tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47357056874689322252024-03-13T00:00:22.875+00:00Maxwell's MusingsMarcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-79906168597593190302022-07-05T23:49:00.000+00:002022-07-05T23:49:34.335+00:00Same Sex Marriage?<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Gay Marriage (Readings
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5.25-33&version=NRSVA;">Ephesians 5.25-33</a>; <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+19.1-12&version=NRSVA">Matthew19.1-12</a>)</span></p><br /><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Introduction</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our
parish’s Lent course this year followed the Church of England’s
<i>Living in Love and Faith</i> course as we accepted the Church’s
invitation to join in the (yet further!) discussion around issues of
sexuality, gender and so on. Our vicar was a bit disappointed at the
relatively low (but still healthy, I maintain) attendance. Some, she
suggested, felt no need to be involved because they were already sure
of their opinion. Maybe so. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As
the course drew to its close, I was asked to preach a sermon
addressing the issue of same sex marriage. Does the idea make sense?
Is it theological nonsense, even if we are accepting of same sex
relationships? I ended up preaching (almost) the same sermon at our
two churches, and for those who may be interested, here is a sort of
conflation of the two.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
don’t claim there is any new insight or argument here, but it may
of of interest to whoever stumbles across it….</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tom
(N.T.) Wright, noted New Testament scholar, told a story once (well,
to be honest, probably quite a few times, but I only heard it once)
about an encounter in a London cab.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Driver:
Purple shirt? The means you’re a bishop, right? You’ve got a lot
on with all this discussion about gay sex and stuff.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tom:
Well, it’s a bit complicated…</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Driver:
What I don’t understand is that if God raised Jesus Christ from the
dead, the rest is all rock and roll, innit?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s
a fair point. In this season of Easter, when we celebrate God’s new
creation inaugurated in the resurrection, should we be not be open to
the possibility that God continues to lead us to encounter new
things?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We
certainly live in a time of new things. Over the years, I have been
privileged to preach at the funerals of many old people. I’ve got
into the habit of reflecting on the changes they will have seen. My
wife’s grandmother, for instance, born when a passing motor car
would attract a furiously excited comet tail of small children and
dogs, and dying having seen the advent of television, antibiotics,
the moon landings and the rise of the digital age.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One
area of change has been in the area of attitudes to sex, sexual
orientation and gender identity. The very fact we can openly discuss
such matters is itself a sea change. I learnt about homosexuality in
the school yard, with jokes and insults about “queers.” Formal
sex education was after my time.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
legalising of gay sex had happened when I was in primary school,
removing the legal obstacle to sexual expression for gay men in line
with most other sexual moral questions, such as adultery. Even if we
think it’s wrong (except in our own particular case!) we probably
don’t think it should be a criminal offence. So most would agree
this is a good move. We are, of course, talking about males, here –
lesbian activity was never illegal. The widely told story is that
Queen Victoria would not sign into law a bill which suggested that
ladies would ever do such awful things! If true, the tale is a good
example of being inadvertently in line with the Bible. While there
are 5 texts in scripture which condemn some sort of male/male sex,
there is only one which may, but probably doesn’t, condemn female
same sex activity.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Very
recently came civil partnerships, giving legal protection and
recognition to same sex partnerships and then marriage was extended
to same sex partners. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
huge shift in law and public attitudes has posed a big question to
the church, which. Like most organisations, is inherently
conservative. Do we hold the line of tradition, or do we revisit our
assumptions, our scriptures and theology and ask new questions?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
does happen. One good example would be usury – lending money at
interest, which is condemned as a sin in the Bible, and was against
church teaching for 1500 years. But the reformer Jean Calvin argued
that the modern mechanism of interest was not the same as what the
Bible condemns. So nowadays I can confess to having officiated at the
weddings of actual practising accountants, and no one bats an eyelid!</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As
things stand, the CofE has official issues with, if not the
decriminalising of gay sex, then with the arrival of legal
partnerships. Civil partnerships are held to be just about OK for lay
people, and for clergy – as long as the clergy promise to be
celibate (!!!!).</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But
recognising marriage is a step too far presumably because, among
other things, it is assumed necessarily to involve sex – and the
Bible seems hot against gay sex. And certainly Christian tradition
has been, and still is in many places. Around the world, we see
church support for anti gay laws (as in Uganda) and the Anglican
Communion is already divided over the issue. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So
I’ve been asked help us to consider the possibility of same sex
marriage. Is it even a meaningful term – for surely marriage is
necessarily between persons of opposite genders?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And,
of course, considering same gender marriage assumes that gay sex is
in fact OK in principle, in certain circumstances, just as is
straight sex. I’m not going to argue that here in detail. There
isn’t time in one sermon, but buy me a pint anytime for further
discussion! Or check out the many online resources, such as Jonathan
Tallon’s site <a href="http://www.bibleandhomosexuality.org/">here</a>, which
illustrates the fact that the traditional view is based on 5 or 6
biblical texts whose interpretation is contested. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s
important to be aware that the biblical texts are also about <i>acts</i>,
while Jesus seems to have been more interested in attitudes. For
instance, conservatives make much of the two prohibitions in Lev 18
and 20, but the NT tells us that Christians are not bound by the OT
law, but instead look to Jesus’ overarching command to love one
another. It is likely that the other, New Testament, texts are
dealing with specific understandings of same sex activity which are a
far cry from what we understand. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So
that Rom 1 may be about the mother goddess cults in Rome, 1 Cor 6
and 1 Tim 1 about pederasty (which was certainly the most popularly
recognised same-sex activity. Scholarly arguments continue, with no
sign of a real consensus emerging. What that means is that it is
dangerous, and indeed impossible, to simply read an answer for our
questions straight out of the Bible.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So
I would argue that the biblical answer is to be found in the question
of love, rather than laws against some unspecified activity, which in
turn are set against a background of sexual behaviour and attitudes
which are alien to us. We, today, are discussing consenting
relationships between adults of equal status – which the few
biblical texts almost certainly are not.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> </b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Bible</b>
– Our texts today both refer to <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gen+2.22-24&version=NRSVA">Gen 2.24</a>, and this is often taken
both as the foundation text for a biblical understanding of marriage,
and as an argument against gay relationships – the former with more
justification than the latter!</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a name="en-NRSVA-810"></a>
<span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When God pulls the first woman
out of the first man, the man describes her as “</span><span style="font-size: medium;">bone
of my bones and flesh of my flesh.</span><span style="font-size: medium;">”
</span><span style="font-size: medium;">This is an</span><span style="font-size: medium;">
O</span><span style="font-size: medium;">ld </span><span style="font-size: medium;">T</span><span style="font-size: medium;">estament</span><span style="font-size: medium;">
term referring to kinship/covenant relationship</span><span style="font-size: medium;">s.</span><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><span style="font-size: medium;">For instance, when
Jacob meets his uncle Laban, Laban declares, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">‘Surely
you are my bone and my flesh!’ </span><span style="font-size: medium;">
(</span><span style="font-size: medium;">Genesis 29:14</span><span style="font-size: medium;">).</span><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><span style="font-size: medium;">(Compare </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Judges
9:2, 2 Samuel 5:1, 2 Samuel 19:12, 2 Samuel 19:13, 1 Chronicles
11:1</span><span style="font-size: medium;">).</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gen
2.24, then, is about forming a new kinship group; hence a man leaves
his father and mother to form a new group/tribe etc. It is not
primarily about whom one may have sex with.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It
is quite likely that this is what Jesus has in mind – the breaking
of that sort of relationship is a serious matter</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Paul
in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+cor+6.15-17&version=NRSVA">1 Cor 6.16</a> probably has same thing in view – becoming one flesh
with a prostitute is nonsense, for it is inconsistent to perform the
physical act of kinship formation without the corresponding
commitment of kinship and covenant and is incompatible with the
kinship one has with Christ.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So,
while Gen 2.24 can fairly be seen as the biblical foundation for the
understanding of marriage, it is not primarily talking about sex, but
about the commitment and responsibilities of kinship – of family
formation.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
makes sense in the original context, because God is not seeking a
sexual partner for the <i>adam</i>, but a companion and helper. And
this is how it seems to have been understood by Jesus.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Marriage,
then is not primarily about a sexual relationship (though it usually
entails that) but about forming a kinship group – a covenant, in
fact.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Marriage</b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So
what is marriage?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Church of England is pretty clear about what it is for. The Book of
Common prayer explains that it is for procreation, legitimate sex and
mutual help and support. The modern service puts these the other way
round, but agrees. Historically, there have been a good number of
other functions for marriage: maintaining a line of inheritance,
cementing treaties, combining the wealth of families or nations,
providing a degree of certainty of parentage, and exercising control
over women as the vehicles for the next generation of the family line
and its wealth.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
think it is fair to say that the functions listed in the Prayer Book
are good, and place the focus on much more commendable qualities than
some of the other uses of marriage.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But
even they are not really what marriage <i><b>is</b></i>. They are
what it does, rather than its essence.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
the Prayer Book the first given reason for marriage is the bearing of
children. Bit is procreation of the essence of marriage? I’m
pretty sure that’s not stated in the Bible, though children are
generally assumed to be the result. Childless couples may be pitied,
but they are not therefore seen to be in some sense not married. And
we would agree. One of the most joyful weddings I have presided over
was between a couple who were in their late 70s. Despite the
precedent of Abraham and Sarah, no one thought children were likely,
but that did not prevent the marriage from being valid and worth
celebrating.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
second reason is the proper exercise of desire, and that is no doubt
a good thing. but again, sex is surely not of the essence of marriage
either. There are couples for whom it is not possible, but who still
enter into marriage, and whose marriages are regarded as perfectly
valid.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
third reason, of mutual help and support comes much closer – and it
is what seems to be in view in our Ephesians passage where it is
paralleled with the covenant relationship of Christ and the church.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It
is that word, covenant, which brings us closest to a statement of
what marriage is. Both the Prayer Book and Common Worship services
describe it in this way, though the term doesn’t occupy a major
place in the liturgies. A covenant is a relationship of mutual
obligation and commitment, witnessed by God, who holds each partner
to account for keeping the terms of the agreement.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When
I used to prepare people for marriage (not that you can, other than
saying, “Be prepared to be constantly surprised!”) I explained it
as saying that the partner’s faithfulness to the covenant is not an
excuse for your unfaithfulness. In a covenant, each is held
responsible for their faithfulness to their promises.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
reflects the relationship between Christ and the church (and indeed
the whole biblical story of God’s relationship to his people). A
new kinship group has been formed in which God in Christ is faithful
even when we are not!</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hence
the writer of Ephesians stresses the Christ-likeness of the husband’s
responsibilities to his wife - commitment, sacrifice, caring and
respect etc. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
parallel has led much of the church to characterise marriage as a
sacrament – a means of grace, a physical expression through which
God gives of himself to the participants. (Officially, the CofE
denies this, but the words of the modern marriage service suggest
otherwise!)</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So,
is such a relationship possible between persons of the same gender? </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If
marriage is a means of grace in some sense (and I’m sure it is, at
least to the extent that it fosters the virtues to which God calls
us) presumably such is open to persons of the same gender? After all,
the ability to make covenant promises is not gender-specific. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Living in Love and Faith discussion material suggests this would
necessitate a change in CofE doctrine, presumably referring to the
marriage services’ assumption that we are speaking of the union of
a man and a woman. But I’m not sure that the doctrine as such
(covenant commitment before God) would change. All that would change
would be the historic cultural assumption that we are necessarily
speaking of a covenant union between male and female.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
answer, then, seems to me to be yes, the essence of marriage is not
altered by a change in assumptions about the gender of those making
the covenant commitment under God. Or to put it another way, in this
season of new things, if God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, the
rest is all rock and roll, innit?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p> </p>Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-85577386854572966452021-07-07T22:23:00.000+00:002021-07-07T22:23:17.258+00:00The death of John the Baptist<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Nothing special here, but I was asked to record a short talk for next Sunday, and decided to speak about the gospel reading. In case anyone is interested, here it is...<br /></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Have
you ever known that you should do something that's right, but not
done it anyway?</span></span></p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
thought we'd have a look at our gospel reading from Mark 6.14-29 It's
a well known story, the death of John the Baptist, but it repays a
bit of study. So here are some thoughts on the bible text, the
history behind it, and what it says to me - and hopefully to us all -
here and now.</span></span></p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Who
is Jesus? It's a question that runs through Mark's gospel.
Speculation is rife, and wild - though as it turns out, not nearly
wild enough! Among the wonderers is Herod Antipas, who sees in Jesus
a re-run of John the Baptist.</span></span></p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">When
big bad king Herod the Great died, his kingdom was split between
three of his sons, who became not kings, but tetrachs - a lower rank
in the Roman empire - sort of provincial governors.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
one we meet in the gospels is Herod Antipas, tetrach of Galilee,
though he was no doubt locally called the king, as in Mark's gospel.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
trouble that led to John's death began when Herod married his
half-niece, Herodias, the ex-wife of his half-brother, also called
Herod. According to the first centry Jewish historian, Josephus, it
was actually her daughter, Salome, who married another half-brother,
Philip, but if Mark is a bit confused, or reflects popular
understanding which was also confused, it's hardly surprising. The
Herod family was a great sprawling affair of incestuous
relationships, literal back-stabbings and deceit.</span></span></p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">It
would seem that Herodias, a Roman citizen, had divorced her husband
using Roman law, but by Jewish law remained married, since among
Jews, only men could initiate divorce. So in John's eyes, and those
of the common people, she was still married to her first husband. To
make matters worse, by Jewish law, a man could not marry his
brother's wife, even if the brother was dead, so Herod and Herodias's
marriage was wrong on two counts.</span></span></p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Since
John was not someone to mince his words, and was a popular preacher,
this would mean that Herod was held in pretty low esteem by the
public - which would in itself raise the risk of rebellion in a
population which was already notorious for its anti-Roman, and
therefore anti-Roman puppet-ruler sentiments. </span></span>
</p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">So
when Josephus says that John was executed for fear that he might
foment rebellion, it's not as far as it might seem from Mark's
version of the story; his preaching can only undermine Herod's rule.</span></span></p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">As
for Herodias, she's none too chuffed to be labelled an adulterer and
bigamist. She hates John with a vengeance. </span></span>
</p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And
that, you might think, would spell the end of the prophet.</span></span></p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Except...
Herod is fascinated by him. He knows, deep down, that John is right.
He recognises that here is someone in tune with God, and speaking
truth even in the face of huge power.</span></span></p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">He
can't not listen, but he can't bring himself to repent - he knows
what is right, but he can't do it. </span></span>
</p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">We
can hear echoes of the conflict between Elijah and king Ahab and his
queen Jezebel. There, Ahab had a grudging respect for the prophet,
but Jezebel wanted Elijah dead. And surely Mark expects us to pick
that up. Later in the gospel Jesus will describe John as the
long-awaited return, at least in spirit, of Elijah, the forerunner of
the Messiah. </span></span>
</p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And
in John's death there is a foreshadowing of Jesus' own death - the
political ruler who recognises his innocence, but who gives way to
fear and expediency rather than stand firm for what is right.</span></span></p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And
so it hangs in the balance until Herodias seizes her chance at
Herod's birthday party. He was well known for extravagant parties,
and here he is, surrounded by his political supporters, his clients
and dependents who help to secure his power base, and he makes an
extravagant offer to the young princess who dances for him.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">(A
quick aside - NRSV says it was "his daughter Herodias"
becasue that is the reading of the best old manuscripts, but it
doesn't really make sense, so the usual "daughter of Herodias"
is the better choice, so we'll stick with that.)</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Up
to half my kingdom is a bit of traditional storytelling by either
Mark or Herod - no authority to do that anyway, as Roman client - but
it marks out the generosity which Herod wants to display - the kind
of generosity which shows him to be a powerful patron, one to command
respect. And it's that desire to be seen in a commendable light that
backs him into a corner.</span></span></p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">He
can't say no, or his pretence to power and authority are blown away
like straw in the wind. Half a kingdom is acceptable exaggeration.
The head of a rabble rouser is not. </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">So
back to my opening question. Have you ever known something to be
right, and chosen not to do it? Of course you have. We all have. It
could be averting our eyes from a collecting tin because it's just
too much trouble to dig out a coin from our pocket. It could be
putting too high a figure in a box on an expenses form or two low a
one on a tax return. It could be passing laws to enforce wearing
masks and keeping your distance, and not doing it yourself. Or much
worse things. </span></span>
</p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And
have you ever worried about how people see you? I know I have. I
certainly don't want to appear as I really am! What would I be
prepared to do to maintain the public face? How much shame could
bear? What sort of lies might I tell to keep up appearances?
HopefullyI wouldn't kill someone but... </span></span>
</p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">On
reflection, I wonder whether John the Baptist is the true victim of
this tragic story. It's a tale of an honest and upright person being
sacrificed on the altar of a powerful person's pride and ambition; a
story that has its parallels throughout history, and certainly in our
own time. </span></span>
</p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">But
perhaps in the end, the one who suffers is Herod himself. He has been
brought face to face with his failures and sins. He has been
fascinated by the light it has cast on his own transgressions and
weakness. But in the end he has done nothing, and has cast away the
chance of repentence. Perhaps of salvation itself.</span></span></p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Jn
3.19 tells us that in Christ, "light has come into the world,
and people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil."</span></span></p>
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</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Do
we, like Herod, squander the chance of repentence when it is offered
to us? When the light suddenly shines on the darker parts of our
life, do we too scurry away? Or do we seize the moment and turn to
the light, to find hope, healing and renewal, painful though that
turning may be?</span></span></p>
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<br />
</p>
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<br />
</p>
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<br />
</p>
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<br />
</p>
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<br />
</p>
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<br />
</p>
<p> </p>Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-7202671099006709372021-03-19T00:33:00.016+00:002021-03-19T00:39:06.549+00:00Doctrines Bearing Fruit<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A former member of my (pre-retirement) church would sometimes write a
lengthy critique of a sermon or parish magazine article and send it
to me for comment. It was rather gratifying to realise that at least
one person had actually listened to what I said, so I would do my
best to respond, and over the years an irregular correspondence built
up.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the final couple
of years before my retirement the topic was almost invariably around
issues of sexuality and gender. I found this rather depressing, and
still do. The Church of England has recently published (another)
resource for discussion, Living in Love and Faith, the result of
several years of wrestling with a topic which for most people is
pretty much settled. From outside, the church seems obsessed with
sex, and claiming the authority to regulate it for its members. We
have to wait and see what will come of LLF but I hold out no great
hope. Positions are entrenched. The Bishop of Blackburn, for
instance, seems to think it’s a great idea as long as it results in<a href="https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2020/20-november/news/uk/evangelicals-turn-to-alternative-solutions-if-changes-to-doctrine-on-sexuality-are-made"> affirmation of his conservative position</a>. I doubt that many holders
of a liberal stance feel more flexible.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My friend’s other,
and related, issue was about what in evangelical circles is known as
“male headship” - in short, the notion that leadership in church
and marriage belongs essentially to the male partner (though partner
is, obviously, not quite the right word).</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These issues have
become such a touchstone of orthodoxy in some circles that I find I’m
writing as a former evangelical. I would prefer to say, “As an
evangelical,” but that’s difficult to do. More than one
evangelical friend has informed me that my notion of my brand of
Christianity is outdated. I still cling to the idea that concepts
like the primacy of grace, justification by faith and the authority
of scripture are what matters. However, I find that evangelicalism is
now about with whom it is OK to have sex, and whether I subscribe to
the correct tradition of interpretation of a few short passages of
the Bible - a tradition that I find has little to commend it.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Anyway, in the
course of our correspondence, I suggested that Jesus’ statement
that false prophets can be known by their fruit might well be a good
way of judging the rightness of doctrines. I was immediately
misunderstood, and it was pointed out that no doubt LGBTQI+ people
(and women) could well be blessed in their ministry, but that did
not mean their lifestyle, orientation or whatever was other than
sinful. After all, God sends his rain on the just and the unjust. And
indeed, if I had been arguing that, say, gay priests are fine because
many do a good job (which is true, by the way) I would have been on a
sticky wicket. Success, however one may measure it, is not
necessarily an indicator either of doctrinal soundness or moral
rectitude.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On the other hand,
Jesus presumably meant something by his saying. Look at the passage,
from Matthew 7.15-20.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
15 ‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s
clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them
by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from
thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit,
but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad
fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that
does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Thus you will know them by their fruits. (New Revised
Standard Version. See also Luke 6.43-45)</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jesus seems to be
saying here that what the false prophets produce is undesirable. He
doesn’t say what it is, whether actions or teaching, but the result
is apparently something harmful. The false prophets are apparently
out for what they can get – like wolves looking for prey. The
product of this behaviour is bad fruit, or “evil” fruit as the
Greek would have it. What these people teach, what they offer to the
church, has bad results.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Didache, a
handbook for Christian faith and living which probably comes from
around the same time and place as Matthew’s gospel, says that
prophets should be judged on whether they do indeed seek to profit
from their ministry (Didache 11.7-12). In the New Testament, there’s
