...and in other news... A weekly Co***vi**s free zone of bits and bobs from Seal Church.

I'm going to try to produce a weekly newsletter like this during the current "situation", with some of the things you might miss out on if you aren't able to get to church, and some, (hopefully) cheery-uppy extras! If you can't be with us in person in church for a while, you can also sign up for a weekly phone call either from me, or from someone else on the church's pastoral team, by emailing me your name and telephone number or phoning 07510 522292, or returning the slip of paper on the form  downloadable here.  There are also printed copies in church. The phone scheme will swing into action if church services have to be cancelled, or if you tell me that you won't be able to get to church for a while, whichever is the sooner.

This week's sermon was about Jesus' meeting with a Samaritan woman at a well. The story is in John's Gospel Chapter 4. 5- 42. This lonely, rejected woman discovered that she was loved and respected by Jesus, and it changed her life. Read the sermon here on our sermon blog, or find a printable version here.  We sang "I heard the voice of Jesus say" - a hymn which draws on the imagery of this story.  Hear it below on Youtube, or read the words below (and sing it for yourself!)    I heard the voice of Jesus say,   “Come unto Me, and rest; Lay down, thou weary one, lay down   Thy head upon My breast.” I came to Jesus as I was,   Weary, and worn, and sad; I found in Him a resting-place,   And He has made me glad. I heard the voice of Jesus say,   “Behold, I freely give The living water: thirsty one,   Stoop down, and drink, and live.” I came to Jesus, and I drank   Of that life-giving stream; My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,   And now I live in Him. I heard the voice of Jesus say,   “I am this dark world’s Light; Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise,   And all thy day be bright.” I looked to Jesus, and I found   In Him my Star, my Sun; And in that Light of life I’ll walk   Till trav’lling days are done.

Words: Horatio Bonar. Tune, traditional English folk tune, arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams

Do you have any suggestions for cheering books to read or films to recommend? Talking to my mother today, she mentioned Rumer Godden, and Rosemary Sutcliffe's "The Mark of the Horse Lord". I often turn to "Cold Comfort Farm" or P.G. Wodehouse when I need comfort reading. If you are trying to avoid depressing news, Radio 4 Extra seems to be a good place to go. It often has good old radio programmes. If you haven't discovered the Freeview channel  81, Talking Pictures, you might like to give it a go too. It has reruns of classic films and TV shows. Let me know if you've got any good suggestions for comforting books, films or things you like to do when you need cheering up, and I will try to include them in a future newsletter.

This prayer was one which my old Headmistress, the formidable Miss Bradley, used to read often at my school assemblies. The phrase that stayed with me was "gallant and high-hearted happiness", something that even as an adolescent I could see was a valuable thing to cultivate! Do you have any favourite prayers to share? Let me know if you do, and I'll pass them on.

And finally, a basket of kittens, because a basket of kittens never did anyone any harm... Anne Le Bas Vicar, St Peter and St Paul, Seal 07510 522292 priest@sealpeterandpaul.com www.sealpeterandpaul.com follow us on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/stpeterandpaulseal/ Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/stpeterandpaulseal/ Blog:  www.sealpeterandpaul.blogspot.com

In their own words: Day 20

Acts 15.11

We believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as the Gentiles will.”

There are only two occasions recorded when Peter and Paul met. In Acts 15, Paul seeks support for his mission among the Gentiles, who did not keep the food laws and were not circumcised as Jewish men were. The argument wasn’t whether they could become “followers of the way” of Jesus, but whether they had to observe Jewish rules and be circumcised in order to do so. Peter and the other apostles decide that the Gentiles need not be circumcised, and should be accepted as they are. As Peter says, it is the grace of Jesus – his free gift of love – not keeping a set rules, which has enabled them all to find forgiveness and freedom. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians (2.11) describes a further meeting in Antioch, when Peter seems to waver in this, but it eventually became accepted throughout the church. Peter, the apostle who so often got it wrong, finally came to trust in the indestructible and spacious love of God for all.

·         What do you think of the figure of Peter whom you have met in these readings? What would you want to say to him if you met him? 

In their own words: Day 19

Acts 12.11

Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.’

Peter has been arrested and imprisoned again, this time by King Herod. Herod had already killed James, the brother of John, one of those first four fishermen Jesus called, and it looked like Peter would be next. But in the night, as Peter lay in prison, chained between two soldiers, an angel appeared to him and told him to get up. His chains fell off, and he was led out of the prison by the angel.  Peter thought he was dreaming or having a vision, but found himself outside in the street, and realised that he had been rescued “from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting” . Those who had arrested him thought this would be the end of him, and of the fledgling Christian movement. .

