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| USS ARIZONA BB-39 burning at Pearl Harbor |
Today was the Second Sunday in
Advent.
Pearl
Harbor Day
Today
is a day important to us as Americans. Seventy-three years ago on a Sunday morning, “7 December
1941 – a date which will live in infamy - - the United States of America was
suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of
Japan.[1] Two thousand three hundred fifty Americans
gave their lives defending our country, giving their blood that we might live
in freedom.
The Arnolds’ Uncle Jack, Admiral
Jackson D. Arnold[2],
was the Engineering Test Pilot at NAS Ford Island, Pearl Harbor and shot down a
Japanese torpedo plane from the ground when no aircraft were flyable, then went
on to rescue many survivors, some from his first ship ARIZONA. More here: http://adm-arnold.blogspot.com/
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a
surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy lead by
Admiral Nagumo against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on
the morning of 7 December 1941 (8 December in Japan). The attack led to the
United States' entry into World War II.
The attack was intended as a
preventive action in order to keep the US Pacific Fleet from interfering with
military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against
overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United
States. There were simultaneous Japanese attacks on the US-held Philippines and
on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
The attack commenced at 0748
Hawaiian Time. The base was attacked by 353 Japanese fighter planes, bombers,
and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. All nine
US Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. All but ARIZONA and
UTAH returned to service and went on to fight in the war. The Japanese also
sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training
ship,and one minelayer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,403 Americans were
killed and 1,178 others were wounded.
Important base installations such
as the power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage
facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home
of the intelligence section) were not attacked and the aircraft carriers were
out at sea[3].
Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, and 65
servicemen killed or wounded. One Japanese sailor was captured.
The attack came as a profound
shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World
War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. The following day, December
8, the United States declared war on Japan.
A set of points to consider:
·
The attack came without warning on a Sunday
morning, many of the crew were dispersed about the island on shore leave
recovering from Saturday night.
Had they been aboard on a normal weekday, casualties would have been far
worse.
·
The Japanese were fixated on destroying the
battleships; odd given their attack was carried out by a carrier task
force. They were aware of the
carriers, but did not consider them vital to the attack. The battleships would play a very small
role in the naval war, being primarily used as invasion support naval
gunfire. The battleships were able
to be repaired in time for the first invasions, thus the attack had no effect
on the war from that standpoint.
·
The Japanese did not attack the repair yard,
other than poor CASSIN. This
allowed the damage from the attack to be quickly repaired.
·
The Japanese totally ignored the submarines,
even though they were using submarines in their attack.
·
The Japanese totally ignored the fueling station
and magazine, even though that was the seminal reason for the base as Pearl
Harbor.
·
If such an attack were carried out today, the
enemy force could do so with zero losses due to our military’s fixation with
weapons security.
On the other hand:
·
The US Navy totally ignored they had no
torpedoes which would function in shallow water like the Japanese, even though
they lost their entire capitol fleet to such torpedoes.
Sermon
– Rev Jack Arnold – Pearl Harbor Day 2014
In Matthew 24, Christ gives the
people of Jerusalem warnings as to the end of their time in the land of Israel,
for about 1,500 years (until they return in about 1948, Anno Domini), and he
describes the destruction of their temple, which occurred in about 70, Anno
Domini by the Roman Empire, due to
the Jewish Insurrection. The Jews
have always been a hard headed, stubborn people, and they are not ones to
listen to a warning that would have saved them from destruction and a longer
exodus than their 40 years in the wilderness.
If we do not recognize the signs
of trouble and listen to the warnings, then how are we to expect to follow His
Word, if we ignore his warnings and do not heed them appropriately? Look at the
Jews for an example of this, with Matthew 24. He had said if they had heeded his warnings, this would not
have come to pass. If they had followed His Word, then they would not have
revolted against the Roman Authorities and caused them grievous heartaches and
sufferings, and would have avoided the suicides at Masada.
A more modern version of what the
Jews went through can be found in Pearl Harbor, on December 7th,
1941. At the time, America was
content to ignore the rising problem of Imperial Japan in the East, while
secretly giving aid to Britain against the rising might of Nazi Germany in the
West. There were warnings present,
starting with the Japanese aggression in China in 1936, the actual, physical
manifestation of World War II.
The isolationists were content to
ignore the aggressions committed by the Axis in both theatres of the war,
figuring it was no big deal to them; Jews were murdered by the hundreds and
thousands in Germany, undesirables murdered in Stalin’s Russia (originally a
member of the Axis, a long forgotten and less cared about fact), the rapes of so called “sub-humans” in
Japanese held Manchuria (e.g Rape of Nanking, Rape of Fena Reservoir.) They saw
only what they wanted to see. They
were blind to the truth, to the pure evilness of the Nazis, to the Imperial War
Party and to the Communists. The
blindness prevails to this day. President Roosevelt wrote a letter on December
6th to the Emperor of Japan, pleading with him to withdraw the
Japanese troops from Indonesia.
The problem with this approach is
that his request fell on the ears of the one who was responsible for the
expansionist campaign of the Japanese Empire. And there are none so deaf as
those who will not hear, and none so blind as will not see. When we try and
plead with those in Satan’s employ, it rarely works, as was the case with
President Roosevelt. The next day of course brought the Day of Infamy. We have
to be aware of who is in with Satan and while we may try to persuade them to
see the light, we have to realize it will very rarely work, unless a miracle brought
by God occurs. For they are so deeply entrenched with anger and envy within
their hearts, that they will not open their ears and heart to him.
As the signs of aggression became
more and more obvious, isolationists dug their holes deeper and put their
fingers in their ears and shouted how wonderful and sunny a day it was in the
world, while millions were being oppressed, murdered and raped in the far
corners of Asia and Europe under Japan and Nazi Germany and Russia.
This is just as the Jews ignored
growing signs in Jesus’ time, and were resistant to co-operating with the
authorities. If they had not disregarded Christ’s warnings, they would have
been far better off, and possibly retained their homeland.
Had we acted on those clear signs
of aggression, a quadrant of madmen (Stalin, Hitler, Tojo/Emperor, Mussolini) might
not have been able to act on their desire to dominate the world for their own purposes.
On December 7th, 1941,
all this ignorance of the aggression, the ear plugging by the isolationists
came to a sudden and complete stop.
