Audio file of Sermon for Sexagesima 2016

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Sexagesima

II Cor. 11:19-31  *  Luke 8:4-15  

The Gospel and the Epistle appointed for this day blend well together when we consider the patience of St. Paul. He endured all things that could come on anyone, and so brought forth fruit an hundredfold. When he began his walk he turned away from the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. In time of persecution he did not fall away; and in his case the time of persecution was lifelong until his death as a martyr. Instead of complaining that God was terribly unfair in leading him through fire and water, he gave thanks that he could suffer with Christ. Paul saw his own sufferings as leading to good, especially emphasizing how God used those very trials to further his evangelistic mission as an apostle. Through those sufferings Paul was able to reach people with the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his salvation.  

He said as much in another epistle, writing to the Church in Philipi these words:

"But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." (Philippians 1:12-14)

In today's epistle, he did not write the long list of things he endured in order to boast, but to establish credentials that his critics did not have, namely certain false apostles and teachers who were troubling the Church in Corinth. That is, he was not waxing rich or gaining status in the world, and was not living in luxury. That he chose to continue his life of persecution and danger, and great discomfort, instead of going back to Tarsus to profit from his family's tent-making business (no doubt as suppliers to the imperial army), was offered as proof that his service was genuine. For that reason, and that reason alone, he wrote those words to the Christians in Corinth, that they would hear him and turn away from the false teachers. The Apostle warned about them in the same chapter from which today's Epistle reading was taken:

"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him." (II Corinthians 11:3,4) 

It really does matter who you allow to serve as your spiritual leader, teacher and guide, due to the very same problem: A false gospel, another Jesus, and another spirit which we did not receive (that is, not the Holy Spirit we received in our Confirmation). St. Paul actually came right out and told the Corinthian Christians that some ministers are called into their vocation by Satan, not by God.

"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." (vs. 13-15)

The issues are of eternal consequence, not simply matters of liturgical taste. Furthermore, with eternity in mind, live your life as part of the Church, for that is where the true Gospel is taught, where the pure Word of God is preached and where the sacraments are duly administered. That is what matters, whether every detail is to our taste or not. It is not about satisfying our emotions (which satisfaction may come or not come) but about eternal life with Christ.        

It is in this context, when St. Paul told those ancient Christians in the city of Corinth that they needed to follow him, and reject the false ministers of a false Gospel, that he reminded them of his own sufferings and persecutions. In light of that, once again I want to quote those words from another epistle, the Epistle to the Philippians:

"But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel."

"The furtherance of the gospel" means, of course, the mission of the Church, preaching the word of God to those who have not heard it. That is how the Apostles laid the foundation. They built the Church wherever they went by preaching the Gospel. And, the troubling reality is, we are much too capable of presenting something less than the Gospel.        

We must never allow our Faith to become so complicated that we cannot easily and briefly articulate the essential message of salvation that everyone needs to hear. Nor can we afford to be distracted by many pressing matters that, in the end, simply prevent us from serving God. If Satan has beguiled any of our people through his subtlety, it has been by distorting the message or hiding it under a pile of stuff, maybe rubble, or maybe under a pile of beautiful ornate treasures that simply distract us from the real priorities. We must not allow anything to so complicate our beliefs that we forget the Gospel, how to preach it with power, with the right kind of simplicity, and with conviction.  

Who is the sower, and what does he sow? The answer is in the Gospel reading we have heard today: "The seed is the word of God." So, after Mark's account (4:14) of the same parable, the Lord explains simply, "The sower soweth the word." To whom do we sow the Word? Now, that is also important to get right.    

What kind of farmer would sow the seed everywhere, on all kinds of ground, the shallow ground of the path, the rocky ground, and among the thorns? The sower in this parable does not seem to be very careful with that seed. He appears to be less than frugal. He seems extravagant, like a spendthrift, downright prodigal. But, recall the parable of the wheat and the tares. The landowner, representing God in the parable, did not send his servants to uproot the tares prematurely, lest they uproot the wheat as well.  

