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Ash Wednesday
The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday
First Sunday in
Lent
Sunday Report
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday services were held
in the evening on schedule. We did
the Penitential Office and quite enjoyed the peaceful experience. As expected we had three in attendance.
In addition, to the Penitential
Office, we read the propers which are found on pages 124 and 125 in the Book of
Common Prayer:
LENTEN SEASON
The first day of Lent, commonly
called
Ash Wednesday.
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost
forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and
contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our
wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and
forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.
For the Epistle. Joel ii. 12.
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URN ye even to me, saith the LORD, with all your
heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your
heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repent- eth
him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing
behind him; even a meat-offering and a drink-offering unto the Lord your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: gather the
people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children,
and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber,
and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD,
weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O
Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule
over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
The Gospel. St. Matthew vi. 16.
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HEN fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad
countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to
fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou
fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to
fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in
secret, shall reward thee openly. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon
earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
¶ The same
Collect, Epistle, and Gospel shall serve for every day after, unto the next
Sunday, except upon the Feast of St. Matthias.
Bishop
Jerry Ogles on Ash Wednesday
Letter for
Ash Wednesday 2014
This Ash Wednesday will be a time of deep reflection on the benefits and
provisions of God, but also for our abject failure to be a righteous and Holy
people. Have we done well? Have we been a people of perfect obedience? Have we
honored God in all of our ways? We not speak with complete credibility of
others in the church, but we can assuredly speak for our own selves – WE HAVE
NOT BEEEN SO OBEDIENT AND HOLY! Each of us have been, as the Gospel text
recommended for the day suggests – PRODIGALS. We have happily taken of the
blessings of God and gone into a far country to waste
all. But we have been a righteous people, you
aver! Have you really been? Have you taken time to visit the poor and sick on
every occasion? Have you given generously of your resources to the work of God?
Have you tithed your time and your study moments as well as all else? Has there been time enough to
confess all of your sins that you can, at least, remember committing? I use
only the opening lines of the Gospel and Epistle for they are suggestive of the
whole.
10 “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of
God over one sinner that repenteth. 11 And
he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And
the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods
that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all
together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his
substance with riotous living . . .” (Luke 15:9-13)
Let us read the opening lines of this great parable and discover how we are
different from that Prodigal who left his loving Father for the allurements of
the world. We have taken the blessings of God in our own hands and have
squandered them on desires for which they were not intended – yes, you and I
have done so. It is not a nebulous tale intended only for listeners of 2,000
years ago, but for you and me.
Do we doubt that these parables of Jesus apply to us?
1 “God,
who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom
he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by he word of his power, when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;” (Heb 1:1-3)
As we observe this ASH Wednesday, let us remember that obedience, repentance,
love, and faithfulness are not the things to be boasted of. We do not smear
ashes on our faces, or disfigure them, to be seen of men as fasting and
repentant. The words of Jesus have direct application to the means of fasting
and of observing this beginning of the Lenten Season: “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a
sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men
to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash
thy face; That thou appear not unto men
to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in
secret, shall reward thee openly.” (Matt
6:16-18) “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks an OUTWARD sign, but
the Lord looks into the heart. “Therefore let us keep the feast, not with
old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the
unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Cor 5:8) We use plain,
unleavened bread in our Communion because it represents the sinlessness of the
Savior it symbolizes. Simplicity in both worship and service is pleasing to the
Lord.
As we observe this Holy Season, let us keep
foremost in our minds that it is the Holiness of Christ, and not of ourselves,
that we observe. Our hearts are prone to sin and wickedness, but it is the
blood of Christ, shed on Mount Calvary, that cleanses us and makes us whole if
we are penitent.
Rev.
Don Fultz, Vicar - St. Peter's Anglican Orthodox Church
Sermon - Ash Wednesday
March 05, 2014
St. Matthew, Chapter 6, verses
16-21
In today’s gospel
reading, we have two subjects which Jesus spoke about in his great Sermon on
the Mount. The first is about
fasting and the second is about worldliness.
The simplest definition of
fasting is to abstain from something, normally food for a specific period of
time. It is a practice frequently
mentioned in the Bible in connection with prayer. Prayer and fasting normally go hand in hand, but this
is not always the case. You
can pray without fasting and fast without praying. However, it is when these two activities are combined and
dedicated to God’s glory that they reach their full effectiveness. It is a way to focus and rely on God
for strength, provision, and wisdom that we all need.
So what does the Bible tell us
about prayer and fasting?
The Old Testament law specifically required prayer and fasting for only
one occasion, which was the Day of Atonement. This was the day the High Priest made an atoning sacrifice
for the sins of the people.
This act of atonement brought reconciliation between the Jewish people
and God. After the blood
sacrifice was offered to the Lord, a goat was released into the wilderness to
symbolically carry away the sins of the people. Today, the Jewish people still annually recognize this
Day of Atonement and it is the most solemn and important holy day of the Jewish
calendar. It is commonly referred
to as Yom Kippur.
There are many occasions of
prayer and fasting mentioned in the bible. In the Old Testament, David pleaded with God for the
health of his child. He
fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying on the ground. (2nd Samuel 12:16). Moses fasted when he was on Mount
Sinai receiving the Law from God.
Exodus 34:28 tells us “And he was there with the Lord forty days and
forty nights; he neither eat bread, nor drink water.”
Prayer and fasting was often done
in times of stress or trouble.
David fasted when he learned that Saul and Jonathan had been
killed. (2nd Samuel 1:12). Nehemiah had a time of prayer and
fasting upon learning that Jerusalem was still in ruins. (Nehemiah 1:4). Darius, the king of Persia,
fasted all night after he was forced to put Daniel in the den of lions. (Daniel
6:18).
Although, we do not find any
direct command to fast in the New Testament, There are many instances in which
Prayer and fasting occurred.
John the Baptist taught his disciples to fast. (Mark 2:18). Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights before
His temptations by Satan. (Matt
4:2). Paul and Barnabas spent time
in prayer and fasting for the appointment of elders in the churches.
(Acts14:23). Fasting can
also be a form of worship.
Luke 2:37 tells us “and she was a widow of about four score and four
years (84) , which departed not from the temple, but served God with fasting
and prayers night and day.”
Although, the word of God does
not specifically command Christians to spend time in fasting, it is still
something we should consider doing.
However, far too often, the focus on fasting is on abstaining from
food. Instead, the main
purpose should be to take our eyes off from the things of this world and focus
our thoughts on God. Fasting
should always be limited to a set time because not eating for an extended
period of time can be damaging to one’s body. We should not use fasting as a diet or method of
losing weight. Instead, we
should use it as a way to gain a deeper fellowship with God.
Fasting isn’t possible for
everyone. This is probably why Jesus did not make it a direct command in the
New Testament. Many a poor person
never has enough to eat and it would be an insult to tell him to fast. Many a sickly person can hardly
be kept well with the closest attention to diet, and could not fast without
bringing on illness.
It is a matter that in which
everyone must be persuaded in his own mind and not rashly condemn others who do
not agree with him.
One thing only must never be
forgotten as our Lord Jesus tells us in the Gospel reading, those who fast
should do it quietly, secretly, and without ostentation. Let them not “appear to men” to
fast. Let them not fast
to man but to God.
