Articles

At the close the Sung Eucharist we will commend the soul of Her late majesty Queen Elizabeth to God.

Rest eternal grant unto her O Lord. 

EDINBURGH DIOCESAN OFFICE, 21A GROSVENOR CRESCENT EDINBURGH EH12 5EL

09 September 2022

My Dear Sisters and Brothers
‘There was evening, there was morning...’ a new day.

May I offer my love and encouragement at this time of national loss. I suspect that in these days of mourning we shall discover that we are affected by the death of our Queen in unexpected and surprising ways. This will be true of the whole nation and, as the church of God, we must step up to offer welcome and opportunity for people to express their sorrow and find solace. I hope you received the email from the Province yesterday that offered prayers for our use and also other ideas that we might like to pick up on. At this point, we offer space and quiet reflection, not memorial services. (Please see the attachment)

I note the significance that the Queen died on the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, another woman of faith whose sense of duty and obedience enabled her to fulfil a great calling. We know that Queen Elizabeth was a devout believer with a profound sense of divine purpose and God’s sustaining presence. As we offer her into God’s gracious care, we have the opportunity to lead others to find the same assurance in God’s love that she enjoyed.

We must, of course, also pray for our new monarch, King Charles. His task is great, all the more so as he is dealing with his own grief at the death of his dear mother.

The United Kingdom is turbulent place just now, and I’m sure that the death of our Queen is likely to add to the mood of fear and despondency about the future. Let us, therefore, be ready to explain the reason for the hope that is in us and let us pray for wisdom, compassion and courage, so that we and all Christian people may offer that hope to others and show by our own actions the love of God.

With my love and my blessings

The Rt Revd Dr John Armes Bishop of Edinburgh

bishop@edinburgh.anglican.org 0131 538 7044 Charity Number: SC001214

“Possession is nine points of the law”. That old Common Law precept makes the point that, in law, your shirt or your blouse are yours unless someone else can come up with either a document or compelling evidence showing that it belongs to them. The saying came to my mind because possession is the theme of all three of today’s readings.

In our reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, God is telling the people of Israel that they will be blessed in the land that they are “entering to possess”, provided that they love God and obey God’s commandments. They are being told that the Promised Land is a gift, and that their enjoyment of that gift is conditional on their use of it.

In the Gospel, Jesus (as so often) issues a tough challenge to those who wish to be his disciples.

“So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”

In the English language, possession has a double meaning. A possession can be something that we own – the shirt or the blouse that I mentioned as examples just now – or possession can be about something that owns us. We might say “She was possessed by a strong desire for a holiday” or “He was possessed by anger at the insults he had received.” We know that double meaning reflects the way in which Jesus and his contemporaries thought. Remember the story of the rich young man who asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, was told that he should sell his possessions and give to the poor, and then went away grieving “because he owned much property.”  In a sense, it was the property which owned him, for it shaped his choices and prevented him from become a disciple.

“So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”

It’s a very difficult saying. The compilers of our lectionary understood this, and that is why they coupled this Gospel passage with today’s Epistle, which is a beautiful illustration of the way discipleship is supposed to work. Paul is writing to Philemon, a Christian who was rich enough to own household slaves. The letter concerns Onesimus, a slave who has broken the law by running away.

Paul is taking the risk of sending Onesimus back, so he is not directly challenging the institution of slavery. Instead he is appealing to Philemon to respond to Onesimus not with the punishment that Roman Law laid down for runaway slaves, which was to be branded on the forehead with the letters FUG (short for Fugitivus, or Fugitive) but with love. Paul knows that, at the heart of the Christian Gospel, is the understanding that only love can elicit and foster love, so he doesn’t order Philemon to forgive Onesimus:

“For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love…”

And Paul is urging Philemon to go beyond forgiveness, for he writes about the possibility of a transformation of the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus, a transformation in which the old relationship between master and slave, owner and possession, will be replaced by a new relationship of loving brotherhood in Christ. That transformation may lead to Onesimus being freed from slavery and allowed to return to Paul and work with him, but Paul only hints at that.

It’s a big ask, because discipleship is a big ask, and we do not know how Philemon responded. Paul’s radicalism is gentle, but it is none the less radical for that. He is asking Philemon to give up his authority as head of the household and his legal rights as the owner of Onesimus. This means moving away from one of the accepted ways of running society and embracing the good news of forgiveness and fellowship which Jesus lived out and proclaimed. Paul is asking of Philemon – and Jesus in today’s Gospel is asking of those who would be his disciples – nothing less than a wholesale change in the way that they think about possessions.

