The Propers for today are found
on Page 114-115, with the Collect first:
The Fourth Sunday after The Epiphany.
The
Collect.
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O
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GOD, who knowest us to be set in the
midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature
we cannot always stand upright; Grant to us such strength and protection, as
may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Dru Arnold read the Epistle for today, which came from
the Thirteenth Chapter of Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans beginning at the
First Verse:
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ET every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For
there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever
therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; and they that
resist shall receive to themselves condemnation. For rulers are not a terror to
good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that
which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: for he is the minister
of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he
beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute
wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only
for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute
also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to
whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Deacon Striker Jack Arnold read the Holy Gospel for
today which came from the Eighth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew beginning
at the First Verse.
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HEN he was come down from the mountain, great
multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him,
saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his
hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his
leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go
thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded,
for a testimony unto them. And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there
came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth
at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I
will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy
that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant
shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and
I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and
to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and
said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great
faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the
east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the
kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer
darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the
centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And
his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
Sermon – Time
and Action
Today’s sermon brought the
Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords
above.
Consider these words from the Collect:
… who knowest us to be set in
the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our
nature we cannot always stand upright; Grant to us such strength and protection,
as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations …
In the Collect, we
acknowledge that God knows the dangers, toils and snares with which we must
contend, which so often keep us from the upright acknowledgement and defense of
that which is true and correct.
With these infirmities, our only hope is that certain hope of his help
to support us, not to get out of the problems, but to make our way through them
to His Glory.
Christianity is not a
solitary religion, one all about the individual, though it certainly depends on
individuals as part of the Team lead by Christ to carry it out. God has given each of us varying
talents and varying capabilities.
We must each of us do that for the Church that which we do better than
others and respect those who we work with. No power comes from God, leaders who lead with His Will in mind
must be accorded the respect they are due by virtue of their position. They must also lead with His Will in
mind, for a leader following the Prince of Darkness is not worthy of respect or
followership. We must put faith in
those to who faith is due.
Faith, and acting on
it, is what Christianity is all about.
Christ’s faith accounts us as perfect before God because of His
Actions. The centurion of this
week’s Gospel is a symbol of faith and what appears to be inaction is his
action. He is also the person for
whom our parish draws its name.
The centurion was the basic leader symbol of the Roman Empire. A group of eight to ten soldiers was
lead by a Contubern. Ten
Contubernium formed a Centuria, which was lead by a Centurion. Six to ten of these formed a Cohort,
also led by a Centurion. He was an
important man, able to reward or punish at will. He knew power and how to wield it.
When the centurion came
to Jesus, he knew who He was and His Power. When the centurion to Jesus of his servant’s illness, the
centurion knew all Jesus had to do was will the wellness and it was done.
There was no question
in his mind, the centurion knew Jesus. His action was the seeming inaction of
acknowledging his unworthiness and telling Jesus, “I am not worthy that thou
shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be
healed.”
We are all
unworthy. The best of us is no
worthy that He should come under our roof; yet we know if He will speak The
Word only, our souls shall be healed and all will be accounted well before
God. That is all He asks, “Let Me
speak The Word only.”
Bishop
Ogles’ Sermon
We are oft fortunate to get copies of Bishop Jerry’s
sermon notes. Today is one of
those Sundays. Today we get a
brilliant analysis of a portion of the Gospel according to Mark for this week:
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
29 January 2012 Anno Domini
"And
straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the
other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he
had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was
come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he
saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the
fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would
have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed
it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled.
And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it
is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind
ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.
For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was
hardened. And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret,
and drew to the shore. And when they were come out of the ship, straightway
they knew him, And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry
about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. And whithersoever
he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the
streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of
his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole." (Mark
6:45-56)
The Collect
The Fourth
Sunday after the Epiphany
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GOD, who knowest us to be set in the
midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature
we cannot always stand upright; Grant to us such strength and protection, as
may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Collect for
the 4th Sunday after
Epiphany is a model prayer constructed in the manner in which we should all
pray. Acknowledging the fact that God knows our present circumstances in trials
and temptations, He allows us to struggle against the elements until we are
forced to petition His intercession. The prayer states our case but does not
plead that we be spared trials and temptations but, to the contrary, implores
only that God will strengthen us for the trail and fortify us against every
temptation. This will make our souls grow muscle in enduring the abuse of the
world and in overcoming the temptation of the devil. The text fits
perfectly the attributes of the Collect as the disciples find themselves in a
great mess at Sea. In the darkest hour, Jesus comes to them and calms the angry
billows. He demonstrates His Sovereignty over His Creation in defying the
nature of the water upon which He walks.
