25 October 2020
10:30 | 
Posted by
Dr Platts |
This morning our service was a Parish Eucharist. and Father Stephen was the celebrant. The Choir sang 2 hymns, and an Anthem, 'A New Commandment I give to you' by Peter Nardonne. This is the last Sunday of Trinity, and now we begin the sundays preparing for Advent.
After the service we held our Annual Parish Meeting. which would normally have been held in April, but was postponed due to the covid outbreak. We were delighted that our two churchwardens were prepared to stay on for the rest of the year, and Father Stephen was able to swear them in having been given authority to do so by the Archdeacon. The annual reports were accepted, and a new PCC elected and immediately met to re-elect the Treasurers. Votes of Thanks were minuted for the churchwardens for their excellent work in keeping everything going in these difficult times, to Gloria Jupp, who is retiring as our Safeguarding Officer after some 19 years, and to the Website team for their work in maintaining the website and providing the liturgical prayers and readings while the church was shut.
Christmas Grand Draw.
We will not be able to hold our christmas fair this year, due to the pandemic restrictions, but we are going to hold a Christmas Grand Draw. Tickets will be £1 each, and can be obtained from the Church Wardens and we will have books of 5 tickets each for every one to sell. There are lots of lovely prizes, a gourmet hamper, a child's scooter, A magnum of Champagne, and many more, so do buy some tickets! The draw will take place in mid December!
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| A socially distanced Annual Parish Meeting |
‘THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK’ FROM THE REVEREND STEPHEN GUISE, PRIEST IN CHARGE, SUNDAY, 25 OCTOBER: LAST AFTER TRINITY
Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678), ‘Jesus and the Pharisees’
Dear Friends
One would think, following a set lectionary as we do in the Anglican Communion, that there would be little doubt as to the readings to use for Sunday service. Well, most of the time that is true – except for today! One can use the readings for the Last Sunday after Trinity, or for Bible Sunday, which are nearly the same. Or one could use those for Dedication Sunday (which are quite different) – that is, if one doesn’t know the actual date of a church’s consecration.
At Sidlesham, we are tantalizingly close to knowing that the year was 1200, and certainly the chancel was being used by then, but we don’t know the month or the day. Hence we use the last Sunday after Trinity to remember the dedication – but, as we see, that clashes with Bible Sunday. You can’t win!
So, I had to make a decision, as it were putting a pin in the lectionary, and chose
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 and, for the Gospel, Matthew 22: 34-end. That Gospel contains an almost unanswerable question, put to Jesus by the Pharisees: ‘Master, what is the greatest commandment of the Law?’. On the surface, it sounds like a genuine enquiry but, in fact, it is the kind of question which is intended to be used as a weapon. It is one of the oldest techniques in controversy, much beloved of John Humphries on the Today programme on Radio 4, intended to wrong-foot an interviewee, usually politicians, who are treated as fair game. The person on the receiving end often starts to dig him- or herself into a deeper and deeper hole! The way to deal with such questions is to side-step them. It’s a sort of power-game between questioner and the person answering. And, in this Gospel narrative, of course, the Pharisees are hoping to wrong-foot Jesus into an unwise answer, which would make him lose his popularity among his followers.
But the Pharisees, like the Sadducees, never learn! Time after time, the questions they put to Jesus with a view to catching him out misfire, and they are left lost for words. In this instance, Jesus affirms that the law of love – love of God and love of neighbour – are the two commandments upon which both the Jewish Law and the message of the prophets hang. Jesus then goes on to set his interlocutors a question of his own, using a quotation from Psalm 110, to demonstrate his own role as Son of the Father, and Lord of all, including his lordship over King David. The Pharisees are unable to reply and the passage records that ‘from that day no one dared to ask him any further questions’. Once again. Jesus’ deep knowledge of the Jewish Scriptures, and his own conviction concerning his unique role as Son of the Father, together with his insistence upon the universal law of love, prove irrefutable.
