Palm Sunday

Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video HERE -> https://youtu.be/VA4WJmr6S3I

 

In the Collect, we acknowledge God sent His Son to be our Savior.  Think about that, the Creator, Lord and Master of the Universe sent His only Son to live amongst us and not just provide us with instruction and leadership, but to give His earthly life as a one time sacrifice for our sin that we might be accounted as perfect in our final accounting, the resurrection.  In the his Epistle, Paul reminds us if Christ, the Son of God, was obedient to God, we should so be.  Also, as a result of that obedience, God hath given Jesus the name to which all of earth should bow.  The Gospel is the story of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion.  It all comes together, listen or read to understand how. 

http://churchofthefaithfulcenturion.blogspot.com/2023/03/fifth-sunday-in-lent-passion-sunday.html

https://anglicanorthodoxchurch.blogspot.com/2023/03/fifth-sunday-in-lent-passion-sunday_26.html

https://aocone.blogspot.com/2023/03/fifth-sunday-in-lent-passion-sunday_26.html

https://aoctwo.blogspot.com/2023/03/fifth-sunday-in-lent-passion-sunday_26.html

 

https://aocthree.blogspot.com/2023/03/fifth-sunday-in-lent-passion-sunday_26.html

The Propers for today are found on Page 134-137, with the Collect first:

 

The Sunday next before Easter, commonly called

Palm Sunday.

The Collect.

 

A

LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility; Mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

¶ This Collect is to be said every day, after the Collect appointed for the day, until Good Friday.

 

The Epistle came from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, starting at the Fifth Verse of the Second Chapter. 

 

Paul reminds us if Christ, the Son of God, was obedient to God, we should so be.  Also, as a result of that obedience, God hath given Jesus the name to which all of earth should bow. 

 

L

ET this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

This morning’s Gospel comes from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, starting at the First Verse of the Twenty-Seventh Chapter and tells the story of Jesus’ trial, crucifixion and death.  The Gospel was read by in parts.  We all read the Crowd part together.

 

The normally powerful Gospel seems even more powerful when read as a play, so to speak.  The crowd’s part is very hard to read as it reminds us of our dark side.  If you did not make it to church today, please find someone to read this with in parts.  It is an uncomfortable experience that you nonetheless should not miss.

 

Please read this out loud!

Parts

Reader

Jesus

Judas

Pilate

Pilate’s Wife

Crowd

Gospel of Saint Matthew

starting at the First Verse of the Twenty-Seventh Chapter

 

Reader: The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew: When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, 

Judas: I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. 

Reader: And they said, 

Crowd: What is that to us? see thou to that.

Reader: And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, 

Crowd: It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.

Reader: And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me. And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, 

Pilate: Art thou the King of the Jews? 

Reader: And Jesus said unto him, 

Jesus: Thou sayest.

Reader: And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, 

Pilate: Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?

Reader: And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, 

Pilate: Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

Reader: For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, 

Pilate’s Wife: Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

Reader:  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, 

Pilate: Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? 

Reader: They said, 

Crowd: Barabbas.

Reader: Pilate saith unto them, 

Pilate: What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? 

Reader: They all say unto him, 

Crowd: Let him be crucified.

Reader: And the governor said, 

Pilate: Why, what evil hath he done? 

Reader: But they cried out the more, saying, 

Crowd: Let him be crucified.

Reader: 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, 

Pilate: I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

Reader: Then answered all the people, and said, 

Crowd: His blood be on us, and on our children.

Reader: Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, 

Crowd: Hail, King of the Jews!

Reader: And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there; And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, 

Crowd: Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

Reader: Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

Crowd: He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

Reader: The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying,

Jesus: Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? 

Reader: that is to say, 

Jesus: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Reader: Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, 

Crowd: This man calleth for Elias.

Reader: And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, 

Crowd: Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

Reader: Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

Moment of Silence

Reader: And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, 

Crowd: Truly this was the Son of God.

