Foxed and Fleeced at Hexham Abbey

Hexham Abbey, that time-warp to medieval England, the place the Reformation forgot, is no stranger to this blog. Among its carvings is a scene in which a fox is preaching to geese. He stands over them, calculating his opportunity to pounce. This is typical fifteenth-century satire; the powerful and well fed clergy lived off the common people’s tithes. Their bellies were fat with meat while they that grew the food ate plain vegetables. It’s a wonder that such a carving was allowed; perhaps the good abbot had a sense of humour or recognised the failings of his own church. 

We pastors who receive financial support from our congregations must ensure we earn our crust by not feeding off others’ work and giving nothing in return. We must also ensure that we preach the Bible faithfully, not singing lying lullabies to which the gullible may comfortably dose. Titus warns us that

there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,  whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.

Not only were these foxes fleecing their flocks of money, they were denying them knowledge of God’s free grace: they were twice-robbed.

Beware of foxes, ye geese.