Archbishop Michael’s Past Messages:
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Message for Easter 2008
Of all the feasts in the Christian year, Easter Day is the sine qua non. We could celebrate the Birth of Jesus, and remember His Baptism; we could follow Him along the Way of the Cross, and shed tears at His Passion and death, but without Easter, none of these things would have the significance that they do. The life of Our Lord only makes sense in the light of His glorious Resurrection. What happened on that morning of the third day fulfils everything that had gone before. Because Jesus died, and then overcame sin and death by rising to life again, our Christian Faith is transformed from a philosophy into a way of life; from being an example of living, it becomes a new covenant that God makes with us. For this reason, it is essential that everything we believe about the events of Easter should be according to the Scriptures.
The earliest accounts of what happened are contained in S Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians. There he writes that he is passing on to others the tradition which he had himself received - that Christ Who “died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures” and was buried, was also raised to life again on the third day, and was seen by various people in turn. As S Luke confirms in his Gospel, over the space of the following forty days, Jesus “showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs”. He convinced His followers that He was not dead, but now gloriously alive, having triumphed over the grave. Similarly, in their message to the crowds on the day of Pentecost and after, the Apostles had no hesitation in saying that God had raised Jesus to life, even though this was said in the heart of Jerusalem, where Christ’s enemies could have produced evidence to the contrary, if such evidence had existed.
So in this Easter season, we can confidently proclaim our Risen Lord. We have walked with Our Lord from Jericho to Jerusalem, and we have greeted Him as our King as He entered the city on Palm Sunday. We have shared in that last meal with His Apostles on Maundy Thursday, and watched with Him during the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. We have adored the Cross on Good Friday, and shared in the grief of His Mother at His death. Finally, on Easter Eve, we have seen the Light of Christ kindled to shine in all the dark corners of the world; we have renewed the promises that were made at the time of our baptism, and we have shared the joy of the new life Christ has given us by overcoming death. Now we can truly say, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast”. We do not have to worry about ifs and buts and maybes; we know that Our Lord rose again “according to the Scriptures”. In the Traditional Church of England, that is good enough for us. We have the record of the Apostles, of those who were there at the time, and we know that their record is true. We proclaim with all our heart and soul, “The Lord is risen; He is risen indeed. Alleluia!”
May we all share in the joy of this Easter season.
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Message for Lent
“Now is the healing time decreed for sins of heart, of word or deed; when we in humble fear record the wrong that we have done the Lord.” So runs the first verse of the current Evening Office hymn. Lent is indeed a time when we take stock of our sins, and in penitence, seek forgiveness for them. It is important for religious people to remember that it is quite possible to go through the motions of saying our prayers, reading the Scriptures and attending Mass without having any real commitment to the principles of the Christian life. One of the great paradoxes that faces us as Christians is that it is possible to appear to be devout followers of Christ, yet all the while to be villains underneath. The sad fact is that in the the history of the Church there have been those whose lives have been a story of downright wickedness, and there have been shameful episodes of ungodliness and betrayal. This is the darker side that all those who claim to love the light must face up to. Each one of us has a dark corner that we would prefer to keep hidden, but we must allow God’s light to flood into every part of our lives, otherwise we shall be no better than those who have betrayed Our Lord with bland words and evil deeds.
Noone knew this better than S Paul. Here was a man who in the matter of the Law had fulfilled all the precepts. He was a Pharisee, and the son of a Pharisee, brought up to respect the letter of the Law. As he says of himself, touching the righteousness which is in the Law, he was blameless, meaning that he was meticulous in observing all the prescribed religious acts. But as he later acknowledges in his epistle to the Philippians, in spite of all this, he was far from perfect. The life of outward righteousness that he had been living before his conversion counted for nothing when compared to the life of grace given to him through his faith in Christ. Now, he continues, he could put all the observances of the Law behind him, and focus entirely on the call of Christ that had come to him.
The essence of all this is that religious acts musts be accompanied by sincerity of heart. Religion is more than a matter of going through the motions; it is a matter of expressing our true faith in Christ, so allowing God’s grace to work through us. Lent gives us the opportunity to consider how far our Christian lives are in accord with this principle.