The attack upon our soil by the Imperial Forces of Japan at Pearl Harbor
changed the tune. Due to the ill-preparedness of our country and the
unwillingness to confront the problem of Japan in any form, we lost 2,402 fine
men, and 1,247 wounded. They paid the high price to learn the true face of
Imperial Japan; greedy, low moral and ethics (though their “culture” professed
to have high ethics, (e.g saving face.) country, hell-bent on dominating the
world, especially the United States, subjugating it to its will.
We found the problem a little too
late, ignoring clear warnings of Japanese aggression. With such forewarning, we should have
been prepared tor the eventuality of war with Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany and the
Soviet Union.
A lesson to be learned from the attack
on Pearl Harbor, is that we should not take spiritual or worldly warning lightly.
If we do not heed this warnings, as those of us are not now, then how can we
expect to have a future, where we can tell our children of those who went
before us, who heeded those warnings, to pass on the moral fiber (through
Scripture this should be established) necessary to establish a solid generation
of Godly, Good and Great American people, (or the Three Gs!).
On the subject of Pearl Harbor
itself, and of the men and women who died there, I would like to offer up to
you a selection of President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address:
“It is rather for
us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from
these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave
the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these
dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a
new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for
the people, shall not perish from the earth.” – Abraham Lincoln.
Also, he said this, which preceded
the above part which is also very appropriate for this occasion:
“But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate --
we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled
here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The
world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never
forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated
here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly
advanced.”
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 –
There are none so deaf as those who will not
hear
When the
Lion had first begun singing, long ago when it was still quite dark, [Uncle
Andrew] had realized that the noise was a song. And he had disliked the song
very much. It made him think and feel things he did not want to think and feel.
Then, when the sun rose and he saw that the singer was a lion (“only a lion,”
as he said to himself) he tried his hardest to make believe that it wasn’t
singing and never had been singing—only roaring as any lion might in a zoo in
our own world. “Of course it can’t really have been singing,” he thought, “I
must have imagined it. I’ve been letting my nerves get out of order. Who ever
heard of a lion singing?” And the longer and more beautifully the Lion sang,
the harder Uncle Andrew tried to make himself believe that he could hear
nothing but roaring. Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider
than you really are is that you very often succeed. Uncle Andrew did. He soon
did hear nothing but roaring in Aslan’s song. Soon he couldn’t have heard
anything else even if he had wanted to. And when at last the Lion spoke and
said, “Narnia, awake,” he didn’t hear any words: he heard only a snarl. And
when the Beasts spoke in answer, he heard only barkings, growlings, baying, and
howlings.
Jack Lewis
The
Magician's Nephew
The Morning
Aslan
turned to them and said: “You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be.”
Lucy said, “We’re so afraid of being sent away, Aslan. And you have sent us
back into our own world so often.”
“No fear of
that,” said Aslan. “Have you not guessed?” Their hearts leaped, and a wild hope
rose within them. “There was a real railway accident,” said Aslan softly. “Your
father and mother and all of you are—as you used to call it in the Shadowlands—
dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is
the morning.”
And as He
spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to
happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for
us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all
lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real
story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only
been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One
of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in
which every chapter is better than the one before.
Jack Lewis
The
Last Battle
How excellent is thy
lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the
shadow of thy wings.
Psalm 36:7
Therefore I will look unto the
LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
Micah 7:7
Settle it therefore in your
hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: for I will give you a
mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor
resist.
St. Luke 21:14-15
For judgment I am come into this
world, that they which see not might see; and they which see might be made
blind.
St. John 9:39
Let all things be done decently
and in order.
I Corinthians 14:40
Every true religion must rest on
two things. First, that God can speak to man, and second, that man can speak to
God. Revelation and response are thus the two pillars, and religion is a
dialogue... It is for this reason that “edification” is so special a
characteristic of the New Testament... Whether... we are concerned with
preaching, or sacraments, or worship, or service, edification is the great
Bible principle, and this is clearly brought out in the Prayer Book... There is
a remarkable fullness of the use of Scripture in Lessons, Psalms, Epistle, and
Gospel, while the Sacraments are so associated with instruction that it is
impossible to avoid the thought of true edification. Indeed, there is nothing
in our public services that does not in some way minister to this requirement.
WH Griffith Thomas
19th and 20th
century Anglican theologian and author
The Principles of
Theology: An Introduction To The Thirty-Nine Articles, p. 341
Jesus is the God whom we can
approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.
Blaise Pascal
17th century
French mathematician, philosopher and author
Biblical faith, unlike any other,
is based on actual events and persons. It is not based on feelings. It is not
based on experiences. It is not based on visions or dreams or voices in our
heads. It is based on solid events. It is content centered, not feeling
centered, not experience centered. And the content is given in the Bible. This
is easily seen in the way we pray. Christian prayers are content oriented. Look
at the Psalms. They are mostly prayers, and they are content oriented. They
make no attempt to get us emotional, but they make every attempt to express
truth about God and truth about us. Look at the Lord’s Prayer. When the
disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He didn’t say, “first get all
excited about God, and work yourself into a good feeling.” He didn’t say, “find
your holy word and repeat it over and over and over until you fall into a kind
of trance.” He gave them a prayer with solid theological content: “Our Father,
who art in Heaven, Hallowed by Thy Name.”
Christian faith, then, is a whole-life response to the revelation of God
in Christ. It is a response to truth, to doctrine. And it is a response that
stirs us up, spiritually, not emotionally, to follow God. To do good works.
Dennis Campbell
21st century
Anglican Orthodox bishop and author
excerpt from his
sermon, What Stirs You?, 11-23-14
Remember [a] ship is like the
Church. It is made for the sea just as the church is made to be in the world.
But when the sea begins to get into the ship, and the world into the church,
the resulting shipwreck will be tragic.
Jerry L. Ogles
20th and 21st
century Anglican Orthodox Presiding Bishop
Men who are confident of the
future can bear more easily and less painfully their present troubles; but when
they are outraged even by the government what befalls them is naturally all the
more grievous, and by the failing of all hope of redress they are turned to
utter despair.
