St George's Day

St George's Day Pew Bulletin 21 Apr 2024

From the locum

Last week I attended rather than, as is usually the case, officiated at, a funeral. Many people whom I have not seen for some time came to say their farewells; we shared memories and experiences, and gave thanks for a long life, well-lived.

It was a story of faith and obedience, from the deceased’s earliest years until her eventual departure. Was it a whitewash? Did we collectively give in to that temptation to only speak well of a person who has died? “Never speak ill of the dead” is an oft-quoted proverb. No, this was a thanksgiving! Of course, no-one is perfect, but it is certainly true that if we put our best efforts into life we can make a tremendous difference for good. This was a life invested in people and in the Kingdom of God - truly a faithful servant of Christ.

As a Christian, I find a funeral is always a mixed emotional journey. To say goodbye to a friend or loved one is always difficult, and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise. But alongside the natural grief there is a confidence: when Jesus invites us to follow him, he also guarantees our eternal destiny.

As a priest, my task has often been to help the bereaved along the journey of acceptance and grief. Being involved in a funeral service is a huge privilege and a massive responsibility.

Facing our own mortality is a challenge to us all. Even with the assurance of faith we still face the uncertainty wrapped up in the actual experience of dying. This funeral of which I’m writing occurred close enough to Easter to remind me of the glorious hope of the resurrection. Jesus Christ entered the full experience of death, took it apart, and rendered it powerless through that Resurrection from the dead. It was a miracle above any other, and the subsequent encounters with the Risen Christ laid the foundation for the continuing spread of the Kingdom of God - even to this very day.

We can no more imagine what life beyond death is like than a caterpillar can anticipate the changed life after its transformation into a butterfly. Yet we are confident because Christ returned from the dead, and has promised that he will return again to restore and reconcile this damaged creation. Death of itself is never good news. But resurrection is the ultimate definition of good news. Jesus summed it up perfectly, as John recorded in his Gospel.

Fr Michael

Easter 3

Easter 3 Pew Bulletin 14 April 2024

From the locum

The resurrection is more than just a past event or a ticket to life after death. It is a lived reality that has the potential to change us and our world, if we can only believe, open to the change it brings, and proclaim its life-giving power through our lives. This is the message of this week’s Lectionary, and it is both joyful and challenging. The call to be witnesses to Christ is one of the most transforming messages we can receive, because it requires us to live, speak, think, and act like Christ.

May the message and mission of Christ fill us and send us out as agents of God’s grace, justice, and love.

Fr Michael


Easter 2

Easter 2 Pew Bulletin 7 April 2024

Acts 4.32-37
Psalm 133
1 John 1.1-2.2
John 20.19-31

From the locum

I encountered this prayer written especially for the Easter 2, the first Sunday after Easter, and would like to share it with you. (The author is unacknowledged.)

Resurrection God,
You are the light and you sent your son to shine your light in the darkness of this world.
Lord you know the places and times in our lives that have darkness in us.
You know the dark places and times in this world.
Lord shine your light into the darkness that we may be able to see our way again.

Resurrection God,
We marvel at the Early Church’s unity;
How they loved one another as you loved them,
How they saw to each other’s needs;
And how they cared for each other.
Lord would that we would be like that in our churches.
Empower us with Resurrection power to be able to be that way.
Breathe your Holy Spirit on us that we too would be of one mind and heart.
Give us the peace you gave the disciples.

Resurrection God,
We admit that we are like Thomas we have our own doubts
And we too want to see and touch you.
We too have more questions than answers
And yet we want to believe.
Pour your blessing on us who have not seen and yet have come to believe.
Let your grace fall upon us all.
Amen

Christ is risen - Alleluia!
Fr Michael


Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday Pew Bulletin 31 Mar 2024

Gospel reading: John 20.1-18

From the locum

This resurrection story that we hear today tells not so much what happened to Jesus or how the resurrection took place but who were the witnesses to the resurrected Lord. A related question that this passage raises is how to tell the resurrection story. Is there only one way to tell it? Or can it be told in a variety of ways, depending on who is telling it? Is it simply a tradition of the past that we glibly and half-heartedly mumble or parrot? Is it a story that we read and recite as sacred text but without anchoring ourselves squarely in the middle of it? Or is it of such cosmic significance that our whole existence, experience and identity are wrapped up in the way we tell the story? This is not to suggest that we change the resurrection accounts in the New Testament to make them fit our own worldviews, tendencies, enthusiasms, experiences, desires and wishes. Rather, it is to suggest that we plug our own story into the resurrection story that has come down to us from long ago. Thus, under the illuminating guidance of the Spirit, this "old, old story" must continually become the good news that addresses us where we are. It must become our story.  
With every blessing, Fr Michael

Palm Sunday

Download Palm Sunday 24 March 2024 Pew Bulletin

Gospel: Mark 11.1-11

From the locum

Our Gospel reading today finds Jesus in the bustling capital city. He is no longer in the villages and open country of his home. The celebratory parade is also a protest march. The disciples should have known what was happening. Jesus had already laid it out for them. But they still did not comprehend what he had said. At this moment, the crowd (small though it might have been) sees him as a king, as one who will get them out of where they are. So this is a parade that befits a king. “Hosanna”, “the Coming One”, the one who restores Jerusalem. He enters. This is the moment. He goes toward the temple. This is it. And then he turns and goes to Bethany. The parade fizzles and the people turn back to their lives. What they didn’t recognise is that Jesus brought them something that they had never had before—peace, truth, justice, and love. What they didn’t recognise is that Jesus had indeed come to restore them not to what was but to what should’ve been all along.

With every blessing, Fr Michael

Lent 4

Download Lent 4 10 March 2024 Pew bulletin

John 3:16: ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

From the locum

In just twenty-seven words, John 3:16, the famous verse from St. John’s Gospel which we will hear read during the Eucharist this Sunday, describes a loving God, a cherished world, a self-giving Son, a universal invitation, a deliverance from death, and a promise of eternal life. Christianity in a nutshell. So what’s the problem?

“Christianity in a nutshell” sounds catchy, but in the end, I don’t think such a thing exists. John 3:16 is a beautiful passage of scripture, and we are right to recite it, memorise it, and cherish it. But the way of faith it points to is as vast and mysterious as all the workings of a human heart reaching out for God’s. That’s why we can trust it; its challenge corresponds to reality. No love as rich, demanding, costly, and free as God’s love for us can ever be reduced to a formula.

With every blessing, Fr Michael