THE BISHOP’S EASTER MESSAGE
When the Roman Emperor Constantine won a decisive battle at the Milvian Bridge in the year 312, he had a vision. He thought he saw in the sky the Greek letters Chi-Rho – the first letters of the word Christ – with the words in hoc signo vincit – ‘in this sign, conquer’. Constantine won, and took control of the Roman Empire, bringing to an end the persecution of Christianity, and establishing it as a permitted religion, and then recognising it as the religion of the Roman Empire, even though he himself was not baptised until he was dying. The church historian, Eusebius of Caesarea, saw the conversion of Constantine as one of the great providential moments. Just as St Luke, at the end of the Acts of the Apostles, brings the Gospel to Rome, the political heart of the known world, so now the kingdoms of this world, and the Roman Empire in particular, ‘have become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ.’
Would that things were so simple. A millennium or more after Constantine Martin Luther, saw the corruption of the church and, in part, traced it back to Constantine. Had the church captured the empire, or the empire captured the church? The relation between church and state has always been ambiguous.
Jesus was put to death by both religious and political authorities. The Gospel accounts of his trial include exchanges with Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor whose name now echoes down the centuries through his place in the Creed. Jesus tells Pilate that ‘his kingdom is not of this world.’ If it did belong to this world ‘my servants would be fighting.’ ‘Are you a King?’ asked Pilate. ‘King is your word,’ says Jesus. ‘My task is to bear witness to the truth.’
When Jesus dies in the hideous agony of crucifixion the reason for his criminal’s death is nailed over his head – ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews.’ Who is this Jesus? A political threat to the kingdoms of this world and to Roman authority in particular. Who is Jesus? A disturber and distorter of religion, one who claimed to embody the presence and authority of God, who purported to forgive sins (which only God could do), healed the sick, attacked the traders in the Temple, and who proclaimed that in him the kingdom or rule of God was breaking in. ‘It is expedient, Caiaphas says in John’s gospel, ‘that one man dies for the people,’ that one man dies lest the balance of religion and political power, the negotiated compromise, be overthrown. ‘That one man dies for the people’ – at a deeper level the ushering in of something much more profound, a redemption much more costly, a bringing in of that new order which sets us free from captivity to the powers of this world and enslavement to the domination of evil.
As Christians asked themselves the meaning of a crucified Messiah, and sought to understand the paradox of how the preaching of God’s kingdom of justice, love and peace, ended in the crude appalling agony of a criminal’s death, they came to see it as a glorious battle , a wrestling with the powers of darkness. As an old hymn puts it: ‘Death and life have contended, in a conflict all stupendous.’ The darkness over the land spoken of in the Passion narratives of the Gospels, is not just outward but inward. The great cry of dereliction, Eloi, eloi, lama sabachtani? – My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? is the deepest paradox of all. God himself in our human nature knows the absence of God, the blotting out of meaning, the engulfing and overwhelming horror of darkness, nothingness and the triumph of evil and death. The
German theologian, Dietrich Bonheoffer, writing from a prison camp in Nazi Germany, where he was shortly to be hanged, wrote of God ‘allowing himself to be pushed out of the world and on to a cross.’ the blessing of the Risen Christ this Easter.
God saves us through that identification, by the seeming triumph of evil, and yet being absolutely and profoundly with us.
Therefore he who shows us God,
Helpless hangs upon the tree,
And the very nails and spear,
Tell of what God’s love must be.
Thou art God, no monarch thou,
Throned in easy state to reign,
Thou art God, whose arms of love,
Aching, spent, the world sustain.
How do we know all this? How can this dying be at the centre of our Christian faith? Only because the Cross is seen in the light of Easter. The Gospels do not end with the cry of dereliction, and the limp and tortured body taken from the Cross and laid hastily in a tomb. If the stone rolled across the entrance to that tomb had sealed the story of Jesus as well as his lifeless body, there would be no Christian gospel, no good news of salvation, no church.