Procopius
6th century
AD Byzantine official and historian
Islam has a history of over a
thousand years of continuously dehumanizing non-Muslims and identifying peace
and their enslavement as one and the same. It is impossible to live in peace
with Muslims who think that there can be no peace as long as non-Muslims
continue to live independent lives. In the Muslim worldview, war happens
because non-Muslims exist. War is caused by the infidel, the disbeliever and
the Muslim hypocrite who does not truly commit to the practice of Islam. The
Jihad purifies the world of non-Muslims; it eradicates the “moderate” Muslims
who have been compromised by Western culture. It is a war of extermination
against the un-Islamic. When Westerners propose peace, Muslims reject them as
hypocrites for speaking of peace, but refusing to accept the only religion that
can bring peace. They feel no obligation to honor any peace agreements since
peace can only come from Islam and the Western rejection of Islam proves our
deceitfulness and bad intentions. This dynamic is inherent in the Koran and the
entire history of Islam. Islam does not obtain peace through peace, but through
war. It seeks a world without conflict by killing anyone who might disagree
with its totalitarian ideology. Proposing the peace of co-existence to an
ideology to which peace means its own supremacy is a foolish and deranged act.
Our outreach to the Muslim world does not lack for a common language, but for
common ideas. Both sides may speak of peace, but for one side peace really
means war. Languages are not only made up of words, but of values. It is not
enough to bring a dictionary to a negotiation if the two parties are reading
from different moral and ethical traditions. Just because we translate “Salaam”
as peace and agree that we both want peace does not mean that we have the same
idea of what peace is. The West sees peace as living side by side with Muslims.
Muslims see peace as the end of the West.
Daniel Greenfield
21st century
American commentator
Peace with Islam in
our Time, 11-23-14
You get the same order of
criminality from any State to which you give power to exercise it; and whatever
power you give the State to do things FOR you carries with it the equivalent
power to do things TO you.
Albert Jay Nock
20th century
political commentator
[Political language is] designed
to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance
of solidity to pure wind.
George Orwell
20th century
English author
Propers
The Propers are found on Page
92-93, with the Collect first:
The Second Sunday in Advent
The
Collect.
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LESSED
Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant
that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest
them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever
hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Collect for the First Sunday
in Advent can be found on Page 90:
The
First Sunday in Advent
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY
God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us
the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son
Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he
shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
¶
This Collect is to be repeated every day, after the other Collects in Advent,
until Christmas Day.
The Epistle for today came from Paul’s letter to the
Romans, the Fifteenth Chapter, beginning at the Fourth Verse.
Paul tells us the scriptures up to that time were
written that we might have hope.
He now reminds us to treat each other the way Jesus treated those about
him, to open our hearts to each other as Jesus opened His. The promise of Jesus was not to Jews
only, but to all people (Gentiles).
Paul tells us Jesus Christ was a minister of … the truth of God, to
confirm the promises made unto the fathers: and that the Gentiles might glorify
God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee
among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye
Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and
laud him, all ye people.”
He reminds us of the writing of Esaias, “There shall
be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him
shall the Gentiles trust.” Paul
leaves with the blessing, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
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hatsoever things were written aforetime were written
for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might
have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded
one toward another according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind and one
mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive
ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that
Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to
confirm the promises made unto the fathers: and that the Gentiles might glorify
God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee
among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye
Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and
laud him, all ye people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of
Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the
Gentiles trust. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
The Gospel for today came from the Gospel according
to Saint Luke, the Twenty-First Chapter, beginning at the Twenty-Fifth
Verse. In preparation for our recollection
of the First Coming, the Nativity, we read St. Luke’s description of the Second
Coming, “and there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the
stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the
waves roaring; men’s hearts fail-ing them for fear, and for looking after those
things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great
glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up
your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable;
Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and
know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when
ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at
hand.”
As clear as the Second Coming will be, so was the
First Coming to those who would see and hear it. Once again, we are reminded that there are none so blind as
those who will not see and none so deaf as those who will not hear.
Can you see Him? Will you hear Him?
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nd there shall be signs in the
sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations,
with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for
fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the
powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming
in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to
pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when
they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now
nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye
that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation
shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away:
but my words shall not pass away.
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 in Advent
Pearl Harbor Day
7 December 2014, Anno Domini
The Second Sunday in Advent
The
Collect.
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LESSED
Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant
that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest
them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever
hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
The
First Sunday in Advent
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY
God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us
the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son
Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he
shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
¶
This Collect is to be repeated every day, after the other Collects in Advent,
until Christmas Day.
In honor of the inordinate number of Navy men killed
at Pearl Harbor, I offer this prayer from the 1928 BCP:
For
the Navy
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ETERNAL
Lord God, who alone spreadest out the heavens, and rulest the raging of the
sea; Vouchsafe to take into thy almighty and most gracious protection our
country’s Navy, and all who serve therein. Preserve them from the dangers of
the sea, and from the violence of the enemy; that they may be a safeguard unto
the United States of America, and a security for such as pass on the seas upon
their lawful occasions; that the inhabitants of our land may in peace and
quietness serve thee our God, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
Gospel
Luke
21:25-33
25 And
there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon
the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men's
hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are
coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And
then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great
glory. 28 And when these things begin to
come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth
nigh. 29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig
tree, and all the trees; 30 When they now shoot forth, ye
see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these
things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32 Verily I say unto you, This
generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. 33 Heaven
and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
The text
today is comprised of two parts:
Firstly, a
solemn prophecy of Christ as to those things which we shall see near the end of
this world, and,
Secondly, a
Parable relating the signs accompanying the consummation of the space-time
continuum in which we exist.
In the verses
preceding our text, beginning at Verse 20, we have an account of the
destruction of Jerusalem and the utter ruin of her occupants:
And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with
armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 21.
Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are
in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter
thereinto. 22. For those be the days
of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that
give suck, in those days ! for there shall be great distress in the land, and
wrath upon this people. 24. And they shall fall by the
edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and
Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the
Gentiles be fulfilled.
The ‘sign’ of
her ‘desolation’ was to be the advance of the enemy to her walls. Armies had
been many times encamped round her, and many times been scattered; but this
siege was to end in capture, and no angel of the Lord would stalk by night
through the sleeping host, to stiffen the sleep of the enemy into death, nor
would any valour of the besieged avail.
Their cause was to be hopeless from the first. Flight was enjoined. Usually the
inhabitants of the open country took refuge in the fortified capital when
invasion harrowed their fields; but this time, for ‘them that are in the
country’ to ‘enter therein’ was to throw away their last chance of safety.
