Anglican Parish of the Otways
Come and join us for a family-friendly service
at any of our various locations in the Otways.
The Anglican Parish of the Otways has been serving
the people of Apollo Bay, Carlisle River, Beech Forest
and Forrest in Victoria, Australia for over 100 years.
All very welcome to enjoy peaceful contemplation
and spiritual nourishment in lovely surroundings! :-)
Quick Note: The landline number at
St Aidan's is currently experiencing difficulties.
Please text or call Rev Jenny on mob 0488 433 023
St Aidan's is currently experiencing difficulties.
Please text or call Rev Jenny on mob 0488 433 023
HOME MESSAGE FROM REV JENNY 20th September, 2020 16th Sunday after Pentecost Greetings in the name of Jesus. I must say it is so good to be home and to have our neighbours home, at least for a little while. We are so very blessed to live where we live and we are certainly enjoying our beach walks again. (As is Lindsay!!) |
Even with the easing of restrictions, I still cannot visit anyone in their homes but we could meet on the church lawn or on a foreshore bench if you would like a face to face (or should I say mask to mask!) chat!
Give me a ring if you would like to see me. It still looks like churches will be closed until the end of November. Stay strong folks, we will get through this. May the Lord bless you with peace and joy. Blessings Jenny Phone: (61+) 03 5237 6615 otwayanglicans@gmail.com |
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Loving and righteous God,
your boundless generosity exceeds all that we can desire or deserve, and you give to the last worker all you promised to the first: liberate us from all jealousy and greed, that we may be free to love and serve others, and in your service may find our true reward; through Jesus Christ our Lord. ~ Amen~ Gracious and Loving God, bless the people of the Diocese of Ballarat and the communities of western Victoria. Guard all our people.
Guide our leaders. Teach us to exercise our freedoms with responsibility for all our neighbours. Bless us with hope and peace, for Jesus’ sake. ~Amen~ |
WHAT'S COMING UP!...
READINGS: Philippians 21-30
REFLECTION:
2020 has been a real struggle for many people. Within just a few months, we saw COVID19 spread throughout the world, killing almost 1 million people to date and causing most airlines, schools, and many businesses to close, some never to reopen; economies are floundering, millions of people are unemployed, many cannot pay their rent, mortgage, food, and medical bills. It is also evident that the poor and those living on the fringe of society are disproportionately affected.
Seen from the perspective of the oppressed, Paul’s statement in Philippians 1:21-30 shows Paul wrestling with this issue of the tenacity of death and hardship. He writes that he is “pressed in between the two [life and death]” (1:23). This condition of in-between-ness, is the reality of life for marginalised people. They are alive but the threat of death is immanent.
Placing this text in a larger social context of his time, we rec-ognize that both Paul and the Philippians are colonized subjects under the rule of the Roman Empire. Paul is imprisoned by the Romans (1:13) and the city of Philippi is a Roman colony. They share the experience of living right at the threshold of life and death.
Surprisingly, however, Paul insists quite strongly in this letter that death is a net gain (1:21) because he can be with Christ (1:23), which is “far better” than living. Why did he say that? Why is dying far better than living? Perhaps he wants to comfort the Philippians by saying that dying is not as horrific as they might have thought. Perhaps he is reminding himself that everything is going to be okay in spite of his current reality.
However, Paul is dealing not only with the reality of death, but also putting life into perspective. While dying will be gain, living for Paul is “more necessary” (1:24). The necessity of life is grounded in a connection to the community. Even if he lives, Paul argues, his life is “for the sake of” the Philippians. He is not living for himself. He lives for others, for the community’s sake. Paul’s seems to know that these people in Philippi are undergoing a similar suffering (1:30). Just as he is experiencing a difficult life in prison: the people in Philippi are too. So, to be with the Philippians means to share their suffering.
So what does this mean for us in these COVID times. It means we need to live our lives as citizens of our society in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (1:27). We need to stand in solidarity with the oppressed and marginalised, care for the needy, comfort the distressed, love the unlovable. We need to follow the restrictions placed on us, although we can always exercise our right to voice objections. Romans 13:1-2 says "Obey the government, for God is the One who has put it there. There is no government anywhere that God has not placed in power. So those who refuse to obey the law of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow."
And although we may easily relate to the Psalmist when he writes “I hear many whispering, ‘Terror on every side!’” , like the psalmist we must move past the terror to say, “I trust in you, Lord … My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies.” (Psalm 31:13-14). We need to be a calm presence in our communities.
COVID-19 reminds us that lasting contentment, security and happiness is not to be found in the present world but in the world to come. As Augustine put it:
“As ‘we are saved by hope’, so we are made happy by hope. Neither our salvation nor our beatitude is here present, but ‘we wait for it’ in the future, and we wait ‘with patience’, precisely because we are surrounded by evils which patience must endure until we come to where all good things are sources of inexpressible happiness and where there will be no longer anything to endure. Such is to be our salvation in the hereafter, such our final blessedness.”
The Lord be with you.
God answers prayer!
...Can I pray for you?
A Confidential and Free Service
from the Parish of the Otways~ Rev. Jenny
...Can I pray for you?
A Confidential and Free Service
from the Parish of the Otways~ Rev. Jenny
General Weekly Notices
My precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you
During your times of trial and suffering
When you only see one set of footprints ...it was then that I carried you. ~Your Heavenly Father~
When you only see one set of footprints ...it was then that I carried you. ~Your Heavenly Father~
