tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67986368008328510732024-03-27T18:54:24.271-05:00Credo-LifeA site that publishes some brief articles and other teaching of Father Thomas Reeves, the Priest/Pastor at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Bloomington, IL (stmattsblm.org) and author of "Was Jesus an Evangelical: Some Thoughts about the American Church and the Kingdom of God" released by eLectio Publishing (a traditional publisher - available on Amazon.com).
For some of Father Tom's recent video sermons see https://www.youtube.com/@fathertomreeves2872.Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.comBlogger191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-36766397993362220862024-03-09T13:22:00.000-06:002024-03-09T13:22:21.107-06:00Feast of Gregory of Nyssa<p> </p><p>Gregory was a man enchanted with Christ and dazzled by the meaning of his Passion. He was born in Caesarea about 334, the younger brother of Basil the Great, and, in his youth, was but a reluctant Christian.</p><p>When he was twenty, the transfer of the relics of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste to the family chapel at Annesi quickened Gregory’s faith, and he became a practicing Christian and a lector. He abandoned this ministry, however, to become a rhetorician like his father.</p><p>His brother Basil, in his struggle against the Emperor Valens, compelled Gregory to become Bishop of Nyssa, a town ten miles from Caesarea. Knowing himself to be unfit for the charge, Gregory described his ordination as the most miserable day of his life. He lacked the important episcopal skills of tact and understanding, and had no sense of the value of money. Falsely-accused of embezzling Church funds, Gregory went into hiding for two years, not returning to his diocese until Valens died.</p><p>Although he resented his brother’s dominance, Gregory was shocked by Basil’s death in 379. Several months later, he received another shock: his beloved sister Macrina was dying. Gregory hastened to Annesi and conversed with her for two days about death, and the soul, and the meaning of the resurrection. Choking with asthma, Macrina died in her brother’s arms.</p><p>The two deaths, while stunning Gregory, also freed him to develop as a deeper and richer philosopher and theologian. He reveals his delight in the created order in his treatise, On the Making of Man. He exposes the depth of his contemplative and mystical nature in his Life of Moses and again in his Commentary on the Song of Songs. His Great Catechism is still considered second only to Origen’s treatise, On First Principles.</p><p>In 381, Gregory attended the Second Ecumenical Council at Constantinople, where he was honored as the “pillar of the Church.” In the fight for the Nicene faith, he was one of the three great Eastern theologians, known with Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus, as the Cappadocian Fathers.</p><p><u>Prayer:</u></p><p><i>Almighty God, you have revealed to your Church your eternal Being of glorious majesty and perfect love as one God in Trinity of Persons: Give us grace that, like your bishop Gregory of Nyssa, we may continue steadfast in the confession of this faith, and constant in our worship of you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; for you live and reign forever and ever. Amen.</i></p><p><u>Scripture:</u></p><p><a href="https://www.lectionarypage.net/LesserFF/Mar/Gregory.html">Gregory of Nyssa (lectionarypage.net)</a></p><p><i><br /></i></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-6729135499182971042024-03-02T14:09:00.002-06:002024-03-02T14:10:38.432-06:00"The Temptation to Delusion" - Mark 8:31-38<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Theme:</b> The devoted rely on
mercy</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/yTsnmEBJkmQ?si=47adFZq9SnivAILg" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yTsnmEBJkmQ/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></div>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-17527286401469787852024-02-21T13:12:00.005-06:002024-02-21T13:12:44.662-06:00The Feast of Martin Luther, - Pastor, Prophet, and Theologian.<p><br /></p><p><i>The Feast Day was actually on Sunday, February 18th. This is a late post.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Martin of Erfurt, born in 1483 of German peasant stock, was a monk (more exactly, a regular canon) of the Order of Saint Augustine, and a Doctor of Theology. In his day, the Church was at a spiritual low. Church offices were openly sold to the highest bidder, and not nearly enough was being done to combat the notion that forgiveness of sins was likewise for sale. Indeed, many Christians, both clergy and laity, were most inadequately instructed in Christian doctrine. Startling as it seems to us today, there were then no seminaries for the education of the clergy. There were monastic schools, but they concentrated on the education of their own monks. Parish priests, ordinarily having no monastic background, were in need of instruction themselves, and in no way prepared to instruct their congregations. Brother Martin set out to remedy this. He wrote a simple catechism for the instruction of the laity which is still in use today, as is his translation of the Scriptures into the common tongue. His energy as a writer was prodigious. From 1517, when he first began to write for the public, until his death, he wrote on the average one book a fortnight.</p><p>Today, his criticisms of the laxness and frequent abuses of his day are generally recognized on all sides as a response to very real problems. It was perhaps inevitable, however, that they should arouse resentment in his own day. Martin Luther was not alone in his views, but in time (and largely, by no design of his own) he became the most prominent of the voices calling for reform in the Church. Theologically, he emphasized the importance of divine Holy Scripture as the church's highest authority and salvation by grace through faith in Christ (in response to the work of Christ in his death, resurrection, and ascension).</p><p>In Brother Martin's own judgement, his greatest achievement was his catechism, by the use of which all Christians without exception might be instructed in at least the rudiments of the Faith. Some of his admirers, however, would insist that his greatest achievement was the Council of Trent, which he did not live to see, but which he was arguably the greatest single factor in bringing about. While the Council's doctrinal pronouncements were not all that Brother Martin would have wished, it did take very much to heart his strictures on financial abuses, and undertook considerable reforms in those areas. It banned the sale of indulgences and of church offices, and took steps to provide for the systematic education of the clergy. Putting it another way, if I were arguing with an adherent of the Pope, and I wanted to point out to him that many Popes have been, even by ordinary grading-on-a-curve standards, wicked men, cynically exploiting their office for personal gain, I would have no difficulty in finding examples from the three centuries immediately preceding Brother Martin and the Council of Trent that my opponent would have to concede. If I were restricted to the centuries afterward, I should have more of a problem. And this is, under God, due in some measure to Brother Martin's making himself a nuisance. Thanks be to God for an occasional nuisance at the right time and place.</p><p></p><pre> Behold, Lord
An empty vessel that needs
to be filled.
My Lord, fill it
I am weak in the faith;
Strengthen me.
I am cold in love;
Warm me and make me fervent,
That my love may go out
to my neighbor...
O Lord, help me.
Strengthen my faith and
trust in you...
With me, there is an
abundance of sin;
In You is the fullness of
righteousness.
<msreadoutspan class="msreadout-line-highlight msreadout-inactive-highlight"> Therefore I will remain
</msreadoutspan> with You,
O whom I can receive,
But to Whom I may not give.