On Easter morning, ‘on the first day of the week, just as the sun was rising’ the tomb is found empty. Why? Because resurrection, the new creation, has happened. In a multitude of mysterious encounters that new life is found to be victorious and triumphant. ‘He is not here, he is risen.’ The Risen Christ speaks to a grief-stricken Mary Magdalene, and calls her by name; he walks as a stranger with sorrowing disciples, and their hearts burn within them. He makes himself known in the breaking of bread. He bursts through the imprisoning walls of grief and fear to speak the word of peace – the peace which is the harmony of the new creation, a peace which passes all understanding. New life ripples out from the empty tomb in a transforming tsunami of love.
Love’s redeeming work is done,
Fought the fight the battle won,
Lo our sun’s eclipse is o’er,
Lo he sets in blood no more.
‘The Prince of Life who died, reigns immortal!’ This is the kingdom for which we pray; this new life for all creation. And the cross is seen in the light of Easter as the place where the glory of God shines out, in the love that comes down to the lowest part of our need.
This is our story, this is our song! Let your lives be touched by this love, transformed by this love, a love which is to Easter in us, and reach out through us to bring new life to the whole world. Then indeed the kingdoms of this will become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ. As he promised in blessing and sending out his disciples, he is with us always to the end of the age. In that faith and hope and love I wish you the joy and the blessing of the Risen Christ this Easter.
+Geoffrey Gibraltar
A WARNING FOR GARDENERS
‘Contaminated farmyard manure can cause damage to vegetable crops in gardens and allotments. This contamination is caused by application of weed killer to farmland used to grow hay and other forage which are then eaten by stock’.
This statement from the Royal Horticultural Society in the UK sounds a far cry from my flower beds or vegetable garden, but I found out last year that the problem can, alas, occur here too. I bought some vegetable plants in ‘plugs’ from a reputable local Garden Centre and planted them in my garden, hoping for nice crops of lettuce and spinach beet. Nothing happened – the little plants stayed as they were, their leaves curled up, but all summer they never grew. Other plants from seed sown by me grew normally, so it would appear that the plugs themselves were contaminated. This year I shall buy seed and plant it myself and see what happens – healthy plants, I hope. One relief is that by this spring the contamination will have gone, particularly if the ground is dug over.
Weed killer damage to gardens and allotments has been discovered in the UK. Leaf vegetables and flowers are distorted and useless. This damage is caused by a hormone-type weed killer used to kill broad-leaved weeds on grassland. The active ingredients are transferred along the food chain to the cattle that eat the grass, and so on to the bags of dried manure that we buy at the Garden Centre. The ingredient causing the damage is called AMINOPYRALID. If you suspect your ground is contaminated, dig it over several times. Residue levels in the soil decline rapidly, so, three weeks after digging, your ground should be safe to use for planting. Any perennial plants should be well manured in the spring with your own compost or leaf-mould or some other safe product, and any affected plants should be disposed of in the general garbage and NOT in the GFT wheelie bin. The RHS also recommends Local Council compost, but I am personally not happy with that solution, having had another form of contamination from this compost in the past – horsetail weed, with roots that go down to China!
Margery, for the Green Awareness Group
We have been having a lot of miracles recently, mostly from Madeleine, and by the way, did you notice last month’s deliberate mistake? It should have been Miracle 12, not 11! However, Madeleine is not the only one who experiences miracles. If the truth be known, we all do, but perhaps we don’t always realize it. Maya, however, did realize it, and this is one of her miracles.
A MIRACLE
About three years ago I got a phone call from a young man, Michiel, who asked me to translate his documents into Portuguese. He came to my house and in a coffee break he started to tell me his life story.
"When I was sixteen years old, I lived like a beast. I did everything that God had forbidden. Not that I believed in God, not at all. After a time I got ill, very ill. I felt steadily more and more miserable, and two years later I stayed in my bed all the time, hardly able to move and feeling a mere wreck. Then I said: 'God, if you
exist, please help me !!! ' At that moment, I felt that I could move. I stepped out of my bed and started to walk, and now I can still walk! Out of gratefulness I started a study to be a pastoral worker and as such I am going now to Brazil to work in the slums over there. That is why I need my documents translated."
I can't describe how I felt listening to this story. You hear about miracles and then you are suddenly standing next to one.