To live that way is to acknowledge the truth that we call our possessions are all gifts and, given our mortality, are only ours on a temporary basis. We have a legal title to them, just as Philemon had a legal title to Onesimus, but our Christian calling is to move beyond that narrow view towards a loving, sharing generosity. Let us keep whoever, tomorrow, is chosen to be our next Prime Minister in our prayers and let us pray that she or he will grasp this truth and act upon it.

“Do not sit down in the place of honour.”

About 25 years ago my Godfather, who is also a priest, got married. Neither he nor his bride were in the first flush of youth. In fact the bishop presiding at his marriage described John and Ann as ‘ripe fruits’ echoing the Prayer Book’s phrase ‘those of riper years’. Ann was a clergy widow with three children and John was single.

When William and I arrived at the church we sat near the back leaving the forward pews for family and other friends. John, however, was having none of it and he led us up to the front pew saying; “You’re my family”. It was a humbling and touching experience and a memory that I treasure. I also remember that even as it happened I could hear today’s Gospel reading in my head and I came to understand that reading more fully than I had done so previously.

I suspect that similar things may have happened to you. If it has, you will know what a privilege it is to be treated with such respect by your host.

In Jesus’ time and to be truthful well into the 20th century and even the 21st century, where one sits or is seated at a formal occasion can have great significance, as it can show your place in the social order. In the past those who were anyone sat above the salt and thus closer to the host. The hangers on, sat below the salt. Both sides always sat in ascending order, with the greatest at the top of the table and the meanest at the lowest point. So to be led up the table by the host was pretty significant and it could actually change your place in the social order and ultimately your lifestyle and your fortune. So for anyone who presumed to sit in a place of honour not given to them ran the risk of public humiliation and disgrace by being asked to move to a lower position. An act that could actually ruin their life.

What Jesus is telling us this morning, is that one should never seek recognition but that one

should wait be recognised for who one is and then to graciously and modestly accept the invitation of the host, who may choose to move you up the social scale. Being raised up is not a cause for pride or smugness - it should be quite the reverse.

Today’s readings tell us:

“Don’t believe your own legend. Don’t think too much of yourself or your position because others may not perceive you to be or deem you worthy of the respect that you think you deserve.”

I am not saying that we are not to have self- respect but that we should never be ‘big- headed’ about ourselves. We all know what we tend to think of those who are!

Why does God want us to be aware of this? The last verse of the piece from Hebrews, I think, gives us the answer:

“16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

Hebrews 13:16

God does not want us to think we are too important as it might stop us reaching out to others around us, who we perceive as being less important than we are. God wants to care for our sisters and brothers regardless of their station life or ours. God wants us to be aware of the needs of others and to help all in need, sharing what we have with those who have not. God encourages us to share our resources and not to hoard them for our own use alone - remember the rich man and the full barns, who died when he thought his future was secure.

Being called to share things might mean that sometimes we may need to go without something but it is more than likely that we did not need it anyway. God likes a sacrificial giver, because when we give sacrificially we really notice what we are doing and we will really want to give our gift to enable the receiver to benefit from it. When you give

sacrificially, how often do you discover that you unexpectedly get much more back in return?

God always seems to bless us when we are generous. For we have a sacrificial and generous God. A God who knows how to give as he did of himself in his Son. God’s sacrifice needs our continual thanks and praise for in his giving we gained our salvation. In the death and resurrection of Jesus, God raised all of us above the salt and in doing so shows us all how important we are to him.

Today, we hear the term 24/7 quite a bit, a few years ago you would have looked at me blankly if I had used it in the pulpit. 24/7 simply means 24 hours a day 7 days a week and it is often used to describe the 21^st century culture we now live in. No longer can the week be divided into the five day working week and the two day weekend off. Life today tends to be more of a continuum of work, leisure and sleep. For many there is not a specific weekend or day off and the concept of Sunday as the Sabbath Day of rest is long gone. As Dame Maggie Smith said as her dowager duchess character in Downton Abbey; ‘What is a weekend?’ And it is a good question!

We live in a society that never sleeps. Did you know that a few years ago Edinburgh had the greatest number of call centres and call operators in the UK, if not in Europe? These call centres operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Which means that should you wish to check your bank account or pay bills at 0300 on a Wednesday morning you can?

