20 September 2009

Welcome to  St Alban's Anglican Church       

Today's Scripture: Jeremiah 11: 18-20         James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a            S. Mark 9: 30-37

 Today: 9.00 a.m. Matins;      9.30 a.m. BCP Holy Eucharist;         6.00 p.m. Evening Prayer

This Week: Mon (S. MATTHEW’S DAY) 12.30 pm HC; Tues-Fri 12.30 pm Midday Prayers; Sat 10 am Prison Ministry (Northward).

Next Week: Sunday 27^th September 9.00 a.m. Matins; 9.30 a.m. Holy Eucharist.

15^th Sunday after Trinity

Keep, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy: and because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 FAITH IN FOCUS:THE MADNESS OF BEING A CHRISTIAN

Billy, aged four, and his brother Tommy, aged six, were arguing about who was going to get the first pancake that their grandmother was making at the stove. She took the opportunity to teach them a lesson, telling them that Jesus would let his brother have the first pancake. Tommy turned to Billy and said, “Ok, Billy. Go on then, you be Jesus.”

Self-preservation seems to lead to selfishness, just as the instinct for survival tends to make us want to be the “alpha male”. Even in the Garden of Eden it had already started when Adam and Eve were convinced that eating the fruit of the forbidden tree would make them just as good as God. No longer would they be in second place.

Yet Jesus tells us that being first in the kingdom of heaven means being last on this earth. It’s the paradox at the heart of Christianity that says to get the most out of life you must give up your life, to rule people you must be their servant, and to be first you must make yourself last.

There’s no doubt that such an attitude goes against the grain. We seem to be programmed to want to be at the front of the queue. Adverts in magazines and on television pamper to the fact that we “deserve” this or that, that we should adopt a me-first approach to getting what we want in our no-win no-fee society. Knowing your rights and getting everything you’re entitled to has become the norm. It’s a dog-eat-dog world and you’re worth it.

Nothing could point more clearly to the fact that Christianity is not a socially comfortable religious position to adopt. To follow Jesus means to stand out as a sign of contradiction to the views that our society takes as normal and normative. That’s why Christianity is not merely a question of “being nice”. It’s a choice to forego many of the values and attitudes that are prized by most of our fellow citizens. It’s an option to set aside a self-serving approach to what we can get out of life, and instead to live life in a way that puts others first. Is this madness? Billy and Tommy clearly think so. Most people would think so. But Christians wouldn’t.