Dear Friends
The history of mankind has been the history of the oppression of the weak by the strong. Armies come and rewrite history according to their own purposes, empires rise and fall, slaves are taken from their home and forced to serve another. The one with the biggest sword owns the land, with the biggest mouth owns the debate, with the biggest business makes the deal.
And in a backwater of the Roman Empire, far away any sort of power, a young woman visits her cousin and proclaims the victory of the weak.
My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.
— Luke 1:46–55
And to the Empire this Hymn would be ridiculous: the gods of Rome have defeated all before them, including the God of Israel. But the God Most High comes not as a human ruler, bringing empire in place of empire until it is eventually replaced by another, but by transforming people, transforming society, transforming even Rome itself because it is irresistible.
The gods of Rome, and the others, have not given up: despite their defeat they try until the end. While Mars may no longer be overtly worshipped, the desire for war remains strong, Venus and Aphrodite may no longer have temples but their cults live on in magazines, video filters and advertisements, the spirit of Mercury lives on in the desire to use commerce and enterprise in order to dominate others. The gods and goddesses of Rome live on in our world—below the surface and unseen, many of whose followers may consider themselves “atheists”—and are fighting back.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
Our society is trying really hard to live without God, but in its desire for secularism and atheism the gods have found a way back in. They no longer have temples, are no longer overtly recognised, but even in their defeat they dare challenge the Almighty by looking to corrupt us. They have been put down from their thrones and sent away empty-handed while the lowly are exalted and the hungry filled with good things.
What are we to do? We come together and we serve the Divine Liturgy. We declare in our community that the Satan, that death, that all the gods of the nations have been defeated.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
— First Corinthians 11:26
And in so doing we participate—here and now, in a world subject to decay—in the Kingdom of God. Our Hymn, often called the Magnificat from its first word in Latin, declares to the world that it is the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake and those who are reviled and persecuted for Christ’s sake (Matthew 5:3–11) who shall receive what was promised to Abraham, that it is not the strong and mighty but the humble and meek who are the followers of Christ.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the secularism and atheism around us are really a return to paganism, worshipping and honouring spirits who can give success and power according to the standards of this age, and our answer to them is not to step in with might and authority but with love and humility. Christ is Victorious but not violent, Ruler but not a tyrant, He defeats the spiritual powers oppressing us—the gods—and gives us an opportunity to repent and turn again to Him, bringing joy in the place of sadness, peace in the place of aggression, Life in the place of death.
Come, let us join together with Him.
Come, let us bring all the more to Him.
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.
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.
One word in Greek for “person” is “πρόσωπον” (prosopon) which originally meant “face.” Personhood can be thought, therefore, as “how I appear, how I relate, to others.” Since, unless we are looking at a photo or in a mirror, our “face,” our “person” is not seen by ourselves but by others.
The rich man, in today’s Gospel reading, refuses to relate to Lazarus at his gate, refuses to see his personhood. But in refusing to place himself before another he refuses his own person—notice throughout this narrative he has no name, referred to only as “the rich man,” precisely because he has given up his personhood, given up his own worth, given up his own dignity: possessing everything he has nothing. His sin was not that he was rich, it was that he refused to serve others. As the Great Teacher of the Church, St John Chrysostom, tells us,
“The rich exist for the sake of the poor. The poor exist for the salvation of the rich.”
Not that it is “holy to be poor,” but that we must serve the other so that neither poverty nor riches in themselves are a barrier to reach Christ.
…
Read this Sermon, Without a face, without personhood.
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 8th November
Discussion on the Gospel of Matthew, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 9th November
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Sunday 10th November
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]