Spending time in prayer and
fasting is not automatically effective in accomplishing the desires of those
who fast. Fasting or no
fasting, God only promises to answer our prayers when we ask according to his
will. 1 John 5:14-15 tells us,
“This is the confidence we have in Him;
that, if we ask anything
according to his will, he heareth us;
And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know we have the petitions that we desired
of Him.”
In the Prophet Isaiah’s time, the
people grumbled that they had fasted, yet God did not answer in the way they
wanted. (Isaiah 58:3-4. Isaiah responded by proclaiming
that the external show of fasting and prayer, without the proper heart attitude
was futile (Isaiah 58:5-9). How
can we know if we are fasting and praying according to God’s will? Are you praying and fasting for things
that honor and glorify God? If we
ask for something that is not honoring to God or not God’s will for our lives,
God will not give what we ask for, whether we fast or not. So how can we find God’s
will? God promises to give
us wisdom when we ask. James
1:5 tells us, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to
all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
The other subject that Jesus
warned us about in his sermon on the mount is worldliness. This is one of the greatest
dangers that beset man’s souls. It
is no wonder that we find our Lord speaking so strongly about it. It seems so harmless to seek our
happiness in this world and to pay close attention to our business. This is fine as long as we keep
clear of open sins and make God number one in our lives. However, too often we are so
focused on either our Job or business or other activities of this world, we
lose focus on God. God becomes
secondary in our life. Yes, we
may go to church every Sunday but our minds and hearts are on things of the
world rather than on God.
Some people spend their entire life laying up treasures on this earth
and sadly when they die everything is left behind.
The worst is not the things left
behind on earth but one’s soul could be lost forever if God was not number one
in their life and they did not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Matthew 16, verse 26 warns us about
this “So what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose
his own soul?”
Jesus tells us it is a narrow
road to heaven. When a man asks
Jesus the question, are there few that be saved? Jesus responded by saying: “Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to
enter in, and shall not be able.”
(St. Luke 13: 23-24).
Jesus also warned us about this in his Sermon on the Mount recorded in
St. Matthew chapter 7, verses 13 and 14 which he said: “
Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the
way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; Because strait is the gate, and
narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
We must never lose sight of
the fact that things of this earth are only temporary but things of heaven are
eternal. Heaven will not
be like things on this earth. There will be no crimes or environmental
concerns. Just as Jesus tells us
in verse 19 and 20: “Lay not up
for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves break through and steal.”
“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through or steal.”
We should always remember
this: Where are our
hearts? Whom do we love best….the
world or God? Are we walking on the
narrow road to heaven?
Are our main affections on things
of this earth or things in heaven?
If our treasure is based on earthly things, then our hearts will also be
earthly. Just as Jesus tells
us in verse 21: “For where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also. “
An
Ashless Ash Wednesday for Anglicans
http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/
In the sixteenth century the
English Reformers abolished the imposition of ashes on the heads of
parishioners on Ash Wednesday due to the superstitious beliefs that had become
associated with the practice. The practice was too closely tied the Medieval
doctrines of attrition, auricular confession, contrition, priestly absolution,
and penance.
The imposition of ashes was not
reintroduced into the Church of England and her daughter churches until the
nineteenth century and then by the Ritualists. It was one of the errors in
doctrine, practice, and ritual the Romeward Movement revived to make the
Anglican Church more like the Roman Catholic Church in the hopes they would
help to affect a reunion between the Church of England and the Church of Rome.
The 1979 Book of Common Prayer
popularized the practice in the Episcopal Church in the closing decades of the
twentieth century.
The following articles on Ashes,
Ash Wednesday, Fasting, and Lent are taken from A Protestant Dictionary, which
was published under the auspices of the Protestant Reformation Society in 1904,
and was compiled for Evangelicals in the Church of England and the Church of
Ireland.
Ashes Used
for sprinkling persons by the Romish Church. Before use, the ashes are
dedicated previously by a special prayer offered by a bishop. In that prayer,
invocation is made to God "that whosoever shall sprinkle themselves with
these ashes for the redemption of their sins may obtain health of body and
protection of soul."
Ash-Wednesday A
mediaeval title given to the first day of Lent. It had formerly two names: (1)
"Caput jejunii," the "head of the fast," and (2) "Dies
cinerum." The forty days of Lent, being appointed in memory of our Lord’s
fast in the wilderness as a season of abstinence, date from the Wednesday of
the first week, because it was never the custom to fast on Sundays, and in this
way the full number of forty is made up. The name of "Ash Wednesday"
was given in reference to an ancient discipline, described by Gratian,
according to which penitents had to appear before the Bishop and Clergy clothed
in sack cloth. The seven penitential Psalms were then sung, after which ashes
were thrown upon them, and they covered their heads with sackcloth. The Church
of England, however, has in no way retained or sanctioned those superstitions.
By the Scriptures appointed to be read and the prayers to be used, she has
rather exhibited the true ideal of a fast. The old title of Ash-Wednesday is only
employed as an alternative for the " first day of Lent," because
before the Reformation it was "commonly so called." The revival of
such practices is therefore entirely foreign to her prescribed ritual and is
illegal.
Fasting There
is no command to fast in the New Testament. In the Sermon on the Mount our
Lord, speaking to Jews who were then accustomed to fast, says: "When thou
fastest, anoint thine head and wash thy face ; that thou appear not unto men to
fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret ; and thy Father, which seeth in
secret, shall reward thee openly (Matt. vi. 17, 18). Under the Old Testament
there was but one fast distinctly enjoined namely, "the fast" on the
great day of atonement (Lev. xvi. 29-31), which is referred to in Acts xxvii. 9.
Other fasts were, however, enjoined on special occasions by the direction of
the civil or religious authorities (e.g. Jer, xxxvi. 9). After the destruction
of the Jewish State fasts became more numerous (Zech. vii. 5). But when the
Lord was inquired of concerning those fasts, the answer given by the prophet
Zechariah showed that those fasts were neither enjoined nor forbidden, and that
persons were at liberty to make use of such days or not, according as they
found fasting beneficial or otherwise to themselves; such acts not being
regarded as in themselves meritorious in the sight of God (Zech. vii. 5/.). The
Lord, by the mouth of Isaiah (ch. Iviii. 5-7), asks, " Is it such a fast
that I have chosen ? a day for a man to afflict his soul ? is it to bow down
his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him ? wilt thou
call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord ? Is not this the fast that
I have chosen ? to loose the bands of wickedness ; to undo the heavy burdens? .
. . Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor
that are cast out to thy house ? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him
; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh ? "
Our Lord' s teaching concerning
the times most suitable for fasting is set forth in the following passage:
" Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bride groom
is with them ? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from
them, and then shall they fast" (Matt. ix. 15), which passage has been
explained by the Church of England in her Homily of Fasting, Part II., as
follows: "Ye shall note, that so long as God revealeth His mercy unto us,
and giveth us of His benefits, either spiritual or corporal, we are said to be
with the Bridegroom at the marriage. . . . But the marriage is said then to be
ended, and the Bridegroom to be gone, when Almighty God smiteth us with
affliction, and seenieth to leave us in the midst of a number of adversities.
So God sometimes striketh private men privately with sundry adversities, as
trouble of mind, loss of friends, loss of goods, long and dangerous sicknesses,
& c. Then it is a fit time for that man to humble himself to Almighty God
by fasting, and to mourn and bewail his sins with a sorrowful heart. . . .
Again, when God shall afflict a whole region or country with wars, with famine,
with pestilence . . . and such other calamities, then is it time for all states
and sorts of people . . . to humble themselves by fasting, and bewail their
sinful living before God."