Just as we cannot tell who will prove to be genuine wheat (that is who will actually hear the Gospel, and truly repent and believe the message), so we cannot really know into what kind of ground we are sowing. We cannot see who will receive the seed into the good ground of an honest heart, for we cannot see as God sees. It is our task to sow the seed everywhere, as wasteful as that may appear to be.   

I have seen parishes and their clergy fall into the trap of looking for P.L.U.--"people like us." Over the years in various churches I have met clergy, and even a few self-appointed lay-sheriffs, who mistake their position for that of a "gatekeeper." They treat potential new members the way insurance underwriters treat new applicants, looking them over to see if they should be approved or not. It is especially troubling when these underwriters and sheriffs purposely drive away people based on churchmanship, whether in the name of Anglo-Catholic High churchmanship, or in the name of pietist Low churchmanship. In truth, there must be room for everyone who is looking for a valid church, just as there must be an effort also to reach people who are completely unchurched, and to introduce them first and foremost to Christ Himself. We have been commissioned to spread the word to "all sorts and conditions of men." It is not a commission exclusively to "people like us," but to everyone.

The message is simple: "Repent and believe the Gospel." The sacramental life of the Church follows, and we are supposed to bring people into that life; but, before we can do that, we must be willing and able to present the Gospel of Christ. Listen to these words by William Temple, the 98th Archbishop of Canterbury (1942–44): “Evangelism is to so present Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit that men might come to trust Him as Savior and serve Him as Lord in the fellowship of His church.” 

The sower presents Jesus Christ as the Gospel reveals Him. He is One with the Father in eternity, and Who also took human nature into His Divine person, born of a virgin, fully human (while remaining One with the Father as God the Son), Who died on the cross as the spotless Lamb of God to take away all our sins, Who rose again from the dead on the third day, Who appeared to witnesses after His resurrection, and Who will come again in glory. Those who believe in Christ are welcomed into the fellowship of His Body, the Church, to live the sacramental life of disciples.   

Now, the purpose of false apostles, and deceitful workers, the ministers of Satan, is to take away this Faith from our minds. Failing that, their purpose is to get us so distracted by other things (even things that may seem good or religious), so as to get us "off message," so that we never sow the word to others. The tactics I have seen include:

1. To distort our priorities so that we "major on the minors."

2. To sow discord among brethren (Prov. 6:12-19), so that we fight each other and squabble about all manner of things (oh, and it's always about something important, in fact so important that people must divide, and maybe even ignore the clear commandment of God- in I Corinthians 5-so as to take each other to court with lawsuits).

3. To simply make us lazy, so that we neglect the House of God.*

4. Or to lead us astray with false doctrines.

All of these things I have seen in my many years, and so have some of you. And, why should we be surprised? St. Paul warns that Satan has his own ministers - indeed, the Devil really does call some people into the "ministry." They are called and appointed, by Satan, to stop the Church so that sowers do not sow the word.       

But the good news is God calls His own servants to lead the way. God has given us the word to sow, His word to sow, just as we are to believe it ourselves and live by it. And, knowing that we are weak, God gives us the Holy Spirit Who reveals His own power within us by gifts of service in every member of the Body (and I do mean you), so that together we may do His will in this fallen world. And, if we have the Faith that He plants in us by the seed of His word, and if we remain steadfast, anything that may come our way, whether good or bad, will fall out for "the furtherance of the Gospel."

__________

*Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. Haggai 1:9, 10

Septuagesima

Read it at this link.

January 22, Evil anniversary

It was on this day in 1973 that the Supreme Court legalized the murder of children in the womb. Snow and ice may make turn out at the March for Life in Washington D.C. much lower than usual, or maybe not at all lower. I will find out this evening. I attended this event for many years, my wife by my side after we were married, and I thank God for all the people who are able to get there.

All Christians everywhere need to understand that abortion is a grievous sin, the sin of murder.

All Christians ought to perceive it also as an issue of justice that requires both prayer and action, as did slavery, as did the Holocaust, and other great injustices in history.