 

Having read this, do you see yourself in the crowd?  The crowd were not a random group of bad Jews, the crowd is us.  There is a little or more of the crowd in each of us.  Uncomfortable?  Yes.  But, sadly very real.  Yet, if we realize this, we can act to make ourselves less of the crowd and more of the Christ.  For in us each is the crowd and the crown.  We chose, each of us, which it will be, crowd or crown.  One simple letter of difference, yet the gap between the two is bridged only by Christ.

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion

Descanso, California

You can view Rev Jack's sermon on video RIGHT HERE!

https://youtu.be/VA4WJmr6S3I

 

Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above. 

 

Consider these words from the Collect:

 

… thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility; Mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection…

 

In the Collect, we acknowledge God sent His Son to be our Savior.  Think about that, the Creator, Lord and Master of the Universe sent His only Son to live amongst us and not just provide us with instruction and leadership, but to give His earthly life as a one time sacrifice for our sin that we might be accounted as perfect in our final accounting, the resurrection.  How much did God value His Son?  Consider what Paul tells us - Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

Reading this, let us consider how much God valued His Son and how much He values us that He sent His Son here to teach us to guide us, to love us, and finally to give His Life for us that we might be free from the bonds of sin and death. Jesus humbled himself to a commoner’s death, and not just that of any commoner, but that of a thief. This tells us how much Jesus and God love us, that God would send His Only Begotten Son to die a horrendous death and that Jesus would under go this painful death and then the descent into Hell to save our souls from eternal bondage. If He did that for us, it is only fair that we should do our best to follow His Example and  perform good actions for Him. We should always consider how much God loves us that He would send His Only Begotten Son to die a commoner’s deatht that we might be free from the bondage of death. He truly does love His Creation and we must never forget that fact. And we must also remember that Jesus loves us that much that He willingly subjected Himself to a terrible death and descent into Hell for battle for our souls for our eternal future. Whenever things get difficult for us, let us think about what Jesus went through and there is no way whatever we are going through is half as difficult as what Jesus went through on our behalf.

 

This thought leads directly to the Epistle which calls us to follow the example Jesus set in His actions of His Death and Resurrection, and also calls us to embody His great humility and His great patience, that we might follow the upward narrow path towards heaven and be partakers of His Resurrection. The Epistle calls us to action and follow in the example of Jesus’s great humility, humbling himself, the being who created this planet, to die for us on the cross, laying down His Life for ours, is an example we must strive to emulate in our own lives, to the best of our abilities. We will of course never be able to emulate His Example perfectly, but we will never get close if we do not do our best. So let us let the Holy Ghost into our hearts and have Him guide us to follow Christ’s example as much as we can do.

 

If we follow His Example and do our best to emulate His humility and patience, we too can be a part of His Resurrection. We will be a part of our own resurrection of sorts. To accomplish this, we have to have our selfish selves die and be replaced with the unselfish self, which we can achieve through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In other words, we need to stop our sinful behavior and replace that behavior with more Godly behavior. This is easier said than done, but it can be accomplished with the help of the Holy Ghost. Without His Help it will be impossible to accomplish. So let us ask Him into our hearts that we might renew our spirit and become New Men. 

 

Jesus set the ultimate standard for us to following God’s will.  His entire ministry can be described as actions. He physically lived His Message. His Message can clearly be seen through His Actions. We need to do as He did and show by our actions that we serve Him. He did not just say nice words and do nothing, He backed up those words with actions. We are called to do likewise. Action, not just diction is what counts in the end and we must always remember that and strive to follow His Example.

 

Jesus knew ahead of time where, how and when He would die. He even told His followers this, but they could not understand as they did not have the Holy Ghost within them to help them comprehend what He said. He knew with a 100 percent certainty it was going to be a physically and spiritually painful death, Yet, He also knew this was God’s Will that we might live.  If He did this for you, how can you not follow Him wherever His Will takes you? And remember His Example, of acting even if it means the death of your temporal body. His Example that He has left to us to follow is that of Action. And like Him, we may have to die for our faith but rest assured that death will have a reward of eternal life. 

