Today is known in the Church of England calender as the Fourth Sunday After Easter and doesn’t all the excitement or should I say ‘eggcitment’ 🙂 of Easter Day seem a long time ago? Yes, the Church, to quote one of our younger parishioners, does indeed “kick the tits out of Easter” but Jesus rising from the grave is one of the most celebrated and significant events in all human history plus the Church is not fickle and forgetful. Other people may vote in their millions for someone to win The Voice one week and then not bother to purchase her single the next but in the CofE if you win the final you’re the winner forever!
There will be lots of emphasis on winning during the coming months from the conclusion of Britain’s Got Talent to the council elections to the Ashes to the big summer blockbusters filled with muscle-bound superheroes so it would be easy to get the impression from all that that if you’re not a winner you’re not anything at all.
In the Church we already have our winner and I don’t mean Andy the curate who might want to think about whether that stunt he pulled during the karaoke competition in The Squirrel Lickers was really suitable for a man with his position in the community. There’s winning and there’s winning with dignity, Andy! 🙂 No, our winner is and always will be Jesus. So there’s no competition at St Paul’s just a very warm welcome and hobnobs after the service. Yummy! 🙂
You can’t win at church. I certainly haven’t just because I’m your vicar. If I had then I wouldn’t be living in a cramped flat with dodgy plumbing but in what’s now called The Old Rectory with its many light and airy rooms, incredible walled garden and indoor pool and sauna. Praise be that the diocese in its wisdom chose to sell The Rectory off during the gap between me accepting this post and then arriving in Harold. I know the pool and everything was added afterwards but it was still an amazing place when I was shown around it on the understanding that it was to be my new home.
I thank the Lord that I have been delivered from the sin of envy and do not dwell on the past.
God Bless,
Tansy
P.S The answer to last week’s catchphrase puzzle was ‘dirty sanchez’ a term surprisingly few of you seem to be aware of.