All Christians ought to know that this is moral rather than political, and that addressing it publicly and from the pulpit is perfectly correct, and necessary.

LET US PRAY that God will end this injustice, and have mercy.

Audio file of my sermon on January 17, 2016

Second Sunday after the Epiphany. Click on the picture for the link.

Concerning the suspension of the Episcopal "Church"

Those who want to read a brief news report about the Anglican Communion Primates having suspended the Episcopal "Church" (TEC) from voting in Communion matters, and from representing the Anglican Communion for a three year period, may read the news at this link. If you want to read my analysis of this matter please come back to this page.

That the Global South primates have won a kind of victory is a step in the right direction, but only a step in a long journey. Many of us in Continuing churches know that this is approximately forty years later than it should have been. We know also that the Archbishop of Canterbury, then Donald Coggan, would have made all things better by recognizing the Denver Consecrations in 1978. The presence of ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach at the primates meeting this past week is good in one sense, but it also drives home the propaganda that we need to resist; namely that only now has a genuine Anglican alternative to TEC arisen. That notion has been presented only in an implied sense, but it is strongly implied at our expense, though it has never been true at all.

Furthermore, we do not accept the idea that any church body that "ordains" women is practicing authentic and genuine Anglicanism, for it is rejecting the catholic understanding of holy orders that was always preserved in Anglicanism from the time of the Reformation on. The idea that the matter of a sacrament may be altered, in this case a woman substituted for a man, cannot but lead right back to the belief that a man may step in for a woman, or a woman for a man, in another sacrament, namely holy matrimony. Logic follows its own law of gravity, as I wrote before, back in 2007 (see it here). Sadly, this bodes ill for the Anglican Communion in many places other then the United States, which is why the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC) has stepped in to ensure valid orders in many countries on all inhabited continents, as well as the islands of Haiti and the Philippines. This rescue by the ACC has been necessary even in several of the Global South countries from which Anglican Communion primates traveled to Canterbury. And the ACNA still has women in their diaconate and in their priesthood.

Therefore, I do not see the suspension of the Episcopal Church as a major victory or healing. It only delays the break up of the Anglican Communion, focusing only on same-sex "marriage." In itself same-sex "marriage" was already practiced in TEC, just not by name before the government declared it legal. It was called the "Blessing of Same-Sex Unions," and was approved at the same 2003 General Convention that approved Gene Robinson for their TEC episcopate. That did not lead to any such actions as we see now by the primates, nor did it cause the ACNA to arise for six years.

Indeed, "Blessing of Same-Sex Unions" was always meant to be the same thing as marriage, however unofficially in the eyes of the state, inasmuch as the Church does not actually marry anybody, since the ministers of matrimony are the bride and groom who marry each other. The priest hears their vows in front of other witnesses, and gives them the Blessing. The Church does not make marriages, but rather blesses them. So, we know what TEC was really approving in 2003. All that is different now is the mask has come off completely.

This is not a matter of too little too late, but of a brief delay. At the end of these three years will TEC have repented? The evidence is that they are digging in their heels and playing "martyr" and "prophet" under the leadership of their Presiding Bishop Curry, who spoke passionately to the other primates, wresting every New Testament verse he could drag out of context, no matter how violently. In his theology, it appears, God sent His Son into the world to make the world safe for pornea (sexual immorality). The Son did not come to call sinners to repentance, but to seeking affirmation  of their sinful "lifestyles." Curry's words, and their tone, show no repentance, but only a Satanic method called twisting the scriptures. In three years TEC will only slide further into apostasy and heresy, assuming all the while a "holier than thou" attitude in the process.

And, since history proves that TEC is the real trail blazer in the Anglican Communion, including parts of the otherwise laudatory Global South, it is only a matter of time before the cancer spreads further, perhaps a mere three years. No, a much more radical and perhaps painful procedure must take place for us to have any cause of rejoicing. That procedure may seem as painful as cutting off a right hand, or plucking out a right eye. It is called repentance.

