Metropolitan Silouan’s Visit — 8th–9th March
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Our Father in Christ, Metropolitan Silouan, will visit our community on the first weekend of the Great Fast and will lead us for the celebration of the Sunday of Orthodoxy.
Please come and join us as we welcome our bishop. He would like to speak with you, pray with you and worship the living God together with you.
Dear Friends
Someone wrongs me and I want vengeance, I want punishment, I want just deserts. If someone takes something from me I want it returned with compensation, if someone commits a crime against me I want him prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’
— Romans 12:19 (see also Deuteronomy 32:35, Hebrews 10:30)
As it is not the place of a slave to seek revenge against someone—rather he should bring his grievance to his master—so too should we not seek revenge, rather we should place all our hope, loyalty and trust in God, knowing “we are not our own, for we were bought with a price.” (First Corinthians 6:19–20)
It is easy to say, “I believe in the Resurrection.” It is an amazing statement, unbelievable to many in this world, but it is still easy to say it. But the Lord gave to His disciples—to all who claim they believe in the Resurrection, to you and to me—a Word which demonstrates our fidelity to Him, a Word which ties our faithfulness to Him to our interactions with others, a Word so important He instructed us to have it always on our lips in prayer,
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And while some will argue about translations of trespass—debt or sin also possible—the meaning is clear: as much as I am willing to forgive others, God will forgive me to the same extent. And therefore to say “I am a Christian” is to say “I forgive those who wrong me.” And I struggle, I try, there are some things which I seem able to forgive but others I cannot. I am afflicted with despair and want to give up, to deny Christ, to return to the world.
“When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished,” for the Christian Gospel is hard to follow, it is difficult to remain faithful. For, although this exchange was in a different context, about the giving up of riches, it can also be applied to forgiveness. Forgiveness is hard, really hard. They replied,
‘Who then can be saved?’
But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’
— Matthew 19:25–26
My mistake is that I try to forgive by my own power. But this is not only hard, it is impossible. I must pray, “Lord, grant me the power to forgive.” For the forgiveness is from God, not from me: but if I allow the forgiveness to come through me the power of God strengthens me and vivifies me.
But there is an even deeper level of faithfulness to God into which I could dive. Even more than accepting that I need to forgive, I can accept that I need forgiveness. I have sinned, I have fallen short of the glory of God, (see Romans 3:23) and every sin that I have committed has an effect on those around me. On Sunday, after the Liturgy, we will come together and ask forgiveness of each other. We have been taught in the Gospel readings over the last few weeks to be humble, to return to the Father’s House, to remember that Judgement is coming, now before we may even start the Great Fast we learn forgiveness—to forgive and to ask the forgiveness of others. We will say to each other, “Forgive me, the sinner,” and in reply the other will say, “As God forgives so I forgive.”
My dear brothers and sisters, for us to be truly Christian we must forgive. And when we do not have the strength to forgive we pray that the Lord gives us the strength to forgive. And as we prepare for the Fast and the joys of the Resurrection at its fulfilment, let us remain as faithful children of the Light so that we will be blessed to sing with great joy at Pascha,
It is the day of Resurrection; let us be radiant for the festival, and let us embrace one another. Let us say, O brethren, even to those that hate us: Let us forgive all things on the Resurrection. And thus let us cry: Christ is risen from the dead trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs, bestowing life!
I wish to you all a good contest in the arena of the Great Fast.
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.
The Lord gives us today a stark scene, a scary scene, we should pay attention to the fearful content of what awaits. For the last two Sundays, as we prepare for the beginning of the Great Fast, we hear Parables—of the Publican and the Pharisee (Luke 18:10–14) and of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32)—now we hear in frightening terms of the Last Day, the Great Day, the Day of the consummation of this Age.
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious Throne.”
Judgement is coming. And I think to myself, “What arbitrary terms! How do I know if I am a sheep or a goat?” And I go on in my thought processes, “What’s the minimum number of people I need to feed to be a sheep? How much do I need to give to be let in?” Because I consider what I term “the judgement criteria” in today’s Gospel—feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned—as a check-list for my life, to be a “how to” of being an upright Christian.
And in my misery, of itself it would not matter how many I feed: I would be a goat.
Let us, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, not see this as a check-list for judgement, rather let us understand the principle. What marks a goat is his separateness, he walks apart from the world, on the precipices overlooking sin. The sheep, on the other hand, yields fruit and stays within the spiritual protection of the herd as the shepherd watches over. The righteous, the sheep, do not feed others because they themselves want something, they feed because it is in their nature, they feed because they place others as more important than themselves, they feed because they are humble. The cursed, the goats, on the other hand are full of pride and self-importance, they feed others only when they can receive in return, they serve others only to gain status and prestige, they strategise their generosity for the maximum impact on themselves.
Read this Sermon, Give.
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 28th February
Apologies, no discussion on the Prophecy of Isaiah this week
Online only
Saturday 1st March
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Sunday 2nd March
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]