Fr Stephen
COLLECT
Blessed Lord,
who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
help us so to hear them,
to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them
that, through patience, and the comfort of your holy word,
we may embrace and for ever hold fast
the hope of everlasting life,
which you have give us in our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
A reading from the first leter of Paul to the Thessalonians.
You yourselves know, brothers and sisters,
that our coming to you was not in vain.
But thoug we had already suffered
and been shamefully treated at Philippi,
as you know, we had courage in our God
to declare to you his gospel
in spite of great opposition.
For our appeal does not spring from deceit
or impure motives, or trickery.
But just as we have been approved by God
to be entrusted with the message of the gospel.
Even so we speak, not to please mortals,
but to please God who tests our hearts.
As you know and as God is our witness,
we never came with words of flattery
or with a pretext for greed;
nor did we seek praise from mortals,
whether from you or from others,
though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.
But we were gentle among you,
Like a nurse tenderly caring for her ownchildren,
so deeply do we care for you,
that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God
but also our own selves,
because you have become very dear to us.
Matthew 22:34-46
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together.
and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.
“Teacher, which commandment in the Law is the greatest?”
He said to him
“ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it:
‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together,
Jesus asked them this question,
“What do you think of the Messiah?
Whose son is he?”
They said to him,
“The son of David,”
He said to them,
“How is it then that David, by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? saying,
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’
If David thus calls him ‘Lord,’
how can he be his son?”
No one was able to give him an answer,
nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
18 October 2020
This morning at 10 am we had Mattins, and Father Stephen took the service. The Venite and the Te Deum were said by all, the set psalm for the day and the Benedictus were sung by the choir. The anthem
was 'O Lord, my God, to Thee' attributed to Jacques Arcadelt (1510-1568). Father Stephen's sermon is set out below.
We parted on a still dry cool autumn day, refreshed by prayer and worship.
‘THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK’ FROM THE REVEREND STEPHEN GUISE, PRIEST IN CHARGE: SUNDAY, 18 OCTOBER, ST LUKE THE EVANGELIST
Theotokos of Vladimir, 16th-century icon, St Luke Painting the Virgin
Dear Friends
St Luke’s Gospel begins by an address to ‘dear Theophilus’. ‘Theophilus’ means, of course, ‘lover of God’, and could refer to a particular person or is perhaps a generic name for a group of Christians.
The Acts of the Apostles, also written by Luke, tells us that the evangelist was the constant travelling companion of St Paul, who could be irascible and impatient at times. Luke was believed to have been unmarried and without family ties, so could therefore devote his full attention to Paul’s needs – which was probably just as well, since, on his missionary journeys, Paul, who could be rather ‘bull at a gate’ at times, got himself into all sorts of scrapes! In one of his letters, Paul calls Luke the ‘beloved physician’ – the one who used to patch him up after being lashed, beaten, nearly drowned and unceremoniously thrown into prison several times.
Luke stayed with Paul through thick and thin, whereas others drifted away. So we can deduce that Luke was a loyal and faithful person, Probably a gentile, it has often been noted that he seems also to have been deeply compassionate – his gospel is full of kindly references to the humble and lowly, the sick and injured, as well as to women, who, as we know, were not always treated well at the time. Not only did Luke write beautiful and evocative word pictures, especially about the birth and boyhood of Christ, but, tradition has it, he was also a painter, or ‘writer’ of icons. It is said that the very first icon of the Madonna and Child can be attributed to him.
Today, 18 October, is dedicated to St Luke and is marked out as the day within the Church when healing ministries are particularly, and gratefully, remembered – not just the healing work of doctors and nurses, but also the spiritual healing work of the Church, which is just as vital today as it was 2000 years ago.
In the Church of England, we tend not to ‘make a show’ of this ministry but, instead, quietly respond to need as it arises, co-operating with the medical profession, and administering laying-on of hands and anointing, with prayer, as appropriate. In addition, listening to the healing words of the Scriptures, on a daily or weekly basis, can act as a balm, especially during anxiety-ridden times such as those we are currently going through.
St Luke, through his writings and the example of his life, demonstrates that God can work through us in unexpected ways when we dedicate our gifts and talents to his service.
