Poppyland Benefice Bulletin , , , , , Thorpe Market,

Sunday 6th June The first Sunday after Trinity

Services for June

6th June 10am Antingham 13th June 10am Overstrand 20th June 10am Northrepps 27th June 10am Antingham 4th July 10am Southrepps

Trinity 1 2021 Environment Sunday

“By the prince of demons, he casts out demons.” Mark 3:22 Readings! Samuel:8:4-11,16-20, Psalm 138, 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1, Mark 3:20-25 After a century in which more people died in wars than in all other centuries in human history put together, we have to face the possibility that there is something seriously defective in human nature. Philosopher Emmanuel Kant says we are in the “grip of radical evil”. Not only humans, but we see throughout the living world ‘nature red in tooth and claw’ (Tennyson).

Charles Darwin discovered that all living things are driven by the law of natural selection which, in a competitive world, results in the ’survival of the fittest’; the weak must go to the wall. Richard Dawkins his book ’The Selfish Gene’ writes: “Be warned that if you wish, as I do, to build a society in which individuals cooperate generously and unselfishly towards the common good, you can expect little help from biological nature.”

The Bible believes that the problem is essentially ethical not biological. “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can understand it!” (Jeremiah 17:9). The problem is that humans have rebelled against God in their desire to become ‘gods’ themselves. (Genesis 2) In a history in which there have always been ’wars and rumours of wars’ we have to face the fact that “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/ But in ourselves, that we are underlings . . .” (Julius Caesar)

The gospel is that Jesus came to redeem/rescue the world from evil. “Give us a king to lead us . . . “(1 Samuel 8:4) that we may defeat our enemies in a war to end wars. The ethic of Jesus is that we must “love your enemies and pray for those who ‘hate’ you.” (Matthew 5:44). The only way to break the vicious circle is to make our enemies our friends.

On Environment Sunday we are warned that if we allow global warming to go above two degrees centigrade, we will destroy the planet as we know it. Unless vaccines go global (as they did for small pox) - to love our neighbour as ourselves - there is no other way to deal with coronavirus or any of our human problems.

Was Jesus the prince of demons or is his ethic of love the only way to bind Satan and deliver us from the tyranny of all that would destroy us? ‘When the noise stops there is no inner music to take its place.’ (Celtic Daily Prayer)

Philip Bligh

Prayer Chain and Pastoral Support Confidential requests for prayer can be sent to Rev Siân either email [email protected] or ring 01263 833790 (please leave a message) and I am happy to receive calls or emails about any pastoral matters and very happy to have a chat with anyone if they ring so please do get in touch. Thanks.

For General enquiries or for Liz: [email protected]