On Sunday 10th September, Chelmsford Cathedral was full for the second ordination service of the day, alongside Emma Barr, our new Curate, were 7 other new to be ordained deacons. It was a glorious sunny day, and the welcome in the Cathedral extremely warm, but a truly joyful occassion.Emma is of course well known already in the parishes having lived in Mount Bures for many years, worshipping in Mount Bures Church, and serving as churchwarden for quite some time. Parishioners have journeyed alongside Emma as she has gone through the highs and lows of theological training and on Sunday, got to celebrate in style as the Bishop laid hands on Emma and sent her out to service in the 6 parishes of which this church is just one.The party continued well into the evening, back at home on the farm.Congratulations Rev Em and Welcome!!!
Back to school No sooner have schools broken up for their summer break, than the shops begin to advertise their ‘Back to school range.’ I remember in the good old days, when there was a Woolworths on every high street, always feeling somewhat frustrated as a child, that as the holidays began, we were constantly being reminded, that in no time at all, it would be time to go back to school. Not that school is a bad thing of course, just that holidays are pretty good and important too. It seems that in life, in the constant drive that is all around us, to always be ready for the next big thing, we don’t often seem to have time to enjoy the moment in which we are actually living, the present, our precious gift for today. September marks the beginning of the new academic year. For many it will be a time when they will be starting new ventures, perhaps a first day at nursery or primary school, making the move to High school, sixth form college or university. Whether you are a tiny tot, or a young adult, these are significant moments in all of our lives, and ones that shouldn’t just be rushed by, in our quest to get to Harvest, Halloween, Remembrance Day, Advent and Christmas. Whether we go to school or not, this season of ‘Back to school’ echoes through other arenas in life too. It is often a time in the church calendar when we find ourselves thinking about how we can encourage people to come back to church, as we enter a season of opportunities for inviting people to special festival events. Of course all are welcome back to church at anytime of the year, but perhaps you might want to see what is happening in your local church this September and in the months ahead, and if you haven’t been for a while, come and give it a go. But as we enter a particularly busy time of year, a new academic year, and the myriad of festivals that the autumn and winter brings, perhaps we can spend a bit more time focused on the moment, on the present, rather than spending all our time rushing on to the next big thing. In the words of the Psalmist, words I often find myself clinging to, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ Just be still, stop, and notice what is happening in the here and now and recognise the God who holds all things in his hands and make the most of each moment. May God bless you Reverend Heather
Trinity 15 – Year A – Jonah 3:10 – 4:end; Matthew 20:1-16 Should a drone pilot who has never been in a war zone receive a campaign medal?This was the question that was being asked on the Jeremy vines radio 2 lunch time show a couple of years ago. Those that were arguing yes, were pointing out that drone operators, whilst they may be far removed from danger, sitting for example in a RAF base in Lincolnshire, are subject to the same stresses and strains as those engaged in hands on conflict. If a campaign medal, acknowledges someone’s contribution to the campaign – then, they would argue, drone operators are contributing in a significant way and deserve recognition.But there were many who argued against their rights to receive a medal. Many highly decorated veterans phoned in to state their objections, they struggled to find the words, but the messages that came across loud and clear as I listened was ‘it’s simply not fair’ if we have had to see active service to receive a medal, then no one else deserves one. ‘It cheapens the medals’ to award them to someone who has fought, but at a distance, from the safety of a desk. The parable of the workers in the vineyard is not that dissimilar to the argument taking place on the radio show. How can someone be rewarded the exact same pay for doing just an hours worth of work, when you have grafted all day long – it is just not fair. Jonah appears to be struggling with the same sense of injustice. The whole book of Jonah has been leading up to this point, and then in anger Jonah cries out“O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? This is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die, than to live.’Jonah is proclaiming, loud and clear, ‘it’s just not fair.’ The workers in the vineyard grumble, and mumble, ‘It’s just not fair’, we have borne the heat of the day, the veterans declare, ‘it’s just not fair’ we put our lives at risk, what have they done.As we read these words from Jonah, we do so with incredulity, has Jonah really forgotten everything that has gone before?Jonah appears to be living completely in the moment, his theology doesn’t square with God’s nature and action, and he fails to remember the mercy and love he himself has been shown. You almost wonder whether he can remember that he is a Hebrew, ‘who worships the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land’ his great acclamation before the sailors. In this acclamation he acknowledges that God is the creator God, the creator of sea and land and therefore of everything on earth, but he seems to have forgotten that that in turn should mean that God has a loving concern for all living things, all living people, not just the chosen nation.He appears to have completely forgotten the mercy and deliverance he has been shown, he appears to have forgotten that when he disobeyed, when he went his own way, he was thrown into the sea, where by all accounts he should have drowned, but instead was delivered into the belly of the fish, before being further delivered out of the belly back onto dry land. He accepts deliverance for himself, readily it appears, but then when he sees others receiving that same forgiveness, that same deliverance, he seems to have forgotten all about it. All he can say is ‘I wish I was dead.’Then we come to this final encounter between Jonah and God Jonah’s initial anger at the beginning of this final chapter is based on jealousy, he is jealous because the Lord, in his love and compassion has spared the people of Nineveh, because they had turned to him and repented – his anger so intense he wished he were dead.In the second half of the chapter Jonah’s anger changes, this time he is angry because the shelter God provided for him has died and he is suffering the discomfort of the weather – as far as he is concerned anything would be better than this scorching heat.Thus the contradictory nature of his position is evident for all to see – He is mad at God for His divine reluctance to obliterate an entire population, and mad at a plant for dying so inconsiderately and reducing his own personal level of comfort.He was profoundly disappointed that God, the creator of all mankind, did not wipe out thousands of his fellow human beings. And he was equally disappointed that God, the creator of all plants and animals, would allow worms to waste a single plant. But there was a difference, the death of a plant was a considerable personal inconvenience to him, it caused him to suffer, whereas the death of the multitudes was of no immediate concern.In the final question to which this whole book moves, the narrators purpose is driven home with considerable force – ‘Should I not be concerned about that great city?’ The only answer can be ‘Yes’, if God cares for vines, not to mention cattle, is it not possible that he cares for people too, even foreigners?And so we leave the book of Jonah with its final question ringing in our ears. Should God not be concerned? Can his love be restricted to this group of people and not extended to that? And the final question is phrased in the context of the multitudes, the city’s masses, more that 100,000 in number, who come to symbolise the worlds perennial masses. Is there ever a time or a place where God should not, and cannot pity?Leslie Allen wrote of the message of this book: ‘A Jonah lurks in every Christian heart, whispering his insidious message of smug prejudice, empty traditionalism, and exclusive solidarity.” We grasp the message of this great book only when we eliminate the Jonah within us. As the great fish coughed up Jonah on the beach, so too must we eject from within us the Jonah of prejudice and shame.’Jonah saw things in the immediate, he saws things only from his own perspective, he was unable to see things from Gods perspective. He failed to see the deliverance the forgiveness he had received as something others should also be able to receive. Yet God in his mercy and love for Jonah continued to work with him, to work through him, God still loves Jonah.Jonah had failed to remember that it is only by grace that any of us can get into heaven, we all stand under God’s grace and mercy. Whereas Jonah saw Gods compassion and love negatively, as something to only be shared with the chosen people, Gods love is for all, and it is only once we understand that we are all under Gods grace, a grace we do not deserve, that we will begin to see things as God sees them. None of us are worthy to receive the grace we receive from God, yet Jesus, went to the cross to die for each one of us.Jonah says ‘I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.’Jesus’ parable of the workers in the vineyard is not so much about wages, as it is about grace. We do not enter into a contract with God at baptism, detailing the hours we will work and the reward we deserve. We enter into a covenant, in which God promises us everything and asks for everything in return. When God keeps that promise, it is not a reward, it is simply the overflowing of an unstoppably generous nature. We may sometimes get angry with God for not seeming to favour his loyal servants, but in truth, God is still in the marketplace searching for those who would be hired. May we who know the grace of God, bear witness to his grace, love and compassion every day, with everyone we meet. Amen
