Dear Friends
Our society has many good and valuable charities which work to serve others, help those in need, campaign for the marginalised and vulnerable. This is commendable and I strongly support giving to charities.
But why do these charities exist? There are two competing ideologies which run through all of us—to serve others and to offer hospitality to all on the one hand and to get as much as we can for ourselves on the other. And while offering hospitality to our equals or our betters has a long history, charities often do it for those at the bottom of society, both in this country and abroad.
Secularists and atheists may claim this is because we have developed a morality which honours all within society: all have dignity and worth. When pressed, “Where does this morality come from?” they may give answers but they come across to those of faith as poor responses. For much of human history the poor and downtrodden have been fodder for the powerful, to be kept around only while useful. The continuing existence of charities, therefore, should not be taken as a given since their value relies on the continuing—albeit distant—memory of the Christian Gospel and hope in the Resurrection of Christ: it is this which gives the morality to our society, to the whole world even.
But the memory is fading, certain groups—downtrodden, vulnerable, in need of support—are having their dignity and worth removed. It remains to be seen if these regressive steps will continue as the powerful seek more ways to exploit the weak in the name of progress.
In this society the Church—us!—preaches the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and invites all to come to greater knowledge of the Father through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. And this is neither to provide a break to current cultural trends nor is it to sure up and justify our vision of morality, this is to bring all to Truth, all to reality, all to Life. The Gospel is given to us to show that there is no finality in death because death has been defeated by Christ’s death and Life reigns.
Now faithfulness is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
— Hebrews 11:1
Our faithfulness, therefore, is our preaching. By remaining faithful to Christ we witness the Resurrection, our faithfulness is “the evidence of things not seen.” And this is precisely what our society needs. They do not need to be told what to think, what to do, how to be, they need saints—you and me—who are faithful witnesses to Christ, who follow Him to the best of our ability, who serve without expecting service, who stand with the vulnerable and weak, who demonstrate by our actions to the reality of the Resurrection, who accept that we will die but absolutely reject death.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the continuing existence of charities, along with other actions of our society which protect the weak, cannot be assumed to continue into the future. And we could bewail the collapse of “western civilisation,” we could grumble about the decline in morality, we could lament as the last remaining vestiges of Christian identity leave our culture, we could cry out to God, “Why did You let this happen?” Or we could live a Christian life. We could live a life of faithfulness to God, drawing closer to Him through His Church. We could remember that whatever happens and, however our society chooses to change,
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
— John 16:33
He is in charge,
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
And so, we must live a life of faithfulness and fidelity to Christ and,
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.
— Matthew 28:18–20
And by going, baptising and teaching we remain faithful to the One who has promised to be with us always and all the days—the good days and the bad days, the days when we feel His presence and the days when we feel His absence, the days of joy and the days of lament—and we may bring all the more into these days that they too may experience the freedom in Christ which comes through faithfulness to Him and His Resurrection.
Come and see!
Catechism & Catechumens
There are several members of our community who have expressed an interest in fully joining the Church, either through Baptism or Chrismation depending on circumstances.
I want you to, I think everyone should be a full member of the Church, but I am also keen not to put pressure on anyone. If you want to join you need to ask.
For me there are two key requirements.
- You are a member of our community. You participate in services as well as the rest of the life of the community.
- You understand The Symbol of Faith (also called the Creed) in the way the Church understands it. Alongside this, you will understand about the Orthodox Church, her history and traditions.
To help with 2., on Saturdays, after Vespers I will start to go through the Symbol of Faith. This will only last up until 7.40 pm (Vespers usually ends around 7.10–7.15 pm).
If you are interested in joining the Church (though there’s no commitment) or are already a member but would like to know more about our Faith, you’d be most welcome to join us.
If you’d like to join the Church, but can’t make it on Saturday evenings, then please speak to me and we can make alternative arrangements for you.
[For those who would like to come to Confession on Saturdays while this programme is happening, Confessions can happen from 7.40 pm: apologies for any inconvenience.]
We 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.
Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
We easily imagine that eternal Life is like life in this world, a succession of moments streamed together. And this is an unsatisfactory answer—it leads to questions such as, “Would I be bored in Heaven?”—yet we stick with the premise that Heaven is one activity after another, a “forever version” of how we are in this world.
In today’s Gospel reading, the Rich Young Man thought in this way. “I prepare for eternal Life, what more provisions do I need?” He had money, he had wealth, so would be able to feed himself in the coming Life, clothe himself in the coming Life, live a life worth living in the coming Life. But he needed to be sure, “Good Teacher,” he cries out, “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He both does not comprehend the truth of the question nor recognise the One whom he questions. “Why do you call me good?” replies the Lord. It is fitting and right to call Christ “Good,” though the Rich Young Man does not realise it, since “No one is Good but God alone.”
“You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour your father and mother.’”
And the man does not understand, “All these I have observed from my youth.” And we must take him at his word, he has observed the Law, observed Torah, strictly: but he does not recognise the eternal reality to which it points. For him they are “moral standards,” a minimum to which one must aspire to be considered an upstanding member of Jewish society. But for God they are not a minimum level which to jump over, they are a maximum to which we must all seek continually. For the entirety of the Law may be summed up in,
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ …
[And] ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’
On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
— Matthew 22:37, 39–40; cf. Mark 12:30–31, Luke 10:27; Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18
So laws of Moses the Rich Young Man has kept, but love for God and love for neighbour—the Law!—have slipped him by since on these “hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
…
Read this Sermon, And this is eternal Life.
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 29th November
Discussion on the Gospel of Matthew, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 30th November
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Sunday 1st December
Matins and Divine Liturgy, 9 am
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, 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]