Dear Friends
At the Ascension, the disciples still seemed to misunderstand the Gospel of Christ. “Lord,” they said, “will you at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) They were asking if Christ would now throw off Roman rule and restore political freedom to the Judean people: yet just a few days later they were completely different, completely transformed, completely brought to life. No longer was a new, earthly political reality a focus but the preaching of the Gospel to the ends of the Earth (see Psalm 18:4, Romans 10:18).
“And it shall come to pass afterward
Joel 2:28–32, see also Acts 2:17–21
That I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
And also on my menservants and on my maidservants
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.
For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,
As the Lord has said,
Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.
For the Holy Spirit had come upon certain of the people of God at certain times but now comes to sanctify all God’s people: “pour[ed] out on all flesh.” He is revealed as the one who brings life,
Verily, the Holy Spirit is the Element of life and its beginning; for through him doth every living thing breathe; as is the Father and the Word.
Anabathmoi, Sunday Matins, Plagal 1st Mode
And what happened to the Apostles, what happened to the three thousand on the day of Pentecost, what happened to generations of Christians from that day until today, can happen to us. We can allow the Spirit to drench us in holiness.
But if we truly desire this to happen, it is not enough to guard this from others. If we love our neighbours then we love them enough to let them see the transformative action of the Holy Spirit, for the paradox is what we try to hold onto we lose, what we freely give away is ours forever.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, be rivers of the Holy Spirit: for if we attempt to be reservoirs we will, eventually, dry up but as a river we will constantly be replenished by God.
I wish you all a joyful feast of Pentecost.
Liturgy this Sunday (12th June) will be immediately followed by Vespers and then the usual meal. In Vespers we will pray the three kneeling prayers. Since Pascha we have not generally kneeled during prayer but now we return to our usual practice.
You may want to bring a cushion or something else on which to kneel.
We now serve a meal following the Liturgy on Sundays. All are welcome.
Do you, or someone you know, want to join our mailing list and receive our weekly email? Then let me know.
Singers — we want you
We are now more free to increase the number of singers at Church: would you like to sing and join this important ministry. Then please speak to me or the singers at Church.
All are welcome!
Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
Prior to the Lord’s Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, the three disciples, through the mouth of Peter, confessed Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16; see also Mark 8:29, Luke 9:20) The Lord hears this confession of Faith and explains to them only at this point that he will die and they must take up their crosses and follow him. Then he leads them up the mountain and is transfigured before them. This is to say the vision of God, his personal revelation to us, follows a confession of Faith.
We have reached, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, a between phase, a middle period, between the Ascension and Pentecost, we await the coming of the Holy Spirit, the final and complete revelation of God to humanity. And to remind us that we need to make our own confession of Faith beforehand—our own declaration that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” prior to the final revelation of God—the Church sets before us two images, the Holy Fathers of the First Council held in Nicea and the High-Priestly Prayer of the Gospel according to John. The Lord, as he prays before his passion, shows us the path to God: “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me,” says Christ, “that they may be one, even as we are one.” Because it is not by vague promises to work together, not as a team riven with internal divisions, not as a body whose members are cut off from one another, but as being one, as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one. One in mind, one in Faith, one in ritual, one in action—each according to his part, the hand operating as a hand and not as a knee—all united in purpose: that we may be one.
The Holy Fathers knew this. The Holy Fathers experienced the pain of division, of heresy attacking the Church. And they saw fit to expound for us the Faith which had been once and for all delivered to the saints (see Jude 3). In their great love for the Church they gave to her, to us, the first part of the Symbol of Faith, the Creed, which was completed at the following Council.
…
Read last Sunday’s Sermon, A Confession of Faith.
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 10th June
Discussion on the book of Exodus, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 11th June
Vespers, 6.30 pm
At St Francis’ Hall, Eastleigh
Sunday 12th 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]