Purple Words on a Grey Background
Somewhere I put my ideas before I forget them
Wednesday, October 04, 2023
Howay The Lasses, Saturday 7 October at 7.30pm
Tuesday, October 03, 2023
Parables Are Fiction
OK - I deliberately put it that way in a recent sermon to get people's attention. We have been looking at parables recently, which are often misunderstood - especially when the parable itself is expressed in a way that was designed to be provocative. So it is worthwhile reviewing what a parable actually is:
- They are fiction, or perhaps less provocatively, they are a construct. When Jesus tells a parable, he isn’t reporting an event; he is telling a story. The characters and situations he describes may well have rung very true with his listeners – as they do today. People may recognise the type of person he’s depicting, but the form of parable we have is a construct.
- Jesus uses items and situations that are familiar to his audience – agriculture, keeping flocks, family disputes, a mugging. He features characters such as tax collectors, shepherds and farmers – to convey his point. He may well be drawing on actual events and encounters (what good author doesn't?), but the parable as delivered is not intended to be received as a report.
- We have little or no back story, and we don't find out what happened next. We are not told whether the jealous brother joined the party at the end of the Prodigal Son account, because the parable is designed to leave the hearer with questions to reflect on.
- Parables are not intended to be taking literally – financial debt is used as a way of picturing forgiveness of sins, for example.
- They often have a sting in the tail designed to leave the audience with something to think about: The parable of the good Samaritan ends with a question as to which person showed the true qualities of a neighbour. Jesus asks this fully aware of the hostility and suspicion between Jews and Samaritans, which is reported elsewhere. It forces a reply “…the one who showed him kindness” which suggests that even saying "the Samaritan" was a bit too much for the respondent. Likewise in the Parable of the Talents, we want to be with the underdog, but it's the man with 1 talent who gets the hard time! It forces us to ask questions as to what is going on and what does it mean.
- Parables are reported as being delivered in a specific context (although Jesus probably reused material numerous times as he travelled around). There is sometimes a question that leads in, such as who is my neighbour? Sometimes Jesus has an audience in mind, such as the elite turning up their noses at him spending time with people seen as sinners and outcasts.
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Rob Halligan. 29 Sep at 7-30pm, St Nicholas' Beverley.
We'll be in for a great evening of music, which will no doubt include a lot of humour - as well as some serious and poignant moments.
You can read more about Rob here Bio – Rob Halligan
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
What a lot of people might not realise is that there was no official form of words for such a service in the Church of England until 1986 when Lent, Holy Week, Easter Services and Prayers was published. Until then all we had for Ash Wednesday was a normal communion service with collects and readings for that day. Of course, there were churches borrowing material from elsewhere for their services.
The result of this was that a lot of faithful Anglicans had no experience of the "Imposition of Ashes" in their churches until this new book became established. When I started training for the ministry in 1987 I had never witnessed it, despite attending C of E churches since I was 7. Initially I must admit to being a bit reluctant to take part, but it has come to have significance, reminding me of my mortality, my shortcomings and my dependence on God.
However, there is one thing that has always bothered me about the Ash Wednesday service, and it is this. One of the set readings for today is a section from Matthew 6 (the Sermon on the Mount) including these words
16 ‘And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Mt 6:16-18 NRSV)
"There is an Ash Wednesday tradition quite different to the conspicuous cross of ash on the forehead – it is sprinkling ash on top of the head. Read more: https://t.co/OE1QwJmf6R "
Saturday, January 28, 2023
Blair Dunlop in Concert
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Live music in Beverley
All gigs will be at 7-30pm in church, and feature our reasonably-priced licensed bar.
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Christians and Climate Change
Saturday, January 07, 2023
An All-age script for Epiphany
Three wise men - sometimes called Magi or even Kings - came to visit Jesus
Casper brought gold. [place a figure in the crib scene]
He wanted to show the new king how rich he was. He had done so well making money, and it made him feel important and a success. Now he wanted to make sure the new young king knew all about it. If the new king needed advice on how to get and make money, or if he needed a rich and powerful friend, Casper was his man. Of course he’d expect a few favours in return...
Balthasar brought frankincense. [place a figure in the crib scene]
This is a resin that burns to make smoke that smelled very special. Balthasar used this in his prayers and ceremonies. He believed he had worked out the secret of how to talk with God, and he used lots of words, chants and frankincense. Balthasar wanted to make sure the new king really understood this – that he, Balthasar, was the most religious of the wise men. If the new king wanted to understand things about God, well he’d better talk to him.
Melchior brought myrrh. [place a figure in the crib scene]
Myrrh is a perfume, but it’s got a very special use. Myrrh was used to put on people who had died, to stop their bodies being smelly until they were buried. Melchior brought this, because he wanted the new king to know that he – Melchior – was powerful. Sometimes he even decided who lived and who died. Some people were scared of him – really scared of him. Melchior didn’t want to frighten the new king, but he wanted him to know how big and strong he was.
Now those three wise men thought that they were very clever, rich and powerful. People were really impressed as they travelled through the towns, with their servants and animals following on. They had worked out the direction by looking at the stars, drawing maps and doing very complicated sums.
And now they were here at the house where Mary, Joseph and the young boy Jesus were staying, and they got ready to present their gifts.
Casper went in first with his gold. [a young person might carry a ‘gift’ and place it before the crib]
The new king they had come to find was just a toddler, and still lived in a humble home, so Casper was sure his parents would be impressed. Their eyes were wide at such a generous gift, and there next to them was the little boy. Casper put the gold on the floor in front of him.
