Rose
Sunday
We are halfway through Lent, or
close to it, 22 days down, 18 to go.
Many people do not realize that Lent has 40 days, as Sundays are not
counted. Sundays are not fast
days, as we celebrate every Sunday in remembrance of the glorious resurrection
of our Lord. Situated halfway
through Lent, this Sunday is often called Refreshment Sunday after the Gospel,
with the loaves and fishes. The
liturgical color lightens from purple to rose as a break in our fasting. It is also the time when English
children traditionally came home from boarding schools for Easter. It also is observed as Mother’s Day in
England for that very reason and also referred to as Mothering Sunday.
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. On to the On Point quotes –
On Property Rights
The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as
sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public
justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.
John Adams
A Defense of the American Constitutions, 1787
On goodness
There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it
looks to Him and bad when it turns from Him. And the higher and mightier it is
in the natural order, the more demoniac it will be if it rebels. It’s not out
of bad mice or bad fleas you make demons, but out of bad archangels. The false
religion of lust is baser than the false religion of mother-love or patriotism
or art: but lust is less likely to be made into a religion.
Jack Lewis
The Great Divorce
On Heaven
“We know not what we shall be”; but we may be sure we shall be more,
not less, than we were on earth. Our natural experiences (sensory, emotional,
imaginative) are only like the drawing, like penciled lines on flat paper. If
they vanish in the risen life, they will vanish only as pencil lines vanish
from the real landscape, not as a candle flame that is put out but as a candle
flame which becomes invisible because someone has pulled up the blind, thrown
open the shutters, and let in the blaze of the risen sun.
Jack Lewis
The Weight of Glory
I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness,
and are dead. This is 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
But godliness with contentment is great gain.
I St. Timothy 6:6
The reason why hypocrites do not persevere in religion is because they
have no pleasure in it.
Matthew Henry
17th and 18th century English pastor and author
Our confidence must not be in what we have done, nor in what we have
resolved to do, but entirely in what the Lord will do.
Charles H. Spurgeon
19th century English pastor and author
The Bible makes it clear: There are no good men and there are no good
women ... If you think you’re good, it’s only because you are so far out in the
darkness you cannot see how bad you are.
Dr. D. James Kennedy
20th and 21st century American Presbyterian
pastor, teacher and author
(Skeptics Answered, p. 156).
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and
bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in
government.
Thomas Jefferson
American patriot and president
The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as
sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public
justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.
John Adams
Founding Father and Second president of the United States
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 130-132, with the Collect first:
The Fourth Sunday in Lent.
The
Collect.
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RANT, we
beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve
to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved; through
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 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.
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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 the Fourth Chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians
beginning at the Twenty-First Verse.
Paul talks about the two sons of
Abraham, one of the bond, one of the free. These two, the bond under The Law and the free under The New
Covenant. The people of old are
the people of The Law, 613 laws by which they must abide. Perhaps more properly said in practice
that they must work around or evade those 613. Yet, they cannot comply with all the laws nor even work
around them. They are doomed to
failure with no help from God. As
people of The New Covenant, the original and real New Deal, we have only to comply with two laws or
rules; To love the Lord with all our hearts and to love our neighbor. Actually, those two are much harder to
fully comply with than avoiding the 613 laws of The Law. But, we have the key – Jesus
Christ. He came to earth not only
to lead us to heaven, from the front; but to be a propitiation for our sins, to
make us account as perfect to God to allow us to come into His Land.
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ELL me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other
by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but
he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are
the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage,
which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to
Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem
which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written,
Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not: break forth and cry, thou that
travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an
husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as
then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the
Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the
bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the
son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman,
but of the free.
Hap Arnold read this morning’s
Gospel which comes from the Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of St. John beginning
at the First Verse.
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ESUS went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.
And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did
on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat
with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus
then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto
Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to
prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two
hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them
may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith
unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small
fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down.
Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about
five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he
distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and
likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said
unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the
fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them
that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did,
said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
Sermon – Reverend Hap 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:
… we, who for our evil deeds do
worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be
relieved …
In the Collect, as is oft the case, we acknowledge to
God our sad state, our evil nature, and then ask God to grant us His Grace to
be relieved of being accounted as evil, rather accounted as perfect even though
we are so far from perfect. This
is a constant refrain, so many of the collects have this same theme; we are imperfect,
perfect only in our imperfection; yet God is with us and is willing to help us,
but only if we let Him. To let Him
help us requires us to let Him into our hearts.
