Dear Friends
It is all too easy to lie to ourselves, “I can worship God anywhere.” And I can use this as an excuse to avoid Church, to avoid people. I can remember to pray at home, but I have a niggling feeling at the back of my head—there’s something missing but I know not what.
Lies which are outright untrue are easy to dismiss and we can turn to truth, what are dangerous are those lies that have an element of truth. We can pray to God in all places, worship him in our homes and wherever we find ourselves, but these opportunities to come to God can be not enough to keep our Faith alive—they are good, essential even, but by themselves they are like living only on water.
What the Church offers the faithful, to you and to me, is to come together as a community. And this gathering holds great power, we become greater than the sum of our individual parts, and we come into contact with the divine. I may be a weak Christian and I may consider my prayers to be weak, but when joined together with the Church community they become strong and powerful before the Lord. I discover that other people are not to be avoided but they allow me to become my true self.
And then I return to my home refreshed and renewed. And the prayers I offer by myself have new and deeper value. God has visited me and offered me life and my week has purpose and meaning: each moment of my week can become a thanksgiving of receiving Christ and an anticipation of receiving him again.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God offers you his very self through the services: seeing the icons, hearing the Gospel, smelling the incense, touching the Cross and, most perfectly, tasting the Eucharist which is the gift of eternal life—through all our senses we partake of God.
Be a part of this Mystery of Faithfulness, be a part of the Church, be a part of life.
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Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
What do you do, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when you encounter the living God? When you come into contact with the God of Heaven and of Earth? When you hear the teaching how do you react? How do I react? Do we keep ourselves at a distance, trying to analyse what is being said for ways around a problem or do we fall down and worship the living God?
There were two groups at work in the Temple, the chief priests and Pharisees conspired together and there were also the temple guards: they both heard the words of this wandering preacher. But those who studied the Law, who were expert in Scripture, could not recognise Christ; those who had not studied could see in Jesus one who speaks with authority, “Never has Man spoken in this way.”
“Therefore they sought to take him: but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. And many of the people believed in him, and said, ‘When the Christ comes, will he do more signs than these which this Man has done?'” (John 7:30–31)
“Seeing they may not see,” says the Lord of the chief priests and Pharisees, “And hearing they may not understand.” (Luke 8:10, Mark 4:12; see also Matthew 13:14–15, Isaiah 6:9–10)
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Services this week
Friday 17th June
Discussion on the book of Exodus, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 18th June
Vespers, 6.30 pm
At St Francis’ Hall, Eastleigh
Sunday 19th June
Divine Liturgy, 9.30 am
At St Francis’ Hall, Eastleigh
Online session is via Google Meet: please get in contact for the details.
Please join us: all are welcome, come and see.
Attending Church
We will be meeting at St Francis’ Hall, Nightingale Avenue, Eastleigh, SO50 9JA. Come and See.
Can I help you?
I am here for you, you need only ask. Is there a way I can support your life of faith? Get in touch.
Can you help the mission?
Yes, absolutely. Offer yourselves to the Lord: pray! Make available to him all your talents and ask him how he would like you to use them — listen for his reply.
Your prayers!
With love in Christ
Fr Alexander
[email protected]