-Martin Luther (1483-1546)</pre><p><br /></p><p>(Main source: James Kiefer's Hagiography)</p><p><br /></p><p> <a href="https://lectionarypage.net/LesserFF/Feb/Luther.html" target="_blank">Prayer and Lectionary Readings</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-24228919670183376362024-02-01T14:32:00.004-06:002024-02-01T14:32:56.326-06:00A Win/Win Situation - Philippians 1:19-26<p> </p><p align="left" class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: large;"><a name="_Hlk157260311"><b>Theme: </b></a>A vindicated life runs through Jesus</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MZoLpQTMGA0" width="320" youtube-src-id="MZoLpQTMGA0"></iframe></div><br /><p></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-23582047521142363472024-01-28T22:30:00.002-06:002024-01-30T14:08:00.995-06:00Evangelism in the Anglican Tradition<br /><br /><br />Anglican evangelism is communal, constantly sprouting and spreading from within the Covenant Community of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church. God gifts and calls His people to serve the church and be light to the world outside the gathered People of God. In the Old Testament, God called Israel to be His special Covenant People, “a light to the Nations”. While they did not fulfill this task due to their disobedience to their sovereign God, Jesus Christ, the light of the world, DID!<br /><br />Through his life, death, and resurrection, the Lord accomplished the way of freedom and salvation for all humankind. In following our Lord by repentance and faith through the mystery of Baptism, we join the New Covenant People of God in worshiping and knowing this wonderous, Triune God, bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a world in need of forgiveness and reconciliation with their Creator. While the church sends out evangelists gifted explicitly in sharing the good news of salvation, they are sent from within the community of Christ, which is the vehicle of salvation in the world. Also, the very nature of our Worship is evangelistic, as the Gospel is at the center of what we preach, pray, and engage in the sacraments.<br /><br />By our particular vocations dictated by the spiritual gifts given to us in the body of Christ, we live, love, and engage the created order around us, revealing the true humanity of Jesus Christ as we are continually “conformed to the image of the son”. Every task and vocation we engage in is valuable and a potential revelation of our God-given humanity and redemption in the world. The Gospel is often lived as a message before it can be verbally proclaimed and understood by those living in darkness. Most vocations must live out the faith before the words about Jesus will be heard. However, there is a time to speak clearly and boldly of the need of sinful humanity, and the gracious salvation that our Savior offers.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-12868045700160600432024-01-28T06:00:00.002-06:002024-01-28T06:00:00.134-06:00The Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPQWhcoRotsVbOHRsmQtnlUgFCZSQFcHimA5mtlGZY3vfpytB7voLFbLc-mVqzGG0USU4I11G1msoRCKqz40q_h4BJoNPMJXKR9PC2fLNaQyNkAfuzyiEFUH6CoBGTefUGlHHABVikgZ8CldzFN-KNhxNyTu8u4I-NvBA6VlYsa9SLNokpBggH9DoZNzE/s450/st-thomas-aquinas-icon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="356" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPQWhcoRotsVbOHRsmQtnlUgFCZSQFcHimA5mtlGZY3vfpytB7voLFbLc-mVqzGG0USU4I11G1msoRCKqz40q_h4BJoNPMJXKR9PC2fLNaQyNkAfuzyiEFUH6CoBGTefUGlHHABVikgZ8CldzFN-KNhxNyTu8u4I-NvBA6VlYsa9SLNokpBggH9DoZNzE/s320/st-thomas-aquinas-icon.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Thomas Aquinas is the greatest theologian of the high Middle Ages, and, next to Augustine, perhaps the greatest theologian in the history of Western Christianity. Born into a noble Italian family, probably in 1225, he entered the new Dominican Order of Preachers, and soon became an outstanding teacher in an age of intellectual ferment.</p><p>Perceiving the challenges that the recent rediscovery of Aristotle’s works might entail for traditional catholic doctrine, especially in its emphasis upon empirical knowledge derived from reason and sense perception, independent of faith and revelation, Thomas asserted that reason and revelation are in basic harmony. “Grace” (revelation), he said, “is not the denial of nature” (reason), “but the perfection of it.” This synthesis Thomas accomplished in his greatest works, the Summa Theologica and the Summa Contra Gentiles, which even today continue to exercise profound influence on Christian thought and philosophy. He was considered a bold thinker, even a “radical,” and certain aspects of his thought were condemned by the ecclesiastical authorities. His canonization on July 18, 1323, vindicated him.</p><p>Thomas understood God’s disclosure of his Name, in Exodus 3:14, “I Am Who I Am,” to mean that God is Being, the Ultimate Reality from which everything else derives its being. The difference between God and the world is that God’s essence is to exist, whereas all other beings derive their being from him by the act of creation. Although, for Thomas, God and the world are distinct, there is, nevertheless, an analogy of being between God and the world, since the Creator is reflected in his creation. It is possible, therefore, to have a limited knowledge of God, by analogy from the created world. On this basis, human reason can demonstrate that God exists; that he created the world; and that he contains in himself, as their cause, all the perfections which exist in his creation. The distinctive truths of Christian faith, however, such as the Trinity and the Incarnation, are known only by revelation.</p><p>Thomas died in 1274, just under fifty years of age. In 1369, on January 28, his remains were transferred to Toulouse. In addition to his many theological writings, he composed several eucharistic hymns. They include “O saving Victim” and “Now, my tongue, the mystery telling.”</p><p><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Lesser Feasts and Fasts, pg. 152)</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></p><p><a href="https://lectionarypage.net/LesserFF/Jan/Aquinas.html" target="_blank">Feast Day Scripture Readings</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-74557375980919886182024-01-27T12:57:00.000-06:002024-01-27T13:00:31.322-06:00Living or Fabricated?<p> </p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Authentic people discern reality and truth as they present themselves, so that love and wisdom may be rightly applied. Inauthentic people create the narratives they must have, and then desperately try to manipulate others and situations for their own happy returns. One approach reflects the character of God. The other, the power brokers of this world.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-3096499287464341192024-01-26T13:50:00.002-06:002024-01-27T12:59:04.518-06:00The Feast of John Chrysostom, January 27th, 2024<p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCSinmSXFfzVxqU0ewHJI4gFvV7NEfDAXE5CjFoao9JARUxXmnWbHM641JguccLNN0s16vlivnPMjIxUUdvT5PNsYS_ItJXTTxQk4I_jf-6iW-2QUqwRhmdbiKiqnFT7Of1GBRLd3AeV1VB72zIwCsKZhF4HnIdd9Br_E4KFYJJCOsfvdcpfXkDNgK/s1280/ST-JOHN-CHRYSOSTOM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="828" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCSinmSXFfzVxqU0ewHJI4gFvV7NEfDAXE5CjFoao9JARUxXmnWbHM641JguccLNN0s16vlivnPMjIxUUdvT5PNsYS_ItJXTTxQk4I_jf-6iW-2QUqwRhmdbiKiqnFT7Of1GBRLd3AeV1VB72zIwCsKZhF4HnIdd9Br_E4KFYJJCOsfvdcpfXkDNgK/w245-h361/ST-JOHN-CHRYSOSTOM.jpg" width="245" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p>John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople, is one of the great saints of the Eastern Church. He was born about 354 in Antioch, Syria. As a young man, he responded to the call of desert monasticism until his health was impaired. He returned to Antioch after six years, and was ordained a presbyter. In 397, he became Patriarch of Constantinople. His episcopate was short and tumultuous. Many criticized his ascetical life in the episcopal residence, and he incurred the wrath of the Empress Eudoxia, who believed that he had called her a “Jezebel.” He was twice exiled, and he died during the second period of banishment, on September 14, 407. Thirty-one years later, his remains were brought back to Constantinople and buried on January 27.</p><p><br />John, called “Chrysostom,” which means “the golden-mouthed,” was one of the greatest preachers in the history of the Church. People flocked to hear him. His eloquence was accompanied by an acute sensitivity to the needs of people. He saw preaching as an integral part of pastoral care, and as a medium of teaching. He warned that if a priest had no talent for preaching the Word, the souls of those in his charge “will fare no better than ships tossed in the storm.”