STATION IV (2014) Peter denies Christ Bethany Kemp
1ST MARCH 2015
HOW MUCH? Vicar’s Blog
I was at a gathering of vicars last week. (Actually, I’m not quite sure what the collective noun is for us. I’m going to go for a ‘magnificence’ of vicars, although possibly a ‘dribble’ of vicars is a little more realistic. Other suggestions are welcome; be nice.) Anyway, we were discussing cash, wonga, lucre, spondulix, readies, moolah—again other suggestions welcome. Well, you know those movie shots which start very, very close up and draw back to an immense distance? My particular little dribble attempted that on dosh. We began in our pockets with a few coins. We then pulled back and issues like tithing came into the picture. We then drew back a little further and property and all life came into view. We drew back a little further and King David was crying out before God ‘all things come of thee, and of
Thine own do we give thee’. We drew back still further and St Paul (in 2 Corinthians 8&9, read it) is reminding us that Christ became poor, so that through His poverty we might become rich. And then we pulled back one last time. Way back past the Cross, past the entire universe, back to the very nature of God. And there we have it; that is how we understand wonga. God is gracious. To be a whole human being is to be gracious in His image. God gives, God pours out, God smiles upon Creation—it is very good. We give, we pour out, we smile upon the world. It is when we draw back this far we suddenly get the answer to the ‘how much?’ question. How much hard earned cash should I give to God’s work question. Sitting next to God and surveying the entire universe it suddenly becomes absurd
A B B E Y D I A RY THIS SUNDAY: March 1st 9am BCP Communion 10.30am Holy Communion 4pm Informal Worship, the Grid & Junior Church 6.30pm Choral Evensong not to give Him everything. Tithing suddenly looks irrelevant; it’s all His (10% + 90%.) It really is a most liberating thought. So unless we are careful we find ourselves asking the wrong question. It’s not ’which bit goes to God?’ It’s ‘Lord, it’s all yours, 100%, every single resource I have, time, money, property, love, energy. What are we going to do with this?’ I liked the comment a colleague sitting next to me made. She said ‘I like to remind our congregations that we are all on benefits, every single one of us. Everything we have is us benefitting from God’s graciousness.’
THIS WEEK EACH DAY 9am Morning Prayer TUES 3rd 2.30pm Prayer for the Persecuted Church 7.30pm Refresh WED 4th 10.30am Communion THURS 5th 10.30am Time for Chat 7pm Choir Practice FRI 6th 10.30am Creative Response SAT 28th 10am The Meeting Place NEXT SUNDAY: March 8th 9am BCP Communion 10.30am Holy Communion 4pm Informal Worship, the Grid & Junior Church
ADVANCE Mar 23rd Holy Week Festival begins Apr 24th Election Hustings Apr 26th Vision Sunday & AGM
MA R K 8 : 3 1 - 3 8 31
He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ he said. ‘You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’ 34
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.’
Additional Reading: Genesis 17:1-7, 15,16
DISCIPLESHIP 1.
2.
Read the passage through twice; slowly. Which word or phrase particularly stands out to you, and why? Jesus speaks clearly to his disciples about the path ahead of him (v31.) Why was this imperative for him and how would it have impacted the disciples’ view of his messiahship?
3.
What does taking up your cross and to deny yourself mean to you? What might to mean to a Syrian or homeless Christian?
4.
Read v35. Life here in the Greek is psych— selfhood, identity and personality. Discuss the verse in light of this understanding? How does Christ want us to lose or save our lives? How might this affect you?
5.
Building your identity on the 'world's perspective' is not the way (v 36). What is your identity built upon, and what does your answer actually mean?
D A I LY R E A D I N G S Monday Psalm 80 Jeremiah 7:21-end John 6:41-51 Tuesday Psalm 89:1-18 Jeremiah 8:1-15 John 6:52-59 Wednesday Psalm 119:105-128 Jeremiah 8:18-9:11 John 6:60-end Thursday Psalm 92 Jeremiah 9:12-24 John 7:1-13 Friday Psalm 88 Jeremiah 10:1-16 John 7:14-24
REGULAR GIVING If you would like to give regularly to the mission and ministry of the Abbey as part of your discipleship, please e-mail alan@malmesburyabbey.com.