 

Recall Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on this day so many years ago.  Only Jesus knew of the upcoming crucifixion; everyone else, including Jews, Romans and His followers, thought he was making a triumphant entrance in to the city to take control of things and kick the Roman occupation force out. It was almost a full moon, this was the year of the Messiah according to Daniel.  The natural events were lining up as Scripture had predicted which preceded the arrival of the Messiah.  Jesus chose the route into the city, through the King’s Gate.  The people saw Him coming and met him at the Mount of Olives.  When He came in through the King’s Gate, the people were expecting to see their future earthly king. They did not have the Holy Ghost within them to see His true nature.  However, they were incorrect, who they were seeing was and is their heavenly king. Jesus had no intentions of establishing a Kingdom of this World. He was looking for followers for the Kingdom of the Next World, of Heaven.

 

This World is only temporary, but the Next World is of Eternity. What ever trinkets we might acquire on Earth will never measure up to the gift that Jesus bought for us by His Death on the Cross and subsequent Resurrection. We must always keep that in mind whenever we are tempted by earthly trinkets. It is a gift of great joy, the fact is we should be by all rights dead and headed for the pit, instead headed to a kingdom of joyfulness and laughter and all pleasant things, and a world that will be far better than our pitiful shadowland here. This is indeed the most valuable of all gifts we will ever receive in our lifetime. 

 

As an aside, the Chief Priests who had so much invested in their 613 laws, likely searched far and wide for the crowd to convict Jesus of the crimes they imagined against their system. We need to remember that not all of the Jews wanted Jesus executed, just those in power and those that followed them. It is an easy mistake to make that many other Christians have made. They have not seen that it was not all Jews and not only that, they were representative of all of humanity, not just the Jewish people. The system that they followed was of this world, not God’s.  Remember, there are none so blind as those who will not see.  They were in the darkness, thus they could and would not see what was being shown to them because it would interfere with their comfortable way of living.  A new way that asked of them, no demanded of them, accountability unto God for their actions.  Know the crowd was not a self-forming group naturally set on condemning Jesus, but a handpicked gang.  At the same time, many of those in the crowd who condemned Him the morning of Good Friday were in the crowd that welcomed Him to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  What a difference five days can make.

 

Make no mistake, we are that crowd.  And, like Pilate, no matter what we say, we cannot wash our hands of the responsibility.  Thus, we must separate ourselves from the crowd.  Separate, that is to make ourselves holy, set aside.

 

When the time comes, how will you ACT?

 

It is by our actions we are known.

 

Be of God - Live of God - Act of God

Fifth Sunday in Lent - Passion Sunday - Propers with explanation – Rev Jack’s Sermon – With Video

Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video RIGHT HERE -> https://youtu.be/eyRSxeR-yhc.

Today’s Collect acknowledges to God we acknowledge without God’s great goodness and divine intervention, we cannot be preserved in either body or soul.   In the Epistle, Paul discusses the failure of the sacrifices of the old covenant and the difference with the new.  The Gospel is another example of the Jews (in this case Pharisees) being very conversant in The Law with absolutely no grasp of its meaning.  In the Gospel, Jesus explained to the Pharisees before Abraham had even been conceived, He was. In fact, Jesus was the one who created this Earth, so He has been around since before the beginning of the planet. The Pharisees could or would not grasp in their heads Jesus was who He claimed to be, the Son of God. They chose to try to destroy His ministry rather than follow Him. He was interfering with their comfortable way of living and deceiving the Jewish people. He was a threat to their system. They would not understand His Message, so they opted to try to destroy Him instead. Great stuff and it all comes together, listen or read to understand how. 

The Propers for today are found on Page 132-133, with the Collect first:

 

The Fifth Sunday in Lent, commonly called

Passion Sunday.

The Collect.

 

W

E beseech thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon thy people; that by thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  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.

The Collect.

 

A

LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.

