Welcome to Weobley & Staunton Joint Benefice

In Sunday’s gospel reading, Jesus emerges from the temple building (Mark 13). One of his    disciples, possibly seeing the temple for the first time, says ‘Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!’  Jesus replies, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’

Jesus’ reply rings true on two levels. First as a prophecy of the destruction of the temple by the Romans in AD70. Next, it seems to challenge the idolatry that often springs up around the worship of buildings. In his speech to the Athenians, Paul says: “The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands” (Acts 17: 24). Paul is not claiming anything new. The readers of the Old Testament were told by the prophets and the psalmists that God’s dwelling was with his people - in right actions, prayers and worship - rather than in places of stone and mortar.

Our human temptation is always to attach the sacred to something concrete, without            consideration for the transience of things. There will come a day when our venerated church buildings crumble into dust, yet Christian worship will not. A former dean of Salisbury used to stand regularly by his deanery door, look over at the cathedral and say ‘O great cathedral, the day will come when the Lord has no more use for you.’  While this idea might seem heretical to those attached to the church as a place, it makes perfect sense in terms of orthodox theology. The church is God’s people: we are its living stones, and God is always active, reconstructing his church with each generation. Are we prepared for this?

Rev’d Philip

November begins with services involving remembrance of the departed: All Saints, then All Souls and Remembrance Sunday. While all of this might seem a bit gloomy (as we leave British summer time behind), it’s worth noting that our gospel reading for All Saints (John 11) points us in a much more positive, and surprising direction, with the raising of Lazarus. The dramatic climax of this chapter is a visual one. We see the figure of Lazarus, emerging from the dim depths of the tomb, swathed in bandages, stumbling forward slowly into the light of day. He shuffles forward from death into life, foreshadowing Jesus’ own resurrection on the horizon. ‘Unbind him’ Jesus says ‘and let him go’.

This image of Lazarus stumbling out of the tomb and being unbound is a vital for each one of us. Jesus calls us to rise up, to leave dead and unhelpful things behind; to become fully alive in Him. Our resurrection life begins now: every morning, every night and every day. Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb and he calls us continually to ‘Come out’ of our tombs, to leave behind places of darkness in our minds and hearts: places of decay, neglect or fearful memories or past hurts. Jesus calls us to be free of all that binds us, entering into an experience (and a shared community) of resurrection that is always offered afresh, renewed in the light of his risen glory and present grace.

Rev’d Philip