13 January 2008

Welcome to St Alban’s Anglican Church 

Today's Scripture (HC) : Isaiah 42: 1-9    Acts 10: 34-43    S. Matthew 3: 13-end

Today's Liturgy: 8.35 a.m. BCP Matins;    9.00a.m. Scripture Study;    9.30 a.m. Holy Communion;    EP 6.00 p.m.

This Week: Tues to Fri 12.30 p.m. Midday Prayer

The 1^st Sunday After Epiphany - The Baptism of Christ

O Lord, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people which call upon thee; 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 the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

FAITH IN FOCUS: PERSONAL STEREO RELIGION

Life seems to become more and more privatised as the days go by. For whatever reason, we don’t see many children playing games together in our streets or our parks. Buses and trains are full of people who don’t talk to each other because they sit listening to music on their own personal stereos. Teenagers are said to spend many hours a week by themselves in their bedrooms on the computer. And families claim that life is so frenetic that they have to make a special effort to eat a brand of gravy together once a week.

Of course, there are some people whose religion is exactly the same. It’s about them and God, about them getting holy and going to heaven. If others can do the same, all well and good; but they don’t actually affect them in any way. These are the sort of people who prefer a "private" wedding or a "private" funeral. After all, it’s about them, not the rest of the parish. Or is it?

The feast of the Baptism of the Lord turns all of this on its head. For it reminds us that at our own baptism we were anointed by the priest or deacon. We were anointed with oil so that we could become "priests ... prophets ... and kings (or queens)." To be a priest means that we offer every moment of our lives to God that they may become sanctified and profitable. To be a prophet means that by our words and actions we are to speak out to our world as spokesmen and women. We are to say what God wants the world to hear. To be a king or queen means to accept responsibility for our world as well as for the kingdom of God. The world we have been given is on loan to us; we are to watch over it, to protect it and hand it on to the next generation in even better condition.

Our religion is the expression of our baptism. We are baptised into a living, believing community that worships collectively, that publicly makes its stand for the power of God’s word in our world and is ready to come to the aid of those who are under threat. That’s because our baptism calls us to be other Christs in our world. Far from being a private hobby it is a reminder that our vocation is to be part of the ever-advancing People of God. And if we’re to be part of a people, then we need others.

 

WORD OF GOD

Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have endowed him with my spirit that he may bring true justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1)

WORD FOR TODAY

Our baptism isn’t something that’s over and done with. It’s like a tree that’s planted and which keeps growing every day of its life. At baptism we were set apart to share in building God’s kingdom on earth and this is something we have to renew constantly.

WORDS FOR WORSHIP

At baptism we became children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us now join together in the family prayer that unites all Christians: Our Father ...

MUNGO (January 14th)

Glasgow’s coat of arms contains the four symbols of Mungo (or Kentigern), the sixth century saint. They are a bird, a fish, a bell and a tree:

The bird commemorates the pet robin owned by Saint Servanus, which was accidentally killed by monks who blamed it on Mungo. He took the bird in his hands and prayed over it, restoring it to life.

The fish was one caught by him in the Clyde. When it was slit open, a ring belonging to the Queen of Cadzow was miraculously found inside it. She was suspected of disloyalty by her husband, and thought to have left with his ring. She had asked Mungo for help, and he found and restored the ring in this way to clear her name. ...

... The bell may have been given to Mungo by the pope. The original, which was tolled at funerals, no longer exists and was replaced by the justices of Glasgow in 1641. This one is preserved in the People’s Palace.

The tree is a symbol of an incident from Mungo’s childhood. Left in charge of the holy fire in Saint Servanus’s monastery, he fell asleep and the fire went out. However he broke off some frozen branches from a hazel tree and miraculously re-kindled the fire.

THIS BABY that we celebrated on Christmas was the saviour, who washed away our sins, and who also brings change and newness of life to all who will believe in him. Upon his baptism, know for sure that his eyes were already fixed upon the cross of Calvary. His baptism was a statement of what he was about to do to enable our salvation and the new birth that comes with it. (Paul Humphrey)

THIS WEEK’S BIBLE READINGS:

Mon: Genesis 1:1-19, Matt 21:1-17, 1 Corinthians 1: 1-17

Tues: Gen 1:20 - 2:3, Matthew 21:18-32, 1 Cor 1:18-end

Wed: Gen 2:4-end, Matthew 21:33-end, 1 Cor 2

Thu: Gen 3, Matthew 22:1-14, 1 Cor 3

Fri: Gen 4:1-16, 25,26, Matthew 22:15-33, 1 Cor 4

Sat : Gen 6:1-10, Matthew 22: 34-end, 1 Cor 5

NEXT SUNDAY (SEPTUAGESIMA): Isaiah 49:1-7, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, S. John 1: 29-42