9th August, 2020.
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My dear friends,

Next Saturday, 15th August 2020, is the 75th anniversary of V.J. Day (Victory over Japan Day) in 1945, which marked the final end of the Second World War. I am planning to hold a very short and simple service at Great Bardfield War Memorial at 11.00 a.m. on Saturday 15th August. I should be very pleased to welcome any members of St John who would like to join me: just turn up on the day. The War Memorial is on a triangle of grass in the middle of Great Bardfield, with parking in the streets nearby. Anyone who would like to wear his or her medals is most welcome to do so.
 
Several members of my family were prisoners-of-war of the Japanese in the Second World War and had an awful time. One was in the notorious Changi Camp, and another was in Hiroshima when the nuclear bomb exploded (and lived another forty years: I conducted his funeral). They were both very ill afterwards and after their liberation had to spend time in hospitals in Hong Kong and western Canada. When they eventually returned home – not until early 1946, I think – no-one was really interested in them and what they had suffered: the world had moved on, and people now wanted to talk about the future and reconstruction, not about the war. This feeling of being sidelined added to their psychological burdens and did not ease their recovery.
 
It would not surprise me to discover that quite a few British and Commonwealth prisoners-of-war of the Japanese had served in St John Ambulance prior to being called-up, and during their captivity used their medical skills to help their fellow P.O.W.s in the camps. My reason for wanting to hold a short service at Great Bardfield War Memorial on 15th August is in order to lift them all up to God in prayer, and to ask for His healing of memories.
 
              I was very interested to learn that on V.J. Day (in normal years) the Japanese Embassy in London hosts a reception for former Japanese prisoners-of-war and their families. Given the appalling atrocities perpetrated by the Japanese army in the Second World War, this cannot be an easy task for the present-day Japanese ambassador and his staff; yet, I would like to commend them for doing so, and express my support for all who work for peace and reconciliation amongst the nations. As both a priest and a historian, I believe that the past is important (it makes us who we are) and it should be remembered. But, under God’s guidance, the future is always more important than the past for all of us. 

With continued prayers and kindest regards,

The Rev. Dr ROBERT BEAKEN, County Chaplain
TRINITY 9 – 9th AUGUST 2020.
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Gospel: St Matthew, chapter 14, verses 22-33
They were mostly fishermen in the boat on Lake Galilee that evening. They weren’t a bunch of holidaymakers encountering difficulties with a hired rowing boat on the Serpentine. These were men who earned their living from the sea. They were used to its currents, winds and changeable moods. They were also powerful, physically strong men.

            Jesus Christ, having fed the multitude with the multiplication of loaves and fishes, sent them on ahead of him. We will recall that Jesus was still mourning the execution of his cousin John the Baptist, and he wanted to be left alone for a short while. So, the disciples set off by boat to cross Lake Galilee. They were well used to such journeys; and, although it was evening, they were, like all fishermen, used to sailing when it was dark. Suddenly, the waves grew choppy, the wind got up, and before they knew where they were, they were in the midst of a dreadful storm. Again, nothing unusual for fishermen. Being powerful men, they doubtless put their backs into it and began to row towards the far shore. But this was a storm of extreme ferocity. It would appear that they had set off in the late afternoon or very early evening, and that they expected to cross the lake, have some supper and go to bed. But by the fourth watch in the night – about four in the morning – they were still there, rowing away, baling out, their strength ebbing away. Quite simply, they expected to drown.

            The Gospels are very honest about the disciples; they are not painted in a rosy hue. Here are twelve men who appear to have forgotten Christ and mislaid their faith. They have forgotten an earlier, similar experience of a storm, when Christ was with them, asleep in the boat; on that occasion they woke him, and he stilled the storm. Similarly, they appear to have forgotten that earlier in that day they had witnessed a miracle, Christ’s feeding of the five thousand. Instead, when their faith was tested, they forgot the past and went to pieces.

            Christ, perceiving their need, came to them walking on the water. Normally, men cannot walk on water. The disciples were terrified and thought he was a ghost. Hearing their cries of alarm, Christ called out ‘Be of good cheer.’ And then he said something incredible: ‘I am’ – in Greek ego aimi.’ You will recall that ‘I am’ is the expression for God in the Old Testament. Our translation of St Matthew’s Gospel this morning renders it rather lamely as ‘It is I’ – but in fact St Matthew records Jesus as saying the powerful words ‘I am.’ Jesus Christ here proclaims his divinity for all to see, adding ‘do not fear.’ And with that, all was calm. What we have here is a double miracle: Christ walks on water, and stills the storm; both evidence of his divinity.

            And so we come to St Peter. I rather like Peter. He is a very human figure. Some saints can seem a bit unreal, but not Peter. He is the one who, when he was persuaded to let Christ was him at the Last Supper, asked the Lord to wash all of him, not just his feet; the man who said ‘I will never desert you, Lord,’ and yet did precisely that, only to sneak back into Jerusalem later; the man who was reconciled with the risen Christ at Lake Galilee and commissioned to ‘Feed my sheep.’ Peter was impulsive; his heart ruled over his head; yet in the end he proved to be the Rock upon which Christ built his Church.

            This same Peter looked out of the boat at Christ, and said ‘If it is you, Lord, bid to come to you upon the water.’ St John Chrysostom comments:
 
See how great his warmth, how great his faith. He said not Pray and entreat me but Bid me; he believes not only that Christ can Himself walk on the sea, but that he can lead others also thereon; also he wishes to come to Him speedily, and this, so great a thing, he asks not from ostentation, but from love, for he said not Bid me walk upon the water, but Bid me come to thee.
 
And so, something truly remarkable happens. Peter gets out of the boat, fixes his eyes on Christ, and he too begins to walk upon the water. Another miracle. But then Peter noticed the wind, i.e. he began to panic and not to have a perfect trust in Christ; and with this, he began to sink, crying ‘Lord, save me’; so that Christ had to rescue him, saying ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt.’

            Poor Peter. I bet he felt a right idiot when they clambered into the boat; but I daresay, too, he never forgot that, for a few seconds, he too had walked upon water – God had worked a miracle through and around him. The point seems to have been that when Peter kept his eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, he was alright; Jesus’ power seems to have flowed into him. But when he began to look at the waves, his faith failed; Jesus’ power could no longer enter him, and he began to sink. There’s a message here for us.

            The Gospels are refreshingly honest about the failings of the disciples, and I believe we can take heart from that. If we try and do anything for God, we will face difficulties, just as the disciples faced the storm when obeying Jesus; and we will get things wrong. But Jesus is standing by, ready to help us, when we start to sink; and despite our inevitable failures, we learn and achieve much more through trying to follow him than by staying in our comfort zone.
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            For the men in the boat, that crossing of Lake Galilee was a nightmare; but through it they learnt much. For we read that when Christ climbed on board they exclaimed ‘Truly, you are the Son of God,’ and wet and tired though they might be, they worshipped him.