This week Michiel turned up again. He presently lives in a house near a favela in Fortaleza and has five boys living with him, former street boys. During the day he works in the favela.
Some time ago he met a sweet Brazilian girl and he is now going to marry her. That is why he came to Holland, to have more documents translated. She worked as a volunteer in the slums when he met her. She is a teacher and already helps him with his work for the street children.
They try to reach out to everybody around them: teenagers in youth prisons, prostitutes, all to of them they explain in simple terms their value in God’s eyes. They help them to think about the choices they make in their lives. Michael and his helpers have seen how lives can be changed: children in the slums and prostitutes and teenagers in prisons decided to follow Jesus, who gave His life for them.
When you read this. Michiel will be on his way back to Brazil as a blessing, and an answered prayer for many!
Maya
WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA? - AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT: LUKE
This month we look at Luke, the third of the synoptic gospels. Luke also wrote Acts, as both are addressed to the same individual, Theophilus (1:3 cf Acts 1:1). It is clear from certain sections of Acts that Luke accompanied Paul, who mentions his ‘dear friend Luke, the doctor’ (Col 4:4). We can assume that Luke was a well educated Gentile, a doctor by profession and a companion of Paul on his later missionary journeys.
Theophilus was probably a Roman official who acted as Luke’s patron, ensuring that his gospel was copied and distributed. It was always intended for a wider audience, to help both Gentile believers and unbelievers understand who Jesus is. Luke also wanted to show that Gentile Christians have a place in the kingdom of God, as the gospel of Jesus is intended for the whole world. Although we cannot be sure when the gospel was written, this was probably in Rome at around 60 AD.
Luke’s account of Jesus’ life and ministry can be divided into 4 main sections:
• the coming and early life of Jesus (1:1-4:13)
• Jesus’ ministry in and around Galilee (4:14-9:50)
• his ministry (mainly teaching) on the road to Jerusalem (9:51-24:53)
• his final week in Jerusalem (19:28-24:53)
For Luke, the key focus is how God’s plan of salvation for the world is fulfilled in Jesus. Therefore, he writes an orderly account ranging from the birth of Jesus to his ascension. He is a strong champion of the outsider. As an outsider himself (a Gentile writer in the NT) he shows how Jesus includes those who are typically seen as outsiders by the religious establishment of his day. This includes women, the poor and sinners (incl. tax collectors, prostitutes and shepherds!), as well as showing how Gentiles, Samaritans and Jews are all included in God’s plan of salvation. When compared with the other synoptic gospel writers, Luke also emphasises the importance of prayer in Jesus’ ministry and the role of the Holy Spirit.
A key verse, which reflects this perspective, is found when Jesus encounters the tax collector Zacchaeus, ‘For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost’ (19:10). Whenever we find ourselves on the outside of God’s life and love, as Zacchaeus did, Jesus comes to find us and welcome us afresh into his kingdom.
STOP PRESS – BREAKING NEWS!!!
Passover Sensation in Jewish Capital
“Never a Passover like it.” “Unheard of in Jerusalem before.” “Galilean hysterics.”
These and like expressions have been on multitudes of lips at this annual feast, for Jerusalem has witnessed the most unusual and startling Passover in its long history. Part of the mystery is that no one seems to know exactly what has happened. As with all crowds, some say one thing and some another.
In the last few days I have interviewed scores of people and the result is baffling. Certainly, a few of those questioned were adamant and not a little aggressive in asserting that nothing whatever had happened. The priests were particularly scornful about the whole affair. But a far greater number were more or less convinced that strange happenings were undeniable.
Accounts garbled The accounts were garbled, confused, and contradictory. But two observations in particular keep reappearing: first, an account of a country prophet, believing himself to be the Messiah, was crucified by the Romans and now is said to have risen from the dead (?!); and, second, a startling rumour, neither confirmed nor denied by the priests, that the great curtain of the holy place in the Temple was suddenly ripped from top to bottom on the Passover eve.
