4th October, 2020.
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My dear friends,

As I write these words, we have just seen President Donald Trump admitted to hospital with Coronavirus: a reminder – if we needed one – that the pandemic has not ended and we have yet to get through the difficult months of the coming Winter.
 
The Coronavirus pandemic has affected people in a variety ways, and not just medical ones. A man told me yesterday that his income had gone down by a third and he was struggling to make ends meet. Other people have lost their jobs or are anxious about the future. In St Mary’s Church, Great Bardfield, we have decided throughout October 2020 to hold a special collection of goods in aid of a nearby food bank. A large collecting basket is at the back of the church – which is open every day – and I have appealed to our parishioners to donate a couple of items each week. I have suggested that we might contribute something really nice, that we should enjoy eating ourselves. It concerns me that there are people in our country in 2020 who, through no fault of their own, do not get enough to eat. This raises some deep and important questions for our society. At the same time, I salute the many kind men and women who so generously give their time and energy to run food banks and help others. There are many other places around Essex where goods may be donated for food banks. May I appeal to all readers of this weekly message to pop something nice into a nearby food bank collection box. It is only a small act, but it might bring a smile to someone’s face and make all the difference to them and their family that week.
 
The finances of St John Ambulance, similarly, have been adversely affected by the pandemic. SJA volunteers have worked wonders, and we are so very proud of all you have achieved at this difficult time. At the same time, SJA income has diminished because many activities which previously raised money have had to be cancelled. If you felt able to make even a small donation to the running of St John, it would be very much appreciated.  Donations may be made via the ‘Just Giving’ page on the County Priory Group website: http://www.sja-cpgessex.org/fund-raising.html Every penny donated will, quite literally, make a difference.
 
Last week SPCK published my latest book, Faithful Witness, The confidential diaries of Alan Don, Chaplain to the King, the Archbishop and the Speaker, 1931-1946. Alan Don was a Scottish priest who came to London to become chaplain to Archbishop Cosmo Gordon Lang of Canterbury and went on to become chaplain to George V, Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II, chaplain to two Speakers of the House of Commons, and finally Dean of Westminster. Interestingly, Don was also a chaplain of the Order of St John, Archbishop Lang was the Prelate of the Order, and St John features quite often in the fascinating private diaries that Don kept for 15 years. The diaries mention kings and queens, bishops and prime ministers, foreign visitors, musicians, artists, soldiers and the odd scoundrel. They juxtapose momentous national and international events such as the Abdication of Edward VIII to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson, the Second World War and London Blitz, with details of everyday life such as dogs, fishing trips, Lambeth Palace gardens, and Don’s ongoing dental problems (and let us all be glad of the enormous strides made in dentistry since the 1930s). Faithful Witness contains a foreword by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and an endorsement by the previous Archbishop Rowan Williams. Faithful Witness has been published in time for Christmas and has already received very positive coverage in The Tablet. Details are available at https://spckpublishing.co.uk/faithful-witness
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With continued prayers and kindest regards,

The Rev. Dr ROBERT BEAKEN, County Chaplain
TRINITY 17 – 4th OCTOBER 2020
 
Gospel: St Matthew, chapter 21, verses 33-46
You sometimes see in school history books, and sometimes in the back of Bibles, what we call ‘time charts.’ There is usually what looks a little like a column or a ribbon, with key dates from history: 1066, Norman Conquest; 1603, death of Elizabeth I; 1789, French revolution; 1851, Great Exhibition, and so on. Sometimes, other facts are mentioned: telephone invented; penicillin discovered. Sometimes there are several parallel columns, so you can see what was also happening in France or Germany at the same time. The whole point is to give an overview: one is like a bird, swooping along in the sky, seeing the traffic below; except, instead of cars and lorries, one is observing the unfolding of historical events.
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            In today’s Gospel, which is sometimes known as the Parable of the Cruel Vinedressers, Jesus does something similar. He gives an overview of the history of God’s Chosen People, the Hebrews, the twelve tribes of Israel, most often known to us as the Jews.