But he had a funny feeling when he let go of the gold. As he looked up into the child’s eyes, everything seemed different. Casper realised that though the young boy was grateful, the gold just didn’t seem so precious any more. Casper suddenly thought of the people he loved and cared for, and the people who cared for him and knew deep in his heart that they were much more precious than anything gold could buy.
Balthasar was next with his frankincense [a young person might carry a ‘gift’ and place it before the crib]
The family welcomed Balthasar too. He gave them a precious container with frankincense inside. It was the same as the kind he used in his temple back home in his ceremonies and prayers.
But he had a funny feeling when he let go of the frankincense and looked at the little boy. In all his years, in all his trying, in all his searching God had always seemed very far away, hidden behind all the frankincense smoke that he sent up before his altars and statues. However, when he caught the little boy Jesus’ eyes, he felt closer to God than he ever had. In all the busyness of his religion, and all the pride he had in how devout he was, he knew he had missed something, and now he had found what it was. In this little house, at last God was very close.
Melchior was last [a young person might carry a ‘gift’ and place it before the crib]
He liked being a bit scary – it actually made him feel less nervous when he was in a group of people. But when he walked in with his gift, things didn’t quite go to plan. Joseph and Mary looked at him nervously, but the little boy just stared at him, and then he smiled. To Melchior’s astonishment, the toddler then walked fearlessly over to him and touched his hand. Melchior was so surprised, he just quietly handed the flask of perfume to Mary.
As he handed it over, he had a funny feeling. Melchior had practised something to say in the family’s own language, as he was from another country, but all his words failed him. He realised that there was something here much more powerful than anything he had – the power of love. More powerful than him, and more powerful even than death itself. This little boy's lack of fear, and unconditional welcome had shown him just how powerful that could be.
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Trace the Line: Music and Loss
We had a brilliant evening of music at St Nicholas', Beverley with Yvonne Lyon, Gareth Davies-Jones and David Lyon touring their new album Trace The Line. It was hard to believe that I last met up with Yvonne and David in 2017 when they were touring their previous collaboration The Space Between.
I was so pleased to bring them to Beverley, and they now have some new fans. One of the tracks on the new album is a beautiful songs about loss, which Yvonne has addressed in songs before. Knowing how much Yvonne's music meant to Debbie, it was a very poignant moment.
Take a listen here - and even better buy it!
Monday, July 25, 2022
The Parable of the Rich fool (Luke 12:13-21)
The Rich fool (Luke 12:13-21).
The parable is introduced with an exchange between Jesus and a man in the crowd who is in dispute with his brother, concerning their inheritance. Jesus declines to intervene, phrasing his answer to echo the story of Moses’ intervention in the fight between two Hebrews. In the Exodus story, one of the men asks Moses, “who made you a prince and a judge over us?” (Ex. 2:14); in this text, Jesus asks the man “who made me a judge or divider over you?” (12:14b) Rather than issue a direct judgment, Jesus answers in the form of a parable, framed by two sayings, which furnish some further interpretation. A parallel to the core of the parable is also to be found in the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas (log. 63), which may suggest it was in circulation in the early church, separate from the interpretive sayings in verses 15 & 21.
The term ‘rich’ in Luke has a negative connotation, which conflicts with the society within which the Gospel is set, where wealth was a sign of blessing, and a consequence of belonging to the inner elite of the community. Here a rich man is depicted as being fortunate enough to enjoy a bumper harvest (12:16). He asks, “What shall I do” (v.17), which in Luke’s gospel is a question of salvation. His choice is to multiply his wealth by building bigger barns to store his wealth, and to rest in his complacency, which has echoes in wisdom literature (e.g. Psalm 49 & Sirach 11:14-28).
God’s response is to describe him as a “fool” (12:20). Foolishness is comprehensively defined in Proverbs (e.g. Pr. 10:18, 10:23, 11:29, 12:15, 12:16, 13:16, 14:3), and in the Psalms it is the fool that denies the existence of God. (Psalm 14:1). The rich man sees his wealth as his security and not his God, and in doing so effectively denies his existence. Furthermore, he only makes provision for himself; no-one else is mentioned.
But in Luke, it is not simply that the man has a lot of money or assets; it is that in his context being rich would have carried with it power, responsibility and even a basis for assuming piety in the one who has been 'blessed' by wealth. The parable targets these assumptions and contradicts them. This man abdicates his responsibilities and fails to use his power to improve the lot of others. He even lacks the one remaining virtue of possessing a piety, albeit one which finds no expression in action.
Introducing the parable, Jesus states that abundance of possessions are not the means to measure the value of a human life (12:15) A valuation of life, based on possessions, inevitably results in the pursuit of material gain as the goal of life.
In the same way, the core story of the parable is rounded off with the saying about being rich towards God (v. 21). In the wider context of chapter 12, we can understand this to refer to generosity. A little further on, Jesus' command is simple, “sell your possessions and give alms” (v.33) and they must pursue “treasure in heaven”. This is concluded by the summary challenge “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (v.34)
The overarching message of this section is clearly the folly of lives that have material and financial gain as their goal. This pursuit is, of course, vulnerable to disaster, since these treasures are easily lost, stolen or destroyed. Furthermore, they eat away at the commitment of the disciple. Seeking the kingdom (v.31) becomes less of a priority as concern for material well-being grows. It may be that this was becoming a concern within the Christian community that Luke was seeking to address, and so it was a priority for him to include material from the communal recollections about Jesus that directly tackled the issue.