Anonymous apostles

Bartholomew is one of the ones we don't know anything about. Named in lists of the 12. Named as a witness to the Ascension. Tends to be mentioned alongside Philip. Tradition from about the 9th century associates him with Nathanael, who's mentioned only in John's Gospel and not in the others. Maybe Nathanael was also called Bartholomew - Bartholomew's a patronymic anyway, meaning 'son of Tolmay/Ptolemy'. Nathanael is the one Jesus sees sitting under the fig tree in chapter 1 of John.

Why do we assume that we should know anything about him? If we're not to know anything about him, what is he in the story for?

He's a witness.

Invisible church. Augustine. Anonymous Christians. Rahner. But that's about people not visibly part of the church. What about people visibly part of the church whom we don't know anything about?

Iona Community, WWB evening liturgy B:

Here in the company
of the neighbour whom we know
and the stranger in our midst,
and the self from whom we turn,
we ask to love as Jesus loved.
Make this the and time, good Lord,
when heaven and earth merge into one,
and we in word and flesh can grasp
that in Christ
there is neither Jew nor Gentile,
neither male nor female:
all are one in Jesus Christ
and for this we praise you.
Amen.

Witness. Apostle. Person sent. Person called.

Discovering the depths of ourselves
the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 1 Cor. 2.10

Not talking to people in buzz groups

Bartholomew: readings

HC (BCP) St Mary's

Acts 5:12-16

Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by. A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.

Luke 22:24-30

A dispute also arose among the disciples as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But Jesus said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

‘You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.'

Pickers-up of Unconsidered Trifles

The dogs under the table, eating the scraps.

This week I was in the Chilterns, where you see red kites. Another scavenger. Kites eat carrion and they also take rags and scraps of material to build their nests. From the way Shakespeare mentions them, they were a kind of urban nuisance, behaving a bit like seagulls around a pier diving in to steal your fish and chips.

On the other hand, red kites very nearly became extinct in Britain. Now that they've been successfully re-introduced, the way people think about them has changed. They're something special that people look out for. Their value has changed completely. As if the dogs got out from under the table and had their own cushion, and fillet steak instead of scraps.

And yet, as far as the kites are concerned, nothing has changed. They're still just being kites.

The other thing about this story - well, another thing - Jesus and the woman are talking about what he does, his ministry, and they talk about it as something that nourishes. Like the parables of the seed that grows into wheat.

Trinity 13 2008: readings

HC Curbridge

Isaiah 56:1, 6-8
Thus says the Lord: Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed.
And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant - these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.

Matthew 15:21-28
Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.

Trinity 12 2008

Ordination retreat. The first one: the piece of jigsaw. The second one: the man who kept talking about Peter. Loud voice. Not a still small voice at all. Loud voice, florid sentence structure, more and more about Peter. “Imagine you are a man...” Limits to my ability to imagine I am a man.
Peter again. Patronal festival, united service in tiny village church, outdoors. Looking for fish in the church, making a church out of stones, making paper boats by the stream, looking after sheep in the orchard, and of course walking on water. I’ll come back to that. By the end of the service people had done all sorts of things, and they were pleased with themselves - especially the man who walked on water - and I had lots of stories about Peter in my head instead of just a voice saying “Imagine you are a man...”.
Some things speak to us, and some things don’t, and different things speak to different people, and to the same people at different times. You don’t need me to tell you that. But I don’t always remember it when I should. When things aren’t making sense to me. When other people aren’t behaving the way I think anyone would. There’s nothing wrong with imagining, I am all for it, but there are limits to how far we can get out of ourselves (‘imagine you are a man...’) unless we listen.
If the Bible is nothing else it is an education in listening and difference. It tells us one story in thousands of different stories over and over again. These are stories, today, of speaking and listening. And of storms, and in one case also of earthquakes and fire. The one about Elijah is one of a lot of stories about Elijah and a lot of those are about listening. (With the priests of Baal. Is your God not there? Maybe he’s asleep.) The whole story of Elijah is one of a lot of stories about prophets, and those, likewise, are about speaking and listening: the prophet speaking to God, and to the people. There isn’t just one story. The Bible tells you one way, and then it has another go, and then another go. There are any number of prophets. There are four Gospels. There are lots of stories, told four different ways, about boats and storms (Jesus asleep in the boat); being alone and crowds; being secure and being afloat.; recognition (and wonder and fear); strangeness and trust.
And what is the one story? Meeting God. The story of our encounter with God. (Not ‘imagine you are God...’) Strangeness and trust. A voice of silence. ‘Come’. Peter and Elijah, called completely out of themselves.
How to walk on water.

