The Journey Continues...

The time seems right to allow this particular blog to rest quietly by the wayside, as I move forward on a new phase of my life's journey. However, if you wish to continue with me on the journey, please do consider subscribing to my new blog:

Walking the Cloister: The Musings of Brother Mark

An Anglican-Benedictine-Contemplative monk in a secular world

https://walkingthecloister.blogspot.com/

I do hope to see you there!

Exchanging the Stethoscope for a Clerical Collar

Having left my medical practice in January 2016, and retired as Medical Director of NHS North Lincolnshire CCG in August 2018, I have meanwhile been training towards ordination in the Church of England.

Four years on, that training is now coming to close and the date for ordination as a deacon has been set.

Today, my Ember cards arrived - another mark on the timeline...

I shall, in due course, need a new title for this blog!

In Search of the Christian Voice

(First Published in 'Three Voices - One Message', the Parish Magazine of Barrow upon Humber, Goxhill and New Holland in North Lincolnshire, October 2018)

And so, we reach the month of October.

A month very much associated with the season of autumn, when the countryside takes on a mellow feel, as trees change into glorious hues of red, amber and yellow, before falling as a soft carpet beneath our feet. A month of reflection, as we look back on the events of a long summer; but also, a prophetic month: a month that warns us of the future, as it heralds the coming of winter.

As I write this foreword, I have just listened to a podcast from The Church Times. In the podcast an author, the Revd Nadim Nassar, was speaking about the background to his new book called ‘The Culture of God: The Syrian Jesus - reading the divine mind, sailing into the divine heart’. It promises to be an interesting book and I eagerly await the arrival of my copy. However, in the podcast, the author raised two questions in a most emphatic manner. In relation to the difficult issues besetting our world today, he asked, ‘where is the voice of the Church?’ and ‘where is our prophetic voice?’

The Revd Nassar’s challenge is a pertinent one for us all. As we look back to the many and various world events over the summer, where indeed was the voice of the Church? Was it there at the forefront of our political, social, military and humanitarian responses to these events, leading and challenging with a loud and clear message? Or was it muted or, worse, nowhere to be found?

And what of the months beyond October, as we move towards those times that bring increasing debt, food shortages, fuel poverty, and loneliness for many people, a time of winter pressures for the NHS, and a new year in which the UK will leave the European Union and try to stand alone in the world? Where indeed is the prophetic voice of our Church, as a strong guiding light amidst all this change and potential turmoil?

In the life of the Church, October sees us commemorate several important historic people, who might act as mentors, guides and role models, should we ever need more than the life and actions of Jesus himself! Amongst them, George Bell, Bishop of Chichester, who is recognised for speaking out against Nazi Germany and saving Jews fleeing the regime; St Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Society of St Francis (‘the Franciscans’); William Tyndale, who translated the Bible into English and was martyred for his trouble; the nun, Teresa of Avila, an author and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer; Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, whose important writings place him amongst the Apostolic Fathers; St Luke the Evangelist; that learned, wise and gracious man, Alfred the Great;  and not least of all, Martin Luther, who stood up to the theological irregularities of the Catholic church. All these spoke with a voice written through with their Christian faith, and they were not afraid to speak prophetically.   

So, as we move through this month of reflection, change and prediction, where do you feel the voice of the Church is today? Where is the Church’s prophetic voice?

Most importantly, where is your voice as a Christian?

May Musings

(First Published in 'Three Voices - One Message', the Parish Magazine of Barrow upon Humber, Goxhill and New Holland in North Lincolnshire, May 2018)

“At last came the golden month of the wild folk - honey-sweet May, when the birds come back, and the flowers come out, and the air is full of the sunrise scents and songs of the dawning year;” so

writes the early 19^th century author, Samuel Scoville Jr. in his classic novel, Wild Folk.

Your own idea of May might be something along similar lines. The month means many things to many people. For our pagan forebears, it was associated with the Greek goddess, Maia, a goddess of fertility. For many, it will simply be the delight of having two Bank Holiday Mondays to look forward to. For others, it will be the idea of a Royal Wedding that offers excitement.

Of course, within the Christian Church, we have many exciting things to anticipate. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is a month of celebrations in respect to the Virgin Mary, when she is crowned ‘Queen of May’. For Anglicans, May is a month that is dominated by the Spirit (naturally of the Holy kind). The first few weeks of May are the final weeks of Easter, with the 50^th day of Easter, the 7^th Sunday after Easter, falling on the 20^th May. This day is also known as Pentecost; the day we commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Disciples after the ascension of Jesus into Heaven.

