St Michael’s Church, Southampton

St Michael’s Church in Southampton is the only functioning medieval church to survive within the old town walls. Dating to 1070, it has some interesting old features which its sister churches lack. One account suggests that it survived the German bombing campaigns of the last world war because the pilots used it as the main landmark by which to locate other targets. The order was therefore given to preserve it that greater damage might be inflicted elsewhere.

Stories like this may be apocryphal, but also plausible. St Michael’s survival (for which I and a great many others are grateful) might have come at great cost. Let us therefore be careful about our own words and actions that they do not harm others even if they offer no damage to us. The first-century church was divided on the issue of eating meat, for example; having been sacrificed to idols, many preferred plain vegetables, while others, knowing the pagan gods were fake, could eat the meat from the market with good conscience. Says the apostle:

But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. Romans 14:15

Your faith in Jesus Christ is strong and resilient? Good. Now have a care for those whose faith is small. Do not allow yourself to be used as navigation for the dropping of Satan’s incendiaries.

A D