<br /><br />His sermons provide insights into the liturgy of the Church, and especially into eucharistic practices. He describes the liturgy as a glorious experience, in which all of heaven and earth join. His sermons emphasize the importance of lay participation in the Eucharist. “Why do you marvel,” he wrote, “that the people anywhere utter anything with the priest at the altar, when in fact they join with the Cherubim themselves, and the heavenly powers, in offering up sacred hymns?”<br /><br />His treatise, Six Books on the Priesthood, is a classic manual on the priestly office and its awesome demands. The priest, he wrote, must be “dignified, but not haughty; awe-inspiring, but kind; affable in his authority; impartial, but courteous; humble, but not servile, strong but gentle. . . .”</p><div><br /></div><div><span class="initCap" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Century Schoolbook L", Baskerville, serif; font-size: larger;"><i>O</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Century Schoolbook L", Baskerville, serif;"><i> God, who gave your servant John Chrysostom grace eloquently to proclaim your righteousness in the great congregation, and fearlessly to bear reproach for the honor of your Name: Mercifully grant to all who proclaim your word such excellence in preaching, that all your people may be made partakers of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.</i> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Century Schoolbook L", Baskerville, serif;">Amen.</span><br /><div><br /></div><div>From "Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2006, pg. 150</div><div><br /></div><div>Go to <a href="http://lectionarypage.net/LesserFF/Jan/Chrysostom2.html">Scripture Readings</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div><u><b>More about St. Chrysostom:</b></u></div><div><br /></div><div>He (Chrysostom) loved the city and the people of Antioch, and they loved him. However, he became so famous that the Empress at Constantinople decided that she must have him for her court preacher, and she had him kidnapped and brought to Constantinople and there made bishop. This was a failure all around. His sermons against corruption in high places earned him powerful enemies (including the Empress), and he was sent into exile, where he died.</div><div><p>Along with Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil the Great, and Gregory of Nazianzus, he is counted as one of the Four Great Eastern (or Greek) Doctors of the Ancient Church. The Four Great Western (or Latin) Doctors are Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and Gregory the Great.</p><p>-John Kiefer (Lay Episcopalian Writer).</p></div><p><br /></p><p> </p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-60539015722580913542024-01-23T11:49:00.007-06:002024-01-24T16:13:23.618-06:00“Shoulder to Shoulder” Phil. 1:3-11<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">An honest pursuit of God and ministry produces
intimacy </span></span></i></p><br /> <p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="359" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1r5nxzcRuuQ" width="432" youtube-src-id="1r5nxzcRuuQ"></iframe></div>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-85288982775976472024-01-22T15:47:00.003-06:002024-01-27T12:29:07.461-06:00The Beggar and the Chalice<p> </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFv-u8t0BV0VEwcVdIg-RpyylkLc0zjhjZky9yingQ9ARuNvjNFdbwNhyBYGlw8OUNSiaBbvpwgvlwBXLtVl0k3ssl2D9z2pgyYabwurpowmGskWyMYMXKVTrpynhKKhfnnDf1yGU20CwGGrAptYHXDRu7UuZioFvF409jGKEtCuS-vJp-LShJCt4dSSQ/s660/ChrysotumChalicePoor.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="660" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFv-u8t0BV0VEwcVdIg-RpyylkLc0zjhjZky9yingQ9ARuNvjNFdbwNhyBYGlw8OUNSiaBbvpwgvlwBXLtVl0k3ssl2D9z2pgyYabwurpowmGskWyMYMXKVTrpynhKKhfnnDf1yGU20CwGGrAptYHXDRu7UuZioFvF409jGKEtCuS-vJp-LShJCt4dSSQ/w538-h473/ChrysotumChalicePoor.jpg" width="538" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-37038514821205085652024-01-22T15:41:00.002-06:002024-01-27T12:30:35.473-06:00Loving and Hating Truth<p> </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdyD9_iPE_PJMc1MMXktvSaX3_p0B0vh-o0U6oaQDCB4qnPx_mRZpiM9CGjx3vmMpRYVe_szLgjXZ4k-YcAVjPZgy0thqAMI9UFEC8GSMlM_a7JUSksZfVqlKjIlrXEytrzj_BzguojZXbPJTQ6jligM29oamAPTmKqB4FcADFOv-v8tYahXA-XDU3qvc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="160" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdyD9_iPE_PJMc1MMXktvSaX3_p0B0vh-o0U6oaQDCB4qnPx_mRZpiM9CGjx3vmMpRYVe_szLgjXZ4k-YcAVjPZgy0thqAMI9UFEC8GSMlM_a7JUSksZfVqlKjIlrXEytrzj_BzguojZXbPJTQ6jligM29oamAPTmKqB4FcADFOv-v8tYahXA-XDU3qvc=w640-h320" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>From <i>Confessions</i>, by St. Augustine, Chapter 23.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-72003163493833524802024-01-06T10:09:00.008-06:002024-03-02T11:44:44.073-06:00That Donatist Problem Today: The Elusive Search for the One Pure Church<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">I am thankful for the Reformation. I wouldn’t be an Anglican if this was not the case. Luther helped many understand that a baptized person earns no merit on their own before God per their religious busyness. He, with others, also exposed the way that the Roman Church of the day had made their tradition all-encompassing. <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Tradition</span> had grown in such a way as to push Holy Scripture to the background, and thus, it was interpreted <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">through the lenses of an extensively rigorous and religiously cultural bias. </span>The Reformers sought to address this problem in part through what became “sola scriptura” <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">and </span>helped restore the primacy and importance of Holy Scripture in keeping with their Patristic forebearers who <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">were </span>“<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">soaked</span> in Scripture<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">.”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/65660cfff0304839/FTlaptop/Anglican%20Ministry/Peter%20and%20Paul/Epistles%20-%20Church%20Newsletters/Articles%5eJ%20For%20Epistle/Articles%202020/ThatDonatistProblem.docx#_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title="">[1]</a></span></span><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/65660cfff0304839/FTlaptop/Anglican%20Ministry/Peter%20and%20Paul/Epistles%20-%20Church%20Newsletters/Articles%5eJ%20For%20Epistle/Articles%202020/ThatDonatistProblem.docx#_ftn1" title=""><!--[endif]--></a></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal">But as any careful investigator will <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">note</span>, the Reformers also went beyond Medieval abuses and encouraged certain<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"> Scriptural</span> and theological errors of their own. While it is true that we do not merit our righteous status before God, it is also true that sanctification IS still a part of our salvation as evidenced overwhelmingly in Holy Scripture:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">“Sanctification is not ‘Christian living’ removed somehow from the gospel message and our salvation. Sanctification is a work of the Holy Spirit as He continues to develop holiness in our lives as we open our hearts to our Lord Jesus Christ and seek our triune God.”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/65660cfff0304839/FTlaptop/Anglican%20Ministry/Peter%20and%20Paul/Epistles%20-%20Church%20Newsletters/Articles%5eJ%20For%20Epistle/Articles%202020/ThatDonatistProblem.docx#_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title="">[2]</a></span></span><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/65660cfff0304839/FTlaptop/Anglican%20Ministry/Peter%20and%20Paul/Epistles%20-%20Church%20Newsletters/Articles%5eJ%20For%20Epistle/Articles%202020/ThatDonatistProblem.docx#_ftn2" title=""><!