The Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas

 

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.

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.

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.

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.”

(Lesser Feasts and Fasts, pg. 152)

Feast Day Scripture Readings

Authentic or Contrived?

Performance and production can be manufactured; a growing, humble, and teachable heart is given only to those who seek it.

Came upon these verses today while planning services for the Season of Epiphany:

Micah 6:
6 “With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

Humility and ceremonial precision can be faked; a character being shaped through the power of the Spirit, cannot. Remember what is most important to God as we seek to be spiritually disciplined and obedient to him. The Church of Jesus Christ does not need more moralists and religious sycophants who fit the Kingdom of God into their lives as it is convenient. God calls us to be humble and courageous followers of Jesus, no matter what the risks to our insecurities and need to find our worth using the values of the world.

A Different Kind of King

 The word "King" stirs up various thoughts in our minds as Americans. While much of human history and culture has been shaped and ordered by some kind of Monarchy, the concept is less intuitive for us today. However, if even from a historical perspective, we still have ideas about "Kingship" and "Monarchy" both positive and negative.

In the giving or the "law" to Israel, The Lord told the people that they were not to have a king, for kings would levy taxes (in abusive ways), make citizens their slaves, and make war for their own political aspirations. However, God would be a just and righteous ruler for them, if they would but bow to his reign. That said, as the book of I Samuel records, it did not take the Israelites long before they wanted a king "like the other nations" around them. They were interested in a more tangible form of power and protection than being reliant in faith on their Lord God. Like us at times, they thought they knew better than God. They were wrong and learned this lesson (time and time again) the hard way. We also find disappointment and the need for God's redirection, when we take a similar approach to what matters in life.

The coming of Jesus, however, broke the mold of expectations for kingship. He neither used his Kingship for narcissistic glory, nor did he try to amass a huge military force to ensure his reign. He did not exclusively spend time with the self-important and wealthy for the building of a political agenda, but instead congregated with the humble, the suffering, and the poor. Jesus was a different kind of king, and we will revisit his royal entrance into the land of Israel this Sunday.

Like the power-brokers and the "impressive people" of the day, the approach of the ministry and teaching of Jesus seemed silly and ineffective. We as the church today, often succumb to the same foolishness. The Kingdom teaching and life of the Gospel seems too slow, too vague, and too difficult to evaluate when it comes to goal accomplishment (I mean, "if you don’t have a goal, you are sure to hit it!!!"). Power, programming, and wealth seem much more reasonable and tangible ways to build the church. We often prefer leaders "like the nations/corporations/successful leaders around us" than to rely on God's slower, less-impressive ways. But it is only in God's ways that we have God's influence and enduring power.

Let us not be deceived, for God is not mocked. Let us model ourselves and our ministry planning and living to follow our Lord God’s gradual, patient, faithful work of salvation and eternal life - no matter how slow or unimpressive His ways may seem at times.

The way the Christ-child entered the world is a central part of his message. Can we receive it?


See the Video Sermon, "A Different Kind of King" - Matthew 2:1-12, The Second Sunday of Christmas, January 2026.

The Anticipation of Advent

In chapter 35, Isaiah lays out the hope and reality of the Messiah who will make all things "right" (our Old Testament Reading from the third week of Advent in the Revised Common Lectionary).

 

 Strengthen the weak hands,

and make firm the feeble knees.

Say to those who are of a fearful heart,

"Be strong, do not fear!

Here is your God.

He will come with vengeance,

with terrible recompense.

He will come and save you."

 

Isaiah tells us that we should not fear those who use their power for evil or who seem to threaten the very "humanity" that we have come to believe should make us different than the rest of creation. However, our problem is not being created in God's Image; our problem is that we are corrupt because we want our humanity to be equal to God and His majesty.

 

In addition, when He does return as our God (the Messiah), He comes with the power to overthrow those who only understand a hammer of a justice which they cannot defeat. If there is anything that we have learned in our politics of late, there is no way to reason with the arrogant and delusional. That said, it is truly not a new problem.