a similar standard of judgement in the parallel passage from Luke
6.45.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Elsewhere, it is the
doctrinal content which gives the game away: St. Paul tells the
Corinthians that the acid test of true prophecy is whether it
acknowledges that Jesus is Lord (1 Corinthians 12.1-3) while the
writer of 1 John 4.2 sees acceptance of the incarnation as vital.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It seems to me,
then, that it might be quite reasonable to put these two ideas
together. Perhaps the test of a good (we evangelical types used to
say “sound”) teaching is what it results in. For instance, in
Genesis 9.25, <a href="https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Curse_of_Ham">Noah curses Canaan, the son of Ham, for Ham’s impropriety</a>, and condemns him/his descendants to be the slaves of his
uncle Shem (and/or his descendants). From this it has been argued
that the curse on one child of Ham applies to all his children, who
might be interpreted as including the ancestors of Africans. It
follows that Africans are condemned by God himself to be fit for
slavery, and it becomes OK to kidnap them and transport them in vast
numbers to be slaves in New World colonies. This, I would argue, is a
poor outcome from a doctrine, and casts a question over whether the
doctrine has got it right. Most Christians today would agree with
that, I think.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Or again, the Bible
is quite (well, Matthew’s gospel is) clear that the crowd which
brought Jesus to Pilate were happy to take responsibility for the
saviour’s death, and to pass that guilt on to their descendants
(Matthew 27.25). This led to the doctrine that Jews as a whole
were <a href="https://antisemitism.adl.org/deicide/">guilty of the sin of "deicide"</a> and were worthy of some sort of
continual punishment – at least until its repudiation in the
twentieth century.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I do not claim that
the African slave trade depended on the doctrine of Noah’s curse –
but the doctrine certainly provided a convenient pretext, and perhaps
impetus, to a financially lucrative aspect of imperialism which
brought misery to millions. Meanwhile, the collective guilt of the
Jews provided an excuse and impetus for the persecution and
exploitation of Jews which found its culmination in the horrors of
Nazism.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So, in dialogue with
my friend from church, I suggested, and still suggest, that it is
worth looking at the outcome of our doctrines in other areas, such as
issues of gender and identity.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the wake of the
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/12/sarah-everard-remains-found-kent-woodland-those-of-missing-woman">dreadful murder of Sarah Everard</a>, the societal gulf between men and
women in the UK (and, of course, world-wide) has once again been
highlighted. Men are still better paid, more likely to rise in their
professions, and to see public spaces and other places of gathering
as fundamentally male possessions. Women continue to experience a day
to day low level harassment which is damaging to self-esteem and
mental health. Against this background, many Christians still promote
a theology of so-called “complementarity” which majors on a
perceived difference of calling and function between men and women.
At its core lies an issue of authority. Men have it. Women, not so
much.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I do not purely
blame Christian doctrines of wifely submission, male headship, or
innate female weakness for millennia of patriarchy. Those doctrines
grew out of the prevailing patriarchal culture, but at the same time,
as Christianity gained influence, they helped to reinforce it. And
centuries of oppression of women, domestic and societal abuse and
disempowering of women are have surely been reinforced by it.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I submit that this
doctrinal approach ultimately leads to suffering, injustice,
inequality, oppression and death. Ergo, it is not good theology.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For LGBTQI+ people
the case is even clearer. In our culture there is a long history of
persecution, oppression and denigration of gay people. I am of a
generation which learnt about homosexuality through school playground
jokes and whispers about “queers” while the skinheads of my youth
entertained themselves with gaybashing. Transgender and intersex
people were essentially unheard of.
</span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our society has
moved a long way since my schooldays, with the decriminalising of gay
sex and the eventual acceptance of marriage for people of the same
gender, though it seems that we are currently seeing a widespread
attack on trans people. </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The church, however,
has hardly moved at all. There are still many who, armed with half a
dozen contested passages of scripture, oppose gay sex, deny the right
of people to express their conviction of their own nature, and claim
thereby that they are being faithful to scripture and the Christian
tradition. So what has come of that tradition? Where does that
doctrine lead us? It seems to me that it leads to persecution,
murder, imprisonment and suicide. At its very best it leads to
enforced celibacy for those who have no particular charisma for it.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There are gay
Christians who are convinced of the rightness of this doctrinal
stance and who accept celibacy or heterosexual marriage as a
corollary of their desire for faithful discipleship. That’s fine
with me, and they have my admiration. They are not, however, a proof
of the truth of their doctrine. Their experience is far outweighed by
the sense of rejection, frustration and suffering of many other
LGBTQI+ people. And that, I think means it is bad theology.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Don’t
misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that all doctine must result in
happiness and good cheer. It doesn’t. But when it results in near
universal misery, I cannot help but think that there is a problem.
</span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So that’s my
notion. You will know good doctrine by its fruits, just as you will
know good people by theirs.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p>Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-71945003012791330942021-02-27T19:07:00.002+00:002021-02-27T19:07:40.908+00:00A sort of sermon on the rebuke of Peter<p> Well. I got this blog up and running again, and had every intention of regularly updating it. We all know the path that good intentions build. So at least, I thought I'd better put something here so that my reader has an item to look at! This is my sermon for tomorrow. It's really only half a sermon, but it's long enough as it is. </p><p>It's also rather late to be of any use to someone preaching tomorrow, but then, other people's sermons are rarely useful for preaching...</p><p>Mark 8.31-38</p><p><br />31Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, 'Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.'<br />34He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.' <br /><br />Former President Donald Trump is a man who is widely regarded as compulsively narcissistic, of very lax personal morals and whose relationship to the truth is only on a hearsay basis. None of this, you might think, would endear him to Christians, whose Lord has told them that truth is fundamental to salvation, that personal holiness is an unachievable but nonetheless vital aspiration, and that one should care at least as much for others as for oneself.<br />Yet, even after his rather narrow election defeat, Trump remains a darling of many, probably most, evangelical Christians in the United States. Prominent evangelical leaders proclaimed him as God's chosen one, declared that he had not sinned since taking office, and saw him as the saviour of their nation's Christian heritage.</p><p><br />If there is anyone here who shares that view, see me after the service.</p><p><br />Christians, of course, hold a huge diversity of opinions on all sorts of issues, moral, theological and political. There is very little on which there is a definitive Christian position. I remember a very devout and good Christian woman telling me (long ago, in the Thatcher era) that she could not understand how anyone could be a Christian and not vote Conservative. Since I tended (and still tend) towards the view that socialism of some sort or another meshes almost intrinsically with Christian values, we decided to agree to differ.</p><p><br />At present, the CofE is locked in debate over issues of sexuality and gender, and a new set of discussion resources has been launched, commended to every parish, as we continue to look at what it means to live in love and faith with one another. Whether this will ultimately make much difference to the various entrenched views is questionable - the Bishop of Blackburn, for instance, has declared that the discussion is a good thing, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/23/bishop-says-c-of-e-change-of-stance-on-sexuality-would-spark-exodus">as long as it results in a consensus which agrees with his conservative position....</a></p><p><br />So, yes, there is room for a good degree of debate about what, if anything, is the Christian view of x, for a given value of x.</p><p><br />But we can't just leave it at that, can we, or you'd complain that you're not getting your money's worth out of the sermon (though, come to think, of it, the sermon is free...)<br />Pundits who have discussed Mr Trump's popularity with a certain brand of Christian suggest that ultimately, he is popular because he promised power to a group which sees itself as increasingly on the margins. The majority are white, and are threatened by the increasing numbers of not quite so white hispanic americans. They speak english and are threatened by the projection that Spanish will soon become the majority language in the USA. They have been a major force in politics and have seen that shift to the urban, and urbane, cities of the east and west coasts. They have strong views on abortion, sexuality and gender (none of which are mentioned by Jesus, or indeed the Bible in general) and have been promised that these will once again be made majority views through legislation and education. Which is sirely what God wants.</p><p><br />He is God's chosen because he promises God's people what they want. And that is surely something that God wants too. Pretty much by definition, no?<br />A similar case could be made for my other couple of examples. My Thatcherite friend ultimatly saw the Conservative government of the day as defending traditional "British values" and upholding the Protestant work ethic. Work or starve seemed (with some softening) a good Biblical principle. And Biblical principles matter. And those in the church who seek to uphold traditional views of sexuality etc. see themselves as preserving a set of values which has worked well (as long as you're not gay or trans) for a Christian country, and long to see that Christian country return. As it may, they argue, if only we hold fast to what we've always held. As long as we are faithful to Biblical teaching.<br /><br />OK, that's all rather sweeping, and it doesn't apply to lots of people who find themselves in any of these camps. But then, this is a sermon, not a PhD thesis. If you don't like the examples, that's fine, but bear with me anyway.<br /><br />Because what I'm suggesting, even if you don't like the details, is that in many cases, Christians - real, devout Christians - espouse somewhat questionable positions because they offer what they want. Of course, they see that as being very much in line with God's will. It's there in the Bible, and in their tradition, and needs to be defended. <br /><br />(Does that apply to me as well? Of course it does. It's an almost universal temptation, this desire to get what we want, and to colour it with God. I'm sure God is a liberal, all embracing good guy, because that's what I want. And I'm sure it's in the Bible....)<br /><br />So let's look at our gospel reading. We have to go back to the bit before our selection, in order to understand what is going on.<br />Jesus takes his disciples away from Galilee into the Gentile area near Caesarea Philippi. And he asks what people are saying about him - "Some say you're Elijah come back, or a prophet, or John the Baptist brought back to life!" <br />"And what do you say," he asks. And Peter takes the plunge: "You'e the Messiah, God's chosen one!"