Dear Friends in Christ across the Parish,
I pray that 2019 has begun well for you and that you all enjoyed the celebrations of Christmas both at home and in our churches. I would like to thank all who helped to decorate our churches and those who had a particular role in our Christmas services. The festive décor and flowers, along with the music and Nativity play, enhanced our worship and helped us welcome the wider community into our holy places. Alas, St Paul’s Church Foxdale missed their Christmas services and I am sad that the necessary permissions for the repairs are still be to granted. Please keep this situation in your prayers.
With the Church calendar beginning at the start of Advent our liturgical new year is well underway. We have moved beyond Christmas and are now into the last weeks of Epiphany. We have been reminded in our gospel readings that it is the life of the man Jesus which is the focus of God’s redeeming work. The wonder of the nativity now gives way to the words and deeds of the adult Jesus who is gradually, primarily though our readings from Luke’s Gospel, revealed as the Messiah. During this month you might try to read a chapter per day from this gospel, there are only 24 chapters so if you miss a day or two you can still catch up!
Luke was a friend of St Paul and accompanied him on some missionary journeys. He was a devoted disciple of Christ and writes about the background, formation and development of the early church as well as about the life and teaching of Jesus.
Unlike Jesus, Luke was not of the Jewish faith, he was of Greek origin and uses his gospel to reveal Jesus as a universal Saviour, sent by God to redeem all people. Getting to know more about the life of Jesus through Luke’s eyes is a good preparation for Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday; this year falling on 6th March because Easter is late this year. We’ll look at Lent more fully in next month’s magazine.
Every Blessing,
Canon Janice.
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