--[endif]--></a></span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal">Through Luther’s influence, <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">a theology</span> also arose that taught <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">that salvation</span> could occur outside of the Covenant Community of God, the Church of Jesus Christ (in contrast with Patristic assumptions even before Cyprian). A cavalcade of Reformers (and the later Pietists) followed suit taking the theology of <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">a personal</span> salvation to an unscriptural extreme. Salvation for Protestants thus became “my salvation outside of the church” (aka, me and Jesus) instead of my personal salvation inside and with the church in keeping with the scriptural teaching of being “the bride of Christ<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">.”</span> I submit that these would have been surprising and extremely foreign ideas to the framers meeting at the Council of Nicaea in 325<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I</span> also submit that those attending Nicaea would have assumed the primacy of scripture (Suprema-<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">scriptura</span>) along with the important place of tradition in keeping, finding, and applying the <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">truth</span>.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In our search for holiness, it is easy to go beyond what is true and right, becoming more impressed with our current insights than our position in finite time and space allow. As history reveals, over-reactions theologically can create their own heresies and cause lasting damage to the Church of Jesus Christ. Spiritual humility and scriptural discernment are disciplines that must be pursued; they do not come easily and need to be done in community.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u>Holiness or Grace?<o:p></o:p></u></div><div class="MsoNormal">During the persecution of Christians by <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Emperor</span> Diocletian, there were some Bishops who cowered <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">under threat</span> allowing both holy books as well as their copies of Holy Scripture to be destroyed. Following the persecution, many of these Bishops returned to their posts. Around 311 A.D./C.E. the Bishop of Carthage was consecrated by one of these <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">traditores</i> (traitor Bishops). The Bishops in Numidia found this untenable, consecrated a rival bishop, and brought their appeal to the unified Catholic church. The initial investigation did not support the desires of these Donatists (named after a later champion of their cause), nor did a later Synod.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end, they were opposed continuously by the entirety of the church. The Catholic church in the 4<sup>th</sup> <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Century believed</span> that <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">the unworthiness of any minister did not invalidate the sacramental rites</span>. As Augustine wrote, Christ was the true minister of the sacraments of the church.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In the end, the Donatists separated themselves from the Western Catholic Church and declared themselves to be the true church. They were extremely rigorous and proclaimed a desire for the “true holiness” of the saints. They saw themselves as the pure church, while others were suspect. Any Catholic coming into a Donatist parish were required to be “re-baptized<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">.”</span> Any of this sound familiar?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In our search for holiness, it is easy to lay aside a thoughtful and collective grace. In our search for grace, it is easy to lay aside the tough love and the courage it takes to pursue and encourage holiness. The history of the church is resplendent with cases that engage the harmful extremes. Over-reaction is easy, communal and thoughtful courage is hard.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Faithfulness will always demand prophetic pushback when those leading a church are in conflict with Holy Scripture and <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">historic</span> Christian orthodoxy. In our desire to be faithful, it is also easy to begin to develop a “<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">two-dimensional</span>” approach to holiness and faithfulness. We can decide that those who are not on “our team” are now the bad guys, and those on our team are the truly blessed, Spirit-led, good guys. <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">This is a narrative that is far too common among many priests and bishops in break-off Anglican churches, who act as if there is no more faithfulness left in The Episcopal Church. It is also common with bishops and priests in The Episcopal Church who act as if it is acceptable to impatiently strong-arm new and innovative theology and morality, with little sensitivity to the worldwide Anglican Communion in the process; to insist on an individualistic, modernistic, and post-modernistic superiority which shows little historic humility and the complexities involved with being finite while engaging the infinite through time and space.</span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div>Tolkien’s words in the Fellowship of the Ring resonate here:<br />“Frodo: 'It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill Gollum when he had the chance.'<br />Gandalf: 'Pity? It is pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.'<div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>Also, hear the curious words of Jesus in Luke 9:<br />49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.” </div><div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Our God’s character and reality <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">are</span> NOT relative to someone’s (or group’s) individual desires and opinions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, beyond the clear teaching of Holy Scripture and our Historical Creedal orthodoxy, there is much that the “one holy catholic and apostolic church” is less certain and agreed upon (especially in the application of truth in any culture!). May our desire for holiness be bathed in thoughtful grace, and may our grace not bend regarding that which is eternal and transcendent. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">God never abandoned his often-apostate Children of Israel, nor did he enable or placate their wickedness. It is only through these largely rebellious Covenant people that we now have our Messiah and Salvation. Let us be hesitant to decide for God when he has finally discarded his Church. Do we not now as Anglicans understand that Luther was wrong to deem the entirety of the Roman Catholic Church as Apostate in his day?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u>Starting and Ending Points<o:p></o:p></u></div><div class="MsoNormal">I am not discounting the importance of seeking after and engaging holiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I am submitting in the strongest possible terms that “revisionism” in history and theology is not just a progressive problem, but a clear conservative problem as well. <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">If we believe that we have the inalienable right to make up our version of Christianity based on our personal and cultural experiences, then we will continue in conflict with the ways of the Triune God of Christianity and the majority of the unified church of Jesus Christ before the 11 century. (And yes, this includes we of an Anglo-Catholic ilk with our penchant at times to worry more about the minutia of "rending our clothing" than the "rending of our hearts". They need go hand in hand, and only the Spirit transforms a willing heart. The sacrament and liturgy can be spurned by the rebellious). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">This conflict is exacerbated by an individualism that continually takes the name of the Holy Spirit in vain to support a-historic and anti-intellectual laziness when it comes to the interpretation of Holy Scripture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is right and good to believe in the illumination of the Holy Spirit; however, this does not mean that our thoughts and feelings while praying or reading Holy Scripture are from God. We are the church together in accountability to Holy Scripture and our informing tradition. You and I are never the centers of any world…EVER.