On a topical matter, readers will want to be reassured that no pronouncement or opinion issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury is in any way binding on the Traditional Church of England. We maintain the good traditions of our native Anglican faith, but do this from a position that is entirely independent from the Established Church. The Archbishop’s recent ill-advised remarks about the application of some elements of Sharia law over here is to be deplored, coming from the leader of a Christian Church in a country whose current laws are based on Christian principles. I heartily endorse the words of Shahid Malik, Labour MP for Dewsbury: “If there are people who prefer Sharia law, there are always countries where they could go and live”.
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Preparing for Lent
The Sundays immediately following the Epiphany season are reckoned with reference to the coming of Easter. This year, Easter falling on 23rd March is almost as early as it can be; (the earliest possible date is 22nd March). The effect of this is to allow us only one Sunday after Epiphany before we begin the “…gesima” Sundays, and the preparation for Easter. The first Sunday in the forty-day fast of Lent was sometimes known as Quadragesima, or fortieth, taking its name from the Latin appellation for Lent, and referring rather loosely to its distance in days before Easter. The previous Sunday, the one before Ash Wednesday, became Quinquagesima, or fiftieth. Continuing the progression, the Sunday before that became Sexagesima, or sixtieth, with Septuagesima being the seventieth. Of these four “…gesima” Sundays, only Quinquagesima is strictly true to its name, falling exactly fifty days before Easter.
The way in which the fast was previously reckoned by the Church may have a bearing on the existence of these curious “not-quite-Lent” Sundays. In our own time, Lent consists of forty days, counting from Ash Wednesday, and omitting the Sundays, which can never be days of fasting. But in earlier times, Thursdays and Saturdays were sometimes omitted from the fast as well. In that case, Lent would have had to begin ten weeks before Easter, on Septuagesima Sunday, in order to reach the full count of forty days. So our three-week lead-in to Lent could well be something carried over from this previous method of reckoning. Needless to say, the Church of England has decided to abandon this link to the past, and now counts the Sundays immediately preceding Lent in negative values (Lent -3, Lent -2, Lent -1 etc)! It says much for the mind-set of that Church that such a form of reckoning could be adopted. How can Sunday, the Day of Resurrection, entirely positive in its concepts, ever be given a negative identity? It must be that those who devise such things are so absorbed in accommodating the ways of the world that they have lost sight of the Gospel message. Here in the Traditional Church of England, Septuagesima et seq will remain.
On another point, I notice that Pope Benedict has been accused of "turning his back" on the people when he was celebrating Mass according to the traditional Tridentine liturgy. In just forty years, since the Second Vatican Council, it seems that people have forgotten how Mass was celebrated over the many centuries that preceded it! Before the recent liturgical reformers had their way, the priest always stood in front of the altar, facing God together with his people, offering the Holy Sacrifice with them and for them. He did not set himself apart by putting the altar between himself and his people. It is good to know that Pope Benedict is showing favour towards the traditional ways. Here in the Traditional Church of England, the priests always celebrate facing with the people, not against them (in other words, we have our backs to them!). We also maintain and encourage the singing of the ancient Gregorian chants in our worship. It helps to encourage that sense of the numinous that is so often missing from worship today
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The Christmas Message - December 2007
In his gospel, S Luke tells us about the enforced journey of Joseph and Mary from Nazareth, where they lived, to Bethlehem. This was the little town from which the legendary King David had originally come, and it was the place to which Joseph and his family really belonged. So it was that, by his decree, the emperor Augustus unknowingly caused the birth of Our Lord to take place in His family’s ancestral district. However, to them it was an unfamiliar place, and the hospice where they had hoped to find shelter was full. Human affairs were certainly playing a large part in the birth of the Saviour! Instead of seeing the light of day in a place familiar to His family, where some, at least, of the few home comforts would be available, the Light of the World arrived in an outhouse, among the straw and the litter of the animals. As S Paul puts it in his epistle to the Corinthians: “though Christ was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich”. And here, in the stable at Bethlehem, was povery indeed, for having laid aside His glory and all the worship of the angels, the King of Heaven now took His place among men, and a very humble and lowly place it was, not in some expensive cot or cradle, but in a manger, where the cattle feed was kept.
