Dear Friends
For what purpose does our community exist? How do we bring benefit to our world? Is it through websites, emails and online groups? No. Is it through charitable activities? No. Is it through eloquent preaching, beautiful singing or a silent witness? No.
And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
— First Corinthians 2:1–2
And if we gain the whole world—building projects, charitable activities, education programmes, growth—but do not have Christ at the centre of all we do then we will be a failure. Only if Christ is at the centre do we have meaning beyond the terms of this fallen life, only with Christ at the centre do we have the joy which we need, only with Christ at the centre do we have something which can change the world.
Our world has so much: modern medicine continues to push the boundaries of what is possible, we have access to a huge array of food from across the world, warmth in our homes, entertainment piped in to our homes and even our phones. Yes, there is suffering, yes, there are people who struggle to make ends meet, but there is still a hope among many that through education and technology we can work to eliminate these challenges.
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
It would be an act of foolishness to believe our community would be any better at solving the challenges of society than the work which is already being done. We must play our part, we must be there for those who need our help and rely on our support, but this must be the result of our faithfulness, not the reason for our faith. For what our community can do—that which is impossible for the wider society—is bring Christ: not as an idea, not as a concept, not as a philosophy, but as a living person who is risen from the dead.
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since by man [Adam] came death, by Man [Christ] also came the resurrection of the dead.
— First Corinthians 15:20–21
Since, for the Apostle, the Resurrection of Christ has meaning for all. Christ’s Resurrection means that we all will arise; he develops his argument.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at his coming.
Then comes the end, when he delivers the Kingdom to God the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.
For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet.
The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
— verses 22–26
And this is precisely what we can offer to the world, to our society, that Christ is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep and that we may—we will!—participate in this too: and all those things which oppress us, which do wrong against us, which hold us down, even the last enemy death itself, will be destroyed.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if we try to deliver a charitable programme, or an association of likeminded people, or a “Society of the elect of God,” we would fail and we would deserve to fail. But if we centre on Christ—even if outwardly we are failing—we have the chance to be united to God and inheritors of eternal Life. But, what is more, it is precisely Christ who is needed in our society. Our society does not need religion, nor the Bible, nor Orthodoxy, nor mysticism, nor eastern practices, nor liturgy: our society needs Christ, risen from the dead and bringing all to new Life.
Let us, therefore, rejoice in our Lord and Saviour—the content of our preaching, the source of our hope, the reason for our faithfulness, the assurance of our own resurrection and new Life—Jesus Christ.
Come and see!
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.
“Lord,” I cry out, “raise me up, for I am fallen and feel as a dead man.” And there is no angel sent to my comfort, no Voice from Heaven to bless me, no Sign that he has heard my cry. I want God to act in my life to perform miracles on demand, to be my constant help and support, to act so that I do not have to do so myself: because such is not the way of God, is not according to our practice, since we have been told, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” (Matthew 4:7, Deuteronomy 6:16) God does not exist for my own benefit, rather I exist that I might glorify my Creator.
Yet the Lord does work miracles. Here, outside Nain, the Lord has compassion and acts—works a great miracle—not for the sake of the man but for his mother, “And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’” And I must take this and apply it to me: when the Lord works a miracle in my life, which he does regularly and he does often, it is not for my own benefit, it is for the benefit of another; I am not worthy that the Lord perform a sign, I must not take credit and boast in the many blessings I receive, but I should give glory to God and rejoice there is another for whom the Lord has worked the miracle.
The man here was carried out by the four elements of this world, born on the wood—the means by which the Satan ensnared our ancestors—and is carried to death. And the elements of this life can only lead us to death. Yet the Son of the Virgin comes to the Son of the Widow and touches not the man but the wood, and the four elements are brought to a stop. “And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still.” And by bringing his presence to the wood, here in a temporary way whereas at the Cross in a permanent way for all time, the means of our ensnarement becomes the means of Life.
…
Read this Sermon, Miracles.
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 11th October
Discussion on the Gospel of Matthew, 8 pm.
Online only
Saturday 12th October
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm.
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Sunday 13th October
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]