“PARSON
THWACKUM” -
REFLECTIONS ON THE 300TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE BIRTH OF Henry fielding
22nd april 1707
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A Sermon Reading: Mt 23:27-39 |
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Why Parson Thwackum?
Today just happens to be 22nd April 2007 –
to the day the 300th Anniversary
of the birth of Henry Fielding on 22 April 1707.
Fielding the close contemporary of Charles Wesley
(just 9 months his senior),
author of Tom Jones and other works containing
satirical lampoons directed at the Church in general
and quite often Methodism in particular.
And Parson Thwackum?
He you may recall was the Anglican Clergyman
featured in the story of Tom Jones –
to be honest he is not precisely the subject of this sermon as such,
but being one of Fielding’s particularly unpleasant
upholders of a perverted version of Christianity,
his is as good a name as any other to use as a title.
Thwackum is one of a series of Fielding’s
characters
¨ whose outward religiosity goes
hand in hand
with a narrow intolerance of other views,
¨ whose hypocrisy allows them to
twist the Christian Gospel
to selfish or violent ends,
¨ whose attacks others are presented
under the guise of righteous indignation
But why talk about Fielding at all??
It is one thing (as we will later this year)
to recall and celebrate Charles Wesley and give thanks for his work for the
Lord.
But why remember Fielding?
Because it is important to take our critics seriously.
Fielding mocks religion and Christianity as he saw it.
We can respond either by becoming aggressive and defensive,
or by seeking to turn diatribe into dialogue.
And maybe then we may learn from our critics.
The Scriptures are full of attacks on false religion, too many to
mention.
In the OT, the prophets are continually attacking Israel and her leaders
for her unwillingness to keep their side of their Covenant with God –
criticizing them for putting on the façade of religious observance
whilst actually oppressing the poor and the needy.
What God wants is justice and mercy not empty religious posturing.
In the NT Jesus attacks the Scribes and the Pharisees –
why? – because they are hypocritical –
they have a veneer of respectable religiosity
but underneath they are selfish and corrupt –
like whited sepulchres – mausoleums which are
whitewashed on the outside
but full of rotting flesh and bones on the inside.
So there is a sense that Henry Fielding
and all those who mock and attack false religion
follow in the footsteps of Isaiah and Amos and the Gospel writers.
And we who seek to be religious might benefit from a rereading of Fielding.
Fielding’s religious characters are narrow –
there is only one way and they are on it –
and they have no time for others –
As Parson Thwackum says at one point,
"When I mention religion, I mean the Christian religion;
and not only the Christian religion, but the Protestant religion;
and not only the Protestant religion, but the Church of England."
We need to recall that we follow a God who covenanted with Noah
before even the Jewish faith had been articulated,
indeed a God whose Spirit hovered over the waters
at the beginning of creation,
whose image is found in every human being from Adam on.
No surprise then that this God in Christ
is one who can see God’s presence in those of all faith and none.
This is not to say that we should not hold fast
to our own understanding of the Gospel and God’s word –
but it does mean that we should be open
to God speaking to us from other traditions.
Fielding’s religious characters, being self righteous,
feel able to dispense judgement without too much need for mercy –
they after all have right on their side!
Parson Thwackum, as he name
might imply,
has a love of the rod, and would have beaten
the boy Tom Jones mercilessly given the chance.
Luckily Tom’s guardian Mr Allworthy is made of
gentler stuff
and Thwackum is thwarted –
We need to recall the heart of the
Gospel
which is about love for sinners.
“Amazing grace which saved a wretch like me” -
If God has loved a sinner such as me,
how can I be other than compassionate towards others who fall short?
You recall the parable of the man
forgiven a huge multi-million pound debt
who then demands the repayment of a £5 debt from a colleague
on pains of throwing him into the debtors’ gaol?
Yes of course there are those who
have fallen away
from the ways of love and truth and justice –
But who am I, who have been forgiven so much,
who am I not to offer love to such a one?
