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Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me (John 14:1)

Who could have imagined the outpouring of public grief this past week? It has at times been overwhelming. We have all, in different ways, been caught up in the drama and emotion of this momentous event – the loss of a beloved Queen.  In our conversations, on social media and in the newspapers, we cannot avoid it. We have seen the private grief of our royal family being lived out so publicly with such dignity and respect.

Let me share briefly three unexpected encounters this past week. You will have your own.

The first was at a bus stop. A young boy on his own suddenly turned and started talking to me. He told me that the Queen had died. He was sad. More so he was hoping that she would have lived to being 100 years old as he would have got the day off school. There was something rather touching about that.

The second was at the allotment. A longstanding friend told me she had watched the dignified Service of Thanksgiving last Friday evening from St Paul’s Cathedral. What had moved her most was the singing of the Nunc Dimittis at the end. At that moment she was transported back to her own mother’s funeral and all the memories which flooded in.

The third was at St Giles’ Cathedral. I had queued for around 4.45 hours and entered the building around 1.10am on Tuesday morning.  I was unsure what to expect or how I would feel. You can ask me later. What I did notice was that some people stood still, some bowed, some curtsied. Others saluted; prayed and perhaps most moving of all  -  blew a kiss. These were all very personal and heartfelt reactions at this most historic occasion.   

What I also noticed was the presence of Queen’s Chaplains in their distinctive red cassocks who kept constant vigil throughout. When I there we all stopped. They got up and started reading from St John’s gospel beginning with the words “Let not your hearts be troubled”. This same reading was read later during the service at Westminster Hall to begin the formal lying-in state and also here today.

In her latter years the Queen often spoke directly and more personally about her Christian faith. This included: -

“I know just how much I rely on my own faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning, I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God” (2002)

“Billions of people now follow Christ’s teaching and find in him the guiding light in their lives. I am one of them because Christ’s example helps me see the value of doing small things with great love, whoever does them and whatever they themselves believe” (2016).

Let us give thanks for a long life, well lived; for all that she meant to us and for the hope of glory that awaits us all.

O God, the maker and redeemer of all mankind, grant us, with thy servant Queen Elizabeth and all the faithful departed, the sure benefits of thy Son’s saving passion and glorious resurrection; that in the last day, when all things are gathered up in Christ, we may with them enjoy the fullness of thy promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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.