What happened at Bethlehem that night tell us plainly about God’s love for us. At Bethlehem, God is doing two things: He is telling us something about Himself on the one hand, and He is acting for our benefit on the other hand. As the baby born in the stable grows up, He lives the life of a man among us humans, so revealing the nature of God to us in a way that it had never been revealed before. Here before us is no sermon or lecture about how we should live, but Christ Himself showing us the true way of life, demonstrating just how perfect human life could be when lived in harmony with divine laws. Then also at Bethlehem, we see Our Lord beginning the process of our redemption. Sin is fundamental to our human condition. The state of the world, not only in this age, but in any age, is proof of that. Sin is a legacy inherited by all the human race, and by every individual within it. But when Christ came, the one perfect man, born without sin, and untainted by it, then that diabolical chain was broken. Through union with Christ, it is now possible to have a different legacy, the legacy of eternal life. Christ has given us the standard of perfection in human life, and made it available to everyone who will commit themselves wholeheartedly to Him. At this season of humility and rejoicing, we can indeed find comfort in Our Lord’s own words, “Look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh”
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Elements of Faith - November 2007
I hear that in some academic circles, students who are already long-standing communicants in the Church are being asked to consider why making their communion is such an important element of their faith. I can think of two reasons why such a question might be asked, bearing in mind that it was put by a college chaplain. It may be rhetorical in the time-honoured academic tradition of asking whimsical questions for the purpose of stimulating thought and debate. If this is the case, then the rather provocative nature of the question can be accepted, since it will serve to make us all think more deeply about this fundamental aspect of our faith. On the other hand, it may be that the questioner is a 'Bible' Christian, who believes that the 'word' is of greater significance for the Christian than the sacramental aspect of our faith. In this case, the question seems to display a lack of theological insight.
The Anglican faith has always tried to maintain a balance between word and sacrament. The Book of Common Prayer provides two scripture readings for each of the daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer, as well as for Holy Communion, and the entire Psalter is to be read every month. This leaves no doubt as to the importance of “the word”. At the same time, specific provision is made for five of the seven sacraments, with two of them, Baptism and Holy Communion, being described in the Catechism as “generally necessary for salvation”. Here, “generally” is used in the sense of applicable to everybody. In this way, the essential nature of the sacraments, including Holy Communion, is also emphasized.
Most of what we know about the life and teachings of Jesus comes from the pages of the New Testament, but this does not make Christianity the religion of a book. Rather, the central point of Christianity is that same Person, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is an expression of what was believed by that older community of faith, the Jews, just as the New Testament is an expression of what was believed by the newer community of faith, the Christians. This makes scripture the product of what these two communities believed, rather than the initial source of that belief. 'Bible' Christians are usually happy to emphasize Christ’s death on the Cross as a saving act, but they often seem to ignore the full implications of His Incarnation. By taking human form and living amongst us, Jesus showed us that God can use the elements of this world, bread, wine, water, oil, and even flesh itself, as purveyors of His grace. This is the essence of a sacrament. In the case of Holy Communion, we follow Our Lord’s commands as expressed at the Last Supper. Sharing in the consecrated bread and wine allows the grace of Christ’s saving act on the Cross to become something which we can fully receive. More than just giving intellectual assent to the efficacy of Christ’s Sacrifice, in Holy Communion we share in the offering of that great Sacrifice, and our entire being, body, mind and spirit, is given the benefits of that saving act. For the Christian, what could be more important or more essential?
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Contrasting Saints - October 2007
At this time of the year, we commemorate two contrasting saints. The feast of S. Michael the Archangel occurs on 29th September, while that of S. Francis of Assisi falls five days later on 4th October. In considering these two saints, we are shown two very different aspects of our Christian Faith. On the one hand there is Michael, the warrior-chief of angels, leading the forces of light in the cosmic clash with the ruler of darkness; on the other hand, the noise of battle dies away, and we see S. Francis, a man of poverty and peace, the friend of all creatures. Can both of these be saints of God? Can both be serving the same Master?
