Dear Friends
To prepare us for Pascha, the Resurrection of our Lord, the Church teaches us that we must work on ourselves. Our first preparation is to realise there is a path that leads to God and a path that leads away. The path leading away is tempting and is easy, it is the way of the world, the way of sin, the way lacking in love whereas the path to God is hard and narrow, it requires effort on our part. The parables we hear, the Publican and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9–14) and the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32) point to this reality which is shown all the more starkly when Christ describes for us the Last Judgement (Matthew 25:31–46).
We know the destination, we know that Christ has defeated his enemies and invites us to join in his victory, but we must positively choose this way: we cannot accidentally find ourselves on the correct path.
Then, on the brink of the Great Fast, having chosen the path which leads to life, we are called to make real the demands on us—to forgive and to ask forgiveness from each other that we learn, in a small way, what God has done for us. And so we manifest what we pray so often in the Lord’s Prayer,
… and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us …
Then, having gone through the celebrations of our faith—the Sundays of Orthodoxy and of St Gregory Palamas—we have now celebrated the Cross which stands at the centre of Lent and is the centre of our faithfulness.
Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mark 8:34
As we say so regularly in Sunday Matins,
By the Cross hath joy come into all the Earth.
And we hear this phrase and we are troubled: how can the Cross bring joy? We should bring a distinction between “happiness” and “joy.” Happiness is getting what I want, whatever that may be. And our World is chasing for happiness wherever it can be found, chasing for my wants, my desires, with little regard for what is good for me or helpful to me. Society is chasing happiness and making itself profoundly miserable, wretched and without joy; the maxim in our current Age seems to be, “Do whatever makes you happy, so long as that does not infringe on other people’s happiness.”
Chasing happiness is behaving as animals, doing whatever action takes our fancy at that moment: denying the image of God within us. Happiness though has an endpoint—whatever we chase the grave will ultimately take us, Death is victorious.
Joy, on the other hand, is getting what God wants for me, it is to act as a higher being with the ability to think, reason and choose something other than what makes me happy for the sake of what is Good. Joy, the Joy of the Cross, leads us to freedom and to Life. We are given the opportunity, the paradoxical opportunity, that by offering up our finite life in return we receive eternal Life.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us learn to carry our crosses with joy—offering our thanksgiving, our eucharist, to God—that we may choose the path to Life through joyfulness. The Lord has not promised us an easy path, a path of happiness, but a cross which we may bear alongside his that we too come to Life without end. And carrying our crosses we may come to the Resurrection which is offered to us as our participation in the Resurrection of Christ.
Let us seek joy over happiness that we may receive Life over death and be joined to the Lord by way of the Cross.
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Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
We are used, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, to religious leaders and teachers coming to tell us what we must do; without an invitation they demand of us, “You must believe this, you must do that, you must behave as I tell you;” and, perhaps only implicitly, there is the undertone, “I am correct and you must not challenge me.” Alongside these, predictions are often given about the futures of those who follow this preacher—“you will be blessed, you will receive health, wealth and whatever you desire”—together with curses against those who ignore him: “You will stir up the wrath of God, misfortune will befall you.”
Most in our society rightly ignore such men, though there are some who are taken in by them—those who like the certainties, the simple message, the assurance of health, wealth and happiness—and for their sakes we should work for their freedom from the captivity holding them.
“The Lord said: ‘If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'”
Christ speaks to us in a different manner, “If anyone wishes to come after me.” There is no compulsion in his voice, no “must,” but an invitation to each of us, to you and to me, to follow him. He has defeated idolatry, sin and even death, he has brought about new Life by allowing us to be joined to him, but we are not forced to follow. And, having made the free decision to follow him, there is a further contrast with those religious leaders of the world: health, wealth and happiness are not promised, rather there is work to be done, we are to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow him.
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Read last Sunday’s Sermon, Without compulsion.
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 12th April
Discussion on the Gospel of Matthew, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 13th April
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm
At 3rd URC Scout HQ, Chandlers Ford
Sunday 14th April
Matins & Divine Liturgy, 9 am
At 3rd URC Scout HQ, Chandlers Ford
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 meet at 3rd URC Scout HQ, Kings Rd, Chandlers Ford SO53 2EY. The Scout hall is behind and to the left of the URC Church. 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 parish?
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]