Peter hurried to the house where the rest of the apostles had been praying for him and knocked on the door. The maid, Rhoda, was so overjoyed and confused to see him that she forgot to open the door and left him standing there, while those inside argued over whether he was really there at all!

·         Have you ever been “rescued” from something frightening? How did it feel?

In their own words: Day 18

Acts 10.13-14

Then Peter heard a voice say, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat [these unclean creatures]. But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.’

Peter stayed on in Joppa at the house of Simon the tanner after restoring Tabitha to life,(see yesterday). While he was there he had a strange vision, in which he saw a cloth lowered from heaven filled with all sorts of animals which were regarded as unclean (pigs, shellfish, and all sorts of other foods which were forbidden to Jewish people). A heavenly voice told him to kill and eat them. This went against all Peter’s upbringing. At a visceral level he was disgusted. But God insisted that what he called clean, Peter must not dismiss as unclean.

As the vision faded, visitors arrived asking Peter to come to the house of the Gentile Roman centurion, Cornelius, who wanted to be admitted to the Christian community. He too, would have been regarded as unclean. Emboldened by the vision, Peter went to see him. This story reflects the enormous challenge the first, Jewish, followers of Jesus felt, as they realised that his message was for all people everywhere.

Have you ever struggled to include or befriend someone who felt very different from you? Why did it feel hard?

In their own words: Day 17

Acts 9.40

Peter put all of Tabitha’s friends outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.

Peter had been called to Joppa, to the bedside of a much-loved member of the Christian community, Tabitha, who had fallen ill and died. She was a renowned needlewoman, “devoted to good works and acts of charity” who made clothes for the poor, and her friends desperately show Peter the clothes she has made when he arrives. How can she be dead? How can they manage without her? Peter restores her to life, and to her friends, who are overjoyed.

Peter is calm and confident in this extraordinary situation. Who could have imagined that this rather flaky (“rocky” in the wrong sense!) man, who denied knowing Jesus, and so often put his foot in his mouth, would be capable of this? Peter almost certainly didn’t see it in himself. It isn’t his own power, of course, but the power of the God in whom he trusts, which raises Tabitha, but Peter is the one through whom God works.

·         Are there things you have felt called to do which you think you could never do? Why do you think that?

In their own words: Day 16

Day 16 - Acts 5.29

But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority.

The disabled man who was healed by Peter (see yesterday’s story), was overjoyed, but the Temple authorities weren’t. Who did Peter think he was? What training and authorisation did he have? And wasn’t he one of the followers of that troublemaker, Jesus, who, they think, they have only just got rid of.

Peter and John are summoned before them, and forbidden to preach about Jesus, an edict they decide to ignore. Once again they are arrested, but they refuse to be quiet. “We must obey God rather than any human authority,” says Peter. Peter and the other apostles choose to do what is right rather than what is expedient or convenient or safe for themselves

·         Have you ever felt you needed to speak out, but knew that to do so would be costly for you?  What happened and how do you feel about it now?

Coronavirus advice

As those who were in church last Sunday will know, we have decided to be as  "contactless" as we can be when we gather together for worship, to help each other stay safe and healthy in the light of advice about the coronavirus. This is especially important as a sign of care for those in our church family who are more vulnerable because of age or underlying illness. I issued the following information last week, and it is pinned to the church door as a reminder.

In their own words: Day 15

Acts 3.6

But Peter said to the disabled man, ‘I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.’ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

Peter and John were going to the Temple to pray, when they came across a disabled man, begging at the gates. Peter had no money to give him, but gave him a far more precious gift, the gift of his health. The man went “walking and leaping and praising God” into the Temple, from which he would have been barred before that, since no one who was disabled was allowed in. Disability was seen as a sign that they had displeased God.

Peter’s gift gives this man “fullness of life”, just as Jesus’ healing had done for so many. He doesn’t just heal him physically, but also restores him to his place in his community of faith.

·         Healing isn’t just physical. Many things can prevent us feeling we can come “walking and leaping and praising God” into his presence. How close to God do you feel at the moment, and what might need to happen to make you feel closer?

In their own words: Day 14

Acts 2.14

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.

After Jesus’ Ascension into heaven, his followers didn’t have a clue what they were supposed to be doing, or how they would do it. They knew they were supposed to take Jesus’ message out into the world, but they were a bunch of fishermen, tax- collectors and women, who no one would be likely to listen to. What hope did they have?