And even when we are
dealing with
¨ the grim fanaticism of a suicide
bomber or
¨ the gung ho gun boat diplomacy of
a self satisfied political leader
¨ or the heartless trafficking of
drugs or human beings –
we still need to distinguish the sin
form the sinner –
hate the sin and try try to love the sinner.
Fielding’s sham Christians combine a blend of
hypocrisy, heartlessness and self righteousness
which is the very antithesis of the Gospel –
a Gospel of truth, love and godliness.
It all comes together in a passage right near the start of the
book.
The infant Tom Jones has been discovered abandoned in the Squire’s bed.
Mrs Deborah Wilkins knows her Christian duty in this case –
I quote a passage which I hope speaks pretty much for itself:
When Mrs. Deborah returned into
the room, and was acquainted by her master with the finding the little infant, …[she] could she refrain from crying out, with great horror
of accent as well as look, “My good sir! what’s to be
done?” Mr. Allworthy answered, she must take care of
the child that evening, and in the morning he would give orders to provide it a
nurse. “Yes, sir,” says she; “and I hope your worship will send out your
warrant to take up the hussy its mother, for she must be one of the
neighbourhood; and I should be glad to see her committed to Bridewell,
and whipt at the cart’s tail. Indeed, such wicked
sluts cannot be too severely punished. I’ll warrant ’tis not her first, by her
impudence in laying it to your worship.” “In laying it to me, Deborah!”
answered Allworthy: “I can’t think she hath any such
design. I suppose she hath only taken this method to provide for her child; and
truly I am glad she hath not done worse.” “I don’t know what is worse,” cries
Deborah, “than for such wicked strumpets to lay their sins at honest men’s
doors; ….
… besides, why should your worship provide for what
the parish is obliged to maintain? For my own part, if it was an honest man’s
child, indeed—but for my own part, it goes against me to touch these
misbegotten wretches, whom I don’t look upon as my fellow-creatures. Faugh! how it stinks! It doth not smell like a Christian. If I
might be so bold to give my advice, I would have it put in a basket, and sent
out and laid at the churchwarden’s door. It is a good night, only a little rainy
and windy; and if it was well wrapt up, and put in a warm basket, it is two to
one but it lives till it is found in the morning. But if it should not, we have
discharged our duty in taking proper care of it; and it is, perhaps, better for
such creatures to die in a state of innocence, than to grow up and imitate
their mothers; for nothing better can be expected of them.”
(Tom Jones Book 1, ch 3)
This is not just a 18th Century story.
Watch Halle Berry in the movie “Finding Isaiah”
about a crack smoking mother who carelessly abandons her newborn baby -
and see the issues and emotions played out in a modern context
These are universal issues –
Do we go with Parson Thwackum and Mrs Wilkins –
smelling out true Christians and not deigning to touch those who
are unclean,
protecting our reputation and comfort ahead of caring for the needy?
Or do we go with our Lord and Saviour
who touched the leper and laid hands on the sick
and who was prepared to go to the very depths
to care for and share with the needy and the lost?
Three hundred years on,
and still infant Tom Jones and his like are cast away,
and still we struggle with a sinful world which does not care for its
children.
Still we have a choice.
Will we keep our Pharisaical distance
and wash our hands with Pilate?
Or like Paul on the Damascus Road
will we allow the light of God’s love to overpower us and transform us
from self righteous religious fanatics
into cross carrying followers of the servant king?
May the God of the Damascus Road speak to us now!
ORDER OF SERVICE
6.30 p.m. Evening Worship led by Rev Andrew Sails
in the Community Room
Hymn 199 “Jesus, Lord, Redeemer”
Prayers and Lord’s Prayer
Hymn SOF 67 “Come and See”
Readings: Matthew 23:27-39
Acts 9:1-6
Hymn 431 “Where cross the crowded ways of life”
Sermon: “Parson Thwackum” -
Reflections on the 300th
Anniversary of the birth of Henry Fielding on 22nd April 1707
Hymn 230 “There’s a wideness in God’s mercy”
Collection
Prayers of Intercession
Hymn 465 “We have a Gospel to proclaim”
Blessing