The Coronavirus Pandemic & Its Effects On Our Lives

 

My dearest Friends in the Lord,

We are living in such bewildering, liminal times! The words of Charles Dickens in ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ come to mind: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

So many things are happening and certainly we are alarmed, apprehensive and anxious to say the least.  The ray of light in these dark times is that the stars shine brightest when the nights are darkest! And people are bringing forth the best in their hearts and lives as our poet William Wordsworth says in Tintern Abbey “that best portion of a good man’s life, His little, nameless, unremembered, acts of kindness and of love.”

Goodness of heart, gentleness and thoughtfulness is blooming like the Spring flowers and that is a sign of hope in these most trying and difficult times!

Guidelines from the Archbishops we must all now follow: 

1. Our church buildings are closed for public worship and for private prayer. 

2. Emergency baptisms can take place in hospital or at home, though subject to strict hygienic precautions and physical distancing as far as possible. 

3. There can be no weddings in church buildings until further notice. 

4. Funerals can only happen at the Crematorium or at the graveside. Only immediate family members can attend (if the crematorium allows) – that is, spouse or partner, parents and children, keeping their distance in the prescribed way. 

5. Live streaming of services is more important than ever and is still permissible from homes. We encourage us all to consider how we can be as creative as possible with streaming services and other resources. There are many, many fantastic examples of churches and clergy using technology to reach and engage communities. 

6. Foodbanks should continue where possible under strict guidelines and may have to move to be delivery points not places where people gather. If you can do consider making a financial contribution to your nearest foodbank. 

Latest administrative updates from the Diocese

1. The Annual Parochial Church Meetings to take place by 31 October 2020 – the Churchwardens chosen in 2019 to remain in office subject to sections 6A (suspension), 7(resignation) and 8 (vacation of office). For details, please refer to the letter of the Bishops on March 2020 

2. Churchwardens are requested to put notice of closure of churches on their church doors as notified by the Archbishops and the Diocese of Lincoln. They could use the template sent by from Diocese (letter of Bishops) on 24 March 2020. 

3. Insurance Advice
   Ecclesiastical Insurance have passed on some helpful guidance about looking after church buildings during the present closure. It can be accessed at  https://www.ecclesiastical.com/risk-management/unoccupied-properties-during-covid-19/church/

Other pastoral and spiritual updates for the week:

1. The Church of England is encouraging everyone to share a photo or video using #praytogether.  

2. The Church of England’s “Time to Pray” app, which includes simple daytime and night prayer services, is now free to everyone. An accompanying daily audio offering on SoundCloud and iTunes was launched last week, with the Archbishop of Canterbury leading worship. 

3. Church on Line, log on to: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/church-online 

4. It is truly inspiring to hear of people praying The Lord’s Prayer while they are washing their hands with soap or sanitising them with the gel. 

5. Let us at this very troubling times turn to Jesus Christ and re-focus our lives in faith and renew our lives in ‘24-7 Prayer and Care’. 

6. Don’t forget to put the clocks forward tonight (Saturday)! 

Please see below spiritual resources for you for Sunday and the week:

• A reflection/sermon for the 5^th Sunday in Lent
• A you tube presentation by John Beverly courtesy Joe Bartrop
• Some prayers/intercessions you can use
• Weekly reflections provided by John Beverly for every day of the coming week.

Please forward the contents of this page and the reflection and prayers post to your friends, especially the Church Family members, if you can. You can use the social media buttons wherever you see them at the base of a page to share content from the web site to your friends and family via Facebook, Twitter and Linked in.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and always.  

Do keep safe and let us pray and care for each other in our families and in our communities.

With my kindest regards and every blessing,

Father Sebastian

 

A Sermon/Reflection

“Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live….”

Do you believe this?

A brief sermon/reflection for Lent 5 – Year A – 2020

If you can,  please read the passage  the gospel passage in your bibles or you can log on to https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/ and  write John chapter 11, verses 1 to 45 and select the translation you like.

Introduction

Life on earth is so beautiful and yet such a huge paradox! Death always stalks furtively near and that is not a small scare especially now in this time of Covid-19! Just think of the thousands of our brothers and sisters prematurely dying due to this virus. That is why we keep asking those hard questions “Why?”; “What is life really?” “What happens after death?”

The gospel of today we see Jesus doing something no one else has ever done. He raises a dead man back to life! The story of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus back to life could provide us the answer we seek to the puzzle that is life. Let us briefly look at this extraordinary event in the life of Jesus.

The key verse

• “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11.25) 

In the gospel of today we hear of the death of Lazarus, a dear friend of Jesus. We could look at it in three ways:

• First: Jesus was very close to the family of Martha, Mary and Lazarus.

Jesus was not what one might think a bigot. Not by any means! He was very much like us and had his circle of friends. The family of Martha, Mary and Lazarus was very dear to him. They used to offer him hospitality and their home was a place of refuge and friendship for Jesus. No wonder the death of Lazarus, a dear friend, was a huge blow to him!