The principle here laid down can
be exemplified from Scripture histories. David fasted when his child was sick
(2 Sam. xii. 16) ; Esther, with her maidens, fasted ere she went in to
Ahasuerus (Esth. iv. 16) ; Ezra fasted at the river of Ahava (Ezra viii. 21);
Daniel set himself to seek the Lord by prayer and fasting (Dan. ix. 3). Christ
said of certain demons, "This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer
and fasting" (Mark ix. 29), but the oldest MSS. omit the words "and
fasting." (See R.V. and marginal note on Matt. xvii. 21.) And prior to the
solemn ordination of elders, Paul and Barnabas "prayed with fasting"
(Acts xiv. 23).
Our Lord Himself fasted forty
days and forty nights, but during that time He did not experience the pangs of
hunger. The Gospels which record the Temptation, all call attention to that
fact. St. Matthew says, " He was afterward an hungered " (Matt. iv.
2). St. Mark does not mention the fasting (Mark i. 12, 13). St. Luke says of
those days, "And when they were ended, He afterward hungered." The
forty days appear, therefore, to have been spent in rapt ecstasy and
contemplation. The actual temptation occurred at the close of that period.
Fasting, therefore, appears to be
of value only when employed for the purpose of giving oneself up to continuous
prayer, while abstinence from special kinds of food is nowhere enjoined or
recommended in Scripture, although Daniel, in his penitential sorrow of three
weeks, abstained from all pleasant food (Dan. x. 2, 3). St. Paul alludes to the
"commanding to abstain from meats" as a mark of the apostasy (1 Tim.
iv. 3), and a sign of weak faith in persons who attached importance to such
trifling matters. " The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but
righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost " (Rom. xiv. 17, and
the whole of that chapter). In fine, when fasting is employed in order to be
able to spend the time in prayer, it may be recommended ; but abstinence from
food as a means of punishing the body and laying up " merit " is to
be strongly condemned. An abstinence from certain food may be useful for
"bodily exercise" or discipline "bodily exercise profiteth a
little," or "for a little while " (1 Tim. iv. 8) such exercise
has occasionally been useful, but is not to be regarded as really a spiritual
work.
The prohibition to eat meat on
fast days, prescribed by the statute 2 & 3 Edward VI., c. 19, which may be
alluded to in "the Tables and Rules " attached to the Book of Common
Prayer which mentions " the Fasts, and Days of Abstinence to be observed
in the year," is further dwelt on in the Homily on Fasting, Part II.,
which states that the statute of Edward VI. referred to, was framed for
political reasons. It was " in consideration of the maintaining of fisher-towns
bordering upon the seas, and for the increase of fishermen, of whom do spring
mariners to go upon the sea, to the furnishing of the navy of the realm. . . .
Such laws of princes and other magistrates are not made to put holiness in one
kind of meat and drink more than another, to make one day more holy than
another, but are grounded merely upon policy," namely, as afterwards
explained, for the increase and support of the English navy, and "for the
sooner reducing of victuals to a more moderate price, to the better sustenance
of the poor." [C. H. H. W.]
Lent The
word is derived either from the A.S. lencten (spring), or from the Dutch lenten
(to make mild), the severity of winter being then relaxed. Lent is a period of
forty days in the spring, immediately before Easter, prescribed as a time of
fasting. The Greek and Latin names for Lent simply indicate the number of its
days. Lent is asserted to have been of early, and even of Apostolic origin,
but, had the latter been the case, some allusion would have been made to it in
the New Testament. But in the New Testament there is no fast prescribed, nor
even a positive exhortation to fasting (see FASTING). Our Lord s declaration in
the A.V. concerning the boy possessed with an unclean spirit, is often quoted
that "this kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting"
(Matt. xvii. 21; Mark ix. 29). All the best MSS., however, omit the entire
verse in the account in St. Matthew, and the word " fasting " in that
of St. Mark (see R.Y.). The same omission is made by the R.V. on MS. authority
with regard to the word "fasting" in two other verses, viz., Acts x.
30 ; 1 Cor. vii. 5. That the oldest MSS. should agree in omitting all reference
to fasting in four passages in the New Testament, where fasting was supposed to
be mentioned, is highly suggestive of interpolations made in the sacred text to
suit the ideas of a non-Apostolic Age.
The forty days of Lent are often
said to have been instituted as a fast in memory of our Lord's "fast"
of a similar period in the wilderness. But the Lord passed that period in a
state of exalted spiritual meditation or ecstasy, for St. Matthew distinctly
states that Christ’s hunger was subsequent to the forty days, "When he had
fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred" (Matt.
iv. 2). Lent had originally no real connection with the forty days fast in the
desert. Lent seems to have been first established by a Pope, about AD 130, to
be a tithe of the year (thirty-six days only), and was for centuries confined
to that period. When the additional four days were added is not certain,
probably not till the time of Pope Gregory II., who died in 731.
Our Lord, in Matt. ix. 15,
indicated that the providential circumstances of life were the true guide as to
seasons of fasting. Cassian, a disciple of Chrysostom in the fifth century,
contrasting the Primitive Church with that of his own day, said, " It
ought to be known that the observance of the forty days had no existence so
long as the perfection of that Primitive Church remained inviolate." Lent
helped in later times to increase the power of the priests. For in the Roman
and Eastern Churches dispensations which permit the eating of meat on fast days
may be obtained for a money payment, and fines are levied on those who break
the Church law by eating meat on such days without a dispensation.
Lent
Lent is coming up, it starts this
coming Wednesday, called Ash Wednesday.
So, what does the word Lent mean? It has an obscure origin, and is
probably a corruption of Lencten, or a similar term in ancient Anglo, Saxon,
and Germanic languages, all of which referred to spring, new life, and hope. Although it is generally considered to
be a time of mourning and repentance, it is more than that, it is like death, a
time of new life and hope because by means of the death of Christ, we receive
new life.
Many avoid Lent and Holy Week
because they think it isn’t a happy and uplifting time—but to be honest,
neither is most of life. Sometimes we come to church all scrubbed up, dressed
nicely, with smiles on our faces, and when people ask how we are, we reply that
everything is fine and we even boast how wonderful things are—but is it? Life is not always uplifting, or
wonderful, or pleasant, or joyous.
To claim it is, is to miss the whole point of the incarnation! God
became flesh in Jesus Christ. Jesus faced temptation, He suffered hunger and
thirst, He suffered the agony of crucifixion. Jesus our God did not face these
things so that we would be exempt from them, He faced these things so that we
would have dignity in them, He faced these things that in Him we might have
triumph.
The forty days commemorate the
significant "forty" periods in Scripture (although forty is not
always significant), including the forty years the Jews wandered in the desert
after they had been rescued by God from Egypt, and which did not end until they
repented. Jonah preached to Nineveh that God's judgment would come on them in
forty days. During that time the people repented and thus were spared God's
judgment. Jesus was tested by the Devil in the desert for forty days before He
began His public ministry, announcing salvation to the repentant and judgment
to those who continued to rebel against God. Jesus prophesied that God's
judgment would come against Israel for rejecting Him as Messiah within the time
of His own generation (Matt.
24; Luke 21; Mark 13). Within forty years of His death, burial, and
resurrection, Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple was so ravaged that
"not one stone [was] left here upon another" (Matt. 24:2). The Jewish Christians,
however, escaped this judgment of God by fleeing to Pella before the final
Roman siege, just as Jesus had warned them to do (Matt. 24:16-21).