To gain eternal life, to leave
this Shadowland world for the real world, the world of Eternal Life, God’s
World, that is to say Heaven requires us to be perfect. For only those who are perfect at the
final accounting can gain entrance into heaven. Inasmuch as we are imperfect and can only be accounted as
perfect through God’s Grace of His Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, Paul is
right on point when he talks about the two sons of Abraham, one of the bond,
one of the free.
These two are representative of
the two covenants with God, the bond under The Law and the free under The New
Covenant.
The people of old are The People
of The Law. Six Hundred Thirteen
Laws each of which by which they must abide. Perhaps more properly said in practice 613 laws that they
must live around; not so much as comply with, but avoid breaking. Yet, they cannot comply with all the
laws nor even work around them.
They are doomed to failure with no help from God.
The New Convenant is much less
complex. Remember this from Holy
Communion:
Hear what our Lord
Jesus Christ saith:
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HOU shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law
and the Prophets.
Under the New Covenant, we have
only two laws which we must comply with.
But, there is a catch. We
are not to just avoid breaking those laws, we must actually live them in our
hearts, souls, minds AND bodies.
We must actualize them.
Hey! That is way harder.
We are imperfect creatures with free will. That is a combination doomed to failure.
True, but we have the Get out of
Jail Free card – Jesus Christ the righteous and He is the propitiation for our
sins! Remember that? He accounts us as perfect at our final
accounting!
So, now that we know there are
two choices, two covenants, we can choose either to be people of slavery,
enslaved to sin and Satan, or to be free people, under God and Jesus.
We always have a choice, it is upon
us to choose and decide. But we must pick a side. As Rev Jack put it last week, “He that is not with me is
against me.” Middle ground exists,
but it is quicksand. Any feeling
of safety there is illusory. We
must take sides. And, we cannot
keep with those who oppose the side we choose.
We cannot have one foot standing
on the slavery side and one foot on the free side. We cannot just be fence
sitters, we must have our feet planted on one side. From rational viewpoint, there is only one side to pick, and
that is the side of freedom, of the New Testament offered to us by Christ
himself. As people of The New Covenant, the original and real New Deal, we have only to comply with those two laws or
rules; To love the Lord with all our hearts and to love our neighbor. While it is true that those two are
much harder to fully comply with than avoiding the 613 laws of The Law, we have
the key – Jesus Christ. He came to
earth not only to lead us to heaven, from the front; but to be a propitiation
for our sins, to make us account as perfect to God to allow us to come into His
Land.
Now, think about the Gospel. When we need help, how about instead of
worry, we substitute trust and action?
Trust that God will give us what we need. And, then act based on what we can and should do, not what
we want to do. Acting on what we
should do gets results. These
results may or not be obvious right away, but they will be soon enough. Whereas
if you never do anything, you’ll never see any results of your actions, for you
are doing exactly nothing. If one is disillusioned enough by the fact he does
not need to do anything, I suppose it probably doesn’t matter to that person.
But to those of us who feel the acute need to do something, if we do nothing,
we are going to feel that lack of action. Therefore, we are compelled to act
upon our faith. Perhaps not what we want right at the time, but certainly what
we need then and in the eternal future.
In the middle of nowhere, two thousand years from the nearest McDonalds,
the disciples looked to Jesus to fill the needs of their congregation. Jesus took what they had and gave them
what they needed; “for he himself knew what he would do.” He acted to help them. Do ye likewise:
ACT
It is by our actions we are known.
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
Fourth Sunday
in Lent
30 March 2014,
Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord)
The Fourth Sunday in Lent.
The
Collect.
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RANT, we
beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve
to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved; through
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 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.
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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.
The Epistle
Galatians iv.21
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ELL me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other
by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but
he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are
the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage,
which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to
Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem
which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written,
Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not: break forth and cry, thou that
travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an
husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as
then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the
Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the
bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the
son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman,
but of the free.
When we read and study the matter of salvation, we are drawn to observe that
Grace is the very key that opens the Door of Heaven. Grace precedes faith and
profession. The Galatian Epistle for today bears this out in stark fashion
(along with a host of other Bible passages). Yes, we are saved by grace, but
that through faith. As we read in the Epistle to the Ephesians: “For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:8-10) If any component of
salvation was keyed to some goodness in our own souls, then there might be
place for boasting, but such is not the case. Grace is a component of God’s
Mercy and not of our worthiness. Good works in no way save, but Grace saves unto
good works. We are accounted good, and are able to do good and pleasing
works, as a result of the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ issuing from His Love.