Second Sunday after the Epiphany

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Audio of sermon First Sunday after the Epiphany 2016

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First Sunday after the Epiphany

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The Popeye Principle

Fr. Charles Nalls has given me permission to post this here. He wrote it today for his Facebook timeline. For our readers in other countries, this is the picture here in the United States, where we face, as every Leap Year, the spectacle of presidential politics on top of all the other campaigning that goes on here every two years. I agree with Fr. Nalls that moral issues have been absorbed into politics, and that Christians should make decisions always with moral considerations outweighing other concerns.
______________________________________

I have never felt the need to post a profile, assuming that those who choose to friend me actually understand something about me and where I might stand on various issues. In view of recent remarks by a purported religious in response to an opinion piece on Mrs. Clinton, I feel it might be appropriate to add some clarity, particularly in a political season.

As a citizen, veteran, attorney and member of the clergy, I am firmly committed to the rule of law equally applied and to upholding and defending the Constitution of the United States. Is it perfect? No. But it is demonstrably the best antidote to tyranny going. Anyone who has lived under a Marxist or "democratic socialist" regime, Mohammedan rule, or other assorted repressive experiments incorporating their features, or who has witnessed the crimes of these entities, surely would agree. I am a strict constructionist who does not believe in "penumbras", judicial activism, executive orders or other manufactured avenues to attain socio-political goals while vitiating the role of our elected officials.

With respect to elected officials, the corrupt and dishonest need to be gone. Strict term limits and an absolute ban on super-PACs, lobbying of any kind, and contribution caps will go a long way to removing the stench of corruption currently creating the miasma that is Washington.

Finally, the crisis of our culture is moral. I find support, especially by anyone claiming to be in holy orders or a religious, for any politico such as Madam Clinton highly problematic. If one professes and calls oneself a Christian and who flacks for an avowed and vocal partisan for abortion on demand, for the vendors of parts of the unborn killed in the womb, for homosexual marriage and for other abominations contrary to the teachings of the church and antithetical to a culture of life you deserve outright rebuke.

Is that modern? No. Is it "nice"? No. Is it intolerant? Absolutely. I cannot be tolerant of that which is evil, of that which destroys.

At the same time, does it mean despising the sinner? Heaven forbid! Reproof with forbearance and above all charity is the only way to encourage amendment of life and, ultimately, transformation. However, to enable those who would engage in these behaviors or to actively encourage them, is unacceptable and must be vigorously resisted. Quailing from this imperative or whoring for votes is beneath contempt.

Can we disagree? Certainly. That is the beauty of the First Amendment. I am willing to take my stand in the "marketplace of ideas", the public square. However, please do not attempt to silence that speech or drive politically incorrect thoughts from the public square. Therein is beauty of the Second Amendment.

If these notions prove tiresome or offensive to you, you are most welcome to unfriend me. Much like the "off" button on the telly or radio or the "favorites" selector on the browser, social media offers a great free market avenue to render oneself immune from those who might annoy or provoke in any way. I am reasonably certain that the reasonably clever user can restrict their content solely to rainbows, bunnies and videos of kittens.

To quote my personal hero Popeye the Sailor, "I yam whats I yam!" Imperfect, a sinner, impatient, every so often (mind you rarely) irascible, and always in need of the prayers of others. Yep. On those large issues, though, I am unyielding, intransigent and uncompromising--perhaps even fierce at times-although age does temper ferocity. If that fits the bill, let's have a great 2016, praying one for another, standing squarely against the prince of this world and his accomplices, and at all times rejoicing in that which now is and more in that which is to come.

Epiphany blessings to you and yours!

The Epiphany January 6

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Formal Accord

Continuing Anglican jurisdictions Announce Formal Accord

The following is an interjurisdictional letter of support issued by four head bishops of the Continuing Anglican Churches.

We the undersigned bishops of the Continuing Anglican churches, as indicated below, pledge to work cooperatively, in a spirit of brotherly love and affection, to create a sacramental union and commonality of purpose that is pleasing to God and in accord with godly service to our respective jurisdictions.

