You may plant your Remembrance cross in the field of Remembrance outside St Peter’s Church if you wish.We will remember them.For the Sheringham Remembrance Service, please arrive at the War Memorial for 10:45am on Sunday 14th November, which will start at 10:50am.Please note that there will not be a service in St Peter's Church afterwards this year, due to the rising cases of Covid.
Today, Remembrance Sunday, is a day when we remember those who have died or been injured in war. Yes, we remember the victims of the First and Second World Wars in particular, but the reality is that there has never been a day when the whole world has been at peace.The two great sins that drive violence are greed and the abuse of power, which is the very opposite of love which Jesus calls us to. In John’s Gospel Jesus doesn’t just call us to love but commands us to love! One of the major problems that Jesus had in his ministry was the fact that if people thought that he was the Messiah most of them would interpret that as Jesus being a king who would lead an army to crush the Roman invaders. In other words he would defeat Rome using legions of angels to fight on his behalf. In reality Jesus wanted the world to stop being selfish and think of those who were poor, sick, down trodden, abused or slaves. A world in which care, compassion and love were the order of the day. What Jesus started nearly two thousand years ago is still a work in progress. It doesn’t matter whether we are talking about the way countries should treat each other; or the way communities within a country should treat each other; or the way members of a family should treat each other; Jesus calls us to love one another.How do we preach this Gospel to the world? Yes, we can talk about it but much more effective is to live out the command to love in our daily lives. In the Second World War the movement to blame Jews for Germany’s troubles grew and grew and ended with Jews being thrown into concentration camps. Along the way other groups were added as undesirable. The oldest sin in the world is to blame someone else for our problems. The Holocaust saw that blaming of others taken to the absolute extreme. So how do we stop this - by holding to our faith in Jesus and striving to love and care for all around us. Faith is not easy it often stretches us and we can find it difficult to hold our faith when things in our lives go wrong and we are faced with our own cross to bear. Always remember that your God has been there before you and that God is always with you now. You never have to journey alone. But let us admit that sometimes faith appears to be a very thin cord linking us to our Lord. When I was a chaplain in the RAF I flew with the Hercules Force. Hercules huge lumbering aircraft about the size of four furniture vans. Our task one day was to deliver equipment to the Special Boat Service off the coast of Dorset. When we spotted them we flew low over the water, the ramp at the back was lowered and all the kit was dropped into the sea. The loadmaster and I then went to the back of the aircraft to ensure that everything had gone and nothing was snagged in the aircraft or under the aircraft. We both had harnesses over our flying suits and the loadmaster clipped what looked like a piece of string to my harness. Remember we were going to lie on the floor, slide forward so that we could see under the aircraft which was now circling at about 250 feet. The loadmaster obviously saw the look of consternation on my face and with an absolutely straight face said, “have faith Padre it will hold you and anyway you are in charge when it comes to matters of faith.” Well I am here to tell the tale. Have faith no matter how you feel. Love God, love those around you and remember to love yourself.Andrew SSL
Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ‘He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.’ (Isaiah 2:4)Hymn: For the healing of the nations...Ecclesiastes 3:1-8The gospel calls us to turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ. As we offer ourselves to him in penitence and faith, we renew our confidence and trust in his mercy. Let us confess our sins: Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen. May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer for the day: God, our refuge and strength, bring near the day when wars shall cease and poverty and pain shall end, that earth may know the peace of heaven through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.John 15:9-17As we remember those who have been killed or injured in war, let us pray: We pray for St Peter’s Church and the Church throughout the world: for the strength and courage to share God’s love; We pray for the world: for reconciliation where there is conflict, for justice and peace; We pray for our communities, families and friends: for relationships to flourish; We pray for all who are sick or suffering: for healing in mind, body and spirit; We pray for people who have been bereaved: for comfort in their grief. Let us pray the prayer that Jesus taught us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen. Hymn: Make me a channel of your peace...May the love of the Lord Jesus draw us to himself, the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in his service, the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our hearts, and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and and be with us always. Amen. Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
As we continue to grapple with life changing issues such as Covid, Climate Change, and Political Argument, what does: “following Jesus”, have to offer the world around us? Well, let’s see from our Bible readings this morning what it was that people of faith offered the world in times past.From the Old Testament we heard of Job travelling to witness his faith in God to the godless culture of Ninevah (after a false start that found him stranded in the stomach of a whale). Surprisingly to Job, the people of Ninevah liked what they heard, and were prepared to change. This story shows us that we too can make a difference to people as we follow Jesus.The writer of Psalm 62 provides us with an insight into the faith of his culture. He feels a call from the word of God sending him into the world, with all its tottering walls, its scarred and ruined landscapes, its broken promises and compromises; a world that still devises its own destruction, selling life for passing prizes. Yet this is the world that God loves and suffers for. Following Jesus means there is a responsibility on us to love this world and the people around us as tenderly as God does.In Mark’s gospel we heard Jesus calling disciples to abandon their culture - leave their home, their family business, their employees, and instead to follow a new expression of living by faith. Like those first disciples, the challenge for us is to invest in our faith, and to follow Jesus whatever the cost in terms of dis-comfort or disruption.In the letter to the Hebrews, the writer points up the ways in which the Old Testament scriptures underpin the New Way of understanding faith, and asserts that a Jewish person can be confident that following Jesus is compatible with traditional faith and culture, but with a new twist. The reading is all about the place where the High Priest traditionally conducted his ministry and the sacrifices he made.Firstly the place: In the book of Exodus, there are instructions on how to construct a tabernacle for priestly ministry (Exodus 26:1-37). Later, King Solomon built a Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6). Later still, King Herod built a replacement Temple (John 2:20). But, Jesus, as Great High Priest, does not need such a man-made Temple; he conducts his ministry in the Holy Place, which is heaven, and is indestructible.Secondly, the numerous sacrifices that the priests of old offered year after year: these could never take away sins. In contrast, the single sacrifice offered by Christ on the Cross is sufficient to deal with sin, and sanctifies everyone.Reading this, any Jewish person who embraced the Christian faith would find plenty to confirm the validity of their decision to follow the risen and ascended Jesus. This is all clever stuff. But, as St Peter once asked Jesus, what’s in it for us?Here are three thoughts we can take away with us, which confirm the validity of our decision to follow the risen and ascended Jesus: First, in faith we should always recognise the activity of God around us.Second, we should note the place from where Jesus operates, alongside God in heaven. Third, we are all included within the scope of the sacrifice Jesus made; there are no exceptions.As we continue to grapple with life changing issues from Covid, Climate Change, and Political Argument; our following of Jesus has a lot to offer the people around us:in Faith we can share in the activity and future of God, in Faith we can be certain that Jesus our Great High Priest prays for us, and in Faith our job, as people for whom Jesus sacrificed his life, is to join in and share the love of God with everyone that God loves.As Jesus said: “Follow me”. Following Jesus is quite a challenge – but it is worth the effort.The Revd Malcolm France