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Th</span>e above thoughts do not remove either the mystery or the existential realities involved with seeking or submitting to the one true God, while at the same time, doing so in community with the church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, our Christian heritage does position our Triune God as the “prime mover” of all that is…including redemption. <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Our God is not the god whom many Modern worshippers desire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is not a god that will coalesce with our ever-burgeoning opinions so he can garner our attention, worship, and service.</span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal">Maybe we should consider the ways he has saved and led his Covenant People in the past with more frequency. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun.<o:p></o:p></div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" /><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><!--[endif]--><br /><div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/65660cfff0304839/FTlaptop/Anglican%20Ministry/Peter%20and%20Paul/Epistles%20-%20Church%20Newsletters/Articles%5eJ%20For%20Epistle/Articles%202020/ThatDonatistProblem.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Hall, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers</i>, IVP, 1998, pg. 129<o:p></o:p></div></div><div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/65660cfff0304839/FTlaptop/Anglican%20Ministry/Peter%20and%20Paul/Epistles%20-%20Church%20Newsletters/Articles%5eJ%20For%20Epistle/Articles%202020/ThatDonatistProblem.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Reeves, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Was Jesus an Evangelical?,</i> eLectio Press, 2017, pg. 25</div></div></div></div></div>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-38848841921190674762023-12-30T12:26:00.005-06:002023-12-30T12:32:52.678-06:00"Highly Favored" - Luke 1:26-38<p><b style="font-size: x-large;">Theme:</b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Simple trust in impossible circumstances facilitates the power of God</span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6WP8ZskKyuQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="6WP8ZskKyuQ"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-14475701728187815862023-12-21T11:31:00.004-06:002023-12-21T11:31:00.126-06:00The Feast of St. Thomas: December 21st, 2023<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHBpL3N7E1fmmabevPNp-e0VSIhb--yzn2XkcrqA3OKwiHgV9GEburHzX-xTF1jpguy21mfW6bFIiUsWMEfall9p-MRKu8lowXUHDdYMfetV_NAhf2iUpdUxT03bXjJDz-Cu9pXMyl8uY2VHvJm8TDHw4URBTriOVTJ5RLRL8AKW8lWjtlJhwua5rV/s416/Thomas_the_Apostle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHBpL3N7E1fmmabevPNp-e0VSIhb--yzn2XkcrqA3OKwiHgV9GEburHzX-xTF1jpguy21mfW6bFIiUsWMEfall9p-MRKu8lowXUHDdYMfetV_NAhf2iUpdUxT03bXjJDz-Cu9pXMyl8uY2VHvJm8TDHw4URBTriOVTJ5RLRL8AKW8lWjtlJhwua5rV/s320/Thomas_the_Apostle.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>The Gospel according to John records several incidents in which Thomas appears, and from them we are able to gain some impression of the sort of man he was. When Jesus insisted on going to Judea, to visit his friends at Bethany, Thomas boldly declared, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16). At the Last Supper, he interrupted our Lord’s discourse with the question, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” (John 14:5). And after Christ’s resurrection, Thomas would not accept the account of the other apostles and the women, until Jesus appeared before him, showing him his wounds. This drew from him the first explicit acknowledgment of Christ’s Godhead, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).</p><p>Thomas appears to have been a thoughtful if rather literal-minded man, inclined to skepticism; but he was a staunch friend when his loyalty was once given. The expression “Doubting Thomas,” which has become established in English usage, is not entirely fair to Thomas. He did not refuse belief: he wanted to believe, but did not dare, without further evidence. Because of his goodwill, Jesus gave him a sign, though Jesus had refused a sign to the Pharisees. His Lord’s rebuke was well deserved: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” (John 20:29). The sign did not create faith; it merely released the faith which was in Thomas already.</p><p>According to an early tradition mentioned by Eusebius and others, Thomas evangelized the Parthians. Syrian Christians of Malabar, India, who call themselves the Mar Thoma Church, cherish a tradition that Thomas brought the Gospel to India...</p><p>Thomas’ honest questioning and doubt, and Jesus’ assuring response to him, have given many modern Christians courage to persist in faith, even when they are still doubting and questioning.</p><p>(<i>Lesser Feasts and Fasts</i>, pg. 100, Church Publishing, Inc.)</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Lessons:</b></p><p>Ps. 126</p><p>Habakkuk 2:1–4</p><p>Hebrews 10:35–11:1</p><p>John 20:24–29</p><p><br /></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-73257860589297473882023-12-19T08:30:00.006-06:002023-12-30T12:34:10.943-06:00Practice and Unbelief<br /><br /><span><i>"What we believe does affect the way we live, and the way we live does affect what we believe. </i>We must live up to the standard our our convictions, or sooner or later our convictions will drop down to the standard of our life. Unbelief may be the punishment of insincere practice. Belief in a fact is the foundation of any strong and consistent action, and the opposite is the cause of many drifting, irresolute lives."</span><br /><br />-Father Andrew, Meditations, pg. 3<br /><br /><p><br /></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-87865880621295094092023-12-07T10:00:00.006-06:002023-12-07T10:00:00.148-06:00The Feast of St. Ambrose<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjaGylfrVz9VhcieTmZTdqKFVttUkHQvEb8lNLju9-sVSDIi6Pwn0CAkGN4eCc2E6YgnHjs28OcjDui1oJR5ezLYgOQP-gs3_f5eAqwPaJzx1YSXjM_n8-Ij2q87CT-7351PDrhm8NSjLAy6HeX3a3M2xPu8LEYxXJUhlTcqSxGsax320mQSWfhleu73A/s291/StAmbrose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="193" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjaGylfrVz9VhcieTmZTdqKFVttUkHQvEb8lNLju9-sVSDIi6Pwn0CAkGN4eCc2E6YgnHjs28OcjDui1oJR5ezLYgOQP-gs3_f5eAqwPaJzx1YSXjM_n8-Ij2q87CT-7351PDrhm8NSjLAy6HeX3a3M2xPu8LEYxXJUhlTcqSxGsax320mQSWfhleu73A/s1600/StAmbrose.jpg" width="193" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Ambrose was the son of a Roman governor in Gaul, and in 373 he himself was governor in Upper Italy. Though brought up in a Christian family, Ambrose had not been baptized. He became involved in the election of a Bishop of Milan only as mediator between the battling factions of Arians and orthodox Christians. The election was important, because the victorious party would control the powerful see of Milan.</p><p>Ambrose exhorted the nearly riotous mob to keep the peace and to obey the law. Suddenly both sides raised the cry, “Ambrose shall be our bishop!” He protested, but the people persisted. Hastily baptized, he was ordained bishop on December 7, 373.</p><p>Ambrose rapidly won renown as a defender of orthodoxy against Arianism and as a statesman of the Church. He was also a skillful hymnodist. He introduced antiphonal chanting to enrich the liturgy, and wrote straightforward, practical discourses to educate his people in such matters of doctrine as Baptism, the Trinity, the Eucharist, and the Person of Christ. His persuasive preaching was an important factor in the conversion of Augustine of Hippo.</p><p>Ambrose did not fear to rebuke emperors, including the hot-headed Theodosius, whom he forced to do public penance for the slaughter of several thousand citizens of Salonika.</p><p>About Baptism, Ambrose wrote: “After the font (of baptism), the Holy Spirit is poured on you, ‘the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and godliness, and the spirit of holy fear’” (De Sacramentis 3.8).</p><p>A meditation attributed to him includes these words: “Lord Jesus Christ, you are for me medicine when I am sick; you are my strength when I need help; you are life itself when I fear death; you are the way when I long for heaven; you are light when all is dark; you are my food when I need nourishment.”</p><p>Among hymns attributed to Ambrose are “The eternal gifts of Christ the King,” “O Splendor of God’s glory bright,” and a series of hymns for the Little Hours.