I have wondered
how any man could question the existence of God in light of all evidence in
nature, in history, in science that screams that such doubters are liars.
I truly doubt that there are genuine atheists. I believe the wicked know there
to be a God but refuse to acknowledge the fact because they wish to continue in
their self-wills to travel by their own darkened lights. Many years ago, an old
man lay desperately ill in bed. He was a wicked old man who did not believe in
God. Over his bed he had written `God is NOWHERE!' One day a little
granddaughter came into the bedroom to see him. She was just learning to read
so he asked her to try to read what was written over his bed. Slowly she began,
and what she read was: "God….is…NOW HERE!" God is now here. In her
innocent and childlike mind, there was no possibility for the sign to read
otherwise. The old man trembled. For the first time he had to admit that there
is a God. This points to our first cardinal principle in Creation – "In
the beginning, GOD!" We should not be surprised that the One
who created the waters should also WALK upon the waters!
Jesus has been
speaking to the multitudes that He miraculously fed with bread. They now
attempt to take Him by force and make Him their king. We are not frankly told
that the disciples were also complicit with the desires of the multitude in a
common response to mob rule, but there is some hint that at least something had
caused Christ to send them across the Sea apart from the multitudes. We are
told in the middle of the text today: "For they considered not
the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened."
Men will most often opt to the blessings of the `here and now' to the detriment
of the blessings of the `yonder and eternal.' The multitudes considered the
guarantee of bread without labor as the ultimate goodness. History has proven
that even the wealthy that labor not end in gluttony and die in misery. "For
even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work,
neither should he eat." (2 Thess 3:10) – a fitting rebuke
to the welfare mentality pervading our land.
"And
straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the
other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people."
After the tumult with the multitudes, Christ sent His disciples apart to cross
the Sea of Galilee (Tiberius). He perhaps did so for two reasons: 1) He sent
them intentionally into a brewing storm to test a faith which may have been
lacking in the attempt of the multitudes to make Him an earthly king. 2) He
desired to separate them from the passions of the world manifested in the
desires of the crowd. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive
you," (2 Cor 6:17) Have you, as well, separated yourself
from the crowd mentality being influenced in the styles and labels of even the
clothes you wear, the places you go, the friends you keep, and the wickedness
in which they call you?
"And
when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray."
When I was a child, I grew up in the shadow of a great mountain (Fort
Mountain). It struck a stark contrast to the surrounding terrain, and was
sometimes obscured by clouds. During the heat of the summer months, I would
look to the mountain and hope that I could go to the top where the air was cool
and pristine. It would have been a place apart from the heat and throbbing's of
everyday life. As you ascend that mountain, the entire world begins to recede
to a distant blur. The higher you climb, the less human traffic surrounds you.
You feel closer to God as you stand there on top of Fort Mountain and, indeed,
you are. To be apart from the body of civilization is to be a step closer to
God. And so Christ sought the solitude of the mountain for the purpose of
prayer. He could have prayed below among the people, but He sought a PLACE
WHERE His prayers would be a personal Communion with His Father. He also
would have a commanding view of the Sea and all who travelled in ships across
the Sea.
"And
when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the
land." When we begin to be too self-righteous or
doubtful, God will often send us into peril, seemingly apart from Himself, so
that we may learn of our complete dependence upon Him. He may send storms into
our lives to challenge our faith and, once overcome by faith, made stronger. In
the text before us, He has sent His disciples across the Sea and into a storm
of His making. He withholds the terrifying winds until the ship is in the very
center of the Sea, yet, His watchful eye, as that of a mother eagle, is on us
all along from the mountaintop. He is alone in His solitude, while we are
on our own strength in the center of a storm together with our company of
doubters. "And he saw them toiling in rowing."
It would be akin to a father watching his young child, the apple of his eyes,
toiling to build a sand castle but using dry sand, and becoming all the more
frustrated with each collapse.