Lent is a time for Christians to
contemplate their sinfulness, repent, ask God's forgiveness, and realize the
infinite sacrifice God made on their behalf. It is to be a time of quiet
contemplation, but not a time of despair, since it culminates in the
commemoration of the resurrection. Traditionally, those who are joining the church
spend this period in special instruction regarding Christian doctrine,
practice, and responsibility. Historically, prospective members
("catechumens") did not participate in the Lord's Supper portion of
the Sunday services until they were received into full membership on the Sunday
of the Resurrection of Our Lord. For them, this first experience of Ash
Wednesday and Lent has special significance as God's eternal plan of salvation
is applied to them personally.
Jesus told us that if we fast we
are not to make a show of it, like hypocrites do. A fast is different from a
hunger strike: a fast is a personal act of devotion to God, while a hunger
strike is a public act most often used to shine a spotlight on injustice. A
fast is also different from anorexia nervosa: it is disciplined diet, not total abstention from food. During a
religious fast, you still eat, you just abstain from certain foodstuffs.
Traditionally, people have fasted by eliminating luxury items from their diets,
such as meats. A fast can consist of eating whatever you want, but drinking
only water.
More positively, you can fast in
other areas beyond food, you can commit to a something that can benefit the
church, such cutting back in an entertainment area, using that time for Bible
study and donating the savings to the church.
On Palm Sunday, there were crowds
who cheered Jesus as the King, but where were all those fair-weather friends
when Jesus prayed in agony on Gethsemane, and where were they when He hung upon
the cross? Let us be bold to join Him, fasting in the wilderness for forty days
during Lent; let us be bold to pray with Him in the garden on Maundy Thursday,
let us fearlessly stand at the foot of His cross on Good Friday, so that we may
witness His Resurrection and His Ascension, and join in His triumphant reign.
Mite
Boxes
If
you read this report at all, you know the Anglican Orthodox Church (AOC), and
this parish in particular, is not about money. Not that money is not useful, but the parish has plenty. Any extra we get, we send it to the AOC
to use for their mission work. The
AOC works on a very slim budget, they aren’t about money either. The AOC is about the Great Commission;
to go forth and spread The Word of the Lord:
18And Jesus came and
spake unto them, saying, ‘…19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo,
I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Mt. 28:19-20)
You may not realize it, but the
AOC has national church affiliates in 22 countries around the world, that does
take a little money. Not great
quantities of money, but some and as a church, we would be dirt poor, if we had
dirt.
So, that is where the Mite Boxes
come in. Ash Wednesday is 13
February 2013; Easter Sunday is 31 March 2013. That period is Lent.
Often thought of as a time for fasting, it is more importantly a time to
channel your attention towards God.
A time to let your heart open to the Holy Ghost that you might come
closer to God and perhaps do His Work more effectively.
So, to exercise this concept, we
are asking you to cut back. We
know the economy is not really great and you are probably cutting back already.
So, cut back a bit more. Take part of your savings every
day and put it in the Mite Box. If
you did not cut back on a given day, dig into your wallet or purse and cut out
a bit of cash for the Mite Box anyway.
Every day, except Sundays.
Sundays are the Lord’s Day and a day of celebration. They are not part of Lent. By Easter Sunday, you will have a full
Mite Box. Bring it to church, this
church, another church, that is best.
If you cannot find a church to actually go to on Easter, you probably
aren’t looking hard enough, but pull the money out and send us a check, payable
to the Anglican Orthodox Church and we will send it on.
One box for each member of the
family. A little bit, just a mite,
every day. Every day, miss
none. Every day, every body in the
family can do just a little bit.
When you drop your daily contribution in, think, “Did I do what I could
today for the Lord? Did I fall
short or meet the standard? Can I
do better tomorrow? Will I?” It should be a time of reflection. It will be if you do it.
By the way, what is a Mite
Box? Named after the smallest of
Roman coins, a normal wage of the time being 10 mites per hour, of which two
were donated by the widow, in Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4, it is normally a
small cardboard box, say 3 inches each dimension, a cube piggy bank so to
speak. If you don’t have one,
call, email or write. We have a
pile of them.
Don’t miss this opportunity to
contribute to the Lord’s Work and make your life better at the same time.
First Sunday in Lent
Sunday
Report
Today was the First Sunday in
Lent. Sunrise temperature on Mount
Olympus was a lovely 50°F under the bright blue skies of a mild Santa Ana
condition. By the time church
started, the temperature had climbed to 64°F. The nice weather brought the usual three people to church.
On
Point
Someone asked, where do the quotes come
from? The answer is from the
people who uttered them. But, how
did you find them? Oh, that. Some from Bishop Jerry, many from Rev
Bryan Dabney, a few from other places, some from Rev Geordie Menzies-Grierson, but
overall mostly from Bryan. He
always has a few great ones to share. On to the On Point quotes –
Be ye
therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
St. Luke 12:40
A free
people [claim] their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the
gift of their chief magistrate.
Thomas Jefferson
Rights
of British America, 1774
I'm the master, ma'am. I'm the
master.
Lt. Paul Vance
Connecticut State
Police Spokesman
But let there be no change by
usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it
is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed.
George Washington
President and General
of the Armies
Farewell Address, 1796
Action speaks louder than words;
but not nearly as often.
Mark Twain
Aslan is about
“Look! Look! Look!” cried Lucy.
“Where? What?” said everyone.
“The Lion,” said Lucy. “Aslan himself. Didn’t you see?” Her
face had changed completely and her eyes shone.
“Do you really mean—?” began Peter.
“Where did you think you saw him?” asked Susan.
“Don’t talk like a grown-up,” said Lucy, stamping her foot.
“I didn’t think I saw him. I saw him. . . . Right up there between those
mountain ashes. . . . Just the opposite of the way you want to go. And he
wanted us to go where he was—up there.”
“How do you know that was what he wanted?” asked Edmund.
“He—I—I just know,” said Lucy, “by his face.”. . .
“Her Majesty may well have seen a lion,” put in Trumpkin.
“There are lions in these woods, I’ve been told. But it needn’t have been a
friendly and talking lion any more than the bear was a friendly and talking
bear.”
“Oh, don’t be so stupid,” said
Lucy. “Do you think I don’t know Aslan when I see him?”
“He’d be a pretty elderly lion by now,” said Trumpkin, “if
he’s one you knew when you were here before! And if it could be the same one,
what’s to prevent him having gone wild and witless like so many others?”
Lucy turned crimson and I think
she would have flown at Trumpkin, if Peter had not laid his hand on her arm.
“The D.L.F. doesn’t understand. How could he? You must just take it, Trumpkin,
that we do really know about Aslan; a little bit about him, I mean. And you
mustn’t talk about him like that again. It isn’t lucky for one thing: and it’s
all nonsense for another. The only question is whether Aslan was really there.”
“But I know he was,” said Lucy, her eyes filling with tears.
“Yes, Lu, but we don’t, you see,”
said Peter.
CS Lewis
Prince Caspian
TO HILA NEWMAN, an
eleven-year-old girl who had sent Lewis her drawings and a letter of
appreciation for the first three Chronicles of Narnia: On Lewis’s care not to
decode the Chronicles of Narnia.