</p><p><i>O God, you gave your servant Ambrose grace eloquently to proclaim your righteousness in the great congregation, and fearlessly to bear reproach for the honor of your Name: Mercifully grant to all bishops and pastors such excellence in preaching and faithfulness in ministering your Word, that your people may be partakers with them of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.</i></p><p><b>Psalm</b></p><p>27:5-11</p><p><b>Lessons</b></p><p>Ecclesiasticus 2:7–11,16–18</p><p></p><p>Luke 12:35–37,42–44</p><p><br /></p><p>(source: Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2006; Church Publishing)</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-23234274128139454862023-12-06T10:00:00.005-06:002023-12-06T10:00:00.132-06:00The Feast of St. Nicholas<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvAd7L7phTfC6u4ZRKMcZ6QiXdqWQziOaeBb_BIihCSS5HbCznABM_2z5xV0r92-sVSpYqgZsfBp5cVq0EHLNXIleg3kWLIBWMZDxPjO9sN4Z3qoloUeU4TlnNWSktfo34Ab4r2vgKO1znJHAF_Hy8rsaQ4lZe2ooi64A1Qx4AfN62CjqA4TWvJiZ/s661/st-nicholas-of-myra.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvAd7L7phTfC6u4ZRKMcZ6QiXdqWQziOaeBb_BIihCSS5HbCznABM_2z5xV0r92-sVSpYqgZsfBp5cVq0EHLNXIleg3kWLIBWMZDxPjO9sN4Z3qoloUeU4TlnNWSktfo34Ab4r2vgKO1znJHAF_Hy8rsaQ4lZe2ooi64A1Qx4AfN62CjqA4TWvJiZ/s320/st-nicholas-of-myra.jpg" width="242" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br />Very little is known about the life of Nicholas, except that he suffered torture and imprisonment during the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian. It is possible that he was one of the bishops attending the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325. He was honored as a saint in Constantinople in the sixth century by the Emperor Justinian. His veneration became immensely popular in the West after the supposed removal of his body to Bari, Italy, in the late eleventh century. In England almost 400 churches were dedicated to him.<br /><br />Nicholas is famed as the traditional patron of seafarers and sailors, and, more especially, of children. As a bearer of gifts to children, his name was brought to America by the Dutch colonists in New York, from whom he is popularly known as Santa Claus. (Lesser Feasts and Fasts, pg. 96)<br /><br />In <a href="file:///C:/Users/offic/Documents/EPISCOPAL%20MINISTRY/ST%20MATTHEWS/READING-STUDY/Reference,%20Elect%20Books,%20etc/NewAdvent%20Cath%20Resources/cathen/06484b.htm">Germany</a>, <a href="file:///C:/Users/offic/Documents/EPISCOPAL%20MINISTRY/ST%20MATTHEWS/READING-STUDY/Reference,%20Elect%20Books,%20etc/NewAdvent%20Cath%20Resources/cathen/14358a.htm">Switzerland</a>, and the <a href="file:///C:/Users/offic/Documents/EPISCOPAL%20MINISTRY/ST%20MATTHEWS/READING-STUDY/Reference,%20Elect%20Books,%20etc/NewAdvent%20Cath%20Resources/cathen/10759a.htm">Netherlands</a>, they have the custom of making him the secret purveyor of gifts to children on 6 December, the day on which the <a href="file:///C:/Users/offic/Documents/EPISCOPAL%20MINISTRY/ST%20MATTHEWS/READING-STUDY/Reference,%20Elect%20Books,%20etc/NewAdvent%20Cath%20Resources/cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a> celebrates his <a href="file:///C:/Users/offic/Documents/EPISCOPAL%20MINISTRY/ST%20MATTHEWS/READING-STUDY/Reference,%20Elect%20Books,%20etc/NewAdvent%20Cath%20Resources/cathen/06021b.htm">feast</a>; (Cath Encyclopedia, online).<br /><br />In oral tradition, he is known as a bishop who especially cared for the poor and those under oppression. One story tells of a man whose two daughters were going to be forced into prostitution because he could not pay his debts. That evening Nicholas went by their small house and dropped gold coins into two stockings hanging on the mantle of the fireplace but still near to the window. They awoke the next day to find that they had been spared from a life of misery.<div><br /></div><div><i>Almighty God, in your love you gave your servant Nicholas of Myra a perpetual name for deeds of kindness both on land and sea: Grant, we pray, that your Church may never cease to work for the happiness of children, the safety of sailors, the relief of the poor, and the help of those tossed by tempests of doubt or grief; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><u><b>Lessons</b></u></div><div><br /></div><div>Ps. 78:3-7</div><div>I John 4:7-14</div><div>Mark 10:13-16</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>(source: Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2006; Church Publishing)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-70847748506295603862023-11-30T09:00:00.002-06:002023-12-05T13:13:14.735-06:00The Feast of Saint Andrew, November 30th, 2022<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhZFYUr7mkfqL4h1zEeKEHbhrYlPM6ZfWqTQGHaw4ZNvSM1IhKlLWQTovw1wv7kIosrOiBdaTKvbc_TcJ-2cc7RrUEtrwuMrjNHyLARALErND5QLVM44ncrLEXsNdcYsmDsKkz2aqt7jTUjfjaXaWAYi_DTBfDgeZjnJ3hJJE89mciOI8ne3bVltf/s918/StAndrew.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="599" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhZFYUr7mkfqL4h1zEeKEHbhrYlPM6ZfWqTQGHaw4ZNvSM1IhKlLWQTovw1wv7kIosrOiBdaTKvbc_TcJ-2cc7RrUEtrwuMrjNHyLARALErND5QLVM44ncrLEXsNdcYsmDsKkz2aqt7jTUjfjaXaWAYi_DTBfDgeZjnJ3hJJE89mciOI8ne3bVltf/s320/StAndrew.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Most biographical notes on this Apostle begin “Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother,” and he is so described in the Gospels. Identifying Andrew as Peter’s brother makes it easy to know who he is, but it also makes it easy to overlook the fact of Andrew’s special gift to the company of Christ. The Gospel according to John tells how Andrew, a disciple of John the Baptist, was one of two disciples who followed Jesus after John had pointed him out, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). Andrew and the other disciple went with Jesus and stayed with him, and Andrew’s first act afterward was to find his brother and bring him to Jesus. We might call Andrew the first missionary in the company of disciples.</p><p>Though Andrew was not a part of the inner circle of disciples (Peter, James, and John), he is always named in the list of disciples, and appears prominently in several incidents. Andrew and Peter were fishermen, and Matthew’s Gospel records Jesus’ calling them from their occupation, and their immediate response to his call. Andrew was the disciple who brought the boy with the loaves and fishes to Jesus for the feeding of the multitude.</p><p>We hear little of Andrew as a prominent leader, and he seems always to be in the shadow of Peter. Eusebius, the Church historian, records his going to Scythia, but there is no reliable information about the end of his life. Tradition has it that he was fastened to an X-shaped cross and suffered death at the hands of angry pagans.</p><p>Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland.</p><p><i>Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give us, who are called by your Holy Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.</i></p><p><u>Lessons:</u></p><p>Ps 19</p><p>Deuteronomy 30:11–14</p><p>Romans 10:8b–18</p><p>Matthew 4:18–22</p><p><br /></p><p>(Source: Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2006; Church Publishing)</p><p><br /></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-92119510465724154572023-11-28T13:47:00.000-06:002023-11-28T13:47:05.650-06:00What is a Holiday?<p> Are you aware of the etymology (history) of the word
"holiday"? It comes from the influence of the Historic Church on
Western culture. It is derived from the word "holy" and more
specifically, church "holy days". What started out as feasts for more
specific and focused times of worship has morphed into family time and
merriment outside of any focused or disciplined communal worship. The irony now
is that when merchants avoid "Merry Christmas" so as to cater to the
sprawling pluralism that now demands our submission, they are actually saying
"Happy Holy Days".</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">In the end, these "holy days" can be redeemed, and
we can return to the sacrifice and priority of Jesus being born for all
creation (which includes enjoying and celebrating the meaning of these events
with family and others), but like any other spiritual discipline or valuable
thing in our lives, it won't happen without saying "no" to good
things so we can prioritize what is best. However, our church's life and
culture won't be impacted unless we, the worshippers, choose to act on what we
say truly matters to us.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">What we do physically and where we put our money, time, and
energy during the "Holy Days" communicates to everyone we touch. We
may not think so, but it is true nonetheless. Do no harm, but I ask you to be