“The Christians obeyed, and fled, as
we all know, across Jordan to Pella. The rest despised Jesus’ warning — if they
knew it, — and perished.” Dr.
Alexander MacLaren
This destruction will occur in recorded history only three or four
decades after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. (~ 70 AD)
The Commander of the Roman Legions, General Titus, will encompass the
city with numerically superior numbers of well-armed and well-trained, hardened
soldiers. They will erect battlements and breachments against the walls of the
city, and when this does not completely avail, he will demolish the walls with
mighty catapults and rams until they crumble before him.
Amazingly and for unknown reasons (perhaps to engage another enemy
threatening the Empire), Commander Titus withdraws his forces suddenly after
the first year, but only for a short time of a few days after which he returns
to the encirclement. Such withdrawal affords the people of Jerusalem an opportunity
to comply with the following warning of Christ, but many ignore the
opportunity.
21 Then
let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in
the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter
thereinto. 22 For
those be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be
fulfilled.
This process requires about 2 years to effect. The inhabitants are starving and
in their ravenous and mindless want, even eat their own babies after all
livestock, dogs, and rats have been consumed. 23. But woe unto them that are
with child, and to them that give suck, in those days ! for there shall be
great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
There was never a comparable time of wanton deprivation in the history of
Jerusalem. This destruction and fall was consummated in 71-72 AD 24 And
they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into
all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
The men and able-bodied boys were slaughtered. The women and children were
taken into captivity as slaves. The population was dispersed and scattered
among all the known nations of the world – and so it is even today. These are
the same Jews and their children who, in the courtyard of Pontius Pilate, had
cried for the crucifixion of our Lord.
24 When Pilate saw
that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took
water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the
blood of this just person: see ye to it. 25 Then answered all
the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. (Matt 27:24-25)
God is warning America and all nations today to get ready for judgment. If we
believe the warning in Lev. 18:22 to the end, we must know that judgment will
come full and mighty. God always provides a means of escape as He did for Noah and
his family, but we must be watchful and waiting.
It is a very pleasant thought to read that Christ will return in the clouds. “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud
with power and great glory.” It was a cloud that received Him at the
Ascension, and He will return likewise. “And when he had spoken these
things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of
their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up,
behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of
Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up
from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into
heaven.” (Acts
1:9-11)
Christ seems to often be associated with clouds – He was that fiery
Cloud by night, and smokey Cloud by day that followed His people in the
Wilderness. Moreover, His presence was symbolized by the Glory Cloud above the
Ark of the Covenant. That Glory cloud is represented on the Great Seal of the
United States hovering over the great eagle and contains thirteen stars – one
star for each tribe of Israel including the tribe of Levi that was dispersed
among the other twelve. You may verify this by referring to the obverse side of
one-dollar bill where the Great Seal (front and back) is displayed.
It is a cause for sorrow to remember how this nation was once a favored vessel
in the hand of the Lord. We can be so again, but we certainly are not at this
present time.
We witness today a form of terror unknown to the world in previous centuries
and from the Creation of the World. It even parades under that name
“Terrorism”. It does not respect the lives of innocent men, women or children,
but kills its victims viciously and in abandonment of all mercy.
Seeing these things coming upon the earth should not lead to a lack of
faith, but should be an encouragement to us to persist in faith for we only
have a short distance further to endure. This is when the Lord has chosen to
bring a final stop to the wickedness we observe in our modern day.
Again, 27 And then shall they see the Son
of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to
come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth
nigh.
The Lord then provides us a Parable full of signs for our spiritual
edification:
“Behold the fig tree, and all the
trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that
summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to
pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you,
This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall
pass away: but my words shall not pass away.”
Christ gives
us a natural sign for our wisdom and warning. It is a sign from Nature itself.
His Parable is based upon common sense and observation. When we see the
fig tree and others put forth green shoots, we can be assured that it is not
the beginning of Winter, but a promise of the soon approach of Summer. Note
this is a sign of approaching events and not the complete fulfillment of them.
The evils of this world are multiplying. We are identified, not only by our own
works, but also those people with whom we associate. If our friends are vulgar
and without ambition, so shall we become. If they take a dim view on moral
behavior and language, so will we. Even our ambition to succeed in education or
profession is dictated by the friends we keep.
The Christian occupants of Jerusalem, when they saw the signs of Christ’s
prophecy being fulfilled, they immediately separated themselves from the people
of the city and fled to the wilderness. Perhaps, we are being warned by signs
in our own lives that we must separate from our evil associations and flee to
safety. Can you read the signs?
Sermon - Rev Jack Arnold
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.
The Second Sunday in Advent
The
Collect.
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LESSED
Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant
that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest
them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever
hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
The
First Sunday in Advent
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY
God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us
the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son
Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he
shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
¶
This Collect is to be repeated every day, after the other Collects in Advent,
until Christmas Day.
The
Collect and the Epistle and the Gospel all tell us we are to learn from
Scripture and to place our hope in God and not man. We are to use the
scriptures for our learning, so we might become wiser through the Holy Spirit,
whose guidance as we read and study Scripture will allow us to come to a full
understanding of the meaning it should have in our daily lives. If we try to live our lives or write
our sermons without that guidance, we will be for naught. We have to understand
what we are preaching, and we have to live what we are preaching, in order for
our faith to have any meaning. If we do not have understanding, nor do we act
upon our preaching, how can we ask others to follow God, when we are selves are
not? We must strive to avoid this
hypocrisy, but to live a geniune live following His commandments that He has
set for us and to be a beacon to guide others to Him. We are not an icon or
image of Him, but merely pathfinders, and once we have found the path, we guide
others to Him. We do not posess any special skills as ministers of the Lord,
except that we have the Holy Ghost within us, directing us. He works not only
in Ministers, but in the Lay People and all others of the church.
We
must act upon the words of Scripture and the sermons we here, so that our faith
will become evident to all of those who are watching us. We will make mistakes
and sin, as we are imperfect beings, but if we admit our wrongdoings to God,
and come back to Him, then all shall be forgiven and we shall have another
fresh slate, on which to start anew.
In
the Epistle, Paul tells us Scripture was written that we might have hope, even
in times of darkness. Time like
these where there are unbelievers in high places, doing their best to defile
and ridicule our faith can try our souls.