One week later, we have Trinity Sunday (27^th May); the day we celebrate the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity – God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that also being the day when clergy traditionally compete for the unbridled joy of trying to give a concise, unambiguous and heretically-free explanation of the doctrine from the pulpit. I suspect that my time will come…

Then, after Trinity Sunday, we enter a long period of Ordinary Time; that period in the Church calendar when we do not celebrate any particular aspect of the mystery of Christ, but when we are left ample time to ponder that mystery in all its glory, and to deepen our faith through prayer, worship, study and meditation.

Whether it be the sense of Spring vitality, national holidays, a Royal wedding, the wonder of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Trinity, or the contemplative freedom of Ordinary Time that gives a lift to you, may your month of May at least be a Blessed one.

Sermon: Sunday 29th April 2018 - All Saints, Goxhill and Holy Trinity, Barrow on Humber

Texts: Acts 8.26-40

          John 15.1-8

----------------------------------------------------

Opening Prayer

May I speak in the name of God: The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Amen

‘Do you understand what you are reading?’

Those were the first, somewhat loaded words spoken by Philip to the Ethiopian when they met on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza.

‘Do you understand what you are reading?’

*

The words reminded me of another short but heavily loaded question thrown at one of my senior officers in the early years of my military career. My Field Ambulance was partaking in war-games somewhere in the wilds of North Yorkshire, and our vehicles had trundled into location overnight, in the midst of a heavy fog. The following morning saw the arrival of a very irate Brigadier, who summoned my Officer Commanding with the words:

 ‘Major McGarva – Do you know where you are?’

‘Yes, Sir,’ came the defiant reply. ‘I am here, Sir’.

Defiant they may have been, but in truth, we were lost. In fact, we were in front of the enemy lines– which is never a good place for a medical unit to be. We did not understand what the map was telling us; had no idea how we had arrived there, did not fully appreciate where we were, and had no idea as to how we were going to complete our mission. 

*

‘Do you understand what you are reading?’

Philip’s question to the Ethiopian also reminds me of another phrase that has captured the inquisitive nature of, quite possibly, millions of television viewers: ‘Who do you think you are?’ is the name of the programme, where celebrities are helped in the attempt to uncover the past history of their family.

It is human nature for us, at some stage of our lives, to ask questions of our past – where have we come from? Who were our ancestors? How did we get to the place we now find ourselves? They are the questions that websites such as Ancestry.com help us to answer, and in so doing, give us a greater understanding of our identity and our place in the world today – they help us to know who we are, and where we are, in the great timeline of life.

*

‘Do you understand what you are reading?’

Of course, the Ethiopian didn’t realise the enormity of what he was reading before Philip arrived on the scene. He didn’t realise that, by reading the portion from the book of Isaiah, from what we now call the Old Testament, he was reading something that predicted the arrival of God in the form of Jesus Christ, and of his subsequent crucifixion.

In effect, it was somewhat akin to reading an historic document within the family archive of Jesus’ ancestors, that spoke of a generation yet to come.

For that is what the Old Testament is to us, as Christians. It is our collective family history as Christians, our Biblical equivalent of Ancestry.com. It informs us of our past; it tells us who our collective ancestors were before the birth of Jesus Christ; it helps us to understand the enormity of who Jesus Christ was and is; it helps us to understand who we are as Christians, and how we arrived at this place today; and it helps us to understand our mission from here on…

For the Old Testament helps us to fully understand the New Testament, and the New Testament provides us with our tasks as Christians in the 21^st century. By reading both the Old Testament and the New Testament, we understand with greater clarity the answers to those questions as to Who are we? Where are we? What should we be doing? and Where are we going?

*

‘Do you understand what you are reading?’

Philip’s question to the Ethiopian is just as pertinent to us today, as we read the Gospel of St John.

Here, we are introduced to the concept of the vine and its branches. We are told that Jesus is the true vine, that God is the vine-grower, and that we are branches of that vine. The passage continues to speak of pruning and cleansing – of our cleansing - and of bearing fruit – and in truth, it may all seem a little puzzling at first glance.That is, unless we remember words from the Old Testament. It is another case of ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’

For the Old Testament tells us that Israel was first likened to a vine, and that the 12 tribes of Israel were its branches. However, that vine contained a lot of dead or diseased wood and proved not to be as fruitful as God desired it to be.

With the incarnation of God in the form of Jesus Christ, God the vine-grower was starting again. Jesus brought us a new covenant, a new promise -  doing away with the old promises made between God and Israel (the old vine). As part of that covenant, Jesus became the new vine – a strong and healthy vine, with the ability to grow and spread far and wide. Those who abided in Jesus – those who stood with Jesus – became the metaphorical branches - the healthy new branches - of the new vine that was, and is, Jesus.

And as any gardener might tell you, for a vine to grow luxuriantly, and to have strong new branches, it needs to be pruned - or cleansed - of its dead-wood. In John’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that we have already been cleansed.

