Albantide: Sunday 20th June 2010
Today we celebrate the life and death of Alban – Britain’s first martyr; he who, along with Edward the Confessor, would probably be a better bet at being our national patron saint, rather than St George. We celebrate him today for a number of reasons: his actual feast day is not till Tuesday (22nd June), but yesterday there were thousands gathered in St Albans (both inside the Cathedral and outside in the Abbey orchard) to honour the Roman citizen after whom our cathedral city and diocese are named.
For those who don’t know the story, it’s a simple one. Alban was a Roman citizen. He’s often portrayed as a soldier but there’s actually nothing to suggest that he was – but he was certainly a roman, living in Verulamium (the remains of which are alongside the lake in St Albans). During a time of persecution, he gave shelter to a Christian priest, and when the soldiers came knocking at the door, Alban swapped clothes and was arrested in his place. In the short time the priest was with him, Alban had seen and heard enough to make his own choice to follow Christ – and so found himself before the Governor. He refused to deny his new-found faith in Christ, and so was executed on the hill-top where the Cathedral now stands.
So we celebrate Alban as the first recorded Christian martyr of Britain. But we celebrate him also because of our historic connection with the Abbey that grew up at the place of his martyrdom. As our opening hymn reminded us (in slightly shorter form than usual!) it was the monks of St Albans who founded this church over 900 years ago,. So too, we remember Alban because of a very specific link we have, through history, with our mother Church and Cathedral.
But there’s a third and more fundamental reason why we celebrate Alban today. And it’s quite simply about family. As many of you will know already, today happens to be my birthday. I begin my 45th year with the slow realisation that I am, in fact, an adult! So we’re having a family lunch, and then we hope that as many of you as possible will join us for Evensong (for Albantide) and for drinks afterwards (which are for Albantide and birthday-tide!). Having been here in East Barnet longer than I’ve been in any other parish, it is the most natural thing in the world to mark my birthday with my family, and with my extended family as well. And Alban is also part of that family – as much as you and I are.
We say week by week (in the Apostle's Creed) that we believe in the Communion of Saints. But I wonder when you last stopped to think about what you mean by that – if in fact you’ve ever asked yourself that question. So have a think now….There’s something about the word ‘communion’ which other than being holy, is simply about being ‘in common’.
On Friday evening, I sat and watched the England/Algeria game on the big screen at the British Legion in the village. It has to be said that it wasn’t the biggest gathering of football fans - but the beer was cheap and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. But of course the 25 or 30 of us at the Legion were in good company with the thousands in the stadium in South Africa, and the millions watching the game on TV around the world. Last night Linda and I were at a dinner party with the Bishop of St Albans, the Dean of St Albans, the Archbishop of Loreto in Italy, and the Bishop of Guyana....and what did we talk about??? The football! But unusually I had something to say because I’d been there. Id watched the game – such as it was!
To believe in the Communion of the Saints, is to celebrate what we have in common with the saints through the ages: their faith in Jesus, their life experience as Christian disciples, their struggles, their joys. But it is something which is real and present NOW - just like we talk about the World Cup because it is happening NOW rather than just reminiscing about 1966! The Communion of the Saints is not about the past, not just the sense of ‘those who have gone before us’ - but those who are part of that ‘great cloud of witnesses’ as the writer to the Hebrews puts it. The Communion of the Saints is not about history, but it is about NOW. In Christ, Alban is as much a living part of the Church NOW as he was THEN. We live and worship and witness as a church in the company of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Saints – as much as we are in the company of the people sitting either side of us in the pew this morning.
To celebrate Alban – to celebrate the Communion of the Saints and Martyrs of every age - is to challenge the narrowness of our vision, and our small and self-centred understanding of what it means to be part of the Church, the body of Christ that spans across the world, yes, but also through time itself.
With Blessed Mary, with Alban and all the saints, we worship the true and living God. And may that same God open our eyes, and broaden our vision, and reveal the glory that surrounds our steps as we journey on. Amen.