Fr Stephen
Collect
Almighty God,
who calledst Luke the physician,
whose praise is in the gospel,
to be an evangelist and physician of the soul:
may it please thee that,
by the wholesome medicines of the doctrine delivered by him,
all the diseases of our souls may be healed:
through the merits of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Isaiah 55
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;
and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labour on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a ruler and commander of the peoples.
Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendour.”
Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the LORD,
and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD’s renown,
for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”
Luke 1:1-4
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,
just as they were handed down to us
by those who from the first were eyewitnesses
and servants of the word.
With this in mind,
since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning,
I too decided to write an orderly account for you,
most excellent Theophilus,
so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
11 October 2020
This morning we assembled at 10 am for our Parish Eucharist in bright autumn sunshine, quite a contrast from last week! The Celebrant this morning was Father Roger, as Father Stephen is away celebrating his birthday, we all wish him many happy returns!
The Choir were again singing from the South Transept, masked and socially distanced. They sang Just as I am to the setting by Maunder during the offertory, and 3 short hymns. The setting was the Addington service by Richard Shephard. Father Roger discussed the gospel reading and the message it gives us to accept God's invitation but to prepare ourselves for appropriate behaviour! The message of the Gospel is challenging to all of us, laity and clergy, to live the life that Our Lord wants us to do, not necessarily what we want.
At the end Joanna played part of St Anne's Fugue by J S Bach.
We are still enjoying our wonderful Harvest Flowers.
Philippians 4:1-9
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians.
My brothers and sisters,
whom I love and long for,
my joy and crown,
stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.
Yes, and I ask you also,
my loyal companion, help these women
for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel,
together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers,
whose names are in the book of life.
Rejoice in the Lord always;
again will I say, Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be known to everyone.
The Lord is near.
Do not worry about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
let your requests be known to God.
And the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, beloved,
whatever is true, whatever is honourable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable.
if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
Keep on doing the things that you have learned
and received and heard and seen in me,
And the God of peace will be with you.
Matthew 22:1-14
Hear the gospel of Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Once more Jesus spoke to the chief priests and Pharisees in parables, saying:
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king
who gave a wedding banquet for his son.
He sent his servants to call those
who had been invited to the wedding banquet
but they would not come.
Again he sent other slaves, saying
‘Tell those who have been invited
Look, I have prepared my dinner:
My oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered,
and everything is ready.
Come to the wedding banquet.’
“But they made light of it and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
While the rest seized his slaves,
maltreated them and killed them.
The king was enraged.
He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers
and burned their city.
“Then he said to his slaves,
‘The wedding is ready,
but those invited were not worthy.
Go therefore to the main streets
and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’
Those slaves went out into the streets
and gathered all whom they found, both the good and the bad,
and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king came in to see the guests,
he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe.
and said to him,
‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?'
And he was speechless.
“Then the king told the attendants,
‘Bind him hand and foot,
and throw him into the outer darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
“For many are called, but few are chosen."
04 October 2020
This morning in wet and windy weather most of us met indoors for our Harvest Celebrations. Non the less 12 hardy souls, 2 children did process from the Barn, and at suitable distance we had our procession of Harvest gifts which were received at the sanctuary steps by Mrs Field. The Choir sang Come ye Joyful People Come as the gifts were placed in front of the Altar. We then proceeded with our family service.
Mrs Field told us about arrangements for the return of Sunday School after half term, then she talked about the work the children have been doing at home this month. The art work they have produced on the theme of seeds was displayed on the board, and she told us about the many references to seeds through out the Bible Old testament and New. She also asked us to consider that the symbol of the seed might also be used for many things, but especially in these difficult times for Hope. The Choir then sang a Harvest anthem 'Thou Visitest the Earth' with the solo sung by one of our Basses, Fred.
The Choir also sang another Harvest hymn for the Offertory To the Oh Lord our Hearts we Raise, with the excellent tune by Sir Arthur Sullivan.
Following the communion our final traditional hymn 'We Plough the fields and scatter' sent us back out into the wind and rain for another week.