<br />And he tells them to keep quiet about it.<br />Then he goes on to say, "The Messiah must suffer and die."<br />"No way," says Peter - and earns Jesus' strongest rebuke: Peter is Satan! </p><p><br />Why is Peter so upset? It's not just because Jesus thinks he will come to a bad end, upsetting though that might be. It's because the Messiah - which he's admitted to being - doesn't do that. The chosen one of God is going to give power to the people of God. He is going to make them the top nation, he is going to affirm the values of the Law of Moses and show them to the whole world. He is going to chuck out the oppressors and bring freedom. Everyone will sit under their own fig tree and the Gentiles will flock to the people of God, and say, "Show me your God." It's all there in the Bible. Jesus has lost the plot for a moment and needs reminding.</p><p><br />And this is why Peter speaks for Satan - he is setting out the temptation Matthew and Luke describe in their accounts of the forty days in the wilderness- to be a Messiah of bread and circuses, of conquest and war. But Jesus is redefining Messiah. That's why he doesn't want the disciples to use the term in public. Everyone, including Peter, knows what Messiah means. But it doesn't. It doesn't mean the conquering King, the giver of a new Law, the purifier of the Temple's worship - all things that crowded around the term Messiah- and clouded the minds of those who knew so well what the Bible said. No, Jesus is not the Messiah in those terms. Rather, the Messiah is Jesus. Do you want to know what it is to be God's anointed, his chosen? Then look at Jesus and see the suffering servant.</p><p><br />Peter is trying to fit Jesus into the mental box he has prepared with the label, Messiah. And Jesus won't fit.</p><p><br />I think we tend to do the same. In some cases that can lead to odd results - like Donald Trump in the White House. </p><p><br />The trick is to let Jesus speak. To let God, as the theologians say, be God. He is the one in charge. He is the one who sets the agenda. It's up to us to listen, in prayer and reflection, to hear the voice which teaches us what God is actually up to. That that can be pretty surprising.</p><p><br />Of course, you will say (I hope!) that if we can't trust what the Bible says (Peter, after all, knew what the Bible said) then how can we ever hear anything other than our own dreams and desires? <br />The answer, I think, is not that the scriptures are wrong, but that the way we read them needs to be questioned. Jesus was entirely in line with the Bible. He just read it rather differently. In Jesus, God was doing a new thing., and Peter needed to be able to recognise it. So do we.</p><p><br />Do you remember that refrain from the Old Testment : "Sing to the Lord a new song"? Why was a new song needed? Because God had done a new thing, and the old songs didn't do it justice.</p><p><br />We too need to be able to recognise God doing something unexpected, to to be prepared to sing a new song, even if it celebrates something that moves us from where we are comfortable, even - perhaps especially- if it opens up new and challenging possibilities.</p><p><br />It is not enough simply to say, "You are the Messiah." We need to be able to see what it is that the Messiah does - and demands. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-47226033331051024142020-05-22T18:27:00.001+00:002020-05-22T18:37:12.177+00:00Action at a distance<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CeHB8iaKonI/XsgbnF8cSCI/AAAAAAAAASQ/mbHJNxBv-wIPMwYZS11sOBF3Nkrs7YoVACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG-20200522-WA0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="640" height="267" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CeHB8iaKonI/XsgbnF8cSCI/AAAAAAAAASQ/mbHJNxBv-wIPMwYZS11sOBF3Nkrs7YoVACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG-20200522-WA0002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reflecting on the importance of space, as in my last post, leads
quite neatly into another church debate which has taken off on social
media. Or at least on Twitter, which is the one I tend to look at. In
these times of isolation, with worship being done at a distance, via
live streaming, conference software, and so on, can we do Holy
Communion at a distance? Is it OK for each of us to eat bread and sip
wine in our own home, and in doing so partake of the eucharist?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The predominant
answer seems to be no. A quite resounding no, in fact. Writing a few weeks ago in the Church Times, <a href="https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2020/24-april/comment/columnists/angela-tilby-virtual-bread-sharing-is-not-the-eucharist">Angela Tilby</a> referred to the
bishop of </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Western Louisiana, who had initially given permission for this form
of communion, but had withdrawn it, partly, apparently, because it
did not fit with the Episcopalian/Anglican eucharistic theology.
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This came as a bit
of a surprise to me. It’s not that there is no Anglican theology of
the eucharist, so much as that there are so many Anglican theologies.
I’m sure an Anglican understanding of Communion could somewhere be
found which would allow such a practice. Of course, the Book of
Common Prayer is officially the gold standard of Anglican theology,
and therein should lie the definitive theology of the eucharist for
all good members of the Church of England, at least.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, I seem
dimly to recall from long ago lectures that the said theology of the
BCP was debated at its first publication, and the length and volume
of contradictory scholarly treatments has only grown in the
succeeding centuries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the other hand,
all is not lost. I don’t think that most theological issues really
matter here. Is communion possible without a priest? Does a
substantive change take place in the bread and wine? Is consecration
effected by the priest alone as celebrant, or the whole congregation?
Does it occur at certain words in the eucharistic prayer, or is it a
process with a beginning and end, but no fixed point between? Is it a
re-enactment of the sacrifice of Christ, a simple mnemonic, a
bringing of the eternal act of atonement to bear on the discrete
celebration of each eucharist or summat else?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does any of this
mean anything to the average worshipper?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Never mind. I’m
sure it’s irrelevant to the question in hand, which is, I am
convinced, primarily about space.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A eucharist takes
place when Christians gather together to share bread and wine in
memory of Christ. (With whatever embellishments our church tradition
deems necessary.) What do we mean, though, by “together”? I
suspect that in some sense, it means sharing a space. Here we need to
be careful. Communion in one’s living room, and communion in
Britain’s biggest cathedral (just over the river from my house) may
each be seen as obvious examples of a space which can be shared for
worship. The same might apply to a mass in St. Peter’s square or
one of those huge gatherings in parks for papal visits etc. These are
simple and obvious shared spaces.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What about spaces
which exist, essentially, only in the mind? I have sat in a church
hall, joining in a service which took place a good many metres away.
I watched the service on a TV, joined in the hymns (probably a bit
out of phase with the main body of worshippers, but who was to know?)
and received communion as part of the one service, despite the
barrier of walls and a car park.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are certainly
plenty of churches where the kids and their carers are hived off into
another room, but who are linked by loudspeakers, or even actually
isolated in “children’s church” but who are welcome back to
communion as part of the gathered body. In a sense, they are, like
those of us in the church hall, seen as occupying the same worship
space, the same event.</span></div>
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</span>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The thing is, our
concept of space is not about purely physical phenomena. It is about
the perception of presence, of belonging. In daily life we frequently
extend our sense of personal space beyond our bodies – to encompass
our car, for instance, or our shopping trolley. And, of course,
online, we think and speak in spatial terms which are more than
simple metaphors. We “visit” websites, “enter chat rooms”
(are they still a thing?) And when I join in the act of worship at my
old church, via Zoom, I think of myself as being present in a real
way.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, if we can share
in worship in an internet “virtual” space, why not share in
communion, which binds the body of Christ together, existing as it
does not in a physical space, but wherever Christ is acknowledged?</span></div>
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</span>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One answer might be
about bread and wine. Surely the elements have to be in the same
place to be blessed, and perhaps touched, and to be physically
broken, Surely it is the sharing in one bread which carries much
significance? Well, I don’t think so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some friends who
trained for ordination at Mirfield, that bastion of anglo-catholic
rectitude, recounted how surprised they were to find that the
principal, presiding at a small eucharist in his study, sat at the
opposite side of the room from the bead and wine. The words were
spoken, bread was eventually broken, but the action seemed to take
place at a thoroughly unseemly distance. Then again, think of those
mass masses, where huge baskets of bread are blessed without being
present on the communion table, or even of the many modest parish
churches where individual communion wafers are blessed and
distributed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Is there a sort of
spatial limit beyond which consecration cannot take place? I suspect
there is not. What matters is surely the intention—that bread and
wine brought to the worship space (virtual or otherwise) should be
the means of grace in this sacrament.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, in summary, if
we can join for worship, prayer and even hymnody, by Wi-Fi, it seems
to me logical to say that we also can share in the sacrament of holy
communion.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And if that’s not
heretical enough, I think one could make a similar case for doing the
same with a recorded service. If we can do it with spatial
separation, perhaps a temporal barrier might also be no obstacle. If
it is intended that those who join in, separated by space and time
are none the less included as they are included in Christ himself, it
seems likely that the grace of God could still be operational! But I
won’t push that suggestion further, as this post is already too
long.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One final thought.
On one level, this sort of debate is an in-house issue, a minor spat
between churchgoing types. On another, though, it is about how open
the body of Christ is. As unprecedented numbers log on to acts of
worship in our present predicament, do they see a church which is
fully functional and fully inclusive, or one which draws the line
between the worshipper and the heart of worship? If the eucharist is
indeed a converting ordinance, should it not be allowed to convert?
Even the converted probably stand in need of further conversion.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(Disclaimer - the illustration arrived on a social media stream. If it is copyright, I am happy to remove it!) </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-3859051626571071852020-05-20T10:25:00.001+00:002020-05-22T23:30:43.067+00:00Space<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Life
in lockdown has caused me to reflect about space. Confined mostly to
our homes, and outside them still restricted in travel and work, we
have, I think, become aware of the bounds of our world in a new and
pressing way. Life has come to have very clearly defined borders—the
home, the trip to work or shop, an hour or so’s walk or bike ride.
