Gregory on Jesus for Easter
CATHEDRAL NEWSLETTER
Icon of St. Gregory the Theologian,
fresco from Kariye Camii in Istanbul, Turkey
Friends in Christ, firstly a couple of follow ups from previous weeks, before Gregory on Jesus for Easter…
Back in January, I said how excellent I considered the talks on Galatians were at CMS Summer School, delivered by the Reverend Dr Ed Loane, Warden of St Paul's College. CMS Has now made the links to the audio of Ed's talks available here. Listen and you will be both instructed and encouraged from God's Word.
Many will know that the NSW Government has brought on its Conversion Practices Ban Bill very rapidly, and seem to want to rush it through Parliament this week. For those who are interested in the Bill's strengths and weaknesses, you can see the letter I sent to each member of the Legislative Council (Upper House) earlier this week. Perhaps better still will be to read Archbishop Kanishka's op-ed published in the Telegraph today relating to this Bill. It is republished (without paywall) on the Sydney Anglicans website.
Finally, in preparation for Holy Week, I share some beautiful paragraphs from an early church father, Gregory of Nazianzus. Read it slowly and worship Christ!
Sinners call Him a Samaritan and demon-possessed. Yet He, the true Samaritan, saves sinners who "came down from Jerusalem and fell among thieves". The demons confess Him, as He expels them, drowning legions of unclean spirits in the sea, seeing the Prince of demons fall like lightning. They cast stones at Him, yet He isn't taken. He prays, yet hears prayer. He weeps tears, yet makes tears cease. As Man, He asks where Lazarus was laid; as God, He raises Lazarus.
He is sold, very cheaply too, for a mere thirty bits of silver; yet He buys the world's freedom, at boundless cost, for the price was His blood. As a sheep, He is led to slaughter; yet He Himself is Israel's Shepherd, and now Shepherd of the whole earth too. As a Lamb He is dumb; yet He is the Word, preached by the voice of one crying in the wilderness. He is bruised and wounded, yet He heals every illness and infirmity. He is lifted up, pierced with nails to the tree; yet by that Tree of Life, He brings us back to Paradise. Behold, He saves even the thief crucified with Him, draping the world in darkness as He dies!
They give Him vinegar mingled with gall to drink. To whom do they give it? He who turned water into wine! He is the destroyer of death's bitter taste, for He is sweetness itself and the soul's full desire. He lays down His life, yet He has power to take it up again. The temple's veil is rent asunder, for the mystic portals of heaven are opened. The rocks are ripped asunder, and the dead rise up. He dies, yet gives life, and by His death He destroys death. He is buried, but bursts forth again!
Source: "Third Oration Against the Arians", ch 20, via the excellent Daily Readings – the Early Church Fathers by Nick Needham
Warmly in Christ,
Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney
P.S. Please enjoy this amazing interview and testimony from the Cathedral's own Dr David Lim, from our 10:30am congregation, who also serves as a mid-week Welcomer to Cathedral visitors: WHAT IF THAT JOKER IS RIGHT AND I AM A SINNER?