We must treat others the way that Christ taught us to, with respect and
humility, no matter our personal feelings/opinion on them and how they conduct
their lives. If we are nice to them, we may plant a seed in their lives for the
better, causing perhaps a change for the better in them. We do not know what
impact our actions may have in the future, so we can have hope that they may
influence an individual for the better. That is also why we need to be
extremely careful in how our actions influence others. We want to be a positive
influence, rather than a negative influence.
Returning
to the Gospel, St. Luke describes the signs of the Second Coming and how we are
to prepare for it. We are not to
be caught unaware of the signs, if we read the signs, then we shall be prepared
to meet our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This means we have to be active in our faith, and not brain
and faith dead like so many around us today. We have to be spritually aware of
our spiritual surroundings, much as a good and safe driver/motorcyclist must be
aware of the cars around him and possible hazards in the road at all times.
We
have to use the tools given to us by God, Scripture, our faith, and our friends
in the faith to combat the evils of this world. We must do our best to make this world the best place we
can. If we study, digest and use
Scripture in faith, we will have hope in these times of darkness; we will go
forth and spread Good News, which will give us satisfaction and hope for
people, therefore renewing our spirit and vigor and the knowledge that in the
end we will triumph will fill our hungry spirits.
Our
hungry spirits will be satisified by God’s Goodness and His Word and His Love,
of which He has infinite capacity, so nobody is stealing anybody elses share,
as God has more than plenty to go around for all of us! So we must concentrate
then on sharing the Gosepel and God’s love, so that others might finally find
true happiness, as we find ours, in serving the Lord for the rest of our days.
We have to also concentrate on living a genuine Christian life and not a
shallow Christian life, and showing the way to Christ, for others to see and
follow.
The
common theme through the collect, Epistle and Gospel is that if we have hope
and trust in God, we must dread naught, and carry on, empowered through them in
our daily lives here on Earth until we are called to our heavenly home.
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
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:
Advent in Word
Romans 15:4-13, Luke
21:25-23
Second Sunday in Advent
December 7, 2014
It has often been noted that the Collects and
Scripture readings for the Sundays in Advent express differing aspects of a
single doctrine, which is, the Advent of Christ. The first Sunday centers on His physical Advent, both in His
birth in Bethlehem to die for our sins, and in His Return, in which He will
come in glory to put down all enemies and fully establish His reign of peace
and grace. The second Sunday is
about His coming in the Word, that is, as the fulfillment of the Old Testament
Scriptures. The third Sunday
emphasises preparing for His Return.
The fourth is His coming in the Holy Spirit. The Scripture passages read on these Sundays are known to
have been used for at least 1,600 years, but the tradition of reading them is
probably much older.
The Collect is one of the most famous in our
Book of Common Prayer. It has been
quoted countless times in literature and conversation. It is comparatively new for Anglicans,
having been written only 565 years ago in 1549, when Archbishop Thomas Cranmer
translated the Liturgy into English and removed the theological and practical
errors that had become attached to it.
In his view, and that of the other Reformers some of the prayers had to
be replaced, and he wrote this beloved Collect for the Second Sunday in
Advent. It reads:
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lessed Lord, who hast caused all holy
Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear
them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort
of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of
everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
It is difficult to imagine another prayer,
outside of the Bible itself, that expresses more Biblical content and
understanding than this prayer. It
is based on the Epistle for the day, which we read a few minutes ago, Romans
15:4-13. There we find the purpose
of the Bible. This purpose is
two-fold. First, it is written for
our learning. Second, it is
written that we may have hope through its message.
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime
were written for our learning.”
“[W]hatsoever things” refers to the Old Testament. They are the Scriptures of verse 4. We all know the Bible did not just fall
out of the sky. It came to us as
God moved people to write as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. The man who was moved to write Romans
was the Apostle Paul. And Paul
quotes the Old Testament extensively in verses 9-12. Deuteronomy, the Psalms, and the book of Isaiah are quoted
to show us that the ministry of Christ confirms “the promises made unto the
fathers” and fulfills the Old Testament. You probably know that the Hebrew
people grouped the books of Scripture into three categories; the Law, the
Prophets, and the Writings.
Deuteronomy is part of the Law.
Isaiah is from the Prophets.
The Psalms are from the Writings.
I wonder if Paul is using these three books as representatives of their
categories. Perhaps Deuteronomy
represents all the Law. Isaiah
represents all the Prophets. The Psalms
represent all the Writings. All
point to Christ.
Paul did not invent this understanding of the
Old Testament. It was a commonly
held belief in Israel. Christ
Himself believed it. He said Moses
wrote of Him. Abraham saw His day
and rejoiced. He said David wrote
of Him in the Psalms, and the prophets wrote of Him. Paul wrote in Galatians 3:24 that the law was our
schoolmaster to bring us into Christ.
I think Romans 15 is trying to tell us that the entire Old Testament is
written so we can learn Christ from it.
That is its first purpose.
Second, it is written “that we, through
patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Rom
15:4). When preachers begin to talk about the
purpose of the Bible, they often turn to 2 Timothy 3:16. There they emphasise doctrine, reproof,
correction, and instruction in righteousness. If they are not new to the ministry of the word, they will
go on to 2 Timothy 3:17, which says, “that the man of God may be perfect, throughly
furnished unto all good works.”
They are right to do so.
But many do not understand the connection between the doctrine of verse
16, and the good works of verse 17.
The connection is that one without the other is dead. Many people hope they will be accepted
by God because of their good deeds.
But good deeds without Biblical doctrine is dead. Many will cry out on judgement day that
they did good deeds in the Name of Christ, but Christ will say, “I never knew
you. Depart from me ye that work
iniquity.” When Jesus spoke to the
woman at the well He said “Ye worship ye know not what” (Jn.
4:22). She was a worshiper, but she did not
know God. In other words, she had
deeds but no doctrine, therefore her worship was empty. Deeds, including worship, without
doctrine, are empty, fruitless, and dead.
Likewise, doctrine without deeds is dead. James
said it well, faith without works is dead. In other words, if the things you believe about God do not
lead you to attempt to turn away from sin, and live a Godly, righteous, and
sober life to the glory of His Holy Name, your faith is dead. So the purpose of
the Bible is not just to give us doctrines to discuss and write about and
preach about. Its doctrines have a
purpose, and this leads us back to the epistle for today, to Romans 15:4, which
tells us that the purpose of scripture is to give us hope.
