2008 Thoughts from Nick
June 2008 - WHODUNNIT?
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle came to wish he had never created the greatest detective in literature, thereby eclipsing his other works, which in his own opinion were of far greater calibre.
So he set about arranging the demise of Sherlock Holmes at the hands of his arch enemy Moriarty, a decision which led to thousands of disappointed readers cancelling their subscription to the Strand Magazine in which the story was published. When finally the author gave in to public opinion The Hound of the Baskervilles was set in a time before that fatal encounter at the Reichenbach Falls.
Like Conan Doyle’s dealings with Holmes, those between God and Mankind could be described as a ‘love-hate relationship’, yet whereas the writer was ambivalent towards the detective, divine love is the constant response to human hatred.
In a classic detective thriller we are deceived all along as to who is the most likely culprit. Only in the last pages does it become clear how we have been tricked.
By way of contrast, the opening pages of the first book in the Bible reveal the guilt of humankind. The continuing story is concerned with God’s work to put things right. The novel thing is that the author of the story of which we are a part appears in his own work, not to accuse, but to plead on behalf of the guilty, even to risk being mistaken for the wrongdoer and end up paying the penalty.
Conan Doyle will forever be identified with Sherlock Holmes.
Jesus identifies willingly with us, so that because of what God has done through him we can grow into his likeness and so become genuinely Christlike Christians.
May 2008 - A MERRY DANCE
Appropriately enough when I was appointed as a chaplain with London's homeless people the newly created post came without accommodation.
The situation was remedied when one in a row of former almshouses, acquired by the diocese for retired clergy, became vacant. My new neighbour had been a priest in the East End, his parishioner’s rough and ready dockworkers and the style of worship decidedly ‘High Church’.
The late Father Kenneth Loveless was a universally loved eccentric, loud and theatrical in the extreme; just the kind of character who broke down social barriers in that kind of community.
On one occasion, I met him as he returned home from a stroll dressed as Sherlock Holmes. I later learned that he had a wardrobe full of flamboyant costumes that he would don for a walk just for the fun of it - as if the attire of a clergyman was not colourful enough!
I also remember his accordion, in pride of place on his living room table; but again only many years later did I hear the story…
On board ship, during the Second World War, Kenneth Loveless had diverted the men’s attention from duty by forming some of them into a Morris dancing side, accompanied on his accordion. When the ship was torpedoed, he was rescued, clinging to his accordion, the only surviving dancer. During the long hours clinging to the wreckage he vowed that if he survived the war he would offer himself for ordination.
Imagine my surprise then on learning from the Broadwood Morris Men that my old colleague and acquaintance is something of a celebrity in Morris circles. He is part of a tradition that I am pleased and proud to say is alive and well here in Rusper. One could trace his like back to the Reverend John Broadwood in the first half of the 19th Century, but I would dare go back further and suggest that the church can claim to be the original folk movement, inspired by the Lord of the Dance.
This year May 1st and the traditional laying of the garland on Lucy Broadwood’s memorial coincides happily with the feast of Ascension Day. Come and help make it a special celebration.
April 2008 - EASTERTIDE
The Christian hope of resurrection is sometimes dismissed as wishful thinking and Christians themselves as those well meaning types who think ‘ wouldn’t it be nice if there was always a happy ever after ending?’
I remember years ago talking to someone who told me firmly that she did not believe in a life beyond this one. The more we discussed it the clearer it became that her objection, far from being rational or scientific was based largely on her fear that there were some particular people, now dead, whom she would have to meet again and didn’t want to. I had to agree that her understanding of the resurrection as a tremendous mystery with a terrifying aspect has a Biblical basis. Fear and joy, disbelief and faith blend in the resurrection stories, and the last in the Gospel according to Saint John tells of a reunion between Jesus and Peter, which is a painful one for that disciple who denied his master.
In just over two months some of us will be on pilgrimage in the Holy Land and one site in particular to visit will be the shores of the lake so familiar to us from the Gospels. Saint John carefully describes a scene with the lake in the background in parallel to another episode, like this one focussed on a charcoal fire when Peter faced a moment of truth, but the difference is striking too. Then it was in the dark moment of repeated denials, now in the dawn of a new day, which is a metaphor for the resurrection. Then the words were accusing, now they are gently if firmly teased out.
The past is unspoken between them. Jesus’ questions are about now and hereafter, not a cosy happy ending but a continuing journey of discovery together. Easter may be a feast but Eastertide, the continuing season allows us to reflect on its meaning and application.
In this life and the next there may be some awkward encounters but have we got where we are so far by spending all our time with people who are no more than just ‘nice’ or with those who are a bit more challenging?
March 2008 - EGGSACT TIMING
Easter is early this year, but why, people have been asking me more than in past years, does it not fall like Christmas, on the same day?
I personally agree that there would be more than simple convenience in having the greatest festival in the Christian year fixed on a certain date – the question is of course, which one?
Like the Jewish Passover, which for Christians anticipated it, the Resurrection is held to be an historical fact, but one which occurred at a time when methods of measuring time were different. A 4th Century council of all the Bishops in Christendom, including representatives from our own shores, decided to fix Easter on the first Sunday after the full moon, following the Spring equinox. Over time however, inexact astronomical observations led to different interpretations of when the feast should be kept. Three hundred years later it was our Celtic ancestors who were considered to have gone furthest adrift and at a church council in Whitby in 664 Bishop Wilfrid [the saint credited with converting Sussex to Christianity] laid down the law on this and another item on the agenda of the meeting, namely the style that should be adopted for monks’ haircuts.
Unfortunately, as far as the timing of Easter this was not the end of the matter, simply that Rome considered itself the sole authority in such matters. Accordingly it was the Pope who in the 16th Century revised the calendar and formula for calculating when Easter should fall. It is to be regretted that at the time the Eastern Orthodox Churches which then as now comprise a hugely significant part of the Christian world, were not consulted.
Movements towards church unity, which were making rapid advances from the early 20th Century have encountered some setbacks more recently. Revisiting the question of the date of Easter, rather than inflaming old controversies could prove an opportunity for the churches to be seen, in a lovely phrase coined by the Father Superior of the monastery at Crawley Down to be ‘bending towards one another in humility’
The power of the drama of Holy Week is that it is in your face but Easter dawns quietly, the Lord comes humbly, because Good News needs sometimes to be broken just as gently as bad.
It would be a wonderful symbol of unity if the leaders of the divided churches could agree on a date for Easter and it would only cost a little loss of pride. Meanwhile; well, what would happen if like the first Christians we kept every Sunday (even in Lent) with Easter gladness? There is one way to find out!