On sifting the accounts of many witnesses, the story seems to be this. For a number of years, Jerusalem and many of the neighbouring towns and villages have witnessed strange scenes through the preaching of a layman from Nazareth. Reports have it that in spite of the large crowds he drew, this peasant-prophet had had no rabbinical training. Indeed, many assert that before taking to the road, he was a carpenter.
There have been plenty of stories of strange scenes and “miracles”—of lunatics healed, cripples made to walk, the blind to see—and one fantastic account of a man in Bethany raised from the dead! The priests soon put a stop to that rumour.
This had been going on for some time, in spite of sporadic opposition from the Jewish leaders, and nothing might have come of it had it not been for an incident last week.
Roman Guards Doubled This preacher, called Jesus, had by now a large following. Multitudes declared him to be Israel’s Messiah and deliverer, the great prophet long promised. On the other hand, there was a multitude equally vocal in emphatically denying this, including most of the priests and men of letters. To them, this Jesus from Nazareth was an impostor, one more in a line of many deceived into thinking they were Messiah.
Two weeks ago, Nisan 10, this carpenter-preacher entered Jerusalem on a donkey, followed by a great, excited, clamouring, shouting crowd of followers. The Romans immediately doubled the guards, well knowing the explosive nature of Jewish crowds. Jesus, however, showed no signs of firing the popular enthusiasm. Instead, he slipped quietly away to the Temple—and there it happened.
Denounces Bazaar It wasn’t a religious speech, political harangue, or “miracle” that started things moving, but an attack by Jesus—a physical assault in the Temple courtyard. This place, known here as “The Court of the Gentiles,” was filled with traders doing a roaring business with the many pilgrims that crowded the city. The exchangers were there too, changing foreign coins into Jewish currency. Only the latter, of course, is acceptable in the Temple treasury. Apparently Jesus watched this for a while and then went to work. With a whip, said by some to have been made on the spot, he routed the traders and money changers, tipped up their tables, and overthrew their stalls. Next he drove out the cattle and sheep and ordered the caged pigeons and turtledoves to be removed.
His reasons? With blazing eyes and strong invective, reminiscent of an Elijah some said, the carpenter-turned-reformer rebuked those whom he denounced as turning God’s house into a bazaar. The result was uproar. The priests were furious. One report has it that Caiaphas, the high priest, on hearing the news, swore that this time the impostor had gone too far.
Problems with Witnesses No one is quite sure of what happened after that. By the Passover eve, Nisan 14, Jesus had been arrested and his followers scattered. The charges brought against him were three: (1) blasphemy against the law; (2) pretending to be Messiah; and (3) exciting the populace to revolt against Rome, saying he was the true king of the Jews.
One cannot but feel that the last charge was a desperate attempt to pin something on him. The Jews are always grumbling against Rome, and have never for a moment recognized Caesar as their king.
The Sanhedrin not only had trouble with the charges, but with the witnesses as well. What a mixed crew they were! A Jerusalem lawyer and a swarthy money
changer, a fumbling old scribe from Bethany and a vigorous orator from somewhere in the north, generally reputed to be a leader in the underground rebel movement, the Zealots. Other witnesses included merchants, priests, and a half-dozen fellows one can only describe as riffraff. Some say that one Judas, a former follower of the prophet, was also there.
Prisoner Silent The Sanhedrin, in spite of all its questioning, examination, and cross-examination, found it difficult to establish any of the charges. No two witnesses seemed to agree on anything and it was all too evident that many of them were hired to testify against the preacher. Finally, when it looked as though the accusations might fail, Caiaphas, in a fit of rage, flung aside his robe, declaring the imposter had condemned himself. But others were not so sure. The prisoner had said very little.
Immediately after, Jesus was sent to the governor, Pilate. There are confused reports of what happened then. Many believe that Pilate, at first, wanted to let the prisoner go free. But the crowds in the street, made vocal by the priests, howled that such an act would be treason against Rome.
A few hours later the prophet, in company with two thieves, was led out to a hill, known locally as Calvary, and there crucified. Multitudes gathered to watch the grim procession but there were no attempts to free the prisoners. The awful work completed, the people began to drift away, thinking it was all over.
