The end is nigh!
I don’t mean the end of the world, you will be relieved to hear. However, a couple of seasons in the lives of St Swithun’s and St Mary’s churches draw to a close this Sunday.
Firstly, our time of gathering in the one place for worship each Sunday is now over. For the past few months, St Mary’s has had the privilege of hosting the congregation of St Swithun’s while work was done on St Swithun’s church’s roof. St Mary’s have been delighted to welcome our sister congregation, and we have appreciated the graciousness of our guests in accommodating the different style of our services. We hope they have been blessed by their time with us. Nevertheless, we are now looking forward to the reopening of St Swithun’s with the first communion service scheduled this Sunday, the 9th of March. Our brief time together is coming to its end.
Secondly, this Sunday we also reach the final instalment of our preaching series on St Paul’s letter to the Romans, just in time for the start of Lent. We shall wrap up the series by looking at chapter 14, in which Paul teaches the Christians in Rome how to be united in love for one another, despite the frictions caused by their diverse cultural backgrounds. Without giving too much away, Paul asks the Romans to give way to one another’s sensitivities, rather than insisting on their own opinions and habits. This approach has been a characteristic of the Church at her best throughout the ages. There is a story about St Augustine, who would become Bishop of Hippo in north Africa, and his mother St Monica when they visited Rome from Milan in the 4th century. When they got there, they found that the custom in the Roman church was to fast on Saturdays, which they had not been in the habit of doing. In a quandary about what they should do, they wrote to St Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan, for his advice. His wise reply? “When I am in Rome, I fast on Saturdays. When I am elsewhere, I do not.” This is the origin of our saying, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
Ambrose’s advice echoes Paul’s teaching in Romans 14. He counselled Augustine and Monica to live harmoniously with their Roman hosts by respecting their custom of fasting on Saturdays, rather than insisting on the Milanese custom they were familiar with. This is an example of love in action.
As we enter this new season in our lives, gathering in our distinct parishes once more, we may experience relief that we can resume the patterns of worship that are familiar and comfortable for us. That’s a natural feeling, which St Paul would surely understand. I wonder, however, whether he would offer us a challenge at this time. Having strengthened the connections between our congregations during the past few months, how shall we keep our ties strong? How shall we continue to nurture our love? Doing so will need commitment and imagination, and involve us all.
Matthew,
Ministry Team Member