Additionally, we will endeavor to hold in concert our national and provincial synods in 2017. Our goal for this meeting will be to formalize a relationship of communio in sacris.

During the intervening period, we will work in full accord toward that end. We will seek ways to cooperate with each other, supporting each others' jurisdictions and communicating on a variety of ecclesiastical matters. We will maintain regular monthly communication by teleconference.

The Most Reverend Walter Grundorf, The Anglican Province of America

The Most Reverend Mark Haverland, The Anglican Catholic Church

The Right Reverend Paul C. Hewett, The Diocese of the Holy Cross

The Most Reverend Brian R. Marsh, The Anglican Church in America

Audio of sermon, second Sunday after Christmas Day, Jan. 3, 2016

Second Sunday after Christmas Day

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The Circumcision of Christ January 1.

Romans 4:8-14 * Luke 2:15-21 

Back in the 1970s, when I was in my first year in college, I had a run-in with a Philosophy instructor. The older I get, the more I read and the more I learn, the more I know how right I was, and how wrong the instructor was. Now, that is not the normal reflection one makes of his first year of college, and not the normal reflection I make of my undergraduate days in the 1970s when I was a mere boy and a beardless youth (a time my own kids think could not have existed. When I tell them I was once their age, I am not sure they believe me).

Anyway, this Instructor told the class that the ancient Greeks had believed that matter was evil (so far she was somewhat right), and that, in her words, “we see this as part of Christian teaching, that matter is evil.” I did not hesitate to contradict her. I spoke right up: “That is not Christian teaching,” I said. And I was right. She said to me, “Defend that statement.” So, I did. I pointed out that as early as the Book of Genesis, God looks at His creation and says, “It is very good.” I mentioned the sacraments, specifically bringing up baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which use matter for what is holy. I was about to point out the most important part, that Christians believe that God Himself has appeared in the world of matter in what we call the Incarnation, the Christian teaching that God the Son is fully God and fully man in one Person. But, she cut me off, and repeated her assertion that Christians have always believed that matter is evil.

The entire concept of matter being evil was the worst of ancient Gnostic heresies taught by one Marcion, whom the bishop and martyr Saint Polycarp called “the firstborn of Satan.” I am sure that these names were not familiar to the instructor. To this day I am irked by the fact that standards at that college were so low as to make an instructor out of someone so totally unqualified. And yet, if that unfortunate person had not been presenting herself as someone who is educated, we could have a certain amount of sympathy.

After five centuries of division and confusion among Christians, it is all too true that the heart of the message is missing from what most people think we believe. During this season of Christmas, and particularly this eighth day of Christmas, the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ, it is a good time to state some basics about our faith. In particular, what does it mean that God the Son was born into the world as a human being? And, what does it mean about the use of matter in sacraments and also for worship in general? It is right that we can see water, incense, the sound of bells and other created things as useful in worship. Our God made a good world, and created things have been sanctified by Christ taking human nature and coming into the world of matter, of space and of time. Eternity and time have met in one Person. For people who object to water, to incense, to bells and to the Real Presence in the Sacrament, I can only ask what they have against Jesus Christ having come in the flesh.

The fact that we believe such a thing, that we believe “the Word was made flesh,” is rather startling, quite a shock when we really take it in for the first time. I recall vividly when I was very young, attending a Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve in the 1970s, and the Rector of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, a small country church in Maryland, read the opening of the Gospel of Saint John, the appointed Gospel for Christmas. I knew the words already, but as they were read in the context of the Church in that holy service, on that holy night, they hit me like a bolt of lightening. “…the Word was God…And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” A few days later I was walking the family dog, and those words came again. I already believed that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man; but the idea of what that means, once again, was like being struck by lightening. It really is rather a shock, a good shock and happy, to grasp the fact that God the Son has condescended to take our very nature into His eternal and uncreated Person- God equal to the Father and the Holy Ghost.

The very fact that Saint Luke tells us that he was circumcised takes on great significance. Every Jewish boy was circumcised on the eighth day. This is what God had commanded Abraham. But, what does it mean that Jesus Christ was circumcised? What does it tell us about creation and redemption, and God’s love for the human race?

