Cantabrigians

[This letter was first read at a Circuit Service at Orwell Methodist Church on 12 November 2011.]

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, from my lodging in Ephesus, to our beloved brother Timothy and to all the saints in the Cambridge Methodist Circuit. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. My good friend Dr Luke sends greetings too – he is busy writing his memoirs, which look like extending to two voluminous scrolls. I thank God our Father for the generations of faithful witnesses through more than two millennia who have taken the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. He has given us the immense privilege of becoming children of God, members of God’s family, instead of being alienated from him because of our sins. By the grace of God we have been saved, we have been made new people, able to live a full life now and through eternity. What we have to do is to accept God’s love and forgiveness, and put our trust totally in God in all aspects of our daily lives.

I am confident that the movement of the New Way - which began among the first disciples of the risen Jesus Christ, who later caught hold of me and turned my world upside down - I am confident, I say, that the Christian movement will never be extinguished. I am therefore bold enough to write to you in the future, to give thanks to God for the continued expansion of his church, and to pray for you that, among other things, you may remain faithful to your calling in Christ and may know what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us all who believe. If God is for us, who can be against us? And remember too, that Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and has been raised to life and shares the glory of God the Father, prays for you constantly. What a wonderful thought!

My sisters and brothers, I am sure that, as in Ephesus today, you will be struggling not with enemies of flesh and blood but against rulers, against authorities, against cosmic powers of darkness and against those who put their trust only in scientific discovery and dismiss faith as irrelevant. Have you equipped yourselves with the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand firm in an increasingly secular world? You must stand firm, wearing the belt of truth around your waist. Are you a learning church? What about the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God – do your members take Bible study seriously? Is the Bible message being passed on to the next generation? And if the world in the twenty-first century is anything like today, it is a world in desperate need of the gospel of peace.

Remember, as I once wrote to the church at Corinth, God has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation, a message of reconciliation between people, but above all a message of reconciliation between people and God. Are you effective in spreading that message? How are you fulfilling your calling to be ambassadors for Christ? I keep telling groups of Christians on my travels and in my letters that they have to work at applying the gospel of Jesus in their own situation. I cannot prescribe in detail now what would be appropriate for you in your time: your circumstances may be totally different (I hope your ships don’t roll around as much in a storm as ones I’ve been on!). But I do know that you, like me, must work to show the love of God in your lives, wherever you are and whatever you are doing. This is the great commandment of Jesus, no less, that we must love God and love our neighbours. And remember, that includes your sisters and brothers in Christ. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Live in love, as Christ loved us, and make sure that the banner over your lives is LOVE. Loving your neighbour means reaching out to those who don’t come near a church; it means showing love to those on the fringes of society whom some regard as unlovable.

Sadly, I have found the church in Corinth tending to divide – some following Peter, some me, some Apollos. I do hope you are working together with all the saints in your area, even if they understand their faith differently. Look to your LEPs and be willing to strengthen these in the name of Christ.

I imagine you still have issues to do with a gap between a wealthy minority and a majority of poor people in the world and that people protest, as they do here, about a wealth gap in society – even by a big church named after me. No doubt people still beg for money. Some of the churches I visited have worked hard, prayed regularly and given generously to help the church’s mission alongside the poor. What about you in your day? Are you doing enough? That includes helping people in far off lands that I had never even heard of. Luke tells me that Jesus had stern warnings about the risk of being rich and self-satisfied, and then Luke added something about a camel and a needle which I didn’t really understand, but it may have been a joke.

I am always moved by the generosity of some Christians with their time and energy in the service of Christ. Of course, everything we do every day should be done to the glory of God and to the very best of our ability. But I’m thinking of those who volunteer for jobs in the church, and in the name of the church, including some of those who have looked after me on my travels. Yet there seems to be a tendency to leave volunteering to others, as if some had no gifts to offer. What nonsense! Everybody can do something, especially pray. I wonder if you have heard of what I wrote in my first letter to the church at Corinth (but why should you, I expect that scroll was thrown away soon after it was read). I argued that church members were like parts of the human body – head, hands, little toes, knees, eyes, and so on. Each part is very different from other parts, yet if the body is to function properly, every part has to be working well. I’m sure it’s the same with the church: everyone has an important part to play. Do not discourage the young, and welcome the wisdom and experience that come with age. Do you find that people volunteer willingly when there are jobs to be done? Or are some content to stay outside the arena and boo the contestants from the safety of the stone seats of the amphitheatre?

Finally, sisters and brothers, be filled with the Spirit, as you sing from Hymns and Psalms – or just Singing the Faith - making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all God’s children.

Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with you all who have an undying love for our Lord.

Greetings from Tychicus and from Mark. Remember me to Morna, the beloved scholar, and all who preach locally; to Monica and all who communicate the good news; and to Jason and all those who encourage the little ones in the faith.

I long to hear from you as to your continuing progress Towards Tomorrow Together. Send me your messages on st.paul@heaven.org.

Amen.