My Dear Friends,
Sadly no video this week, my phone is receiving tender loving care at the repair shop!
Yesterday I simply ran out of time, so we have a written offering today.

Yesterday was the feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Gospel reading for the Eucharist was

Luke 1.26-38
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee
called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’
29B ut she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
30 The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.
31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.
33 He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’
34 Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’
35 The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.
36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.
37 For nothing will be impossible with God.’
38 Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

There is so much going on in this story, and we shall just unpack a little of it. Firstly the intervention of God. He is about to do the most remarkable thing in the whole of human history. Have himself born in human form in order to show the world the way in which we are called to live. So this is about really big stuff!
Then we have the ministry of Angels. Sometimes we give too little respect to this ministry, and brush over the many scriptural references that tell us that people’s lives were dramatically changed through an encounter with members of the ‘Heavenly host’. We like to simplify it, and say it was a religious experience, or a messenger from God. We tell people to ‘Be an angel, and make us a cup of tea’. This attitude, I believe diminishes both the power and glory of God. Why not accept that our Heavenly Father calls this ministry in to being, his wonders to perform. For nothing is impossible with God.

Then we have the news that Mary is expecting a child although she is a virgin. This has been a talking point throughout Christian history. Was she really a virgin? Doesn’t it translate just as ‘Young girl’. How can that happen?
But we are not talking about natural events here. This is to do with the incarnation of God, and by the very nature of that, things need to be different. God needs the body of a woman to bear his son, and he chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, full of Grace.

We hear about Elizabeth, who was considered barren being six months pregnant. This is remarkable and clearly shows Mary how great are the works of God.

This passage is all so brilliant, but the last bit stands as a highlight. Mary accepts what is about to happen, even though she knows immediately that not only will questions be asked, that people will not believe her, and that the responsibility to bear the son of God is more than anyone could imagine, and I am sure soon anticipates that a sword will pierce her heart, but she says yes. She says yes, with no question about herself, her plans or her desires. She
puts the will of God first.

For many of us, much of the time we like to do the will of God when it fits with our hopes and dreams. But what if God were calling you out of your comfort zone, and away from your security blanket, and required of you that you tell the world the great things he has done by the way you live your life. Would you be able to put God first, would you be able to hear the message of the angels, would you be prepared to say Yes to God.

Most of us never know the ultimate answer to this, because we try to live our lives following the teaching of Jesus, and are fairly comfortable in our own skin. But Mary’s obedience was remarkable, daunting, but also inspiring and sets such a wonderful example.

My prayer today is that we have ears to hear the message of the angels.
Bless you, Bless you, Bless you,
Until next time,
Fr Marcus

For those of us not yet ready or able to attend our Sunday Eucharist, celebrated in our various churches, Fr. Rodney and Fr. Robin will again be broadcasting a service live at 10.00 (9am UK time). From 11.00 the recording can be viewed at any time, at your own convenience. You will find the link on Fr. Rodney’s home page. Just click this link.

https://www.facebook.com/rodney.middleton.940

Follow the link to view Fr. Marcus’ video for today –

Friday offering from Fr Marcus 4th September 2020
Good Day My Friends,
I hope you are having a great one.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of celebrating the Eucharist at The Forum in L’Al Faz del Pi. We have a service there every Thursday. The Gospel reading was from Luke, telling the story of Jesus wanting to speak to the crowds by the lake. But there were so many people that he got in to Simon Peter’s boat, pushed it out a little way, and preached from there. I love that idea, folk flocking to hear this preacher telling stories out in the open, by the sea.
Anyway, they all listened, and when he was done he said to Simon Peter, push your boat out for a catch.‘Oh no! We have been out all night and caught nothing , but if you say so, I will give it a go.’And he did, and caught so many fish that it sank not one, but two boats!
While I was at university I got a job as a fisherman one summer holiday, and it was really hard work, and we didn’t catch many fish, but I like to think I understand the joy that Simon and his partners would have felt.
So, what happened? Did Jesus somehow call the fish to the shore, so that they could be scooped up in the nets, or did he manage to see a shoal of fish that the others had not spotted. We don’t know but three things happened.
Jesus saw things that Simon Peter didn’tSimon Peter made an effort, and was rewarded abundantlyHe was prepared to have a try even though he thought it was hopeless as he had been fishing all night and caught nothing.
There is much to learn from all of this, and for some reason I have the words of that carol by Carrie Underwood in my head ‘Do you see what I see?’, ‘Do you hear what I hear?’
We all know that we can see the same things, yet notice something very different. And every preacher knows that members of the congregation hear very different things from the same sermon.
Sometimes we hear what we want to hear, and see what we want to see, and the emotions and feelings that we are having at the time will have a bearing on all of that.
Maybe we see the best in a situation, or maybe we just notice the problems. I think it depends on how we are feeling.Even the scriptures contain images that don’t seem to fit with the Gospel story. If they don’t fit, then perhaps we are not seeing with eyes that have embraced the over all context.
Simon Peter couldn’t see the fish. He was tired, and had been trying all night. But Jesus could see them.
What I learn from this story is that the context of self, and current experience has a bearing on what we see is going on around us. Some folk may be seeking to do things differently from us, but our frustration may cause us to miss the point that we are all trying to build the kingdom of God, and have the best of intention at heart.
Jesus saw clearly, then Simon Peter made an effort, and literally brought on board that which he previously had thought was hopeless.
Let’s fix our eyes on the message of the gospel rather than our own worldly thoughts, and do something remarkable.
This is what I get Alexa to wake me up with. I can see clearly now, by the Hothouse Flowers. It is a great song with which to start the day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1HRcoHGmi4

