Give me oil in my lamp

Matthew 25:1-13

I heard someone recently compare Christianity to a Cornish pasty...  there’s definitely something in it, but sometimes it’s difficult to find out what it is – and sometimes you bite down on a hard bit of gristle.  This is kind of like our parable this morning with the virgins and the lamps and the oil (or lack thereof).  There’s definitely something to it, but there are some hard bits, too.

So let’s dig in.  A good place to start is with the context of our passage - where does it fall in the gospel of Matthew.  Going back to chapter 24, Jesus begins by talking about the destruction of the Temple, but the conversation swiftly moves on to some pretty heavy stuff about the End Times.  Matthew’s target audience was mostly Jewish, and he wrote his gospel sometime around the year 90.  By that time, the Temple had indeed been destroyed; the church was growing, including Gentiles; and persecution was common.  The church believed the Second Coming of Christ was imminent – and that it would be sudden and unexpected, like a flood or a thief in the night.  In chapters 24 & 25, Jesus uses parables to warn about the need to be ready – to be prepared for ‘the moment’; a crisis would come sooner or later, so make preparations now, and keep them in good shape in the meantime, or you’ll be sorry. 

These are ‘hard’ teachings – I like to think of them as the gristle in the gospel - those difficult teachings of Jesus that don’t seem to fit in with the ‘soft Jesus’ that perhaps many of us prefer.  We’d just rather there was no ‘judgment’ side to God.  But here’s a question:  if there were no judgment, would we still take God seriously? 

So what do we see in our parable.  The setting is at the ‘end time’, and the main characters are 10 virgins (in some bible translations they’re called ‘bridesmaids’).  At the outset, all 10 of these young women are alike:  all pure, all innocent …and all apparently sleepy!  But we’re told there is a difference between them:  five of them are foolish and the other five are wise.  That tells us this story has its roots in the Jewish tradition of contrasting wisdom with folly (there’s a lot of that in Proverbs, in Ecclesiastes, in other parables from Jesus and in some of Paul’s letters, too).  So, five of the virgins bring their lamps but neglect to bring any oil.  The other five do bring oil along with their lamps.  It’s fairly obvious that wisdom in this case means being ready with enough oil for the lamp, and folly means not thinking about it until it’s too late.  The bridegroom eventually comes, but the only ones who could go with him into the wedding banquet were the ones who were ready.

But hang on a minute - if Jesus is about sharing, wouldn’t it have been nicer for the five ladies who had oil to share it with the others?  

The five who had oil wouldn’t share because they were worried there wouldn’t ‘be enough’ for them all if they did share.  …Sounds a little like our current examples of corporate greed, doesn’t it!  But here’s the thing:  this parable’s not about sharing, because the ‘oil’ in this parable isn’t something that can be shared. 

I want to talk about the meaning of the oil, but first let’s think for a moment about our faith.  Although we share the road with others, our faith journey, in the end, is full of individual choices and decisions along the way:  we’re free to love God, or not; we’re free to love our neighbour as ourself, or not.  And no one can make anyone else pray.  These things are individual choices and practices – they’re attitudes stemming from a personal love for, and relationship with, God.  We can’t buy it, and we can’t share it with others.

So back to our parable, and to the oil.  Now, some people think the oil doesn’t symbolize anything in particular, and that all we need take from this parable is that we must be prepared at all times for the Second Coming.  And that may be true.  But I think it’s helpful to try and imagine what the oil (or a lack of it) might mean.  Because whatever it is, in this parable it’s essential, and at the crucial moment, it can’t be shared out …and money can’t buy it.

Some people might be inclined to think of the oil as good deeds:  have I done enough good to be accepted into the wedding banquet in God’s kingdom?  Others might think that the oil is related to the amount of faith we have – have we got enough faith to get us in to the banquet?  Could we give away some of our faith to others if they needed it?  I’m sure we would if we could.

How about Spirit?  The New Testament has a lot to say about being ‘filled’ with the Spirit – perhaps the oil could be a metaphor for being filled with the Spirit.  I’m reading a book at the moment called The Wisdom Jesus in which the author picks up on a spiritual meaning for the oil in this parable; that these hard teachings of Jesus are not about outward actions, but about inner transformation. She says “the reason the five virgins who have oil can’t give it to the five who don’t is that the oil symbolizes something that has to be individually created in you through your own conscious striving.  Nobody can give it to you; nobody can take it away from you”.  “The oil stands for the quality of your transformed consciousness” – it’s not a feeling, it’s a spiritual substance, impossible to gain by donation from somebody else.