But how would that be so?

Well, the story of the Ethiopian reminds us as to how we are cleansed. Once the Ethiopian had heard from Philip the Good News of the life of Jesus Christ, what did he do? He stopped his chariot by some water and asked Philip to baptize him.

Baptism is an act of cleansing. By our baptism, we are cleansed of our sin, and we are thus at one with the body of Jesus Christ; we abide in Jesus; we become a healthy branch of the new vine that is Jesus Christ. For the Greek word for cleaning and pruning is from the same origin, and when the Gospel of John refers to us as ‘pruned branches’, he is referring to our baptism.

*

But I say again, that question of Philip’s to the Ethiopian:

Do you understand what you are reading?’

For, having understood that the ‘old vine’ of Israel was failing so badly in God’s eyes, so that God became incarnate – became alive - in the form of  Jesus Christ, and that Jesus is the metaphorical, the symbolic, new vine – the ‘new Israel’ - replacing the old vine that was the Israel of the Old Testament -  and that we by our baptism have been cleansed – or, to continue with the metaphor, are the pruned branches of that new vine that is Jesus Christ – having understood all of that, we then have to understand what it means for us ‘to bear much fruit’.

For that is what John tells us that we are expected to do - ‘bear much fruit’ and ‘become his disciples’; become the disciples of Jesus Christ.

So, what exactly is this fruit we are expected to bear as we abide in, or stand with, Jesus?

It means that we are expected to act; to make his words and our beliefs meaningful in kind; not to simply pay lip-service to his commands, perhaps once a week in church on a Sunday. We are expected to fulfil God’s mission – to tell others of the hope and love that is the Good News of Jesus; to baptise new believers; to provide care and compassion to those who are ill; and to make new disciples – new followers, supporters, helpers - who will assist us in the work of God.

….that is where we are supposed to be going as we leave this building today – that is what we are supposed to be doing next – today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, for the rest of our lives – that is our mission – that is the mission set for us by Jesus – that is God’s mission.

And we know the vast importance of that task – that monumental task – the task set by virtue of our baptism – that act which made us cleansed and pruned, healthy branches of the vibrant vine that is Jesus Christ – by all of that, we know the vast importance of our task that will glorify God, and, in so doing, also bring into our own lives, and the lives of those around us, that which we need to be human – we know all of that, and we will receive all of that, once we truly understand who we are as Christians, where we have come from, where we are now, and how we fit into that huge map that is comprised of the Old and New Testaments, which in turn gives us our mission for today…

We know all of that with great clarity, once we can answer ‘yes’ - ‘yes, we do’ - to Philip’s question.

May God open our eyes and our ears, our minds and our hearts, so that we can truly understand what we are reading.

Amen.

Sermon: 7th January 2017, Church of St Mary Magdalene, Lincoln

Saturday 7^th January 2017

(Day prior to the 1^st Sunday of the Epiphany)

Church of St Mary Magdalene, Bailgate, Lincoln

Congregation: Staff & Students of the Lincoln School of Theology,

Text:

Matthew 3.13-end

----------------------------------------------------------------

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Amen.

A very good morning to you all – and may I say how wonderful it is to be invited to preach within this beautiful and historic church of St Mary Magdalene.

My chosen text this morning is the Gospel according to St Matthew 3.13-end, which I shall first read.

(read text)

In 2006, I was in the habit of subscribing to a writer’s periodical called Writing Magazine. On one occasion, it carried a competition with the task to write a synopsis of Mozart’s opera, The Magic Flute, in no more than 50 words. It was indeed a significant challenge, but one that I rose to, though, I must admit, not sufficiently well enough to win the prize.

Judging by today’s Gospel text, I sense that St Matthew would have fared much better than me in respect to the challenge from the Writing Magazine, and would definitely have been in the shortlist of finalists, if not declared the outright winner. For, within 5 verses of text – essentially 6 short sentences - he manages to pack a veritable panoply of richness that defiantly challenges the sermon writer constrained to a 15-minute oration.

In the Gospel you have just heard, we joined Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, at the River Jordan. So, before I move on, let us just imagine that scene for a moment...

From the preceding verses to today’s reading, we know that John is probably standing in the water. On the bank is a small crowd clamouring and jostling to be next in line for John’s baptism for the repentance of their sins. To those he baptises, John issues a warning as to the coming of the Messiah, declaring that the Messiah will ‘baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire’, and in the process, sort out the ‘wheat from the chaff’. In other words, there’ll be no messing about - the coming Messiah will sort the truly repentant from those who falsely repent.

