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
Reflection: St Aidan for 31st August 2020Today we are remembering and celebrating the feast day of St Aidan, the first bishop of Lindisfarne or Holy Island. He was born around 590 in Ireland. Little is known of his early life until we hear of him as a monk on the Isle of Iona at the monastery St Columba founded. Sometime later he was sent to Lindisfarne and was consecrated as bishop in 635. Lindisfarne was a place well positioned for evangelising and from there he made endless missionary journeys on foot around Northumbria and beyond to found monasteries, churches, and a school for the training of ministers. Wherever Aidan went, often far from Lindisfarne, his outreach ministry involved caring for the sick and needy, educating Saxons , and freeing Saxon slaves by bringing them into the fold of the Church. By all accounts he was warmly welcomed wherever he went. He was highly respected for his humility, peacefulness and prayerfulness and praised for his teaching, charity and simplicity of life, so much so that many regarded him as the apostle of Northumbria. Also, wherever he went he was able to politely converse with people, often Anglo Saxon pagans, in their own tongue and to slowly and gently interest people in Christianity following the model of apostolic conversion into the fold of Christ. He died in on August 31st 651 leaning against the church he founded at Bamburgh which was later dedicated to him. But the most enduring monument to him is the monastery he founded at Lindisfarne which became a centre of learning and a storehouse of scholarly knowledge that reflected Aidan’s Celtic roots and spirituality. Later, Lindisfarne came to be known as ‘The English Iona’ which played such an important role in Christianity in the North of England and beyond. I know some in our parish have been to Lindisfarne. I have been several times and also, as a regular visitor, to the island of Iona on retreat where Aidan’s ministry initially started after leaving Ireland. Iona is such a beautiful island and I was invited on one occasion to lead a retreat by the Iona Community and to officiate and preside as a priest on the same patch of ground where Aidan would have lived, prayed, worshipped and celebrated. Both Iona and Lindisfarne are small islands cut off from the mainland by a few hundred yards of sea that gives a very real sense of a welcome distance from the hustle and bustle of the world. They are places full of history where one can roam free and feel a deep sense of peace and spiritual connectedness with the past. These are also islands where one can sit by the edge of the sea, watching the tide go in and out, as Aidan did, and even reflect on one of his own prayers. ‘As the tide draws the waters close upon the shore, make me an island, set apart, alone with you, God, holy to you. Then with the turning of the tide prepare me to carry your presence to the busy world beyond, the world that rushes in on me till the waters come again, and fold me back to you’. St Aidan’s willingness and readiness to leave his comfort zone, austere as it was, in order to reach out, befriend, and support others, in practical and spiritual ways, and gently point them to God, is a saintly pastoral ministry that God calls all to embrace, lay and ordained alike.Fr Graham
The Parable of the Unforgiving ServantMatthew 18:21-35Kim Phuc was severely injured as a girl in 1972 by napalm bombs dropped by U.S. military planes during the Vietnam War. A journalist snapped a famous photo of Phuc during the attack that caused outrage worldwide about how the war affected children. Phuc endured 17 operations during the years after the attack that took the lives of some of her family members, and she still suffers pain today. Yet Phuc says she heard God calling her to forgive those who hurt her. In 1996, during Veterans Day ceremonies at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Phuc met the pilot who had coordinated the bombing attack. Thanks to God's power working within her, Phuc says, she was able to forgive the pilot. She knew God’s grace deep within her heart and was able to extend that grace to the one who had caused her such pain. (Here is a link to see Kim Phuc telling her story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWH2Vi0PcoI)Our reading today is all about forgiveness: receiving forgiveness for ourselves and us forgiving others. Peter was particularly interested in how often we should be willing to forgive members of our church community who have hurt or wronged us, or whom we are holding a grudge against. Jesus’ answer was 77 times, or in other words, so many times that you can’t keep track. Jesus then told the parable of the unforgiving servant.One of the king’s slaves owed him ten thousand talents, which represented a working man’s wages for 200,000 years. OK maybe Jesus was using a bit of hyperbole in his storytelling here, but clearly this slave would never be able to repay his debt. However, the King was expecting him to pay by selling everything he had, including his wife and family. The slave fell on his knees and pleaded with him, and the King felt sorry for him and forgave him the debt. Each of us in in need of forgiveness from God. However good we think we are, however hard we try to please God, we still sin and our debt is so much that we could never repay it. God our Father knows our weakness. When we acknowledge before Him our inability to pay and plead with Him for mercy, He is willing to forgive us. God is deeply moved in his pity of our sinful state. His son Jesus died on the cross for each one of us: the debt that we could never pay has been paid in full. This is GRACE:God’sRichesAtChrist’sExpense God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense – an acronym that helps me to appreciate this wonderful gift from God. We do not have to live in guilt, because Jesus has set us free.Now this same slave, who in Jesus’ parable had been released from his impossibly big debt, expects a fellow slave who owes him money to pay up. The amount owed was far smaller – about 100 days’ wages, so with a bit of patience, the slave would have been able to repay his debt. However, his pleadings for mercy fell on deaf ears and he was cast into prison. The other slaves reported the distressing incident to the King, whose pity turned to anger at the unforgiving servant who hadn’t learned to appreciate and replicate the mercy that he had received. Do we appreciate the forgiveness we have received? Those who fail to see how much they have been forgiven will find it harder to extend forgiveness to others. It is not an easy thing to forgive others who have upset us, mistreated us or spoken against us. So, how can we be so full of God’s grace that we are enabled to be gracious to each other? Surely, we don’t want to be like the unforgiving servant, who was punished for his lack of forgiveness.Why are we so slow to forgive?• Maybe we don’t expect our fellow Christians to wrong us• Perhaps we have a poor perspective of how much we have been forgiven. We think ’I am a pretty good person’.• Or maybe we fear being seen as weak or likely to being taken advantage of. We don’t want to become a doormat. Are we willing to take that risk and recognise that forgiving is an active, not a passive thing?Can I ask, who is the hardest to forgive? The person who doesn’t think they have wronged you, or the person who has wronged you is someone close to you? Do we harbour bitterness or unforgiveness toward someone else? Our unwillingness to forgive can rebound on us. Beware the grudges and resentments. We need to resolve issues with fellow Christians and forgive from the heart.I ask again, how can we be so full of God’s grace that we are enabled to be gracious to each other? There is no magic formula, but I do believe that God in His mercy wants us to experience His grace by an ongoing threefold process:1. We confess our sin and need of God’s forgiveness with our lips. We did this together in our Liturgy this morning and it is an important part of our worship. In our times of personal prayer also, we can confess our sin and thank God for His grace to us. 2. We make a mental connection with the words we have said. Our repentance must be sincere and we need to understand what God, in Christ has done for us in cancelling our debt of sin. It is helpful to read our Bibles or Lectionary Readings regularly so that we feed our minds with the Word of God, in order that we can know, and appreciate, how Jesus has enabled us to become Children of God.3. We ask the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts so that we can truly know the grace of God at a deep level of our being. The joy of the Lord will then be our strength. This is not a one-off thing, but a daily everyday faith experience. God gives His Holy Spirit to all who genuinely seek this gift. This morning, ask Him to fill you with the Spirit, so that you can live a grace-filled life.I want to close with a verse from St. Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus.‘And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.’ Ephesians 4:32AmenMary Tynan
