Verse of the Day

Sunday, January 4, 2015

New Year - Circumcision of Christ - Second Sunday after Christmas


Another Year Is Dawning

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be

In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.

Another year of progress, another year of praise,

Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.



Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,

Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;

Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;

Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.



Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,

Another year of training for holier work above.

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be

On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.

The Anglican Orthodox Church
Circumcision of Christ

Today we celebrate the circumcision of Jesus in accordance with Jewish tradition, eight days (according to the Semitic and southern European calculation of intervals of days) after his birth, the occasion on which the child was formally given his name.  The circumcision of Jesus has traditionally been seen, as explained in the popular 14th century work the Golden Legend, as the first time the blood of Christ was shed, and thus the beginning of the process of the redemption of man, and a demonstration that Christ was fully human and of his obedience to Biblical law. No longer celebrated by many churches, including the Roman and TEC, it is still the Eighth Day.  That has not changed and so we celebrate the event as it is referred to in scripture, thus should it be recalled.

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.

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.

Today is one of those Red Letter Days, The Feast of the Circumcision of Christ. 

"And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb." Luke 2:21 (AV)

The propers for today are found on Pages 105-106, with the Collect first:

The Circumcision of Christ.

[January 1.]

The Collect.
A
LMIGHTY God, who madest thy blessed Son to be circumcised, and obedient to the law for man; Grant us the true circumcision of the Spirit; that, our hearts, and all our members, being mortified from all worldly and carnal lusts, we may in all things obey thy blessed will; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Nativity of our Lord, or the Birthday of Christ,
commonly called Christmas Day.
[December 25.]
The Collect.


A
LMIGHTY God, who hast given us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin; Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end.  Amen.

¶ This Collect is to be said daily throughout the Octave.

The Epistle for today came from Paul’s letter to the people of Philippia, starting at the Ninth Verse of the Second Chapter. The portion of the letter used as today’s Epistle is relatively short.  God has sent His Son to earth and given him a name above all others, Jesus[1].  Paul exhorts his fellow followers to continue to follow the Lord, not only while he is watching them, but at all times.  God will give them the will and ability to do good, but only if they do their best to follow Him.

G
OD also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

The Gospel for today came from the Gospel according to Saint Luke, the Second  Chapter, beginning at the Fifteenth Verse. Today’s Gospel recounts the angels visit to the shepherds who came into Bethlehem to pay homage to Jesus in the manger.  It also documents the circumcision of Jesus, bringing Him under the Law.  He who: Is, Was and always Will be, put Himself under the Law, that He might fulfill the Law and be our salvation.

Our salvation from the Law came from the perfect sacrifice one time for the sins of all mankind for all time.  The sacrifice had to be a perfect human, one who did not exist until Jesus came.   That perfect human had to enter in to the Law, had to be subject to the Law.  Thus, Jesus submitted Himself unto the Law that he might in the end have dominion over the Law.

A
nd it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action
Church of the Faithful Centurion, Descanso, California
Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above. 

Today we recall the circumcision of our Lord and Savior.  He is God, yet He is under The Law.  Not all those 613 laws were those called Moral, that is to say the Ten Commandments, but there are those which are moral and there are also laws of God or physics.  God, the Ultimate Being, is subject to the laws He made.  While He can, and does on the very special occasion, disregard them such as when the shadow went backwards, for the most part He, too, is subject to The Laws[2].  Why?  Because they were made for the general good of this world.  We see what happens when people do not follow the Laws that God set out for us to live by. If we stop living by The Laws, then we are no better than the animals of this world, who live by no such Laws whatsoever. Then there is no incentive for us to follow Christ if we do not live by the laws which he has set before us. If we do not need to follow these laws, then why would we follow Him? We follow Him because He is the embodiment of all that is good and pleasing, unlike the world, which seems to be the embodiment of pure evil and sickness.   Evil and sin are diseases that must be cured by being regenerated through the Holy Ghost. God does not break His own Laws, in the very unique cases He does it is for an extremely good reason. Without a system of order, there is chaos.  God is not chaos; God never brings confusion.  Chaos and Confusion are the Devil’s Modus Operandi, not God’s. God never tests, but when we are tested by this world, He monitors the results.  He brought the new covenant or new agreement to us through His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Knowing we cannot ever be perfect, He gave us a way to be accounted as perfect at the Judgment Day – One Sacrifice, Made One time, by One Man who was God, for All Mankind for All Time.  Jesus is our light and our life.  Through Him all things are possible. 