Amidst this slightly chaotic scene appears Jesus, who has travelled a long way from Galilee with the specific intention of seeking John’s baptism. His arrival within the crowd of sinners is to John’s utter surprise and, at first, he tries to deter Jesus from partaking in the process of baptism because he perceives that he has no sin to repent. Jesus, however, insists and is thus baptised by John in the water of the River Jordan.

Then, as he surfaces from the water, there is this remarkable moment when the sky opens and the Spirit of God descends like a dove upon Jesus, accompanied by the voice of God, who declares that Jesus is his son, and that God is well pleased with him.

And that is it!

Within 6 short sentences, we have John baptising people in the Jordan, Jesus arriving and taking John by surprise, John baptising Jesus, following which the Heavens open, the Holy Spirit descends, and God speaks, declaring Jesus to be his son. The next verse in the gospel, unread today, simply flips the scene away to Jesus entering the wilderness to do battle with the devil…

Now, I don’t know how you feel, but this is blockbuster movie stuff. This is a good story… Just as one action-packed scene is over, and before we have a chance to draw breath and consider what we have just seen, we are off to the thrills and excitement of the next enthralling encounter...

But let us not go on for a moment. Instead, let us press the pause button, rewind and replay what we have just witnessed in almost a blink of an eye.

For, within this passage of just six sentences, are contained many of the raw constituent values of Christianity, including meekness, repentance, the sacrament of baptism, salvation, peace, and love, – to say nothing of leadership, preaching the gospel, the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, and the existence of the triune God.

To illustrate this, let us start with John the Baptist.

John is quite famous. He is well known as a preacher and has established a name for himself as something of a prophet. Many people - rich and poor - those with status and those without - all flock to him to hear what he has to say. He preaches the importance of repentance - of seeking God’s forgiveness, and starting life anew. This he demonstrates through the process of baptism – the use of water as a symbol of cleanliness and purification. And there is no doubt that he is good at it. Indeed, he is very good at it – and the scriptures show that he is most certainly a charismatic leader.

But despite all this fame and popularity, he is also humble. As we are told earlier in Matthew’s gospel, John dresses and lives frugally; but he is also very quick to diminish his own importance: ‘one who is more powerful than I is coming after me, I am not worthy to carry his sandals’, he says in Matthew 3.11. Despite being successful and famous, he has a firm grasp of his ego, his sense of self-esteem or self-importance, and is quick to recognise others who have greater value than himself.

So, there we have leadership, preaching, repentance, baptism and humbleness.

And then there is Jesus…

At this stage, Jesus, like many of us here today, is right at the start of his ministry, and if we set aside the magnificence of the nativity, he is yet to become well-known amongst the wider communities of Galilee and Samaria, let alone in Judea where he has arrived to meet John. That said, he is aware that he has a mission to fulfil on behalf of God: ‘Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness’, he says to John in respect to his request for baptism by John. But he makes this request not as someone who considers himself to be important, but by humbly taking his place amongst the throng of sinners on the bank of the Jordan. In this respect, he certainly takes John by surprise, for even if John does not know at that moment that Jesus is the Messiah John has been prophesying, he certainly recognises him as someone who is without sin, and makes his case for the baptism to be the other way around: ‘I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?’ he equally meekly exclaims.

Can you imagine what this moment must have felt like to John? 

It was probably something akin to how I once felt as a GP when a consultant cardiologist appeared in my consulting room as a patient and asked me to treat his symptoms, which were quite clearly those of heart disease; and it is most certainly akin to preaching from a pulpit to a congregation of scholars from a local school of theology, and finding that amongst them is that eminent preacher, the Reverend Alex Whitehead!

… you can genuinely sense the palpable astonishment and even embarrassment of John when he realises who is next in the queue….  He knows Jesus as a good man, better than himself, and seriously thinks their roles are the wrong way around. He expresses this, telling Jesus ‘no, no, this is all wrong - I need to be baptised by you…’

Indeed, the scene is almost one of comedy in respect to who can be the humblest – ‘after you’ – ‘no, after you’ – ‘no, I really must insist, after you’…

But Jesus is making two important points here, apart from showing support for John’s ministry. First, he is showing solidarity with those who are known to be sinners; choosing to stand shoulder to shoulder with those whose lives have been blighted by misdemeanours of all sorts, and not electing for some form of preferential treatment. Secondly, by confessing sin on behalf of all people (just as Isaiah, Ezra and Nehemiah had done before him), he was commencing his ministry of teaching that salvation is available for all people, and that, after repentance, baptism is of central importance to attaining God’s salvation.

Meekness, repentance, baptism and salvation - they are all there, right at the start of Jesus’ ministry, such is their importance.  

And then we come to that remarkable moment that occurs as Jesus is coming out of the water.