3 June 1953
Thank you so much for your lovely
letter and pictures. I realised at once that the coloured one was not a
particular scene but a sort of line-up like what you would have at the very end
if it was a play instead of stories. The [Voyage of the] DAWN TREADER is not to
be the last: There are to be 4 more, 7 in all. Didn’t you notice that Aslan
said nothing about Eustace not going back? I thought the best of your pictures
was the one of Mr. Tumnus at the bottom of the letter.
As to Aslan’s other name, well I
want you to guess. Has there never been anyone in this world who (1.) Arrived
at the same time as Father Christmas. (2.) Said he was the son of the Great
Emperor. (3.) Gave himself up for someone else’s fault to be jeered at and
killed by wicked people. (4.) Came to life again. (5.) Is sometimes spoken of
as a Lamb (see the end of the Dawn Treader). Don’t you really know His name in
this world? Think it over and let me know your answer!
Reepicheep in your coloured
picture has just the right perky, cheeky expression. I love real mice. There
are lots in my rooms in College but I have never set a trap. When I sit up late
working they poke their heads out from behind the curtains just as if they were
saying, ‘Hi! Time for you to go to bed. We want to come out and play.’
Jack Lewis
The Collected
Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume III
For there is one God, and one
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
I St. Timothy 2:5
Government always finds a need
for whatever money it gets.
President Ronald Reagan
To acknowledge Christ merely as a
good man, or an inspired teacher, is in fact to deny him in his true character
as the Son of God...
Rev. Charles Hodge
19th century
American theologian and author
Do you know of any company in
America where for a few billion, you could become the CEO, run up trillion
dollar deficits and parcel out billions to your friends who will then pay the
money back to you so you can take over the company again four years later without
the shareholders being able to force you out or have you arrested? This company
will allow you to indulge yourself, travel anywhere at company expenses, live
the good life, and only work when you feel like it. It will legally indemnify
you against all shareholder lawsuits, while allowing you to dispose not only of
their investments, but of their personal property and that of their children
while obligating them to a debt slavery that will run for generations? There is
only one such corporation. It’s the United States Government.
Daniel Greenfield
21st century
American commentator
(Government Power is an
Economic Inequality, 2-25-14)
Propers
Each Sunday there are Propers:
special prayers and readings from the Bible. There is a Collect for the Day; that is a single thought
prayer, most written either before the re-founding of the Church of England in
the 1540s or written by Bishop Thomas Cranmer, the first Archbishop of
Canterbury after the re-founding.
The Collect for the Day is to be
read on Sunday and during Morning and Evening Prayer until the next Sunday. The
Epistle is normally a reading from one of the various Epistles, or letters, in
the New Testament. The Gospel is a
reading from one of the Holy Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Collect is said by the minister as
a prayer, the Epistle can be read by either a designated reader (as we do in
our church) or by one of the ministers and the Holy Gospel, which during the
service in our church is read by an ordained minister or our Deacon Striker.
The propers are the same each
year, except if a Red Letter Feast, that is one with propers in the prayerbook,
falls on a Sunday, then those propers are to be read instead, except in a White
Season, where it is put off. Red
Letter Feasts, so called because in the Altar Prayerbooks the titles are in
red, are special days. Most of the
Red Letter Feasts are dedicated to early saints instrumental in the development
of the church, others to special events.
Some days are particularly special and the Collect for that day is to be
used for an octave (eight days) or an entire season, like Advent or Lent.
The Propers for today are found
on Page 125-127, with the Collect first:
The First Sunday in Lent.
The
Collect.
|
O
|
LORD who for our sake didst fast forty
days and forty nights; Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh
being subdued to the Spirit we may ever obey thy godly motions in
righteousness, and true holiness, to thy honour and glory, who livest and
reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
And due to the rubric, the Collect for the Day is
followed by the Collect for Ash Wednesday, which is found on Page 124:
The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday.
The
Collect.
|
A
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LMIGHTY and
everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the
sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite
hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our
wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and
forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the
Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.
Dru Arnold read the Epistle for today, which came from
Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, starting at the First Verse of the
Sixth Chapter. In what at first
appears to be an incomprehensible single sentence, Paul asks us to be worthy of
the grace that God has given us.
He tells the people when they needed him, he was there. They need to be there for those around
them. They must not frustrate
God’s work by showing up late, or not at all. Those around us are watching our actions in the time of
testing. We have been given
eternal salvation by Jesus’ sacrifice, the understanding of the Gospel by the
Holy Ghost. We are at this time
dying here on earth, yet progressing towards eternal life in the next world, in
Jesus’ world with His help. While we may never be wealthy here on earth, our
actions can make our fellow Christians wealthy in spirit beyond measure.
If you claim to be a Christian,
you know what is right. If you are
a Christian, you do what is right, you don’t take a vote to see what the right
course of action might be. Right
does not change with public opinion and we must do the right thing. It is our actions that count, in good
times or bad. We are Christ’s
ambassadors to this world, unfortunately we do not have diplomatic immunity.
|
W
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E then, as
workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of
God in vain; (for he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the
day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time;
behold, now is the day of salvation;) giving no offence in any thing, that the
ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers
of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in
stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;
by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost,
by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of
righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honour and dishonour, by
evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet
well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as
sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having
nothing, and yet possessing all things.
Hap Arnold read this morning’s Holy Gospel which comes
from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, starting at the First Verse of the Fourth
Chapter. This portion of the Gospel tells the story of the temptation of
Christ. In many respects, it shows how little the devil understands of Christ, and
through Him, of us. If you understand how little the devil really offers you
and how much Christ offers, the temptation is ever so much less. The devil is often referred to as the
deceiver or dissimulator. His
forte is deception, he seems one thing, is another. Offers what he has no intention or ability to deliver. Ignores the inevitable result of
accepting his proffered help or inside track.
He clearly knows Jesus is the Son of God. There is no doubt in his mind. So, having understood that, consider
what he offers Jesus in temptation.
Remember, Jesus has fasted 40 days OF HIS OWN CHOICE; he who has
no real power asks Jesus to turn stone into bread to show His Power. This to the Son of He who delivered
manna daily to the Jews in the wilderness for 40 years.
Cast thyself down and let angels
catch thee; this to He who walked on water.
Up to the mountain lookout – Here
is it all yours if you worship me.
This to He who as it says in Psalm 95:
In his hand are all
the corners of the earth; * and the strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his, and
he made it; * and his hands prepared the dry land.
O come, let us
worship and fall down, * and kneel before
the Lord our Maker.
For he is the Lord
our God; * and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
The devil promised Jesus nothing
that was his to give, nothing that would help Jesus in the real world beyond
the Shadowlands. He never
does. The devil is all about
shortcuts. Remember, if the
shortcut was the best way, it would not be a shortcut
Like the temptation of Jesus, the
devil never delivers what we need, only what we may want short term. Remember as little as the devil understands of Christ, so he
understands little of us. He will
never offer you real help. Remember
that and the temptation is ever so much less.
This morning’s Gospel comes from the Gospel of Saint
Matthew, starting at the First Verse of the Fourth Chapter. This portion of the
Gospel tells the story of the temptation of Christ. In many respects, it shows how little the devil understands
of Christ, and through Him, of us.
If you understand how little the devil really offers you and how much
Christ offers, the temptation is ever so much less.
|
T
|
HEN was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he
was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be
the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and
said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy
city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou
be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his
angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest
at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is
written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh
him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the
world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give
thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee
hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him
only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and
ministered unto him.
Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - 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:
… Give us grace to use such
abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit we may ever obey thy
godly motions in righteousness, and true holiness, to thy honour and glory …
In the Collect, we ask God to help us to subdue our
natural evil tendencies so that we can live life here His way and honour His
wishes so we can be truly happy.
Without His help, we end up with what we want, not what we need. We are
asking him to help us fight our human nature and follow His divine nature, we
are attempting to replace our nature with that of God’s. It will be a long and
difficult road that we must travel, doing this, but we are going to be much
happier in the long run if we at least try. Do or do not, there is no try, Yoda
is quoted as saying, and I have found it applicable here and in my own life.
Want and Need; two words, used interchangeably in
both our speech and thought that do not mean the same thing. Think about that!
Following the thought of the Collect, Paul asks us to
be worthy of the grace God has given us.
He tells the people when they needed him, he was there. They need to be there for those around
them. They must not frustrate
God’s work by showing up late, or not at all. We are outnumbered fiercely in this world, by the enemies of
God. We are like the men in the
Battle of Ia Drang (also related to being Paul’s message, the sacrifice of
Kenneth Ogles and his fellow men in the Vietnam theatre, as well as those in
WWI, WWII and before, and now.), fiercely outnumbered by the enemy, they did
not just sit on their hands and wait for the enemy to come. They did something
about it, they took action, otherwise they were going to be overrun by the
North Vietnamese. We have to always keep moving, like the article I read this
morning about Wally Kaenzig, a 93 year old man who is one of the last survivors
of the Iwo Jima, he said on Iwo, the big deal was to keep moving so you didn’t
get hit. We want to keep moving and avoid getting hit by the forces of evil, if
we are to minister effectively.
Like them, we cannot just sit and wait, else we will be overrun by the
Forces of Satan.
Those around us are watching our actions in the time
of testing. We have been given
eternal salvation by Jesus’ sacrifice, the understanding of the Gospel by the
Holy Ghost. We are at this time
dying here on earth, yet progressing towards eternal life in the next world, in
Jesus’ world with His help. While we may never be wealthy here on earth, our
actions can make our fellow Christians wealthy in spirit beyond measure.
If you claim to be a Christian, you know what is
right. If you are a Christian, you
do what is right, you don’t take a vote to see what the right course of action
might be. Right does not change
with public opinion and we must do the right thing. In fact the public opinion
often times is rather in the wrong, see peoples opinions on homosexual marriage
and abortion to reference this. This is because of our fallen nature. We must
go especially against the grain to become Christians. The truth does not
change, as it is the constant that never changes. God is the Truth, The Word
and the Life of this universe. It is our actions that count, in good times or
bad. We are Christ’s ambassadors
to this world; unfortunately we do not have diplomatic immunity.
When the devil attempted to
tempt Christ, he shows how little he knows of Him. If we emulate our Lord, it shows how little the devil will
be able to tempt us with his deceit. If we follow Him we will be able to
withstand any temptation that arises as our Lord showed for us in the desert
2,000 years ago.
Consider how little the devil really offers you and how
much Christ offers, the temptation is ever so much less. The devil is often referred to as the
deceiver or dissimulator. His
forte is deception, he seems one thing, is another. He offers what he has no intention or ability to
deliver. He ignores the inevitable
result of accepting his proffered help or inside track. Jesus has more for us than
the devil can ever hope to offer, the promise of eternal life with Him and His
Father. The devil can never offer us anything close to that.
He clearly knows Jesus is the Son of God. There is no doubt in his mind. So, having understood that, consider
what he offers Jesus in temptation.
Remember, Jesus has fasted 40 days OF HIS OWN CHOICE; now comes
the devil daring Him to show His Power by turning the stone into bread. This to the Son of He who delivered
manna daily to the Jews in the wilderness for 40 years.
Cast thyself down and let angels
catch thee; this to He who walked on water.
Up to the mountain lookout – Here
is it all yours if you worship me.
This to He who as it says in Psalm 95:
In his hand are all
the corners of the earth; * and the strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his, and
he made it; * and his hands prepared the dry land.
O come, let us
worship and fall down, * and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is the Lord
our God; * and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
The devil promised Jesus nothing
that was his to give, nothing that would help Jesus in the real world beyond
the Shadowlands. He never
does. The devil is all about
shortcuts. Remember, if the
shortcut was the best way, it would not be a shortcut
The temptation of Jesus is no
different than his attempt to tempt us!
The devil never delivers what we need, only what we, in our imperfect
want. Remember as little as the devil
understands of Christ, the same way, as we are in God, so he understands little
of us. He will never offer you
real help. Remember that and the
temptation is ever so much less.
Or, as my grandfather said, “Keep your eye on the
donut, not on the hole”
Be of God - Live of God - Act of God
Bishop Ogles’
Sermon
We are oft fortunate to
get copies of Bishop Jerry’s sermon notes. Today is one of those Sundays. Today’s sermon starts off with the collect, and like always,
it will give you a lot to consider in your heart.
Sermon Notes
First Sunday
in Lent
9 March 2014,
Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord)
The First Sunday in Lent.
The
Collect.
|
O
|
LORD who for our sake didst fast
forty days and forty nights; Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our
flesh being subdued to the Spirit we may ever obey thy godly motions in
righteousness, and true holiness, to thy honour and glory, who livest and
reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
And due to the rubric, the Collect for the Day is
followed by the Collect for Ash Wednesday, which is found on Page 124:
The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday.
The
Collect.
|
A
|
LMIGHTY and
everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the
sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite
hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our
wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and
forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the
Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.
Gospel
(Matt 4:1-11)
|
T
|
HEN was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he
was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be
the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and
said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy
city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou
be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels
charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any
time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written
again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up
into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world,
and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee,
if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee
hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him
only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and
ministered unto him.
The Collect for today aptly points out the cardinal principle of Lent – a time
to abstain from the material blessings to which we have become so accustomed in
order to focus on that Passover sacrifice which Christ made of us on Good
Friday. A staff officer to General Robert E. Lee once asked, “General, how oft
ought a man to fast from eating?” to which General Lee responded, “If a man
will but fast from his sins, he may eat what he pleases.” Simple enough, but
who is able to keep that fast from sins? The Collect reveals not only that we
should fast from time to time, but also it informs that our fast is personal
and not public. Holiness is a personal quality and not one of which we should
boast. Once we begin to boast to others of what we forego during fast, we have
lost whatever blessing God would grant and have opted for the reward of a good
opinion from our fellows. I urge each of us to read the Gospel for Morning
Prayer today from Matthew 6:1-16 for a deeper understanding of Christ’s counsel
on fasting and the means by which we are to keep our fast secret as we do our
personal prayers. In this way, we will avoid the sin of the Pharisee in
boasting of his better worth than the publican at the Temple.
Today’s text is about temptation and how to overcome it. I will begin by
relating, as an illustration, an old tale my father gave me in a book entitled,
Hall Caine, in Proem to the Bondman. It was long ago that I read
the legend, but it has remained vividly branded upon my mind.