All salvation takes is the simple understanding of a child or a shepherd.  The simple truth that is Christ.  He is not complex.  His message is not sophisticated.  He is the way.  The One Way!

This is the first day of the New Calendar Year.  Remember also, it is the first day of the remainder of your life here on earth, let it count for something. We live in the present, the past will never come again and tomorrow never comes. Take the right path starting right now.

Second Sunday after Christmas Day

Today we celeberate the Second Sunday after Christmas.

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 some great ones to share.  In point of fact, this week’s are all Bryan’s.  On to the On Point quotes –

The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
Proverbs 23:24

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
Ecclesiastes 1:14-15

Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
Jeremiah 10:2

Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
Hosea 14:9

For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
St. Luke 9:25

I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
St. John 6:48-51

The minds and manners of men are crooked and perverse. Solomon thought, with his wisdom and power together, thoroughly to reform his kingdom and make that straight which he found crooked; but he was disappointed.
Matthew Henry
17th and 18th century English pastor and author

What you believe about God and his relation to good and evil will, without question, color the way you live in the world.
Dr. D. James Kennedy
20th and 21st century American Presbyterian pastor, teacher and author
Skeptics Answered, p. 112

There is a natural proneness and tendency in us all to give God a sensual, carnal worship, and not that which is commanded in his Word. We are ever ready to frame for our sloth and unbelief, visible helps and stepping-stones in our approaches to him, and ultimately to give these inventions of our own the honour due to him. In fact, idolatry is all natural, downhill, easy, like the broad way. Spiritual worship is all of grace, all uphill, and all against the grain. Any worship whatsoever is more pleasing to the natural heart, than worshipping God, in the way our Lord Jesus Christ describes, in spirit and in truth (John 4:23).
JC Ryle
19th century Anglican bishop and author
Are You Ready For The End of Time, pp.89-90

The Affordable Care Act is a prime example of the ‘legal’ process by which an increasingly despotic and fascist government joins hands with other powerful and moneyed entities in opposition to the very people who supposedly ‘support’ the government in order to maintain power over a system that is rapidly collapsing primarily because of the corrupt influences of the government and its cronies. The crony nanny state isn’t here to protect you, but to protect itself and its cronies from you.
Cognitive Dissonance
The Subtle Slavery of Obamacare: The Cattle Chute of Coerced Cooperation in the Collective Corruption, 12-23-14

Regardless of the particular problem facing Americans today, too often the first question asked is, “When is the government going to save us?” At the most fundamental level, this question is a socialist response to private concerns. Free men in a free society do not look to government for solutions to private matters. Why? Because government is not God; it cannot “give” to one unless it first takes away from another. The “taking” mechanism of big government is that characteristic which tramples upon the liberty of its citizens. We do not live in a free society when the government can take our property in the form of taxes and give it to others.
Al Benson, Jr. and Walter Donald Kennedy
20th and 21st century American political commentators and authors
Lincoln’s Marxists, p. 48

In order to avoid falling victim to the Hegelian Dialectic ... you must remember the process involved. Anytime a major problem or issue arises ... think about who will gain or profit from it. Then remove yourself from the equation and take a step back to look at it from a third party perspective. See the so-called “problem”, look at who is reacting, why and in what way. Then look for who is offering up the solution. When you do this from now on you’ll quickly see that real truth instead of the false truth they wanted you to see.
General Maddox
21st century Australian commentator
The Hegelian Dialectic and its use in controlling Modern Society
www.realnewsinaustralia.com 4-8-13

An American Dream of universal prosperity has been pitted against the left’s dream of a benevolent feudal system in which the few will be very well paid to oversee the income equality of the many... The left’s social collectivism however is no replacement for what is being lost... Like Islam, it provides something for people to believe in, but the thing it provides is the compulsion to find meaning by forcibly remaking other people’s lives in a perpetual revolution which becomes its own purpose. The left can’t replace family or religion. Its social solutions are alien and artificial. They fix nothing and damage everything. Their appeal is to those who are arrogant and starved for meaning, who want religion without religion and family without family only to discover that they are not enough.
Daniel Greenfield
21st century American commentator
The Secular Religion of the Left, 2-10-14

They who voluntarily put themselves under the power of a tyrant deserve whatever fate they receive.
Aesop
6th century BC Greek philosopher and author
The Hawk and the Pigeons

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.

