Father George’s Weekly for 14 August 2022

Dear People of Beresfield-Thornton

Grace to you and peace

Today we make another “adjustment” to the Calendar… The Feast of Mary, Mother of the Lord, falls on 15 August (ie tomorrow) so we take the opportunity to shift it one day forward. In the Roman church the day is known as “The Assumption”, the belief that Mary was taken bodily to heaven, whereas the Orthodox keep that day as “The Dormition”, i.e. “falling asleep. Like the Lutherans, we make no hard and fast ruling on it, reflecting the variety of views in our tradition.

Tradition has it that John, the Beloved Disciple, eventually lived in Ephesus and Mary lived with him, having been commended to his care from the cross. There are three locations where tradition has it that she passed from this life: Pope John Paul II declared Ephesus to be THE site. Whether this is accurate or not, the house, in the hills near Ephesus, is a place of pilgrimage for Christians and Moslems alike. Moslems hold Maryam, the mother of Isa (Mary the mother of Jesus) in high esteem: she is the only woman named in the Koran. (We have much more in common with Islam than many people realise!) I have been to Ephesus, to the simple stone dwelling where Mary and John are supposed to have lived. It is a place of great devotion and in spite of the crowds present it was prayerful and orderly.

Together with the mailout comes a child’s play game which Gabby used in her Children’s Talk the other week. Many of you will be familiar with these from your own childhoods. It encourages children to think about issues of faith, and perhaps you would like to share it with your children or grandchildren or other young acquaintances. I have no idea why it may be called a “cootie catcher”: the word obviously has a different meaning to one I know!

As I look across the Parish Roll I am struck by the number of people who support the parish in one way or another as volunteers, or attenders at various functions, but whom we very infrequently, if ever, see in church. I know that a number of people are “church alumni”, people who used to attend more or less regularly but who have since tended to move out of regularity. There are probably a number of reasons: “I don’t like the ministers” or “It’s boring” or “It’s all pie I the sky when you die and not relevant to modern day life”. Some people are simply not comfortable with traditional church services or the formality of Anglican worship. I want to address all of these issues, and I find that people are often surprised to hear “alternative” views on religion and Christian belief.

If you fit one or more of these categories would you be willing to attend a Q&A session, no holds barred, to explore some of the issues? Would you be happier in a less formal surrounding, say a person’s home with four or five gathered?

Please let me have your feedback….email, letter or phone call.

The Lord be with you

Fr George

gmainprize@bigpond.com 04310 586 119

PROPERS for Mary the Mother of the Lord

Sentence

When the fullness of time had come,

God sent his Son, born of a woman, so that we might receive adoption as God’s children.

Collect

Heavenly Father, who chose the virgin Mary, by your grace, to be the mother of our Lord and Saviour: fill us with your grace, that in all things we may accept your holy will and with her rejoice in your salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

Readings

Isaiah 61:10-62:3 The good news of deliverance

Psalm 113 God cares for all, especially the humble

Galatians 4:4-7 Jesus was born under the Law to free us from restrictive law

Luke 2:1-7 The birth of Jesus

SERMON (Deacon Gail)

In the Name of God, Amen

Today we are celebrating Mary, the Mother of our Lord, or as it used to be called The Feast of the Assumption of Mary. This feast is celebrated widely throughout the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran traditions.

Within the Anglican tradition we celebrate Mary, as the Mother of our Lord, and the human channel, through which God could redeem the world by the Incarnation of His Son, Jesus. Mary was honoured by her son, at the foot of the Cross, and we can do likewise.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a young girl betrothed to Joseph, probably about 12 or 13 years old. She would have been looking forward to marriage. Suddenly the angel Gabriel came to her, and her life changed forever. In the lectionary the alternate reading for the psalm is the Magnificat

(Luke 1:47-55) which is that wonderful song of praise that Mary gives to God when she greets her kinswoman Elizabeth, who is also miraculously pregnant with John the Baptist.

At the Annunciation, Mary responded to God’s invitation to be the mother of the Lord. She said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be unto me according to your word”. Being chosen by God for a purpose requires total commitment and a willingness to sacrifice everything out of love and devotion to him. Mary was obviously well enough versed in scripture to understand what was being asked of her – would we be able to understand such a request from God if we received one?

As part of my weekly Intensive Formation this year we have been doing some Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. One of these exercises in fact was the Annunciation of the birth of Jesus. During this exercise I found myself thinking of this as Mary. “Here I am betrothed to a wonderful man and expecting my life to follow along a certain way. I found myself thinking of the leap of faith that was required and thinking about the consequences of my decision. The feelings of amazement as the angel entered the room, unbelief that he was asking me to do this; then to my astonished ears I hear myself saying yes to God”. As we discussed this reflection in our group it became apparent that many of us also came to a greater realisation of the enormity of this decision when it was looked at in this way.

The cost of Mary’s obedience to God was not easy – she was pregnant, unmarried, likely to be put aside by her fiancé and maybe even stoned to death (the penalty for being unfaithful to Joseph which was allowed by Jewish law). Mary would even have been disowned by her family. If we go forward, we find that Mary would most likely have realised that her life would hold many sacrifices as the mother of the Messiah. It is probably not likely that she would have imagined standing at the foot of the cross and watching her son die a terrible death.