The fact that, upon hearing of the death of Lazarus, Jesus was profoundly moved and burst into tears and that shows how much he loved him. But that is not all. Jesus then actually raises Lazarus back to life. Incredible! Unprecedented! Never happened before in human history! Here we see who Jesus really is! Yes, he is human like us. But he is also the Son of God. And God is Love! And love alone has the power to destroy death. Love has the power of resurrection! We may not physically raise people like Jesus. But we are reminded that love has the power of transforming our world! A great message indeed today for our world so riven with the coronavirus pandemic!

• Second: We see in Martha a model of a person who recognises Jesus and believes in him.

With the simplicity and limpidity of heart of a child, Martha tells Jesus: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” We would probably say the same thing to Jesus! It is clear Martha believes in her heart that Jesus is the Lord of life and death, that he has power over life and power over death! When Jesus asks: ‘Do you believe this?’ she affirms: “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

Belief in Jesus is crucial to understand death and resurrection. “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11.25) It is difficult to understand resurrection and the mystery of life and death if we don’t really believe in the person of Jesus Christ. That means really accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, the one alone who is the “way and the truth and the life” (John 14.6). Nobody can do that for you – it is your own very  personal decision made in the silence and sanctuary of your heart!

• Third: The most important affirmation in the whole of the Gospel.

The words of Jesus “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live” is a revolutionary affirmation nobody in the entire human history had ever made before him or after him, These words underline our Christian faith. They give us the hope and the joy of living: “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11.25)

Conclusion

We light the Easter/Paschal candle every Sunday when we have a service in our churches to remind ourselves of the Risen Jesus and of our faith in the resurrection and the light of hope and joy he gives us to live our daily lives. During this Lent have been preparing ourselves to celebrate the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. This year due to the coronavirus pandemic, we will celebrate these mysteries of our Christian faith in church but in our hearts and in our actual lives!

Let us remember the key words of the gospel today: Those who believe in me, even if they die, will live!

It all comes down to this finally: Jesus offers us eternal life. This eternal life actually begins in our hearts and in our lives. But we need that faith in Jesus Christ!  No wonder Jesus is asking us today as he asked Martha: “Do you believe this?” This is a serious life-question and only you can answer it. If you can, try not to put off your answer to him. Your Christian life will take off only when you do that!

[STMattapally]

 A YouTube presentation “ Strangers in a Strange Land”

by John Beverly courtesy Joe Bartrop.

Our Parish Reader John Beverly has put together a reflective service which can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/MnUiQg0GcJA

It lasts about 25 minutes.

Thank you John and Joe!

Some Prayers/ Intercessions for this Sunday and the week ahead

“Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian. If it is well cultivated and nourished it will produce fruit, but if it is neglected, it will wither and die.”

Heavenly Father, we worship you and adore you; we thank you and we praise you.

You have loved us so much that you created us, gave us life and all that we have – our family, friends and communities. But you loved us even further by sending us your own Son, Jesus, so that we can have a clear and unmistakeable path back towards you, a True Life In God and Eternal Life.

Heavenly Father, as Jesus raised Lazarus back to life, you are challenging us to believe in Jesus Christ who is the resurrection and the life. You are reassuring us that in Jesus Christ we can have eternal life. Increase our faith in your Son, Heavenly Father, especially in these times of coronavirus, when we are anxious and apprehensive and the reality of death stares us in the face. Help us to grow deeper and stronger in our faith in your Son Jesus Christ, The Way, The Truth and The Life, so that believing in him, we may have eternal life.

Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer.

In our diocesan cycle of prayer, on this fifth Sunday in LENT, we remember Thomas Kendall. He grew up in North Thoresby, Lincolnshire, England, where he was influenced by his local minister Reverend William Myers and the evangelical revival within the Anglican Church especially in New Zealand where he worked assiduously as a missionary. His Christian commitment and witness inspire us even today.

We pray for all who are bereaved and those facing death, and give thanks for the promise of new life in Christ.

Today, the fifth Sunday in Lent, is also the focus of the Primates’ Task Group’s call for a period of prayer and repentance in the Anglican Communion. (A prayer is available on the Anglican Communion website.)

Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer.

We pray for our Parish and for our Church family and we ask you Lord to bless us and grow us in your love; help us to make that extra effort to love you and serve you in other people especially those who are in need during these difficult and unprecedented times. Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer.

We pray for those in our midst this morning who are seeking God’s blessings and graces, especially those who are lonely, ill or grieving.

Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer.

After a short silence to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts…….Merciful Father accept our prayers for the sake of your son our saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Please see below A Spiritual Communion Prayer – in the absence of Holy Communion

O my Jesus, I bow down and offer you my humble and contrite heart in Your holy presence. I adore you and love you in Holy Communion. But as I cannot receive your Body and Blood in Holy Communion sacramentally in church in these difficult times, I wish to receive you spiritually in the poor home of my heart.  I want to abide in you. Come to me Lord Jesus and may I come to you. May Your love inflame my whole being now and always. I believe in you, I hope in you, I love you. Amen.