Please remember two particular young men of Abraham’s day – Ishmael and Isaac.
God had promised Abraham that he would become the father of many nations, yet,
Abraham was without child. When God promises, the flesh tries to takes God’s
place in fulfilling the promise. This was the case with Sarah who, in her advancing
age, began to doubt that God was able to provide progeny for Abraham that He
had promised – at least, not in the ways and means of grace. In Sarah’s mind,
God needed a bit of help. So she gave her Egyptian servant maid, Hagar, to
Abraham for the purpose of bearing him a son. Well, Sarah’s willful breach of
faith worked in gaining for Abraham a son – Ishmael, the father of the Arab
tribes. This was not at all in accord with the will of God, but was an act of
free will of the flesh of Sarah. Sarah attempted to bring about the seed of
promise by her own deed and not that of waiting on God. From that moment until
today, there has not been peace among the Arab peoples, nor of the neighbors
that are scattered about them in the Middle East.
When the seed of promise was granted Sarah in her advanced age (99 years), he
came truly by miraculous birth. He was a type and shadow of that coming
miraculous birth of the Father’s own only Begotten Son, Jesus. Abraham believed
God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. From that sorrowful journey
to Mount Moriah for the purpose of sacrificing his own only Begotten Son (by
Sarah), God was demonstrating to those of the faith of Abraham that that
sacrificial Lamb without Blemish would be provided by God to redeem us from our
sins.
It should be noted, too, that Isaac had no volition about being the child of
the promise while he was yet in his mother’s womb. It was a thing foreordained
by God. Can you fathom the deep and mournful sorrow of Abraham as he traveled
to Moraih with Isaac? Though it may have been a most desponding trip for
Abraham, yet he knew that God does all things well, and He would make the
sacrifice a blessing in the end.
As Abraham and Isaac stood at the base of the mount
of sacrifice (the same range upon which the Lord Jesus Christ was later
sacrificed), “. . . Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My
father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the
wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My
son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so
they went both of them together.” (Gen 22:7-8) Only in the Received Text
Bibles is this truth revealed so powerfully. In the sentence structure, God is
the subject, provide is the verb, and ‘Himself’ is that object receiving the
action of the verb. “A Lamb of the sacrifice” is a modifying prepositional
phrase for the pronominal object…..i.e. (to be, understood) a Lamb for the
sacrifice).
We learned from Abraham’s Mt. Moriah experience that God would not, and could
not, take the son of Abraham or of any other man, as redemption for our sins.
Out of His unmerited Love, God would, rather, provide His own Son as a Lamb for
the Sacrifice. This He did on the mountains of Moriah 2,000 years ago.
The Galatians may have been influenced in their thinking by Judaizers that they
must obey the Law and not place their full faith in the grace of God. But if
not, it is still in the nature of man to believe that he must save himself
through good works. Truly, even a fervent Christian cannot do any good works at
all. Whatever good we do is not our own works, but those of Christ working in,
and through, us. Paul asked: “Tell me, ye that desire to be under the
law, do ye not hear the law?” It must be said that Jesus
was, indeed, perfect in His obedience to the Law. But only He among all the
sons of men was able. He even saved us through the Law in the sense that the
justice of God was satisfied for us in His atoning sacrifice and death – for
the wages of sin is death. Jesus took our sins upon His own sinless soul and
died in our stead at Calvary. But He paid the penalty of the Law that we might
be spared. The Law kills, but grace makes alive.
“For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid,
the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the
flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory:
for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth
to bondage, which is Agar.” Agar is the Greek pronunciation
for Hagar. Even today, the children of Hagar (Arab peoples) are in bondage to
the Law. They suffer amputations of limbs and stoning for the most meager of
sins. Those Jews who practice their Old Testament obedience to the Law are no
better in terms of salvation. Those who reject the benefits of Christ are in no
wise chosen people of God. Only those who believe and receive the faith of
Abraham are the true children of the promise. The Elect of God are born of the
Free Woman (Sarah) by terms of grace and faith – the faith of Abraham. The
fleshly DNA of Abraham is not a factor – only the faith that Abraham exercised.
God does not place any credibility to race or blood in calling His children.
All are condemned already in Adam; but all are made alive who accept the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are made bond-servants naturally through the Law,
but we are made free only through the faith that Abraham possessed in looking
forward to the ultimate Seed of Promise which was Christ.