Well, to begin with, as our Collect points out, Jesus Christ would fulfill the Law. For redemption, it reminds us of words from the Epistle to the Hebrews: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15).” The fact that He fulfilled the Law perfectly, and was Himself without sin is essential to our salvation; the Righteous One being sacrificed as a Lamb without spot, himself pure from all sin, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (I Pet. 2: 24).”  As Isaiah put it, in the 53^rd chapter:

 “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

The sinless One, like Adam whose sin made the many guilty, has by His obedience unto death as the atoning sacrifice, made the many righteous. In this first shedding of blood by circumcision He begins to obey and to fulfill the whole Law; no one else ever did it perfectly. No one else could. No man in heaven or earth was worthy to open the scroll, says the Book of Revelation, except for the One who was like a Lamb that had been slain, and is called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

What else does His circumcision tell us? It tells us that we can identify Him as an individual in history. This is very important, indeed essential, to believing that His Incarnation was real and not allegorical. Back in the 1980s, in New York City, one of the “progressive” Episcopal churches in town decided to display a female corpus- that is, the body of a woman- on a crucifix. One of the great errors of our time is the kind of feminism that wants something other than simply equal respect for both men and women, which is a good thing in itself. But this is, instead, that other kind of feminism, the Satanic kind that hates human nature as God created it, and meant it to be. It is the kind that hates life, that makes the sin of murder by abortion into its only “sacrament.” Like the witch in Narnia, it makes it always winter but never Christmas. A female corpus on the crucifix gets to the heart of error. Jesus Christ, in His sacrifice is transformed into a mere symbol. How backwards from reality.

God is the great Reality, and we human beings are the image. Jesus Christ in His human nature is the exact image, the express icon of the Father. His Circumcision reminds us of this reality: namely, that He entered real human history. That is, the world, as it really is, received into its created existence the Lord Himself. He was real, and as an individual had marks that made Him of the male sex and of Jewish ethnicity, just as we all have these same distinctions of belonging to one of the two sexes, and to our own specific lineage from our ancestors. His sex was male, His people were Jewish.

It is important that He was male. This is no “accident” of the Incarnation, but rather, part of the plan. It is important that He was Jewish, descended from the Royal line of David. This too was no mere “accident” of the Incarnation, but an essential part of the plan of His Incarnation. Only a man could be our High Priest and represent all of humanity in One Person- as head. Only a Jew from the line of David could be the eternal King whose government and peace will have no end. 1

And, all of this ties into that other fact of His Circumcision, His name. “And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” Jesus, Y’Shua, is a Hebrew name that means Salvation. As it says in the book of Isaiah:

Ci’ Adonai Shof’tenu

Adonai Mak’ka’kenu

Adonai Malkenu

Hu Yashi-enu

“For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He is our salvation (Isaiah 33:22).”

We ought to study the two comings of Jesus Christ as they are revealed in the Old Testament: His first coming as Priest and His second when He will come as King. For today, let us consider the meaning of His circumcision, the first shedding of His blood, and His particular history as a male of the house of David, of the tribe of Judah. This real man in real history has overcome the barriers between us and God. By taking human nature He has overcome the chasm between Creator and creature that separated us from God. As the Lamb of God Who took away the sins of the world in His atoning death, when He offered Himself on the cross as the full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world, He removed the separation between us as sinners and the Holy God. When He rose from the dead He did away with death that separated us from the Living God, the source and author of all life.

He has redeemed us by means of the good world He created, in a body of flesh and bones, in time and space. His Name is Jesus. He is our salvation.