Hope as used in the Bible always means
confidence in the power, and promises of God. It means that we see His power demonstrated in parting the
Red Sea, establishing Israel in Canaan, and in His providential care and
discipline of Israel down through the ages. It means we see the promises He made to Israel, and to the Gentiles. and that we see them
fulfilled through Jesus Christ, the root of Jesse who has risen to reign over
the Gentiles, and in whom the Gentles trust (15:12). Seeing these things gives us confidence that He is able to
keep His promises.
Hope also means confidence that God is willing
to keep His promises to us, if we believe and trust in Christ through Biblical
faith. If He kept His promises to
Israel, He will keep His promises to us. The purpose of the Bible, then, is to lead us to trust in
Christ as our Saviour. As Paul
wrote to Timothy, the holy scriptures are able “to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 3:15).
This is the hope of Romans 15:4.
And so, we come to the meaning of this passage
for us, its application to us today.
Christ comes to us in the Word.
He speaks to us in the Bible.
Don’t look to dreams, or feelings, or experiences as guides to knowing
God. They can, and usually do
mislead us. How many times have
you read about people doing wickedly ungodly things believing God told them to
do it? Jesus said people will kill
Christians believing they are doing God’s work. Paul was a murderer of Christians before he was converted to
the faith. The priests and
Pharisees of Jerusalem thought they were doing the will of God when they
crucified Christ. Many people,
because they had a “religious” experience, believe they are right with God,
even though they make no effort to join His Church or keep His commandments, or
learn of Him through the Bible.
But the Bible makes it clear that Christ comes to us in the Bible. The signs and wonders of the past
served a purpose for a while, but now we have the Bible. It alone is the inspired word of God.
Therefore, let the Scriptures, the things
written aforetime for our learning, through the patience and comfort of the
scriptures, lead you to embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of
everlasting life, which God hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
+Dennis
Campbell
Bishop,
Anglican Orthodox Church Diocese of Virginia
Rector,
Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
Powhatan,
Virginia
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 in Advent
Birth of Jesus Foretold
Psalm 25 • Isaiah 55 •
Luke 1:26-56
This time of the year we look forward to the
celebration of the birth of Christ. It was in the period of the early church
that began the idea of setting aside four Sundays just before Christmas, or as
it was called the Nativity, to help us prepare for this momentous event. This four Sunday study period, with Old
and New Testament readings, hymns, carols, and sermons focusing on this period
would take on the name of Advent.
Advent is a term from the Latin which means “that which is to come”. Now
what is interesting about this period, the first two Sundays focus on the
prophetic nature and period that would herald the coming Savior. Many Old
Testament passages would be read and studied to show how the birth of Jesus
Christ was foretold many centuries before his birth. We can find references to
the birth of Christ in Isaiah, Joel, Malachi, and several other minor prophets
in the O.T. So when Dr. Luke, a
Greek medical doctor, writes the account of the birth of Christ, he is being
inspired by the Holy Spirit to record what had already been foretold so many
centuries earlier. The third and fourth Sundays in Advent focus on both our
personal preparation for His coming and on his return to earth as King of Kings
and Lord of Lords. So during this period of reflection, interestingly at the
end of our calendar year, we reflect on the past, present, and the future. Remember the disciples asked
Christ, “When will you establish your kingdom?”
Jesus replied, “My kingdom was, is now, and is to
come.” If you look at that
passage, he is telling us that his kingdom has always been. The physical kingdom, established on
the new earth, newly created in perfection, is to come. Not to get into any
controversy, but we must understand that even Jesus, before his death, burial,
and resurrection, stated as to the fact of the second coming: “no man knows but
the Father.”
We should not spend endless hours trying to figure
out the mind and time schedule of God, by setting hours, dates, eras,
dispensations for the coming of Christ.
It should suffice us to say, He is coming again. Only the Father knows
the time and era.
Now focusing on the first Advent, we know that in
time and history, Jesus Christ was born. That is a fact. Contrary to what
secular historians try to warp, there was a man named Jesus, who was reported
by secular sources, to have lived and stirred up the people in the area we now
know as Israel. Some miracles were reported, definitely was his existence
noted. This should not be an issue, the Bible has proven many a secular
historian, anthropologist, and archeologist wrong, as more and more evidence is
found by modern archeologist.
Now let us go to the Biblical record and read about
Jesus first coming.
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from
God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph,
of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou
that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying,
and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou
hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and
bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the
Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be,
seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy
Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:
therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the
Son of God.
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also
conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was
called barren.
37 For with God nothing shall be
impossible.
Notice how Mary responds to all this information
Gabriel gives to her. She did not completely understand the process, but she
took the heavenly messenger’s announcement to heart. She understood that as a
child of God she needed to be obedient to his Word.
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of
the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her
Now that Mary has the Word and she is now with child,
she goes to visit her older cousin Elizabeth. This visit not only certifies
what is happening to Mary, but it also confirms the prophetic happenings
concerning the miraculous birth of John. His mother, Elizabeth had never had
any children, she was much older when the angel told her husband that they
would have a son, to be named John. He would be the herald who was foretold in
the book of Isaiah. “A voice in
the wilderness, calling for repentance, making the way for the coming One who
will take away the sins of the world”.
39 And Mary arose in those days, and went
into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
40 And entered into the house of Zacharias,
and saluted Elisabeth.
When
Elizabeth hears the voice of Mary, her cousin....let’s read what happens.
41 And it came to pass, that, when
Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and
Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and
said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 And whence is this to me, that the
mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy
salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
Here is the confirmation, by Elizabeth, that all that
has been taking place is of the Lord. It was foretold many hundreds of years
earlier, is now coming true. This is within a six month period of time, notice
that all of this begins to happen very rapidly, once the message is revealed.
Now Jesus will grow up as a human would, over the years, many experiences,
until the time was right for his ministry that will only cover about 3 ½ years
and encompass only some 80 miles around his home town. But that ministry will
have eternal consequences for all mankind. Finally the salvation promised at
the Garden is revealed. Finally we can put off our sins and accept Jesus Christ
as Lord and savior of our souls, we can be forever alive in Him, all because
the little baby born to a virgin that chilly night so many years ago. Elizabeth gives Mary that final thought
to ponder in the form of a blessing.
