Dear Friends
We want to turn Orthodoxy into a system, a set of beliefs, a way of thinking. So we come up with definitions—“Orthodox proclaim that Christ rose from the dead, Orthodox believe in the Trinity, Orthodox are baptised, etc.”—so that we can state if something or someone is Orthodox. Our Faith is transformed into a set of beliefs and customs, ideas and rituals, affirmations and denials.
But this is not our Faith. We do not define ourselves by a set of beliefs, or practices, or customs: we define ourselves by Christ. We are the Body and Bride of Christ, the community of faithful, the company of the saints. And in this we honour, glorify and proclaim his Resurrection. “I am the Resurrection and the Life,” says the Lord,
He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
John 11:25–26
And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.
Yes, dogmas and doctrines are important, but they are not important for themselves but that they lead us to Christ, keep us with Christ, bind us to Christ. As in the conclusion of the famous Breastplate of St Patrick,
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us remain faithful and loyal to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Who has brought us to Life. Let us never preach “Orthodoxy,” rather let us preach Christ and His Resurrection, the deliverance of all from sin and death, that we may stay close to Him, abide with Him, and be shown as heirs of the Promise and inheritors of eternal Life.
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Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
What, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, would we have had the Apostles do for us? To remain in Jerusalem “working out their own salvation”? What would we have had them do? To go only to their own people, to the children of Judah? To have made a quiet religion, an inward focused philosophical system, a self-help group for those who sought them out? What would we have had them do for us?
“As you wish that men would do to you,” says the Lord, “do so to them.” The Apostles were to be sent out into the world, preaching the death and Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, “Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.” (Luke 10:3) And to protect themselves they may well have made a quiet witness, a humble presence, “people will come,” they could have reasoned to themselves, “if we are here, if we hold services: if we silently pray the Lord will send to us people; He is here with us, ‘For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them,’ (Matthew 18:20) He has promised.”
“As you wish that men would do to you,” says the Lord, “do so to them.” Since if we would have the Apostles deliver to us the Gospel of Christ—teaching others, who taught others, who taught others, who taught us—so must we be. If we believe the Truth of the Resurrection, not that the Resurrection is merely our opinion but that the entirety of our lives is centred on faithfulness and fidelity to Christ and His Resurrection, then how could we be satisfied to be the end of the line, the last in the chain, the completion of the Christian Gospel. Because if any before us dropped the baton or gave up the Message, we would not have received the Gospel: we have a duty, therefore, to carry it on, pass it onwards, that others may receive the joy we have received, that others may have Life.
…
Read this Sermon, What would we have had them do for us?
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 10th October
Discussion on the Prophecy of Isaiah, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 11th October
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Sunday 12th October
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