On the Day of Pentecost they were all gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem, when something they described as like a strong wind or flames of fire descended on them, and they felt suddenly empowered by God’s Spirit to speak. They rushed out into the streets and began preaching. The crowd were amazed, and wondered if they were drunk, but Peter stood up and began to speak, and everyone listened. (You can read the rest of his speech in Acts 2.)

·         Peter found his voice on the Day of Pentecost, and began the mission he had been given by Jesus. What do you think God is calling you to do?

In their own words: Day 13

John 21.17

Jesus said to Peter the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.

After their breakfast on the beach (see yesterday) Jesus asks Peter three times whether he loves him. It is the first conversation they have after the resurrection, and Peter is all too aware that he had let Jesus down when he denied knowing him. Peter’s sense of regret and guilt are surely triggered by Jesus’ questions to him. Although nothing is said directly about Peter’s denial of Jesus, they both know what they are talking about. But Peter discovers that, not only has Jesus not rejected him, his call to him has not changed. He is to “feed the sheep”. Indeed, perhaps the experience of failing so completely ends up being the making of him as a leader. If he still thought he was invincible and unshakeable, he might have no understanding of what life really felt like for others, and be dangerous in leadership.

·         Think of the “failures” in your life. What have they taught you?

In their own words: Day 12

John 21.3

Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

After the resurrection, the disciples were confused and exhausted. However joyful they felt at seeing Jesus again, they could make no sense of what had happened. It was as if they had been on an emotional roller coaster.

Peter decided to go fishing, to do something he knew how to do, to reach for the comfort of something familiar. But even that goes wrong. They catch nothing. Have his old skills deserted him?

They see someone on the shoreline, who tells them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat, and, lo and behold, they catch a multitude of fish. They recognise the person who has helped them as Jesus, and find that he has already built a fire on the shore, and is cooking breakfast for them. It’s the same story we read on Day 1, but John uses it here, as a reminder to Peter that Jesus is still there, still able to help, and that he can still rely on him.

·         What do you do when you feel overwhelmed or upset? How might you remind yourself of God’s presence in those times?

In their own words: Day 11

John 18.25

Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, ‘You are not also one of his disciples, are you?’ He denied it and said, ‘I am not.’

Yesterday we saw that Peter couldn’t imagine he could ever let Jesus down, yet just a few hours later, he was denying that he even knew him, not once, but three times.

Jesus had been arrested and was being tried before the High Priest. Peter had found enough courage to follow him, in the shadows, which was more than any of the other disciples did, but when he was recognised by someone at the High Priest’s house, his courage failed him.

Jesus had warned him that he would do this three times before the cock crowed, and that is exactly what happened. Peter was broken with grief and guilt when he realised what he had done.

·         Have you ever let a friend down, or done something you bitterly regretted? How does it affect you now? What have you learned from it?

In their own words: Day 10

Matt 26.33

Peter said to Jesus, ‘Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.’

This story is also set at the Last Supper. Jesus has warned his followers that he will be arrested and killed, and that they will all leave him, but Peter still can’t take it in. He thinks of himself as loyal and brave and tough – a good friend. He cannot imagine that he will ever desert Jesus. It would threaten his self-image too much even to consider it.

·         What three words would you use to describe your character? Why do you think you are like that? Have you ever done something which has made you re-evaluate your image of yourself, for better or worse?

In their own words: Day 9

Day 9 - John 13. 6-9

Jesus came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’ Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’’

The scene is the Last Supper, in a borrowed upper room, where Jesus is about to share his final meal with his followers. First, according to John’s Gospel, he wraps a towel around himself, kneels down and washes their feet, the actions of a servant. Peter is horrified. It seems all wrong. This is not what he expects a leader to do, still less the Messiah. Jesus’ response is that if we can’t accept help, if we must always be the ones who are giving rather than receiving, then our service is really just a twisted way of making ourselves feel powerful and worthwhile. We need to accept our own need, and allow ourselves to be served, and saved, by Jesus and by one another. If Peter doesn’t understand this, he doesn’t understand anything, says Jesus!

Do you find it easy to receive help? 

In their own words: Day 8

Day 8 - Matt 19.27

Then Peter said in reply, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?’

A rich young man has come to Jesus, asking to follow him. Jesus has told him that to do so, he must give away all that he has. His great wealth will get in the way of his discipleship. The young man feels that he  can’t do this, and walks away.

The disciples are shocked at the demand Jesus seems to have made. It is Peter, as ever, who voices their thoughts. They have given up a lot to follow him – but is it enough, and what will their reward be for doing this?
Jesus answers that there will be rich rewards “at the renewal of all things”, but offers no short term benefits. If we follow him for what we think we can get as a result, we will be disappointed. The path of discipleship isn’t a bargain we strike with God, but something we was because it is right in itself.