1 Kings 19:9-18
At that place Elijah came to a cave, and spent the night there.
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’
He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.’

Matthew 14:22-33
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’
Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’

The pub quiz question: Which Biblical character plays in the Scottish First Division? Queen of the South. vs Airdrie yesterday: a disappointing 0-0. (But in the UEFA cup this season.)
Queen of the South: what Matthew and Luke call the Queen of Sheba.
The queen of the South will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here! Jesus, rather energetically replying to the scribes and Pharisees who want to be shown a sign.
Two stories about signs; about signals, about something that tells us what to do. What direction to go in. What to do next. Arrows, lists, maps, unexamined assumptions. What everyone knows. Those deep tectonic shifts of general opinion: smoking, politics, climate change, tectonic theory.
I like the Queen of Sheba. She has style, she has camels, and she takes ‘what everyone knows’ and asks questions about it. Everyone says Solomon is wise, but she goes to see for herself. She asks questions. Hard questions. Solomon is a byword for wisdom; maybe he is a sign of what wisdom is. She goes to have a look.
1 Kings > Deuteronomic > God is universal and ethical and obvious. Solomon is a good king, wise, just, Temple-building, therefore he is rewarded with gold and spices. The Queen of Sheba, who is a foreigner, tests his wisdom and brings some of his reward.
But the other story is in Acts. God is out there and live and never obvious. God in Deuteronomy is something like a mountain. God in Acts is more like electricity. The Spirit says: Go here. Don’t go there. Send these two people. The second half of Acts is essentially the story of Paul and whoever else could stand the pace (they seem to take it in turns) trying to keep up with the Spirit. Learning to see, learning not to make assumptions about God, finding God ahead of them.
This story, the magician, is another case of testing. Again, we don’t have the questions or the criteria or the answers. Again, we have the foreigner, but this time he’s listening. He is astonished.
We can learn to ask questions. Hard questions, obvious ones, questions to other people, to ourselves, questions for God.
Maybe, as well, we could remember to be astonished.

The Queen of Sheba arrives in Scotland

Poem by Kathleen Jamie. You can read it here.

Who's Who

If I were telling these stories in a school assembly, with the People of God, then any of the figures could be Paul or Barnabas. But I have a feeling that the only figures who could be Solomon or the Queen of Sheba are the ones with gold and silver heads. That makes me slightly uneasy about this story - the more so as the gold and silver figures are recent additions, and I find I don't use them much.
Is the story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba a story of the People of God? Because if it is, then in some sense it's a story about us. Not in the sense that we're like the people in the story, or that we might know someone like them, or that we can find a contemporary parallel to the story. Just in the sense that the People of God are people encountering God, and so are we, and our story is continuous with theirs even though it's thousands of years later and all sorts of things about the way we live are different.
I started thinking about the People of God because I find it a good way in to a story, to think about how I'd tell it with them. Thinking about it, I've remembered another good way in to a story, which is a question to ask of it: the question is 'What is God like in this story?'
What is God like, in the story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba?
Another question would be why I appear not to be thinking about Paul and Barnabas. But the answer to that's easy, it's because I don't have this sort of unease about them. They're the People of God. I can see what God's like in their story.

The People of God

These are the People of God. (Godly Play-speak.) They're used in telling stories from the Bible. One of the important things about them, in Godly Play, is that the same figures are used in all the stories, whether it's Abraham at Bethel or Paul in Athens. Another thing is that any of the figures can be anyone in the stories; I remember Peter Privett, who is a Godly Play teacher, saying that he liked to make sure that they all got a turn to be Abraham. A third thing is that the story-teller will always refer to them as the People of God, not the Hebrews or the Israelites or the apostles. All of this is because it makes it easier to see a continuity in the stories of how the people are encountering God, and it also makes it easier to see that continuity between the people in the stories and us.
The People of God are actually supposed to be plain wooden silhouettes about half an inch thick. I had to improvise some quickly once, which is why mine are wine corks with coloured paper heads. But I find that means I can say things like 'This is a story about Jesus. Which one would you like to be Jesus?', and that's another little bit of involvement in the story. Also, corks are readily available.
In the background you can just make out a bicycle in pieces. It has no religious significance at all.