Category: church seasons Page 5 of 9

Michaelmass, St Michael and All Angels

Gentle and brave, gallant and bold.

Michaelmass, summer is coming to an end, a time when the beautiful warm weather starts to become a little cooler as autumn approaches.
September 21st is the time when the sun is at the autumn equinox and directly overhead at the tropics, the time of spring tides and full moon.

At Michaelmass in the agricultural world, the summer seasonal work was at a close and those working on the land would be looking for work elsewhere for the winter season. A time for change.

But angels! And St Michael…

The strange thing about angels is they are often in church, as wooden angels in the roof or in other places, but it is seldom that we talk about angels.
Outside the church, it’s different, people often talk about angels, guardian angels, messengers, spiritual beings, moving from one place to the next, moving from heaven to earth.
For many people, searching for some signs of spirituality the concept of angels is a real help. They are visible, in the form that we imagine them in, whereas God is very hard to imagine in any visual sense.

Michael is seen as the chief of archangels, a defender, guardian, protector of Israel. He is shown in Daniel as a warrior and of course in Revelation he is the slayer of the dragon and also the angel who cast out the Satan from the heavenly thrones.

Michaelmass is the celebration of St Michael who above all was;

Gentle and brave, gallant and bold.

Sermon on www.faithgoeswalkabout.org

Rev’d Sue Martin

Curate in Gayton Group of Parishes

For many this conundrum of the doctrine of the Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has been the source of much confusion, misuse, and controversy through the ages.

Are we really worshipping three gods? And have we fallen back into creating a pantheon of gods like the Romans, the Hindus, and other religions.

I like to think about the Trinity as in 2 Corinthians, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Three in one, and one in three.

Not part of, or in any dimensional way that we can conceive, but a God who finds ways to ensure we can find him and work with him to make this world his own, and a better place for all people.

In the Old Testament we find that God has worked with the prophets and Moses to ensure that his people are kept safe.

Jesus, God’s only Son is sent from heaven to be with us, for always.

As he returns to heaven he does not leave us alone but sends the Holy Spirit, the enabler and mission giver.

Three in one and one in three- see Trinity Sunday on FaithGoesWalkabout.org

Rev’d Sue Martin

Saul, the persecutor of Christians is converted by a blinding flash of light on the road to Damascus.

Saul was a Jew and had been present at the stoning of Stephen, he was on his way to make sure that further Christians were held in check.

But, we are told in Acts 9: 1-20, that whilst he was on the Way he was blinded and a voice came to him asking him why he was persecuting him. Saul asked who the voice belonged to and Jesus replied that it was him.

He was three days without sight. Ananias was asked to find him and lay hands on him to restore his sight, which he did, but wondering why he was helping this man who was renowned as a persecutor.

And so the start of Paul/Saul’s start of leading the church and spreading the word in his imitable style into many countries and places.

Hidden in the story there are references to Christian terms; one being The Way and the other being The street that is called Straight.

The Way, or the path or the journey or the place in which to walk – a need to follow where we are called.

The Street that is called Straight… probably the modern Darb el-Mostakin in Damascus (as above), but reference to following the path that is straight although in a journey of faith it is seldom ever straight.

But to follow the Way and as much as we can to walk in a straight path, easier said than achieved and unlike Paul , after his conversion,many find it hard.

Rev’d Sue Martin

Jesus looks in to the near future and sees his betrayal and death.

John 13:21-32

Feeling troubled, Jesus says that one of the disciples will betray him, but the disciples miss what he is really meaning and so don’t get the message. Judas is handed the piece of bread by Jesus and told do do the deed quickly.

Judas disappears into the night.

What is about to happen in the next few days will leave the world in a different place to any other time then and now.

It seems that the disciples were oblivious to the messages that Jesus had given. No wonder then that they would also deny any involvement with Jesus, even Peter.

But a message that was plain to them all, ‘I give you a new commandment that you love one another’.

A message as much for today.

Sue Martin

Assistant Priest St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield, London