Sunday 29 November 2020

on reading the gospel of mark during advent

Today is the beginning of Advent, which marks the start of the Church calendar. It is a penitential season, rather like Lent, in which Christians are encouraged to place an extra emphasis on prayer, devotions and simplicity of life. In church we mark it with purple vestments and hangings, and simple wooden items on the altar — not forgetting our wreath of advent candles. 

Every year our gospel readings on a Sunday are mainly drawn from one particular gospel. This year it is Mark’s gospel that is being featured. Mark is the shortest of the four gospels in the Bible, and was the earliest to be written. It really licks along at quite a pace, taking just 90 minutes to read from end to end.


This Advent I’d like to invite you to read the whole of Mark’s gospel. You might want to sit down and read it in one go, or you may prefer to read half a chapter a day. We have some copies of Mark from the Bible Society in a single booklet, using the Good News Bible — an easy to read translation illustrated with Annie Valleton’s charming line drawings. You’ll be able to pick up a copy at church, or we can post one out to you on request. Those of you who receive the church news sheet by post will find a copy enclosed. And, on 27th January, our Bible Book Club will also be discussing Mark. 


‘Jesus said, “The right time has come and the kingdom of God is near. Turn away from your sins and believe the Good News.”’ — Mark 1.15 (GNB)

Sunday 22 November 2020

on the transforming power of love

What ultimately can really change the world we live in for the better? How can we transform places of conflict, suffering, inequality or poverty? For are not these, together with climate change, the most pressing issues that face our generation?

There’s an increasing tendency in the West to argue that the best way for society to flourish is to let everyone have their own way as much as is reasonably possible. People should be free to do what they like; free to make choices about their lives (such as wearing a face mask during a pandemic) without rules or instructions, and regardless of advice from experts; free to say whatever they please and broadcast it on social media, whether or not it offends others.


Political forces are afoot to try and force a ‘culture war’ in this country: that is to stir up division in an attempt to overwhelm those that argue for respect, tolerance and inclusion.  I’m not against people taking personal responsibility for their lives, or having freedom of choice about how they live them. And as a writer I’m certainly in favour of freedom of speech. But with such freedoms comes responsibility, and I’m not always convinced that those who argue for liberty have the common good in mind.


Politics does make a real different to people’s lives, and it matters that we are informed and engaged about it. But the force that will really enable change in our country is that of love. The love that God shows for us in creation, in his son Jesus Christ, and in his teaching for love to be at the heart of all we do. Only when love is the transforming force at work in society will our personal freedoms not be at the expense of others.

Sunday 15 November 2020

on being people of the light

Some years ago, a politician in Britain described her boss as having, “something of the night” about him. It wasn’t a compliment. It may have been that she had today’s epistle in mind. St Paul writes to the church in Thessaloniki that Christians are, “children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.” (1 Thes 5.5).

Paul is using the imagery of nightlife people who are out late, getting drunk, and in the daytime are sleepy and tired. He wants Christians to be like sober people, refreshed and ready for action after a good night’s sleep, making the most of the day so that they can attend to their faith and the work of God.

I’ll admit this doesn’t sound great if you’re not a morning person, or you suffer from insomnia. It is only a simile used to illustrate an underlying point: we must avoid getting so wrapped up in our own desires and day-to-day living that we lose touch with God’s activity in our life and world. Instead Paul wants us to be alert to God at all times, so that we are able to notice when the Holy Spirit is at work in our homes, communities and workplaces. When we’re tuned into Jesus through prayerful living, we’re more able discern his call on our lives.

Sunday 8 November 2020

on kindness

One of this summer’s best-selling books was Humankind: A Hopeful History. It argues that, far from being pre-programmed to be self-centred, the human instinct tends towards kindness and collaboration. Archbishop Desmond Tutu makes a similar point in his book Made For Goodness. If we are created in the image of God, and God is good, then surely goodness is at the core of our being?

Somehow, though, our attention gets drawn towards people who behave badly or violently, creating a skewed impression about humanity. Newspapers are seldom filled with stories about the acts of generosity, self-sacrifice or friendship towards strangers, that make up normal everyday life.

Humankind recounts some research that suggests many troops sent into armed conflict try to avoid firing their weapons. During the American Civil War, men purposely took as long as possible to reload their muskets. One was founded to have loaded up to 23 balls down his muzzle to appear busy. In WW2 an historian accompanied a US battalion. He determined that only 15-25% of servicemen had fired their weapon in a fierce assault on a Pacific island. Many courageously put themselves on the front line and risked their own lives, but drew back from killing others.

We are told that war is part of human nature. But what if it isn’t? What if there’s another way, where nations settle their differences through collaboration and peace-building? A way that is in tune with humanity’s tendency towards kindness, and the example of Jesus Christ.

Sunday 1 November 2020

on being a church named after all the saints

Today is All Saints Day which has a special significance for us here at St Anne and All Saints. We are a church named after the witness and example of all those people of faith who have gone before us; that ‘great cloud of witnesses that surrounds us’ and encourages us to run the race that the gospel inspires us towards (Hebrews 12:1-2).  

We inherited the ‘All Saints’ part of our name from a church that used to stand on the site of what is now the Lansdowne Green Estate. After that building was destroyed in WW2 the congregation moved to St Barnabas Church in Guildford Road. Around 1980 they merged with St Anne’s to become St Anne and All Saints, and some of the congregation that moved here then are still with us. All Saints Day is an opportunity for us to remember our history.


We would normally be celebrating today with a Patronal Festival and a church lunch. That’s obviously not possible in the current circumstances, but the saints in the kingdom of heaven can celebrate on our behalf with the food and drink Jesus promises at his table in Luke 22.29.


Meanwhile, perhaps we can use today to give thanks for all those saints who have been faithful to Christ in this corner of London since 1793, and from whom we have inherited the responsibility of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ through our words and mission.