Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Our Father in Christ, Metropolitan Silouan, will be joining us on Sunday 29th March. Please join us to greet him and worship together with him.
9 am Matins & Divine Liturgy
Dear Friends
Our world was perishing. Mankind had abandoned following the Most High God and chased after spirits and demons whom we believed we could manipulate but in reality manipulated us. The devil had apparently won and gained power over death, eating the dust from which man was made and to which he shall return. (see Genesis 3:14, 19)
And God called Abram of Ur.
Get out of your country,
Genesis 12:1–3
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
And Abram was faithful and grew in faithfulness. God gave him a new name, Abraham, and blessed him,
Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
Genesis 22:17–18
In your Seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.
And the Apostle interprets this for us.
Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ.
Galatians 3:16
The Lord did not wish to see us perish but that we should be renewed in Him. And for this purpose it was necessary to become one of us—both the heir of Abraham and the One through Whom all may be incorporated into the people of God. And the Church rejoices in wonder that His chosen vessel, the one through whom God Himself became part of Creation, spoke in all humility to the Archangel, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
And the world that was perishing has been brought back to life, the devil who held the tyranny of death over us is on borrowed time. This is not the end of his rule but marks a crucial and decisive turn which leads to his permanent defeat.
The Annunciation, the Great Feast of the Church celebrating this crucial step in salvation history, is not solely a chance to mark the event in our calendars, like anniversaries of key dates in history, it is our participation in the gauntlet being thrown down against the powers of this age.
Today is the beginning of our salvation, and the manifestation of the mystery from the ages; for the Son of God becometh the Son of the Virgin, and Gabriel proclaimeth grace. Wherefore, do we shout with him to the Theotokos: Hail, O full of grace! The Lord is with thee.
Apolytikion of the Annunciation
Not a distant event of long ago, but “Today.” Today Christ is beginning salvation, today Christ is incarnate of the Virgin, today is the manifestation of Him in the flesh. And today is the Satan shown to be a usurper against whom Christ will descend and obliterate his power. The gates of Hades are revealed to be brass—pretty, shiny, but hardly a material from which to build a fortress.
Let us, therefore, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, join together with this prelude to the defeat of all which oppresses our race—sin which entices, death which holds us in fear, idolatry which keeps us from questioning the system—that we may join ourselves to Life, join ourselves to Christ, and be inheritors of eternal Life.
Come and see!
Confessions are available following any service or by appointment.
We serve a meal following the Liturgy on Sundays. All are welcome.
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Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
We work, dear brothers and sisters, to provide for ourselves and for our families. We work because there are bills to pay—housing, utilities, food, communications, transport, and more. But what is the purpose in this life of work, of this living to work? The acquisition of money? But what even is that? We come into the world without a concept of money, we must be taught what it is, it does not come instinctively to infants though by adolescence nearly all know of its power and influence over us. We are taught to value it, to want it, and that we never have enough of it so we must acquire more. Money brings status, importance and worth. And at our end, it will be squabbled over by parties hoping to inherit. But it is all a lie: it is just a number on a computer spreadsheet at a bank: it does not confirm identity nor confer value; love of money is one of the great lies of the world. (see First Timothy 6:10) We came into the world with none and we leave it all behind.
The Lord confirms this to us.
“For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life?”
Even all the money in the world cannot equate with one life. Our conditioning is wrong, our lives should not, must not, be a series of tasks to acquire more money but a transformation of the human person into the image of God. We all, poor and wealthy alike, are subject to death in this world, but through Christ we are given the path to eternal Life. Not just more life, more drudgery, more tasks, but Life, abundant Life, joyful Life. And for this purpose the world spends seemingly infinite amounts of money, but Christ has shown us the true path that is accessible to all.
…
Read this Sermon, What profit?
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 20th March
Discussion on the Book of Job, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 21st March
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Sunday 22nd March
Matins & Divine Liturgy, 9 am
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Online session is via Google Meet: please get in touch 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