We pray for the repose of the soul of the Reverend John Suddard,
the Anglican Vicar of Thornbury
who was found murdered in the Vicarage on 14th February 2012

Homily by Father Alex McAllister SDS
for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

We are all in state of shock and disbelief at the terrible tragedy that has befallen the town with the shocking murder of the Reverend John Suddards.

It is useless for us to speculate as to the motive or circumstances of the killing. Police enquiries are ongoing and we have no idea what the outcome will be.

As part of those enquiries a man was arrested and was in custody. Several of you will know him to be a homeless man who frequented Christ the King and several of the other Churches in the town. It is true that he was arrested in the grounds of our Church and as a result the Church was searched and some of us were interviewed at length by the police.

Thing however have moved on, he was released on Saturday afternoon and the police are now searching for another more dangerous individual. We hope that the matter will come to a swift conclusion so that those who are grieving can do so in peace and privacy.

What we need to do is to concentrate on our job. And our job now is to pray. To pray for the repose of John Suddard’s soul, to pray for his family and friends and to pray for the clergy and parishioners of St Mary’s, St Paul’s and St Arilda’s who have lost their vicar in such horrible circumstances.

We remember them in this Eucharist to which we bring all our cares and concerns certain in the knowledge that Christ unites us all to himself and shares his body and blood with us.

John Suddards was an Anglican whose understanding of the Eucharist was not so different from our own. He understood that on the altar Christ’s sacrifice over sin and death is made present for us. He understood well that it is through the Eucharist that our hope for salvation is to be found.

Although he was only in Thornbury for a short time I had several very long and interesting conversations with John and knew him to be a man of intelligence and sensitivity.

As for all of us engaged in pastoral ministry, his role was a difficult one. On the one hand a parish priest has to take the broad view and guide the whole parish but on the other hand it is his role also to become involved in the intricate problems of many unique individuals.

Another challenge is to balance availability to your parishioners with maintaining one’s own personal space.

It is not easy to achieve these things. But clearly John was a successful and able pastor who was getting to grips with his new role here in Thornbury.

We had a common understanding of our role within our own traditions and even though it was only for a short time were both glad of each other’s presence here in Thornbury. I was particularly grateful that John came to my leaving mass two weeks ago, it was a very nice gesture.

The parable set before us today is a parable of faith. The friends of the paralytic take the roof off the house in order to place their friend at the feet of Jesus. Seeing their faith Jesus heals the man by forgiving his sins.

This is not just the healing of his body but the most profound healing of all. He is healed of all that hinders and holds him back from achieving his full potential in life. He experiences the most profound healing of both body and soul.

The sceptical onlookers completely miss the point and start quibbling with Jesus and about how he can claim authority over sin. But Jesus immediately rebukes them and tells the man to get up and walk.

There are many lessons to draw from this great parable. But perhaps today, in the face of what has happened in our town just a few days ago, we should focus on one simple thing and that is the eagerness of the man’s friends to place him at the feet of Jesus.

This one simple action speaks volumes. It is what most of us do everyday in our prayers and whenever we go to mass. Like the man’s friends we place all our concerns at the feet of the Lord trusting him to do what is needed, to do what we cannot do.

We bring to the Lord in prayer all those we are worried about, all those who are in trouble or in need, all those who we know need healing and salvation and we place them at his feet.

We do this in faith. We do this knowing that on the Cross and out of the Empty Tomb Christ redeemed the world and opened for us the way to eternal life. John Suddards knew these things; he believed these things, and he proclaimed these things.

John had had his own conversion on the road to Damascus in the shape of a car accident which caused him to take a completely new direction in life. He left a successful career and devoted himself to Christ as a preacher and pastor and I know many people are extremely grateful to him for the effect his ministry had on them.

So we place John at the feet of Jesus confident that he will save him and raise him up.

May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen