31/12/2021

Today we have St John telling us that these are the end times. He points to the coming of the Anti-Christ as proof of this. There is no doubt that the first converts  expected to see Jesus return to earth within their lifetimes or at any rate within St John's. From that day we have all had to become those who have not seen and yet believe. We have Jesus' word for this.

In the beginning was the Word, the communicaton of God's Glory. The revelation of God's Being to mankind. The Word incarnate is Jesus and John had pondered the incarnation from the time he was called, throughout his wanderings and particularly during his last days in Ephesus where he cared for Mary as he had promised. John's letters and Gospel are a carefully spiritual interpretation of his own awestruck experiences.

I am not struck by his begging the question in declaring that because "anti-christs" had left the early congregation they cannot have really belonged to it. In our Church today many of us are bemused by the sinfulness that seems to prevail among our clergy. The ordained minister is himself sinful. The Bishop tries to hide the criminality of our pastors. Many of those who know about misdeeds keep quiet for fear of disrupting the status quo without thinking of the results for their charges who also know but as unordained are dependant on the Clerical Institution for the Sacraments that are efficaious in providing grace. How can it be that unholy clergy can support the lay people who search for holiness in the Church? The Church teaches that this is so but does our Lord and Master agree with them?

We cannot say that our Church is inspired by the Holy Spirit and then support an institution that has displayed  and is still displaying all the vices of a worldly institution but is unable to provide our world with moral leadership towards the holiness that is required if we are to know, love and serve God in this world and be happy with him in the next.

Dear Lord please open the hearts of us all to the abundance of your Grace that we ignore and let us all become sincere followers of your teaching placing all our confidence in Father, Son and Hply Spirit .