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 106-107, with the Collect first:

The Second Sunday after Christmas Day.
The Collect.
A
LMIGHTY God, who hast poured upon us the new light of thine incarnate Word; Grant that the same light enkindled in our hearts may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The reading for the Epistle comes from the Book of Isaiah, the Sixty-First Chapter beginning at the First Verse:

T
HE Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

The Holy Gospel came from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, the Second Chapter beginning at the Nineteenth Verse:

W
HEN Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judæa in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

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
Second Sunday after Christmas
4 January 2015, Anno Domini (in the Year of Our Lord)

The Second Sunday after Christmas Day.
The Collect.
A
LMIGHTY God, who hast poured upon us the new light of thine incarnate Word; Grant that the same light enkindled in our hearts may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle
Isaiah lxi. 1.

T
HE Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

The Gospel
St. Matthew ii. 19.

W
HEN Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judæa in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

            As the Collect attests, at Christmas God poured into our Cups of Faith the “new Light of His Incarnate Word” – so much so that our cups runneth over. The Light was eternally the same unchanging Light of Christ existant before the worlds and heavens; yet, it came down to us to share in our same pains and sufferings – and more. We can know God the Father because we have seen and heard God the Son.

            It is a mystery known only to God that only the meek and humble of heart can hear and understand the Voice of the Spirit which speaks the Gospel that heals, frees, cheers and liberates us from our self-imposed prison captivity. As our Epistle proclaims, we are, as well, to proclaim – the acceptable year of our Lord. That Year has been published in our calendars ever since His birth. It was 2015 years ago (Anno Domini) since that momentous fulfillment of the Word. Despite all efforts to erase the meaning of that date, it is recognized by the world, in spite of themselves, as the division of time for our computation of the time scale in years.  Those who would extinguish the fires of truth by re-naming the calendar dates with such ridiculous labels as C.E. (Common Era (or should it be error?) to supplant Christ’s Birth in AD) and B.C.E. (Before the Common Era (or should it be error?) to blur the distinction of BC – before Christ) are hard-pressed to explain WHY they must use the zero year (Christ’s birth) as a starting point. Why not allow the great truth of history to prevail and simply admit the coming of Christ was such a climactic event as to divide our time scale in half? How imbecilic is THAT?

            Now we come to the Gospel text for the day. Please note how seamless the lines joining the Prayer of Collect, the Epistle and the Gospel together.  The traditional lectionary has been the greatest tool in our Church Year to teach the whole storyline of Christ and His Church.

            Herod, the evil king who had slaughtered the children of Bethlehem (2 years of age and younger) in his insane attempt to destroy Christ, has died. According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, his death was one of extreme suffering. But that is not a concern of the Gospel. All men come to a day of dying, even kings and rulers – so Herod died the eternal death and is paying the wages for his sins.

            Joseph has fled into Egypt with the Child Jesus with His mother, Mary.  He was warned of the danger of Herod by the Angel of the Lord following the visit by the Wise Men. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. (Matt 2:13) It is worthy of comment that kings, rulers, and governments have always tried to destroy the Person of Jesus and any remembrance of His Name. There was no room for Christ in a suitable lodging of Bethlehem, and there is no room for Him in Judah either. The sword lurks the hills and wilderness areas of that land in search of a small child to destroy Him. 19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. Long years (perhaps six) Joseph and the mother of Jesus tarried in Egypt awaiting the counsel of the Lord to return home. They never complained or pressed God, but patiently waited during that sojourn for the Word of the Lord and His directing Light. Just as the Wise Men had patiently followed the Light of the Star, so must we patiently bear exile and danger until the Lord gives us His Will and Word.

            Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. The precise wording of this verse is quite illuminating. You will note that the angel did not say “take your Son and His mother.”  The reason is because Joseph was not the father of Jesus. The Father of Jesus was God the Father.  Notice the insidious scheme to undermine this truth in new bible versions. In the Received Text bibles we read from Luke 2:33 – And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.  Now hear the great lie propagated by the NIV in the same verse:  The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Jesus had no earthly father!

            So Joseph and Mary waited upon the Lord for those long years in Egypt. How often do we rush matters according to our own schedule and disregard the patience that God would have us practice. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. (Psalms 27:14)   Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us. (Psalms 123:2)   But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.  (Isaiah 40:31) This wise counsel is repeated in a plethora of other Scripture verses as well. When it is the Lord’s Time, it is the RIGHT time!

            Once the Lord has spoken, there should be no lingering procrastination – we must be up and at the doing of His will. 21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.  There was no questioning of what awaited in Israel – simply prompt obedience on the part of Joseph. A Godly woman will ALWAYS follow the spiritual leadership of a Godly man.  I lay the fault of almost every failed marriage at the feet of the man who does not follow the Will of God in loving his wife and providing spiritual leadership. Mary immediately went with Joseph though the Angel had not spoken directly to her.

            The Christian is never without dangers and challenges. Though Herod is dead, his son, Archelaus, now ruled in his stead.  We never reach a point of absolute physical security in a world that is ruled by the enemies of God. We are Soldiers of the Cross – Christian men, women, and children. We wear our uniforms openly and fly the banner of Christ before us. But the wicked ‘Sniper on the Hill’ is forever vigilant to destroy us if we unwittingly expose ourselves to his aim. We must be gentle as lambs in our dealings with others, but wise as serpents to counter the threat of the enemy. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. (Matt 10:16)

            Once we have Christ, we often must leave the place of our accustomed living never to return. Joseph did not feel safe in returning to Judah, but God never leads half-way. Just as God had counseled Joseph to leave Egypt, He also warned him to avoid Judah. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee. It is amazing to me how every step Joseph took from Nazareth to Bethlehem to Egypt to Galilee were dictated so precisely by God. Joseph had keen ears to hear the voice of the Lord, and he heard that Voice. We, too, must avoid the mad rages of public society and get to a quiet place where we can have a keen ear to hear the Voice of God.

            Of what significance is this little village to which Jesus was carried called ‘Nazareth?’ The Hebrew root for the name seems to derive from Isaiah 11:1 – And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. (Isaiah 11:1) The word for Branch (or twig) given here in the Hebrew is ‘rcn (Netser’. Jesus is the Branch that comes forth out of the stem of Jesse and, eventually, King David. But He also has the title of the “Anointed One of the Lord” (separated).  In the Greek, the word is ‘Nazwrai'oß Nazoraios – one separated. Nazareth was as insignificant as it was small. It was located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee – about equa-distant from both.  It was like nothing more than a twig of the land of Israel – small and unimportant. The little town of Bethlehem was not very important either until it became the birthplace of Christ – now it is remembered forever. Neither was the crude manger important until it held the Baby Jesus – now everyone knows about the blessed manger. But Nazareth, though unknown for its insignificance beforehand, would now become known for all time and eternity for the blessed Lord who had lived there. In the mind of man, nothing good, or important, could come from such a remote little hamlet; but in the Providence of God, something of supreme importance came out of Nazareth. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. (John 1:46) The voice of the Lord may seem unimportant to us until we have stopped to listen and to heed that Voice….then it becomes the most important Voice we have ever heard.

Have you heard that Voice? “Come and See!”

Sermon - Rev Jack Arnold
Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California
Today’s sermon ties together the propers, that is to say the prayer and readings for this week.  Due to calendar considerations, we do not oft get to celebrate the Second Sunday after Christmas as there are only 12 days in Christmastide, but this is one of those years!

In the Collect, we acknowledge the New Light of Jesus Christ in the world and in our lives as the Word Incarnate, or the Word in the Flesh.  We go on to ask the light of the Word will take root in our hearts and shine forth as action in our lives.  That is to say that our lives will act as a window to the Word, not a closed door.