Bless you, Bless you, Bless you.
As ever,
Fr Marcus

Click the link to Fr. Rodney’s Facebook page to find the recording – https://www.facebook.com/rodney.middleton.940

Good Afternoon you lovely people,Here is the link for my Saturday Video. 
Do you remember the ABC Minors at the pictures?
Anyway, here it is

My Dear Friends,
I hope that you are feeling the love of the Lord!
 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
John 15.16
I am continuing with the theme that I started last Sunday, and followed up on Tuesday, discussing  who we are. I picked up on Jesus words from John’s Gospel that we don’t choose God, but he chooses us.
This constantly surprises people because in their hearts they feel that they have been looking, and have made a decision for faith. Millions have committed their lives to the Lord after deep reflection, and deep searching only to discover that what they were looking for was there all along.
St Francis puts it this way ‘The one you are looking for is the one who is looking’.
Throughout the scriptures God is always present. Throughout the Gospels Jesus always takes the initiative. Throughout our lives we search, trying to make God fit our idea of what he should be like, and it is when we let go, and let God, that we discover that we have been looking when we should have been seeing!
So what does it mean that God has chosen us? Well so many things.
We are chosen to be included and that is the heart of the Good News. There was a time before Christ when the religious teaching was that if you were poor, or lame or foreign you were excluded, and that was a big deal. Not only excluded from social or religious gatherings, but excluded from the kingdom of heaven. So you could believe in God, and be told you were not welcome in heaven because of the situation of your birth.
But Jesus’ teaching changes all of this, and those who thought they were outcaste were welcome. Everything changed.
It means that God welcomes us as we are, warts and wrinkles and all. We don’t need to be someone else before we know that we are loved.
That doesn’t mean we don’t need to change. It means that once we realise how much we are loved and valued, we will want to love and value others, and that will generate a change in us  that we will want to embrace.
It means that God know us. That is a feeling that is terrifying until we think about it. He knows the secrets of our hearts, so there is no room for pretence. With God we can truly be ourselves, and that is so liberating.
It means that God calls us for a purpose. The greatest joy you will ever feel is to be loved, and to love back in return. When you feel loved and chosen by God, you will want o love him in return, and one of the ways of doing that is to exercise his will. That is where you will find true bliss.
The task is to discern his will. Our ego makes it difficult, but Jesus’ teaching makes it simple. The will of God is for us to trust in the one whom he has sent, and that means to listen to his teaching and put it into practice.
If you are not sure if a particular action fits with the teaching of Jesus, it probably doesn’t,  but it might, so talk with other folk who are mature in their faith, and it is likely to become clearer. But beware, some ‘Christians ‘ have very strange ideas!
Here on the Costa Blanca we have very experienced clergy who would be very happy to talk. Please don’t hesitate to ask.
It means that we all have a part to play in being the church in this place. In these changing times there is scope for new ways of thinking which itself can be very liberating and inclusive.
It means we have a part to play in building the church, and you have received gifts that equip you to do whatever it is that God calls you to do.
It means that the Body of Christ on earth is completely diverse, and we all have so much to learn from others. We learn most from those who are most different from us.
It also means, because Jesus says so, that you and I will bear fruit that will last. It is our job to spot that in one another, and to encourage it.
The consequence of all of this is that we can ask for whatever we want, and it will be granted – but you and I know that we would only ever ask that the will of God comes to pass.
 
Bless you, Bless you, Bless you.
As ever,
Fr Marcus