Mailout for the feast of St MAtthew

Dear People of God

Grace to you and Peace

More fiddling with the Calendar. Today we celebrate Matthew 9:9-13, Apostle, Evangelist and Martyr which actually fell on 21 September, Next week, at St Michael’s only, we will observe the Feast of St Michael and All Angels since that is the Feast of Title of that part of our parish. That day actually occurs on 29 September, but….

News of Wendy Foster, who is out of hospital and having a few days recuperation with her family.

I need to remind you that Daylight Saving (AEST) starts next week so you will need to put the clocks FORWARD before going to bed on Saturday evening. Saturday, being the first Saturday in the month, there will be an evening Eucharist at St Michael’s and since Australian Eastern Summer Time doesn’t begin until the day after, the service will be at 5:30pm and thereafter at 6:00pm until the end of AEST.

Bishop Sonia will be visiting the parish on 13 November. I had hoped that she would be able to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation to our four candidates on that day, but at least two of them are caught up with long-standing commitments on that day so we will have to find an alternate arrangement for Confirmation.

At its next meeting Parish Council will have to turn its mind to the long list of maintenance issues before us.

Whether we are monarchist or republicans or simply don’t have an opinion either way, most people have been impressed by the dignity and ceremony of the funeral rites for Queen Elizabeth. There is inevitably going to be a debate as to the constitutional future of Australia and we need to ensure that it is conducted with dignity and respect. Some of the reported comments from various “commentators” in these past days have been downright offensive and serve no constructive purpose. If you are asked for your thoughts on the matter, be respectful: it’s what we call “constructive, respectful conversation”, an approach which is of extra significance in the present state of affairs in the Anglican Church.

See you in church.

The Lord be with you

Fr George

gmainprize@bigpond.com 0410 586 119

PROPERS for ST MATTHEW

Sentence

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners

Collect

Almighty God, who through your Son Jesus Christ call Matthew from the selfish pursuit of gain, to become an apostle and evangelist: free us from all greed and love of riches so that we may follow the steps of our Lord Jesus Christ in the way of self-giving love: who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Readings

Proverbs 3:1-6 Admonitions to trust and honour God

Psalm 19:1-6 Prayer for victory

Ephesians 4:1-14 Unity in the Body of Christ

Matthew 9:9-13 The call of Matthew

SERMON (Fr George)

In the name of God, Amen

Can a tax collector be saved?

We are observing the Feast of St Matthew, Apostle, Evangelist and Martyr. Called from his tax desk by Jesus he started as one of the most despised people in Jewish society, being a lackey of the Romans with a brief to recover a certain amount of tax and notoriously went for what he could get in excess of this, for his own pocket. This all sounds a bit like the current attitude amongst certain entrepreneurs and politicians: “Where’s the profit to be gained?”

Why do we celebrate the saints in the first place?

We have images of saints in stained glass windows and, as I may have mentioned a few times before, they represent to us lives transformed by grace and we see the light of God, or the sunlight in this case, shining through them. However graceful they may appear in the images, they are all people with a past, and very often that is not a past of which to be proud. Just read through your Bibles again and pay attention to the sorts of people they were: Abraham drove out his servant and their son Ishmael, Moses was a murderer, Jacob was deceitful, David was an adulterer, and when we get to the New Testament they’re no better. Paul was an ardent persecutor of the infant Christian community and assented to murder; Peter denied that he knew Jesus and, like most of the original group of apostles, ran away when Jesus most needed his supporters to stand with him, Matthew was on the fiddle as a tax harvester, the band of fishermen were probably pretty rough and ready and had an extensive repertoire of oaths and a good capacity for drink…..and so it goes. The important thing is that they were people just like us whose lives were turned around by their experience of the Incarnate Word: they are exemplars for us.

No doubt we have all had times when the going is pretty rough and when doubt seems to crowd out belief. Things go wrong in our lives and hope can be seemingly extinguished by despair. Friends may desert us; marriages can go wrong; people whom we love dearly may die; finances get out of control, and so it goes. At times like this it is so often extremely difficult to hold on to faith and our question becomes “Why me?” And it is precisely times like this that we need the example of the saints, stepping out of their stained-glass windows and inviting us to share with them in their journey, because they are all of them examples of transforming grace. God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.

Can a tax collector be saved? The answer is clearly a resounding “YES”, which means that there is hope for all of us.

For Matthew and all the saints, Thanks be to God.