The reading used for the Epistle is not an Epistle as such, but a portion of the Book of Isaiah, one of the Old Testament books filled with New Testament ideas and thoughts.  In the reading, Isaiah says what we should all be saying, The Lord has selected us to pass on His Good Tidings to all, to tell the world the Good News of the Lord Jesus!  To comfort those in need, to bring happiness where there is heaviness, to talk of the Glory of God!  Good News indeed! Jesus will be proclaiming liberty to us, the former captives of the sin that would bring us to a final death. Instead of death, He proclaims light and light to all the hearts who accept Him. This is absolutely terrific news indeed!

On the surface, in the Gospel, Matthew is just relating the historical fact of Joseph being told to go back into Israel with Mary and Jesus, that all was safe for the time being.  Yet, there is more.  The verses also recall the threat to Jesus’ life from Herod and sends Joseph and his family to take up residence in Nazareth in fulfillment of the prophecy that the King of Kings would be called a Nazarene.

So what of us?  How do we fit in to all this?

We are to spread the light unto the world, to be beacons, directing the people of the World to follow Christ and not the World. We are the lamp bearers, the torch bearers, bringing the light of Scripture unto the darkest places. We are like the light of Galadriel, which was given to Frodo in Lord of the Rings, that it might be a light “unto the darkest places.” Indeed this world is dark, a lot like the world of Mordor, also from Lord of the Rings. Even when we despair and all seems hopeless, with Christ and the Holy Ghost in our hearts, we can ride out amidst the darkness of the world and triumph over what seems like overwhelming odds, when the evil folk outnumber the good folk. With this rallying to our King, we can defeat anything that evil throws at us. We know in the end, that our side wins for all eternity.

So too shall Scripture be a light for us and others in the darkest times and places on this planet. Christ is the great guiding star, like the North Star for sailors of old to navigate by. So too shall we navigate by Christ as our great guiding star. If we hold the light up, we shall never fall and stumble. But if we do not hold it up, we will fall and stumble. So the obvious solution to our problems when we are troubled is to turn back and hold up the light to light our way.

That is to say, to return to the Scriptures and His Word and consult Him for guidance and not look for true guidance from the heart of man. Christ will show us the way.  But, for us to find The Way, we must not only look for it, but listen when He delivers and see when He points.  For that to happen, we must let His Word take root in our hearts.

In order to have it take root, we must be opened to His Word and not shut and deaf to Him.   He cannot come in if we will not let him, so we must open our hearts and minds to Him.  That is the mission of the Holy Ghost, to enter into our hearts to give us understanding, to make our hearts receptive to His Will, to inspire us to do His Will in a manner which will be effective.  Our Lord will free us from ourselves if we open the door, so we must be willing and ready to accept Him. We have to be ready, willing and able to receive Him and to spread His Word, to have a true solid, Christian faith.

In order to be of help to others who would come to Christ, we must walk the walk besides talking the talk; we must not be as hypocrites, saying one thing but doing another. We do not want to be like the Pharisees of old, with their lavish prayers and gestures in the public. But we must be like the publican who would not so much as lift His eyes up onto the heavens. We must have a humble, hearty and contrite spirit, to spread the Word of the Lord to those who need to hear it most.

The time has come to show the light unto the world. The time has come to choose God or Satan. The choice is like those in the Lord of the Rings[3]. Do we choose the Light, like the Men of the West and Aragorn of Gondor, or do we choose the forces of Darkness, of Mordor and their allies? Who shall we choose? Our actions shall show our hearts. “For where your heart is, there shall your treasure be also.”

Heaven is at the end of an uphill trail.  The easy downhill trail does not lead to the summit.

The time is now, not tomorrow.  The time has come, indeed.  How will you ACT?

It is by our actions we are known.

Be of God - Live of God - Act of God


Roy Morales-Kuhn, Bishop and Pastor - St. Paul's Anglican Church - Anglican Orthodox Church
Bishop Roy is pastor of the biggest AOC parish West of the Mississippi and is in charge of the Diocese of the Epiphany. 

Second Sunday after Christmas
4 January 2015

The Second Sunday after Christmas Day.
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY God, who hast poured upon us the new light of thine incarnate Word; Grant that the same light enkindled in our hearts may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle 
Isaiah lxi. 1.