Big Blackout In fact, things had just begun. Although it was only midday, a sudden darkness filled the sky, blotting out the sun and making people stumble and fall in their frantic fear and rush to get home. Of all the strange happenings, real or imaginary, reputed to have taken place, the mystery of the darkness I saw for myself. In my room, off the Damascus Road, I finished my dispatches by candlelight.
When the darkness finally cleared at about three in the afternoon, what a commotion there was! A great earthquake near the Calvary hill had rent the ground into great fissures. But that was not all. Far from it! People rushed through the street screaming they had seen ghosts. Apparently it began with discovering that the earthquake had disturbed a burial place and men and women, clearly petrified with fear, whispered of having seen the dead walking! All was confusion and consternation.
Then, to add the last touch, a young Temple priest ran among the crowd, tearing his hair and jabbering that judgment was about to fall. On being calmed down, he gasped to a dumbstruck crowd the incredible news that the great curtain of the holy place, the most feared and sacred thing in all Jerusalem was mysteriously ripped from top to bottom. Ordinary priests, he wailed, had looked into the “holiest.” What could now prevent the wrath of Heaven?
Probe Empty Grave On the third day it happened—the most shattering and unbelievable part of this whole fantastic affair. Things were beginning to settle down as before when a rumour spread like wildfire that the Nazarene prophet had disappeared—his grave was empty! Expecting some mischief from his followers
and tipped off by the Jewish leaders, the Romans had placed sentries by the tomb. Now the centurion was sent to investigate. What a sight he and the soldiers saw! The great stone was rolled away from the mouth of the grave, which was now empty. All around, as though struck by an invisible hand, the guards lay unconscious, with fear frozen on their faces. Of the prophet’s body, there was no trace. He had vanished.
Many of his followers, in hiding since he was arrested, now suddenly appeared—claiming to have seen their leader, risen and fully alive. Two of them, going home to the nearby village of Emmaus, rushed back to Jerusalem, declaring excitedly that they had met Jesus and that he had dined with them! Others speak of seeing him at different times, and all of them confidently assert it is the same prophet and preacher from Nazareth, alive from the dead! As expected, the Jewish leaders flatly deny the whole thing, speaking of it as a hoax, practised by the prophet’s followers.
I, with many others, just don’t know. But thinking of all that happened, especially the darkness, I wonder if it was a hoax. Could it be true? Really true? What if?
One thing is sure: this Passover, Jerusalem will never forget.
MIRACLE 13 - CHRIST’S CALLING
My parents met and fell in love during the Second World War, at a time when Protestants and Catholics were enemies. My Mum, being a Catholic, and Dad, who was Protestant, decided that religion was not such a good thing as it set people up against each other. Consequently God or religion was never mentioned in my upbringing; we were of the humanistic psychology school.
When I was twelve, and still had no idea about God or Jesus, a friend from school invited me to the cinema, to see: “Marcelino, pan y vino”. In the film Marcelino, an orphan looked after by Franciscan monks, climbs up ‘the forbidden’ stairs to the attic of the monastery and discovers that a man sized wooden crucifix is stored there. As Marcelino starts asking ‘the man on the cross’ questions Christ comes to life and answers him. In the following weeks Marcelino pinches food from the monastery kitchen and takes it up to Christ in the attic, and Christ descends from the cross to share the meal (all this is filmed in a suggestive fashion so that you don’t actually get to see Christ). In the end Christ wants to fulfill Marcelino’s greatest wish and Marcelino asks to be reunited with his mother, in heaven. So Christ puts an arm around him and makes him go to sleep. Later the monks find Marcelino, peacefully deceased in a chair beneath the crucifix.
This film changed my life completely. A great longing was aroused by it to know Christ and to be with Christ. It was as if Christ had called me.
The miracle of it all is that I saw things happening in the film that did not occur at all. I came to this perplexing sighting when I saw the exact same film again some 30 years later. In my mind and memory Christ came to life and descended from the cross to talk to Marcelino in full view of the camera. I mean, I could see
His face moving and His smile. And the conversation was not about Marcelino’s mother but about Christ inviting Marcelino to come and be with Him for ever. At the end of the film Marcelino chooses to be with Christ for ever and snuggles up in His arms, and that is where the monks find him; not in a chair. From then on, this became what I also wanted most: not to die right there and then, but to be with Christ for ever, in His shielding arms.