Now, I want you to use your imagination again for a moment. I want you to bring to mind the last time you dived or jumped into an open air swimming pool – your hearing becomes muffled by the water; your vision is likewise affected – you see just blurry distorted images; and just as you cannot hold your breath any longer, you burst through the surface into the open air – the water runs off your face, the sunlight is dazzling in a vivid blue sky, and you take great lungful’s of air – you feel so alive, so joyful, so invigorated – you see so clearly the great splendour of the sky above you; a scene so vividly clear that the sky appears never ending, and you might even see a dove flying above you, and you rejoice at the splendour of it all…

And then imagine if, at that moment of exhilaration, you hear the voice of God saying ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased’.

Words which echo the prophetic Old Testament reading for today, Isaiah 42.1: ‘Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights’; words that will not be heard again until the transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17.5.

‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’

In Biblical terms, this is a truly amazing moment. Not only is it the first occasion on which God publicly affirms Jesus as his son, but it is the first time when the triune God is present – God the father is speaking, God the son has just been baptised, and God the Holy Spirit has just descended like a dove – not as fire, or storm, or lightning, or a fierce wind – like a dove.

And there, contrary to the powerful and fearsome God portrayed in Psalm 29, we have God demonstrating his true nature as a peaceful, loving and tender God – showing absolute benevolence to his son as any parent might when the child’s action pleases the parent.

God is demonstrating love…

***

So, there we have it. In a passage of just six sentences, the raw constituent values of Christianity – a demonstration of strong leadership, inspirational preaching, meekness, support to sinners, repentance, the sacrament of baptism, salvation, peace, the existence of the triune God, and a demonstration that God is love. (Indeed, the only significant bit that is really missing is the detail of the crucifixion and resurrection, as covered in today’s other New Testament reading from Acts 10.34-43).

And thus, regardless as to whether we are here now as ordained Priests, or potential Readers, Deacons or Priests of the future, we should remember that it is those same factors which are the core elements that we are required to possess and profess; the same elements that should form the basis of our ministry as Christians and the good news that we, as members of God’s Church proclaim to others.

And so, we pray that, as we leave here today, we might remember those six simple but powerful sentences of St Matthew’s gospel, and all that is contained therein; and we also pray that, by doing so - as we try to walk in the path of Jesus Christ - we might have our own eyes and ears opened to the glory of heaven, and the power of the Holy Spirit…

… and that one day we might give such good cause that, just like Jesus standing in the river Jordan, we will also hear God’s voice identify each one of us as someone…

with whom he is well pleased. 

Amen.

New Website

My website has now been updated and refreshed and can be found at:

RobertJaggsFowler.Com

Where is God in This?

Encounter

As riot police moved in to stop migrants from entering the Channel Tunnel at Calais, a young Eritrean man said “God has seen me through the Sahara; he will not abandon me now”.

Where is God in this?

Clearly, the Eritrean understood God to have accompanied him thus far, and his faith was well supported in Scripture, for Psalm 107:4-8 says:

Some wondered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;

Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love.

However, the activity of the riot police may have indicated that the man’s faith at this last stage was misplaced; and I was certainly left wondering what the Christian response should be in England when we pray to the same God who saw that man safely through the desert.

Nonetheless, within one week, in the UK:

 - ½ million people signed a petition requiring the UK government to ‘Accept more asylum seekers and increase support for refugee migrants in the UK’ (when only 100,000 needed for a parliamentary debate); and c.f. only 71,000 signed a petition against more activity.

- the Government expanded the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme from 1,000 people per year to 20,000 within this parliament.

- the Government pledged a further £100 million to the £900million in humanitarian aid

- the British public donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to charities aiding the migrants

- The Scottish government pledged £1m.

- hundreds of people gathered at a ‘refugees welcome’ demonstration in Oxford.

- the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke out quoting Leviticus 19:34, saying we must…

Break down barriers, to welcome the stranger and love them as ourselves.

All of which suggested to me that the Holy Spirit was certainly at work and was indeed providing a Christian response to the crisis.

Hence, the answer to the question as to where is God in this? Is that I would suggest God is at work through us in providing aid to that man and his country-folk, in keeping with St Paul’s letter to the Philippians, where in chapter 2:13, he writes…

            For it is God who is at work in you…

Lamplight in the Shadows - new novel

My new novel is available for pre-ordering now. 

Click here and quote 'ARMSTRONG' for your personal discount.  

Lamplight in the Shadows

"How had it happened? How had his entire world been turned upside down; his every sense of right and wrong, of morals and religious duty, been so deftly swept aside to leave his mind in a tumult of emotions?"
Set in the early 1990s, Dr James Armstrong, a young, newly-qualified GP lives with his wife, Janice, in Barminster, where he is busy laying out plans for their future. However, his search for a medical partnership is complicated by a long-term and persistent sense of being called to ordination in the Church of England. 