Matthew 6:25-33
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or what you will drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food,
and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air;
they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they?
And can any of you by worrying
add a single hour to your span of life?
And why do you worry about clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;
they neither toil nor spin,
yet I tell you,
even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field,
which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
will he not much more clothe you—
you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry,
saying, "What will we eat?'
or "What will we drink?'
or "What will we wear?'
For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things;
and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well.
27 September 2020
This morning our 10 am service was a celebration of the Eucharist, and Father Stephen was with us as the Celebrant. The Church was decorated with lovely flowers which had been part of the wedding that had taken place on Saturday afternoon. The music before the service was two pieces from Frank Bridge's Six pieces for organ. During the Offertory the Choir sang John Henry Maunder's setting of the Hymn Rock of Ages with piano accompaniment. during communion Joanna played the Arabesque from the second book of Louis Vierne's 'Pieces en style libre' There was no voluntary.
We are working hard to keep to the Government and Church of England guidance on staying safe from covid 19, please when you are in church respect the guidance by using the hand sanitizer provided, wearing a face covering, and most importantly keeping the 2 meter distance, especially at the end of the service this is important to maintain, social interaction is very important, but as we are all getting harder of hearing, at this distance voices rise, so perhaps better to go out of church to chat!!!
There is still time to order a Christmas cake or Pudding from Dr Platts, all profits to Church funds, last orders by October!
Please Note!!! Next Sunday we shall be celebrating Harvest. Our Service will start in the Barn opposite the path up to the Church leading from Church Farm Lane. We will meet there and at 9:45 bringing our harvest gifts and the process up to the Church to meet Father Stephen at the Altar where he will receive the gifts. If you are not able to take part in the procession you can meet us in Church at 10 am!!
‘THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK’ FROM THE REVEREND
STEPHEN GUISE, PRIEST IN CHARGE: SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY, 27 SEPTEMBER
Gustave Doré (1832-1883), Woodcut, ‘Am I a
Pharisee?’
Dear
Friends
Today’s
gospel has much to do with authority, and particularly the authority of Jesus
vis-Ã -vis the authority of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus fearlessly goes straight into the
lions’ den, so to speak – the Temple was a grandiose place, and the seat of
religious authority, so a reaction was to be expected as the chief priests and
the elders of the Temple ask him by what authority he teaches the crowd which
has gathered around him, and also by what authority he performs acts of
healing.
Jesus cleverly uses the rabbis’ method of asking a question, rather than providing a direct response, as he enquires where, in their opinion, St John the Baptist’s baptism had come from – was it from heaven, or from some human origin? This puts his interlocutors on the back foot, and sends them into a huddle to work out their best line of defence. A political situation presents itself – they sense a trap whichever way they answer, and so reply that they do not know. Jesus, in turn, replies, ‘neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’
It is worth noting that Jesus uses the ‘I am’ phrase here and, if this narrative had been in St John’s Gospel, it could be interpreted as pointing, by implication, to his divine credentials – and thereby to the authority which is his. However, Matthew may not be using the ‘I am’ phrase in this way. In Jewish fashion, he tends to side-step the use of the holy name, which was considered dangerously irreverent, by referring instead to the ‘kingdom of heaven’.
After this episode, and almost as an afterthought, Matthew adds the parable of the two sons. It probably does not matter what their motives were. The first son refuses to go into the vineyard, whereas the second, in rather ‘good goody’ vein, exercises one-upmanship by saying that he will go. However, the message of the parable is that it is what the sons actually did, rather than what they said, that matters – the first son changes his mind and carries out the will of their father, whereas the second defaults on his promise. Is Jesus saying here that we should not forfeit our place in the kingdom of heaven by capriciously changing our minds, and failing to carry out the will of God?
Fr Stephen.
COLLECT FOR SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
O Lord, we beseech you mercifully to hear the prayers
of your people who call upon you;
and grant that they may both perceive and know
what things they ought to do,
and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil them;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
of your people who call upon you;
and grant that they may both perceive and know
what things they ought to do,
and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil them;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Philippians 2:1-13
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians.