45 And blessed is she that believed: for
there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
Now let us go out this day remembering what Jesus did
for us, when he first came to earth, as a tiny little child, to grow up and
live amongst his own, to one day suffer, die, be buried and finally rise again
in newness of life three days later, in the glorious resurrection, that
guarantees our resurrection to eternal life. Let us focus on the real reason for this season, Jesus
Christ the King, the Son of God, the Savior of mankind.
Let us pray,
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lessed be the Lord God of Israel;
for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the
house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which
have been since the world began:
That we should be saved from our enemies, and from
the hand of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to
remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered
out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, Inholiness and
righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the
Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the
remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the
dayspring from on high hath visited
us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in
the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the
Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world
without end. Amen {Luke
1:68-79}
✟
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 in Advent
In today’s epistle, we are told by the apostle Paul that “...whatsoever
things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through
patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” God did not intend for
us to have a blind faith. He did not intend for us to languish in anxious
anticipation for some nebulous response from a mystic, an augur or an oracle.
He gave us his word written so that we might know the truth in the plain language
of the Holy Bible, and be transformed by the workings of the Holy Ghost.
More often than not, in our daily Christian walk, we are faced with
those of the unregenerate who cannot accept God’s word written. While we might
regard them as pitiful creatures who are but the walking dead; they, on the
other hand, perceive not their fallen state with any degree of clarity and
often revel in their wicked natures. As we are vessels for the Holy Spirit,
they likewise are vessels for the evil one and his minions. And in being so
filled, they will strive against us as their master wills. St. Paul once warned
the Ephesian church (6:12) concerning the spirits which are behind the
unregenerate when he wrote, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
But the forces of darkness, who control and manipulate the
unregenerate, have continually sought to keep their charges away from God’s
saving grace. That is what makes our duty as witnesses and ambassadors for
Christ, so difficult. Our foes are strong. They are implacable. They are
without remorse. They have no need of rest, to eat, or to take a holiday. They
can never have the peace of God, and they reject any notion of such for those
who have been taken captive at their will (II St. Timothy 2:26). They possess a
hellish hatred of the Almighty and they have imparted the same to their earthly
charges.
Our Lord came into the world to save sinners. And while all the work is
on him to provide that salvation, we nevertheless, are not without duties and
responsibilities as believers. Our salvation comes with a duty to then work in
his harvest— bringing others to him through our witness. As we are recipients
of God’s peace, so we ought to proclaim that peace to others. That is the
gospel message— Glory to God and peace and good will towards men (St. Luke 2:14).
Our love for each other within the body of Christ, as well as for those
to whom we might witness, reflects God’s love toward us. And that might explain
why our witness may spark a nasty outburst from those of the unregenerate,
especially from those who are firmly in the grip of the wicked one. They may
attack God’s word written, and they may even attack us as we are the servants
of the Most High. That is why it is so important for us to have on, at all
times, our spiritual armour. You cannot hope to stand and fight victoriously if
you are not so equipped. And an integral part of our spiritual armour is our
knowledge of God’s word written.
As regenerate Christians, we have confidence in God’s word written
which tells us of the great victory that he has won over the world, the flesh
and the devil. We also share in that victory. And because we understand that
our Lord has achieved such on our behalf, we have received from his Spirit a
peace which truly passeth all understanding. It is not something that we can
quantify in human terms because it is supernatural. It is not something that you
can grasp with your hand, or even with your mind apart from simple acceptance
that God is. And because he is, we have the blessed assurance that he will do
for his own as he as promised within the pages of the Holy Scriptures. Clearly
we must have that saving faith which is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
But modern, unregenerated, self-satisfied, mortal man mocks the word of
God because his malevolent manipulator does not want him to acknowledge the truth.
We have been called to lift the veil of spiritual blindness from those of the
unsaved as our Lord permits. We may not always succeed, but that does not mean
that we have failed. God knows who will come to him and who will not. And
because God is sovereign, we ought not to grade ourselves too harshly by
measuring our successes or failures based solely upon mere numbers of persons
who seem to respond favorably to our witness versus those who do not. That is
the nature of things. Still, God’s word will sustain and comfort us in all our
divinely appointed tasks.
Consider the following passages where our Lord said: If you love me,
keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth, whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye
know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you (St. John 14:15-17).
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness
and of judgment... he will guide you into all truth... he will shew you things
to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it
unto you (St.
John 16:8, 13b-14).
Consider also these verses from the apostles: ...the Spirit itself
beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God (Romans 8:16).
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what
we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth
what is the mind of the Spirit, because it maketh intercession for the saints
according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).
For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known
unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ... We have also a more
sure word of prophecy...knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of
any private interpretation, for the prophecy came not in the old time by the
will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (II St. Peter 1:16, 19a-21).
All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that
the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (II St. Timothy 3:16-17).
So we should not fold our hands and bow our heads in dejection when we
are not received by the unregenerate. We ought to teach with patience, in
meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God, peradventure will
give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth... that they may recover
themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his
will (II St.
Timothy 2: 25-26). We have
received a gift of the greatest value and we have been called upon to
evangelize the world around us. We must not lose hope. We must not break faith.
If all that has been set forth in Scripture is for our edification, then let
us, as St. Paul has said, run with patience the race, that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2a).
The Holy Bible provides us with God’s assurance of salvation to all who
believe on Jesus Christ. We have the comfort of knowing that when we die we
will not be lost for eternity, but will be brought into God’s heavenly kingdom.
We have confidence that Christ, who has gone into heaven before us, has
prepared a place for us there. And in our comfort and confidence, we ought to
go forward every day proclaiming the good news of the Godhead to those around
us.
Let us pray:
|
T
|
hou Lord God, who through thy divine Spirit
didst give thy word to the prophets and apostles; instill within thy people the
desire to read thy most holy word and to inwardly digest the same; that being
filled with the knowledge which it contains, they might ever be confident in
their life and witness; for this we ask in the name of Christ our Saviour.
Amen.
Have a blessed week, Bryan+
From
Bishop Garth Neel
If you read the prayer list
at all, you know Garth has cancer.
Everything considered, he really seems to be doing pretty well. He has provided this little window into
his heart and I cannot strongly enough suggest you read it!
