26T H F EB R UA RY 2017
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THE SAMARITAN Vicar’s Blog
Yes, we all know this one. A man, on the road to Jericho, heading down towards Samaritan territory, is beaten up, stripped and left half-dead in a ditch. (Actually, Jesus didn’t put him in a ditch, but there are plenty of muddy ditches at the side of our Wiltshire country lanes, so I’m putting our man in a ditch today.) I’m not a doctor, but I believe half-dead to be transitional, about half of the way to completely dead, and our man is likely to finish that journey unless the next person walking along the road intervenes. Fortunately for our man it is religious people, people of faith, people of sound doctrine and impeccable law keeping that come along the road first. End of story. The Priest and the Levite will surely roll up their sleeves, hoik up their garments and get down in the muddy ditch with our dying man. You’d think so. Jesus’s listeners certainly thought so. But the religious
passed by. They passed by. The only good thing to say about the behaviour of the Levite and the Priest is at least they didn’t cross the road and give our man a further kicking. Jesus wants us to observe the observant, and they are found wanting. Then along comes the Samaritan, and as we hear that now familiar name we really need to hear ancient hostility, differing theology and worship we don’t approve of. And with the arrival of the Samaritan Jesus brings in a sharp and deliberately uncomfortable detail for his listeners. The heart of the Priest and the Levite is filled with religious priorities, we saw them pass by, but Jesus fills the heart of his Samaritan with pity, with the mercy of God. Jesus is saying to an expert of the law, a religious man, if you want to discover love, don’t look at the religious, look at the unclean dying man and a Samaritan with his unsound theology.
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Two things. First, I for one am very uncomfortable that so many people in our nation are currently looking at our national church and seeing and hearing bigotry. Seeing a people who love their theology far more than they love the man, or two men, standing in front of them. I think we are called to another way forward. Second. We’ve all been bruised and in a ditch at times, and had that view of the Jericho road. Jesus says the view is enlightening, and it is. Those who might seem to be our neighbours often pass us by, our pulse being of no interest to them. But it is the surprising others, the Samaritans, who actually cross the road, get down in the ditch with us, and stay in the mud until together we can find a way out. Now that is love, and that is neighbourliness. So my first thank you, of many, as I prepare to leave a different city on a hill. Thank you so much to those who at this time have mud on them. I aspire to love as you do.
A B B E Y D I A RY THIS SUNDAY: February 26th 9am BCP Communion 10.30am Holy Communion 4pm Informal Worship & Junior Church 6.30pm Choral Evensong THIS WEEK EACH DAY 9am Morning Prayer MON 27th 10am Little Stars WED 1st Ash Wednesday 10.30am Communion 7pm Communion nd THUR 2 7pm Choir Practice rd FRI 3 MUSIC FOR AUTISM 11am Concert for young People with Autism 2pm Concert for Older People with Dementia 7.30pm Gala Concert NEXT SUNDAY: March 5th 9am BCP Communion 10.30am Holy Communion 4pm Informal Worship & Junior Church ADVANCE DIARY 14th March Glory! prayer meeting.
M AT T H E W 1 7 :1 - 9 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3
Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ 5
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’ 6
When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. ‘Get up,’ he said. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. 9
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, ‘Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’
Additional Reading: 2 Peter 1:16-end
DISCIPLESHIP 1. First take some time together to read and discuss the content of the vicar’s blog on The Good Samaritan. What has been your experience, not your understanding, of this parable? 2. What would church look like if our primary text for shaping our life together and our mission was this parable alone? 3. The Transfiguration. Read the Matthew 17 text twice, with a silent pause for reflection in between. 4. Jesus is seen next to two great prophets who were ultimately vindicated by God, Moses & Elijah perhaps representing the Law & the Prophets. Which verse indicates that Jesus is more than a prophet, and what difference, if any, does that make to our faith? 5. This Transfiguration is a time of blinding white metamorphosis not commemoration, yet Peter’s faithful desire is to want to freeze this moment in time and build shelters. How can nostalgia inhibit our Christian development?
D A I LY R E A D I N G S Monday Psalm 80 Jeremiah 1 John 3:1-21 Tuesday Psalm 89:1-18 Jeremiah 2:1-13 John 3:22-end Ash Wednesday Psalm 38 Daniel 9:3-6, 17-19 1 Timothy 6:6-19 Thursday Psalm 77 Jeremiah 2:14-32 John 4:1-26 Friday Psalm 3 Jeremiah 3:6-22 John 4:27-42
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. m
A S H W E D N E S D AY
JEREMIAH & JOHN
Ash Wednesday is the reflective and penitential day that marks the beginning of the church’s holy season of Lent – 40 days of fasting and prayer. At the Abbey there will be two services of Holy Communion with the Imposition of Ashes, on March 1st at 10.30am and 7pm, led by the Rev Mandy Churcher.
For those who would like to reinvigorate their discipline of Bible reading during Lent, our Daily Readings, printed on the previous page, give you a chance to read passages from the prophet Jeremiah and John’s gospel each day until Holy Week. You might like to allow 15 minutes each day to read and reflect and then finish with the Lord’s Prayer.
CHORAL EVENSONG
O P E N D O O R S P R AY E R
The next Choral Evensong at Malmesbury Abbey will be this Sunday, February 26th at 6.30pm. Neill will by leading this, his last Choral Evensong at the Abbey, and the preacher is Revd Mandy Churcher. The choir will be singing O bone Jesu by Ingegneri, the Gibbons Short Service and Lotti’s famous Crucifixus.
Pray for persecuted Christians, on Tuesday 7 March, 2.30pm at Mollie's house (4 Mill Lane). With the launch of a new Open Doors World Watch List, we will focus on the places where living out the Christian life meets with the greatest opposition. More details from Mike Langtree.
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NOTICEBOARD N E I L L AT S O U T H M E A D H O S P I TA L After nearly 13 years at Malmesbury Abbey, the Revd Canon Neill Archer is moving on to a new area of ministry from Monday 13th March. Initially Neill will be on be on full-time attachment to the North Bristol NHS Trust, working at Southmead Hospital with Revd Brenda Dowie and her chaplaincy team. And then at a point a little later this year he will be looking to take a post as a chaplain at another hospital in the South West. At that point the search for the next vicar of the Malmesbury & Upper Avon Group will formally begin. During the coming transitional period the oversight of our churches will be led by the Venerable Hedley Ringrose, an experienced, retired Archdeacon of Cheltenham, and one time vicar of Cirencester. On Sunday February 26th at 6.30pm Neill will lead his final Choral Evensong at the Abbey. On Sunday March 5th he will be leading his final services in the villages, 10.30am at Rodbourne and 6.30pm at Brokenborough, followed by a drink in The Horseguards. Then on Sunday March 12th, his final day in ministry in the group, he will be preaching at 10.30am and 4pm at the Abbey. You are welcome to come to everything.
D E R E K PA R A V I C I N I AT T H E A B B E Y On Friday March 3rd there is a gala concert in the evening at 7.30pm (see over) to raise money for the charity Music for Autism. Tickets are £10 and are available on the door, and even if you can’t come we would suggest that you buy a ticket in advance to support the charity. The evening concert, with The Derek Paravicini Quartet, follows a day of work in the Abbey with people living with autism and dementia. Derek, aged 37, is a blind autistic savant, whose musical talent and personality ensure a truly inspirational and memorable evening for us all. derekparavini.net
MUSIC FOR AUTISM
The Derek Paravicini Quartet
March 3rd at 7.30pm
Malmesbury Abbey ÂŁ10
11am Free Concert for young people living with Autism 2pm Free Concert for older people, those living with Dementia and their carers. !