“For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her
children. But Jerusalem which is above is free,
which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren
that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the
desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.”
It is a remarkable evidence of the veracity of God Word that the two faiths
that depend upon obedience to the severity of the Law BOTH hold their heritage
in present-day Jerusalem. I pray to be accounted a citizen – not of that filthy
and treacherous little town called Jerusalem – but that immaculate and amazing
City of Peace called New Jerusalem which descends down from Heaven. Dr.,
Schofield has deceived untold multitudes in his mischaracterization of this
truth. Yes, and those, like Sarah, who are desolate, will have many more
children of promise than Hagar who had a child through the works of sinful man
and not of God.
Who, then, are the chosen of God? Is it those who came by the way of the flesh
and schemes of men, or those who receive that same promise given to Abraham of
the Promised Seed (Jesus Christ)? “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are
the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh
persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.”
The Jews erroneously believe that they are saved by the blood that courses through
their veins and through their strict obedience to the Law. They find our
reliance upon the grace of God abhorrent. They are yet in bondage. The Moslems
are no different. They are dependent upon that blood that flowed through
Ishmael’s veins to identify themselves as the chosen of a false god (allah).
They are the true descendents of Hagar in whom there was no promise. Where are
Christians persecuted more egregiously than anywhere else in the world? It is
in the Moslem nations – the descendents of Ishmael of whom God said to Hagar: “And
the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt
bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy
affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and
every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his
brethren.” (Gen 16:11-12) This prophecy of God has been perfectly
fulfilled. The Arab nations flock together today in the Middle East. They are
constantly at war. If they are not fighting an enemy from without, they are
fighting each other. You will note that the natures of both Ishmael and Isaac
were foreordained of God ere these two saw the light of day.
Here follows a deep thought expressed by Paul in the Book of Romans. It runs
counter to the prevailing opinions of modern man: “Not as though the word
of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of
Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children:
but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the
children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but
the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the
word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil,
that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of
him that calleth;) (Romans 9:11)
Note the result of Sarah’s indiscretion in providing Hagar to Abraham. Ishmael
was saved in the flesh in the Wilderness. Isaac was saved in the spirit atop
Mt. Moriah. Having been lain on an altar (all that touches the altar belongs to
God), Isaac was saved as the special seed of promise to Abraham to walk in the
ways of faith of his father Abraham – just as we are today. The Old Testament
Church of Abraham was saved by that same faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as we
are saved today. They looked forward in faith to the redemption made
available by the Son of God as we look back to the accomplished fact. Their
faith had to be made of a sterner stuff than ours today. We have history AND
faith to confirm our profession – they had only faith and promise. It was
enough! “Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman
and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the
freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the
free.” Are you still in bondage to sin and the Law; or have you
accepted the adoption made available by Christ into that Elect Family 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
MidAmerica.
Third Sunday in Lent
23 March 2014
Even
though Bishop Jerry delivered the sermon last week Bishop Roy had written a
really great one that he tried to get to the Sunday Report for four days. Computers! Anyway, here it is:
The
Epistle: Ephesians 5:1-14
The
Gospel: Luke 11:14-28
“Light and Darkness”
1. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath
given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling
savour.
St.
Paul begins this passage with a command and request. The command is that we be followers
of God. We are to strive to be like God in all our doings, all our days, always
striving to please Him. The request, in the same concept Christ gave us when he
was here, to do this command as ‘dear children’. Why as dear children ? The
innocency and desire of children to please was what Jesus said we must do to
become part of the Kingdom. We must enter the Kingdom as a child, with a faith
that accepts the gift of God the Father just as the pre-fallen Adam and Eve did
in the Garden. Innocency in accepting what God has done for us by sending His
Son to die in our stead, that is what Jesus was telling us to be like.
In
verse two we see the fulfillment of Christ sacrifice, which had been
foreshadowed in the prophecies of the Old Testament. ‘An offering and sacrifice
to God for a sweet-smelling savor.’
From
the time of Cain and Abel, the burnt offering, the smoke rising to heaven
(symbolizing our ascending prayers) rising up to God, will be proscribed to
foreshadow and predict the coming Christ.
This will be replicated again and again until the final once and for all
great sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Now all will be fulfilled. As we
approach the Holy Week and the great and glorious day of resurrection, let us
remember what a great work this was and what a great promise for us it will
reveal. Death will be deposed, death will be overpowered, death will no longer
hold fear for those who are children of God.
3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness,
let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting,
which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean
person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the
kingdom of Christ and of God.