Whilst exploring the possibility of a dual professional life as a doctor and priest, he accepts a position as a locum GP in a practice in the quiet market town of Bishopsworth. Once there, his world is thrown into chaos when he finds himself powerfully drawn to a beautiful young woman, whose own marriage is failing. The result is an emotional drama that brings into focus the underlying difficulties of his own bleak relationship. 

Torn between his loyalty to his wedding vows and the unexpected discovery of true love, James is left battling powerful emotions that make him question all that he has previously stood for. He needs to make some difficult decisions; decisions that will mean winners and losers. But what is he prepared to sacrifice and at what price? 

Lamplight in the Shadows explores the complex tensions between perceived duty and misplaced loyalties. With characters drawn from rural society and religious settings, the story will appeal to those who enjoy romantic fiction.


Published: 28/02/2015
ISBN: 9781784621582
eISBN: 9781784628208
Format: Paperback/eBook

St Luke

The following is the text of my eulogy delivered at a Eucharist at the Parish Church of St Mary, Barton on Humber, on the Feast Day of St Luke, the 18^th October 2014.

Today is the Feast Day of St Luke, and I consider it an honour and a privilege to have been asked to say a few words about the life and work of the man whose memory we now celebrate and for whose life we herewith give thanks.

That said, to some extent, Luke is, in historical terms, an enigma. We know relatively little about him as a person, and what we do know is gleaned from the writings of third parties or teased from the writings purported to be by Luke himself.

It is widely believed that he was born of Greek parents in the city of Antioch, Syria c.1 AD; Syria then being part of the Roman Empire.

·        It is understood that Luke was a physician, as evidenced by the writing of St Paul and, as such, can probably take the title of the first Christian doctor.

·        We know that he was most certainly a disciple of St Paul; accompanying him for large parts of his journeys and was with St Paul near to the time of Paul’s death in Rome.

·        And we understand from early church historians that Luke was unmarried, without children, and died at the age of 84yrs, c. 84 AD; possibly as a martyr.

But Luke was much more than that potted bibliography. Once again, it is early historians who give us the sense that he had an ‘exceptional degree of holiness’, and was revered as a saint within the first few centuries AD. What is more, whilst the original texts were written anonymously, there is considerable evidence to indicate that the third and longest of the major Gospels of the Bible was written by St Luke, and that he was also the author of the Acts of the Apostles. His desire for anonymity is therefore a remarkable indication of his modesty, bearing in mind that together, St Luke’s Gospel (telling us of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ) and the Acts of the Apostles (giving us the early history of the Christian Church) compose almost 25% of the New Testament. It is because of these writings that Luke is known as one of the four Evangelists, whose work ‘proclaimed the good news – the gospel of Jesus’; and it is from St Luke’s Gospel, and only from his Gospel, that we receive some of our most loved stories, such as The Good Samaritan and The Prodigal Son.

And it doesn’t end there, for Luke was also:

·         An artist – who, it is claimed, painted some 600 icons as well as paintings of Mary with Jesus as a baby.

·         And he was a poet – for his work has led directly to such beautiful works as the Nunc dimittis.

So, what relevance does the life of St Luke have for us over two thousand years later? What message does he give to us that is as important in the 21^st century as it was in earliest years of the Christian church?

Obviously, he tells us of the life of Christ and indeed about St Paul. However, there is much about the life and character of Luke himself that can still teach us a great deal in today’s world.

First, through the style of his writing, we know that Luke, as an educated man, did not look down on artisans, for his writing reminds us that those involved in manual work are equally worthy of our respect; prompting us to be mindful that all men and women are equal.

Secondly, St Luke, the evangelist, physician, writer, theologian, poet, artist, and historian – St Luke the polymath - should remind us that we all have multiple gifts bestowed upon us by God, and that, by using Luke as our exemplar, we should make use of all our individual gifts to further God’s work in the service of human kind and to assist in the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thirdly, he reminds us that to be whole persons, we must take care to heal both the body and the soul, and that such healing cannot come about through science and medicine alone, but in combination with the many arts, and not least of all, theology. One of his most famous lines is from Luke 19:10, where he writes ‘For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost’.  From his life’s work, I suggest that the phrase could equally be applied to St. Luke himself, whom St Paul may well have called an Anam Cara, or Soul Friend; a doctor of the soul who, if he were alive today, would probably be known as a spiritual director.

