Millicent and Jesus

Earlier this year a statue of Dame Millicent Fawcett was unveiled in Parliament Square, London.  It was the first statue of a woman to grace the square.  Millicent was a strong supporter of the Women's Suffrage movement, becoming leader of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, a group which believed in using non-violent tactics to persuade the government that women deserved the right to vote in elections.  This year (2018) is the 100th anniversary of the historic moment when women were finally given the right to vote.

Following the giving of Royal assent to the Bill to enfranchise women and the subsequent declaration later that year of the end of the First World War, Millicent decided to retire from active political work.  On New Year’s Day, 1920, she received a cheque from a group of Suffrage friends as a token of their gratitude for her work, with the condition that she was not to give it away.  She decided to take the opportunity to do something which she had long desired, namely travel to the Holy Land.  In February 1921 she set off on her journey, accompanied by her sister Agnes.

I am currently reading Millicent’s book, ‘Easter in Palestine, 1921-1922’, in which she recounts her travel experiences.  It is a fascinating volume.  As may be expected, she describes many of the places they visited, but she also comments on the political situation, and her passion for women’s rights shines through in several places.  One of the chapter headings, for example, is ‘A Suffrage Meeting in Jerusalem.’

A passage in the book which particularly took my attention was when the sisters visited Nablus, the site of Jacob’s Well, thought to be the place where Jesus had a remarkable conversation with a Samaritan woman (recorded in John chapter 4).  Millicent Fawcett comments:

‘The He should have revealed to her the innermost heart of His own doctrine of the relation of God to man and the nature of true worship is one of the most marvellous things in His whole marvellous history.  This great teaching was offered to one of the despised sex belonging to a despised people; and that it was offered to a woman at all has ever been like a guiding light on a dark and often tortuous journey to those who have been workers for the development of women’s freedom and citizenship.  The whole story is so wonderfully told we cannot go back to it too often.’

It is right that we acknowledge the debt which is owed to people like Millicent Fawcett for the tremendous dedication and commitment which they gave in the struggle for women’s suffrage.  I find myself tremendously encouraged by the fact (which is often overlooked) that Millicent found in the gospel story, and particularly the ministry of Jesus, inspiration for her efforts.  A reminder that in God’s eyes we are all equally loved and valued  As St Paul writes, ‘There is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3.28).  If only our world today could live in the reality of those words!

Gareth's life lesson

So, football’s not coming home after all.  When the football World Cup commenced a few weeks ago there seemed to be an unusually low expectation of the England team’s prospects.  But then we dared to dream, as the team surprised many by reaching the semi-final for the first time in 28 years.  Could this be the year when English football finally lays the ghost of our one and only World Cup victory back in 1966?  Sadly, it was not to be.  Yet the performances of the young and inexperienced team have been worthy of praise.

Even many who not normally count themselves as football supporters have been drawn into the excitement.  In yesterday’s Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, for example, Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry (standing in for Jeremy Corbyn), challenged Cabinet Office minister David Lidington (standing in for Theresa May), by commenting that although she knew relatively little about football, even she could see what happens ‘when people work together, when there is a clear game plan and when people respect the manager.’ What lessons, she asked, could this team teach the government?

A good question, of course, though the sad reality is that over the course of this parliament it has not only been the government which has been troubled by division and infighting but the opposition benches as well.  It could be said that at a crucial time in our nation’s history we would be much better served if both government and opposition were able to present a more unified stance.  The point has been made that although the current England squad probably do not have as gifted individual players as previous squads have had, they have done so well because they have operated as an effective team.  Teamwork is so important in all walks of life, including in the life of the Church.

Much of the credit has to go, of course, to manager Gareth Southgate.  The way he has conducted himself in a calm, considered and humble manner has endeared him to the nation.  Indeed, there have been suggestions that he might make a better Prime Minister than either Mrs May or My Corbyn!  In his younger days, Southgate was an England international himself.  As far as his international playing career is concerned, he will probably be mainly remembered for missing a crucial penalty in the penalty shoot-out at the end of the Euro 96 semi-final match against Germany, which led to England being eliminated from the competition.

Even though he was plucky enough to later appear in a Pizza Hut advert relating to the incident, Southgate has freely admitted that the memory of that penalty miss has haunted him for years.  I was impressed to read that when asked what lessons he has learned from the awful moment in his football career, Gareth Southgate replied, “I've learnt a million things from the day [missed penalty] and the years that have followed it. The biggest thing being that when something goes wrong in your life, it doesn't finish you."  What an important life lesson, and one which fits so well with the Christian gospel of hope, restoration and redemption.  The Bible is full of people who failed or messed up in big ways, but who subsequently received God’s grace and forgiveness and the opportunity to start again.  

Well done, boys, the nation is proud of you!  Next time, maybe?

Do it now!

So the football World Cup has reached its later stages and surprisingly enough (at the time of writing, at least) England are still in the competition!  Some of the games have been fairly dull, but there have been some very exciting games and certainly some unexpected results.  The 2014 world champions, Germany, didn't even reach the knock-out stages of the competition, the first time the team hasn't progressed beyond the opening round since 1938 (that can't have pleased Herr Hitler!)  In a recent sermon, based on the dramatic story of David and Goliath, I commented on how the term "David and Goliath" is still in use today.  Certainly in the World Cup we have seen some Davids triumph over their Goliath opposition.

In the Biblical story of David and Goliath, we are told that each day Goliath would stride out and taunt the Israelite army, challenging any one of them to step forward and face him in battle.  But each day no-one could pluck up the courage to respond to the challenge.  David was sent by his father to take supplies to his elder brothers who were in the army.  As David visited them, he overheard Goliath's challenge and volunteered to face the great foe himself.  Though David, as a boy, seemed to be almost the last person who could face up to the challenge, he believed that God would grant him the victory.

One of the points I made in my sermon was that David didn't put off the challenge.  He could easily have thought to himself, "Maybe when I'm a bit older and more experienced I will come back and face Goliath."  Instead, he met the challenge head on and his trust in God was vindicated.

It's easy to procrastinate, especially in respect of issues which we may not want to face.  In my sermon I used as an example the fact that I have for some time realised that I ought to book a dental appointment for a check-up.  For several weeks I had made a note in my diary at the beginning of the week to remind myself of the need to phone the dental practice, but each time I had thought up reasons why it wasn't the right time, and put it off to the following week.  After including in my sermon a warning of the dangers of procrastination, I decided to bite the bullet (pardon the expression) and phone the dentist.   The receptionist took a while to find my file, then informed me that as it had been over two years since my last appointment, I had been "deactivated" and had to go on a waiting list to be accepted back onto their patient list!

I had been reminded that procrastination isn't a good thing, and I am hoping and praying that I don't have a tooth problem before my dentist decides to accept me again.  As someone once said, "Procrastination can make easy things hard and hard things harder."  The moral of the story?  If something needs doing, do it now!