Now, I realize that some people aren’t comfortable dwelling on the spiritual dimension of our faith; while others seem to prefer to focus solely on the spiritual, to the exclusion of the practical! – But we shouldn’t be quick to separate the two.  Our practical actions, when we perform them as a response to the love of God that we’ve recognized in Christ through his Spirit, will always be accompanied by a certain substance – I like to think of it as an attitude; if our actions as Christians aren’t based on a spiritual attitude, then we probably need to check our motives. 

Metaphorically speaking, when we’re at the door of the wedding banquet, Jesus will recognize us by our oil – our spiritual attitude; this is the oil for the lamp that gives out light, and it comes from a personal relationship with Jesus.  That’s what it means to ‘know’ the Lord.  That’s what brings peace and assurance.  It’s easy enough to fill our life with ‘good deeds’.  But let’s remember ‘the gristle in the gospel’ - there’s more to being Christian than just being quite nice – we have to work at our spiritual connection with our Lord and Saviour.  So next time you eat a Cornish Pasty and you bite down on a bit of gristle, may you remember the gristle of the Gospel, and this little parable about the need for oil to put in your lamp.  Being a Christian is not just about doing good deeds; it’s about being attentive to our spiritual relationship with God.  It’s an attitude.  Amen.

One week

On Sunday we had our annual Lifeboat service, which I led, and the vicar preached (an excellent sermon).  You can read about our local Lifeboat station and see some photo's of the service here (click here).  I really enjoyed talking to the Lifeboat crewmembers after the service over coffee, because all those I spoke with were amazing guys - so humble and down-to-earth and yet what they do is so giving and sacrificial and really a gift to the community. 

On Monday I had the pleasure of meeting for lunch and discussion with many other women clergy from our archdeaconry, our Dean of Women in Ministry, our Archdeacon and our Suffragan Bishop.  I really enjoyed meeting with other women clergy, especially those I had not yet met.  I love hearing other people's stories of ministry challenges.  In our group discussion we mainly talked about the Church of England's draft legislation on women bishops, particularly the debates that have been happening in local deaneries.  Later on Monday I hosted a ministry team meeting at my house, which I always enjoy because we do talk about things that really matter in the parish, i.e. mission and ministry. 

On Tuesday I conducted a funeral for a baby that lived for just under an hour after being born at 23 weeks gestation.  I had seen the baby's photograph and handprints and footprints, which were just precious.  The mother and father, of course, were devastated.  It was very intense conducting this funeral, compared with how it feels to conduct the funeral of someone in their 90's.  Tuesday evening I attended the Sea Cadets unit where I am chaplain (or Padre).  After colours and prayers I sat in on the Meteorology class, all about clouds and their names and characteristics.  I enjoy getting to know the cadets and having a laugh with them, and the staff are great. 

On Wednesday morning I worked on my two sermons for Sunday.  In the afternoon I got a phonecall from my training incumbent asking if I would go see a parishioner in hospital who, he had been informed, was dying.  This woman was 93 years old and I had visited her at home several times.  At hospital I found her unconscious and breathing was shallow.  The nurse said that she had been alright the night before, but took a turn in the night for the worse.  The woman's two closest friends were there, as she has no family.  I held her hand and prayed with her, the last rites, and read from the psalms and other parts of the bible.  A couple hours after I returned home, I was told that she passed away.  What a deep mystery death is - she passed very peacefully, but I'm sure she heard me, and her friends, while we were there. 

Today, Thursday, in the morning I made sandwiches for the new Lunch Club that was launched today.  Our Lay Reader publicised this lunch club to several establishments around our community where there are people who have mental illnesses, inviting them to come for lunch on the first Thursday of each month.  We had a turn-out of 10 guests, which I thought was super.  It was an immense privilege being involved in this today, and I look forward to the next one.  These people were good to be with.  Then, in the afternoon, I went with one of my parishioners to the opening of the Wirral Food Bank warehouse, and to meet with the guy whose running it.  My car boot was full of food donations, from our Harvest Festival, so it was wonderful to off-load that.  We are considering whether our church might be able to be a distributor for the food, for people in our area.  It's very exciting!

