Daily Message 21st April 2020

Jesus in our homes

This week our theme is ‘Jesus in our homes’, and we’re thinking about the number of times in the gospels Jesus is recorded as being in someone’s house.  

The account of Jesus healinging the paralysed man who was lowered through the roof of the house where Jesus was teaching the people is recorded in 3 gospels: Mark focusses on Jesus preaching; Luke on his healing; Matthew on sins forgiven.

Read Mark 2:1 – 12

It’s a well-known and vivid story, but any churchwardens might say, “Yes, but what about the roof?”

I wonder what the man whose house this was thought?

Imagine opening your house to Jesus, then you have to move all the furniture because so many people are crowding in, and then – if that’s not bad enough – your roof gets destroyed. 

Or maybe you were so amazed that you praise God along with the crowd, and thought – Never mind about the roof. I’m sure someone will help me mend it.

There are two images here:

·        One comforting

·        The other more disturbing

Comforting image: Jesus forgiving the man’s sins and healing him.  Jesus is prepared to ‘make a house call’ like an old fashioned GP to bring healing into the home. There are 2 other gospel accounts of Jesus healing in someone’s house: Peter’s mother in law, and Jairus’s daughter. Jesus acts out of compassion for the sick and visits them where they are.

Disturbing image:  friends so desperate to find Jesus that they are prepared to wreck someone’s roof to get in.  I once had to break in to our previous house in the middle of the night because we’d locked ourselves out. Very embarrassing making so much noise that it woke our neighbours.

But there’s another form of wrecking going on here: the religious system that is so dear to the teachers of the law in which God alone can forgive sins. Jesus literally tears it apart as he takes that authority on himself. And the teachers don’t like that anymore than we would like someone destroying the roof of our house.

2 questions for today:

• ·        Have we ever been desperate enough to find Jesus as the friends of that paralysed man?
• ·        if we invite Jesus into our homes, are we prepared for the consequences?

Daily Message 20th April 2020

Jesus in our homes

Yesterday’s gospel reading was about risen Jesus encountering disciples in a house.

It made me think of the number of times Jesus’ is found in a house: teaching, eating and drinking, healing.

And the number of times he refers to houses or domestic scenes:

• ·        How to build a solid house.
• ·        The best place to put your lights.
• ·        How to avoid being broken into.
• ·        Don’t get locked out by the owner.
• ·        If you lose something search the whole house until you find it.
• ·        Don’t treat your home as a castle and ignore the poor.

Jesus was born in a guest house – in fact not even in the living quarters. He was born probably in a downstairs room where animals were kept, with sleeping quarters on the floor above.

·         While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. (Lk 2)

Later, they probably moved into the living quarters of the house.

·        ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. (Matt 2)

Jesus never owned his own house, but was often welcomed into other people’s houses.  Can you imagine if he had?  I’ve just got to go back to Capernaum to check on the house, or make sure the tenants are paying the rent, make sure it hasn’t been broken into, tidy up the garden.

So my question today is: Where is our security? In bricks and mortar?  I ask myself. We live in a bigger house than most, but it’s not ours and in a few years’ time when I retire we’ll have to find our own house.  When we did buy a flat as an investment a few years it immediately brought a whole load more worries and cares with it. So I ask myself, “Where is my security? Where is my hope for the future?” I don’t want to be like the man in the parable who built bigger and bigger barns to store his crops so he could enjoy a comfortable retirement, and then died.

There is nothing wrong with owning our homes – it's enshrined in Universal Declaration of Human Rights; nothing wrong with making sensible plans for the future,  but let’s just check ourselves to make sure that our trust is in the right place.

Psalm 91:2  I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’

The best of times, the worst of times

Times like this seem to bring out the best and worst in people. Because we are all feeling more stressed than usual it's not surprising that some people are grumpy or rude, or panicking and buying more than they need.  Let's try not to add to that, but ask God to grow his fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.  

At the same time there are some lovely stories going round of neighbourly help and encouragement.  Whenever you see a good story like that, thank God for those people.

Dear Friends

This morning I was reflecting on the tradition in the early church that led people to seek solitude in the desert of Egypt, and discover a life of prayer, worship and bible reading. The Desert Fathers, as they were known, renounced many of the normal worldly comforts but discovered the rich joy of knowing God more closely.  St Anthony was one of the leaders, and he attracted many followers. He is attributed with starting what become the monastic movement.

Perhaps at this time, although we are looking for imaginative ways of connecting with other, we should also embrace the solitude and look at it positively, seeing it as an extended time of Lent.

The psalmist says, Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? (Psalm 139). Though we may be isolated from other people, we can never be isolated from God.

So for those who suddenly find you have more time on your hands, use it to hear God - and share what you are hearing with us. 

Pray for those whose lives are more stressful than usual: working parents with children at home, NHS staff, teachers, delivery drivers. Pray for those who are anxious, fearful or depressed. 

Catch up on sleep! Prolonged stress takes its toll on our bodies.  If you're not travelling to work every day, take some time out.

Once this first week of isolation is over, I'm actually looking forward to getting into a routine of prayer, reading and study.... as well as some gardening! Let me know if you have a particular request for prayer. I shall be in church most days at 9.30 a.m.