We can recall Our Lord’s own words on this subject, for it was Jesus Himself Who said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword”. Jesus also said, “I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you”. Here in a nutshell is the paradox of the Christian Faith, that it must maintain within itself the unceasing war against evil, yet at the same time, always extend love and forgiveness to those against whom it is fighting. S. Michael and S. Francis are both true representatives of Our Lord, for they remind us of these two aspects of our Faith that must be held in balance. This situation will continue for as long as there is a Church Militant here on earth, and for as long as the forces of evil resist the Will of God.
In fact, both S. Michael and S. Francis contain within themselves some aspect of the other. S. Michael the warrior is also the angel of light, bringing God’s peace and love to the world of darkness. And S. Francis was not always a man of peace. In early life, he was a man of affairs, becoming a leader in the local disputes between the cities of Perugia and Assisi. At one point, he was even taken prisoner by his opponents and held for some months. It was only after this experience that he renounced the wealth and comfort that could have been his, and devoted his life to prayer and to the service of the poor. So even S. Michael and S. Francis, the warrior and the man of peace, each display some of the other’s qualities. It is a human trait to place people in neat pigeonholes; to label them, and say to ourselves, “this is the sort of person they are”. But we forget that we are full of contradictions ourselves, and while our Christian Faith requires us to fight sin, it also asks us to love the sinner. For this reason, we all need something of S. Michael and S. Francis in us at the same time.
S. Michael the Archangel acts for God on a cosmic scale, while in his life, S. Francis acted on a humbler stage. Yet two such diverse saints both do the Will of God in their own spheres. Both are part of God’s design to save mankind from the consequences of sin, and to bring on that glorious day when all creation is at peace.
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Relevance - September 2007
We often hear it said that the Church should be more relevant to life today. There is an implied criticism in those words, suggesting that the Gospel is in some way out of date. Those who see the Gospel primarily in terms of welfare and social improvement are the most likely to make such remarks. However, the improvement of living conditions is not the main thrust of the Gospel, which is essentially concerned with changing human nature. It is the power of the Gospel to change our lives that is also the guarantee that it can never be out of date. Just as sin is always with us in this world, so is the need for reconciliation and renewal.
We have been given Our Lord’s commission to preach the Gospel, and this is not just confined to the pulpit, for then it would never reach those who do not come into church to hear it. It must be preached outside our churches as well, in the streets and market places, in the offices and factories, and in our homes. This does not mean that each of us must become a Bible-thumping bore! There is more to the Gospel than mere words. The Gospel is life, and the most effective witness to the Kingdom of God is to live out our lives day by day in accordance with the Gospel. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”. When we allow Him to be present in all our relationships with our families, colleagues, neighbours and friends, then we are indeed being faithful to His commission.
This is the task that confronts each one of us who has committed himself to God: to bring to our society and to the world the good news of reconciliation between God and man. This alone has the power to cure the disorders of mankind, for the Gospel recognises that there is a flaw in human nature that must first be dealt with before any other problems can be addressed. An unhappy and divided world needs to know God’s love for all mankind. This is the message, so relevant to our times, that we must proclaim.
God give you grace to be His faithful messenger.
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Erroneous & Strange Doctrine - August 2007
The prospect of the Church of England consecrating women to be “bishops” in the near future is a signal to all of us to reaffirm our belief in the nature of the historic episcopate. Before anything else, the office of Bishop in the Church is apostolic. The Apostles were given authority by Christ Himself and they were sent to preach the Gospel message to the whole world. The Bishops, as their successors, are to continue the mission for which Christ ordained His Apostles. This mission carried with it the requirement to guard the Faith from false teaching. At his consecration, every Bishop is charged “with all faithful diligence, to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrine contrary to God’s Word” (from the Ordinal attached to the Book of Common Prayer). His authority for doing this comes from Christ Himself. Christianity is a revealed religion; what is revealed through Christ has divine authority, and this is mediated to the faithful through an authorized ministry. Revelation and religious authority go hand in hand. What is revealed has the authority of God, and the revelation given through Christ is, for the Christian, final and authoritative. It was given to the Apostles, passed on by them to their successors, the Bishops, to be guarded and handed on through the ages. As in human families, where the father is rightfully the mediator of authority, so in the family of the Church, the Bishop is the Father-in-God, exercising his authority by virtue of his divine commission, expressing that authority through his priests, but in due humility, recognising that he is himself under the authority of Christ
None of this will be welcome to the liberals and feminists in the Church of England who wish to introduce their “erroneous and strange doctrines” regarding the episcopate. Many priests and parishes in this country who share the traditional understanding of the episcopate may find themselves forced to seek oversight from alternative sources if these lobbyists have their way. No doubt such oversight would be available from overseas, but they might wish to consider that the Traditional Church of England has existed ever since the “women priests” Measure was passed in 1994; that it undoubtedly has Bishops in true apostolic succession; and that it is ready and willing to give oversight to any parishes or individuals who believe that the authority of their present Father-in-God would be compromised by the addition of women to the Bench. In addition, the Traditional Church of England is, as its name underlines, an institution grounded in this country, Anglican in outlook, and traditional in its beliefs.