If then there is any encouragement in Christ,
any consolation from love,
any sharing in the Spirit,
any compassion and sympathy,
make my joy complete:
be of the same mind,
having the same love,
being in full accord and of one mind.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,
but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.
Let each of you look not to your own interests,
but to the interests of others.
Let the same mind be in you
that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Therefore, my beloved,
just as you have always obeyed me,
not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
for it is God who is at work in you,
enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Matthew 21:23-32
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
When Jesus entered the temple,
the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching,
and said, "By what authority are you doing these things,
and who gave you this authority?"
Jesus said to them,
"I will also ask you one question;
if you tell me the answer,
then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.
Did the baptism of John come from heaven,
or was it of human origin?"
And they argued with one another,
"If we say,
"From heaven,'
he will say to us,
"Why then did you not believe him?'
But if we say,
"Of human origin,'
we are afraid of the crowd;
for all regard John as a prophet."
So they answered Jesus,
"We do not know."
And he said to them,
"Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
"What do you think?
A man had two sons;
he went to the first and said,
"Son, go and work in the vineyard today.'
He answered, "I will not';
but later he changed his mind and went.
The father went to the second and said the same;
and he answered, "I go, sir';
but he did not go.
Which of the two did the will of his father?"
They said, "The first."
Jesus said to them,
"Truly I tell you,
the tax collectors and the prostitutes
are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.
For John came to you in the way of righteousness
and you did not believe him,
but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him;
and even after you saw it,
you did not change your minds and believe him.
20 September 2020
This morning our service was Mattins, and our readings from the King James version of the Bible. The Choir were able to sing the Venite and the set Psalm, but the Te Deum and Benedictus were said by everyone. The Choir also sang some short hymns. It was lovely to have some choral music again, the choir sit in the south Transept socially distanced from each other and a long way from every one else so we feel 'covid secure'.
The weather continues to bless us, with warn sunshine late into September which also helps to keep us safe.
‘THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK’ FROM THE REVEREND STEPHEN GUISE, PRIEST IN CHARGE – FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY, 20 SEPTEMBER
‘Jonah and the Whale’ – Icon, based on an original fresco at Meteora
Dear Friends
Both our readings this morning, from the third chapter of Jonah, and the parable about the landowner who chose to pay all his labourers equally (Matthew 20:1-16), are, among other themes, about God’s freedom to be merciful to whomever he chooses. There are, as some commentators have noted, elements of comedy, or even pantomime, in the story of Jonah, the ‘reluctant preacher’, who, rather than being delighted with the positive response of the people of Nineveh to his message, goes into a sulk because God has decided not to inflict the city with the punishment which had been threatened.
In today’s reading, we join the narrative in the middle of a battle of wills between God and Jonah, with Jonah lashing out furiously, insisting that it is now better for him to die rather than live. He is sitting in a self-made booth, in a desert area outside the city, waiting to see what will happen, when, in an almost ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ episode, God causes a large bush to grow which provides shade and, for a while, makes Jonah happy. But then comes a reversal when, the next day, a worm attacks the bush which withers as fast as it grew. And the reversal continues as the sun’s heat increases, augmented by a sultry wind. Inevitably, Jonah starts to complain again and insists, when God asks if he is right to be angry, that he certainly is. God, however, has the last word, pointing out that, just as Jonah is upset about losing a bush, which he had not caused to grow, so God can be upset about a city full of people and animals (it seems that the writer is an animal-lover) who do ‘not know their right hand from their left’. It is a vivid story, which certainly highlights God’s boundless compassion – but it leaves us, perhaps, with unanswered questions. We never hear what happened to Jonah, who is left sulking in the desert. Did God get to the bottom of his anger and resistance to the people of Nineveh’s repentance? Why did God choose Jonah to carry his message to the city, when it might have been easier to choose someone less stubborn?
