And the sermon this week…

I was leading the service in church yesterday, as Susan, our Priest in Charge, is having a break in the US. Here’s the sermon:

One of my favourite films is “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” – that film that caused so many people to boycott it, because it was blasphemous, it made fun of Jesus, it didn’t take the Gospel seriously. All of these things said by people who hadn’t seen it, of course, and who didn’t know how Jesus was portrayed in the film. In fact, Jesus doesn’t appear very often, and is sympathetically portrayed. The scene that I want to talk about though is the scene where various anti-Roman zealots meet to discuss their next action of resistance. Brian, our hero, arrives and asks to join the group, named the People’s Front of Judea.

The conversation ensues (with the swearing removed!)

REG:The only people we hate more than the Romans are the Judean People’s Front.

JUDITH: Splitters.

FRANCIS: And we hate the Judean Popular People’s Front.

P.F.J.: Yeah.

LORETTA: And the People’s Front of Judea.

P.F.J.: Yeah. Splitters.

REG: What?

LORETTA: The People’s Front of Judea. Splitters.

REG: We’re the People’s Front of Judea!

LORETTA: Oh. I thought we were the Popular Front.

REG: People’s Front!

FRANCIS: Whatever happened to the Popular Front?

REG: He’s over there.

P.F.J.: Splitter!

All the different anti Roman groups, with different names, all hating each other because of their slightly different ideologies. All supposedly working towards the common goal of expelling the Romans, but actually more involved in fighting amongst themselves.

Last week in his homily Rich mentioned the rather astounding fact that there are more than 4,500 different denominations of Christianity, and it was a fact that really shocked me. Is the church worldwide like the People’s Front of Judea – so involved in nit picking over details that they forget that the common goal: spreading the Kingdom of God.

The problem is that we are human; we have finite minds. We want to limit God so that we understand him. We want to say that Jesus is “ours”: the Episcopal Church, we’ve got the “real” Jesus. We know what he wants.

But of course there are other denominations – what the People’s Front might call “splitters” – who believe they have the “real” Jesus. To take an extreme example, Westboro Baptist Church, nominally a Christian denomination, believe and preach (and I apologise for the language) that “God hates fags”. Their Jesus is what they want him to be. Our Jesus is what we want him to be.

And to the people of Nazareth, the Jesus who stood up in the synagogue was their Jesus. The home town boy, the son of the local carpenter; they had seen him grow up, they had watched him get into scrapes the way all boys do. And when he stood up and spoke about the Kingdom of God being fulfilled, they could puff up a little with pride that this fine speaker was from their town. But then he spoke about the blessing going not to those in his midst, but further abroad, to gentiles. He uses stories of Elijah and Elisha where God healed and included people that were not part of the usual fold. He teaches that God’s liberation is more inclusive and abundant than the exclusive covenant that the people in the synagogue believed God had with them. With this, everything changes.

It is interesting how the mind can turn quickly when we do not agree with someone. We may feel that a priest, a CEO, a political leader, a teacher or a friend is wonderful until they say or do something that isn’t exactly what we believe. Then we are shocked or angry. After all, we like to congregate with like-minded people because it feels good to be part of a group that we understand and that we think understands us as well. When someone who we feel belongs to us says something contrary or challenges the current status, we are often quick to turn on him or her. It is one thing for an outsider to say or do something divergent, but a whole other game when it is one of our own.

This is what happened to Jesus. His people turned against him, because he said things that did not fit with their picture of him, or what they wanted him to say, or be. But God was with him. He was protected, and he was able to leave and to continue with the work God had set before him…for another three years.

We need to recognise that we are still children in this. Like children, we want to keep the things we love safe in boxes, to keep them where we know them to be what we want them to be. But God is not like this. God cannot be contained by our finite limitations, and the sooner we, and the other four thousand and something denominations recognise this, the better. We, here in Christ Church, or in the Convocation, or in the Episcopal Church, We don’t get to define what or who or how God is. We do not have a special claim on God. Rather God has a special claim on us.

Paul reminds the Corinthians, and us, of this fact, when he writes: when I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

The only thing we can say, with any certainty, about God is that God is Love. And this is what we are called to preach. We may not fully comprehend what that love means, for we are finite beings and our understanding is finite. But Paul gives us a fairly good resumé of what it involves. Love for this world, love for others, love for ourselves. Not hate, not disdain, but love.

Like Jeremiah, we may not feel ready for this task, but God calls us to it. God reminds Jeremiah that his love and knowledge of us is more than we can ever imagine – before we were born God knew us; before we were conceived, God knew us. We cannot comprehend this, but it is so. And God will protect us as we seek to do his will, and live out the Kingdom of God.