Recent attempts to alter the fundamental principles of the Christian Faith could easily fill us with dismay, but we can recall that there have been many false doctrines and heresies over the centuries. None of them has overcome the legitimate apostolic nature of the Church. This is the time for all orthodox believers to stand together. We can find encouragement in Our Lord’s words about His Church, that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”.
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Our Christian Heritage - July 2007
Here in the United Kingdom we have just acquired a new government. “New” is rather a misleading word in this context, since there has been no election; just the handing over of power from one man to another. The new Prime Minister has shuffled the faces around his Cabinet table, replacing just a few, but not giving the prospect of any change of direction from the old government. They all have either been deeply involved in the decisions of the previous administration, or they have supported it from the government benches. All this does nothing to boost our faith in democracy. We often hear the word “democracy” used in such a way as to suggest that government “of the people, by the people, for the
people” is the panacea for all the evils suffered by mankind. From our own experience, however, we know that democracy falls short of this ideal. Granted that it is better than an oppressive dictatorship, there are still flaws in the way that democracy works. Once in power, political parties have a habit of pushing through their manifesto “commitments”, even though there may be significant opposition to them in the country. Two examples of this are the abolition of capital punishment, and the banning of hunting with dogs, where there can be no doubt that some members of parliament voted contrary to the majority opinion of their own constituents. This inevitably leads to that frequently heard complaint that politicians do not listen. Another problem lies in the fact that governments regularly act in their own interests, or in the interests of a perceived political correctness, and fail to act for the good of the country as a whole. The massive shambles over the problems of immigration and asylum-seeking is a prime example of this. Over the years, successive governments have allowed to stay in this country people who have no respect for our Christian heritage, and certainly no intention of conforming to our way of life. We are all now paying the price for this in the form of terrorist outrages.
If you need a demonstration of how democracy can wreck an organisation, look no further than the Church of England. Back in 1970, it set up the General Synod. This gave power to elected members to make decisions about fundamental articles of Faith and Order in the Church, matters that should never be decided by majority vote! The result of this change from theocracy to democracy is plain for all to see: it is a disaster. Dr. Peter Mullen, Rector of St. Michael, Cornhill, in London, makes some pertinent observations in his article “Taking Stock at the Church of England”, reprinted in the Peter-tide issue of our official newspaper “The Herald”, and available from our website. There you will also find an article by him entitled “The Secular Terrorist”, reprinted in the Trinity edition of The Traditional Anglican. I wholeheartedly concur with both of these articles, and urge you to read them.
We may have to continue living with our political democracy, but we do not have to accept this way of doing things in our spiritual lives. The Traditional Church of England still believes that God is our Ruler and Guide. We believe that Christianity is a religion revealed by God, and that the fundamental principles of that revelation cannot be altered by majority vote. We accept that God knows better than we do, and so we prefer to remain a theocracy, listening to our Creator, following the teachings of His Son, and asking for the guidance of His Holy Spirit.
