From the Vicars Pen - November
Remembrance Sunday Service
At the time I write this, the Parish Council, representatives of the Uniformed Organisations and Churches Together in Southwater are planning to have a socially distanced short service and Act of Remembrance at the War Memorial in Lintot Square. The Act of Remembrance will be recorded and posted on social media. However, this is subject to change. We will adhere to any government guidelines released nearer the time. I understand that individuals and families can show their support by making home-made poppy pictures and placing them in their windows. Under the current circumstances this looks like an appropriate and secure way for everyone to show their gratitude and respect.
This year Advent season begins on the 29th November Sunday. Advent is when the Church turns its attention to the future. Our eyes turn towards Christmas and the birth of the Saviour, the one who can be trusted no matter how circumstances change; and to what the Church calls the ‘last things’, that which awaits us beyond this life: death and judgement, heaven and hell. Since God has come down to earth in Jesus, (i.e. because of Christmas) we need not fear death and judgement. Jesus shares our dying as well as our living. He offers us the hope of life eternal.
If we invite him into our lives; if he dwells with us; if we are clothed in him and by him, then our life and the future of the world is changed. And yes there will be a judgement, but God has appointed Jesus as judge – and this is very good news: the one who judges us, is the one who knows us better than we know ourselves and who loves us dearly.
The scripture does carry a warning, however: we mustn’t hang about; we must live now as if the future that is promised in Christ is already here. Salvation is near. This is what St. Paul said to the Church in Rome. There is urgency: we need to wake up to the new reality that we find in Christ. Jesus himself says that we don’t know when the hour will be that God brings things – the whole creation! - to a good end / new beginning (Matthew 24. 36; 42). After all, if we knew when the burglar was coming, we would have made sure the alarm was set (Matthew 24. 34).
The scripture also urges us to nurture within our mind and heart the vision of a new humanity that comes in Christ and of God’s kingdom on earth, what Paul calls “putting on the Lord Jesus” (Romans 13. 14). Further, Isaiah’s vision of peace on God’s mountain is as astonishing and challenging today as it was hundreds of years ago: the very vision of peace and healing our world longs for – not least in the midst of a pandemic and other struggles we all face.
Christian vision – the Advent hope – is of a restored creation; not just our own salvation, as if the Christian faith were nothing more than some sort of spiritual self-help, but a redeemed world where every nation and all peoples seek God, and where there is no need for war or the weapons of war, and where swords are made into ploughs (Isaiah 2. 4). Lives will hopefully change for the better when you keep this vision before you as you travel through Advent - as you travel through life.
After all, we are preparing to hear and to remember the good news of ‘God with us’ once again at Christmas. It is a vision that bursts from the pages of scripture. We see it demonstrated in Jesus. It is God’s manifesto for the world: put on the Lord Jesus. Wishing you all a blessed Advent Season. May you know the presence, peace and hope of God in Jesus Christ even as you prepare to welcome him once again this Christmas.
Worship Services this month
Worship services are offered every Sunday via Zoom at 9.30 a.m. If you wish to receive the link please let me know. (contact details below) Worship services are also offered in church on Sundays at 11 am, but to avoid disappointment, booking is essential. For details of worship timings and reserving a seat please email office@southwaterchurch.org or ring me on 01403 730229.
With my prayers and best wishes, Godfrey