I know how Jeremiah felt, when God set before him the task he was called to do. Me? Oh, no, I can’t do that…I’m too immature, I don’t know enough, I’m not clever enough…But God knows us. We see what we are: God sees what we have the capacity to be. We need to be willing to trust him. The Psalmist came to that realisation, seeing that God has been there from the very beginning and will be there to the very end: all we need to do is be open to that love, a love that breaks our chains, liberates us, opens our eyes so that we can do the same for others.

Jesus proclaimed that he came to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to bring freedom to the oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. He has done all those things: he has given us the good news, he has released us from our prison of oppression to sin, he has opened our eyes. He has shown us God’s love.

Now we are called to show others that same love.

Municipal Goats

In an earlier post, I mentioned the Municipal Goats of our village, and Michelle commented: You’ve never mentioned the municipal goats before; do tell us more!.

As far as I know these goats have been part of the village for several years. They are kept to manage the grass on three rather steep and difficult to mow areas of municipal land. They get moved around these patches of land fairly regularly, but the biggest, and most accessible is near the sports hall.

They have a little caravan that they can go into, in inclement weather – I think it’s used to transport them too – and they are obviousy seen as a handy dustbin for vegetable peelings, as there are often children there, feeding them, or piles of bits of veg left in the corner of their field.

In the picture above, you can see their caravan, plus the goat playing King of the Castle in the hay!

I don’t know who has the responsibility of milking the females – this must happen, and I guess that the milk is used at the cheese factory (Yes, we also have a cheese factory in the village!) but I’ve never seen it happen. The goats are a mix between pygmy goats and ordinary sized goats. The big Billies often butt the smaller pygmies out of the way, but the little ones can slip in between their feet, so I often favour them when I’m feeding the goats.

Not the best picture, but it shows the mix of goat types

I have a BIG bag of peelings, limp parsley (yes, I know I should have zuzzed it and frozen it, but I forgot until it was too late) and some other random bits and bobs. So I’ll go down to see them today, if my back improves. I spent an hour or so cleaning the grouting in the bathroom with bleach and an electric toothbrush (old head!) It looks better, but my back is complaining now!

So, there you are, Michelle. An introduction to the Municipal Goats!

Too Many Vegetables!!

I didn’t use up the vegetables from my veg box quickly enough last week, and didn’t plan very well, so I’m left with a lot of unused veg. This week I’m not getting a box, and hoping to use up the following

1. 2.5 small white cabbages (I have used half a one)
2. Half a butternut squash
3. Two potimarrons (not sure what they are in English)

Potimarrons

4. An aubergine

5. Some limp lettuce leaves (didn’t put them in a plastic box with paper towel)

6. 4 heads of chicory

7. About half a kilo of carrots.

So my planned meals are as follows:

TUESDAY: Vegetable curry & naan bread – using up some of the butternut squash, the aubergine, some carrots and some limp lettuce (in place of spinach)

WEDNESDAY: Steak, chips, salad (freshly bought), coleslaw – using some chicory & carrots in the mix

THURSDAY: Pork & Squash Cobbler (from BBC Good Food

FRIDAY: Pizza & coleslaw (from Wednesday)

SATURDAY: Meatball Stuffed Squash (From BBC Good Food) I may not bother stuffing the squash, but just use the flesh with the meatballs & sauce. The limp lettuce will be included in disguise for spinach.

SUNDAY: Instant Pot Chicken (From Delish magazine), with baked potatoes, and chicory salad

MONDAY: Gratin of White Cabbage and Lentils (BBC Good Food) – but we’ll probably have beans rather than lentils, for preference. I have a tin of mixed bean salad brought from the UK, so we’ll have that.

TUESDAY: Chicken (from Sunday) and squash curry & rice.

Anything still left over will go to feed the Municipal Goats, who live near the Sports Centre. They are always happy to see me and my plastic bag of vegetable peelings.

Feed me! Feed me now!

Even Better If…?

Reading one of my favourite cat based blogs – Je Suis le Roi Soleil – I followed a link to another web page from Hen Corner. This is a web page of someone who has a small market garden/ small holding in her back garden in the west of London.

I didn’t read it all, but there was a part of the woman’s January post that jumped out at me a little. Writing about the past year, she said When my children completed work at school, the teachers would encourage them to assess what they had done by asking What Went Well? Even Better If?