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HE Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

The Gospel St. Matthew ii. 19.

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HEN Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judæa in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

Alleluia.  Unto us a child is born. O come, let us adore him.  Alleluia.

Preach, proclaim, and comfort
Are we doing that ?  If you notice in the words of Isaiah those three actions are expressed.  What are we doing to follow the command of the Holy Spirit?

Notice in the collect for today the phrase,
...Grant that the same light enkindled in our hearts may shine forth in our lives...

As followers of the Christ, who came to earth in such a humble manner, we too, in humility should reach out to the lost and tell them, proclaim to them, the comfort and salvation provided by this Christ who we follow.

As we begin this new year let us look for opportunities to share our faith with those around us. “Preach, proclaim, and comfort” all indicate action.  Now understand that to preach does not always mean a prepared message or time of speaking to others.  We can preach by our actions, our every day transactions with those around us.

If you look at some of the examples of ordinary folk in the Bible, they ministered, preached, proclaimed and comforted those around them.  Look at Lydia, she was a cloth merchant. She was known for her honesty, her fair trade and integrity in the work-a-day world.  Look at the Faithful Centurion, he tried to be fair and even handed when he dealt with his soldiers, servants and those around him. There are many examples of preaching, proclaiming and comforting words of the Gospel being shared in the New Testament early church.

Ok, now we that we have reflected upon the words of Isaiah, what does the gospel message from Matthew instruct us to do?   Obey?  Yes, obey the Word of the Lord.  In the case of Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus, obedience was the key to doing what God instructed.  In this case, Joseph, following the instructions of a messenger from God, an angel, he took his family which had been in exile in Egypt back to his home area.  Instead of going back to Bethlehem, he would go to the city of Nazareth.  Understand that Joseph was relocated and had to find employment or offer his services as a carpenter where there was little or no competition.

Going back to Bethlehem would have been ideal, but there were still folk who were related to those who wanted Jesus dead, still in charge.  So to be safe, Joseph went to another area, the city of Nazareth where he set up a carpentry shop.  As the passage from Matthew indicates, this was also part of prophecy, because then Jesus would be proclaimed as “...one who came from Nazareth...the Nazarene...”  Again, prophecy being fulfilled, in even the most mundane of details, the place that Jesus would call home; Nazareth, not Bethlehem. 

Alright, if we are to follow orders or to obey, how do we make sure we are following the right orders ?  The Word of God is our guide.  We follow the Word, read and digest and inwardly accept the Word into our lives, this involves daily feeding upon the Word of God.

At the time of Joseph, Mary and Jesus the New Testament did not exist, so dreams, visions and direct contact with angels were means of communication between God and man.   Now we have the Word of God complete, the canon of the Old and New Testament, we can rely on that Word of God to guide us.

The beginning of a new year is a good time to start the habit of reading the Word daily.  We need to find the time when we can quietly read the Word of God, quietly reflect upon the Word, ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in the Word; all towards the goal of becoming more and more like Jesus in our daily walk with Him.

Let us pray:

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revent us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favor, and further uswith thy continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify thy Holy Name, and finally by thy mercy obtain everlasting life. Grant us, O Father, if it be thy blessed will, a happy New Year; as we have begun it in thy presence, so may we end it in thy peace: and when our little span of mortal days is over, grant us thy servants rest and re-union for ever in the Paradise of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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URN thou us, O good Lord, and so shall we be turned. Be favorable, O Lord. Be favorable to thy people, Who turn to thee in weeping, fasting, and praying. For thou art a merciful God, Full of compassion, Long-suffering, and of great pity. Thou sparest when we deserve punishment, And in thy wrath thinkest upon mercy. Spare thy people, good Lord, spare them, And let not thine heritage be brought to confusion. Hear us, O Lord, for thy mercy is great, And after the multitude of thy mercies look upon us; Through the merits and mediation of thy blessed Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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lmighty and Everlasting God, who dost govern all things in heaven and earth; Mercifully hear the supplications of us Thy servants, and grant unto this Parish all things that are needful for its spiritual welfare: schools wherein to bring up the young in Thy faith and fear; ministers to labor in this portion of Thy vineyard; a church perfected according to the beauty of holiness; strengthen and increase the faithful, visit and relieve the sick, turn and soften the wicked, arouse the careless, recover the fallen, restore the penitent, remove all hindrances to the advancement of Thy truth and bring all to be of one heart and mind within the fold of Thy Holy Church, to the honor and praise of Thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O
 Lord Jesus Christ, who didst say unto Thy Disciples, Come ye apart into a desert place and rest a while; Grant we beseech Thee to Thy servants now gathered together, so to seek Thee whom our souls desire to love, that we may both find Thee and be found of Thee. Grant such love and such wisdom to accompany the words which shall be spoken in Thy name, that they may not fall to the ground, but may be helpful in leading us onward through the toils of our pilgrimage to that rest which remaineth, where, nevertheless, they rest not day nor night from Thy perfect service; who livest and reignest God for ever and ever. Amen.