"….for
the wind was contrary unto them." When we sail the seas of
life under our own strength, the winds of the world will always be contrary to
us. As Christian has no power to control the winds, but he certainly has the
power to adjust the sails so that he travels a good route and not one into
destruction. Quite normally, we must sail against the wind!
"….and
about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea,
and would have passed by them." Not only was the little
ship in the very midst of the sea, it was also during the very midst of
darkness. The fourth watch would have been three o'clock in the morning. The
greatest darkness is just before dawn. "….weeping may endure for a
night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalms 30:5) There
is a beautiful morning coming whose splendor shall rend the eastern sky as we
shall behold the Sun of Righteousness arise on the Sea of our Storms. When the
peril of the disciples seemed greatest, and their power to overcome that peril
the very least, along comes a sight that should have cheered them, but,
instead, it struck terror in their doubtful hearts – Jesus walking on the Sea.
He was not walking with great care, but casually as a pedestrian on the
seashore. Would they know the object of their salvation as He passed by?
Have you always recognized His guiding and helping hand in the midst of
your own storms? What would have happened had the He simply passed them by? My
mother used to sing a beautiful old hymn that made me wonder about its meaning.
Now I understand:
Pass me not, O
gentle Savior,
Hear my humble
cry;
While on others
Thou art calling,
Do not pass me
by.
Refrain
Savior,
Savior,
Hear my humble
cry;
While on others
Thou art calling,
Do not pass me
by.
Let me at Thy
throne of mercy
Find a sweet
relief,
Kneeling there
in deep contrition;
Help my
unbelief.
Refrain
Trusting only
in Thy merit,
Would I seek
Thy face;
Heal my wounded,
broken spirit
,
Save me by
Thy grace.
Refrain
Thou the Spring
of all my comfort,
More than life
to me,
Whom have I on
earth beside Thee?
Whom in Heav'n
but Thee?
Refrain
The hymn was written by
dear Fanny Crosby, blind from childhood, but full of the vision of the
Lord. Unfortunately, we not only fail to seek the face of the Lord in our
hard troubles, but do not even recognize Him when He draws near.
"But
when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and
cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled."
Are we in the same boat with King Herod who was troubled at the news of His
Coming? Do we mistake God to be a malevolent spirit? Does He often "get in
the way" of our own `free wills?' He is the very source of the salvation
of those men in the midst of a storm, in the midst of the Sea, and in the very
midst of darkness – yet, His coming terrifies them. They "cried out"
in terror. Men are often willing to believe in ghosts that do not exist, and
deny the God that DOES! "For they all saw him, and were troubled."
There shall come a Day when "every eye shall behold Him"
– some in fear and trembling, and others with joy. Which shall it be for you,
friend?
Christ will not
leave us to fester in our fears. He speaks to us out of the midst of the storm:
"And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of
good cheer: it is I be not afraid " If it
be Christ, there is always cause for us to be of good cheer and not possessed
of fear. Fear is unbecoming of a Christian. Though `fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom' (Ps 111:10), we are not to make our beds in fear.
When we have reached the security of the Ark of Christ, our fears of the flood
shall cease.
"And
he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore
amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered."
Yes, it is amazing how soon the storms subside when Christ steps into the
little ark of our hearts. The storm ceased immediately when Christ stepped in.
They still wondered at the miraculous event. "For they
considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened."
This verse remains somewhat of a mystery to me, but I believe it does suggest
their complicity with the multitudes in making Christ an earthly king. Their
hearts were hardened at the miracle of bread. The result of that miracle was
that the crowd wanted to take Him by force and make Him king. Jesus separated
His disciples at that time from the crowds and sent them into a storm. I believe
this is the right explanation for their hardened hearts. Have you, too,
hardened your heart against the Lord when you did not follow His Will but
insisted on your own free will (that is never the will of God)?
"And
when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to
the shore." We are given further description of this moment in
the Gospel of St John: "Then they willingly received him into the
ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went."
(John 6:21) When Christ is with us, we are immediately at the place we
are supposed to be!
"And
when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him,"
that is, those people on the shore. Often it is the profane and lost who may
recognize Christ more readily than those who should know Him best. At first
sight, the people on the shore KNEW Him!
"And ran through that whole region round about, and began to
carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was.
And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they
laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were
but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole."