Perhaps, in addition to the generosity and compassion of God, the story carries a further message for us. God has a way of undermining our religious trappings, to get at what is really underneath. Even if we appear to be faithful disciples, what about our underlying motives and driving forces, our own besetting sins that we manage to cover up most of the time? What are our equivalents of Jonah’s simmering and raging anger? Jonah’s attitudes, after all, were not without foundation and were rooted in something deeper than mere chauvinism, since Assyria’s strategy for expansion was to deport the surviving peoples of conquered lands, including Jonah’s own people. Nevertheless, God extends his sovereign mercy to the people of Nineveh, as well as to Jonah himself, and this, surely, gives us hope when we consider our own need for repentance.
Fr Stephen
COLLECT FOR FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
God, who of thy generous mercy didst send the Holy Spirit
upon thy Church in the burning fire of thy love:
grant that thy people may be fervent
in the fellowship of the gospel
that, ever abiding in thee,
they may be found steadfast in faith and active in service;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Isaiah 45:9-22
A reading from the book of Isaiah
Woe to you who strive with your Maker,
earthen vessels with the potter!
Does the clay say to the one who fashions it,
"What are you making"?
or "Your work has no handles"?
Woe to anyone who says to a father,
"What are you begetting?"
or to a woman, "With what are you in labour?"
Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel,
and its Maker:
Will you question me about my children,
or command me concerning the work of my hands?
I made the earth,
and created humankind upon it; i
t was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
I have aroused Cyrus in righteousness,
and I will make all his paths straight;
he shall build my city and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward, says the Lord of hosts.
Thus says the Lord:
The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia,
and the Sabeans, tall of stature,
shall come over to you and be yours,
they shall follow you;
they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying,
"God is with you alone,
and there is no other; there is no god besides him."
Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
All of them are put to shame and confounded,
the makers of idols go in confusion together.
But Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.
For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens (he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it; he did not create it a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited!):
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
"Seek me in chaos."
I the Lord speak the truth,
I declare what is right.
Assemble yourselves and come together,
draw near, you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge—
those who carry about their wooden idols,
and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.
Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
There is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Saviour;
there is no one besides me.
Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
Matthew 20:1-16
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Jesus said to his disciples.
The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
When he went out about nine o'clock,
he saw others standing idle in the marketplace;
and he said to them, "You also go into the vineyard,
and I will pay you whatever is right.'
So they went.
When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock,
he did the same.
And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around;
and he said to them, "Why are you standing here idle all day?' 7
They said to him, "Because no one has hired us.'
He said to them, "You also go into the vineyard.'
When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager,
"Call the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and then going to the first.'
When those hired about five o'clock came,
each of them received the usual daily wage.
Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more;
but each of them also received the usual daily wage.
And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner,
saying, "These last worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us
who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.'
But he replied to one of them, "Friend, I am doing you no wrong;
did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what belongs to you and go;
I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.
Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?
Or are you envious because I am generous?'
So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
13 September 2020
This morning we met at 10am for a celebration of the Eucharist. Father Stephen was the Celebrant, and for the first time since March we were able to have a small group of the choir sing part of the service. Seated at 2 m distance from each other and wearing visors and positioned in the south transept away from the rest of the congregation they were able to sing the Gloria, the responses the Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei using the setting by Dom Gregory Murray. It was lovely to hear voices singing in praise again in our church.
We were delighted to have the family of the couple who were having their Banns read with us, especially as the Grandparents of the Groom were with them, whom we know well, as the Grandfather is a former Church Warden!
So we give thanks to God for our church, and the ability to worship in it, as we pray for the control of the pandemic and the safety of every one.
‘THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK’ FROM THE REVEREND STEPHEN GUISE, PRIEST IN CHARGE – FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY, 13 SEPTEMBER
William Blake, ‘Jacob’s Ladder’, c1799-1807, British Museum
Dear Friends
We come into church Sunday by Sunday, if we are able to, and one of the first things we do is to prepare ourselves for worship by saying the Collect for Purity, asking the Lord to cleanse our hearts by the inspiration of his Holy Spirit, and then, almost straight away, ‘confess our sins to Almighty God’ – a similar act of preparation and repentance.