 

The Epistle for today came from Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, starting at the Eleventh Verse of the Ninth Chapter.   Paul summarizes both the symbolism and the substance of the Lord’s sacrifice on our behalf.  Paul opens the secret of the One Perfect Sacrifice, One Time, for All Time and All Mankind.  Paul is clearly appealing to the sense of the Jews when he asks them if the blood of goats will set aside or atone for sin, how much more can be done by the Perfect Sacrifice made on our behalf?

 

C

HRIST being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

 

This morning’s Gospel comes from the Gospel of Saint John, starting at the Forty-Sixth Verse of the Eighth Chapter and tells the story of Jesus’ confrontation with the Pharisees in the temple.  Like much of John it is filled with deep explanation of Jesus and His purpose here. 

 

Knowing them looking to find the worst in Him, Jesus asked, “Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?”  In a point central to Christianity, he went on, “He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.”  When we hear the term Jews here, we should hear the world in general, for He spoke to all who would not hear.  When they would not hear, He pointed out He sought not glory or praise from them, but only from the Father whom in reality they knew not.  Here He offers the singular benefit of Christianity, “If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.”  This concept being foreign to them, they asked if He thought He was greater than Abraham.  That brought the crowning touch, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day.”  Knowing He was only in his early 30s, they could not grasp how he could have seen Abraham.

 

In a demonstration of the non-linearity of God’s time, He said, “Before Abraham was, I am.[1]”  As might be expected, this offended the Keepers of The Law.

 

J

ESUS said, Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God’s words:  ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you; but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.

 

---

[1] This response was similar to God’s answer to Moses’ question, “Who do I tell them sent me?”

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion

Descanso, California

You can view Rev Jack's sermon on video RIGHT HERE!

https://youtu.be/eyRSxeR-yhc

 

Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above. 

 

Consider these words from the Collect:

 

… thy people; … by thy great goodness … may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul …

 

In the Collect, we acknowledge without God’s great goodness and divine intervention, we cannot be preserved in either body or soul.  This is a constant truth through ought the Bible, the New Testament in particular.  Without God’s great goodness we simply cannot be preserved. What does asking for God’s great goodness mean for us? It means when we ask we might be governed and thus preserved by His great goodness, we are in effect asking for His Guidance for us, so we can be preserved in both body and soul. We acknowledge God is the ultimate good and is the source of all truth, and we need His Help if we are to succeed. This concept is constant throughout all the collects. It is constant because it is the truth. We can only follow the narrow uphill path towards heaven with His Goodness and His Guidance.  As always, if we are left to our own devices and desires, we are lost.  Guided means we need to ask, then listen to what He Tells us, then actually follow those instructions.  

 

For those who are not perfect[1], following instructions can be hard at times but it must be done nevertheless. And I have found this holds true in all aspects of live not just our spiritual aspect. However, in all areas without His Guidance we are truly doomed. We must look to Him for the guidance we need to get through the spiritual and physical turmoils of this life. We must trust in Him and not in our own fallible guidance. We on our own volition cannot drive the narrow up hill path towards heaven safely, we must rely on the Holy Ghost as the perfect infallible lead car that we follow for that guidance. The Holy Ghost will always give us perfect directions, however it is on us to act on and follow those directions.

 

Further to this thought, if we are looking to Him for guidance, we then need look to Him for safety.  Safety meaning only the safety of our soul, our eternal life. It does not mean safety from dangers to the body here on Earth. Our bodies are still able to be physically harmed, but our souls are safe from eternal damnation, that is what safety truly means. It also does not mean we are to put ourselves at risk recklessly, but it means we are to have confidence that if we die while doing actions for Him, we are ensured that our souls will be safe and headed towards heaven.

 

However in order to get into heaven one must be perfect. But as we all know as Saint Paul says, all fall short. So how do we get in then? This is quite the accounting dlemma. How do you account us, who are very imperfect creatures as purified and perfect creatures? There is an easy solution for this and that is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Our only means of being accounted as perfect when we come before God is to rely on the sacrifice and intermediary priesthood of His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ to account us as perfect before God on that final day. Christ has replaced the intermediary priesthood of the Jews with himself, our one and only High Intermediary Priest.  Your AOC ministers, while officially titled as priests, are not intermediary priests! The day of the intermediary priests have come and gone for us with the Old Testament in the past. We need only Christ, there are no middle men between us and Jesus.  He is our Savior, our Leader, our Teacher, our Master, our Example! 

