How Holy do I have to be? “3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.” Psalm 24:3-4After the end of the exam period in school, comes the wait for results, followed by the consequences. People ask “Am I going to University” or into the work of their choice? We are on earth for a time, and when it finishes, Christians believe there is more to experience. So, when we consider the afterlife, will I reach the grade required? Often people fear that they won’t be good enough. A classic example of this was when people would pay for indulgences which were supposed to give them a shorter time to burn off their sins, before entering into Heaven.A modern way of coping with this fear is to put it on the back burner and not consider it, and hope nothing will come of it. If death is indeed the end – then Hell is not to be feared.However, in the Bible we see some very human figures and yet we are told that they point the way for us to live lives that God will find acceptable.You might remember Old Testament stories of the Israelites in the wilderness being unable to enter the promised land until all those who had chosen to go against God had died, and it took forty years.But we also have stories of Moses, who committed murder, David who committed adultery, and Jeremiah, who spent much of his life in depression. All these people are held up as right before God.The thing to note is that Biblical faith is not primarily about copying moral examples of life. The Bible is a history of God offering His grace to people who do not deserve it.None of us have lived a perfect life. We have skeletons in the cupboard, dark recesses of our minds, secrets to try to hide. The press love to expose these secrets when they come to light, and some are darker than others. But nobody can claim to be right before God.The Bible teaches us the meaning of holiness. At essence it is absolute moral purity. God is not only perfectly good; He is the very source and standard of goodness. Being rooted in God, goodness does not change because God does not change.Being holy people means to live our lives in a way that reflects God's glory, rather than conforming to the ways of the world (Romans 12:1-2). It means that we need to abide by the rules that God laid down for us in the Bible. It takes discipline to do this and is not always easy. But it is more about being willing to be led by God, than succeeding in every task we undertake.What we need, is to get to know the Saviour. To learn to pray. To be introduced to ways of confessing our failures, and then being forgiven because Jesus died in our place.12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2) Brian Leathers (September 2024)
In the parish of Dunstanding in the Mud – on Sea The Vicar cycles to meet with the PCC There’s an exciting new venture for them to agree A quite unusual experience it will be A unique opportunity has come our way With the International Space Station at the end of it’s day The first Church in space is what I have planned Now I just need ideas to see where we stand The Treasurer’s face is a study of fear We can only just pay Parish Share each year Don’t worry I’ve spoken to a man I can trust I think you might know him he’s called Elon Musk He’s offered free transport on his brand new spaceship I thought that was kind, but we’ll still leave him a tip The journey is quite long, so I think you will need To take a book with you for something to read. The Churchwarden will have to be on the first flight As he will get books out and turn on the light As it’s out of this world no faculty needed I’ve asked for a grant but that hasn’t succeeded. During the sermon I may ask you to sit, Whichever way up you find is the best fit Hanging on to my vestments is not a good look So, I think in the roof we’ll hang a new hook Now Communion will be different as you’ll understand The Wafers will float right out of my hand We’ll have to practice how to catch them next Sunday A fishing net or a tea strainer may come in handy. The wine will be different also you see How to get it cleanly to you all from me I suggest a syringe so with just a quick squirt I’m sure with practice we’ll get quite expert. A friendly old chap from the back of the room Said I’m sorry, I don’t want to cause unnecessary gloom Though I like the idea of going To Infinity and Beyond But I think dear Vicar you’ve probably been conned So, lets get our feet firmly back on the ground And back to normal – so who’s buying the next round? Rhona Burgess August 2024
Join us in learning all about bellringing with St Peter’s Tower Captain Alan Walters and take a tour to see and hear the history of the bells.If you would like to try bellringing for yourself or want to find out more about the Alton Bellringers, please contact them via email at: zalton@nsacr.org.ukClick on the link below to watch the video on YouTube:https://youtu.be/-9rUwv0I9Eo?si=Kp8Tv46a032VlT1I
Do people matter? So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27) There are different views about people in the world. In England we have adopted the Christian viewpoint, but as our society moves further from its roots, other values are coming to the fore. The Old Testament is formative for the Jews, Christians and Muslims, so coming from the Scriptures our view of people is based on the same ideas. Firstly, that we were made in the image of God, so in some sense we have a moral and spiritual and intellectual nature like God does. Secondly, we learn that we are fallen from our proper place, and our bodies and souls are corrupted which means we do things we should not. (Even though we often reason so well why we should do these things.) About 500 years ago in Europe there were two intellectual changes. One was the High Renaissance in the south, where great artists, writers and sculptors were creating art with ideas from the new humanist (scholarly) ideas. Man was seen as the centre of everything, and the Church’s authority was seen as equal to that of the Scriptures, and local traditions were brought into Church teaching. So, you have Dante and his allegory of Hell, and later, Michelangelo put in the Sistine chapel both the prophet Jeremiah and also a pagan prophetess of Delphi. In the north of Europe came a reaction against this new teaching and a re-stating of the Scriptures saying that God is the centre of everything. The Reformation broke out after Martin Luther published his 95 criticisms of the Church. This led to ideas of the Bible as the supreme authority even over the ideas of mankind. Fast forward to the European Universities in the 1700’s and the intellectual ideas of secularism started to develop, with the (then strange) idea that there might be no God. The ideas of mankind then were given free reign to develop science and art as we saw fit. This has given us a wonderfully fertile and shifting set of cultures, where conflicting ideas circulate and with internet culture it is perfectly possible for people only ever to see ideas with which they agree, therefore unaware of contradictory ideas which could be better. Democracy is a great idea where we all get a vote – a part in the decision making. But I don’t think we would go for full democracy in all cases – mob rule is not necessarily the best way forward. If we deny the Scripture’s teaching that all people are made in the image of God, and equal in His sight, then how do we measure a person’s worth? Their academic achievements? Their contribution to society? Their relationship to us personally? These are very open to the opinion of the observer – and who is qualified to judge? Presently our society holds that people are valuable and should not be killed. But while we remember that it is 80 years since D day and don’t want to enter another war. The most noble of the countries of Europe in the 1910s were the Germans with a wonderful culture of music and art and literature, who were seduced in a few short years to become the brutal Nazi regime justifying the death of millions of people judged to be different from them. The Bible teaches that there is something bad in every heart, and without the Saviour, it is all too easy to follow the tempter’s leading into a terrible life, where everything turns to dust. I believe people matter. But they matter because God made them. Those determined to choose not to see God’s existence need to find another justification for why people matter. Maybe it’s just that we keep our DNA going, but that doesn’t convince me. “Job replied to the Lord: ‘I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, “Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?” Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. ‘You said, “Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. (Job 42:1-5) Brian Leathers (July 2024)
