And it was the Gospel of redemption and salvation which changed and converted the barbarians who overran the Empire.  So in the year 597 when St Augustine of Canterbury landed in Kent to convert the English, he arranged a public meeting with Ethelbert, the King of Kent.  Augustine and his companions went in a solemn procession, at the head of which were carried a silver cross and a painting, on a wooden panel, of the Crucified Christ.  We know the substance of Augustine’s address.  He told “how the tender-hearted Jesus by His own throes had redeemed the sinful world, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.” (1)

And that is how the English Church began.  And that is the Gospel in which we believe, and the Redeemer in whom we put our faith.  And how desperately is that joyful message of redemption and salvation needed in today’s weary and materialistic world.

Note

The Greek word translated here as “soul” and in many modern translations as “life” refers to being physically alive and also to “the real self which is far more than physical life and which survives beyond it”. (2)

References

1. Wakeman, H.O. (1897) An introduction to the history of the Church of England, London: Rivington, Percival & Co.

2. France, D. (1998) Mark.  The people’s Bible commentary, Oxford: Bible Reading Fellowship.