Dear Friends
Christ is risen!
And we draw towards the end of our paschal season. Christ is risen, Christ brings new Life, Christ brings immortality to as many as would be joined to Him, but we cannot remain in this state. For thirty-nine days we feel the risen Christ particularly in our midst—teaching us, strengthening us, guiding us—not so that we may become needy but so that we may grow for the journey ahead.
When the Lord sends out his disciples to proclaim the earthly arrival of Israel’s Messiah, He instructs them,
Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.
Luke 10:3–6
Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.
But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’
And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.
Yet when He is preparing them for preaching the Resurrection and going even to the ends of the earth, the Lord instructs differently,
And He said to them, ‘When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?’
Luke 22:35–38
So they said, ‘Nothing.’
Then He said to them, ‘But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: “And He was numbered with the transgressors.” For the things concerning Me have an end.’
So they said, ‘Lord, look, here are two swords.’
And He said to them, ‘It is enough.’
For we must prepare for the trials, difficulties and challenges ahead. I am so scared of a change of state, of the Lord leaving, that I would have Him remain here with me, providing me comfort and strength. The Lord, though—in His love for you and His love for me—would have us prepare for the road, but the road will not be journeyed alone. Christ promises us,
If you love Me, keep My commandments.
John 14:15–18
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
We stand here towards the end of our paschal season, the singing of “Christ is risen!” will leave our services in a week as we too prepare for the road of life, the time of toil and sacrifice. And I would have Christ stay here with me.
Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah—not knowing what he said.
Luke 9:33
I am like St Peter, not wanting to leave the mountain but to stay there with my Lord. But I must descend, I must enter into the trials and tribulations of this life. And I must enter into the way in which I may glorify God. For the Chief of the Apostles, the Lord tells him,
Feed My sheep.
John 21:17–19
Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.
This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’
And the Life I am called to live is not the same as for another’s as we see in the words about the beloved disciple.
Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, ‘But Lord, what about this man?’
verses 21–23
Jesus said to him, ‘If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.’
Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, ‘If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?’
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Christ is risen! And this joy, this wonder, this amazement stays with us. But we, too, must descend the mountain, we too must be prepared to journey and to suffer, we too must be prepared for our own crosses. Christ has given us this period of joy and wonder, not so that we can forget it in a few days’ time but that this reality be allowed to permeate the fullness of our lives—joy both in rejoicing and in sorrow, joy both in happiness and in lament, joy in living and in dying. For our joy is centred on the reality, the Truth, that Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing Life. And if we hold to this reality ours is Life and union with God.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
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Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
Christ is risen!
“I will walk out in the towns,” I tell myself,
“and proclaim the coming of the Christ. Those who ridicule me will get their reward, those who attack me will receive their just deserts, those who follow me will be able to come to Christ through me and my preaching.”
And I stand before others and am surprised at their lacklustre response. “This is Truth, this is reality,” I protest, but most would try to ignore me, to walk on by me. But what is worse, in this fantasy I have created, is I believe them to deserve their punishment ahead: “they rejected Christ,” I convince myself, though the reality is that they are rightly rejecting me and my misunderstandings of the Gospel, “they are the ones deserving of the unquenching fire.”
The greatest tragedy of my condition is that I have removed Christ from the centre of my life. Christ is almost incidental to my words, repentance plays no part in my reality: I have set myself up as a guru rather than as a follower of the Way. And the words of the Lord, which should be at the front and centre of any who claim to preach the Gospel, will apply to me.
…
Read this Sermon, Preaching Christ.
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 15th May
Discussion on the Book of Job, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 16th May
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Sunday 17th May
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 the risen Christ
Fr Alexander
webenquiry@orthodoxeastleigh.uk