WELCOME TO THE PARISH OF SKETTY
HOLY TRINITY’S NEWS
Sketty Parish invites all to practise Christian
faith, together serving God and our community
by sharing the good news of Jesus.
LENT 3 SUNDAY 7th. MARCH 2010
The Last Word
One of my least favourite phrases is “religion of choice”. It reduces religion to an “optional extra”, and the vital spiritual choice to the level of one menu item or another.
Of course, there are those who want to tell us that religions are all much the same, and whether you take them seriously, or which one you follow, really doesn’t matter much.
The New Testament, following Jesus, teaches otherwise. For a man of peace (and one
lacking an “ego” which needed bolstering), Jesus is very fierce about the need to
follow him, and the fate of those who do not. He doesn’t threaten, (fear is not
a good or lasting motivation), but warns often -
Jesus offers only the way of Christian discipleship as a way to heaven. “No
one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn 14:6) is just one text –
but clear enough. It is constantly reinforced eg. by his conversation with the woman at the well (Jn 4:22), rejecting Samaritan religion as an alternative. The Sermon on the Mount is wonderfully encouraging, but has clear warnings
(Mt 5:22, 5:29, 7:21ff). Later in the NT, returning to Judaism will be ruled out
(Heb 8:13).
Yes, society today wants to believe that it is enough to be reasonably good, and sincere. The New Testament offers no support to that view. It offers a way of safety, to God through faith in Jesus. Otherwise, it talks of judgement by a God whose standards are unimaginably higher than ours, and speaks repeatedly of the possibility of disastrous failure with permanent consequences. Isn’t it time we acted on this?
Andrew Knight
Sketty Parish Website: www.parishofsketty.org.uk
Sister Marian's website: www.sistermarian.co.uk
LENT 3
SUNDAY
7 TH. MARCH
2010