 

Christ came to succeed the Old Covenant marked by sacrifices of innocent animals; killing off animals in an effort to atone for our sins really did not do the job.  However as we have stated before, the Old Covenant was a needed step before the New Covenant could occur. It was a way to prepare people for Christ’s coming. They would not have understood His Message otherwise without it. Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection highlighted that His Ministry was all about action. If we truly are believers of Him, we will ACT upon His Word and not just say it. There is truth to the saying that action speak louder than words. 

 

In the Gospel, Jesus explained to the Pharisees before Abraham had even been conceived, He was. In fact, Jesus was the one who created this Earth, so He has been around since before the beginning of the planet. The Pharisees could or would not grasp in their heads Jesus was who He claimed to be, the Son of God. They chose to try to destroy His ministry rather than follow Him.  He was interfering with their comfortable way of living and deceiving the Jewish people. He was a threat to their system. They would not understand His Message, so they opted to try to destroy Him instead. Note the word try. Try as hard as they might, the Pharisees could not interfere with Jesus’s ultimate action for us, his Death and Resurrection upon the cross. Even with the truth of who He was laid bare in front of them, they still chose not to believe. Time and time again we see them confronted with the truth Jesus offers and they always choose to reject it rather than embrace the truth.

 

This is a very common pattern with God’s enemies. Their names and appearances my change, but their inner hearts and souls have not changed over the eons. Their hearts have been blinded by their love of their selves, pride and greed. They cannot see the simple truths we see as followers of God. They look down upon us and think we are the ignorant ones, when reality is the other way around. 

 

They cannot, or will not, see that the priceless gift Jesus came to offer us. Jesus came to save our souls and give us eternal life, eternal life starting right then.  Not just for the Jews and Israel, but the whole wide world, Jew, Gentile, Greek and all others.  Jesus brought salvation and life to the entire world.  That was not what the Pharisees were looking so hard for with their magnifying glasses as they examined Torah and The Law.  They were looking for what would be only a temporary power, power on this physical plane. This pales in comparison to safety and happiness forever, for all eternity.  Pharisees were not big picture people, and as Calvin told Hobbes, We big picture people rarely become historians or Pharisees, I might add.   The Pharisees were very obviously not big picture people; they misinterpreted the prophecies of the Messiah. Regardless, even though some people chose to misunderstand the prophecies, He came and He made that one sacrifice, at one time, for all mankind, for all time. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life[2].

 

Who is Jesus?  Our Savior?  Indeed.  But, more He has been since before the beginning of the world, for He is One with I Am.

 

Through His Actions, we are saved.

 

Do ye likewise:

 

ACT

 

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

---

[1] All of us, that is.

[2] If the text of this sentence seems familiar, it is John 3.16, probably the most widely quoted text of the Bible.

Fourth Sunday in Lent - Propers with explanation – Rev Jack’s Sermon – With Video

 

Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video here -> https://youtu.be/UJZyeqx-v9I

 

Today’s Collect acknowledges to God we have fallen way short of our goals He set for us and we deserve to be punished for our failures; by His Grace we are relieved of that punishment. Jesus accomplished that relieving by laying down His Life so we might be free of eternal damnation.   In the Epistle, Paul discusses the two covenants, the two parts of this world.  The Gospel is another example of Jesus’ action, not diction.  Action will always benefit our spiritual state compared to inaction. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 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. Great stuff and it all comes together, listen or read to understand how. 

The Propers for today are found on Page 130-132, with the Collect first:

 

The Fourth Sunday in Lent.

The Collect.

 

G

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.

The Collect.

 

A

LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.

 

The Epistle for today 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.

 

T

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. 

 

This morning’s Gospel comes from the Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of St. John beginning at the First Verse. 