            Jesus was speaking to the chief priests and elders: ‘There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. The he leased it to tenants, and went to another country.’

            You can imagine their ears pricking up at this. To the Jews, the vine and the vineyard were ancient and treasured symbols of their status as God’s Chosen People and their Promised Land. The vineyard in the parable sounds rather nice: it is already prepared, for the owner – who stands for God – has cultivated the soil and planted vines. There is a fence around it to keep out wild animals, a watch-tower from which to spot pirates and marauders, and a wine press to turn the grapes into wine.

            The lucky tenants have complete freedom in this lovely vineyard. They can do pretty much what they like, except they must care for the grapes and hand over the crop to the owner at harvest time. So, likewise, Jesus is saying, the Jews had great freedom in the Promised Land, but they were supposed to keep the Law and bear witness to Almighty God who had revealed Himself to them, as opposed to the rather crude fertility and warrior pagan religions to be found amongst the tribes and peoples who lived around them.

            The trouble came when the tenants decided they didn’t want to hand over the grapes at harvest time to the owner. This symbolised the religious leaders not wanting to fulfil what God wanted them to do. In the parable, the owner of the vineyard sent a series of servants to demand the grape harvest. The tenants killed each one of them. Jesus’ audience would have shifted uneasily in their seats, for they would have realised he was referring to the Prophets, sent by God, who had been ignored and sometimes murdered in previous centuries.

            Suddenly, there comes a shift in the parable. Whilst still talking in the past tense, Jesus changes and begins to look to the future. ‘Finally, he [the owner] sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.” Jesus here predicted what would happen to him at Easter. God had sent holy prophets to call His people away from sin and back to obedience. The Jews took no notice of the prophets, so at last God sent His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. We, of course, know what would go on to happen. Instead of listening to Jesus, the Jews killed him on a cross on Good Friday. Jesus was even crucified just outside Jerusalem on a rubbish tip at Calvary: thrown out of Jerusalem – thrown out of the vineyard.

            ‘Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes,’ Jesus went on, ‘what will he do to those tenants?’ They said to him, ‘He will put those tenants to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him the produce at Harvest time.’

             You will notice it was the priests and leaders of the people who drew the conclusion that the tenants would be expelled and killed, and supplanted by others. They soon realised that Jesus was telling this parable against them and their leadership.

            Now, this parable has been wickedly twisted by some in the past to justify anti-semitism. Anti-semitism, and other similar prejudices, can never be acceptable amongst Christians. The Jews, like all other people, are our brothers and sisters. It is also wrong to hate anyone or anything, except perhaps sin, and we are all sinners.

            Yet, the message of the parable is clear: Jesus tells us that the Jews have had their chance and have missed it. God still loves them – how could He not – but henceforth their place is to be taken by the Church, sometimes referred to as the New Israel of God. What matters now is not being born to a Jewish mother and undergoing Jewish circumcised, but simply believing and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. All the world is suddenly transformed into the vineyard, not just the land of Palestine. God is to be encountered everywhere, through faith.

            Jesus uses this parable to help us understand why he came to earth and what would happen to him at Easter. It also carries a stern warning: like the religious leaders of first century Palestine, we too may sometimes go through the outward motions of being a Christian, but our hearts may be far from the Lord. If that is the case, we are going badly wrong.

However, there is another, more encouraging strand to this parable, with which I should like to draw to a close. Cast your mind back to the description of the vineyard. The vineyard was a good place: it was well-cultivated, it had walls, a watch-tower and a winepress. The owner, we are to infer, was kind and caring. He went to great trouble to make things pleasant and happy for his tenants. This aspect of the parable tells us something about God and about being a Christian. To know Jesus Christ and to follow him is actually liberating. God has wonderful things planned for each and all of us, a harvest of grapes beyond our imagination, if we will only have faith and trust Him.