6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of
these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
The
next five verses Paul explains who will not participate in the life everlasting
in the Kingdom of God. The trade city of Ephesus in what is now modern day
Turkey, was famous for great silversmiths. These artisans crafted some of the
most beautiful statues of the Greek goddess Diana. There was a large temple in
Ephesus dedicated to the worship of Diana. Part of that worship included
purchasing these finely crafted statuettes of Diana to leave at the temple as a
means of sacrifice. Being made of silver, they were most likely very expensive,
thus adding to the concept of sacrifice.
Paul is
pointing out the behavior of the average Ephesian as being so far removed from
the Kingdom of God as to guarantee no access to that kingdom. He catalogs both
individual sinful behavior and what was considered accepted corporate behavior,
especially in cities where these Greek temples were located. If you think of it
in a modern parlance, “what happens in Ephesus stays in Ephesus”. Travelers to
these holy sites located all over the ancient world were expected to partake in
the revelry and debauchery that was common to the city in question. Paul makes
no bones about it, ‘...Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of
these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience...’ And then to emphasis the point one more
time, Paul in verse seven says to not be partakers with them. Notice that it is
a behavior that is corporate or accepted.
Today
in our post-modern world we struggle with elements of the church that try to
downplay the evil behavior of the world by saying things like; ‘...it is a victimless
activity...’ ‘...no one is getting hurt...’ ‘... it is among consenting adults...’ And mind you this is from the so called
Christian world. St. Paul wrote
that we are not to be partakers with them.
Now
after all what seems like gloom and doom, St. Paul now gives us a primer in
what we should be doing. Let’s look at the next seven verses.
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in
the Lord: walk as children of light:
9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and
righteousness and truth;)
10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
What an
interesting construct of words. ‘...ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye
light in the Lord...’ The very
activities made you darkness. Wow, that is some pretty heavy stuff. We know
that people watch Christians very closely to see if they will mess up. They are
ever vigilant in looking for flaws in a Christian’s conduct. So Paul writes
that we were sometime darkness, but now ye are light in the Lord. What a great
promise. What a great change. How do we stay in the light ? We must walk in the
Light... ‘..walk as children of light..’
There is that theme of being a child again. Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is in all
goodness and righteousness and truth. All this that is proving what is
acceptable unto the Lord. Notice
that it is in the form of a sacrifice. ‘...what is acceptable unto the
Lord...’
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness, but rather reprove them.
12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which
are done of them in secret.
Now we
are to not fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but we are to
reprove them. Understand that there are ways to show your disapproval of evil
behavior. We must do it will meekness and gentleness. We must never appear as
if we are holier than the sinner. Because in reality, we are sinners also,
forgiven daily as we pray for such, but sinners none the less. So we should
approach the idea that such behavior or unfruitful works of darkness are
contrary to what we know is the truth. We need to explain that with gentleness.
You will be rebuffed. You will be told to ‘...judge not lest ye be
judged...’ A bit of scripture
twisted out of context. If you look at what Paul wrote, by having no
fellowship, by not even speaking of it, by not being partakers of such
behavior...we are judging. Yes by not being part of it, we are making a
judgement to avoid such behavior. Sorry folks, we have been told to stay away
from such things...that in itself is a judgement call. We are to avoid evil, we
are to flee from sin as Joseph fled Potiphar’s wife.
13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by
the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise
from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
So how
then are we to live in this evil world ? Verse thirteen gives us a very simple
prescription.
All
things that are revealed by the light of the Gospel, the epistles, the Word of
God are to be avoided. The light of God revealed by His Word (Jesus Christ) is
what we are to flee. We are to live in the light, we are to grow in the light,
we are to reveal that light to the lost world.
Verse
fourteen can be understood in two ways. The spiritually dead are commanded to
wake up, to arise from that death and they will be given the Light of Christ.
And the other way this can be understood is those who have gone before into
death (sleep) shall arise from the dead because of Christ and His glorious
resurrection and He shall give them light.
As we
reflect on these words that Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, let us apply
them to our own spiritual journey. We are on the road to His Kingdom. We are
taking theses forty days to reflect on that great event that took place outside
the walls of Jerusalem that fateful, awful and yet wonder filled day, the day
He took our sins upon his body, and he bore them so we would be free from the
spiritual death we were born with.
May God
richly bless the rest of this day and in the weeks to come and on into your
continued journey to His Kingdom.
