Christ Church Lausanne - Weekly eNews (21 October)

The Last Sunday after Trinity

Dear Friends

This Sunday, which is the last in the Trinity Season, we will celebrate as Bible Sunday. It is an occasion to give thanks for the accounts, stories, poetry, songs and prayers of the Bible that guide us in our search for and relationship with God. One of the Bible’s strengths is the great variety of its material, touching every human experience.

Of course, it is not one book but a collection of 66 books, brought together over many centuries by people faithfully listening to God. It is an account of thousands of years of human life, from the beginning of time to the days of the Early Church. Within it there are wars and periods of peace, disasters and prosperity, nations rising and falling away, famines and feasts, times of sorrow and occasions of joy. At its core it is the story of the people of God, who have strived to be faithful, not always successfully, but always with a sense of purpose.

You may have a favourite passage or book that has inspired you, been a comfort in difficult times, or helped you focus on God. For some the Bible is particularly special, almost a sacred object, but it should always remain the guidebook or the map and not the destination. As such we know it is important to study the Bible carefully and interpret what God says to us in our own day and place. God’s Word speaks to each new generation, and each new generation needs to read the Bible afresh because it draws us to a living God.

On Sunday if you come to church, I invite you to bring a Bible to see what contrasting versions there are. Today we can access the Bible online, in many languages, in pictures and through videos. It is more accessible than it has ever been, but the goal remains the same: to draw you closer to God, to celebrate his incarnation in Jesus Christ and to live your life in the power of the Holy Spirt.

Fr. John

Prayer for the Word of God

Your Word,
that lamp for our feet,
reveals to us the stony ground
we often tread upon,
where, stumbling in our weakness,
we reach out a hand for you to hold,
asking simply that you lead us once again
to firmer ground,
toward that rock upon which our journeying began,
where, in safety
we can rest eternally.

Amen