Matthew was surely writing with his own audience in mind, the early Christian church, whose members suffered loss and persecution, and no doubt often asked the question, “What’s the point?”

Have there been times when you have wondered why you bother with faith or with God? What has kept you going?

In their own words: Day 7

Day 7 - Matthew 18.21

Then Peter came and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him , “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.”

Forgiveness is a fraught and tricky business. Today’s passage has been used as a weapon to force those who are being abused to forgive their abuser, and stay with them. This is not, we can be sure, the intention Jesus had. Earlier in this chapter he speaks very passionately against those who hurt others (e.g. Matt 18.6)

But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to forgive others where it is safe for us to do so, and wrestle with what forgiveness might look like in any circumstance. Peter seems to hope that he can ration forgiveness, setting a limit on it beyond which he can’t be expected to go. Jesus deliberately suggests a number which would, in practice, be impossible to keep track of (and in some translations, it is “seventy times seven” – 490!) The message is that love, as St Paul later says, “keeps no record of wrongs “(1 Cor 13.5. NIV)

·         What does forgiveness mean to you? What does it feel like to forgive, and to be forgiven?

In their own words. Day 6

Day 6 - Matthew 17.4

Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’

Jesus takes his three closest friends, Peter, James and John, up a mountain to pray. While he is there, they see him transfigured, glowing brightly with the glory of God, and two figures appear – identified as Moses and Elijah, There are deliberate echoes here of the stories of Moses on Mount Sinai, where God gave him the Ten Commandments, and Elijah’s encounter with God’s “still, small voice of calm” on Mount Horeb (which is probably another name for Sinai). Peter, as usual, leaps in with what seems like a sensible suggestion to him, to make some “dwelling places”, temporary shelters, for them. He wants to hold onto this moment of glory. Perhaps it is a way of denying the reality which Jesus has hinted at, that he will be arrested and crucified.  As soon as he says this, though, Moses and Elijah vanish and the glory is gone.

·         Have you ever had an experience which you wanted to last forever? Why might it be important for us to realise that this can’t happen?

In their own words. Day 5

Day 5 - John 6.68

Simon Peter answered Jesus, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Jesus has just fed a crowd of 5000 on five loaves and two fishes. People are understandably very keen to follow him. Who knows what he will produce next? But when he starts saying that he himself is the “Bread of life”, the food people really need, many are confused, or even revolted, and opposition to him starts to mount. What can he mean?

Jesus asks his closest disciples if they too will leave him. Peter’s answer shows that already he has realised that, whether or not he can understand Jesus’ words and actions, they have a life-giving power which has touched him for good. He can’t just walk away.

·         The fact that you are reading these reflections indicates that there is something that draws you to Jesus, whatever your level of faith or doubt, and whether you would call yourself a Christian or not. What is it that draws you to him? What makes you feel that it is worth trying to find out more about him?

In their own words. Day 4

Day 4 - Matt 16.22

Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This [death] must never happen to you.’

This passage comes immediately after the one we looked at yesterday, in which Peter made a huge statement of faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God.

But now Jesus has started to talk about the fact that he must go to Jerusalem where he will face opposition and  arrest and will be killed because of the message he is preaching.

Peter is horrified. How can he think that God would let his Messiah suffer and die like this?

Jesus answers bluntly, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” “Satan” meant “accuser” in Hebrew - like the prosecution counsel in a trial. Peter’s words, though probably intended to support Jesus, actually risk undermining his resolve to take this brave, but frightening, course of action.

·         Have there been times when someone’s good intention to support you had actually made you feel worse? Have you done this to others?

In their own words. Day 3

Day 3 - Matt 16.16

Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’

Jesus asks the disciples who people say that he is. John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets, are the answers they give.  “But who do you say that I am?” he asks them.

Peter is the only one who says what the others might be thinking, that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus’ replies that Peter is  “the rock on which I will build my church.“ Many Christians take this as evidence that Jesus intended Peter to lead the Church. Roman Catholic Popes take their authority from their descent from Peter, who they see as the first Bishop of Rome, though he was never called that in the Bible.  Whatever status you might give to Peter, these words certainly reflect the importance the early Church had come to place on Peter and his ministry by the time they were written down in around 80AD.

·         What do you think Peter saw in Jesus that made him think he really was God’s chosen one, his Messiah? How would you answer Jesus’ question “Who do you say that I am?