 

J

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 Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion

Descanso, California

You can view Rev Jack's sermon on video RIGHT HERE!

https://youtu.be/UJZyeqx-v9I

 

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 often to the case we acknowledge to God we have fallen way short of our goals He set for us. We are also acknowledging we deserve to be punished for our failures; by His Grace we are relieved of that punishment. Jesus accomplished that relieving by laying down His Life so we might be free of eternal damnation. 

                                                                                        

In order for us to enter heaven, we have to be accounted as perfect.  Most of us know we are so far away from perfect, it would not seem to be possible.  

 

How then can we get into heaven, if not by our own means?

 

The answer is simple. God has provided the Way, the one true Way, by sending His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins so we might have eternal life, and He also sent the Holy Ghost to help guide us. 

 

At that final judgment day, if we stay the course and follow God’s guidance, we can be accounted as perfect through the Grace of God’s 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.  Before we accepted Christ and the Holy Spirit we were like the son of the bondwoman and enslaved to sin. Once we accepted Christ and the Holy Spirit and have made an effort to transform our lives from our old sinful selves as the son of the bond, to the better selves, we are now sons of the freewoman.

 

The son of the bondwoman represents not only our state before Christ but also those who refuse to follow Him.  They are stuck in bondage to their own sinful selves and can never exit that state, except they allow the Holy Ghost into their hearts and redeem themselves. It represents the state of all those who do not have the Holy Ghost within them and us before we let the Holy Ghost into our hearts to regenerate us.

 

The 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 they were to follow.  They really did not attempt to follow them, rather to avoid being seen to break them.  A very complex and even more difficult life to live, to comply and uphold those laws and failing. It did not work that well. We still fail miserably at times, but we only have two laws, which we will hear about in a second. They are still hard to uphold, but if we manage to, easier to remember.  The big thing to remember about the 613 laws is they could not accomplish what Christ accomplished with His Sacrifice and establishing the New Covenant. The Holy Ghost helps us along the journey to this goal, to bring us to eternal life.

 

The New Covenant is so much less complex than the Old Covenant.  It is much easier to remember the ways of the New than the Old. It its more efficient than the Old Covenant. However, the New Covenant requires that our actions match our claimed belief in Jesus and God and the Holy Spirt.  However, tempting as it may be to discard the Old Testament entirely, we must remember that the Old Covenant had a purpose. The Old Covenant had to come first to get people’s hearts ready to follow the New Covenant.  For the New Covenant could not be introduced, or in other words, Jesus could not come to Earth until the people were ready for His Teachings. The Old Covenant was a stepping stone to the New Covenant. 

 

Remember this from Holy Communion:

 

Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith:

 

T

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 with which we must comply.  But, there is a catch.  We are not to just avoid breaking those two laws, we must actually live them in our hearts, souls, minds AND bodies.  We must actualize them. It is the common theme of Action not just Diction, that appears in sermons past here. The only way in which we can follow these two laws is we have to put them into practice in our day to day lives, which requires Action and not just Diction. The New Covenant is not about following the Law perfectly, but it is about living the spirit of the Law to the best of our abilities.

 

This requires that we act based on what we can and should do, not what we want to do.  What we want to do will not get us the results that acting from following God’s word will.  The results may or not be obvious right away, but they will be soon enough. A hard principle to follow; but in the end, it is the easiest way and worth the struggle to trust God instead of worrying and or doing what we want to do. 

 

What we want to do is very rarely if ever in congruence with God’s Word. We have to realize this and shift our behaviors that are in line with God’s Word and Will.  We must recognize that what we want to do will not benefit us as well in the long run as what God wants us to do.  This is very hard, but it can be done with the help of the Holy Ghost. We just have to let Him into our hearts and provide us that guidance. Once we receive that guidance than we should act upon that guidance.