REFRESH!
FRIDAY MAILING
The first Refresh! women’s event of 2015 will be held on Tuesday 3 March at Malmesbury Abbey. The speaker will be Richenda MiltonDaws (Licensed Lay Minister at Charlton Church) and she will be speaking on God’s Character. The 2015 Programme and invitation for this event will be circulated soon.
We would like to increase the number of our congregation who receive this News Sheet and other information on our Friday emailing. If you are not on our list could you contact Sandie at office@malmesburyabbey.com. Many thanks.
SCHOOL CONCERT
EASTER BREAKFAST
You are very welcome at the Abbey for the annual Malmesbury School Chamber Concert at 7.30pm on Wednesday 11th March. The concert gives some of the school’s outstanding young musicians the chance to perform, and some of the work is recorded and assessed as part of GSCE & A levels.
At 6am on Easter Day there will be a dawn service. Normally about 30 of us renew our baptismal vows in darkness at the font at the West End before sharing communion at the East End as the sun rises. This year we will be going for breakfast together at Amanda’s afterwards. £10 gets you a full English and a coffee or tea. Please put your name down with Sandie in the office.
12th CENTURY BEAUT Y 21st CENTURY CHURCH
NOTICEBOARD L I F E PAT H AT T H E A B B E Y Malmesbury Abbey is hosting a Scripture Union event called Lifepath from the 28th June until 3rd July 2015. This amazing event will bring up to 1000 Year 5 children to the Abbey to have their RE experience of the Christian faith brought alive. The children will be coming from local schools in Malmesbury and the villages, and also from Chippenham and Swindon. Lifepath will be based upon Eilmer and his daily life in a Benedictine Monastery (plus his ambitions to fly!) and the community he would have been involved with. This is an event where children of all faiths and of none, have an opportunity to experience Christian prayer, worship, and through other activities an opportunity to think about their own lifepath and the choices they make. Lifepath aims to work very much with the gifts of the place in which it is taking place. So if your thing is history, science, medicine, woodwork, flight, baking, fishing, sewing, music, art, drama, poetry - or something else maybe you would like to lead or support a workshop? If you prefer praying, welcoming, first aid, befriending, making drinks etc, maybe you would like to be part of a support team? This is an opportunity to show how vibrant and exciting our living faith is. If you would like to know more details, please take a look at this link www.scriptureunion.org.uk/Lifepath/10352.id and speak to Sarah Doyley or Alice Langtree. (Their details via Sandie)
Enquiries 01666 826666 // Box Office 01666 824339 office@malmesburyabbey.com www.malmesburyabbey.com issuu.com/malmesburyabbey
HOLY WEEK FESTIVAL 2015 MAR 23-28 THE GARDEN LABYRINTH MAR 25 & 27 LATE NIGHT LABYRINTH MAR 28 ART//STATIONS OF THE CROSS Meet the artists (10am) MAR 28 COMEDY & JAZZ //PAUL KERENSA with PETER JAMES & ROSIE ARCHER* MAR 29 THE KAIROS ENSEMBLE//REJOICING BLUES* MAR 30 PROFESSOR SIMON CONWAY MORRIS* ‘Does the Resurrection make scientific sense?’ MAR 31 THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1923)* with Anthony Hammond (organ) APR 1 GLORY! PRAYER APR 2 THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC* JS Bach & Messaien Quartet for the End of Time GOOD FRIDAY ALLEGRI, PURCELL & HANDEL (6pm) APR 4 BBC WILTSHIRE//EASTER FROM MALMESBURY ABBEY* (7pm) EASTER DAY SERVICES at 6am, 9am, 10.30am, 4pm & 6.30pm Events at 7.30pm unless otherwise stated *Tickets now available from the Abbey Bookshop or at www.ticketsource/malmesburyabbey