Our God, however, does not delight in punishing, but it is the only recourse for those who reject God's offer of salvation. However, He also blesses those who realize they cannot justify themselves outside of the righteousness and forgiveness given through Jesus Christ. Evil cannot dwell in the presence of our triune God, as it always represents a cancer that leads to humanity wanting equal or greater power than the one and only creator who is thoroughly just and holy. He can righteously handle all of the immense power that is a part of his being. We humans, cannot.

 

The Messiah breaks into a humanity and a human history that has overwhelmingly rejected God's offer of redemption by choosing to believe that He and His revelation to mankind are optional. For these, only punishment remains. Their rule of selfishness, hypocrisy, and injustice (according to God's character and ways) is over.



May our God "Strengthen our weak hands, and make firm our feeble knees" as we wait faithfully for that final day when all is made right.

Fr. Thomas Reeves

The Feast of St. Nicholas

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.

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)

In Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, they have the custom of making him the secret purveyor of gifts to children on 6 December, the day on which the Church celebrates his feast; (Cath Encyclopedia, online).

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.

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.

Lessons

Ps. 78:3-7

I John 4:7-14

Mark 10:13-16

(source: Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2006; Church Publishing)

Political Extremism

 A well-written article by the Dean of our Diocesan Cathedral in Springfield, IL.

Extremism - by the Very Reverend Andrew Hook

Seven to One

 

Following Jesus means adjusting our beliefs to him

Jesus to the Sadducees: “You don’t know the scriptures or the power of God”

From the sermon:

How do you interpret the Holy Scriptures? Are there many ways to interpret the scriptures, and we just get to pick one? There were multiple Jewish groups in Israel looking for the coming Messiah. They had different ideas and different ideologies that affected their ability to receive the very Messiah they said they were waiting for. Was everyone right and they just needed to agree in the areas they all accepted, or did Jesus also repeatedly tell people that they were wrong and removing themselves from the hope of redemption?

The Church Effective

 

In the book of Acts, the newly established church (now, the New Covenant People of God) begins to run into everyday organizational problems as it grows. What becomes clear is that the solutions to these problems will involve the spiritual gifts and service of others if the early church is going to continue to be effective. One of those needs was the daily distribution of food for the widows among them, who were dependent for survival on others now that their husbands had died.

 

Acts 6:

1 Now, during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. 2 And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.

 

Many of you have likely heard me say at one point or another: "We as a church will only be as effective as we have people involved using their spiritual gifts". This statement bears my phrasing, but it isn't my idea. It comes repeatedly from Holy Scripture, and it is a truth that influences every family and organization. We are always better when we are functioning together.

 

The situation is rectified in Acts chapter six when people are chosen from within the body due to their spiritual gifts and because they were known for their honesty and integrity. Why would this matter? Those disseminating the food would handle currency and oversee how the provisions would be measured out (and to whom!). In this kind of position, fraud and the manipulation of others could be a great temptation for those of weak character.

 

Hear Acts 6, again:

7 The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

 

The church continued in its healthy and effective trajectory because the apostles were wise enough to understand their limitations and their need for the entire involvement of the body of Christ. But the people had to choose to serve (and we are very thankful for the many who do so in our congregation).

 

We have reached that time in the church year where we prepare to thank vestry members who are finishing their three years serving on our leadership council, and then calling and welcoming others to serve in their stead. However, because we do not have a large membership, finding others to serve on the vestry can be a daunting task for those of us asking for volunteers. It is a position that is often hard to fill for a host of different reasons and often resisted by a host of different people with different kinds of gifting. This does not mean that vestry will be the right place where everyone should serve, and yet, without enough people, shared accountability for decision making becomes difficult (as a reminder, a year ago we finalized a change in our constitution, moving our necessary number of Vestry members from nine to seven).

