St George 23rd April

It’s perhaps typical of the English that they should have a patron saint who isn’t English, about whom next to nothing is known for sure, and who may not have existed at all. That didn’t stop him being patriotically invoked in many battles, notably at Agincourt and in the Crusades, and of course it is his cross that adorns the flags of English football fans to this day.

It’s most likely that he was a soldier, a Christian who was martyred for his faith somewhere in Palestine, possibly at Lydda, in the early fourth century. At some point in the early centuries of the Church he became associated with wider military concerns, being regarded as the patron saint of the Byzantine armies. There is no doubt that he was held as an example of the ‘godly soldier’, one who served Christ as bravely and truly as he served his king and country.

The story of George and the dragon is of much later date and no one seems to know where it comes from. By the middle ages, when George was being honoured in stained glass, the dragon had become an invaluable and invariable visual element, so that for most people the two are inseparable. Pub signs have a lot to answer for here: ‘The George and Dragon’.

However, it’s probably more profitable to concentrate on his role as a man who witnessed to his faith in the difficult setting of military service, and in the end was martyred for his faithfulness to Christ.

The idea of the ‘Christian soldier’ was, of course, much loved by the Victorian hymn-writers – ’Onward, Christian soldiers!’ The soldier needs discipline. The heart of his commitment is to obedience. The battle cannot be avoided nor the enemy appeased. He marches and fights alongside others, and he is loyal to his comrades. In the end, if the battle is won, he receives the garlands of victory, the final reward of those who overcome evil.

St George’s Day presents a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is to distance the message of his life from the militarism and triumphalism that can easily attach itself to anything connected to soldiers and fighting. The opportunity is to celebrate the ideal of the ‘Christian soldier’ – one who submits to discipline, sets out to obey God truly, does not avoid the inevitable battle with all that is unjust, wrong and hateful in our world, and marches alongside others fighting the same noble cause. Discipline, obedience, courage, fellowship and loyalty – they’re not the most popular virtues today, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve our gratitude and admiration.

Grasshopper

Our newsletter is a little different this month.  As there are no events of our own I have included a diary of events from history; there are pages for young people which can be printed out for colouring and word searches.  The poster on page 11 is for you to complete what you think God will give you.  In order to print one of the pages, select the printer icon from the .pdf reader (top right) and enter the page or pages you want to print.  You can find the newsletter here

Eternal life

We have seen and heard much about death during this pandemic, but those who believe in Jesus have the promise of eternal life because Jesus came not to judge the world but to save it.

Hymn: Go so loved the world

Water of Life

Water of life

I would like to share with you a version of a story from Margaret Silf's book, "Wisdom stories".

Three people were searching for the water of life as they had heard that if you drink from it, you will live forever.  A warrior with weapons and a suit of armour, thinking that by force he could make the water yield to him.

An enchantress thought that the water would be a magical whirlpool that she could manipulate with spells, so she donned her floor length, star spangled robe and carried various potions.

A trader imagined the water to be like a fountain of pearl drops or diamonds.  He felt that the water would be very costly, so he loaded all his pockets and several purses with money, hoping to buy some of the precious water.

When they reached the water they found that it was not a torrent to be tamed or intimidated by force.  It was not a magical whirlpool to be charmed by spells.  And it wasn't a fountain of pearl drops or diamonds to be purchased with great wealth.

It was a tiny sparkling spring and it's benefits were absolutely free, but you had to bend down, stooping low to drink from it.   The problem was that the warrior couldn't do this in his armour, the enchantress couldn't soil her magical robe and the trader was so laden with money that if he so much as leaned forward, coins would roll this way and that, many, never to be found again.  They could not lower themselves to drink from the water of life.  

The only solution was to strip themselves of the armour, the robe of superstition and finally, great wealth if they were to receive the benefits of the water of life.



Probably the most obvious moral of this story is that sometimes we need to cast aside certain attitudes, ideas or possessions in order to receive what is good, but for me, there is more to it than that.

John's gospel and the book of Revelation both speak of the water of life, and yes, we may need cast aside certain things in order to receive it.  If we have been hurt in life, we can put on the armour of cynicism or  mistrust to avoid being let down and hurt again.  Past hurts can convince us to trust no one, not even God.  We can think that we have to perform certain rituals in order to get what Jesus offers.  We can also be guilty of thinking we can buy His favour - having an attitude of "if I give this I expect you to give me that"  All of these are clearly wrong yet so easy to fall into. 

The water of life is a free gift from our Lord but the idea in this story of needing to kneel down to get it made me think, obviously, of prayer, but also, the idea of stooping low, reminded me of today's message from Lectio 365, which speaks of our need to humble ourselves before God and pray for Him to heal the land (referring to the pandemic).  This pandemic is a very humbling experience, it has a very leveling effect- anyone can get it, young, old, rich or poor.  It has certainly made me reevaluate many things in my life, and I believe that now is a very appropriate time for us to kneel humbly before our God and ask Him to give us the water of life to replace this awful spread of death.  

May God bless us all as we kneel before Him.  Amen

Challenge for the week

Have you seen something beautiful and lovely today?

“The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19: 1)

In an evening prayer service lead by Canon Marcia Wall she said “I hope you have seen something beautiful and lovely today. Canon Marcia had been speaking about how nice it was to see all the different birds drinking and washing in the birdbath her family had inherited from her mother-in-law.  It led me to think about what I had seen that was nice and beautiful and lovely.