Amen
Let us
pray:
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O
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God,
who dost ever hallow and protect thy Church; Raise up therein, through thy
Spirit, good and faithful stewards of the mysteries of Christ, that by their
ministry and example thy people may abide in thy favor and be guided in the way
of truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in
the unity of the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end.
Amen
✟
Bishop
Dennis Campbell’s Sermon
Bishop Dennis is a brilliant
speaker. He is able to take
biblical precepts and make them perfectly understandable, even to me. Oft he provides the text of his sermons
and I take the utmost pleasure in passing them on:
The
Bread of Heaven
Psalm 147, Exodus 16:4-15, John 6:27-40
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 31, 2014
The Fourth Sunday in Lent is variously known as Mid Lent Sunday,
Mothering Sunday, or Refreshment Sunday. It is traditionally a time to
ease up on fasting and gain nourishment and refreshment. It intentionally
reminds us that our true refreshment comes not from what Christ called, “the
meat which perisheth” but from Christ Himself, the Bread of Life. The
image is clear, as food nourishes and refreshes the physical body, the Bread of
Heaven refreshes the soul. So today I want to talk about Jesus, the Bread
of Heaven.
The first thing we need to make plain here is that the nourishment of
the body is a good thing. You body is not evil, and your physical needs
are not evil. We may use the body for evil, and we may attempt to satisfy
our needs in ways that are evil, but that is not the fault of the body or the
need. In John 6:32 when Jesus says “Moses gave you not that bread from
heaven,” He refers to God giving manna to the Hebrew people in their journey
from Egypt to Canaan. You recall they were hungry, and there was nothing
for them to eat in the desert, but God gave a miraculous bread to them and
sustained them healthy and full. Jesus is making the point that the
manna/bread came from God, not Moses, and God also gives the true Bread of
Heaven, Jesus Christ. The point I want to make is that God did give the
manna in the wilderness. He did feed His people. He did provide for
their physical needs. Jesus, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, said, “Man shall
not live by bread alone” (Mt. 4:4). But He did not say man shall live
without bread, or housing, or clothing, or even amusements or possessions or
things that make life comfortable and enjoyable. In fact, He provides
such things for us.
Some people dispute this. They are like the man in the movie,
Shenandoah, who prayed something like, “Lord, we plowed the fields and sowed
the seeds and gathered the harvest.” It is like he is saying, “God, we
did it all with no help from you, but in honour of my wife I say a prayer
before my meals.” But who made the soil? Who sent the sunshine and
rain? Who made the crops grow and the earth give the increase? Who
gave you the minds and the strength to till the earth and gather the
harvest? These things all come from God.
It is the same with us; God gave life to us. God gave us the
strength and minds to learn skills and do the work that enables us to gather
wealth and build our houses and build our lives. God cares about our
physical well-being. God provides for our physical well-being. The
Bread of Heaven feeds our bodies.
The second thing I want to make plain is that the Bread of Heaven came
to feed our souls. When Jesus, in John 6:35, says, “he that cometh to me
shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst,” He refers
to the hunger and thirst of the soul. Hunger is the sign of need.
Our bodies need food, and when our stores of nutrients begin to run low, we
experience the sensation we call hunger. Jesus is saying our souls need
nourishment too, and our souls give us a sign of our need just as our bodies
do. We call this sign by many names; emptiness, darkness, and angst are words
that come to mind. Jesus, in John 6:35, calls it hunger and tells us He
is the Bread that comes from Heaven to feed our souls.
Jesus is essentially saying we hunger for God. There is a
yearning in us that only God can satisfy. There is an emptiness in us, a
hole in our existence only God can fill. Augustine stated this well when
he wrote, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord; and our souls are restless
till we find our rest in Thee.” Our problem is that we often don’t want
to find our rest in God. We want to find it in toys, in pleasures, and in
sin. But these things don’t give rest. In fact, they become burdens
that weigh us down and keep us from God. How wonderful it is, then, to
hear the words of Christ, “Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.”
This rest has many, many parts or facets. There is peace with
God because of the forgiveness of sins. There is the new life in Christ,
in which we begin to come out of the prison and death of sin and evil and live
in the glorious good things of Christ. These things point us to the
ultimate rest, when Christ raises us up to be with Him in that place where all
the toils and burdens of earth are gone forever.
--
+Dennis
Campbell
Bishop,
Anglican Orthodox Church Diocese of Virginia
Rector,
Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
Powhatan,
Virginia
Rev Rick Reid of
Saint Peter’s Sunday Sermon
We are happy to have a
sermon from Reverend Rick Reid, minister of Saint Peter’s, whose congregation
is right at the Worldwide Headquarters of the Anglican Orthodox Church. Rev Rick has all the resources and
challenges right at hand.