 

A person who serves on the vestry will be a confirmed or received member and will have a spiritual and physical commitment to Christ and his church. Like the Biblical story above, it is also a position of trust. The largest part of the requirement is a monthly meeting that occurs on a Thursday evening that lasts between an hour and an hour and a half (not a weekly meeting!).

The vestry leads our church administratively alongside the Rector. It isn't always exciting work, but it is important work in regard to the careful and honorable management of our facilities, our finances, and our programming at every level.

 

Could God be calling you to consider the use of your gifts in this important way? So often, those who serve in so many other places in our parish end up coming forward in the end (often, having served multiple terms before) because no one else is willing. I would like to see this load shared by others who are capable and willing to do so.

 

Our Church has grown significantly over the last four years. In that time, many people have stepped up, engaged their gifts, and found a place to serve and belong in using their spiritual gifts. If we are going to continue our healthy trajectory of spiritual and healthy numerical growth, it can only happen as more people choose to use the gifts and calling that they have been given.

Pray for your Priest and your Vestry. Pray for God's provision. Pray for one another.

See you Sunday!

 

Fr. Tom

 

The Feast of St. Ingatius of Antioch

 

Ignatius of Antioch, martyred in 115, had a profound sense of two ends—his own, and the consummation of history in Jesus Christ. In ecstasy, he saw his impending martyrdom as the fitting conclusion to a long episcopate. He was accounted the second Bishop of Antioch in Syria.

Seven authentic letters which Ignatius wrote to Churches while he journeyed across Asia Minor in the custody of ten soldiers (“my leopards,” he called them), give valuable insights into the life of the early Church. Of certain Gnostic teachings that exalted the divinity of Jesus at the expense of his humanity, Ignatius wrote: “Be deaf. . .to any talk that ignores Jesus Christ, of David’s lineage, of Mary; who was really born, ate, and drank; was really persecuted under Pontius Pilate; was really crucified and died in the sight of heaven and earth and the underworld. He was really raised from the dead.”

In another, he condemned a form of biblicism espoused by some as the method of historical interpretation and the only rule of Church practice. He wrote: “When I heard some people saying, ‘If I don’t find it in the ancient documents, I don’t believe it in the Gospel,’ I answered them, ‘But it is written there.’ They retorted, ‘That has got to be proved.’ But to my mind it is Jesus Christ who is the ancient documents.”

Ignatius maintained that the Church’s unity would always spring from that liturgy by which all are initiated into Christ through Baptism. He exhorted: “Try to gather more frequently to celebrate God’s Eucharist and to praise him. . . . At these meetings you should heed the bishop and presbytery attentively and break one loaf, which is the medicine of immortality. . . .”

Ignatius regarded the Church as God’s holy order in the world. He was, therefore, concerned for the proper ordering of the Church’s teaching and worship. He wrote: “Flee from schism as the source of mischief. You should all follow the bishop as Jesus Christ did the Father. Follow, too, the presbytery as you would the apostles; and respect the deacons as you would God’s law. . . . Where the bishop is present, there let the congregation gather, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.”

Almighty God, we praise your Name for your bishop and martyr Ignatius of Antioch, who offered himself as grain to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts that he might present to you the pure bread of sacrifice. Accept, we pray, the willing tribute of our lives and give us a share in the pure and spotless offering of your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalms         116:1-8 

Lessons        Romans 8:35–39

                     John 12:23–26

(Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2006, pgs. 422-423)

John Henry Hobart - An Early American Episcopal "Saint", September 12th

Despite likely being a workaholic, I love so many of the characteristics and authenticity that Bishop John Henry Hobart displayed in the below descriptions from James Kiefer's Hagiographies. 

Fr. Thomas Reeves

After the American Revolution and the Independence of the United States, the Episcopal Church, under public suspicion in many quarters because of its previous association with the British government, did very little for about twenty years. John Hobart was one of the men who changed this.