This has now been partially relaxed (perhaps not wisely, given our
country’s lamentable death and infection rates) but spacial
restrictions still apply, in some ways more obtrusively. We can go
out, chat at a safe distance, but not visit those who mean the most
to us.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">These
restrictions encourage us to find new ways to use space, for
reflection, hobby, home improvement, entertainment, deepening
relationships and finding tolerance and understanding.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">They
also has their downside, in frustration, a sense of imprisonment,
worry about finances and survival itself. Mental health issues have
multiplied. And tragically restricted movement has brought a new
freedom to abusers of adults and children, locked away from scrutiny,
and has vastly diminished their victims’ chances of escape.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">It
has raised issues of space for the church, as well, particularly the
Church of England. Congregations can no longer meet for worship and
fellowship, and in the case of the CofE, even clergy have until
recently been strictly forbidden to enter their churches to pray.
They could go in to check the building for insurance purposes etc.,
but definitely not to pray, nor to record or live stream acts of
worship. Let us not ask cynical questions about priorities here.... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">At
present, this too is being relaxed, as the bishops back-pedal and
recast their dubiously legal instructions as “guidance” and now
allow (sorry, advise) limited access for the purposes that the
government legislation allowed all along.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">We
(mostly) all agree that the church is the people, not the place, and
that the presence of God is what sanctifies a place. Those who have
decried the retreat of the CofE “into the kitchen” (a reference
to Justin Welby's broadcast worship from Lambeth Palace’s kitchen,
rather than its chapel) are castigated for denigrating the domestic,
and “gendering” the debate.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">But
this seems to miss the main point at issue. Spaces matter. Our bodies
delimit us in space, and in many ways govern the way we can act in
the world. We share spaces with others, in home and workplaces.
Spaces define our communities, and the local areas in which we are
comfortable, and those in which we are uneasy, as strangers or lost.
We recognise safe p laces and danger zones.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The
incarnation involves the Word of God coming into the space of his
body, the space of Nazareth, of Galilee and so on. Into the danger
zone of the world.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">How
we use spaces therefore matters. Whether we make them places of
safety or danger, welcome or exclusion and above all whether we
recognise them as the spaces in which we live out our discipleship.
To be a follower of Christ is not about what goes on in our heads but
also in the space we occupy, and the actions that we perform there.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Our
homes are of course, spaces where discipleship is carried out. Prayer
and worship are offered there, service is offered to members of our
household (where they exist) and to neighbours, even in these
spatially constrained times.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Yet
the way we use wider spaces matters too. For a very long time, church
buildings have occupied a place in the public space of our
communities. They have been a statement that the people of Christ are
active in the midst of our shared space. We belong, and have much to
offer to the other inhabitants of our local space.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Certainly
the danger of infection and disease transmission means that gathering
for worship in our historic places of worship is a very bad idea. But
to withdraw entirely, to forbid the broadcast of prayer and worship
from the space that has long lain at the heart of the local community
seems a backward step, a retreat into privacy, that “privatised
religion” of which we have long been warned.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">So
I for one welcome the news that we can now be seen and heard (where
bells may safely be chimed) to still be in business in the local
space in which we are called to discipleship.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Of
course, the church continues to be involved as disciples of Jesus in
the public space. Church based food banks (tragically more necessary
than ever) continue to operate. Church members, both individually and
in an organised way, deliver food packages and offer support and
contact to the frail or lonely. This is hugely important. And yet,
for the church’s spiritual life to be seen also as part of that
public, communal space surely matters more than ever.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Our
local church bell chimes each evening at 7.00 p.m. with the message
that prayer is being offered, there at the heart of the community,
and that prayer undergirds the efforts of many local Christians to
live out their faith in love and support for their neighbours.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-49798034065543772452020-04-26T12:00:00.000+00:002020-04-26T12:00:40.491+00:00Well, after years of being locked out of this blog, Google has finally relented and allowed me to create an account which can access it. No idea how long this will last, but here in retirement, and coronavirus lockdown, it seems worth trying to reactivate my world-shaking insights again. I'll just post this and see whether it shows up, is accessible etc.....Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-46880168705054704332012-05-04T12:19:00.003+00:002012-05-04T12:19:51.848+00:00TatA couple of days ago I went with Daughter into Manchester. This was a mistake, as a <a href="http://www.themoroccanmarketofhandicraft.co.uk/Manchester-moroccan-market">travelling Moroccan market</a> was in town, selling rugs, bags and stuff. Naturally, we reinforced each other's greed and ended up buying a couple of rather nice leather holdalls.<br />
<br />
Guilt ensued, so to assuage it a bit we looked into the local Louis Vuitton outlet. Our large leather cases were well into double figures, but there we could buy a small shiny vinyl handbag for over £500. Shiny vinyl handbags were naff in the 1960s. Presumably they are now daringly retro. But still - £500+???<br />
<br />
I know the wealthy have to find some way of offloading their moolah, but these things are plastic! And Ugly! However, it's all probably part of a strange mindset in which more is less - at least, that's the only explanation I can come up with for the strange pricing on an <a href="http://www.authenticlouisvuittonoutlet4u.com/">LV outlet site</a>, a typical example of which is<br />
<br />
<div class="DPPrefix_prosmalldes_DPSuffix">
Authentic Louis Vuitton Mahina Leather Shoulder Bags And Totes</div>
<div class="DPPrefix_proprice_DPSuffix">
<span>Retail Price : </span><span id="promprice"><s>$ 254.34</s></span></div>
<div class="DPPrefix_promprice_DPSuffix">
<span>Concessions Price : </span> <span id="proprice">$ 1272.00</span></div>
<div class="DPPrefix_promprice_DPSuffix">
<span id="proprice"> </span></div>
<div class="DPPrefix_promprice_DPSuffix">
<span id="proprice">Wow, Mum, look! I can pay six times a much here! Is that cool, or what? </span></div>
<div class="DPPrefix_promprice_DPSuffix">
<span id="proprice"> </span></div>
<div class="DPPrefix_promprice_DPSuffix">
<span id="proprice">There's probably an indignant sermon struggling to get out of all this, but on reflection, it's too depressing to think about.</span></div>
<div class="DPPrefix_promprice_DPSuffix">
<span id="proprice"></span><span id="proprice"></span><span id="proprice"> </span></div>
<div class="DPPrefix_promprice_DPSuffix">
<span id="proprice"></span><span id="proprice"></span><span id="proprice"> </span></div>Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-62332514270891566122012-04-06T14:58:00.001+00:002012-04-06T15:00:32.525+00:00Good FridayI dig this out now and again for Good Friday, so I thought I'd post it here.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Friday morning</span><br /><br />Rooted deep in earth's<br />Memory<br />The trees forgot not,<br />Ravaged<br />Though they were by men,<br />Battered<br />By unnatural storms.<br />Awake,<br />They saw and honoured,<br />Bowing<br />As one passed who'd been<br />Unseen<br />Since the Garden's gates<br />Were Barred.<br />All save one dry tree.<br />Erect,<br />It kept its hilltop<br />Vigil.<br />Lonely it must bear<br />The weight<br />Of He Who bore<br />The world.<br /></div>Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-20761608562754426152012-03-09T18:16:00.003+00:002012-03-09T18:28:40.355+00:00Lent and aleGave up bread for Lent, but suspect that this will have little spiritual effect, unless I successfully resist the temptation to grumpiness.... I also doubt it will have any positive contribution to the battle for fat loss. Yet somehow it seems necessary to mark the season in a physical sort of way. I must think about that sometime.<br /><br />Too busy today, though, trying to catch up after a trip to Nottingham to take Daughter to a university interview. It was incredibly nostalgic to wander round the city centre and see how little (superficially) has changed since my student days.<br /><br />We lunched at the <a href="http://http//www.triptojerusalem.com/">Old Trip to </a><a href="http://http//www.triptojerusalem.com/">Jerusalem</a>, nowadays a Greene King pub (Sam Smith's in my day) but improved over my last visit a few years ago by the availability of guest ales: Oakham Inferno and Nottingham Brewery Extra Pale Ale to name two palatable ones. Food was OK too, and my duck with hoisin wrap was supposed to be only 450 Calories....Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-42467740404727800392012-01-21T17:26:00.002+00:002012-01-22T00:00:46.902+00:00FOBsI've just been to the Winter Ale Festival in Manchester. This is one of the largest gatherings of Fat Old Blokes in the country, in which a relatively unbloated FOB like me can feel thinner than the average. I went with Daughter (and her inevitable friend) and met up with Sons, so it was a family outing, though we felt that sitting in the space labelled "Reserved for Families" would take more explaining and arguing than was worth while.<br /><br />The beers were fine, as usual, though it being Saturday, many of the more popular ones were sold out. I did find Thornbridge's excellent St. Petersburg stout, though, so the afternoon was a complete success.Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-47200244974668766502012-01-13T19:05:00.008+00:002012-01-19T15:01:25.510+00:00New Year - no resolutionsWow! Is it really a year since I put anything on this?<br /><br />We did our our Christmas card as usual, and adapted the design to be an altar frontal for the Christmas/Epiphany seasons. This is what they looked like.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2YAM5GWAAC8/TxCBXfgtdUI/AAAAAAAAAJY/-vBQJSoaVEo/s1600/card%2B2011_0001.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2YAM5GWAAC8/TxCBXfgtdUI/AAAAAAAAAJY/-vBQJSoaVEo/s320/card%2B2011_0001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697195769219347778" border="0" /></a>The card<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nXtsbLRy-BM/TxCCTlIf-sI/AAAAAAAAAJk/_cy5d_PB2Ho/s1600/IMGP0339.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nXtsbLRy-BM/TxCCTlIf-sI/AAAAAAAAAJk/_cy5d_PB2Ho/s320/IMGP0339.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697196801520564930" border="0" /></a>The altar frontal<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This was pretty well received. At least, several people said they liked it. Those who made no comment may have hated it, of course, but since they didn't say, they don't count.<br /><br />I did the original drawing, but the transfer to the big screen was mostly done by daughter who acted as studio assitant, or as we nowadays say in the art world, "fabricator". I understand that this means the artist has the idea, and a menial does the actual craftsmanship. It sounds rather a cheat to me, but it does allow me to claim that I am the world's greatest artist. It's just that there is no fabricator equal to the magnificent, but purely mental, vision.<br /><br />The fabricator also does her own art and you can see some on her own blog <a href="http://www.polly-elizabeth.blogspot.com/">here.