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.

Second Sunday after Christmas

In Saint Paul’s second letter to the people of Corinth he wrote:

 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

The Great Commission was given to advance the gospel in this world as a witness to those who would believe as well as a witness against those who would reject it.

Like many born-again believers, I am saddened by the increasing numbers of the unregenerate who have, for whatever reason, rejected the gospel of our Lord in favor of their jaded and godless lifestyles. Equally if not more disturbing are those who identify themselves as Christians while possessing but a cursory knowledge of God’s saving grace. Sadly, many are as ignorant and uninformed about the tenets of the true faith as any of the unchurched. Some might think such a state to something new, but it is not. The visible Church has contained from its beginnings both wheat and tares: a situation which Ole Lucifer has taken full advantage of over the centuries. Through his increase of the tares, he has managed to gain such a level of control over various churches and denominations of today so that even if a minister possessed a desire to proclaim the gospel per the Great Commission, such a one would soon discover that effort to be a forlorn hope as so few will listen to— much less heed— his message. Satan would like nothing better than for all Bible-believing ministers to simply give up and shut up about the Great Commission. But that is not what our Lord would have us do and here’s why.
Prior to coming of the Second World War, a noted civil libertarian named Albert J. Nock authored a piece entitled Isaiah’s Job wherein he penned the following account of the prophet’s encounter with the one true and living God: “In the year of Uzziah’s death, the LORD commissioned the prophet to go out and warn the people of the wrath to come. ‘Tell them what a worthless lot they are...tell them what is wrong, and why and what is going to happen unless they have a change of heart and straighten up. Don’t mince matters...give it to them good and strong and keep giving it to them. I suppose I ought to tell you, that it won’t do any good The official class and their intelligentsia will turn up their noses at you and the masses will not even listen...”

As we know, the prophet did as he was commanded; nevertheless, he was quite perplexed. And here is where Nock arrived at the crux of the issue: “But the prospect raised the obvious question: why, if all that were so... was there any sense in starting it? ‘Ah,’ the LORD said, ‘you don’t get the point. There is a Remnant... that you know nothing about... they need to be encouraged and braced up because when everything has gone completely to the dogs, they are the ones who will come back and build up a new society; and meanwhile, your preaching will reassure them and keep them hanging on. Your job is to take care of the Remnant...’”

Now just who are the masses and who are the remnant? According to Nock, “the mass-man is one who has neither the force of intellect to apprehend the principles issuing in what we know as the humane life, nor the force of character to adhere to [them]...the Remnant... are able... to cleave to them.”

In St. John’s gospel, our Lord said, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life (5:24). A bit further on, our Lord spoke in a more definitive manner when he said, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin. And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God (8:42-47). Do you see the distinction drawn between those who were present with our Lord? There are the masses, and there is a remnant. The masses are the children of the evil one and the remnant are those who will hear the words of Christ and respond to them in a positive manner. The masses are those unregenerated persons who follow the world, the flesh, and yes, the devil (note verse 44 again). They could not understand our Lord’s speech because they could not hear, that is to say, they could not take in and accept his words.

