19 April 2009

Welcome to  St Alban's Anglican Church       

Today's Scripture   :  Acts 4: 32-35              1 John 1:1 – 2:2                        S. John 20:19–end

Today: 8.35 a.m. Matins; 9.00 a.m. Church School/Scripture Study;  9.30 a.m. Holy Eucharist; Evening Prayer 6 p.m.

This Week: Mon-Wed: 12.30 p.m. Midday Prayer; Thurs (S. GEORGE): 12.30p.m. HC; Sat (S. MARK): 12.30 p.m. HC

 1^st Sunday after Easter

Almighty Father, who hast given thine only Son to die for our sins, and to rise again for our justification; Grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness, that we may alway serve thee in pureness of living and truth; through the merits of the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

FAITH IN FOCUS: BACK TO THE FUTURE

When we achieve something momentous or finish a task that has taken a lot of effort, we usually want to sit back and admire what we have done, to take stock and rest on our laurels for a while. So after the events of Easter you’d expect the Church to sit back and bask in the glory of it all. But you’d be wrong!

Today, just one week after the climax of Easter we’re told that we have to be on the move, witnessing to our faith in Christ. In fact, that’s hardly surprising since in today’s scripture we meet the risen Christ on that first Easter Sunday in John’s gospel. He goes to the disciples and tells them that just as the Father sent him, so now he is sending them out to be witnesses of his resurrection. There’s no time to laze around.

A lot of us have a problem witnessing to our faith. Perhaps we feel awkward or embarrassed about the prospect of talking to others about our beliefs. Maybe we are put off by the thought of being tarred with the same brush as those who knock on people’s doors or stand ranting against the world on high streets or markets in many of our towns and cities. It could be that we think witnessing to our faith is the job of the clergy and is best left to them. Whatever the reason it’s certainly the case that there’s a lot less of it now than there used to be.

Of course, faith is good to have but not good to hold on to. It’s intended to be passed on and it’s the job of every baptised Christian to share in that task of letting others know about Jesus Christ and the promises he has made in his Father’s name. But witnessing to this doesn’t mean that we have to stand on a soapbox in some public place. They say that faith is caught not taught. Most of us catch it from our parents or some person who means a lot to us.

We can witness to Christ by the example of our lives, by the way we treat others, by the way we simply stand up for those less fortunate than ourselves, by the way we encourage our own children in their faith and by the way we are ready to be the first to lend a hand. So as the alleluias of the resurrection begin to sound more distant, this is not the time to press the re-wind button. It’s time for the fast-forward!