Usually we have music group practice on a Thursday night, but thankfully it was cancelled tonight.  Tomorrow is my day off.  Saturday, well, I still have to finish the two sermons for Sunday, don't I!  A week in the life of a curate. 

Fit for life (or at least the next three months)

My training incumbent is now away on a three month sabbatical. Right from the first day of his absence, I have noticed my phone has rung quite a lot more often. I think the next three months will be good for me. My plan is to use this time to improve my organisational, admin and time-management abilities, and to make a strategic effort to increase my energy levels. After all, ordained ministry is a marathon and not a sprint! I need energy to focus on ministry and mission, and to be the person God calls me to be. I know I won’t function well in the long run if I don’t make some changes. These changes mainly revolve around discipline in the following areas: eating, exercise, leisure, prayer and study time, and sleep. My purpose in writing this blog post is to keep myself accountable to my intentions. Any readers are welcome to support me in this effort with encouragement and prayer!

Eating: My aim is to try and stop using chocolate as an instant energy and feel-good drug. I’m not saying that I’ll cut out chocolate completely, but I’m going to try to cease ‘using’ it any more. In addition, I’m going to try to eat healthier in general. I’m going to try to let the phrase ‘you are what you eat’ inform my choices!

Exercise: I know that exercise increases my energy levels and my sense of well-being; I just haven’t been prioritising it or making time for it. I’m going to try to do this more often. Fortunately, we live in an area that lends itself to walks, and this gives the added benefit of time with my husband, if we go walking together.

Leisure: A parishioner recently suggested that it’s arguable whether clergy should have a day off. This was casually said after I had conducted two funerals on what should have been my day off, at the end of what was a very busy week indeed. I suppose many parishioners aren’t aware of what this vocation actually means (or entails) in practice. That aside, I am not doing a very good job of keeping my day off. I’m very aware of this, and I’m hoping with improvements in other areas I will get better at sanctifying time off. I recently wrote an essay with a focus on personal and professional boundaries, and that was helpful, getting me to reflect on that very important issue.

Prayer and study time: I pray contantly. I study quite a lot, too. But I feel the need to be more disciplined and focused in these areas. It’s interesting that since my training incumbent has been away, I’ve been drawn back to the Common Worship Morning Prayer liturgy. Yes, it’s wordy, but I find it sets me up well for the day, and covers all the bases. The online version is great because the readings and prayers are all there for each day. I’m also working my way through Brian McLaren’s Naked Spirituality, in which he shares a simple yet effective discipline of connection with God. Regarding the study time, as a curate I’m supposed to have a designated ‘study day’, but this has never materialised for me. I think parish obligations have probably got in the way of this, because we have two churches. It’s my responsibility to make time for study, so I need to prioritise the need for it, especially now while I am a curate.

Sleep: This is related a bit to the ‘boundaries’ issue – like many people, I find it hard to ‘switch off’ at night and sleep. The concerns of the parish come to bed with me! I have made a concerted effort not to stay up too late (I used to be very bad at doing this), so that’s an improvement. In a way, it would be unusual if I never let things worry me, but hopefully, with the added exercise and changes in diet and attention to adequate leisure, sleep will come easier. Last night I took some mineral supplements – calcium and magnesium – which my mother says help her sleep. I had one of the best sleeps for a long time, so maybe there’s something in it.

Everything is linked. I hope my efforts in these areas will combine and build upon each other to give me more energy and ultimately that it will result in an increased ability to do the work God asks of me in ministry - in the parish, in family life and in my personal wholeness and well-being. If we want to participate in God’s new creation, we had better keep ourselves fit for purpose! I hope and pray that my training incumbent’s sabbatical helps both him, and me, along that way.

A prayer by John Cosin (1594-1672):
Be thou a light unto my eyes, music to mine ears, sweetness to my taste, and full contentment to my heart. Be thou my sunshine in the day, my food at table, my repose in the night, my clothing in nakedness, and my succour in all necessities. Lord Jesu, I give thee my body, my soul, my substance, my fame, my friends, my liberty and my life. Dispose of me and all that is mine as it may seem best to thee and to the glory of thy blessed name.

