Talks, Sermons and Reflections

1 Corinthians 10.1-13 Lent is a time when we choose to go into the wilderness – when we strip ourselves of some of the stuff that we rely on – in order to make space to reencounter the one, the only one, who we can truly rely on. Listen to sermon on audio And this year it seems that Lent has come to us. It is not so much that we have gone into the wilderness, but that the wilderness has come to us. Many things have been taken from us: social media, people who we relied on, plans and hopes. Families have been divided. Many have spoken of how they have lost significant sums of money. And we face an uncertain economic future. It is a time of testing, of crisis. Crisis comes from the Greek word meaning judgement And we will either stand or we fall. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul is talking about the time when the people of Israel were led into the wilderness. They had come out of slavery in Egypt, had gone through the red sea – which here is treated as a picture of baptism, of l

St Andrew's Anglican Church in Moscow is situated only 10 minutes walk from the Kremlin, the political and physical centre of power. The Ministries of education, culture and defence are near neighbours. We are in the centre of power and yet we are powerless. Today, as many of our dear friends have left Russia, and as we nervously wonder whether or when we should leave, we are even more conscious of our powerlessness Conflict was predicted and we were helpless, unable to do anything to prevent it. Now that 'special military operations', as they are called here, have begun, there is nothing that we can do to stop them. But it is precisely our powerlessness which means that there are things that we can do. We are gospel people, who serve a crucified but risen Lord. We are the 'nobodies' of 1 Corinthians 1, and it is our very powerlessness and insignificance and foolishness that can also be our strength, if it is handed to God. First of all we are simply here. W