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 four 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.
|
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.
For the Epistle. Joel ii. 12.
|
T
|
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.
|
W
|
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.
Why
Ashes on Ash Wednesday?
Jesus went into the wilderness
and fasted for forty days to prepare for his ministry. It was for Him a time of
contemplation, reflection, and preparation. By observing Lent, most Christians
join Jesus on His retreat.
The Lenten period is calculated
to extend from Resurrection Sunday back for forty days, not including Sundays.
Sundays are not included because they commemorate Christ's glorious
resurrection on "the day after the Sabbath," "the first day of
the week," "the Lord's day." Sunday is always a joyful celebration of the Resurrection.
Therefore, the first day of Lent in the western Church is always a Wednesday.
Biblical societies relied very
heavily on wood fires for heating and cooking, which meant that keeping ashes
under control was a major housekeeping task. Then as now, if a person was
preoccupied with something serious, they didn’t always tend to the
housekeeping—it’s the least of their concerns. Imagine that there is a death in
the family. A friend stopping by to pay their respects might gently say, “Did
you know you have ashes on your face? ”
So ashes became a sign of
remorse, repentance, and mourning. Today someone might wear a black armband to
signify that they are in mourning; back then people put ashes on their
foreheads.
You can find biblical examples of
this in 2 Samuel 13:19, Esther 4:1-3, Job 42:6, and Jeremiah 6:26. During Lent,
ancient Christians mourned their sins and repented of them, so it was
appropriate for them to show their sincerity by having ashes on their
foreheads. The custom has persisted in the church as secular society has changed
around us. It is most appropriate on Ash Wednesday, when we begin a period of
sober reflection, self-examination, and spiritual redirection.
Ash Wednesday should remind
Christians that they are sinners in need of a savior, and that their salvation
comes at the sacrifice of God's Son:
But Christ came as
High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect
tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the
blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy
Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption (Heb. 9:11-12)
Some people only celebrate the
happy times in Jesus’ life: Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas. True friends also watch and pray with
Him on Maundy Thursday, stand by Him at the cross on Good Friday, and go with
Him into the wilderness during Lent.
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.
When Jesus taught us how to pray,
He didn’t say, “If you elect to pray, do it this way…” and when He taught about
fasting, He didn’t say, “If you elect to fast, do it this way…”
He said, when you pray, don’t do it for show like the hypocrites do. It’s a
conversation between you and God. And He gave us the Lord’s Prayer as an
example of what we should pray about:
Address God
“Our Father, who
art…”
Submit to God’s will
“Thy Kingdom
come, thy will be done…”
Ask for your physical needs
“Give us this
day our daily bread…”
Ask for forgiveness
“Forgive us our
trespasses…”
To the degree that you yourself are willing
to forgive…
“As we forgive
our trespassers…”
Ask for help with temptations
“Lead us not
into temptation…”
And preservation from evil
“Deliver us from
evil…”
Recognizing whose world this really is
“For thine is
the Kingdom, and the power and the glory, for ever and ever.”
Similarly, Jesus told us that when we fast (not if) 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 22
February 2012; Easter Sunday is 8 April 2012. 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
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
|
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.
Ryan Hopkins
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
|
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.
Deacon Striker Jack 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 – 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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
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 father said, “Keep your eye on the donut, not
on the hole”
[1]
Ash Wednesday - The
first day of Lent; -- so called from a custom in the catholic (meaning
universal) churches of putting ashes, on that day, upon the foreheads of
penitents.
[2]
Lent - A fast of forty
days, beginning with Ash Wednesday and continuing till Easter, observed by some
Christian churches as commemorative of the fast of our Savior. [1913 Webster] a
period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday [syn: {Lententide}]