Amen.

A Fruity Faith

Luke 13:1-9
It’s the third Sunday of Lent, and I do hope that any Lenten disciplines you’ve taken on are going better than mine! Lent is often observed by giving up luxuries to remind ourselves of the spiritual nourishment we receive through dependence on God. We heard this morning the parable of the fruitless fig tree, and that made me wonder whether anyone has given up fruit for Lent? Somehow I doubt that fruit is as frequent a source of distraction from God as chocolate can be for some people. On the contrary, I think a ‘fruity faith’ is something to aim for!

I don’t actually eat a lot of fruit, despite the fact that my home state of California is known affectionately as ‘the Land of the Fruits and the Nuts’ - and that’s not just because of its people! California has what’s known as a ‘Mediterranean Climate’, with long, hot, dry summers and short, cool, rainy winters, modified of course by altitude and latitude.

Many of the foods grown in California have been growing for millennia in other places that have also got that type of climate, like Israel and Palestine, and this includes figs. Figs are actually really interesting fruits (once you get to know them)! They were one of the very first plants to be cultivated by human beings for eating. Figs have no pits because each fruit has inside it flowers and seeds that grow together inwardly into a fleshy mass, with a skin on the outside holding it all together. Fig trees usually bear two crops of figs per year: the early harvest isn’t as plentiful as the main, later harvest, but that early crop is always eagerly anticipated as a positive sign of good things to come.

Because they are so common in the Middle East, fig trees, fig leaves and fig fruits often feature in the bible. In chapter 3 of the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together as coverings for themselves after they ate the ‘forbidden fruit’ from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In Deuteronomy 8, figs are one of the good things available for God’s people to eat in the Promised Land. And in the Song of Solomon there was a fig tree in the garden, where the emergence of its ripe fruits symbolised the fruition of love...

So this morning we heard in our reading from Luke 13 the parable of the fruitless fig tree: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' " 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.' "

Essentially this parable is saying that we are created for a purpose - like the fig tree, we are to bear fruit. But it also tells us that Jesus gives us time to grow and time to bear fruit as he feeds and nourishes us with loving care. From Galatians 5, we know what kind of fruit is promised to grow in our lives, for ‘...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control’.

In Mark’s and Matthew’s gospels, Jesus also sees a fig tree without fruit. But in that instance, He curses the tree for its fruitlessness and it withers away. If we allow the practice of our faith to stagnate, we may discover that our faith itself has become dried up and withered. We have to keep returning to God, and to allow God to lead us into new areas of faith. Then we can grow and bear fruit.

Maintaining our faithfulness to Jesus Christ is the essential thing. As Jesus says in John 15, ‘Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing’.

Well, we’re finally approaching spring and those of you who are keen gardeners know that preparation is needed for potential growth to be achieved. Fruits are seasonal –for much of the year, the trees will be storing up energy. Our faith and our spiritual growth also go through seasons. As it says in Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament, ‘To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven’.

Sometimes we’re dormant for a season, in need of rest, in need of nourishment from the caretaker. Sometimes we have bursts of growth and reach up for the sky! Sometimes we bear fruits that we aren’t even aware of, because the Spirit’s work can be very gentle. Other times the fruits are obvious to all.

Through our Growth Action Planning, the GAP process that we began towards the end of last year, we have been preparing as a church for potential growth. We are taking steps forward together to enrich our prayer life, to deepen our faith and to reach out to our community. Nourished by Jesus Christ, those of us who are able, who aren’t in a dormant phase, must keep up the momentum that has begun within us personally and together as a parish. We’re in this for the long haul, but we eagerly await the first fruits of this season, and look forwards to the future with expectation.

If you haven’t given up fruit for Lent, I’ve actually brought some figs along this morning which you are welcome to try after our worship. I’m hoping that perhaps when we see figs in the shops or when we read about them in our bibles, we will remember that we have been created for a purpose, to bear the fruits of our faith, both personally and corporately, within ourselves, in our community and in our world, trusting in the loving care and guidance of our Lord Jesus. Amen.

heaven on earth

I'm sure there must be something like this in heaven, anyway...