On Being Told You Have Cancer.
Getting ready to die is hard
work. I realize it probably should not be. As Christians, we are to live each
day sub specie aeternitatis, that is,
under the aspect or in the light of eternity. We are to be aware that our days
are numbered, that they may not accrue to even the usually allotted span of
three score and ten. I am presently just pushing three score. But throughout my
ministry I have buried enough people, among them many people much younger than
myself, and accompanied many as they lay dying, to awaken me to the reality of
death and its unexpectedness. As the character in the old medieval morality
play is made to say, "O Death, thou comest when I least expected
thee"! Likewise, Bishop Thomas Ken's stately evening hymn teaches us
frequently to sing,
Teach
me to live that I may dread the grave as little as my bed.
Teach
me to die that so I may rise glorious at the awful day.
I know that my Redeemer
lives. I know that I am justified by His righteousness, and not at all by my
own. I know that this faith which lives in my heart is a gift from Him. I know
that I need Him every hour. I know that He loved me with an everlasting love,
from before the foundation of the world. I know that he who dies believing dies
safely in His love. I know that I must bear my own Cross and follow Him. But
when they tell you that you have cancer, in my case a very large B-Cell type
tumour, the corrupt fruit of a disease called Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, it seems
there are some unavoidable reactions.
This is so because
information of this type, "you have cancer", tends to carry with it a
fairly powerful emotional charge. Words and ideas and thoughts carry with them
an emotional charge, just as a pair of socks can become electrically charged
when you walk across a dry carpet in winter. And the emotions attendant upon
learning that you are very sick are both involuntary and relentless. They
insist that you attend to them. And so you must. This takes time and is
laborious, just what you do NOT need when you are sick, of course, but it must
be done, and, if we are wise, it will get done. How complicated our emotions
are need hardly be said. They carry us here and there, up and down, in and out.
We cannot escape them. They demand our attention.
Perhaps we feel cheated,
thinking that we are being robbed of precious years of life, while others,
surely less worthy than ourselves, go on living disease-free, utterly useless,
wastrel lives! Perhaps we dread saying goodbye, if only for a while, to those
who we feel still need us in some way, those who are perhaps vulnerable and in
need of our protection and care. Perhaps we just feel afraid, and unwilling to
think about what our last hours may be like, what kind of pain we may have to
endure. Perhaps we feel just a strong sense of uselessness, that we have not
lived our lives as we should have.
And, of course, we have not.
As Christians, we know about Original Sin and we know that even a life
repeatedly dedicated to God's service is far from being what it should. We are
not what we ought to be. We are not what we shall be. And, yes, thanks be to
God, we are not what we used to be. We may, however, find ourselves thinking "if
only", and re-running those deeply imbedded video clips of our most
stupid, ridiculous, sinful moments. This may not be entirely without its uses.
It does not hurt us to remember that we are sinful, even when we are
regenerate. But there is something to which we must constantly return,
especially when we are sick and faced with a death which may come sooner rather
than later.
And it is this: He hath made
every thing beautiful in his time (Ecclesiastes 3 11). It is a beautiful thing
to have cancer. And this is so because there is a purpose for everything.
Nothing happens outside, or apart from, God's wise counsel and foreknowledge.
He makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. He overrules all His
creatures and all their actions. As Dr. Gill wisely notes ...
God has
made everything; as all things in creation are made by him, for his pleasure
and glory, and all well and wisely, there is a beauty in them all: so all
things in providence; he upholds all things; he governs and orders all things
according to the counsel of his will; some things are done immediately by him,
others by instruments, and some are only permitted by him; some he does
himself, some he wills to be done by others, and some he suffers to be done;
but in all there is a beauty and harmony ...
In other words, it is a
beautiful thing to be told that you have cancer. It is not an accident. You are
not a victim of blind chance or fate. It is, in a very real sense, God's
visitation. It is a gift. This is what it means to understand God's "providence".
We mean that He overrules all things, that His wise, loving, holy, good,
guiding hand is finally behind everything which happens to us and, if we are
wise, we shall consciously receive it ALL AS FROM HIS HAND. He is never unjust,
never evil, never sinful. But even what is evil or sinful, He overrules it for
His own purposes and those purposes are always beautiful. He hath made
everything beautiful in His time. And, as John Calvin reminds us, therein lies
true felicity:
give heed and you will at once perceive that
ignorance of providence is the greatest of all miseries, and the knowledge of
it the highest happiness.
(Institutes - 1 17 11)
In other words, for the
Christian, it may not be pleasant to be told you have cancer and that you may
die sooner rather than later. The emotional charge that comes along with those
words is real and pressing. But behind all this lies reality. And what is real
is that God is God, that this is His world, and that I am, by His grace, His
son. Can anything happen to me that is not designed to increase my faith in
Him? Can anything happen to me that is not for my good? Can anything happen to
me that can really hurt me? The answer to each of these is an emphatic
"no". Also, is anything impossible with God? Is He no longer the
sovereign ruler of His universe? Is it beyond His power to heal either directly
or by means or even against means? We give the same answer.
Of course, I am heartily sick
of being sick. The treatment which is, thanks be to God, making me gradually,
steadily better, also has the effect of making me feel right poorly, and as day
follows day, and month follows month, the mind and body grow weary. I certainly
did not plan to be sick this long! But there is another level, the level where
we really live, the level of the soul or spirit. There is no weariness there,
only joy, joy in knowing that real happiness is a by-product. It is one of
those things which, if we pursue it, will always remains just out of our reach,
but which will flow to us freely and easily when we pursue what we ought. For
it remains forever true, that if we seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, then all that is needful will be added unto us as well. He hath
made all things beautiful in His time. God grant that we may embrace as
beautiful all that he sends and to Him be all the glory.
Garth
[1]
Text of President
Roosevelt’s address to Congress on 8 December 1941.
[2] Jack passed away 8 December
2007, 66 years and one day after the attack.
[3]
This was
critical. The naval war would be
one of carrier air battles and submarine warfare, with the battleships serving
primarily as gunfire support for amphibious landings. The carriers and submarines were untouched as were the repair
and fueling facilities.
Admiral Nagumo’s primary concern was that he not lose any of his
precious aircraft carriers. Thus,
there were no follow up raids and the war was really lost at that point.
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