St Luke is symbolised by a winged ox or bull – figures of strength, sacrifice and service - and in recognition that St Luke sacrificed himself and his life in following Christ. Today we give thanks for his life and work; a life that should remind us that all Christians, even in the 21^st Century, are called upon to do likewise, living and working our lives in the name of Christ; and for which, the emulation of St Luke is a good starting point. For, although we are not all called to be physicians, we can all be healers in a troubled world.

Amen.

A Poem for the 100th Anniversary of the Outbreak of World War One

The Remembrance Day Parade

As he walked up to the rostrum,
silence round him fell;
and whilst he gazed upon the steadfast ranks,
emotive lines began to tell.

Too many lives were lost before today:
young men and women – yesterday's youth.
They were the cheques we drew to pay
for the blinded search for fallacious truth.

You are the inspired; the fortunate few
who have lived through to this day;
the ones who now must tell the world
to find a better way.

It is the charge of those who live
beyond vanquished dreams of many men,
to find the strength to forgive;
to learn and love as best you can.

And in so doing, let us ensure
a sense of remembrance, not of rage -
may this quietude beyond the war
turn pugnacious soldier to reflective sage.

Thus, he stood upon the rostrum as
the silence round him fell,
and gazed upon the steadfast ranks
of those returned from hell.

© Copyright Dr Robert M Jaggs-Fowler 2008

Thought for the Day

'I think I am in my last days but it doesn't really matter because I have had such a beautiful life.

And life is beautiful, love is beautiful, nature and music are beautiful. Everything we experience is a gift, a present we should cherish and pass on to those we love.'

Alice Herz-Sommer (2014)

(Concert pianist and oldest Holocaust survivor, who died aged 110 years).

Thought for the Day

"You do not need to do anything; you do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You do not even need to listen; just wait. You do not even need to wait; just become still, quiet and solitary and the world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet." -- Franz Kafka

Speaking of Honest Matters

An early seventeenth century proverb informs us that, for practical as well as moral reasons, honesty is the best policy. Oliver Cromwell, when writing to the High Sheriff of Suffolk, Sir William Spring, in 1643, remarked that ‘a few honest men are better than numbers’. In 1814, Jane Austen recognised the difficulties of positions of power when she was writing her novel, Mansfield Park, remarking that ‘we do not look in great cities for our best morality’. Yet only with the pursuit of honesty in public life as well as in private, can one hope to achieve the safe haven spoken of by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius when he said ‘nowhere can a man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul’. Today, the Oxford English Dictionary informs us that ‘honesty’ is being ‘free of deceit; truthful and sincere; simple and unpretentious; genuine and straightforward’.

Why is it then, with over two thousand years wherein leaders in a variety of fields have recognised that being honest is an imperative of life, do we find ourselves confronted by newspaper headlines informing us that honesty appears to be the last moral value adhered to within the NHS? In the past few weeks we have seen a number of these, not least those proclaiming ‘Rotten NHS culture led to cover-ups’, followed by discussions of ‘institutional secrecy’, ‘NHS scandals’ and regulators ‘suppressing evidence of failures’. The Secretary of State for Health, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, was even moved to make a speech in which he demanded a ‘new culture of openness, transparency and accountability’, whilst also recognising that ‘the best motivated people do make mistakes’.

That latter comment is important, for the pursuit of honesty is not the same, and should never be the same, as the pursuit of litigation for negligence. In an honest workplace, with every person sincerely striving for the common good, negligence should be a rare beast that raises its head. Honesty underpins the act of doing the right thing at the right time and then being clear about what it was that was done; even if, with the value of  hindsight, matters could have been done in a better way.

In the same speech as that mentioned above, Jeremy Hunt went on to state that the success of a new culture of openness and transparency ‘will depend on the right incentives and consequences’, citing the need for greater powers for the regulatory bodies such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC). However, regulation and regulators are not the answer; they have never been the answer. Regulators are merely ‘the dust-carts that follow the Lord Mayor's Show of life’ as the NHS commentator Roy Lilley recently put it. They tell us what went wrong in the past; they do not give us reassurance that all is well in the present.

No; it is not more regulation that we need. What we need is for those working in the NHS (and politics, and any other facet of public life) to be honest. For only on the solid bedrock of honesty, do we have the capability of building the necessary facets of a valued and enduring society.

First published in the Scunthorpe Telegraph, 4 July 2013

© Copyright Robert M Jaggs-Fowler 2013

Fancy Doing Something for Nothing?

The American Psychological Association’s Psychology and Ageing Journal may not be the preferred bedtime reading for many people in North Lincolnshire. However, this month it contains an article that we all ought to be aware of. According to researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University (I know, but we won’t let the name distract us), the process of volunteering is helpful in bringing about a reduction in blood pressure.  Now, when was the last time you volunteered to do something for nothing? The employed might retort that they work for nothing for the first five months of the year (Tax Freedom Day being somewhere around the middle of May in the UK), but I am assuming that doesn’t count, otherwise we wouldn’t have such a high demand for blood pressure pills in this country.