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Rights and Wrongs - June 2007
We often hear from the media how people in this country who follow faiths other than Christian are either being denied their “rights”, or are in some way disadvantaged. The implication is made that we, the indigenous Christian population, must hold back from asserting our beliefs or following our religious customs in the interests of multi-faith harmony. In this view of things, Christians are being assigned the role of bullies. Something that we very rarely hear from these same sources, however, is the way Christians are faring in other parts of the world. Apart from the occasional reference to persecutions in Darfur, we might be forgiven for supposing that Christians are well-treated everywhere. Beware the media: they only tell us the things that accord with their own “world view”. In a surprising number of countries, opposition to Christianity ranges from outright persecution, through oppression and various levels of proscription to reluctant tolerance.
The issue has been highlighted in a recent edition of The Sunday Times Magazine in an article by Bryan Moynahan entitled “Praying for a Miracle”. Try to find a copy (also at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article1831314.ece). It is no surprise to learn that opposition to Christianity is severe in North Korea, but I had not expected to see Bhutan listed among those countries where Christianity is denied. The official religion of Bhutan is Buddhism, which is rarely associated with aggression towards others. Needless to say, the largest area of opposition to Christianity is found in the great swathe of Muslim countries covering North Africa and Western Asia, although Hindu India and Communist China also feature as countries setting some limitations.
The silence of the media about this particular aspect of persecution is only part of the problem we face. If our fellow Christians in other parts of the world are suffering for their Faith, this is something that we need to know. We can pray for them and, where possible, make representations on their behalf. The main problem lies in the fact that our society here is indifferent to Christianity. If it were hostile, we would be in the same situation as some of our brethren overseas; we would be at the “cutting edge“ of the Faith. The fact that we live in a secular society that can no longer be bothered with the Christian Faith dulls this edge. We receive more blank looks than hostile gestures, which lull us into feeling that all will be well. But as recently as the end of the nineteenth century, priests in this country were sent to jail for practising certain elements of Christian ritual; they were seen as defying the law of the land. And since then, our society has become so secularized that recent legislation actively promotes actions that are entirely opposed to our Christian ethic. Same-sex partnerships are now given the legal recognition that once was afforded only to Holy Matrimony, and adoption agencies must consider same-sex couples when seeking suitable environments for their children. How long will it be before Christians here are prosecuted for failing to comply with these anti-Christian laws? The writing is already on the wall. Pray for all Christians suffering persecution for the Faith, and pray for grace to remain steadfast in that Faith, whatever the consequences may be.
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The Month of May - May 2007
In this part of the world, with longer daylight and lovely warm days, May is the time of year when many people plan outings and excursions. They look forward to a little time away from home; they long for a break from the daily routines of life. This is not a new phenomenon, for people have been doing this very thing for many centuries. In the Middle Ages, followers of the Christian Faith would make pilgrimages to shrines and holy places. The pilgrimage season would begin around this time, and it is one of the reasons that May was given the lovely title of “Mary’s Month”. The muddy tracks that were the highways of those days at last began to dry out from the winter rains. For these pilgrims, Rome was one popular destination, and another was the holy city of Jerusalem. However, reaching these overseas places required considerable time and effort, and for most people in these islands, a pilgrimage to Walsingham to visit Our Lady’s shrine, or to Canterbury to honour the holy martyr St. Thomas Becket, would have been more achievable. Travelling conditions were very different for those medieval pilgrims from what we would expect today. Not only would the journey have taken much longer; there were also real hardships and dangers to be faced along the way. In our age of speed and convenience, just the thought of such things would probably deter us from making the journey altogether.
And yet there is a sense in which we are all like those medieval pilgrims, facing difficulties and dangers, and confronted by the unknown. Although we may now be accomplished travellers from place to place, we are still pilgrims through life. All of us will have experienced those changes of fortune and those unexpected things that life throws at us from time to time. Times of great happiness, when everything seems bright and sunny and all is going well, can change so quickly into times of hopelessness and despair, when everything seems to be against us. Our lives are indeed like a pilgrimage, where the end of the journey can only be sensed by faith, where the way ahead is unclear, and we can only take one step at a time. This is when we need to put our trust in the supreme power and good purpose of God. Even in the most foggy and uncertain conditions of our lives, He is still there to guide and direct us. As Psalm 107 expresses it, “O that men would therefore praise the Lord for His goodness : and declare the wonders that He doeth for the children of men!” Continue to praise the Lord and trust Him through all the changes that the pilgrimage of life brings, and He will “bring us to the haven where we would be”.