Looking ahead, it would be really helpful to me to know how I can help us all continue to engage with God.  Maybe some bible study suggestions, or a short thought for the day.  Some churches are setting up interactive prayer and study groups using Zoom or Google Hangouts, or similar.  Let me know if you have any ideas, especially if there's something we can do to engage with our children and young people.

Finally, thank you so much for your many encouraging comments. I'm really grateful.

The Lord be with you.

Manchester: 'defiant acts of kindness'.

My first feeling this morning on hearing the news was one of deep deep sadness for those young and teenage girls with their mums and friends enjoying a night out at a concert. For those who have been so cruelly and killed and injured; for those whose daughters, wives and girlfriends have been torn from them..

I have a family connection with Manchester: my father was born and brought up there, and our daughter was at the University and the Royal Northern College of Music.  It's a proud city built on the wealth of the cotton industry and liberal values - there is a statue of William Gladstone in the Town Hall.  It withstood the bombs of the Second World War, the IRA (in 1996), and, no doubt, will bounce back defiantly after this latest terrorist outrage.

On Radio 4's  Thought for the Day  (at 1:48:00) Andrew Graystone talked about 'defiant acts of kindness' that stand in stark contrast to the evil horror of the attack. There is something very British about horrific events bringing out the best in people; but it's not just British - it's human. At its best, the human response to evil is one of good - kindness, bravery, help, hospitality.  Whatever provoked the killer to do this terrible act - perhaps some extreme interpretation of Islam - it was not human; it can only be described as evil and dark.   

Events like this force us to confront evil in all its horror. And this form of evil seems to glory in death, which is described in the bible as 'the final enemy'. 

Way back in history as the Israelites were preparing to cross into the promised land, Moses spoke these words from God to them: "This day I call on heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live..." (Deuteronomy 30:19).  

The Gospel - the Good News - is that hope triumphs over despair, love triumphs over fear and life triumphs over death.  Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life in all its fullness... I am the resurrection and the life." 

Today, let us choose life.

Helping to save child refugees

On Saturday the Bishop of Croydon sent an urgent email to all clergy in his area asking for our support at the House of Commons today when the Children and Social Work Bill was debated. Amongst a mixture of items including sex education and safeguarding issues was an amendment to a clause which would have allowed the continuation of the so-called 'Dubs Scheme' introduced last year, with some difficulty, allowing unaccompanied child refugees safe have in the UK. Much to its shame, the government has closed the scheme less than 6 months after it started. The amendment tabled today would have made local councils declare if they could take more child refugees, rather than central government imposing a cap. The evidence is that several local authorities have spaces and are willing to take more child refugees than they have been offered.

Lord Dubs addressing the group

With Bishop Jonathan, clergy from the Croydon area, several Jewish leaders from London and representatives of  Safe Passage UK visited the Palace of Westminster to let our MPs know we were here, and to listen to the debate. We were joined by two well-known actors - Toby Jones and Juliet Stevenson. The groups was addressed by Lord Alf Dubs who was himself a child of the 'kindertransport' in the 1930s, which brought Jewish child refugees fleeing the Nazis - hence the support from many Jewish groups.

The amendment was tabled by the Tory MP for Cambridgeshire South, Heidi Allen, and supported by several London MPs, but sadly not by our MP Chris Philp. Yvette Cooper (Labour) spoke passionately and cogently in its favour, reminding the government benches that the government-appointed expert on modern-day slavery had advocated allowing greater numbers of child refugees safe haven as a way of combating the evils of human trafficking.

Disappointment at the vote

The opposition parties and several brave Tory MPs supported the amendment but, to our great disappointment, it was defeated by 287 to 267 votes. Reactions from our group afterwards were 'shock', 'shame', 'gutted'. But Alf Dubs and Yvette Cooper met with us and urged us not to give up hope. Only by changing public opinion in favour of child refugees will things change.

The UK has done much to help refugees in the past, and the government should be applauded in maintaining its level of international aid - significantly higher than any other EU country, I believe. But to block the number of unaccompanied refugee children entering at 350 is a stain on our national pride and needs to be cleared. Jesus said, "Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

BBC coverage of the story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39187290

The Blessings of Lent

This is the text of my article in the Parish Magazine: 

Now is a good time to think about how we might observe Lent. This is a season in the church’s year which we can use to simplify our lives and consider our priorities in relation to God and neighbour.

In relation to God: we might want to develop our experience of prayer, in which case I commend the Prayer Course that has just started on Thursdays; or you might join one of our existing small groups that will be entering into the stories of people who met Jesus, through bible study and meditative prayer. You might want to read the bible more, in which case you may need to give up some time you spend on social media or watching the TV… or just get up a bit earlier.

In relation to your neighbour: you might consider helping one person every day during Lent. Look around and ask God to show you where and who you could help. But try to resist the temptation to tell everyone about it on Facebook or Twitter – it’s enough that God knows.

Traditionally, the forty days of Lent is related to the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness before starting his ministry. That time of testing reminds us that Jesus has shared our common experience of temptation and suffering, but he overcame our enemy the devil. We may find that by giving something up during Lent – time, comfort or a luxury food – that we enter, in some small way, into that suffering that Jesus experienced – we share with him as he shares with us.

Let Lent be a blessing and a means by which we can draw closer to God and the people he loves.