purposeful as you undermine the hedonistic self-preoccupation of a world that
rejects the freedom of submission to Christ and his ways. Worship communally on
Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter even if you are out of town. Plan ahead with
family so your worship can communicate before God and people what matters most
about Christmas to you.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Whether people in our church family are out of town or
otherwise occupied on Christmas Eve, it will probably be one of our largest
attended services of the year. I am not trying to drum up numbers. I am trying
to encourage a thoughtful discipleship in action so we can better be light and
salt to a dark and decaying world. I am also hoping to encourage our more
seasoned and mature believers that their presence also matters and communicates
to those newly committed to Christ (or who are new to our church) what it looks
like to be<span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">🎄</span>Christmas people<span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">🎄</span>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Blessings, in the name of the coming and returning Christ.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">Fr. Tom<o:p></o:p></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-32972074916332023202023-11-17T12:46:00.002-06:002023-12-05T13:22:19.199-06:00Remembering Hugh of Lincoln - Bishop, Prophet to Kings, and Protector of the Oppressed<p> </p><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5RJg1GA1qouLg4SjrvyLF4WmWWqr7oul-kSBoXgOeJar53FhNi2LtsmBV4M9SOwbbqANQ5FwMLS5ZplF34K-D72HIMyyV2KBNx2qWmxgfzEHQrmmhSQJYU4njVyB4DTcnHNfxbt8qjOlRdniYg8iKHg_RKgzbGlhJx1GJY-FHxlXgyCIccNVEWYaI3Qk/s334/St_Hugh_of_Lincoln.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5RJg1GA1qouLg4SjrvyLF4WmWWqr7oul-kSBoXgOeJar53FhNi2LtsmBV4M9SOwbbqANQ5FwMLS5ZplF34K-D72HIMyyV2KBNx2qWmxgfzEHQrmmhSQJYU4njVyB4DTcnHNfxbt8qjOlRdniYg8iKHg_RKgzbGlhJx1GJY-FHxlXgyCIccNVEWYaI3Qk/s320/St_Hugh_of_Lincoln.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> <br /><br />As a sign of his remorse for his role in the murder of the Archbishop Thomas a Becket, King Henry II founded the first house in England of the strict monastic order called the Carthusians. Difficulties arose with the first two priors, and a French noble recommended Hugh de Avalon, who at that time had been a monk at the mother house of the order for 17 years. <br /><br />On his arrival in England in 1176, Hugh found that the building of the monastery had not begun. Worse, no compensation had been paid to those who would have to lose their lands and property to make room for it. Hugh refused to take office until these persons had been paid "to the last penny." He intervened again on behalf of the builders, whose pay was not forthcoming. <br /><br />Henry loved him for his plain speaking. "I do not despair of you," Hugh said to him at their first interview; "I know how much your many occupations interfere with the health of your soul." Henry, impressed by his frankness, swore that while he lived he should not leave his kingdom, and took so much pleasure in his conversation, and paid so much heed to his counsels, that a rumor arose that Hugh was his son. Hugh's biographer wrote that "of all men only Hugh could bend that rhinosceros to his will." When Henry was in danger of shipwreck, he cried out, "If only my Carthusian Hugh were awake and at prayer, God would not forget me." <br /><br />This affection never diminished, though Hugh dared to oppose the king, particularly in the matter of keeping bishoprics vacant in order that their revenues might fall to the king's treasury. One of the worst examples was Lincoln, which, except for a few months, had been without a bishop for eighteen years. Hugh was elected to the post in 1186, and his monastic superiors ordered him to accept. After so long a period of neglect, there was great need of reform. Hugh employed priests of great piety and learning, and made the fullest use of his authority in disciplining his clergy. He took a stern view of the ill-treatment of the poor by the royal foresters, and when a subject of the church of Lincoln suffered at their hands he excommunicated their chief. <br /><br />He also refused to appoint a royal favorite to a meaningless but lucrative post. Henry was furious, and summoned him to his presence. He came, and Henry turned away his face and would not speak, but by way of ignoring his presence took out a torn glove and began to sew it. At last Hugh said, "How like you are to your relations at Falaise." The king might have resented this allusion to the humble birth of William the Conqueror's mother, the daughter of a glove-maker, but he only laughed, and the quarrel was made up. <br /><br />Riots against the Jews broke out in England at the time of the Third Crusade. In defence of the persecuted, Hugh faced armed mobs in Lincoln, Stamford and Northampton and compelled their submission. <br /><br />Hugh refused to raise money for the foreign wars of King Richard the Lion-Heart, calmed the king's rage with a kiss, and persisted in his refusal: this was the first clear example on record of the refusal of a money-grant demanded directly by the crown, and an important legal precedent. Richard said, "If all bishops were like my lord of Lincoln, not a prince among us could raise his head against them." <br /><br />His relations with King John were less happy. John showed him an amulet, which he said was sacred and would preserve him. Hugh replied, "Do not put your trust in lifeless stone, but only in the living and heavenly stone, our Lord Jesus Christ." The following Easter he preached at length on the duties of kings, and the king slipped out partway through. <br /><br />Devout, tireless, and forgetful of self, Hugh also had wit, a temper that he described as "more biting than pepper," and a great love and concern for children and the defenceless. He visited leper-houses and washed the ulcerous limbs of their inmates. <br /><br />He was fond of animals, and they of him. Birds and squirrels came readily to his hand. He had a swan that would feed from his hand, follow him about, and keep guard over his bed, so that no one could approach it without being attacked. <br /><br />In 1200 the king sent him on an embassy to France. His mission was a success, but he took ill and returned to England to die on 16 November 1200. John Ruskin called him "the most beautiful sacerdotal (priestly) figure known to me in history." <br /><br />-John Kiefer<br /><br /><br />Prayer (contemporary language) <br /><br />O holy God, who endowed your servant and bishop Hugh of Lincoln with wise and cheerful boldness, and taught him to commend the discipline of holy life to kings and princes: Grant that we also, rejoicing in the Good News of your mercy, and fearing nothing but the loss of you, may be bold to speak the truth in love, in the name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. <br /><br /> <div><br /></div>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-36059776322456197522023-10-24T16:06:00.006-05:002024-01-27T12:32:07.621-06:00The Cluttered Desk<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCY-YIHYOGV-vz7-omNHLJx9S3gLzYMdM7dOFU1b_rkwrmQixdIAjp1OwNPzbFOo_SgHamVBLWgVqOU5-ICGLUe50iv5Eiiv9qZAsbOM7Fc_ug_Fx0HdxKv-51-Ec6kIQdjOMlMv8E0JB8Rfi1YE7BScrq33TrzpRMaz1mJI3YO4pio0UIRaPKb5EMYI/s1023/EinsteinQuote.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="1023" height="582" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCY-YIHYOGV-vz7-omNHLJx9S3gLzYMdM7dOFU1b_rkwrmQixdIAjp1OwNPzbFOo_SgHamVBLWgVqOU5-ICGLUe50iv5Eiiv9qZAsbOM7Fc_ug_Fx0HdxKv-51-Ec6kIQdjOMlMv8E0JB8Rfi1YE7BScrq33TrzpRMaz1mJI3YO4pio0UIRaPKb5EMYI/w640-h582/EinsteinQuote.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" class="placeholder" id="f1a23d93981fb" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/transparent.gif" style="background-color: #d8d8d8; background-image: url('https://fonts.gstatic.com/s/i/materialiconsextended/insert_photo/v6/grey600-24dp/1x/baseline_insert_photo_grey600_24dp.png'); background-position: 50% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; opacity: 0.6;" /></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-56932975752438636182023-10-24T15:36:00.000-05:002023-10-24T15:36:02.548-05:00In Word and Power - (Video Sermon)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="380" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n9Zbts5a-oQ" width="457" youtube-src-id="n9Zbts5a-oQ"></iframe></div><br /> <p></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-88945042642160597352023-10-18T15:58:00.011-05:002023-12-05T13:16:12.568-06:00 The Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9HDiB1TFC1zSMEK4hzO4a0A7R4EsQY-w-GltsLLmy9DRTn3219co7cjqzj1h1YYPnT0W03Fy6V4vwIoxvS4p7SiUMlkhgmttob55WNMn8_SuL-UbaKCLIz1BcWMkvae_E_yL3of92AgzXi5yj09DXTM1K_BAjiUFxuWsQbRv6EnBRqzvwSaL3-OHwnJY/s448/StLuke.