John Henry Hobart was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 14 September 1775, the son of a ship's captain. He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University, ordained deacon in 1798 and priest in 1801. Called as assistant minister to Trinity Church, New York, in 1803, at age 36 he was elected assistant bishop of the diocese in 1811, becoming diocesan in 1816.

To look at John Henry Hobart, you wouldn't have predicted greatness. Height always distinguishes, and he was notably short. Blessed with attractive blue eyes, he was nearsighted and forced to wear thick glasses. In an age of marmoreal gestures in the pulpit, he was melodramatic. At a time of dignified eloquence, he spoke rapidly, with emotion. When most men were reserved, even with their families, he was warm, whether with ambassadors or farmers, to the point of being thought odd.

Most bishops were content if they bestirred themselves for episcopal acts a hundred miles from home. Hobart had the energy of ten men: horses dropped under his exertions and he thought nothing of a winter visitation of 2,000 miles in western New York or 4,000 at a more seasonal time.

Early in his career he tackled publicly issues still dubious in the American mind: episcopacy and apostolic succession, arguably besting in print a redoubtable Presbyterian opponent.

He founded two institutions: a college in Geneva (later Hobart College) and General Theological Seminary in New York City, breaking his health to get both off the ground.

He not only looked after the Diocese of New York (46,000 square miles and virtual wilderness west and north of Albany) he served as rector of Trinity Parish, the wealthiest and most influential church in the country. Agreeing to oversee the diocese of Connecticut, since its high- and low-church party roils had prevented the election of a bishop, he covered its parishes more thoroughly than any bishop ever had. New Jersey, similarly bishopless, appealed to him, and he looked after it as well.

He knew all the clergy in the Church generally and in his own diocese intimately. He was aware of their background, remembered their families, forgave their frailties, and appreciated their strengths. He watched over his candidates for Holy Orders with a paternal interest, meeting with them weekly.

His instinct for politics never overrode his principles. Once convinced of the rightness of his position, no wave of unpopularity would budge him. His friends adored him and even his enemies credited him with frankness and fearlessness. He held no grudges and played no games, two qualities that endeared him to many. In a turbulent New York State election for governor, a common saying was that only Hobart would have been easily elected.

He took 26 clergy at the beginning of his episcopate in 1811 and quintupled them to 133 by his death; watched the number of parishes increase from about 50 to almost 170; and confirmed roughly 15,000.

This lovable, indefatigable, type-A bishop went virtually nonstop from his ordination until his death. The only surprise was that he didn't die sooner. At midnight, September 7, 1830, a young clergyman rode in a stage through Auburn on his way to Binghamton. Passing the rectory of St. Peter's Church, he was puzzled to see a light so late. He rapped for the stage to stop and soon learned from the rector, John Rudd, that Bishop Hobart was ill. Francis Cuming remained to assist in any way he could.

Hobart's illness wasn't that surprising. Troubled for years with what was most likely a bleeding ulcer, with rest and medication he would generally rebound. In Auburn he had preached and confirmed and other than a slight cold, seemed fine. But soon the serious nature of his attack became clear and he cancelled the remainder of his visitation. Over the next few days, he frequently requested to hear portions of Lancelot Andrewes's litany, in which he would join.

Amidst his pain, Hobart found time to offer advice to Cuming: "Be sure that in all your preaching the doctrines of the Cross be introduced: no preaching is good for any thing without these." Cuming writes: "His pains were so severe he could not give his mind to them unless they were short, and when I had invoked our Heavenly Father to continue to be gracious to his suffering servant; and that whereas he had studied to approve himself to God upon earth, he might be permitted to stand approved by his Master in heaven, he interrupted me by saying, 'Amen: O yes, God grant it, but with all humility I ask it.'"

"On Friday, September 10th, just before the going down of the sun, and as its last rays had forced themselves through the blinds, and were playing upon the wall not far from the bed, he said, 'Open the shutters, that I may see more of the light; O how pleasant it is; how cheering is the sun--but there is a Sun of Righteousness, in whose light we shall see light.'"