High blood pressure is a major risk factor in heart disease, strokes and kidney disease, so it is worth taking seriously. The American research suggests that positive lifestyle factors such as volunteering can have a major impact on blood pressure through the chemical processes that bring about the ‘feel good factor’. To benefit, a person has to perform voluntary work for at least 200 hours per year.

Of course, one’s blood pressure isn’t the only thing to benefit from volunteering. Volunteering also helps to build a caring society, reduces social exclusion, makes an economic impact (adding £4.8 billion to the UK’s finances), opens up social networks, brings interesting and exciting new experiences, improves personal skills, enhances personal development, and improves employment and career prospects. From a medical perspective, stress levels are also often reduced, which may be part of the way in which volunteering reduces blood pressure. So, all in all, it is a good thing to do.

Meanwhile, in other areas of this week’s medical press, we learn that the Department of Health has decided that there is no evidence to support the concept that GPs are not capable of working in General Practice until their 68^th birthday. Ironically, the same report acknowledges that the same GPs may not be motivated to work that long. Motivation is a multifaceted beast, but it has a lot to do with job satisfaction, manageable workloads, and not feeling exhausted before getting to lunchtime (in itself a vague concept these days). Even more ironically, on the same day the above report was published, other reports highlighted (as though it wasn’t already clear) that General Practice is at breaking point and cannot be looked to in order to solve the country’s A&E crisis.

Nonetheless, that didn’t stop NHS England suggesting that GPs should provide 24/7 ‘decision support’ (whatever that means) to tackle the out of hours problems. Neither did a national lack of GPs stop the Care Quality Commission announcing that it would close GP practices that didn’t stay open long enough to satisfy patient demand. I may be losing the plot here, but will someone please explain to me how that solves the problem? Even as I write, I can feel my blood pressure rising. Perhaps a quick spot of voluntary work will help? Now, I wonder whether emptying the dishwasher and putting the rubbish out, before Mrs J-F tells me to do it, will count towards my 200 hours per year target?

First published in the Scunthorpe Telegraph, 27 June 2013

© Copyright Robert M Jaggs-Fowler 2013 

What do you want?

I recently had a go a cutting my throat. Needless to say, it wasn’t a clean sweep, otherwise I would not now be writing this column. Either that or I would be making a small post-mortem fortune in describing the true goings on from the ‘other side’. My wife immediately suspected that I had been listening to Mahler’s 5^th Symphony; for me, a wonderful work with an unfathomable depth of emotion to it. For my wife, it represents a morose person about to commit suicide. It is interesting how music affects people in different ways. However, the truth is that I was not listening to Mahler.

Neither was I contemplating whether to interview the young doctor who put in his curriculum vitae that his hobby was listening to ‘vintage rock’. It was the word ‘vintage’ that stopped me in my tracks (sorry; for those who still have LPs stored in the loft, I couldn’t resist that pun); as he then went on to explain that the term ‘vintage’ meant music from the 60s. As I was born in 1960, it was a new experience to be considered by implication as ‘vintage’.

No, the truth of the matter was that my razor head fell apart; giving the blade a new found freedom that heretofore it had only dreamt of. The result was a one inch gash a little too close to my left carotid artery for comfort. Fortunately, I survived the auto-mutilation and can now devote some time to contemplating how I wish to continue keeping well and live an independent life in North Lincolnshire. Which is all a very long-winded way of bringing me to the point of this week’s subject.

North Lincolnshire’s Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is, since April 2013, the organisation responsible for buying health services. The CCG is now keen to know your views; views that will help to inform how services are developed within our county. The question being asked is ‘what needs to happen so that you and yours feel confident about keeping well and living an independent life to the full?’ The CCG is keen for people of all ages to contribute to this learning process. What would make a difference for you and your family? How do we need to develop health and social services to help and support your aims and needs?

There are two ways in which you can become involved with this important survey. The first is to simply go on-line and complete a survey here, giving us the opportunity to see how you see life. The second is to attend a public meeting on Thursday 27 June 2013 between 9.30 – 14.30 at the Wortley House Hotel, Rowland Road, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire DN16 1SU. The organisers say that the event will be ‘fun, inspiring and you will learn a lot’.

Finally, if you want to learn more about public health inequalities and what people die of in your area, enter your postcode into the Longer Lives website and see how we compare to other areas: http://longerlives.phe.org.uk/. Fortunately, self-beheadings do not seem to feature for my street, so I may be okay for a while longer.

First published in the Scunthorpe Telegraph, 20 June 2013

© Copyright Robert M Jaggs-Fowler 2013