Madeleine
THE DEVIL DOES NOT LOVE FIELD PREACHING!
Most of us have seen, perhaps even taken part in, open-air preaching at some time. Such ministry is most frequently seen in Britain in the summer in beach missions and other holiday gatherings.
In 18th century England preaching in the open air was unknown - until George Whitefield and John and Charles Wesley initiated it. John Wesley began this ministry in Bristol in 1739 and he kept it up for more than fifty years. If Wednesday May 24th 1738 marks the date of his spiritual heart-warming, then Monday 2nd April 1739 marks the beginning of what he always called ‘field preaching.’
At four in the afternoon that day he stood up in a brickyard in Bristol and preached to about three thousand people from the words of Luke 4:18, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach…’ What a prophetic text it was! Fifty one and a half years later, under an ash tree in Winchelsea in Sussex, at the age of 87, Wesley preached his last open-air sermon, from Mk 1:15, ‘Repent and believe the gospel.’
In between the brickyard and the ash tree lay half a century of ‘field preaching,’ a ministry unequalled by any other Christian preacher. It is estimated that eighty-five percent of the forty-five thousand sermons preached by John Wesley were preached out of doors. In all places, in all weathers, to crowds large and small, he heralded the Good News across the four kingdoms of Great Britain for half a century.
He preached in fields, in barns, on hillsides, at market crosses, in town and city streets and at pit heads from Durham to Cornwall. All over the country you can still find scores of notices carrying the date when ‘John Wesley preached here.’
Wesley began this field-preaching, and continued it, because it was the most effective way to reach the people with the gospel. He believed himself called of God to this demanding ministry and he gave himself to it with undivided zeal and dedication. On almost any day during these fifty years, Wesley would travel twenty or thirty miles on horseback, in all weathers, and preach at least twice out of doors.
In one of his journal entries for June 1759, he wrote of why he practised field preaching. ‘I preached abroad to twice the people we should have had at the house (i.e. the preaching house). What marvel the devil does not love field-preaching! Neither do I. I love a commodious room, a soft cushion, a handsome pulpit. But
where is my zeal if I do not trample all these underfoot in order to save one more soul?’
Field-preaching worked! On this occasion twice as many heard the gospel as would have done if Wesley had preached indoors. As Paul said of his ministry, ‘I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some’ (1 Cor.9:22). As twenty-first century Christians, we, too, must seek to reach our generation with the gospel ‘by all means.’
By the Revd Dr Herbert McGonigle, principal of Nazarene Theological College, Manchester
PRAYER CHAIN
If you have any requests for the prayer chain, or if you feel called to take part in this ministry, please contact Anne Miechielsen
DOING MY BIT FOR DEMOCRACY
It all starts with a very large truck driving round the town. Loaded on the back of it are several huge, but transportable, billboards and the truck has one of those built-in hydraulic cranes which it uses to unload the billboards at strategic points. The first time I saw them I was confused as the billboards were empty. However over the next few days they began to fill up with political posters. Yes, election time had come round again.
Of course as an alien I'm not allowed to vote in the real elections, but they feel it is safe enough to let me vote in local and European elections as I can't do too much damage there. Now you'd think that since I'm not permitted to elect the national government I shouldn't have to pay the taxes that they so lavishly spend, but somehow it doesn't work out that way. (Didn't the 'taxation without representation' bit cause a spot of bother once?) Anyway, this time the powers that be seem to have wakened up to the fact that at a local election we expats do have a vote and we are worth courting. Thus the endless stream of election blurb began appearing in languages other than Dutch. To no one's surprise the contents were just as boring no matter which language they came in. But soon 'someone' noticed and inevitably complained on the grounds that everyone should learn Dutch so we can all be bored equally, or some such nonsense.