The life we live today in 2022 is strikingly different to the way in which we lived life during my childhood in the late 60’s and early 70’s, as it will be very different to the way life was lived when you were children. Yet, it does not depress me. In order to live and survive in today’s world one has to be realistic and accepting of the changes in one’s pattern of life. Bemoaning that; ‘Things are not what they used to be’ gets you nowhere. It does not mean, however, that like a lemming you have to follow the crowd; you can challenge the status quo and strike out on your own, establishing your way of doing things but don’t expect too many others to copy you. Challenging the status quo is, however, a good thing to do at times, as it can be life-changing and energising.

I have a great respect for all those who seek to challenge the accepted norms, especially where those norms do don’t benefit others. Think of those who champion the underdog, the poor, and the forgotten. Those who fight to change attitudes towards those who society tries to marginalise such as: asylum seekers, the disabled, those from the LGBTI+ community. Progress may be slow but I believe they will succeed because right is on their side. I have no respect, though, for those who try to dictate to us what we are to believe, say or do; for example extreme political or religious groups. I also have little sympathy for those who moan about the changes to Sunday - why?

It is not because I do not believe that Sundays are special I do but I also recognise that for the majority of the population Sundays are not special days off, they can be working days and busy days ferrying family to one event after another. For many people Sundays are certainly not a Sabbath or a day of rest. I am a realist, we are never going to have shops closed on Sundays again but as a Christian I believe that we should encourage everyone to keep a ‘Sabbath’. To find new ways of applying the old concept because if a day of rest was good enough for God then it is good enough for God’s creation too. How can we 21^st century believers redefine the ‘Sabbath’ concept for today’s society?

Firstly, we need to encourage everyone to have at least a day off during the week, to keep a Sabbath but not necessarily on a Sunday. This also challenges the church to look to itself and the days on which it offers worship, if Sunday is not the best day for some people when do we need to have our churches open and to invite people to join us?

My personal ’Sabbath’ tends to be a Friday, if not some other day depending on my diary. I always try to have a day off, (even if now the SEC encourages us to have two days off!). It is a chance to slow down and to rest. For me Sundays are a day of work and tend to be quite full – it might be the same for you.

Choosing when to keep ‘a Sabbath’ is not a new concept. The early Christians chose Sunday as a time to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, in contrast to their Jewish neighbours who kept the Sabbath on Saturday. Followers of Islam keep Friday as special. The common thing here is that a day is kept as sacred time, a day to rest and pray, to relax and to give thanks to God. It is, I think, less important what day is kept as the Sabbath than the fact that a Sabbath Day is kept.

In today’s Gospel reading the leader of the synagogue chastises Jesus for healing on the Sabbath:

There are six days in which work ought to be done, come on those days and be cured, and not on the Sabbath.”

Jesus responded in telling the official that he is wrong, for even the scriptures tell you that you may work on the Sabbath when you need to, where it states that you may lead your ass to water. What Jesus is actually saying is one should not be hidebound to the law, that it is not there to dictate to you but to help you organise your life and society around. He implies that the law has to be flexible to needs and the local environment or else the whole thing will collapse. If the ass did not drink on the Sabbath then it would die and allow no work to happen in the coming week. Jesus was always concerned with the welfare of others and was prepared to challenge the status quo, where it would be harmful. In seeing the crippled woman in pain, Jesus seeks to help her thereby putting the needs of God’s people above the letter of the law.

We are told to keep a Sabbath after six days of work but we are not told specifically which day to keep as the Sabbath. It depends on which day you start your six days of work. The theologian Jurgen Moltmann wrote about 40 years ago that it is vitally important to keep the Sabbath, a whole 24 hours in which things can slow down and God can be given some quality time. It is good advice and advice we all in today’s society need to hear and respond to.

Keep your Sabbath special would I think a better campaign that one trying to keep Sundays alone as special. As you will gather by now, I do not mourn the passing of the old Sundays. As a youngster I hated them and found them depressing. Just when I had some time and energy to do things, places were shut. As the Church we need to continually discern how we can best serve God’s people in this 24/7 culture. We need to recognise that for many Sunday is not their Sabbath and that 10 am on Sunday might not be the best time to go to church either.

We are being challenged by society to bring Christ into the world as it is today. It is a challenge we cannot afford to ignore, for if we do we are doing God, Christ and God’s people a disservice. Whatever day you keep as your Sabbath, enjoy it. Encourage your family, friends and neighbours to do the same and nag the church to do something about it too.