you would hold and protect them. Rev. Simon BrignallI am contactable from Thursday to Sunday.
This week we begin a new season in the Church's calendar, ‘Creationtide’. New, not only because today is the first day of the season, but because the season itself is of recent origin, introduced by the late Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios in 1989. Creationtide, however, draws on much deeper roots in Scripture and Christian traditions that express the binding relationship between God, humanity and the created order. During this season we are asked to pay special attention to our responsibility for the earth and for all that lives on it. Jesus in the sermon on the Mount invites us to consider the lilies and the birds as teachers. They teach us how to live sustainably within creation, not as masters of it but as servants or stewards. Just as the birds and plants find their place within a rich and diverse world so we too are to live in harmony within the web of life so that all can flourish. The key to living sustainably, Jesus teaches, is to recognise our dependence on this rich diversity given to us by God's good earth. We depend on the birds and the plants to sustain just as they rely on us to sustain them.‘’Look at the birds of the air; they neither spin nor reap,nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them..consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.’ Matthew 6: 26-29 Seeing the world with these eyes we are encouraged to live simply so that the earth can sustain all life. At the present time it is estimated that to sustain a western lifestyle would require the resources of 4 planets and yet we have only one. The challenge then of Creationtide is to consider how we might live our lives so that there is enough for all, not only the birds and other creatures but the poor and marginal of the world with whom we also share this planet. ‘Therefore, do not worry, saying “what shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?”…you heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive for the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’ Matthew 6:31-33Hampstead Heath in a storm. 1831 John ConstableFor the artist and poet, meditation on the lessons of the world around us comes naturally for ‘art’ is the gift of seeing with the inner eye, of looking at the world and seeing what others have not seen.The poet William Blake in his poem ‘Auguries of Innocence’ put it like this:To see a World in a grain of sandAnd Heaven in a wild flowerHold Infinity in the palm of you handAnd Eternity in an hour. Constable was, maybe, the first artist to look at the world of nature in this way, and his impressionistic sketches caught the inner life of the ordinary and overlooked world around us. One of his favourite subjects was Hamstead Heath, where he must have gone, sketch book in and almost every day. One day, towards the end of his life, William Blake, the poet, painter and mystic, met Constable on Hampstead Heath. The artist showed him one of his sketches. In spite of his contempt for naturalistic art, the old visionary knew a good thing when he saw it.“This is not drawing, this is inspiration!”“I had meant it to be a drawing”…was Constable’s answer.Both men were right. It was a drawing, and at the same time it was inspiration- inspiration of an order as least as high as Blake’s. The sketch was of what the inner eye had revealed to a great painter.In the landscape the human is lost in the distant scene and almost disappears in the vastness of nature. The sketch above catches life in a moment of time, as the clouds clear to reveal a double rainbow. In the distance we see London and, maybe in outline, the dome of St Paul’s cathedral. It is a tiny speck in the landscape to remind us that God’s cathedral is his world and his dome is the sky. If there are figures in the landscape they are lost in the immensity of the vista, stretching, it seems, into eternity.Turning now to our passage for today we read words that have challenged and disturbed Christians through the centuries.“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life will find it.” Matthew 16: 25Challenging, yes, because our own small world occupies such a large place in our lives leaving very little space for God or for others. The challenge of living sustainably does require that we say no to a western lifestyle that consumes more than the planet can bear, but disturbing, no, for Jesus’ promise is to give us back our lives, transformed and renewed by a new vision.“Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom.” Matthew 16: 28This speaks to me of the rainbow seen through the rain the promise of God, after the disastrous floods that killed life on earth, to sustain the planet:‘As long as the earth endures, seedlings and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter shall not cease.’ Genesis 8:22 It speaks also of the vision of Jesus who sees beyond the immediate and pressing concerns of life to the infinite and other world of Spirit. Like the artist the disciple is challenged to ‘lose themselves’ in the bigger picture, to allow the eye to see what we could not otherwise see and to place our lives in the frame of eternity.The means by which the disciple is to achieve such a vision is through love, God’s love of all creation and the love with which we are asked to nurture all creation. Collect for CreationtideAlmighty God, Whose Son revealed in signs and miraclesthe wonder of your saving presence:renew your people with your heavenly grace,and in all our weakness sustain us by your mighty power;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 everAmenRev. Simon Brignall
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
