Dear Friends
Modern Christians are tempted to see sin in legal terms: “he broke the law,” might be a common perception. This is quite an abstract concept—“there was no sin, then by the actions of a person ‘a sin’ was created.” But this is not according to the Tradition of the Church nor according to the Bible.
Cain did not offer the best of his crop to the Lord whereas Abel offered “the firstborn of his flock,” the very best he had he gave to the Lord, so Cain’s offering was not received by the Lord and Cain became angry. “Why are you angry?” asked the Lord,
And why has your countenance fallen?
If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.
— Genesis 4:6–7
Sin is an outside force, a demon, who wishes to rule over Cain. God is encouraging Cain to master it but he succumbs to its power and kills his own brother. And the story of Genesis is the spread of sin—sin leads to sin and multiplies over the Earth. And sin ensnares our race so that none are found who can stand against its power. And yet God does not abandon His creature whom He loves but creates a new nation who are called to remain faithful.
Get out of your country,
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.
— Genesis 12:1–3
And through Abram of Ur a new nation is born who would be God’s chosen people from whom “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” And sin had to be kept out from this new nation.
Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse.
You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell.
— Numbers 5:2–3
And perhaps until recently we may have considered such language cruel but having lived through a pandemic we start to see how mastering disease would be critical. But the same was true for sin, it had to be constantly separated from the children of Israel.
And Christ comes to the Jordan. He comes for baptism from His kinsman John. Not that He needed purification but that the world needs purification through Him. For the entirety of the Old Testament sin had to be constantly managed, now Christ comes into the Jordan to defeat sin and cross over that the Promised Land be purified.
The sea saw them and fled,
The Jordan turned back;
The mountains skipped like rams,
The hills like flocks of lambs. …
The earth shook because of the Lord’s face,
Because of the face of Jacob’s God.
— Psalm 113:3–4, 7 ʟxx
And we are called to participate in this. On Sunday we will again bless the waters and purify the land in which we live. For while we have received baptism, we have let sin back in and it is infesting our homes and tries to take us again under its slavery. We fight back. We bless ourselves, we purify our homes, that we be free from its power and no longer kill our brothers by accepting the exponential growth of sin in the world.
Come and let us again release this world from the power of sin: it lies at our doors and its desire is for us, but we shall rule over it. Come and bless the Lord Who has blessed us and freed us from the tyranny of the Satan. Come and be renewed in faithfulness to the One Who has delivered us from death that we may be heirs of eternal Life.
Come and see!
House blessings
I would be honoured to come and bless your home. We accept that sin has power but we bless our homes so that it no longer has power over us and where we live so that we are alive in Christ.
Please speak to me to arrange a convenient time for me to come.
If your home has never been blessed it needs blessing!
If there has been any sin in your home since it was last blessed it needs blessing!
Catechism & Catechumens
There are several members of our community who have expressed an interest in fully joining the Church, either through Baptism or Chrismation depending on circumstances.
I want you to, I think everyone should be a full member of the Church, but I am also keen not to put pressure on anyone. If you want to join you need to ask.
For me there are two key requirements.
- You are a member of our community. You participate in services as well as the rest of the life of the community.
- You understand The Symbol of Faith (also called the Creed) in the way the Church understands it. Alongside this, you will understand about the Orthodox Church, her history and traditions.
To help with 2., on Saturdays, after Vespers I will start to go through the Symbol of Faith. This will only last up until 7.40 pm (Vespers usually ends around 7.10–7.15 pm).
If you are interested in joining the Church (though there’s no commitment) or are already a member but would like to know more about our Faith, you’d be most welcome to join us.
If you’d like to join the Church, but can’t make it on Saturday evenings, then please speak to me and we can make alternative arrangements for you.
[For those who would like to come to Confession on Saturdays while this programme is happening, Confessions can happen from 7.40 pm: apologies for any inconvenience.]
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.
We cry, we weep, we lament the loss of loved ones. But we do so, not as the pagans, the atheists, as many in society around us, not that this is the end for the person: rather we grieve in hope.
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren,” says the Apostle,
“concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.”
— First Thessalonians 4:13–14
Since for us, the Resurrection is a reality, a Truth, the very assurance to us that Christ has defeated death and that all authority is placed in Him. But if Christ is not dead, so too are those who are in Christ.
…
Read this Sermon, Weep and Lament.
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 3rd January
Discussion on the Prophecy of Isaiah, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 4th January
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Sunday 5th January
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]