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The Anglican Faith - April 2007
These are difficult days for those who love the Anglican Faith. There are factions and recriminations all around. The recent meeting of Anglican Primates in Tanzania (those still in communion with Canterbury) has resulted in a statement that fudges the issues once again, in the hope of keeping “on board” as many people as possible. Sadly, all this division has come about through the actions of a vociferous group of “progressives”, who wish to change the fundamental tenets of the Faith. The purpose behind this movement is to accommodate the liberal agenda for so-called equal rights in the Church; that is, for women to become 'priests' and homosexual activity to be regarded as an acceptable way of behaviour. Closely allied to this is the desire for modern and ‘inclusive’ language in worship.
Archbishops of Canterbury past and present, and other Primates, have been unwilling to resist this agenda, with the result that many of the faithful who find all this unacceptable have formed “Continuing Anglican” churches, outside the jurisdiction of Canterbury. The TCE is one of these Continuing churches. It is not an ideal situation, but we believe it is the only way we can maintain our integrity as Anglicans. Here in the TCE, we try to remain focussed on the vision of the Anglican Faith as it is expressed in the Book of Common Prayer and in the Thirty-Nine Articles. In these, we are referred back to the Catholic Faith as professed in the primitive Church, to the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, to the teachings of the early Fathers, and to the first four Councils of the Church. So it is on doctrines expressed in these formularies that we take our stand against those who seek to change our ancient Faith to suit their own agendas. Equally, we wish to continue the dignified forms of worship that our heritage provides, including the Authorized (King James) version of the Holy Bible. We are not impressed with banal modern liturgies, or with trite translations of Scripture! Our doors are always open to those who, like us, love the Anglican Faith we have inherited, and to those who wish to learn more about it.
May the joys of Easter be in your hearts, and the glory of the Risen Lord surround you. Amen.
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Lenten Exercises - March 2007
It is said that laughter is the best medicine, and I am sure there is some truth in this. However, before taking medicine, the patient has to acknowledge that he is ill. The Church of England has launched a “Love Life Live Lent” campaign, with the aim of stressing humour in the Christian life during the “austere” season of Lent. The idea is to spread goodwill by making someone laugh. This is commendable in its way, but why associate it particularly with Lent? St. Paul lists “joy” as one of the fruits of the Spirit, so surely this is something that we should be cultivating continually in our lives.
I suspect that the real reason for the laughter campaign lies in the fact that many Christians are reluctant to acknowledge that sin matters. Lent is traditionally a time of fasting and self-denial, when we renounce some of our worldly pleasures in order strengthen our fight against self-will. Our society today is conditioned towards self-assertion, and the idea that one should forgo material comforts and pleasures in order to concentrate on spiritual ideals is weird, even abhorrent, to many. In promoting its laughter campaign at this time, I fear the Church of England is showing her usual tendency to pander to the values of the present age, rather than endorsing eternal values. She is saying, in effect, that we should just get on with enjoying life, and skate over our sins, for they are nothing to worry about. Our Lord’s parable in St. Luke 12: 16 to 21 comes to mind. The rich man said, “Take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry!” But God said, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee”.
Christians need to remember that the divisions in the world today, the oppression and the hatred, are all caused by sin, which is putting the things we want before the things that God wants. Lent is a time set aside to help us face up to sin in our lives. It is a time of repentance, confession and renewal. It is a time when we acknowledge that we are ill, and need medicine. It may involve some austerity, but that will be good for our over-fed, self-indulgent bodies. Lent calls on us to put our true priorities first. As a result, we will not need superficial jokes to laugh at, for the joy of the Spirit will fill our lives, and bring happiness around us.
I wish you this same joy of the Spirit in keeping the season of Lent.
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The Church and the State - February 2007
It is the duty of the Church to speak out against legislation that sanctions anti-Christian behaviour. In England and Wales, the Civil Partnership Act gave legal recognition to same-sex couples from December 2005. Although it is not spelt out, the implication of the legislation is that these couples are engaging in sexual relations, and that this must now be accepted by everyone. It gives to such unions the same legal standing as that previously recognised only in the case of marriage between a man and a woman. It is directly contrary to the teaching of Scripture, which allows sexual activity only between a man and a woman united in marriage.