</a><br /><br />Happy New Year.Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-30835075514946101032011-01-22T00:10:00.001+00:002011-01-22T00:23:12.998+00:00Doggie Heaven?<img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/USERON%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" />Another parish mag item, just to keep the blog in existence.<br /><br />A friend whose dog has recently died asked me to consider doing a sermon on the general theme of "do pets go to heaven?" I wasn't sure how long it would take for a suitable Bible passage to crop up in the Sunday readings (a long time, I suspect) and I wasn't sure either, that I could pad out "I don't know" into a full sermon. But that "I don't know" does turn out to raise a few issues, so I thought I'd have a quick shot at a couple of them here.<br /><br />The traditional answer to the question is simply no. Animals, having no souls, can't really go on to an after-life. But the issue isn't quite that simple. For one thing, it's not really all that obvious what a soul is. The idea that we have a sort of detachable part of us which leaves the body when we die, and travels off to realms unknown is rather hard to find in the Bible. It got into Christian thinking from Greek philosophy and it causes more problems than it solves.<br /><br />Can we even imagine a soul? Aren't we in fact so intrinsically embodied that it is impossible to conceive of a bodiless existence? That isn't to say that talking of souls is meaningless, but it does say that souls aren't so much something we have as something we are. The definition I like best is "rational self-consciousness".<br /><br />Some animals, I would argue, are certainly self-conscious to a degree. My cat definitely is (though she does not accept that anyone else is). And if being a soul is a function of rational self-awareness, then it seems that other creatures than humans possess a degree of such consciousness (and to some extent rationality). So on the soul front, it might well be that there is a sliding scale, on which some creatures score pretty highly.<br /><br />However, thinking about souls doesn't get us all that far if we are not looking for them to break loose on death, and sail away. In fact, the Christian view of life after death is actually about the hope of resurrection, and God's provision of a new creation. In that creation (though what it may be like is beyond our imagining), it may well be that there will be some sort of animal life - after all, in this one, God seems to have created rather a lot of non-human life, so why not in the new creation?<br /><br />Whether that life will in some way include our beloved Fido, we can't say. It is, after all just speculation - butit's possible, I suppose. This, though, brings us to the real point, which is not just about about pets. We are told very little about the life to come.<br /><br />Christians believe in resurrection, in a new creation, and a healing of all that is broken and hurt in this world. But we are not told about it in detail, and attempts to speculate hardly do it justice. (Look for instance, at the well-meaning but hopelessly twee illustrations in those tracts that Jehovah's Witnesses leave behind them.) What we are told, is to trust God.<br /><br />This comes out well in funeral services. We don't focus on the destination of the person who has died, but on God. We do not commend to deceased to heaven or Valhalla or wherever, but to God. Christianity is not a belief in a particular system of heaven and hell or whatever, but a trust in the God who meets us in Christ, and who will ultimately say, "Behold I make all things new."Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-86278624488785237942010-11-03T17:06:00.002+00:002010-11-03T17:12:23.686+00:00Worlds ApartWell, I'm back.<br /><br />Of course, not many people knew I'd been away, and it was only for ten days, but it feels like a trip to another world. In some ways, it was.<br /><br />I was taking part in a sort of conference for clergy. There were only twenty-four of us, but it was interesting and challenging. The speakers were fascinating, the discussion engrossing and the food amazingly delightful. All this took place at St. George's House in Windsor Castle, and that was the different world.<br /><br />People there didn't lock the doors of their houses, and left cars parked with keys in the ignition. I think the idea was that your average burglar and car thief might be put off by the men and women in flak jackets and carrying machine guns who greet you when you enter the castle. To enter, of course, you need a security pass (or to have bought a ticket).<br /><br />There's a little chapel there (well, bigger than St. John's, Heaton Mersey) with a Dean, canons and choristers. Services are three times a day, and the evening prayer is beautifully sung. (One can't actually join in, but it's great to listen to.) Knights of the Garter gather there on special occasions and sit in the choir under their personal banners. The Canons are erudite, and organise conferences and discussions for the great and the good (and occasionally the clergy).<br /><br />And somewhere in the background are royalty. One evening I was warned against going down a certain part of the cloister because a Duke and Duchess were down there. I said I wasn't afraid, but they still wouldn't let me in.<br /><br />The whole thing was a sort of surreal experience, a glimpse into a world which rarely interacts with the one I normally live in, and then only in carefully managed events.<br /><br />And yet, strangely enough, it turned out to be an ideal place to get away from the everyday and spend some time reflecting on the topic of the conference - how to speak about God in the light of the present world.<br /><br />We had various speakers address us on everything from the shape of future computers (in bacteria, living in yoghurt) to stem cell research and cloning (you can make a copy of yourself with existing technology, but you'll have to do it in Paraguay where it's not illegal). One of the speakers was Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian.<br /><br />He spoke about how newspapers are rapidly becoming redundant in the light of the internet and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Once, he said, journalists lived in their own little world, where they produced newspapers and threw them out to be read by those of us who lived in the world outside. Nowadays that's impossible. People want to question and comment - and some of them know more about the subjects in view than do the journalists who write about them.<br /><br />Newspapers can no longer live in their separate world. They have to get out, produce the news, but allow it to feed back, to be challenged and indeed to be improved by the encounter with the wider public. Hence the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/">Guardian web site</a> is replacing the printed paper and being a place where issues are discussed and updated far more quickly than could be done with the daily paper.<br /><br />News is even gathered in from the public - and issues can be investigated simply by asking for help on Twitter. Needless to say, some journalists don't like this. They prefer the old model - pass on information and move on. Now they have to discuss their articles on a web site.<br /><br />I couldn't help seeing a parallel with Windsor Castle. The old papers were like that - a sealed environment full of a certain expertise and encountering the rest of the world only in a special way - like the encounters of royalty with the commoners, in carefully managed events, with no prospect of a chance encounter in a cloister.<br /><br />But of course, there's a parallel that's much closer to home. For isn't that how the church is traditionally seen to work? We worship and pray in our own religious world, and occasionally throw a message ("the gospel") out over the walls, hoping someone will respond, and come knocking on the door.<br /><br />I suspect the model has never really worked. It's only when we interact with the people around us, allowing ourselves to hear their questions and doubts, and letting them see what makes us tick that a message is truly communicated. If we have good news to share, it will be shared with people who see us as willing to show our faith, our hopes, our weaknesses and our doubts and discuss them in the public arena.<br /><br />So, where do I sign up for Twitter?Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-75482506989191360932010-11-03T17:02:00.002+00:002010-11-03T17:05:28.055+00:00Benefit CutsA few weeks ago, my son had his unemployment benefit cancelled. <br /><br />The reason? <br /><br />He had refused to attend a seminar on how to perform at interviews.<br /><br />The reason? <br /><br />He was attending an interview.<br /><br />He got the job.Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-59844566389315997742010-03-05T18:10:00.002+00:002010-11-07T22:30:35.238+00:00God has a place for you...... especially if you're the only person in Britain who fits the bill for a recent advert for a senior pastor in a Pentecostal church:<br /><br />The Senior Pastor should hold at least a Bachelors degree in Theology from a recognised College/University. Must speak, read and write Hindi, Malayalam and English Language fluently and have IT skills in Excel spreadsheet, word and power point. Proven Pastoral experience in a Pentecostal Church in the UK in all the above three languages is a requirement. U.K experience in Recruitment, training and basic H.R administration is a must.<br /><br />And I thought PCCs set high requirements for new Anglican clergy.<br /><br />Or could it just possibly be that they already know who they want...?Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-47900418491092663532010-02-21T17:08:00.003+00:002011-01-22T13:58:59.624+00:00Ambivalent buildingThere's an episode of the science fiction TV series, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farscape">Farscape</a>, which is set inside the decomposing corpse of a gargantuan space creature. There prospectors mine the body for valuables and in a way give the dead animal a sort of new lease of life.<br /><br />I was reminded of that scenario in a trip to <a href="http://www.themonastery.co.uk/">Gorton Monastery</a>. This is a huge church and attendant buildings which was abandoned around twenty years ago by the Franciscans who built it in the mid-nineteenth century. After years of dilapidation, it has been mostly restored as a venue for just about everything from corporate functions to community dancing. The restoration is still under way, and has been done with considerable sensitivity and taste. The damaged reredos at the high altar has been retained, and the original crucifix restored to its place in the chancel arch.<br /><br />It is licenced for civil weddings (after a considerable struggle, given the religious trappings which are still in situ) and welcomes spiritual events of all sorts. Interfaith discussion, new age fairs, and a regular opportunity to walk a replica of the Chartres labyrinth are just some of the possibilities to explore. And you can even hold Christian services there.<br /><br />It is all very impressive and most commendable. There is no doubting the dedication of the staff and supporters, and some of the tales they tell, especially of the return of the crucifix, are inspiring.<br /><br />And yet, I still feel a bit like a corpse miner. I think, in the end, the issue for me is that the building is not what it was intended to be - a place of worship. I am a great believer in diversifying the use of church buildings, of throwing them open to the community, and so on. But they are still in that case churches. I'm not quite sure what the Gorton edifice is, but its lack of churchness is undoubtedly what jars for me.Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-18678994026785462562009-05-15T16:31:00.001+00:002009-05-15T16:35:18.040+00:00Jesus is the answer! (But what is the question?)A couple of weeks ago, I received a phone call at around 1.15 a.m. It wasn't, as you might suppose, a pastoral emergency, such as a sudden bereavement or illness. It was my daughter, wanting a lift home (with the inevitable friend) from a party which had unsurprisingly gone on longer than advertised.<br /><br />The taxi service duly completed, Polly showed me, with some indignation, a couple of religious tracts that she had been given. One was about "what to do to go to Hell." Answer: do nothing! To avoid the fiery fate, however, one had to commit one's life to Christ. Daughter is all in favour of following Christ, but wasn't as certain as the tract's writer about the destination of those who don't - or even whether such a destination exists.