The first thing that sprung to mind was the walks I have had with my grandson since the lockdown. It is no easy task trying to work from home whilst keeping children entertained at the same time. This where I come in. I have temporarily moved in with my daughter, her husband and my grandson, Archie who is 20 months old. One of my greatest pleasures has been to take Archie for a daily walk.

He is very much an outdoor sort of little boy and our favourite walk is only a short distance from where he lives.  We walk there most mornings. As we walk along the lane people call out and greet us, Archie always responds with a wave and a smile. We collect sticks and stones as we go and enjoy playing Pooh sticks or hearing the “sploosh” of the stones and they hit the water in the stream. On picking up one of the stones Archie caught sight of a worm, the first one he had ever seen. He squealed with joy as he watched this little worm wriggle around, he even dared to pick it up. Nana was not too pleased when he wanted me to do the same!

It was quiet and still as we walked further up the lane. Goats were basking in the sunshine whilst keeping an eye on their kids. Sheep could be heard bleating on the hillside, two or three fields away. Birds were twittering in the hedgerow and one or two horses were whinnying as they cantered around a field. We stopped and I encouraged Archie to listen to all the different sounds that we could hear.

Further up the lane as we approached a smallholding the gentle harmonious sounds we had just listened to, were drowned out by ducks and geese making a real cacophony of noise. It was as if they were trying to outdo each other with all the noise they were making.  As we returned down the lane, Archie continued to be fascinated by all manner of things, from ant’s scurrying along the pavement, to seeing airplanes high in the sky leaving a trail behind.  We desperately tried coaxing a cat to come a little nearer so that he could stroke him. He looked wistfully at a slide in a garden and saying “Archie slide, Archie slide.

As we got nearer home, I encouraged him to look and smell all the different plants and flowers that were springing up on the roadside and in gardens. He watched with great fascination as he saw the bin men empty the bins. He became really excited when he saw a policeman who had stopped his car, to wave to Archie and then gave him a display of car’s flashing light. He was even more excited to see a tractor trundling up the lane with lots of logs on a trailer. When we got home, we walked into the back garden and saw a wood pigeon hopping around the flower bed. Archie watched with great intensity as the bird finally found what it was looking for. It picked up a stick almost bigger than itself and flew off with it in his mouth. We could hear the birds singing, bees buzzing happily around the flowers and squeals of laughter from other children playing in their own back gardens.

None of what I have described is anything new. I have seen and heard it all before on various other walks. The difference is, previously I probably didn’t stop and pay enough attention to all the details of life that surrounded me and how much pleasure can be derived from the beauty of the simpler things in life

“I hope you have seen something beautiful and lovely today”.

Not only had we seen something beautiful and lovely but we had also heard. Walking with my grandson is a good reminder that sometimes I need to slow down and breathe in the beauty of God’s creation. Maybe you need to as well.

I wonder, what have you seen that is beautiful and lovely today? In Revd Lyn’s own words “my challenge to you this week is to find something beautiful and lovely in each and every day and give thanks to God.



  

Low Sunday Morning Worship at Home

A family friendly service from the Church of England

Morning Prayer

Morning Prayer

Easter Season

Sunday, 19 April 2020

Second Sunday of Easter

Preparation

O Lord, open our lips

All and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

In your resurrection, O Christ,

All let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,

to you be praise and glory for ever.

As once you ransomed your people from Egypt

and led them to freedom in the promised land,

so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness

and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.

May we, the first fruits of your new creation,

rejoice in this new day you have made,

and praise you for your mighty acts.

Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

All Blessed be God for ever.

Hymn: Be still and Know that I am God

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;

let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,

so may the light of your presence, O God,

set our hearts on fire with love for you;

now and for ever.

All Amen.

Click for The Word of God John 20:19-end

Click for Lyn's written sermon this week

Death is swallowed up in victory.

All  Where, O death, is your sting?

Christ is risen from the dead,

the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

All Death is swallowed up in victory.

The trumpet will sound

and the dead shall be raised.

All Where, O death, is your sting?

We shall not all sleep,

but we shall be changed.

All Death is swallowed up in victory.

Where, O death, is your sting?

from 1 Corinthians 15

The Lord is risen from the tomb

who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.

1

Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, ♦

who has come to his people and set them free.

2

He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, ♦

born of the house of his servant David.

3

Through his holy prophets God promised of old ♦

to save us from our enemies,

from the hands of all that hate us,

4

To show mercy to our ancestors, ♦

and to remember his holy covenant.

5

This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: ♦

to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

6

Free to worship him without fear, ♦

holy and righteous in his sight

all the days of our life.

7

And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, ♦

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

8

To give his people knowledge of salvation ♦

by the forgiveness of all their sins.

9

In the tender compassion of our God ♦

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

10

To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, ♦

and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1.68-79

All Glory to the Father and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning is now

and shall be for ever. Amen.

All The Lord is risen from the tomb

who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.

Click for the Prayers

The Collect

Lord of all life and power,

who through the mighty resurrection of your Son

overcame the old order of sin and death

to make all things new in him:

grant that we, being dead to sin

and alive to you in Jesus Christ,

may reign with him in glory;

to whom with you and the Holy Spirit

be praise and honour, glory and might,

now and in all eternity.

All Amen.

All Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen.

May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.

All Amen.

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.

All Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.