The faith of these people on the shore was a shallow faith that extended only
to the physical needs of their diseased, but even a shallow faith is far better
than no faith at all. That kind of faith will, in the least, profit them in
this world, but may fall short of profiting them in eternity. They desired to
only touch His garment to be healed – and they WERE healed thereby. Their faith
in His power to heal was not in His garment, but in Him alone – and that is
where our faith should be centered – not simply for blessings in the life, but
more so for blessings in the life to come. At every petty need, do you trouble
God for relief? How often do you simply pray a prayer solely to thank Him for
His grace and benefits and ask nothing more than that His Will be done? The
Lord's Prayer is a good place to start if you are unaware as to form.
Bishop
Dennis Campbell’s Sunday Sermon
As is oft the case, we are honored to present Bishop Dennis’ Sunday sermon
presented to his parish. Dennis
has an excellent command of scripture and is able to present it in a manner which
is completely understandable to the rest of us. This year’s sermons are drawn from the book of
Psalms, or, as it is known by Anglicans, "The Psalter" which begins on page 343 of the Book of Common
Prayer.
Joyful in the
Lord - Psalm 66
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
29 January 2012
Psalm 66
MAKE a joyful noise
unto God, all ye lands:
2Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.
3Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through
the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.
4All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee;
they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
5Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing
toward the children of men.
6He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood
on foot: there did we rejoice in him.
7He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the
nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
8O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise
to be heard:
9Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet
to be moved.
10For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as
silver is tried.
11Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction
upon our loins.
12Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went
through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy
place.
13I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay
thee my vows,
14Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when
I was in trouble.
15I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with
the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.
16Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare
what he hath done for my soul.
17I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my
tongue.
18If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear
me:
19But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice
of my prayer.
20Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor
his mercy from me.
Psalm 66 is a beautiful and generous invitation from
God. Its theme is well stated in its very first words, "O Be joyful
in God." It is an invitation to enter into the source and
being of all that is real and true and beautiful, and joyful in this life and
forever; God I said God is the source of all the is beautiful. Most of us
have noticed that as Western culture gets further from God its art becomes more
ugly. It is no accident that a culture attempting to base itself on
Christian values gave the world Handle's "Messiah", while a culture
attempting to "free" itself of Christianity gave the world
"Purple Haze." Debussy was not a Christian, but he lived in a culture
still shaped by Christian values, and you can hear that in his music.
Much Rap is the unmusic of a culture that has no memory or desire for Christian
values, and you can hear that in it. We see this pattern followed
throughout culture, from economics to interpersonal relationships. In
economics, people are reduced to wage slaves making useless products people
only want because they have been told to by manipulative advertisments.
Work, in this kind of setting, becomes ugly because there is very little beauty
in working on an assembly line to make overpriced toys that will soon break,
wear out, or need to be replaced due to planned obsolescence.
Let's look at interpersonal relationships. Our culture
likes to congratulate itself on the way it values people, yet interpersonal
relationships are shallow and fluid because people are not willing to make
serious commitments to other people. Commitment is viewed as inhibiting
personal freedom, meaning, and self fulfillment. We can't let other
people get in the way of our self fulfillment, so we drift in and out of
relationships on the basis of whether we find them useful or not, based on the
question, "do they meet my needs." In this system people
become tools and toys for our own amusement and use. That's ugly. There
is no beauty in it. It is selfish and abusive and cruel. But what
else can we expect in a culture that teaches us to love ourselves rather than
to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves?
In contrast to what we see in this fallen world, Scripture
teaches us work can be meaningful and relationships can be happy and lasting
sources of joy, when pursued according to God's wisdom given to us in the
Bible. His ways are the ways of life, His laws are more valuable than gold, His
truth sets us free. We can "Be joyful in God" because in the
there is joy in God.