We
are not Children of the Bondwoman, but of the Free. Galatians 4:21-31
In our Epistle reading this morning, Paul
uses an allegory to explain the difference
between believers in Christ, and those who trust in the law. An allegory is the
use of symbolism to
which the apparent meaning of
the characters and
events is used
to symbolize a
deeper moral or
spiritual meaning. First, let’s review
the text of the Epistle which comes from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians,
the 4th Chapter, beginning with the 21st verse.
21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye
not hear the law? 22 For it is
written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a
freewoman. 23 But he who
was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by
promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these
are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which
gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this
Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is
in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother
of us all. 27 For it is
written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that
travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an
husband. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the
children of promise. 29 But as then
he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit,
even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless
what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of
the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the
bondwoman, but of the free.
Paul is explaining to the Galatians that Abraham had two
sons, Isaac and Ishmael and is using them as examples of the two covenants. The
first covenant of the flesh is of bondage unto sin and death. The second
covenant is of the spirit, and is of liberty and freedom. Besides the literal and historical sense of the
words, St. Paul points out much more. He explains Hagar and Sarah were
excellent examples of the two different dispensations, or methods, to which God
carries out His purpose towards man.
Hagar
represents The Law, compliance with which is impossible, thus destined to
bondage unto sin, which itself results in death. Without the intercession of God, we cannot be accounted as
perfect at the final accounting, no matter how many sparrows or lambs are
offered as sacrifice for our sins. It takes more than that, it takes our Lord
and Saviour, our only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is
the Propitiation for our sins.
That leads us to the heavenly Jerusalem, the true church,
which is represented by Sarah. The true church is in a state of freedom and is
the mother of all believers, who are born of the Holy Spirit. They are, by
regeneration and
true faith, made a part of the true seed of Abraham, according to the promise
made to him.
Regeneration is the
spiritual transformation in a person, brought about by the Holy Spirit that
brings the individual from being spiritually dead to becoming spiritually
alive. In other words there is a new birth or a second birth, also referred to
as being born again.
So
then, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. The privileges of
all believers of Christ are so great, (according to the new covenant); it did
not make sense for the new Gentile Christians to be under that law, which could
not even deliver the unbelieving Jews from bondage or condemnation. St. Paul, with the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, used this allegory in the history of Sarah and Hagar, as an explanation
to all of God’s people.
The
first covenant is of the Law; bondage unto sin, persecution, and death. The
second covenant is of liberty and freedom, love and sacrifice. Abraham did not have the patience to
wait for God and His promise, so he turned to Hagar to fulfill God’s promise
made to him. So it is possible, that we as believers may forget what Christ did
for us on the cross, and begin to defer to our works, according to the law, and
not of grace. When this happens there is a void created and that can never be
filled, until that person returns to Christ once again.
It should be noted that nearly
every one of St. Paul's letters contains a message on morality. This was
necessary because the Gentiles who converted to Christianity were unacquainted
with Hebrew morality, and were involved in idolatrous activity. This idolatry was perhaps most
objectionable to Paul than because it inevitably led to immorality and to
serving other gods.
This is the Good News that we
hear of! Those who are born again
of the spirit in Jesus, through the actions of the Holy Ghost, according to the
grace of God, are heirs of the kingdom of God, according to the promise that
God gave to Abraham. 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.
Fourth Sunday in Lent
In the first verse of Genesis chapter one, we are presented with the
very beginning of Creation. It is a verse that is full of power and majesty. I
once heard this verse described as In-Your-Face Theology because God has left
the reader with only two choices concerning its nature: either to accept his
word as truth, or reject it as fantasy. And on account of its message regarding
the origins of life, if a person cannot accept Genesis 1:1, he or she likely
will not accept the other miracles found within the pages of the Bible.
In our gospel (St. John 6:5-14), our Lord exercised, on a smaller
scale, that same power of creation as found in Genesis. He took five barley
loaves and two small fish and fed a multitude with food to spare. Events such
as this one stand as testimonies which confirm that God’s provision exceeds
necessity. It is more than a mere subsistence. In the 23rd Psalm we read: The Lord
is my shepherd, I shall not want...my cup runneth over. And so it is fitting
that in our worship, we will offer up to God our praise and thanksgiving for
the many blessings which we have received at his hands. We accept Genesis 1:1
as truth because it speaks of God’s creative power. We also understand that it
is the very beginning of God’s miraculous and awesome displays of his power as
found within the pages of Scripture.