The Church recognises that some people form close friendships with others of the same sex (or indeed, with others of the opposite sex!), but these friendships are to be entirely platonic (celibate). However, the Act specifically excludes any religious ceremony surrounding the making of such a Partnership in the Register Office, so as things stand at the moment, no Christian priest or minister has been expected to act against his conscience by performing a rite of this kind. A further piece of legislation, the Adoption and Children Act, also came into force in December 2005. It allows same-sex couples to apply to adopt a child jointly. The recent resistance to this legislation expressed by the Roman Catholic Church and by the Church of England lies in the fact that it will require their own Adoption Agencies to consider placing children into the care of same-sex couples. Failure to comply could result in action under discrimination laws. Once again, the teaching of Scripture and the Church about marriage and the family is flouted. In Christian teaching, marriage is a sacrament between a man and a woman, and one of the gifts it produces is children. This family unit is to be understood as the ideal situation in the eyes of God, and anything other than this is less than ideal, and in some circumstances, can be seen as contrary to God’s Will. The TCE has no Adoption Agency of its own, but fully supports the stand to uphold Christian teaching made by those who have.
The usual arguments about “rights” are advanced by the supporters of this kind of legislation. Unfortunately, human rights are exactly that, demands made by humans for the fulfilment of their expectations, without any spiritual dimension. For the Christian, any expectations he may have come from God, Who both creates and sustains the universe. The Christian will only seek the fulfilment of these expectations responsibly, and in harmony with God’s laws. Whatever statute law may say, it is his responsibility to discriminate between actions that are in accordance with God’s law, and those that are not.
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God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all - January 2007
The New Year provides a good opportunity for us to take stock of ourselves; in fact, in this secular world, even Christians tend to “make resolutions” at the turn of the year, rather than on Advent Sunday, the beginning of the Church’s year. Either way, we are given the chance to remember that we are called by God to serve Him. He is also the One Who leads us, and so we ask for His grace to follow Him more nearly day by day. God called us, and we have responded. Many others have heard that call before us, and have also responded: Abraham, Moses and Elijah in the Old Testament, for example, and in the New Testament Andrew, Matthew and Mary Magdalene, to mention just a few. We can see the response that each of these made by reading the Scriptures. What we cannot see is the reason for God’s choice of this one, rather than that one. We cannot know why God chooses certain people; (“How odd of God to choose the Jews!”). Similarly, we cannot know why He has chosen us.One of the problems we face in this age is the fact that having a “calling” (a vocation) is no longer seen in specifically Christian terms. People often talk about having a vocation, but by this they usually mean a vocation to be a teacher, a doctor, a nurse, or a social worker. At one time, such activities would have come within the orbit of the Church, and so could have been seen as part of a response to Christ’s call. Today, these ways of service are seen in purely secular terms, with no Christian commitment required in order to carry them out. So our response to God’s call must be seen in other ways.
The world may change, but the message of the Gospel is still the same. Sadly, Christians themselves have become divided over the best way to ensure that the Gospel is heard. Some have decided to seek accommodation with the fads of the times, excusing women “priests” and same-sex “marriages” on the grounds that equality and justice require the acceptance of such things. Will such adaptations bring more people to God? I think not. Other Christians, such as ourselves in the TCE, see it as our duty to maintain the traditional beliefs of the Church. We believe that the Gospel is the same yesterday, today and for ever, and needs to be proclaimed, whether the world “agrees” with it or not, for it brings the Light of Christ to all people.
It is this holding fast to the Faith “once delivered to the saints” that must be the major part of our response to God’s call in these times, remembering that vocation is not what we do for God, but rather what God has done and will do with us. We may wonder about that call, but even if we do, our response can still be one of trust and obedience. The end of Christian vocation is Christ our God, and “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all”.
I pray that in 2007, each of us may listen for God’s call, and be ready to serve Him.
God bless you in the days ahead, and keep you safe.
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