“There is an old world legend, probably from Northumbria in Britain, which
tells of a man who believed himself to be plagued and pursued by a troll. His
fields had been burned, his barn unroofed, his cattle destroyed, his lands
blasted, and his firstborn tragically slain. So he lay in wait for the monster
where it lived in the chasm near his house, and in the darkness of night he
spotted the culprit. With a loud cry he rushed upon it and gripped it about the
waist, and it turned upon him and held him by the shoulder. Long he wrestled
with it, reeling, staggering, falling, and rising again; but at length a flood
of strength came to him and he overthrew it and stood over it, covering it in
his shadow, conquering it, with his back across his thigh and his right hand
grasping tightly its throat. Then he drew his knife to kill it, and it was then
that a ray of moonlight shown through a parting of the clouds, opening an alley
of light about it, and he saw its face – and, lo, the face of the troll was
his own!”
The point of this story is that, most often, the greatest devil that besets us
is deep within our own souls. We cannot conquer that old self that destroys our
health and ravishes our wealth, but the Lord Jesus Christ can, and WILL, if we
but place our faith and trust in His able Hands.
So now is the time to enter upon the Lenten Season with earnest. Is it a time
of sorrow and remorse? Yes, it is such a time. But it is also a time of deep
love and joy that you are so much loved that a Personage so great as the only
Begotten Son of God loves you so much as to die such a horrible and humiliating
death for you. As the Epistle for today reads: “….behold, now is the
accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation;) giving no offence in any
thing, that the ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving ourselves
as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in
distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings,
in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the
Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by
the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honour and
dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as
unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as
chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet
making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things” (2
Cor 6:2b-10) Do we even imagine what riches are made available to us through
the privileges merited for us by Christ?
Being covenanted as infants into the Kingdom of Heaven through Baptism, many of
us may not recall that work of grace performed on our behalf; however, did we
not seal those promises and that grace at the time of our Confirmation? In the
years of our lives before Confirmation (or even adult baptism) did we not grow
in, as did Jesus from twelve years of age, wisdom and favor with God? And
Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
(Luke 2:52)
Today’s Gospel from St Matthew IV: 1-11 contains some cardinal truths that
should aid us in keeping a Christian witness as well as in overcoming
temptation.
1. We must remember
that Christ was forever sinless though subject to temptation just as you or I.
Could Jesus have sinned? Of course, Jesus COULD have sinned, had He succumbed
to temptation, else there could have been NO temptation to sin. But Jesus did
not sin, though tempted in every way as you and I are tempted. For we
have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
(Heb 4:15) So how did Christ OVERCOME temptation? This we shall learn from
today’s text. If you have read it thoughtfully, you will already have
discovered the Approach Christ took to temptation.
2. We should note, secondly, that, though Christ
was forever without sin, His ministry did not begin until the moment of His
Baptism in Jordan Waters. Following John’s Baptism of Christ, confirmed
and attested by the Voice of God and the Holy Ghost, there was a great CHANGE
in the direction of His life. This was the point in time that the ministry of
Christ began in earnest. The Holy Trinity, it will be acknowledge, was present
at the Baptism of Christ just as with your own. Baptism and confirmation in the
Gospel of Christ should result in a change of our behaviors. Has it done in
your life?
3. We must, thirdly, observe that the same Holy
Spirit that witnessed the Baptism and glorious recognition of God of Christ was
the same which drove Christ into the wilderness (a place of private fasting). Then
was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil
The day that we agreed, with our eyes open, to follow Christ was a wonderful
day in our lives and one which was worthy of celebration, was it not? At that
hour, did not the Holy Spirit attest to us in our heart of the greatness of our
calling in Christ? But, that same Spirit will, at times, drive us into the
Wilderness of our Christian walk. Like Job, we shall undergo want and testing.
If we falter not, we shall overcome to the joy of the angels in Heaven.
4. Can we agree that the Wilderness of life can
be a place of great want. When our souls and our flesh are in great want, we
are made our weakest. When is it that Satan considers the moment most opportune
to tempt us? At our moments of weakness. So he tempted Christ when He was in
want of bread and water. You will note that Satan did not approach Christ at
the beginning, or at the middle of His forty days and nights, but at the end of
that period when Christ would have been most susceptible to temptation. So
Satan deals with us. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and
forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And
when the tempter came to him…..” Satan knows you. He watches day
and night. He knows your moments of weakness, and he strikes at those moments
whether it be moments of great loneliness, sickness, financial loss, or even
success and opulence. He cannot read your heart as does God, but he has
witnessed your actions. He will always come to you in the Wilderness as well as
on the high mountain.
5. Fifthly, we must note that Satan loves to
initiate his temptation with a question. “Yea, hath God said…”
(Gen 3:1) Absolute truths have never been Satan’s strongholds, but if he can
only create doubt and question, then he knows he is on fertile ground to turn
our hearts from righteousness. As Satan approaches Christ, he opens his
deleterious argument with a cunning question: “If thou be the Son of
God.” There was no question in Satan’s mind as to whom he was
speaking, but the “if” is uttered to tempt the pride of Jesus. “IF” you are the
Son of God, PROVE IT! Pride is the devil’s axe handle. So Satan loves to create
doubt and question. When you have served God faithfully, and the storms of life
descend, and thunder booms down from Heaven in response to your prayers, do you
not wonder, “Does God really care for me? If so, why do I suffer, as did Job,
these terrors?” When you ask the question, you are simply falling for Satan’s
trap.
6. Please observe with me how Christ handles the
temptation of Satan: If thou be the Son of God, command that these
stones be made bread. Christ is literally famished for hunger.
Bread would be such a delight at this moment, but not at the terrible cost
Satan would exact. So Christ is tempted three times during this confrontation.
What is the common thread that runs through all three responses of Christ? IT IS WRITTEN! When
this nine-tailed fox confronts you with a question, where can you find the answer
for his question? In God’s Word – IT IS WRITTEN!
This was the response of Christ in all three temptations of the Adversary. When
men and society tempt us to compromise on lifestyles and values, where do we
find the answer for our retort? The Bible! It
is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
No we do not live by bread alone, but the Bread of Heaven! We cannot pick and
choose which counsel of God to obey. We must obey ALL of God’s counsel! We live
“…by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God. Any questions Mr. High Churchman? Any questions,
Higher Critics? Any questions, revisers of God’s Word (NIV, NASB, ESV, TEB,
etc)? But couldn’t we accommodate those two men who wish to be in a “meaningful
relationship?” What saith God’s Holy Word throughout both Old and New Testament
– it is abomination before the Lord! So what of abortion for the sake of saving
a young unwed mother a lot of grief? What of God’s counsel against adultery, or
murder? Shall we obey God or man?
7. It must be known by the people of God that
Satan not only twists Scripture, but also quotes it accurately at times with a
twisted meaning. 5 Then the devil taketh him up
into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And
saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is
written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their
hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a
stone. Please note the correct quote of Psalms 91:11-12. How
many devils have we in the pulpit today doing the devil’s service by
misapplication of Scripture via the name-it-and-claim-it so-called gospel? In
this particular instance, Satan is tempting, not only Christ, but God the
Father as well. Have you ever tempted God” “O, Lord, if you are truly
there, please give me this one desire of my heart.” Does this prayer not tempt
God to prove Himself. If we pray in such a manner, it is likely that God will,
indeed, prove Himself; but in a way that we would rather He not do. 7 Jesus
said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt
not tempt the Lord thy God. Even the Son of God did not tempt the Father, and
neither should we!