Cuming again: "There were times when he was peculiarly oppressed. The promises of the Gospel, however, would revive him. At one of those times he said to me with the most remarkable emphasis, 'Comfort me.' The reply was 'Bishop, it is written, the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin.' - 'So it is, so it is,' he added; God be praised for that, God be praised for all his mercies - God be merciful to me a sinner!'"

On Saturday, at a bedside service of the holy communion, when Rudd "came, in the confession, to the words, 'by thought, word, and deed,'" the bishop stopped him and said, 'You know the Church expects us to pause over those words: pause now, repeating one of the words at a time till I request you to go on.' This was done, and the pauses in each case were so long that a fear passed over our minds that he had lost his recollection or fallen asleep. This, however, proved not to be so; he repeated each word, and after the third pause added: 'Proceed, I will interrupt you no more.'"

Early Sunday morning, September 12, 1830, John Henry Hobart died, aged 55. The funeral took place in New York City on September 16. The mourners included the governor of the state and the mayor of New York City, and the procession was estimated at nearly 3,000.

The third bishop of New York is buried under the chancel of Trinity Church, New York.

Prayer (traditional language)

Revive thy Church, Lord God of hosts, whensoever it doth fall into complacency and sloth, by raising up devoted leaders, like thy servant John Henry Hobart whom we remember this day; and grant that their faith and vigor of mind may awaken thy people to thy message and their mission; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Prayer (contemporary language)

Revive your Church, Lord God of hosts, whenever it falls into complacency and sloth, by raising up devoted leaders, like your servant John Henry Hobart whom we remember this day; and grant that their faith and vigor of mind may awaken your people to your message and their mission; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Psalm 78:3-7 or 133
Jude 20-21,24-25
John 17:11b-19 (St1)

A False Community

 

"In a false community everyone protects himself against everyone else. Everyone tries not to be known, except in ways he or she chooses. Everyone tries to work out ways in which all relationships will be smooth. This is not community.

There is a vision in the writings of Saint Hermas, one of the seventy disciples of Christ, a vision: he sees the angels of God building the city of God, the new Jerusalem, and he sees that they choose square stones with sharp edges and place them next to one another, cementing them together. And then there are stones that seem so beautiful in their material, so smooth in their shape -- round, oval -- and they are rejected. Because it is only those stones that can be fitted together and cemented together that can be used for the building of these walls of the Heavenly Jerusalem. And when we try to create a society in which every one of us is safe from the other, are we not creating a society of people who are like smooth, rounded stones that can in no way be fitted together with others? What is needed then is a hammer that will break the smoothness and reshape them."

- Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, "Churchianity vs Christianity," pp. 114-115

Breaking the Rules

 

When is it OK to break the rules?

I am thankful that I was raised in a house where I was taught manners and respect for other people. I was taught, in keeping with the teaching of Jesus to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. This kind of mutual respect and honor is in part what keeps any human group or human society from turning into chaos. Today, in the United States, in the broader sense of our popular culture and our national debates, good manners seem be the exception rather than the rule.

But at what point does a person’s or societies’ view of “good manners” or “appropriate behavior” become manipulative, unduly restrictive, and/or downright abusive? Every human family or group, no matter how large or how small, has unwritten expectations and “acceptable manners”. This does not mean that their definitions are healthy or to be adopted.

When Jesus came to live among us, he walked into both civil and religious structures with many assumed and expected manners and rules. Those under the power of these leaders knew the consequences of thinking outside of their holy and elevated rules and used their so-called prestige and knowledge for their own selfish desires. This not only bothered Jesus, but it also often infuriated him to the point of rebuke and at times even name-calling for specific theological application.

Jesus knew the importance of the Law of God in the Old Testament, and he knew the authority and power of the truths of the Old Testament Scripture in general. However, he also knew, that human rules, established to give limits and boundaries to facilitate structure and order, were to be contextually applied based on the core, Godly characteristics of righteousness/justice, mercy, and shalom as God had revealed it to his people.