And then she mulled over what, in her life would improve things. And each one she wrote resonated with me. She wrote (in bold &/orgreen):

My life, work and business would be Even Better If

1. I put regular space in the week to think, pray, assess, plan

Being mindful, taking stock and thinking of others helps us to see the bigger picture and make wise decisions.

And I thought Yes! I do generally bumble through my life, without pausing, be it to plan (except for lessons), or to assess what worked, what went well. Even my praying is usually don “on the hoof”. I should pause. Reflect. Pray.

2. I commit to regular time outside every week, be that allotment, garden, swimming, walking, etc.

Fresh air and vitamin D is very good for us, as is time away from a computer or TV screen. Regular time outside is also a great way to meet friends with a bit of gentle exercise whilst catching up and caring for each other.

Happily, this is something I am doing more of, BUT I do still grumble and procrastinate about going out. I’m managing to keep up with my weekly target, mostly because I’m counting ALL my distance. I couldn’t do it otherwise, on my commitment to going for an “intentional” walk. I need to try to be more willing to get outside, especially dring the week.

3. I remember that responsibilities reap rewards

Weeding the veg beds, mucking out the hens, answering emails and promoting my courses all take time, but are strategic investments that bring lots of benefits, so celebrate the results whilst putting in the preparation work.

Responsibilities reap rewards. I like that. It’s a good way to remember that there are things which need to be done on a regular basis – they may not be enjoyable, but they make life easier for me, or for others. If I don’t keep my paperwork up to date it causes problems for others. If I don’t do the boring stuff necessary for my job, I find it more difficult in the end.

4. I focus on being present in my activities

Whatever we are doing and whoever we’re with, remember to appreciate the value of the person we are spending time with or the task we are completing.

Again, yes!! Appreciate the person, the task…It reminds me of the prayers of the early Celtic Christians. They had prayers for everything – feeding the hens, sweeping the hearth…because there was the understanding that everything one does is inextricably linked to God. And every person we meet has God in their souls (whether they know it or not) We should recognise this fact, and acknowledge it.

For example, women on their way to milk the cows might pray:

Bless O God my little cow
Bless of God my desire:
Bless thou my partnership
And the milking of my hands, O God.
Bless O God each teat
Bless O God each finger
Bless thou each drop
That goes into my pitcher, O God.

or men in the fields :

God bless thou thyself my reaping,
Each ridge, and plain, and field,
Each sickle curved, shapely, hard,
Each ear and handful in the sheaf;
Each ear and handful in the sheaf.

It is the finding of the sacred in the ordinary, the light of God in our every day lives.

I should really try to take these four things into my life a little more. Iwonder if I actually will…

Bring us, Bright God…

I was just browsing my blog’s statistics, curious to know what was the most popular post, particularly as “ANSWERS: Boris Johnson or Homer Simpson” is almost always at the top of the list of “Posts Viewed” on the blog dashboard.

I then wondered what post was languishing down at the least viewed, and discovered it was posted at the beginning of 2019. It certainly doesn’t deserve to be there, as it is, in fact, a beautiful prayer from the Iona Community. So I repost the prayer here:

Bring us bright God
from yesterday
into today and tomorrow.
Cheer us with courage.
Disturb us with justice.
Safeguard us with wisdom.
Bless us with wonder.
Cherish us with love.

A prayer for 2019, but also a prayer for any year, any month, any day…

Jardin Lecoq

In Clermont Ferrand, not too far from the language school where I work, there is a rather nice public garden. During the first “Summer of Covid” in 2020, when it was allowed to meet individuals outside, I sometimes had conversation lessons with my students sitting on the benches – which was really rather pleasant!

Like many other urban parks it is a popular place for office workers to meet during lunch time, and for young adults to gather after school. Of course, because the lunch is so revered in France, there are fewer people eating sandwiches on the grass than there might be in the UK, but it still gets busy.

This gateway is part of le Chateau de Bien Assis, and when I first saw it I assumed the chateau had been situated in the place that became the gardens. But no, this bit of building was dismantled from where it had been, in the north of Clermont Ferrand, and rebuilt here in 1915. The Chateau had been the home of the brother-in-law of Blaise Pascal. Blaise Pascal is a son of Clermont, an author, philosopher and all-round Good Egg, so his name is used for the University, for streets, schools…all over the city. Thus the bit of a chateau where he had stayed was worth preserving!!

The gardens started life as botanical gardens, created by an Abbot in the 1700s; in the 19th century it was remodelled as a public garden. In 1871 the city council decided to give the name of Lecoq to what had been known as the Jardin des Plantes. His bust sculpted by Chalonnax was inaugurated in 1896, facing the road where he lived.

Possibly not treated with the respect it deserves!!!