8. In the next passages, in the final
temptation, we learn that Satan will promise ANYTHING – even that which he is
unable to deliver – to cause us to sin. 8 Again,
the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all
the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And
saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and
worship me. If we lose our souls to the devil, does it even matter
if we inherit the kingdoms of this world, and even if Satan cannot deliver
them? For what is a man profited, if he shall
gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in
exchange for his soul? (Matt 16:26 (KJV) There is no quicker, or
surer, way to lose your soul than to bend the knee to Satan. With the loss of
soul goes all other possessions (including kingdoms). 10 Then
saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan:
for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou
serve.
What did we
learn from this last temptation of Christ is the Wilderness Fast? Even good
friends, such as the disciple Peter, may act and speak the devil’s part. Then
Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord:
this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me:
for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. ( Matthew 16:23) Our very best friends are
capable of tempting us as Satan does. Whether spoken by friend or foe, we must
rebuke the devil’s temptations with the Word of God. We learn also from this
last temptation that the Christian is sanctified, by and by, by the Word of
God. He grows stronger in the face of temptation. The devil values his time
highly for he is anxious to find other souls to lead astray. If we constantly
rebuke him with the Word of God, he will finally give up this moment of
temptation and come to us less often to tempt us. .
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and
ministered unto him. The devil will leave off tempting those who
stand staunchly by the Word of God. Then what? God will comfort us in the joy
of our faith.
So we have learned from
Christ today that there is a time given over for private (wilderness) fasting.
The Wilderness is just as much of God as is the Green Pastures. We learn
further that the devil will always come to us in our times of stress and need.
We learned that he loves to cause doubt and question in our hearts. We learned
that we are defenseless before Satan unless we resort to that mighty Sword of
the Lord – His Word. And finally we learned that every time we resist
temptation, we grow stronger – so much so that each succeeding temptation
becomes less of temptation to us, and the devil will tempt us less as a result.
How about you, friends, are you very often tempted, or have you discovered that
temptations come less often when you rebuke the devil to his face with God’s
Word?
Rev Bryan Dabney of Saint John’s Sunday
Sermon
We are fortunate to have Bryan’s Sunday Sermon. If you want people to come to The Truth, you have to speak
the truth, expouse the truth and live the truth. This is really a good piece and I commend it to your
careful reading.
First Sunday in Lent
If you are ever stranded in the wild, it would be good to know a few
survival skills beforehand. Besides using a firearm, or a bow and arrow to
acquire game animals, one method which is especially useful in bagging smaller
creatures would be to ensnare them. Most hunter safety courses include this in
their basic survival program. The snare is undoubtedly a very ancient device.
The hunter would place a loop of leather cord along a trail used by small game
animals. He might even include some attractive bait to draw an animal into his
trap. When the unsuspecting creature takes the bait, the hunter then pulls the
leather loop around the hapless animal, preventing its escape.
Now consider the above in the light of our epistle lesson (I
Corinthians 10). St. Paul was given of the Holy Ghost to warn the faithful
about the snare of sin, and how it affected the children of Israel during their
journey to the promised land. He detailed how they had witnessed such signs and
wonders as the Pillar of Cloud and Fire, the parting of the Red Sea, and the
bringing forth water out of a Rock. These ought to have been convincing enough
proofs that God would protect his people and that he expected his laws and
commandments to be obeyed from the heart.
Unfortunately, as the apostle observed, But with many of them God was
not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness (v.5). He then
explained that, Now these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are
written for our admonition... (v.11). And he concluded his point by stating
that, There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God
is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
it (v.13).
Now one might assume the vast majority of church attending Christians
would indeed possess an awareness of the Devil’s power to tempt and ensnare a
Christian if such a one was not careful. If you made that assumption, you would
be in error because too many Christians are deficient in their studies of God’s
word. They do not know just how crafty and insidious the Devil really is. They
do not realize that he is an experienced hunter who can tailor a lure for every
individual much as a serious angler has a fishing box well-stocked with the
proper bait for each type of fish he intends to catch.
That, in and of itself, can be disheartening. Nevertheless, we must
remember that God has provided the regenerated Christian with a means of
escaping the snares of the Devil. God has known us from before the foundation
of the world (Ephesians 1:4). He also knew that we would be subject to numerous
temptations, and that we would be powerless against the likes of Satan, so he
intervened on our behalf via his only begotten Son. It was through our Lord’s
atoning work at the cross that he spoiled principalities and powers, making
thus a shew of them openly, triumphing over them... (Colossians 2:15). That is
why the Holy Ghost gave the apostle Paul those messages concerning the
conquering power of our Lord, and that through his graciousness, he has made
available to us a way of escape from any temptation (I Corinthians 10:13). And
in like fashion, God’s Spirit informed St. James the Just that we are to,
resist the devil, and he will flee from you (4:7b).
But the Devil will not flee if we are not sincere in our Christian
faith. He will not flee as long as he has an entry point on account of
unconfessed sin in our lives, or if we have an unforgiving spirit, or hatred in
hearts toward others around us. He will only flee when the blood of Christ
comes upon us and covers us. He will flee if we stalwartly defend the word of
God against his false prophets who are found not only within the various New
Age Christian cults, but within the mainline denominations of Christendom as
well. He will flee if we acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour who
has redeemed us by his once-and-for- all-time offering of himself as a
sacrifice for our sins and trespasses and who has risen from the dead to
everlasting life.
The carnal Christian might ask: “Can those who have been regenerated
experience demonic deception?” Most assuredly. But the regenerate Christian has
in every situation a way of escape— a power within himself or herself to resist
sinful lusts and wicked urges. Such a power is not found within the
unregenerate. Only by an indwelling of the Holy Ghost, will a person have that
power to say NO to sin and YES to holy living. Our Lord gave us a fit example
of the worthlessness of self-reformation: When the unclean spirit is gone out
of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then
he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is
come, he findeth it empty, swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with
himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and
dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first... (St. Matthew 12:43-45).
The Devil knows human beings better than they know themselves. He knows
every human fault and failing. He also knows what temptations to use to draw
the unregenerate into his program of sin. Some are drawn to gambling for easy
money and quick riches. Some are drawn to the dark side of the arts and music
which stimulate their desires for the macabre. Some inundate themselves in
strong drink, or with illicit drugs in a futile attempt to fill that space in
them where God should be. Some are drawn by licentiousness: seeking to gratify
their flesh. As there are so many and varied things to do in this life, so too
can the Devil change them from something that would otherwise be considered
moderate, or even helpful, into something dirty and damaging to both our
physical and spiritual well-beings.
The Bible teaches us to distinguish between those things which are good
for us and for our fellowship with Almighty God, and those things that will put
us at variance with him. If we want to please the Godhead, we will seek to do
those things which he commands, and abstain from those things which he has
commanded us to avoid. The Devil will seek to impede our fellowship with God
and to eventually disconnect our relationship with him. But God is sovereign.
He has provided us with a means to avoid Satan’s snare. If we are truly born
again in Christ Jesus, we will bow to his wishes because we love him for who he
is and for what he has done for us. God is ready to embrace every repentant sinner.
And God has provided us a way to escape his coming wrath via our faith in Jesus
Christ. For those of you who are as yet outside the household of God, and who
have felt him tugging at your heart, do not make him wait. As you are called to
come to Christ Jesus as your Saviour, accept that calling. And then rejoice and
give thanks to God for providing us a way to avoid the Devil’s snare.
Let us pray,
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ather, help us to foresee the snares and pitfalls
of this life, and to avoid them; and assist us by thy Spirit to keep our minds
and hearts set on those things which thou would have us do in thy service; for
these things we ask in the name of thy Son our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Have a blessed week, Bryan+
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