This is not the same as a detailed examination of conscience such as is made during a personal ‘confession’ to a priest, but is part of the congregation coming together for worship. It is a recognition that, as fallen humanity, we are all in need of forgiveness, something our Gospel reading for this Sunday (Matthew 18:21-35) is all about – if we wish to be forgiven, then we likewise should forgive those who are ‘indebted to us’.
Like prayer itself, this can be done anywhere, but somehow coming to church seems to help us to focus, and gives the act gravitas and particular meaning. The Latin hymn ‘Locus Iste’, which is quite often heard in church of the feast of dedication, recalls the story of Jacob from the book of Genesis. Jacob is making his way to his ancestral land and goes to sleep in the open with a stone on which to rest his head. He dreams that a ladder is set up between earth and heaven, with angels ascending and descending upon it. When he wakes he exclaims, ‘This is none other than the house of God; this is the gateway to heaven.’ He anoints the stone he has used as a pillow and sets it up as a shrine. Like his forefather Abraham in the narrative of the burning bush, he realises that certain places are holy because of the presence of God, and, from time immemorial, humans have established churches and places of worship which are reserved for prayer and ceremony, with the specific intention of giving the glory to God.
The current pandemic has given us a sense of deprivation as we can no longer gather in our normal way to worship together, but we can still pray and receive Holy Communion, albeit in one kind only for the time being.
It has been very gratifying to see some of our regular worshippers from the 8.00am services, as well as those who normally attend at 10.00am, coming along loyally and faithfully, devoutly receiving the host (from the Latin ‘hostias’, meaning ‘victim’, thus recalling Good Friday as well as the mystery of the Resurrection of Easter Sunday).
I’m sure that such loyalty and faithfulness will be repaid once the current crisis has passed, and that we shall appreciate all the more receiving Communion in its fullness Sunday by Sunday as soon as restrictions are lifted.
Fr Stephen
PS: Perhaps the best-known setting of ‘Locus Iste’ is by Anton Bruckner.
Collect
Almighty God,
whose only Son has opened for us
a new and living way into your presence:
give us pure hearts and steadfast wills
to worship you in spirit and in truth:
through Jesus Chris your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Romans 14:1-12
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans
Welcome those who are weak in faith,
but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions.
Some believe in eating anything,
while the weak eat only vegetables.
Those who eat must not despise those who abstain,
and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat;
for God has welcomed them.
Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another?
It is before their own lord that they stand or fall.
And they will be upheld,
for the Lord is able to make them stand.
Some judge one day to be better than another,
while others judge all days to be alike.
Let all be fully convinced in their own minds.
Those who observe the day,
observe it in honor of the Lord.
Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord,
since they give thanks to God;
while those who abstain,
abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.
We do not live to ourselves,
and we do not die to ourselves.
If we live, we live to the Lord,
and if we die, we die to the Lord;
so then, whether we live or whether we die,
we are the Lord's.
For to this end Christ died and lived again,
so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister?
Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister?
For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
For it is written,
"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God."
So then, each of us will be accountable to God.
Matthew 18:21-35
hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Peter came and said to Jesus,
"Lord, if another member of the church sins against me,
how often should I forgive?
As many as seven times?"
Jesus said to him,
"Not seven times,
but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
"For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king
who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.
When he began the reckoning,
one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him;
and, as he could not pay,
his lord ordered him to be sold,
together with his wife and children and all his possessions,
and payment to be made.
So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying,
"Have patience with me,
and I will pay you everything.'
And out of pity for him,
the lord of that slave released him
and forgave him the debt.
But that same slave, as he went out,
came upon one of his fellow slaves
who owed him a hundred denarii;
and seizing him by the throat, he said,
"Pay what you owe.'
Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him,
"Have patience with me, and I will pay you.'
But he refused;
then he went and threw him into prison
until he would pay the debt.
When his fellow slaves saw what had happened,
they were greatly distressed,
and they went and reported to their lord
all that had taken place.
Then his lord summoned him and said to him,
"You wicked slave!
I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave,
as I had mercy on you?'
And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured
until he would pay his entire debt.
So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you,
if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."
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