<br /><br />The second tract took the form of scratch card quiz - what is the world's favourite... name? (Mohammad)... flavour (Vanilla) and fairy tale (Darwinian evolution). Eh? Yes, quite. (A web address was provided, so the reader could be convinced of the last point - I didn't find it convincing.) The piece then went on to ask the reader whether they had broken any of the 10 commandments. If so, we were assured, we were going to Hell. So we had to commit our lives to Christ.<br /><br />Now, as you may guess, I have more than a few theological, philosophical and scientific reservations about these little publications. But questions about the justice of Hell, the overwhelming evidence for evolution or the 10 commandments as a universal standard of judgement are not, in fact, my main worry about them.<br /><br />The real problem is that they fail to engage with any questions which people outside the church are really asking. How many of our neighbours are genuinely worried about the possibility of eternal damnation? How many are likely to be convinced that evolution is a myth? And for that matter, how many could even list the 10 commandments, let alone worry about them? <br /><br />To be sure, most would agree that murder is (usually) a bad thing, that stealing is wrong (unless you're Robin Hood) and that adultery is generally bad (unless you're actually doing it, of course). But if we worried about bearing false witness, a lot of newspapers would be rather slimmer, and our whole culture is based on coveting our neighbours' possessions (at least to the extent that we will buy something like them for ourselves). As for losing sleep over taking the Lord's name in vain or making graven images.....<br /><br />Now, I happen to think that this is a bad state of affairs, but it's not likely to change if I threaten everyone with the flame that is never quenched or the worm that never dies. The Christian message simply misses the mark if it is only about issues which no one particularly cares about these days.<br /><br />On the other hand, there are other questions being asked, and the tracts which roused Polly's ire are a particularly blatant example of the way in which the church as a whole tends to ignore them. To take one example, there seems to be a real interest in spirituality. People do look for signs that there is more to life than meets the eye, and that they themselves can be more than they are. There is a desire, not only for the ephemera of heath and beauty, but for a richer, fuller and more rewarding experience of life. There is the hope of encountering a transcendent reality, and of finding that one's own limitations can be overcome.<br /><br />All around us we see advertisements that claim to meet some of these needs - Tarot readings, crystal energies, meditation classes and what have you. Yet the church, with 2,000 years of spiritual experience and technique is rarely considered as being in the running as a provider of spiritual growth or experience.<br /><br />I'm sure that the reason is that we are still answering yesterday's questions. We are seen as locked in battles about meaningless doctrines (still arguing about transubstantiation, forsooth) and outmoded morality (gay bishops anyone?) It doesn't matter whether these are really important or not - they are special interest issues, and meaningless to most of our neighbours.<br /><br />We need to listen again, and hear the real questions, and pose our answers to them, and not to the questions of the past. After all, on the spirituality example, don't we have something to offer? Aren't we about knowing the Spirit that pervades all the world, and called it into being? Didn't Jesus claim to give an abundance of life, and bring a new creation into the human heart?<br /><br />We do indeed have answers for today's searchers. We just need to listen to what they are asking.Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-11099867958816899142009-01-09T01:23:00.002+00:002009-01-09T01:30:24.450+00:00Arrgh!!There are all sorts of reasons for prefering a cross to a crucifix (though in my opinion none is particularly convincing) but surely <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/4140960/Vicar-orders-removal-of-unsuitable-crucifix-from-church.html">this one</a> must be the worst. It's the Torygraph, I know, but the Grauniad has the same report, apparently from the same news service for what that is worth.<br /><br />The Vicar is worried about the depiction of Jesus' death upsetting children. (The bloodthirsty little beggars at our church school wouldn't mind it, I'm sure.) But apparently it's not upbeat enough. And I thought <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Christ">Buddy Jesus</a> was a Hollywood satire...Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-84000687864397636892008-09-08T11:48:00.001+00:002008-09-08T11:50:25.675+00:00Quotable quotesAfter a funeral, from one of the mourners:<br />"Just what is butt dust?"<br /><br />At a wedding rehearsal:<br />Me: "With my body I honour you..."<br />Groom: "With my body I'm onto you..."<br />Perhaps I should have let that one stand.Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-76541491810736863862008-08-22T09:52:00.003+00:002008-08-22T10:07:49.588+00:00BonesmashersBack off holiday, and I've been catching up with the few episodes of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/bonekickers/">Bonekickers</a> which our V+ box actually managed to record.<br /><br />The series is fascinating in its awfulness, and I hope the BBC commissions a second series, if only because it's funnier than most comedies.<br /><br />But one thing stands out above all else - these archeologists shouldn't be allowed in the same room as an antique thimble, let alone seriously valuable artifacts. In the few episodes I've seen, they have managed to burn the True Cross, lose the bones of Joan of Arc, and smash Excalibur.<br /><br />They ought to work for McVities, creating the fragments and crumbs which top and tail every packet of digestive biscuits.Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-36017697770745299282008-08-21T12:35:00.003+00:002008-09-08T11:48:03.990+00:00An atheist PM, Hurray!In today's Guardian, AC Graying presents one of his occasional <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/21/davidmiliband.labourleadership">anti-religious pieces</a>. Apparently David Milliband is an atheist (fair enough) and likely to become Prime Minister (really? the professor reads different papers from the rest of us).<br /><br />This will be a good thing because he will then stop religions from being privileged. Apparently, one of the biggest privileges is that the Church of England "controls the primary school system - 80% of it...." This will come as a surprise to the CofE, which thinks that 25.3% are <a href="http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/education/schools/">CofE schools</a> - and that by no means all of them are aided (i.e. with a majority of church governors). We will not mention the historic fact that these schools were founded by the church and incorporated into the state system when the secular authorities finally got round to agreeing with the CofE that educating ordinary children was a good idea. This was in 1946, I believe.<br /><br />But then, accuracy is not the aim of the piece. After all, he tells us that atheist leaders "will not cloak themselves in supernaturalistic justifications, as Blair came perilously close to doing when interviewed about the decision to invade Iraq. "Perilously close?" This would mean that he didn't actually say it? Indeed, if I remember correctly, he said that he would be judged by history and (he believed) God. Now, I think Blair was wrong and dishonest, but one thing he never did was claim divine authority. So what Grayling is actually saying is that atheist leaders will not claim supernatural mandates, just as Blair didn't. Big change, then.<br /><br />The philosophy students of Birbeck College are obviously in safe hands, as long as they don't have to ask any difficult questions, such as "What is truth?"Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-21758550006222192462008-05-13T10:33:00.004+00:002008-05-13T10:57:20.920+00:00Too clever for B & Q?One of my sons, currently between jobs, is spending his non too copious waking hours in applying for work. As part of this, he filled in the online personality profile <a href="http://www.jobs.diy.com/jobs/apply/apply.html">questionnaire for B&Q</a>, the mega-DIY outfit.<br /><br />A couple of days later, he received a rejection letter, on the grounds of the said profile. Now, I have severe doubts about this sort of profiling (and yes, I know my enneagram number, and my Myers-Briggs code - I am an Anglican priest, after all). However, what struck me about this was the feedback given. Apparently, no.2 son is pretty average in all areas (all expressed positively!) except one, where he scored highly for "emotional stability". Apparently this suggests that he is an independant thinker who works well under stress and can use his initiative, is ambitious and enthusiastic.<br /><br />Now, from my encounters with the staff at various branches of the emporium, I can't believe that they are desperately above average. So we know what B&Q are not looking for, don't we?Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-15971966703964751052008-04-25T14:40:00.003+00:002008-05-08T13:57:26.928+00:00Does Size Matter?No time to blog, as usual, so here's the latest parish mag article...<br /><br /><br />At a recent children's service, we were singing <span style="font-style: italic;">My God is so Big</span> (with actions). It's meant to be a comforting and encouraging little ditty; God is big enough to help us cope with anything. Recently, though, two perennial questions have come my way again: if God is so big, why should he bother with us, and if God is so big, how can we possibly claim to know him?<br /><br />Each one has the same starting point, and it's a good one - the realisation that God is not big, or even BIG, but unimaginably, literally infinitely, beyond any image of size. And of course, size is only an image. God has no size any more than she has a gender (but I'm old-fashioned and will stick with "he" henceforth), a body, an age and so on. But bigness is a useful image when we realise that we are thinking about whatever it is which underlies all existence. In Mother Julian of Norwich's famous vision, she saw God holding a nut-like object in his hand, which, he said was "all that is". Since her time we have learnt that "all that is" is unimaginably greater than she could have guessed.<br /><br />And if God is personal - the ultimate Mind, then he apprehends and understands the whole show. So why should we have the arrogance to suppose that he is bothered with us? There's a bit in one of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy</span> books which sums it up well. A scientist murders his nagging wife by making a machine which enables her to grasp her importance in the universe. Faced with such insignificance, she kills herself. We need, suggests Douglas Adams, the author, to believe we are more important than we are. But he, and our starting question, miss the point.<br /><br />Given what we know about the immensity of creation, it seems reasonable nowadays to suppose that the existence of the human race may not be the only purpose of creation. There may well be other intelligent species, and the universe itself may well be something in which God delights as his own work of art. But that doesn't relegate us to insignificance. The reason is simply our ability to feel insignificant - to feel awe and wonder.<br /><br />The universe just is. It's there, and that's that. If it has any significance, it's because someone sees it as significant, is able to wonder at it and to appreciate its beauty, danger, horror and joy. In being able to do that, for all our small size and limited abilities, we are closer to God than a nebula, for, like him, we can appreciate it. It doesn't seem to me all that far-fetched to suppose that God might value such creatures that share some of his own characteristics; what the Bible calls the "image of God", perhaps. And if huge size is not necessarily all that important in itself then neither is small size. God can value us for our ability to respond to creation - and to its creator.<br /><br /><br />Which takes us to the second question. If God can understand, and keep in existence the whole universe, how can we claim to know him? The obvious and simple answer is that we can't. There's a whole way of doing theology and mysticism based on this - all we can say of God is, "He's not really like that." (It's called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">apophatic</span> theology if you want to know.)