1. Isaiah 9:6,7. These two verses reveal that Messiah must be a male of David’s line.

The Holy Innocents December 28

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http://anglicancontinuum.blogspot.com/2008/12/revelation-141-5-matthew-213-18-no.html?m=1

A sermon on video for the Feast of St. John

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St. John December 27

I John 1:1-10 * John 21:19-25

The beloved Disciple, Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist, has set a standard for every genuine Christian theologian. How glorious and sublime his words, how enlightened his understanding, how profound his teaching; and yet his feet are planted in the real world. He opens his First Epistle as he opens his Gospel, speaking of the mysteries of God as they are revealed and made known to His Church through the Apostles and their teaching. He speaks of high and heavenly things, of mysteries beyond human comprehension, of truth so profound we can but scratch the surface, of mysteries hitherto locked away from the dawn of time, and now made known. Yet, in the same Epistle he speaks directly to the most material needs, the necessities of the body in our duty to the poor among us: "But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" (I John 3:17)

And, this is not forced and awkward; it is not a sudden change of subject, or a redirection of thought. It all flows together; it is of one part, combined most naturally by a single thought, the love of God. And, who better than John "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (e.g. John 21:20) to unlock this mystery in his writing? The meaning of this phrase, "the disciple whom Jesus loved," can be reduced, by immature thinking, to some form of favoritism, or simple friendship. But, in light of the great themes of his writing, the Apostle was more likely to have been letting us in on revelation that made him the Theologian. He saw in everything that Jesus taught and did that inexpressible love beyond all human imagination. He saw it as the Lord was going about teaching and healing. He saw it as the Lord washed the feet of the apostles on the night in which He was betrayed. He saw it as he stood and beheld the agonies of Christ dying on the cross, giving his life willingly. He saw it when the Lord appeared after his resurrection to extend grace and mercy. To John it was this love that opened his eyes so wide that he could write, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."

John saw the love of God in Christ, for he had stood at the foot of the Lord's cross when he died. Writing of this, the revelation of God's love from the cross for all mankind, John takes that love personally by so describing himself: "the disciple whom Jesus loved." He knew that Jesus loved him, for he saw the Lord die for him, in his place, and cancel out forever the debt of his, of John's, sin: "It is finished (τελέω)." (John 19:30) John describes the effect of that death in these words: "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (I John 2:1, 2) He writes to open the door to everyone, that all who believe will also know that love, and also know what it means to be the disciple whom Jesus loved. See the Lord lifted up from the earth on his cross, and know that you are also, if you will learn the truth that makes you free, the disciple whom Jesus loved (8:31,32); for he loved you from his cross of death when he canceled out your debt of sin.

And so, he tells each of us that God's love is so great that we can enter the fellowship of those who have heard, who have seen with their eyes, who have looked upon, and whose hands have handled the Word of life. He dwelt among us because of what was made known to this one Apostle, that the Lord loved him. He could write of that love only in the great eternal and universal themes of his Gospel.


The Incarnation and the Trinity. The love of God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, is revealed in the uncreated eternally begotten Person of the Son among us, sharing our created nature as human beings and speaking of the other Paraclete to come. This double theme of the Trinity and the Incarnation permeates his writings, and those same writings rest on this double theme as a foundation.

The Atonement. As with every presentation of the Gospel, the facts are presented clearly, that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day appearing to witnesses who saw Him alive. He writes of John the Baptist identifying the Lord as the true Passover, slain to free us from sin and death: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29)," the One who suffered and died to take away our sins.

The Resurrection. Indeed, in the opening of his First Epistle he writes in such a way as to give us a completed picture of Christ, that He is God the Word, that He has passed through death, and has risen. For, only after his resurrection are we given specific words in Scripture to touch the body with his scars of death: "And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God." (John 20:26-28) As also St. Luke records, about the Risen Lord Jesus appearing to them: "And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." (Luke 24:38, 39)

So, it is all of one, one seamless garment of the love of God revealed in Christ. St. John writes of the mystery of God in opening his Gospel, where he writes of the Word (λόγος) who is God, one with the Father and with the Holy Spirit, through whom all things have been made, taking us to that Holy of Holies within the Holy Scriptures: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14) Within the Holy of Holies in the Old Covenant Temple, the glory was hidden to all but the High Priest, once a year and not without blood. In the revelation above every other revelation, the direct revelation of God in the Incarnate Word, in Jesus Christ very God and very man, that glory is seen by all. "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." (14:9) And, this High Priest, the Incarnate God, the Lamb slain, the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, may show the glory to all who will believe, and not without His own blood, which had been shed as the Lamb of God.