Mary, in her reaction to God’s request when she said “yes” is an example for all followers of Jesus. Perhaps we should ask ourselves Are we like Mary, willing to accept God’s call no matter the cost? Can we go a step further and rejoice in that call as Mary did, knowing it may cost us dearly?

Amen

INTERCESSIONS (Deacon Gail)

Response to our prayers: Father, hear our prayer, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We give thanks for leaders who serve the common good. Give wisdom to those who have responsibility and authority in every land, that we may share with justice the resources of the world, and work together in trust. We pray for the trouble spots of the world: the Ukraine, the Middle East, China, and Taiwan that a resolution will be found, and peace restored.

Father, hear our prayer, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Guide and prosper, we pray, those who strive for the spread of your gospel, and enlighten with your Spirit all churches throughout the world. In the wider church we pray for the Diocese of Guadacanal, and the Church of Pakistan. In the Australian Church we pray for the Diocese of Wangaratta and the National Council of Churches. In this Diocese we pray for our Bishops Peter, Charlie, and Sonia; for the clergy and people of the parishes of Nelson Bay and Stockton. We pray for Manning Valley Anglican College; for our Home Groups and Bible study groups and our clergy George and Gail with their families; and for Tarro-Beresfield Baptist Church.

Father, hear our prayer, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We pray for our local community, for those with whom we work and play. We pray for the members of both Maitland and Newcastle Councisl as they make decisions that impact on our suburbs. Enable us by your Spirit to live in love for you and for one another. In our community we pray for Noel Unicomb Hall and Maitland Neighborhood Centre, and for the Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic.

Father, hear our prayer, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We pray for those who are going through times of trouble, some perhaps in our families, some in our church, some in our wider circle of friends. We know you to be both Lord and healer, and we ask you to touch with your generous love all those who are on our hearts today. We pray especially for those who have asked for our prayers Les, Jill, Heidi, Erol, Lynn, Betty, Mary L and Judith F In a moment of silence, we pray for those known only to us. [ PAUSE ]

Father, hear our prayer, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We give thanks for your servants in every age. Grant that we, with Paul, Michael, Mary the Blessed Mother, Bernard of Clairvaux, and all your saints, may be brought to a joyful resurrection and the fulfillment of your kingdom. We remember before you those whom we have loved and see no more and, at the time of their anniversary for Margaret McColm, Tom Walsh, and George Crethary

+Rest eternal, grant to them O Lord; and let your light perpetual shine upon them.

Almighty God, you have promised to hear our prayers: Grant that what we have asked in faith we may by your grace receive, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SOMETHNG TO THINK ABOUT

Why believe in God (part 1)

First ask What is it that makes us human?”

As far as we know, humans are the only species on this planet with the capacity for long-range strategic planning and complex abstract thought. Many other species show a capacity for elementary problem solving but there appears to be something about humans that sets them apart: at some point in our evolution we started to think and plan ahead.

We have an insatiable curiosity: what makes it go? What happens if I do this? What is there just beyond there? How did those stars get there and what are they anyhow?

Are we no more than a random collection of atoms forming biological and genetic material which allows us to reproduce our species?

Perhaps, just perhaps, as some scientists are now suggesting, there is a unique element in the human structure that meant that, in the process of evolution cell “A” could connect with cell “B” only and that combination could only connect with structure “C” and the result to date is us, and evolution will continue. Somewhere along the line that which we call the ”human spirit” emerged.

(to be continued)

Why believe in God (part 2)

As far as we can tell, there is no human society that has not had a concept of the “divine”; of something or someone beyond themselves. They have given “IT” various names: Great Spirit, Rainbow Serpent, Holy One, Creator, and so forth. They seek ways to communicate with IT.

Some people believe that human beings are the sum of all that is and all that can be. Insofar as they “worship” anything it is variously called “science” or “the human spirit” but deeper analysis always arrives at “The Other”.

History suggests that some societies have seen IT as angry, bloodthirsty and needed to be placated: maybe this reflects their own history and their relationships with the people around them. Certainly early Hebrew communities, like their neighbours, thought of the divine as a warrior god, aiding them in their battles.

Whichever way they saw it, their understanding of the divine evolved in deeper ways as their societies developed and their inter-tribal relationships changed and settled communities established. (to be continued)

Why believe in God (part 3)

However people viewed It, God was understood to be purposeful. Creation was never seen as “accidental”, but, however hard it might be to discern, it was ordered, dynamic and evolving.

Part of being “human” is to be in relationship not only with others of our kind, regardless of ethnicity. It extends to the environment in which we live, whether we see it as something to subdue or something to be cared for, or indeed something that cares for us.

This concept of relationship extends beyond seeing that physicality surrounding us to exploring our relationship with that which we sense but cannot see. If we see purpose in our place within creation then we are inclined to see a purposeful force driving all that is, something we call “God”.

If we see only randomness and lack of purpose in creation then perhaps we can see our place as “survival of the strongest”. Hence humanity’s bloody history. (to be continued)

(Nos 4,5,6 from a series of pamphlets © George Mainprize 2022)