<br /><br />But that doesn't mean we can't make some reasonable assumptions; he's creative, for a start. More than that, if it seems reasonable to assume that God might value creatures who share to some degree his own appreciation of creation, and have the capacity to enter into relationships, then it seems fair to suppose that he might reveal something of himself to them. And indeed relate to them.<br /><br />We can't say that the God we apprehend and relate to is all that there is of God. That would be silly. But we can say that it reflects what we are able to understand of the truth of God. Of course, that understanding is always open to change, as we learn more, experience more and reflect more. But it remains based on what we believe God has revealed of himself, and is therefore something we can accept as true as far as it goes.<br /><br />Christians, of course, believe that God has given us the best possible picture of himself. If you could distill the essence of the infinite creator Mind into a human being, what sort of person would he be? Answer: Jesus of Nazareth.<br /><br />It is as we relate to the God revealed in Christ that we discover more about him, find limits to what we can reasonably say about him, and discover our own significance to be pretty high, because he cares about us.Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735705687468932225.post-47787930570382436832008-03-25T09:54:00.022+00:002008-03-25T16:22:43.027+00:00The Lent ProjectLast October, a group of clergy to which I belong had a session on creativity with the Manchester artist <a href="http://www.stephenraw.com/">Stephen Raw</a>. He got us creating banners and suchlike, which made me wonder whether it might be possible to build a "Lent course" around creative activities. After all, we spend lots of time reading and discussing. Surely we ought to be able to engage with our faith in other ways?<br /><br />So, in conjunction with the local <a href="http://manchesterchurches.org/Heatons.aspx">Methodist church</a>, we embarked on five weekly sessions on discipleship, working in the <a href="http://www.heatons-team.org.uk/stjohns/SJHome.html">church</a> building. (The Methodists made their own smaller scale version of the project to take back to their own church. Hopefully, I'll put up some pictures of their project when I can get some.)<br /><br />The sessions were broadly on:<br />1) Barriers to discipleship<br />2) Helps along the way<br />3) Walking together (the church)<br />4) The cross transforms<br />5) Christ is risen<br /><br />The main idea was to produce something pretty impressive in scale which would turn the church into a statement about the call to discipleship.<br /><br />Each session began with a short discussion in groups, sharing personal experiences and how best to express that within the constraints of each session:-<br /><br />1) Barriers - we made a "flower arrangement" of dead and thorny things, with the container decorated with designs which expressed some hindrance to following Christ.<br /><br />The start of the session had the church looking like a builders' yard; sand, branches, containers, and art material. What I hadn't really considered was the sheer amount of time and effort needed to gather material, set out the church for working, and tidying up afterwards.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-jZEqBMHgI/AAAAAAAAACg/-4vTReE_3mw/s1600-h/2008_0221Image0298.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-jZEqBMHgI/AAAAAAAAACg/-4vTReE_3mw/s320/2008_0221Image0298.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181630045311737346" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-jQzaBMHeI/AAAAAAAAACQ/bUlB0kGf8tA/s1600-h/2008_0221Image0294r.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-jQzaBMHeI/AAAAAAAAACQ/bUlB0kGf8tA/s320/2008_0221Image0294r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181620952865971682" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The finished product was set up in the front pews - there was no chance of missing it, which was an important aspect of the project.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-jb9qBMHhI/AAAAAAAAACo/dxWVu5fd2SI/s1600-h/2008_0221Image0313.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-jb9qBMHhI/AAAAAAAAACo/dxWVu5fd2SI/s320/2008_0221Image0313.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181633223587536402" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />2) Helps - the second session had the participants working in groups to make painted banners which expressed something of what helped them along the way.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-jgaKBMHmI/AAAAAAAAADQ/vVgfQ7fbXRs/s1600-h/2008_0221Image0320r.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-jgaKBMHmI/AAAAAAAAADQ/vVgfQ7fbXRs/s320/2008_0221Image0320r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181638111260319330" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-jgYqBMHiI/AAAAAAAAACw/5ILTZ6X7prE/s1600-h/2008_0221Image0317r.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-jgYqBMHiI/AAAAAAAAACw/5ILTZ6X7prE/s320/2008_0221Image0317r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181638085490515490" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The finished products ranged from the deeply personal to more general statements to traditional Christian symbols. Try to spot the one by an art historian!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-j-LqBMHpI/AAAAAAAAADo/VfNTM6wNVCA/s1600-h/2008_0221Image0322.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-j-LqBMHpI/AAAAAAAAADo/VfNTM6wNVCA/s320/2008_0221Image0322.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181670847501049490" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-j-KqBMHnI/AAAAAAAAADY/B_24pH2nhFg/s1600-h/2008_0221Image0318.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-j-KqBMHnI/AAAAAAAAADY/B_24pH2nhFg/s320/2008_0221Image0318.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181670830321180274" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-jgZaBMHkI/AAAAAAAAADA/_QK3ksDFNNc/s1600-h/2008_0221Image0319.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-jgZaBMHkI/AAAAAAAAADA/_QK3ksDFNNc/s320/2008_0221Image0319.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181638098375417410" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-j-LKBMHoI/AAAAAAAAADg/76Era41RW5s/s1600-h/2008_0221Image0321.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-j-LKBMHoI/AAAAAAAAADg/76Era41RW5s/s320/2008_0221Image0321.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181670838911114882" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-jgZqBMHlI/AAAAAAAAADI/4vDs5iqGvV8/s1600-h/2008_0221Image0323.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-jgZqBMHlI/AAAAAAAAADI/4vDs5iqGvV8/s320/2008_0221Image0323.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181638102670384722" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />3) Together in the church - for this one, we decided to make a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_%28sculpture%29">mobile.</a> I'll confess at the outset that the finished product was slightly miscalculated, so its components do collide from time to time. Our excuse was that most people start with paper clips and drinking straws, while ours is about three metres across.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kOaKBMHyI/AAAAAAAAAEw/7TuBmXgPNL0/s1600-h/2008_0314Image0038.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kOaKBMHyI/AAAAAAAAAEw/7TuBmXgPNL0/s320/2008_0314Image0038.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181688688795197218" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kOZaBMHwI/AAAAAAAAAEg/X_llU0nDmXY/s1600-h/2008_0314Image0044.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kOZaBMHwI/AAAAAAAAAEg/X_llU0nDmXY/s320/2008_0314Image0044.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181688675910295298" border="0" /></a><br />Groups discussed what they valued about the church, and made an element of the final sculpture which expressed that.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kMPKBMHuI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/e5d8T9oq_9k/s1600-h/2008_0314Image0046.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kMPKBMHuI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/e5d8T9oq_9k/s320/2008_0314Image0046.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181686300793380578" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The end result was hung from one of the church's roof tie rods at the front of the nave, and is rather spectacular.<br /><br /><br />4) The cross transforms - a fairly obvious piece of symbolism, perhaps, but still effective.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kRYKBMHzI/AAAAAAAAAE4/ibezvX5WMj8/s1600-h/web014.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kRYKBMHzI/AAAAAAAAAE4/ibezvX5WMj8/s320/web014.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181691952970342194" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We made a large cross and used bits of household rubbish to make decorations and artwork, which were then nailed to it.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kSK6BMH2I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/MeK1OWzPkqs/s1600-h/web020.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kSK6BMH2I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/MeK1OWzPkqs/s320/web020.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181692824848703330" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The decorations ranged in size and complexity from modified advertising slogans to the most impressive - a discarded keep net which one group filled with symbols to represent Jesus' call to his disciples to fish for people.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kRY6BMH1I/AAAAAAAAAFI/CR9DDYex2TI/s1600-h/web018.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kRY6BMH1I/AAAAAAAAAFI/CR9DDYex2TI/s320/web018.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181691965855244114" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Placed at the front of the nave, the colourful cross is the culmination of the lenten journey, with its message of change through the sacrifice of Christ.<br /><br /><br />5) Christ is risen - the final session is pure <a href="http://www.stephenraw.com/prints/stfrancis-print.html">Stephen Raw</a>, who has done this a few times. The link takes you to a really big example.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kUlaBMH3I/AAAAAAAAAFY/5mIWWyTVFEY/s1600-h/web017.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kUlaBMH3I/AAAAAAAAAFY/5mIWWyTVFEY/s320/web017.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181695479138492274" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Individuals made letters which were later assembled into a huge banner spelling out the Easter acclamation: "Alleluia Christ is risen He is risen indeed Alleluia."<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kViKBMH8I/AAAAAAAAAGA/Du0RMPiyqPU/s1600-h/web016.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kViKBMH8I/AAAAAAAAAGA/Du0RMPiyqPU/s320/web016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181696522815545282" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kUl6BMH5I/AAAAAAAAAFo/ZqqKwsb6mMA/s1600-h/web021.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kUl6BMH5I/AAAAAAAAAFo/ZqqKwsb6mMA/s320/web021.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181695487728426898" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The end result was hung over the balcony at the rear of the church for Easter.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kUmKBMH6I/AAAAAAAAAFw/clq55yMyKmM/s1600-h/web023.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_meE_nGbFPTU/R-kUmKBMH6I/AAAAAAAAAFw/clq55yMyKmM/s320/web023.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181695492023394210" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The complete project has the feel of a liturgical procession. The journey down the nave to communion passes banners depicting the support that is available to us on our journey, and an indoor thicket of hindrance, takes us under the mobile representing the fellowship of our shared journey in the church, and past the transformed rubbish on the cross.<br /><br />When we turn back from communion, we see, through the mobile, the acclamation that Christ is risen. We think it's pretty good.Marcus Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06199093761727391155noreply@blogger.com1