Apparently, in the 1960s there were various animals kept in the gardens, including a seal. The seal was called Banquise, and had been given by the fishmonger nearby, who kept Banquise well nourished with fish. The seal died in 1968, but there were sealions being kept, in a sealion house, until their deaths in 1999.

I’m glad that monkeys and seals are no longer kept there.

Now there are no caged animùals, thank goodness. There is, on the other hand, a rather nice café/restaurant overlooking the lake – this was where the previous owner of Bonjour World (the language school) held his retirement dinner. It was a really enjoyable time – the food was good, so I imagine that when restrictions are lifted, it will be full again, particularly over the summer months.

As it’s not far from Bonjour World, it’s convenient as a nice place to walk if I want to up my mileage! But I haven’t been there for almost a year now. I look forward to going back sometime in the not too distant future.

Squirrel Market

In the Autumn I went to the Squirrel Market in a local village…I wondered quite why it was called that, particularly as there were no squirrels for sale (!) but I think it is because the focus was on local produce, and the idea that you stock up for winter, just like squirrels do.

So there were people buying crates of apples, and nuts; there were charcutiers selling dried sausage and meet; there were jams and preserves of all colours. I felt quite “traditional” as I wandered round, even though I only bought a jar of lemon curd!

The village it was held in has Medieval ramparts still existing around it, with some fairly ancient buildings. Mr FD works with somone who lives in the village, and the rampart walls make up part of their house. I entered through one of the gateways in the walls – very useful for the people who were checking COVID passes, as it meant they had a limited number of access points to man!

This photo from the Mairie shows the ramparts around the village.

I had a short walk around the market, but there wasn’t much to see, so I explored the village a little more.

Not my photo…this is a summer picture of the church

I discovered a rather bizarre giant rabbit which welcomed all-comers

and I enjoyed looking at the old buildings around the square

Peering through a gate…

Below the village is a resevoir on the River Loire – there is a barrage, controlling the water flow and creating some hydro electricity. It has been made into a place with a beach and lots of little restaurants around it.

However, at this time of year, the water level was quite a lot lower than you might expect!

The grassy part shows where the water level usually is for the holiday makers! I don’t know whether this was a deliberate thing, managing the water levels, or whether it was because the rainfall had been very low up till then.

Whatever the reason, I enjoyed my afternoon out, and was pleased to have walked a few kilometres.

What’s your season?

It’s due to get colder again here, with talk of snow. Certainly the temperatures forecast are in the range of 1° – minus 1°. Brrr.

So it’s good advice to wear a cat. Or a hat. Whichever you prefer. We often find ourselves wearing cats during the evening.

I love the horrified expression on this cat’s face. I know how it feels, especially when I go into my study first thing. It can be extremely chilly! Thank goodness for my parafin heater which does a good job of keeping me warm.

Promise Me

I receive “Weekly Pep Talks” from Hannah Brencher, at “The Monday Club” I do have to admit that often they arrivejust when I’m taking my first lesson, so I don’t read them, and then they drop down the in-box and I delete them without reading them. But this one I read….

promise me you’ll fail…!
this is a big and bold promise to me that you will fail. promise me that.

promise me you’ll stumble. you’ll make mistakes— big ones and little ones. you’ll be unafraid to ask questions. you’ll take risks that are bigger than your own body and your own space.!

promise me you won’t let fear drive the car. you will refuse to let fear drive the car (it was worth writing that twice). you will explore possibilities.

you will partner with yourself instead of bullying yourself. you will be young, and dumb, and restless, and passionate.!

you will mess things you up. you will try your best. you will give tasks everything you have in a moment when you are asked to give it all. you will be unafraid of the doors that slam in your face again and again. you will bear hug rejection. you will cheer on the victories of others.!

you won’t let people belittle your creativity. you will refuse to be kicked down by the things in this world that want to yell in your face, “you can’t. You can’t. You shouldn’t. You won’t.”

you will silence the loud and rowdy naysayers with one footstep after another footstep.!

you will give yourself grace. buckets of grace. !

promise me you’ll fail. failure is one of the sweetest parts of this life thing. it will mold you.

it will make you new. it will push you to be better tomorrow than you were yesterday. and isn’t that the only goal worth pinning your whole life to: the hope you’ll come out looking different at the end of this.

A Guide to Winter

Yesterday was beautiful weather – I was walking in a jumper & long sleeved T-shirt, but today has reverted to a misty, cold day. I have a hot water bottle at my back as I work in the study. So I need to take note of what Simon’s Cat recommends:

What do you think is important in Winter?