 

Action will always benefit our spiritual state compared to inaction. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 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

 

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 

Third Sunday in Lent - Propers with explanation – Rev Jack’s Sermon – With Video

  

Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video here -> https://youtu.be/TuOZZZN-Yvs

 

Today’s Collect asks God to look into our hearts and see what we really want, tehn to protect us from the snares of this world.  In his letter to the people of Ephesis and us, Paul points out that if we are truly believers in Christ, we must as a matter of choice keep His commandments.  Not that we keep them to be believers, but that if we really believe, we have no choice but to follow His precepts.  In the Gospel Luke relates a story of Jesus casting out a devil from a dumb person and being attacked by the local estabilshment.  His very pointed response bears thinking about.  Luke also relates Jesus’ talling about relapsed Christians.  There is much more to this story than meets the eye.  Great stuff and it all comes together, listen or read to understand how. 

The Propers for today are found on Page 128-130, with the Collect first:

 

The Third Sunday in Lent.

The Collect.

W

 

E beseech thee, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of thy humble servants, and stretch forth the right hand of thy Majesty, to be our defence against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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.

The Collect.

 

A

LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.

 

The Epistle for today came from the Fifth Chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians beginning at the First Verse. He echoes the  advice of St. James in his general epistle to be Christians, not just claim to be followers of Christ, when James wrote, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

 

B

E ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 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. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. 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. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

 

This morning’s Gospel comes from the Eleventh Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke beginning at the Fourteenth Verse. 

 

J

ESUS was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion

Descanso, California

You can view Rev Jack's sermon on video RIGHT HERE!

https://youtu.be/TuOZZZN-Yvs

 

Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above. 

 

Consider these words from the Collect:

 

… look upon the hearty desires of thy humble servants, and stretch forth the right hand of thy Majesty, to be our defence against all our enemies …

 

In the Collect, we ask God look in to our hearts, and see our desire to be His children and defend us against evil.  That also means we are looking for His Help which comes in the form of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost will assist us in the process of changing of our hearts to actually have “hearty desires” to do His Will and to be “humble servants”, not our usual and customary self-centered selves.  Quite a combination of thoughts in a small bit of verbiage!  It is amazing how much we can put in a short sentence if we use words to their best advantage! If we will be follow Him, He will defend us in all assaults of our enemies. ^[1]  If we will not accept His Help, He will not force it on us.  Back to that old, “Thy will be done.”  The question arises once again, from whose mouth does it proceed, ours or God’s? 

 

Today’s Epistle and Gospel share the same theme. This theme is centered around action. In order to be a Christian, you have to act as a Christian and not just say we are. And we cannot try and please both man and God, we have to pick which master we are to serve God, or Satan/man/mammon. I know who I want to serve, do you? Faith without the actions to back it up is a false and meaningless faith. Sadly there are too many people in this world today who call themselves Christians who do not truly act like Christians. We must strive to not be like those people, but strive to be Christian not just in name only but in deed as well. 

 

In light of this, there are two phrases particularly worth remembering, “a house divided against a house falleth” and “He that is not with me is against me.”  Middle ground exists, but it is quicksand.  Eventually one has to choose a side.  Everybody has to make that choice sooner or later. It is very clear to us what side we should choose. The only rational side to take is that of God, the side that will lead us to eternal life not that of eternal death.

 

And, we cannot keep with the opposition.  It is the natural part of the history of the Bible and of life. We have to choose to follow God, as there is no other reasonable option, which will give us the result following God will result in. We must decide who we will follow. We do not have true faith if we do not act upon the words that our lips speak, of believing in Christ and His Father. We must emulate the example that Christ Himself set for us in His ministry of action. 

 

Speaking of His ministry, it could be summed up in one word, action. Jesus set the ultimate example for us to follow for action.  Saying we are Christians and actually being Christians are two different states of being. It is like the difference between saying we are going to the grocery store and actually getting in the car and driving to the grocery store. It is quite easy to say we are Christians, it is quite another to act like we are. Acting like Christians is a lot harder than just saying we are but it is something we must strive to do if we are to be more like Christ.

