Dear Friends
We are approaching the equinox, on 22nd September, when the length of the day and night are equal. Autumn will move on and the leaves will turn as little by little, perhaps slowly enough that we might not realise, it will cool and darken. Midday will not have the sun quite so high in the sky and darkness will be heading towards the ascendency.
And our natural rhythms will change. The keenness to go out may diminish, darkness does not have quite the same appeal as the evenings of summer, more layers of clothing, more warm and filling meals, more blankets—all to combat the aggression of the darkness and cold.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of Life—
First John 1:1–4
the Life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal Life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—
that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
The beloved disciple begins his first epistle with a message of hope, of longing: he speaks with a great desire to communicate to others what he has already learned and received that they might participate in that same joy. And what is the joy, the message, the Gospel?
This is the Message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all.
verses 5–7
If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the Truth.
But if we walk in the Light as He is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
And we may feel at a loss, or struggling, or despairing, or in need—and these are real and significant—yet God is calling us to the Light. And while the night gains an advantage over the day, the Light by which we are called to walk does not wane. Notice, too, that St John tells us that being united with Christ we have fellowship with one another, but the reverse is also true: if we are united together in fellowship we are brought into the Light. This is why we cannot be a Christian by ourselves, we have to be in community and fellowship, caring for one another and bearing one another that we may be truly in Christ.
My dear brothers and sisters, “we have seen the True Light,” as we sing during the Divine Liturgy,
And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
John 1:5
Let us, along with the Apostle John, be so overcome with joy and love for our receiving the Light that we share it with others. Our world seems, more and more, overcome with darkness, with sadness, with despair, but we have the Light by which they may walk as in the Day.
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
First Timothy 2:5–6
Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
And so we need to be in Him.
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
First John 2:3–6
He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
And the greatest sign we have that we walk in Him, that we walk in the Light, is our love for others.
He who says he is in the Light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.
verses 9–11
He who loves his brother abides in the Light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Let us then, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, walk as in the Day, with the certainty of the Light of the Resurrection in our hearts, let us demonstrate our love for our neighbours, our friends, our society, by inviting all into the Light that they might come to knowledge of the Word of Life and be illumined by the radiance of Christ.
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Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
“Look, the fire and the wood,” Isaac speaks to his father Abraham,
“‘but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’
And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.’ So the two of them went together. …
and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.
And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’
So he said, ‘Here I am.’
And He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’”
— Genesis 22:7–8, 9–12
This is a strange account, so Elder Zacharias has given us a beautiful understanding of it. “Scripture,” says he,
“tells us how Abraham loved Isaac (cf. Genesis 22:2) so as to prepared us for the strange intervention of God a few lines further down. God says to Abraham, ‘Take Isaac, go up on the mountain and offer him in sacrifice.’ In other words: ‘Offer sacrifice of the son of my wondrous promise to you, the son of the miracle by which Sarah has been loosed from her barrenness!’ Here is a great mystery. Abraham was a man wholly dedicated to God and therefore enjoyed all God’s favour. But when he received the son which had been promised him, his heart became attached to Isaac and was thereby divided. To free his heart, God put him through a terrible test: He asked Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. Abraham obeyed, and when God saw that his heart had been restored to its first love through his obedience and readiness to sacrifice his son, He gave Isaac back to him who had put all his confidence in God.”
— Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou), ‘Remember thy first love,’ p. 29.
Isaac, through the faithfulness of Abraham, was dead until the Lord restored him to life. Isaac, the son of the Promise,
“was led as a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before his shearers,
so he opens not his mouth.”
— Isaiah 53:7
And in the narrative the next event in Isaac’s life is he is espoused to Rebecca,
“Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebecca and she became his wife, and he loved her.”
— Genesis 24:67
“He loved her:” he gave himself to her completely, serving and honouring her, he was willing to lay down his own life for her sake, “He loved her.” Isaac was dead but was made alive by the power and intervention of God and was united with his beloved.
…
Read this Sermon, It is consummated.
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 19th September
Discussion on the Prophecy of Isaiah, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 20th September
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Sunday 21st September
Matins & Divine Liturgy, 9 am
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Online session is via Google Meet: please get indd 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
webenquiry@orthodoxeastleigh.uk