Holy Communion for the Third Sunday in Lent: celebrant the Rev. John Philpott-Howard.
First Reading: 1 Corinthians 1.18-25
Gospel: John 2. 13-22

We are delighted to welcome John Philpott-Howard to lead us in this service. John was an invaluable supporter during our recent vacancy, and we are grateful that he is able to visit us again.

Today's readings address challenging issues. Writing to the young Corinthian church - a church developing in a cosmopolitan and sophisticated city - Paul underlines the radical difference between Christian faith and other forms of belief: Jesus is a God whose power might be mistaken for weakness and whose execution as a common criminal might have led people of the time to distance themselves rather than follow him. In the Gospel, his anger is kindled by those who exploit the religious duty of others for their own advantage, and he acts in a way his followers might have found alarming and embarrassing; the painting above by Dominikos Theotokopoulos (el Greco) visualises a scene in which Christ's actions appear shocking and incomprehensible to people practising a trade they thought entirely acceptable. Both passages underline the truth that obedience to God may sometimes place us at variance with the expectations of the world around us.