There is a bakery in my new parish which is owned and run by a couple from church. Walking into this bakery is a delight - a feast for my eyes while I'm deciding what to purchase, and a feast for my stomach when I return home (I do share, really). Honestly, the cakes, flapjacks, creamcakes, scones, and pastries are so beautiful to look at, nevermind to eat (and they are gorgeous to eat, too). Today we also tried the cornish pasty... lovely. Deli sandwiches, bread loaves and rolls - I think I'm going to be spending lots of time there. OK, I know gluttony is a sin; you don't have to remind me.

We're away for three days from tomorrow, on a short family break. I'm so excited - we're going to 'Go Ape'! It looks so exhilarating and a bit scary. My adrenaline will be on overdrive. We're also going to Legoland (we've been twice before - love it!), and the Midland Air Museum (gotta fit in an air museum to keep the 'other half' happy).

John 6:35, 41-51

In a moment of madness, one time I foolishly tried the ‘Atkins’ diet – that’s the one where you eat only proteins and fats, and no carbohydrates – no bread, no pasta, and definitely no biscuits. In the first week everything went well. In the second week there was a sharp increase of bad temper: I was fed up with eating only meat and cheese! By the third week I developed kidney stones from the high protein and lack of carbohydrates in the diet. I learned the painful way that our bodies actually DO need carbohydrates! This is the way God designed us! And Jesus knew this, for in John's gospel, chapter 6, he gives us this wonderful image of Himself as the bread of life.

Bread – it’s an important staple food for people all over the world. Bread gives us nutrients for the growth and well-being of our bodies. It’s healthy for us! In the west we consume so many things that are unhealthy for us. (Personally, I consume way too much chocolate!) But not only do we ‘feed’ ourself through our mouth, we also ‘feed’ ourself through our eyes and our ears. Depending on what we choose to look at and listen to, these things can be healthy for us, or they can be very unhealthy.

We can become addicted to non-nutritious things that don’t really satisfy. We compulsively consume things which temporarily make us feel better, but then after a while, the buzz wears off and we need more. We live in a consumer society. We’re encouraged to buy more and more, whether we need it or not - to keep the economy going - or are we trying to fill an emptiness inside? In our heart of hearts, we know what is good for us and what is bad, because as we can read in Jeremiah ch. 31 v. 33, God has put his law in our minds and written it on our hearts.

The bread of life: that’s the kind of everyday familiarity Jesus wants with us. By taking Jesus into our life, the Spirit can use us as instruments of God in the world, feeding and nurturing other people with the good news of God’s eternal love. The metaphor of bread shows just how fundamental our need is for Jesus in our life and in our soul. Jesus is the bread of life, and eating this bread means putting Jesus into the centre of our being – letting Jesus become our closest friend, regardless of who we have been in the past, or how unqualified we might feel.

Through living the life of faith, Jesus becomes our staple food - not a side dish, or something left out too long which goes cold or gets mouldy. That emptiness we feel inside is real, and we all have it, and at times it can feel very intense indeed. That is what St. John of the Cross calls the ‘Dark Night of the Soul’. But there is only one person that fills that darkness – he is the Light of the World. And there is one person that feeds us truly satisfying nourishment: he is the bread of life that came down from heaven.

Jesus teaches that we need to consume him, everyday. We need to keep feeding ourselves with Jesus to see growth in our own lives and in the life of the Church - daily prayer; reading the bible; breaking bread together, and having faith in the power of God to transform our lives. And by doing this we grow into Jesus, and he grows in us, and our lives are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit: as we share in the joy and the challenge of being the body of Christ: bread for a hungry world, and drink for those who thirst for justice, fullness of life, and even eternal life.

Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and then gave it out. And we who have received are now the distributors of the bread of life.

All this sounds like an impossible burden, and it would be if we had to bear the weight of it in our own strength. He knows we are weak. But he shares all our burdens when we allow him to. And the bread of life gives us the nourishment we will need for the entire, eternal, journey.

Some foods are available only in season. Some foods are made only at certain times of the year. Not so with bread. And not so with Jesus. He has already done the breaking, the giving and the blessing. We just need to give thanks, take and eat, and as much as we are children of God, we must never forget… to share.