In that same book, we are informed that God made man in his image and
after his likeness. We are further informed in Scripture that all things were
made by him, and that through his will and pleasure we have been given material
items as well as spiritual gifts. Whether it is bread and fish, or the gift of
grace, everything from the clothes we wear, to the jobs we hold, to the
education we have received, it all came from our good and loving God. Thus it
is meet and right that we offer up to him thanks and praise, not only for what
we are and what we have; but for what we will yet receive through the atoning
work of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. What joy there will be for us in God’s
heavenly kingdom, for we have his assurance that he has prepared a place for us
there. That ought to stir our hearts and bring us to our knees in tearful
praise to him who suffered so that we might live with him forever.
Returning to our gospel lesson, we find that our Lord fed the people
both physically and spiritually. They had come into a desolate region to hear
his words of truth and he had compassion on them for their apparent lack of
sustenance. God does not lead his people into the wilderness to die. He
provides for his own. Psalm 37:23-25 affirms this: The steps of a good man are
ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not
be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. I have been
young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed
begging bread. The spiritual aspect of our feeding comes in our hearing of God’s
word written. As our Lord replied to the devil during his temptation in the
wilderness, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone; but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (St. Matthew 4:4). Christ came to bring
his own more than the bread of physical sustenance. He came to make us whole
spiritually that we might be redeemed— cleansed from all unrighteousness— and
made fit members of his body and joint heirs with him in God’s coming kingdom.
And so by our being baptized of the Holy Ghost, we are assured of our salvation
via God’s gift of grace (see Romans 8:1-17).
The church was established to provide for the spiritual and material
well- being of those who have been born-again in Christ Jesus. Think for a
moment about the work and witness of St. Paul. He had been sent on an
evangelical mission to physically establish and spiritually feed the various
flocks of our Lord within the Roman Empire under the guidance of the Holy
Ghost. Generally, though not always, he came, he set in order, he followed up
as an overseer of the faith and he appointed just men to serve in like capacity
prior to his departure for another locale. And those churches which he
established were not left spiritually impoverished when the apostle moved on
because they were nourished and enriched by the teaching and instruction of
those whom the Lord had called into his service.
God sustains. God strengthens. God increases. It is all due to his
efforts, his will, his choosing. We are but his servants whom he has called out
of darkness into the glorious light of his gospel. Our duty is to serve, not to
be served. We are to work within the church to materially assist any member of
the body of Christ whom God has brought to our attention for such ministration.
It is the church’s duty to look after its own, not the state, and certainly not
the unregenerate of this world. Hear now the word of God, What doth it profit,
my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save
him? If a brother or a sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of
you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed, and filled: notwithstanding
ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it
profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone (St. James
2:14-17).
But let no able-bodied person lay back and become a burden on others
for it is also written ...this we commanded you, that if any would not work,
neither should he eat (II Thessalonians 3:10). There is no room in Christ’s
church for the slothful, the lazy and the unregenerate in spirit. If that seems
harsh, it is not my word but that of the Holy Ghost via St. Paul for in the
closing of his second epistle to the Thessalonians he said, And if any man obey
not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that
he may be ashamed. God’s sufficiency is for his own first, and then afterward,
as the Holy Spirit leads you, contribute to those who are of the unregenerate
that the Lord might call them too to salvation through your works.
So, when we consider our lesson today, we find that our God is our Creator,
and Sustainer as well as our Redeemer. He will not lead us into a permanent
state of privation and want, but into provision and abundance. And though at
times we may experience such; nevertheless, we know that our God will see us
through those times and will lead us to green pastures and still waters. He
will turn our hunger into satisfaction and our lack into more than what we
could ask or imagine, and all because he loves us. But one cannot know the
fullness of his grace and the height and depth of his love without being
obedient to his word. If you have not done so, ask him to turn your heart today
that you too might experience the peace that only he can give, that love which
is beyond all else, and that joy which comes with that blessed assurance of
salvation unto eternal life. Please make that your prayer today.
Let us pray,
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racious and loving God, who sent thine only begotten
Son to serve as a sacrifice on our account; accept this our prayer of
thanksgiving for those blessings which you have bestowed upon us through his
atoning work; and this we ask in the name of our Lord and Saviour, and thine
only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Have a blessed week, Bryan+
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