Sermon for Palm Sunday 5th April 2020: Matthew 21, 1-9. (also read Isaiah 50, 4-9 and Zechariah 9, 9-12).

Fr Leonard Doolan  Kolonaki, Athens

Some people like to keep a diary. I understand that Queen Elizabeth II keeps a daily diary. How interesting would that be to read, if it is ever published in the future. Keeping a diary is such a brilliant idea in marking all the significant events or people in your life. It is such a brilliant idea, I wish that I had done it!

Keeping a diary, or in its more contemporary form nowadays, a journal, has become a common feature in the life of those exploring the possibility of being ordained or being licensed to an authorized ministry like Reader ministry.

It is a solid base for recording events, people, reactions, reflections, and emotions. Journalling is an effective tool for any serious personal development. It records information, contributes to formation, and hopefully, by God’s grace, results in some form of transformation. Any Christian could do this very fruitfully.

Thankfully, ‘journal keeping’ also gives us insights into the past, especially when the journal holds valuable information that connects with events years, decades, even centuries later. Such a journal is illuminatory.

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Audio Sermon Passion Sunday 29 March 2020: John 11, 1 – 45

Fr Leonard Doolan – Kolonaki, Athens

Short morning prayer for the Fifth Sunday of Lent – Passion Sunday

Fr Leonard Doolan – Kolonaki, Athens

Mothering Sunday 22nd March 2020: EXODUS 2:1-10, PSALM 127: 1-5, JOHN 19: 25b-27

Deacon Christine Saccali of St Paul’s Athens preached live from her home in Athens.

May I speak in the name of the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit AMEN

Pope Francis tells of this encounter with a young person of our times but before Covid-19 restrictions:-

“Let me share a story with you. Chatting one day with a young man, I asked him what sort of things made him unhappy. A strange question maybe as usually we ask the opposite question what makes you happy? His reply came back when my mobile phone battery runs down or I lose my connection to the Internet. The Pope asked him why. Father, he answered, it’s simple I miss out on everything that is going on. I am shut off from the world, stuck in these moments, I jump up and find a charger or a wi-fi network and password. Pope Francis continues; that reply taught me something. It made me think that the same thing can happen with our faith. We are all enthusiastic but after a while our bandwidth can fade slowly and our connection to Jesus along with it. Then we become unhappy and disconnected because our batteries are dead. If we are not careful the background noise of the world overwhelms us.”

During this difficult period, we are more likely to be tuned into news broadcasts as the pandemic of Covid-19, the media and its far reaching consequences may overwhelm us, and every part of our lives including our faith. But the background of the world as we knew it may have faded away. People in stricken Italy talk of hearing the birds in the cities, of course they were always there, but they were drowned out by busy noise. Italians confined to their apartments opened their windows or balconies and burst into song or music. That went viral in a good sense of the word.

I am in touch with friends in Italy and they tell me of noticing the small things and how they have become the important things. Father Malcolm Bradshaw, now in Venice, talked about being alone in St George’s church last  Sunday where public worship has been suspended for over a month now, and saying the morning office as we are doing.  On his walk back he noticed a seagull fishing out a soft shelled crab and eating it. Normally or usually we would not notice these things. Take time to do so now we have plenty of it on our hands.

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Audio Sermon Lent 3 Preached at St Paul’s Anglican Church Athens on 15th March 2020

Sermon Lent 3 – 15 March 2020: John 4 – 5 -42

Sermon written by Reader Sherry Angelis – St Paul’s Athens

           Throughout our Lord’s ministry, the Pharisees never cease being a problem.    One of the most annoying things is their persistent questioning of Jesus.   Almost every time they ask Him a question, our Lord answers so wisely that it makes them appear totally incompetent!  After these question sessions, Jesus often just walks away. 

              In the 2 verses before our Reading, Jesus has learned that the Pharisees believe He, supposedly, is baptizing more disciples than John.  It is very obvious that the Pharisees are jealous of the popularity of Christ’s new movement.  Our Lord foresees a storm of controversy rapidly approaching.  At this point, with such chaos around Him, it will certainly be a great distraction from His true mission.  The best thing He and His disciples can do is to get away from Judea.  Jesus decides they should go to Galilee.

             So why does Jesus decide to go through Samaria when there is another way?  After all, the mixture of similarity and difference has led to a mutual loathing and enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans for centuries, thus Jews have avoided the area.  I believe there are 2 possible answers to this question. 

             The first, is a geographical consideration.  It is much easier and faster to go that way.  The second, as we read the story, there seems to be a divine one also.   Something is going to happen in Samaria – maybe even something miraculous!

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Lent 1, 1 March 2020. Genesis 2, 15-17; 3, 1-7. Matthew 4, 1-11.

Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan – St Paul’s Athens

This is the first Sunday in the holy season of Lent. A season of penitence, of inner examination of the soul, of reading the scriptures more assiduously, and of fasting. The holy season began 4 days ago with the day we call Ash Wednesday. The palm crosses that were blessed on Palm Sunday last year are returned to church, burned and turned into ash. Mixed with a little olive oil the priest then marks out a cross on the foreheads of the faithful. Then there is a slight dilemma.

What is the dilemma? With an ashen cross on the forehead should we then witness to the community that we are at the start of our keeping of Lent? There is much to commend this. However, at the same liturgy in the gospel, Christ condemns those who make a public show of their penitence and fasting with the words, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them” and later in the same passage of St. Matthew, “when you fast put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but your Father who is in secret.’  (Matt. 6, 1; Matt. 6, 16-17).

This is the first Sunday in the holy season of Lent. A season of penitence, of inner examination of the soul, of reading the scriptures more assiduously, and of fasting. The holy season began 4 days ago with the day we call Ash Wednesday. The palm crosses that were blessed on Palm Sunday last year are returned to church, burned and turned into ash. Mixed with a little olive oil the priest then marks out a cross on the foreheads of the faithful. Then there is a slight dilemma.

What is the dilemma? With an ashen cross on the forehead should we then witness to the community that we are at the start of our keeping of Lent? There is much to commend this. However, at the same liturgy in the gospel, Christ condemns those who make a public show of their penitence and fasting with the words, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them” and later in the same passage of St. Matthew, “when you fast put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but your Father who is in secret.’  (Matt. 6, 1; Matt. 6, 16-17).

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