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9HDiB1TFC1zSMEK4hzO4a0A7R4EsQY-w-GltsLLmy9DRTn3219co7cjqzj1h1YYPnT0W03Fy6V4vwIoxvS4p7SiUMlkhgmttob55WNMn8_SuL-UbaKCLIz1BcWMkvae_E_yL3of92AgzXi5yj09DXTM1K_BAjiUFxuWsQbRv6EnBRqzvwSaL3-OHwnJY/s320/StLuke.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Luke was a Gentile, a physician, and one of Paul’s fellow missionaries in the early spread of Christianity through the Roman world. He has been identified as the writer of both the Gospel which bears his name, and its sequel, the Acts of the Apostles. He had apparently not known Jesus, but was clearly much inspired by hearing about him from those who had known him.</p><p>Luke wrote in Greek, so that Gentiles might learn about the Lord, whose life and deeds so impressed him. In the first chapter of his Gospel, he makes clear that he is offering authentic knowledge about Jesus’ birth, ministry, death, and resurrection. The Gospel is not a full biography—none of the Gospels are—but a history of salvation.</p><p>Only Luke provides the very familiar stories of the annunciation to Mary, of her visit to Elizabeth, of the child in the manger, the angelic host appearing to shepherds, and the meeting with the aged Simeon. Luke includes in his work six miracles and eighteen parables not recorded in the other Gospels. In Acts he tells about the coming of the Holy Spirit, the struggles of the apostles and their triumphs over persecution, of their preaching of the Good News, and the conversion and baptism of other disciples, who would extend the Church in future years.</p><p>Luke was with Paul apparently until the latter’s martyrdom in Rome. What happened to Luke after Paul’s death is unknown. Early tradition has it that he wrote his Gospel in Greece, and that he died at the age of eighty-four in Boeotia. Gregory of Nazianzus says that Luke was martyred, but this testimony is doubted by most scholars. In the fourth century, the Emperor Constantius ordered the supposed relics of Luke to be removed from Boeotia to Constantinople, where they could be venerated by pilgrims.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Almighty God, who inspired your servant Luke the physician to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of your Son: Graciously continue in your Church this love and power to heal, to the praise and glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.</i></p><p><br /></p><b>Psalter Reading</b><br /><br /><div>Psalm 147<br /><br /><b> Lessons</b><br /><br />2 Timothy 4:5–13<br /><br />Luke 4:14–21</div><div><br /></div><div>(Source: Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2006; Church Publishing)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-59146292255677789072023-10-12T12:49:00.003-05:002023-10-12T12:49:45.084-05:00The Seven Principal Feasts<p> </p><div align="center">
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On Wednesday, November 1st, we will celebrate one of our Principal Feasts as Episcopalians, All Saints Day. This service begins at 11 AM and will likely finish before noon. We hope you will join us if you are local to the Bloomington, IL area.<br /><br />According to the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, we celebrate Seven Principal Feasts during the Christian Year/Calendar: <br /><br />1. <b>Christmas Day</b> - the celebration of the Christ-child <br /><br />2. <b>Epiphany</b> - the celebration of the light of Christ illumining the darkness of our world <br /><br />3. <b>Easter Day</b> - the celebration of the hope and joy of the resurrection <br /><br />4. <b>Ascension</b> - the celebration of the final enthronement and acceptance by the Father of the incarnate Christ as redeemer and lord of the created universe. <br /><br />5. <b>The Day of Pentecost</b> - the celebration of the Holy Spirit as Christ's presence indwelling his people both individually and among them corporately in gathered worship and service. <br /><br />6. <b>Trinity Sunday</b> - The celebration of the Mystery and the Wonder of the three persons of the godhead united in one being - God. <br /><br />7. <b>All Saints</b> - the celebration of the goodness of God to His people, and the remembrance of the faithfulness of the saints of God who have gone on before us. <br /><br />As Anglicans, when we incorporate these feasts into our worship during the year we are offering up our other priorities and time as a sweet sacrifice to our God. The purpose of these services of Holy Communion is to ground our spiritual, individual journey firmly into the Life of our Lord Jesus Christ. To find our personal journey in the midst of the covenant community of Christ.<br /><br />Let us worship our Lord in Spirit and in Truth!<br /><br /> <br /><p><br /></p>
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</div>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6798636800832851073.post-58414959092315528042023-10-04T11:31:00.001-05:002023-12-05T13:14:09.731-06:00The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPxqLtjPYr8Y-E8l1dLb1OB-lHstPzQGlPPXCWgUNX-bkfgAPhE5Ev0LEd8yw3TJgYNIc4w_0JuC789NfG0t5tfO2MExfhyJtSk_4uxlYyygU2oI-Vp8YfKV6-D7hSyjfZMH1NcvIhjQb_HO0kLswKeKdp4xurovVqItl4kmqobbOjLuX8yS066eq/s330/StFrancisAssisi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="330" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPxqLtjPYr8Y-E8l1dLb1OB-lHstPzQGlPPXCWgUNX-bkfgAPhE5Ev0LEd8yw3TJgYNIc4w_0JuC789NfG0t5tfO2MExfhyJtSk_4uxlYyygU2oI-Vp8YfKV6-D7hSyjfZMH1NcvIhjQb_HO0kLswKeKdp4xurovVqItl4kmqobbOjLuX8yS066eq/s320/StFrancisAssisi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Francis, the son of a prosperous merchant of Assisi, was born in 1182. His early youth was spent in harmless revelry and fruitless attempts to win military glory.</p><p>Various encounters with beggars and lepers pricked the young man’s conscience, and he decided to embrace a life devoted to Lady Poverty. Despite his father’s intense opposition, Francis totally renounced all material values, and devoted himself to serve the poor. In 1210 Pope Innocent the Third confirmed the simple Rule for the Order of Friars Minor, a name Francis chose to emphasize his desire to be numbered among the “least” of God’s servants.</p><p>The order grew rapidly all over Europe. But by 1221 Francis had lost control of it, since his ideal of strict and absolute poverty, both for the individual friars and for the order as a whole, was found to be too difficult to maintain. His last years were spent in much suffering of body and spirit, but his unconquerable joy never failed.</p><p>Not long before his death, during a retreat on Mount La Verna, Francis received, on September 14, Holy Cross Day, the marks of the Lord’s wounds, the stigmata, in his own hands and feet and side. Pope Gregory the Ninth, a former patron of the Franciscans, canonized Francis in 1228, and began the erection of the great basilica in Assisi where Francis is buried.</p><p>Of all the saints, Francis is the most popular and admired, but probably the least imitated; few have attained to his total identification with the poverty and suffering of Christ. Francis left few writings; but, of these, his spirit of joyous faith comes through most truly in the “Canticle of the Sun,” which he composed at Clare’s convent of St. Damian’s. The Hymnal version begins:</p><p>Most High, omnipotent, good Lord,</p><p>To thee be ceaseless praise outpoured,</p><p>And blessing without measure.</p><p>Let creatures all give thanks to thee</p><p>And serve in great humility.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant your people grace to renounce gladly the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may for love of you delight in your whole creation with perfectness of joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.</i></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Psalm:</b></span><span> </span>148:7–14 </p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Lessons</span></b></p><p>Galatians 6:14–18</p><p>Matthew 11:25–30</p><p><br /></p><p>(Source: Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2006; Church Publishing)</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Thomas Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066508647853564799noreply@blogger.com0H9X7+54 Benton, AR, USA34.5978844 -92.63725-42.696367332112629 126.73775 90 47.987750000000005