I remember going to vote for the first time in Amsterdam. Unlike the UK instead of being given a small sheet of paper with a handful of names on it I was handed something about the size of the Daily Telegraph which contained column after column of names. I was then told I could choose only one to make my mark against. It made me realise just how insignificant my vote really is. Of course the city of Buren doesn't have as many seats to fill so our ballot slip is merely a sheet of A3 paper with only nine columns of names, one hundred and seventeen in total, to pick from.
Now to be absolutely truthful I do not really trust politicians. And the higher up the totem pole they are, the less I trust them. So there was no possibility of me
voting for any of the national political parties. I want someone who is focused on local issues, and not trying to worm his, or her, way into Den Haag. Next are the parties which represent one religious group or another. Let's face it, who would want to live in a country governed by a General Synod? Why, every time a controversial issue came up they would kick it into the long grass and hope that everyone would forget about it. Naturally the problem would just lie and fester until it became quite inflamed. So they don't get my vote either. What is left after you take that lot out is a rather motley bunch, like parties which have a letter and a number instead of a name, some sort of greenish party and one called Beter Buren. This last one conjures up memories of a guy with a suitcase going door to door selling brushes (yes I'm really that old).
I decided to have a discussion with the others in our household who, like me, are largely disenfranchised. So after a little talk the cats and I decided that my vote would go to the Partij voor de Dieren. (They were the last, and shortest column on the paper.) On the third of March I trotted along to the old folk's home (our polling station) and did my bit to keep democracy alive. (Worryingly enough, my ballot paper ended up in what looked like a wheelie bin.) I fully expected my action to be roughly the equivalent of voting for the Monster Raving Loony Party back home, that is, a wasted vote. However the next day I was pleasantly surprised to find out they had got one seat in Buren! At last, my vote seemed to have counted for something.
One of the main planks of their platform is: banning live animal acts in travelling circuses. Now we have lived in Buren for nearly twenty years and we have seen all the forms of travelling entertainments that come to our fair city: Carnivals, Tattoos, Rock Concerts, Fairs and all night tent parties. But we have never had a visiting circus, with or without live animal acts. So what our new incumbent is going to do with his time in office is a bit of a mystery.
Next up is the General Election and as I don't have a vote I'm recommending everyone to vote for the Partij voor de Dieren. I do this for three reasons. The first being, they are unlikely to ever get any legislation passed, and two, it will get right up the noses of the main parties. Lastly of course, although they may not do any good, they will not do anywhere near as much harm as Geert Wilders' lot.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, as they used to say in all the old cowboy films, all the harbingers of spring are beginning to appear. The weeping willow which drapes itself over our driveway, and serves as a drive through car-wash on wet summer days, has changed colour from its winter dirty brown to a strange yellow-green shade, which it does just before the leaves burst out. The willow is the first to bud every year and it is almost the last to shed its leaves. However we do have an oak tree, right outside the kitchen window which keeps its dead leaves all winter. In a couple of weeks, the brown leaves, which have defied all the winter gales' attempts to remove them, will suddenly disappear and the tree will be all green again. Naturally the other signs of spring are around, the days are getting longer, the nights are getting shorter, we have had whole days without any snow
falling and there are sheep breaking into the garden and eating all the plants. Oh, and a pair of Mallard ducks are desperately trying to set up home on our pond. It goes without saying that Harry, dishtowel in hand, is just as determined to chase them off. So I suppose that it is rather cruel of me to keep giving the ducks bread to eat. But to be honest the sight of him running the length of the garden, screaming and waving the towel over his head, does brighten my day so much.
In the meantime I've worked out a new joke to play on the staff at the hospital. When you go for a blood test and they request that you arrive having eaten nothing that day, they tend to ask you if you are 'nuchter'. You then look at them in a most offended manner and tell them that you never touch the demon drink. It really winds them up every time.
Jamie
AWFUL NOISE
The wheel of my grocery cart was making a horrible scraping sound as I rolled it through the supermarket. Nevertheless, when I finished my shopping and saw a cartless woman, I offered it up, explaining, "It makes an awful noise, but it works.
"That's okay," she said, taking it. "I have a husband at home like that."
Services at Holy Trinity Church, Utrecht
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