Amen

INTERCESSIONS

Let us pray for the preservation of the earth

For grace seriously to lay to heart the perils we face due to our inaction on climate change; for the right use of natural resources of earth, air and sea; for a deepening sense of your lordship of all Creation and our role as stewards of your bounty

We give thanks for the beauty and abundance of the earth. Give us and all peoples grace to live in harmony with your creation, wisdom and generosity in our use of its bounty.

Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer

Let us pray for peace and shared prosperity

For a deepening respect for all people regardless of creed, colour or social status; for the will to work across national boundaries for an end to war and other acts of aggression; for mutually beneficial and just trade arrangements; for respect for those who work in small enterprises

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.

Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer

Let us pray for our nation

For those who lead in government and politics, in commerce, industry and society; for diplomats, policy developers and public servants; for our Prime Minister Anthony, Leader of the Opposition and all Members of Parliament; for our Premier Dominic, state members, Local Government Mayors and Councillors

We give thanks for this land and the diversity of its people. Grant that we may so honour one another that all may be enriched by our common heritage and freed from despair, poverty and exclusion.

Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer

Let us pray for the Church and its mission

For the Christian communities separated from us by sinful division, that we may be drawn closer into the unity for which our Lord prayed; for the Christian community in the land of the Holy One; for the Anglican Church throughout the world, and for Justin, Archbishop of Canterbury, and forthe Meeting of Primates; in our national church for the General Synod and Synod Commissions; for our sister Diocese of Guadalcanal; and in our own Diocese our Bishop Peter and the Bishops Assisting, Sonia and Charlie, and for retired bishops resident in the diocese; our clergy George and Gail, for our Welcomers and Readers; for all those parishes and congregations under the Patronal Care of Matthew; and in our ecclesiastical community for Beresfield-Tarro Baptist Church

We give thanks for the good news of salvation for all people. Strengthen us for our work in the world, empower your Church to proclaim the gospel in service, word and sacrament. Unite in the truth all who confess your name that we may live together in love to your glory.

Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer

Let us pray for ourselves and for our community

In this community for Beresfield Tavern, Newton Take-away, and Milton Skinner Mechanic.

We commend to your keeping ourselves and each other, our families, those with whom we work and learn, our neighbours and our friends. Enable us by your Spirit to live in love for you and for one another.

Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer

Let us pray for those in need

For all those deprived of meaningful work; for those whose work is underpaid or is destructive of their humanity; who those who do not have sufficient income to live with dignity; for the sick especially those who have sought our prayers; for those approaching death; and forthose whose needs are immediate or continuing; and forthose who mourn,

We give thanks that you are the God who brings mercy and wholeness. Comfort and heal, we pray, all who are in sorrow, need sickness or any other trouble. Give to those who care for them wisdom, patience and gentleness and, to us and all your people, give peace.

Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer

Let us give thanks for the faithful departed and those to whom our lives were bound by kinship or affection

For Mary the Blessed Mother, Paul our Patron; Matthew the Apostle, Sergius of Moscow, Lancelot Andrewes, Vincent de Paul, and Jerome; and for Roley Avard, Annie Beggs, Dawn Nevins, Wayne Anderson, Avril Murdoch, and Robert Druery, whose year’s mind falls at this time,;

We give you thanks for your faithful servants in every age. Grant that we, with those whom we have named before you and all your saints may be brought to a joyful resurrection and the fulfilment of your kingdom.

Holy 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

Saints and Commemorations of the Week

Matthew Apostle and Evangelist the tax collector, aka Levi, reputed to be the author of the gospel bearing his name, thought to have been martyred in a pace near Egypt. It was Jesus’ friendship with tax collectors which helped to alienate the Pharisees.

Sergius of Moscow (1392) recognised as a religious reformer of Teacher of the Faith. As a monastic he inspired the spread of monasticism throughout Russia, and although extremely popular he declined the offer of a bishopric and preferred to remain a monk and teacher.

Lancelot Andrews (1626) was a very influential bishop and theologian during a period of significant turmoil in England, adopting a line critical of Calvinist and Puritan dogma and defending the unique position of the English Church as catholic and reformed.

Vincent de Paul (1660) was a French priest who went on to establish a religious order dedicated to serve in small regional communities and the poor, and which also raised funds to secure the freedom of galley slaves. According to unverified legend he was abducted whilst travelling and sold into slavery from which he escaped after a few years and returned to priestly life. Frederic Ozanam named the charitable Society of St Vincent de Paul in his honour.

Jerome (420) apart from this moral teaching he is best remembered for his translation of the Bible into Latin, in the English translation as the “Jerusalem Bible” and in Latin as the Vulgate (meaning “the common tongue”)