The Church is described uniquely in the opening of St. John's First Epistle. It is the very fellowship of all who believe the Apostles who had seen, and who had touched with their hands, the Word of Life. The implications are quite clear, that by believing the word taught by the Apostles, and touching the same Lord in his sacraments, we have fellowship with those Apostles across the barriers of time, fellowship with the Incarnate Christ who is the head of the Body, with God the Father, and with each other.

It is said that when he was elderly, John was carried about on a stretcher, unable to walk anymore. When he would arrive in a city he would go into the church, gather his strength, and say simply: "Love one another." This would have been no mere sentiment, no empty phrase, or idealism. He had lived through many deaths, his colleagues dying one after another as martyrs (beginning with his brother James); and now he survived to be the last of the Apostles. More importantly, he had seen his Lord die on the cross. He knew that same Lord to be alive, and to be present by His Spirit in the Church. For this old man to have said "love one another" was to speak volumes, to speak words filled with their own glorious weight of meaning, filled with the revelation of the Word made flesh.

So, let it be for us, a phrase filled with all the same meaning, a standard for every genuine Christian theologian and teacher, a standard for every beloved disciple.

Feast of Stephen December 26

Click on the link

http://anglicancontinuum.blogspot.com/2007/12/st-stephen-protomartyr.html?m=1

Fr. Wells' Bulletin Inserts

Who would not love thee, loving us so dearly?

The beautiful line from the beloved great Christmas Processional, Adeste fideles, is made elegant by a play on the word “dearly.”  “So dearly” can mean “with such intense affection,” or “at such great expense to himself.”  As we contemplate the miracle of the manger, we see that both meanings apply.  The threefold God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost truly loved us with an everlasting love, having loved us In Christ before all worlds, loving us with a love that sin does not cancel, death does not terminate, and hell itself cannot overwhelm.   But this unspeakable love was manifested at incredible pain and expense to the Divine Lover.  From the wonderful night when there was “no room in the inn,” though a humble and uncomfortable life in which the Son of Man had no place to lay His head, to the agony and bloody sweat of Gethsemane, to the pain of the cross itself, truly He loved us both intensely and expensively.

      But sadly, this line is a rhetorical question which provokes more than one answer.  The desired answer is that this amazing love manifested in the manger and the cross arouses our love in return.  Simple logic seems to decree that great love of God calls forth an equally great love on the part of the beloved.  But sadly, there were and still are many who do not love the manger child.  Who would not love him? Herod would not, nor Pontius Pilate  nor Judas Iscariot.   They were perfectly capable of answering Divine love with cruelty and hate. Nor the reveling multitudes who use His birthday only as a time for extravagance and self-indulgence. They, like Herod and Pilate, would not love Him because of their own depraved nature.  As St John tells us, “He came unto His own, but his own received Him not.” We wish we could say that God’s dear love for us constrains us to love Him proportionately  in return. But honesty compels us to confess that the lovelessness of Herod, Pilate and Judas was only our ingratitude writ large.  If only Abelard were right, when he wrote,

“Our sins, not thine, thou bearest, Lord, Make us thy sorrow feel,

Till through our pity and our shame, Love answers love’s appeal.”

Yes, He truly bore our sins, since He had no sins of His own.  But love’s  appeal was answered only with rejection, slaps, mockery and spitting.  Surely there is nothing in the universe so defiant of simple logic, so irrational, so criminally insane, as not loving Jesus. 

      St John, the apostle who wrote most deeply about the Divine Love, spoke more wisely than our beloved Christmas carol, or than Abelard, when he wrote, “We love Him because He first loved us.”      This love, vastly earlier, deeper and more enduring, is perfectly encapsulated in the tiny babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a feeding-trough. Because he loved us so much we are bound to love Him and to love one another.    LKW