The remnant, however, are those who have been regenerated by the power of the Holy Ghost. They seek to honor God by not only hearing the word, but by being obedient to it. St. John wrote in his first epistle (3:24), And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in [Christ] and [Christ] in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. The mass of unregenerate mankind does not care for the things of the Spirit as they must be spiritually discerned (I Corinthians 2:14). That was true in Isaiah’s day and it will remain true until Christ comes again in glory.
Today, we are faced with several important theological questions the answers to which will determine our eternal destiny. Will you hear the words of Christ and accept them; or, will you attempt to hide behind a philosophy of Christianity that merely cherry-picks from Scripture those passages which support your faulty theological assumptions? Are you willing to focus on what God would have you do; rather than on what you would desire to do: satisfying our fleshly lusts that are in opposition to the stated word of God? Those who are regenerated by the Holy Ghost will agree with the first portion of each set of questions while the latter portion will be accepted by the masses.

St. Paul wrote extensively on the Christian ethos— its underlying character and operation within the world. He was not always known by his Christian name as he too had been one of the masses. He had sought, in ignorance, to do the devil’s work by tracking down as many members of the body of Christ as he could detect. We also know that he had a conversion experience while on a mission to Damascus (see Acts 9:1-20). And following his conversion, he gave us the rubrics for church order and worship. He was called of God to supply the form to the substance of the gospel message— to flesh out the specifics. He was called to preach and be heard of the remnant who would truly believe and be saved by the effectual working of the Holy Ghost.

Unfortunately today, many church leaders have rejected both the apostle and his teachings in favor of another gospel (Galatians 1:6-9). Their embrace of an alternative to the true gospel of our Lord has diminished the concept of inerrancy of God’s word written among their congregants. They have even adopted new bible translations whose authors have trimmed the sacred text so that it does not conflict with their worldly values and lifestyles. They have become cultists, who gather around a figment of Christ, but not Christ himself. Is it any wonder that our Lord has been regrettably forced to stand outside the doors of these churches knocking to come in (Revelation 3:20). Truly they are fit examples of blinded minds and lost souls.

Our duty as regenerated souls in Christ is to be salt and light in this sinful world regardless of whether the masses of the unregenerate accept our witness. As St. Paul wrote, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. In that vein, we should pray for God’s gift of faith to be spread abroad and that God would bring a spirit of revival into the world in these last days. The power of praying Christians is infinite for the Lord we serve is a mighty and sovereign God who cares for us and hears us. St. James tells us in his epistle (5:16) that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. And as we witness, we ought to be mindful of St. Paul counsel to young Timothy in his second epistle:

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will (2:25-26). Though many will perish, we ought to pray for the unregenerate around us nonetheless. Our duty is to give them the gospel of truth and to give it to them straight, and to keep giving it to them as God gives us the occasion so to do. We may not always understand why God acts, or does not act, in a particular matter for which we have petitioned him. But we can rest assured that in his love for us, he will hear us. To that end, let us close with an excerpt from St. John 10:14, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep, and am known of mine. For the Remnant, those are most comfortable words indeed.

Let us pray,

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ather, assist us with thy most holy Spirit to be effective and fervent witnesses for thee; that those who hear thy word from our lips and see its works in our lives, may also receive it to their salvation, being no longer blinded in their minds to the truth of thy word, and no longer souls lost to thee but found in thee; and these things we ask in the most precious name of thy dear Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Have a blessed week, Bryan+




[1] The name Jesus, savior, is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, which was originally Hoshea (Num. 13:8, 16), but changed by Moses into Jehoshua (Num. 13:16; 1 Chr. 7:27), or Joshua. After the Exile it assumed the form Jeshua, whence the Greek form Jesus.  It was given to our Lord to denote the object of his mission, to save.
[2] Yet, do not misapprehend, we know but little of His Laws and the laws of the universe as He made them.  Our grasp of the space time continuum is little beyond that possessed  by those at Moses time.  He is, was and always will be.  We live in the present, remember the past and prepare for what will be, the best we can.
[3] No so surprising a comparison as you might think if you knew little of literature. The great fantasy and children’s writers, John Ronald Reuel (JRR) Tolkien, Clive Stapleton (CS) Lewis and Gilbert Keith (GK) Chesterton were all friends and more importantly, devoted well educated Christians.   While they are famous for their apparently secular fantasy writings, there is a Christian theme woven through each of their works.

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