Psalm 66 is especially appropriate for the Fourth Sunday
after Epiphany because we continue to celebrate the revelation of Christ to the
Gentiles, and Psalm 66 invites all people, Jews and Gentiles, into the joy of
the Lord. "O Be joyful in God all ye lands." We
see this invitation repeated several times in the Psalm. "All the
world shall worship thee." "O come hither and behold the works
of God." "O praise our God, ye peoples." There is
not one person who is excluded from this invitation. It is not for Jews
alone; not for "religious" people alone, not just for
"good" people, or rich people, or poor, or male, or female
people. It is for all people in all places in all times. Thus, our
Lord Himself said in our reading from Matthew, "many shall come from the
east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the
kingdom of heaven." It was Christ Himself who commissioned His
Church to send His invitation around the world, saying, "Go ye therefore
and teach all nations." "Nations" does not refer to
political entities. It refers to groups and families of people. In
Greek, it is the word from which we get our English word, "ethnic,"
so the invitation is to all people of every ethnicity, every race, tribe,
language, nationality, and identity. It is a major part of the Church's
mission to invite them to receive the forgiveness of sins in Christ, and peace
with God through the blood of His cross. Christ invites all to dwell in
God and to walk with others in a new Kingdom and a new humanity that is a
foretaste of the oneness with God and each other we will enjoy forever in
Heaven.
Verses 5-11 of the Psalm recount what God has done for Israel
as an example of what God wants to do for all people. Specifically, they
retell the story of God delivering the Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt, and
bringing them into the land of Canaan. Yes, God allowed ancient Egypt to
oppress Israel for a while. He allowed men to ride over their head; they
went through fire and water (vs. 11). But He also parted the sea so they
could go through on dry land (5) and brought them into a place where they could
live life as God intended all mankind to live, in peace and freedom and
righteousness. Verse 11 describes this place as a "wealthy"
place, meaning a place of joy and wealth in the soul.
The Church has always seen the Exodus as a picture of the
spiritual freedom purchased for God's people in Jesus Christ. We also see
the work of Christ implied throughout Psalm 66. We rejoice in God
because Christ is our joy. He parted the water for Israel and He baptized
us into Himself as He baptized Israel in the sea. He is the Passover Lamb
whose blood saves His people from the destroyer. He brings us out of the
slavery and oppression of sin into a wealthy place that is not defined by
political or geographical boundaries, but by His love and peace and grace, for
He Himself is our dwelling place now and forever. Had this Psalm been
written in the New Testament era it would have explicitly recounted Christ's
life and death and resurrection. As it is, these events are implied
throughout the Psalm. We may always find this Christological meaning in
the Psalms.
God brought Israel out of Egypt to invite all people to learn
of Him through the Jews. Christ died on the cross "that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
These things are for all people. These things are for "whosoever
believeth." But Psalm 66 also tells you what He wants to do for you individually,
what He wants to do for your soul (14). He hears your prayers according
to verse 17, which is the same as saying He welcomes and receives you. He
does not cast out your prayers and He does not cast you out of His presence.
Some of the greatest words ever heard by human ears or read by human eyes are
the words of Christ found in John 6:37, "him that cometh to me I will in
no wise cast out." This MAN, Christ Jesus, who is God incarnate, who
created and sustains this vast universe and also the unseen spiritual worlds we
can only glimpse in Scripture but which are more vast and real and solid than
the one we see, wants to hear your prayers, wants your love, wants your
fellowship, and wants to bless you in ways that go exceeding abundantly beyond
all that you are able to ask or think (Eph. 3:20). He has invited you to
come to Him, and has promised that He will receive all who come to Him. He will
hear your prayer.
He will not turn His mercy from you. David, for all his
accomplishments and success, was a sinner whose only hope was the mercy of
God. He was just like the rest of us, for all humanity is united in sin,
and the only hope for receiving anything good from God is to receive it as a
free gift from Him. A few moments ago I quoted the words of Christ, "him
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." Now I turn your
attention to the last verse of Psalm 66, "Praised be God who hath not cast
out my prayer, nor turned His mercy from me." God does not
turn His mercy away from those who come to Him in Biblical faith. He is
always ready to receive penitent sinners. He is always ready to forgive,
always ready to bless, always ready to pardon and absolve "all those who
truly repent and unfeignedly believe His holy Gospel." He died on
the cross to bring His mercy to you. He will never take it away from
those who truly want it.
"Wherefore let us beseech Him to grant
us true repentance, and His Holy Spirit, that those things may please Him which
we do at this present; and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and
holy; so that at the last we may come to His eternal joy; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen."
--
tR. Dennis Campbell
Bishop of Diocese of Virginia
Rector, Holy Trinity Anglican
Orthodox Church
Powhatan, Virginia
www.HolyTrinityAnglicanOrthodoxChurch.org
www.lifeinthescriptures.blogspot.com
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