 

In his Epistle, Paul tells us in order to live out our faith, we need to make our actions match our stated desires, very much in line with the thought above. Actions! Not just Dictions, but Actions! He points out that our actions have to be in line with that of Scripture and that of Christ’s teachings in order for them to have any meaning. He warns us against acting like many in this world do with unclean thoughts and actions. He says that those folks have no inheritance in the kingdom of God, so let us strive not to be like them. He is warning us not to let our natural desires overcome us, but let the Holy Ghost in so we can desire what is good for us, versus what is not good for us as our natural tendency is. We need the Holy Ghost’s help to fight our natural tendency of wanting bad things. We should be doing our best to emulate Christ’s example as much as we are able.

 

As we have discussed many times, action is the central theme of the Christian faith, which was first shown with Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection. He came to act for us, not just to talk or meditate; His great plan involved action, though it was painful, it was His action which released us from the wages of sin. We have to follow His Example that He set for us and live our lives in a manner that reflects we believe the Gospel. 

 

Think about the Gospel.

 

It is very important to be unified in our worship and maintain mutual support; a team always beats individuals.  That is not to take away from individuality, but rather to note we need to remember whose side we are on and work together with our teammate. If we are not working together, then we are not truly united under Christ’s banner. And if we are not truly united, then we will not get anywhere in spreading the Gospel for all to hear, learn and understand.

 

We might have individual personality differences, but as long as we all believe on Christ and His Death and Resurrection and Gospel, then those differences we might have with others are minor and not worth arguing or fighting over. We must cast aside our personal feelings about the minor differences and focus on how we can work together with our fellow Christians to further His Mission here on Earth. 

 

 

Christ himself came not to unite the world, but to divide it, father against son.  In Matthew 10:32-34 He says “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” He is saying here He has not come to unite the World, for the World is not on our side. But to clearly divide the world to show who is with God and who is against God.  He came to highlight who is for Him and who is against Him.

 

For as earlier explained, one man cannot serve two masters. And also the saying of where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. In this life by reading through Scripture we can easily tell who is for Him and who is against Him. It is simple, who holds to the principles of Scripture is for Him. They who do not hold to them are not with Him. 

 

You must keep constant vigilance against backsliding, for a fallen Christian is in worse shape than one who was never exposed to The Word. In order to maintain the constant vigilance you have to always act upon your faith. The Epistle and Gospel both talk about the curious dichotomy; you are saved by faith, Jesus’s faith, and your faith alone saves you, not what you do; yet if you have faith, you must act on that faith. To maintain your Christian course, you must truly turn a new leaf, and not slip back into the old man. This is one of the most difficult challenges as a Christian, but with the help of the Holy Ghost, we each can do it. 

 

You must receive the Word, hear it, and act upon it and spread it joyously to others, in order for your faith to have any meaning at all. Otherwise we will have been for the worse than if we never had heard the Good News. It is not a gift to selfishly lock up, but to share and give to others. That is the true joy of the Good News. It is most certainly more blessed to give than to receive in this case.

 

You must grasp your acceptance of Jesus Christ as your savior and your repentance is the beginning of your life as a New Man in Jesus.  

 

Will you slip?  Without doubt.  But, when you do, will you again repent and continue to do your best to follow the Word of God, the Light and the Truth?  All that matters is you get up and do your best not to do what you did to slip. Life is a continuous learning process. Indeed, if you are a Christian that is what you must do.  We will always slip up in our lives, that is in our fallen nature. But we have to get up and get back on track, using the Holy Gospel to guide us like the instruments in an aircraft.  We cannot trust our feeling, but only our instruments (God’s gift of Holy Scripture).  You are called to believe and act on those beliefs to the best of your ability.  If you do not, then prepared as you were for life, you will so be prepared for the pit.  As you read Luke, remember the second half of the Book of Luke is The ACTS of the Apostles, not thoughts, wishes, prayers or meditations. 

 

For, “blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

 

ACT

It is by our actions we are known.

 

Be of God - Live of God - Act of God

---

^[1] A Collect for Peace – 1928 Book of Common Prayer Page 17