th
St
Barnabas Anglican Church, Warrington,
New Zealand
Pastoral
Letter in time of Covid Δ
2021, 10th Oct Trinity 19
Readings:
Job 23:1-9,16-17
Ps 22:1-15
Heb 4:12-16
Mark 10:17-31
¹⁷ As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up
and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good
Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.’” ²⁰ He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all
these since my youth.” ²¹ Jesus, looking
at him, loved him and said, “You lack
one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” ²² When he heard this, he was shocked and went
away grieving, for he had many possessions.
²³Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the
disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom
of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to
go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the
kingdom of God.” ²⁶ They were greatly
astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for
God; for God all things are possible.” ²⁸ Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed
you.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has
left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields,
for my sake and for the sake of the good news, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in
this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with
persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and
the last will be first.”
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Grace and peace to you from God.
This is St Frances Sunday, and but for Covid we would be having
an extra service this afternoon, with a different congregation. I’ve tried to persuade the Diocese to accept
our updated mask protocol (see below; Many thanks to Doug), but without
success.
Masks are a real pain, uncomfortable, easily forgotten. When I was young there was no sun block, no car seatbelts, cyclists didn’t wear helmets, very few motorcyclists wore helmets and they were badly designed.
However, we can have our cup of tea after the service. I told Bishop Steve we would send Greta
round…….
Over the years, I have developed the idea that, like children,
dogs are closer to the kingdom of heaven.
All that we learn as Christians is about putting self aside and living
for others. We talk of Christian love
and charity in a different way from the love that bonds us to our partners and
family. I know that I cannot ‘earn’ my
way into heaven by doing good deeds for others.
Only the grace of Christ can make me become more like Christ, but every
time I am selfish or greedy, I look away from what He is offering me.
A lot of people get up my nose, and
quite a few of them have been in the news this week. As a scientist, I find it hard to respect
opinions which are based on prejudice and convenience. People trying to create their own identity by
adopting bizarre views which have no evidence to support them, only a mistrust
of ‘authority.’ As a Christian, I find
myself indignant at the behaviour of people I’ve never met, because one example
of their behaviour, shows a self-centered view of the world. But as more New Zealanders move away from
worshipping God, we are continually told we are throwing off old biases and
becoming more inclusive, and respectful of minorities, those different from
ourselves. (Actually, when social
scientists have surveyed such opinions, they find that Christians are more
inclusive than society as a whole). Nowadays
we are told that thoughts and words are as important as actions, and we shouldn’t
‘put down’ those we disagree with. I
find it hard to respect people who are just willful, who don’t use their brains
to judge evidence. I find it hard to
respect people who value their own interests above others; who for instance
compare their business opportunities, with the deaths that covid in the
community will bring. As the PM said of
last weekend’s anti-lockdown protest,
“they’re not the only people who are fed up with lockdown.”
As Christians we recognize our place
in humanity. Our identity is not just in
ourselves but in the generations past, and the generations to come. Our place is to live for the benefit of all,
not just ourselves. That’s why I respect
dogs. They are pack animals and find
their identity in community, usually in their extended family. This is so much part of their character, that
they make a pack even when there are no other dogs, and they have to adopt
humans. They enjoy the emotional support
and companionship of others, earning their share of the family resources by their
place in the group.
Sally was
doing a crossword the other night, and asked me what were the 7 deadly
sins? I quickly remembered my own (I’m
sure you know them too) but was at a bit of a loss for the others. Why would I know that sort of stuff? It did however make me think of the 7
cardinal virtues. (Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance, Faith, Hope, and
Charity). The first four are very old
and were enumerated by Plato. The
Christian church added the last three, arguing that a Christian derives them
from the first four. We need them all
now, but fortitude seems to be the hardest in a society where individuals only
have themselves as a reference.
The TV are trying to encourage us by talking about Ireland,
where the vaccine rate exceeds 90%. They
had a big spike in January (the alpha (aka Kent, or English) variant. Over 5,000 died. As the head of the Irish vaccine committee
has said, every extended family lost someone, everyone has watched at least one
covid funeral, so when the vaccine came, it was welcomed. Ireland has only had a little spike for
delta: about 10 deaths a week.
Who are these people:
the Covid deniers? The anti-vax’ers?
The alienated, the marginalized, the disposed. The sort of people Christ went looking for
all His life.
Jeremy
Rev Dr JJ Nicoll, 0274 361 481
Priest-in-Charge
St Barnabas, Warrington, NZ
Collect:
God of the possible,
and the impossible,
when we come to you
with questions
and struggle with your
answers,
grant us faith in
believing as we await the treasure from heaven,
which is your faithful
promise.
Through Jesus Christ
our Liberator,
who is alive and
reigns with you,
in the unity of the
Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for
ever. Amen.
Confession
Lord God,
we have sinned against
you;
we have done evil in
your sight.
We are sorry and
repent.
Have mercy on us
according to your love.
Wash away our
wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit
within us
and restore us to the
joy of your salvation,
through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. cf
Psalm 51
May the Father of all
mercies
cleanse us from our
sins,
and restore us in his
image
to the praise and
glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
Praise.
Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
And such a Life, as killeth death.
Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a Feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a Strength, as makes his guest.
Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joys in Love.
George Herbert (1633)
Bless the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit:
sing his praise and exalt him for ever. Ameneir identity in community, usually in their extended family. This is so much part of their
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