However, those who love POWER over their love for God, revel in rigidity and simplicity – laying aside a patient, gracious, and thoughtful discerning of truth and error or right and wrong. Jesus never pursued the leadership of Israel to change them. They pursued him as a threat. When Jesus pushed back at their duplicity and parasitic behaviors, the Jewish leaders saw Jesus as a disrespectful, rebellious, and dangerous prophet. Of course, any prophet in the Old or New Testaments that pushed against corruption, injustice, or the disobedience to God’s Word also faced these same responses.

Our text for Sunday comes from the Gospel of Luke chapter 13 (see the link below). Jesus again, chooses mercy over the strict interpretation of current man-made applications regarding the sabbath. The RIGHT group, the POWERFUL group was non-too-pleased. But the powerless, marginalized, and ill woman who was healed were ecstatic and gave praise to God!

How might we be a people who give this “gospel” news and love to others who know only the marginalization and power structures so valued by the world? How can we avoid this kind of off-putting, Holy Spirit dousing, and selfish approach to leadership at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church? To the Church of Christ?

"Controlling the Rules" - Luke 13:10-17

Waiting on God

So, why is it so hard to wait for things? The first, although admittedly shallow, example that comes to my mind is a child who is waiting for Christmas to come. Finally, the week before Christmas arrives, and then Christmas Eve. Growing up, our family opened gifts on Christmas Eve. As a young elementary student, I found that day almost unbearable in its slowness.

And, yet, learning to wait for things that we so desperately want (or have convinced ourselves that we need) continues as a challenge (and often a problem) into adulthood.

We, the redeemed, are also called to wait: for God’s strength, healing, encouragement, and especially for the final return of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is with His return that we will know a final healing, joy, and the fulness of human life in reconciliation to God.

But the good news is that we are not alone. The human beings and central characters in the story of God's Covenant People also struggled with waiting on God - even when God miraculously delivered His promises in overwhelming and shocking ways. The reality is that our gracious and dependable God always keeps His promises. However, He is rarely in a hurry, nor is He often moved to placate our childish behavior.

In the sermon below, we look at the "waiting" required of Abram. May it comfort us to know that God is right in the middle of the "waiting" that consumes so much of this life, just like he was with Sarai and Abram. And, our Lord tells us - over and over again - that, in the end, our waiting will be well worth it.

Waiting on God - Genesis 15:1-6 - Video Sermon

Navigating the Heavenly

 

Have you ever heard the statement about certain Christians that they are "so heavenly minded, that they are no earthly good"? The idea is that the theology of some seems so focused on the future glory of heaven, that they tend only to emphasize the ethereal or spiritual. Thus, these believers are vastly detached or impractical about everyday Christian living and/or the needs of others around them.

However, many in response to this culture of "doing church" over-react (for a host of complex historic and cultural reasons) with a similarly poor approach to theology, believing only what is done practically and literally in this life matters. Helping the needy and marginalized and leading them to the American Dream = heaven. The End.

As our texts on Sunday (see below link) will emphasize, neither of these extremes is remotely scriptural. Our "heavenly mindedness" is what fuels our loving, earthy, and faithful living. We love others now as we will love them for all eternity. We are to be living examples, and a taste of heaven for those who are exposed to our transformed character and actions. We embrace the temporary nature of all of our material blessings and our wealth. When we die, we leave as poor and vulnerable as we entered.

But to live this new life, our old ways and perspectives (fueled and informed by the disobedient of this world) have to be put to death. Thanks be to God, our old lives and their rulers and authorities have been defeated, and in our baptism, we are given the power to be Christ to the world around us. However, we must claim and rely on this change in our character through the power of the Holy Spirit. It takes effort and determination to live in such a heavenly way.

 

 “Living Above it All” – Video Sermon, Colossians 3:1-14

GOOD vs. BEST

 

In recent sermons we have been discussing the reality of the "cultures" in which we breathe and drink in our understandings about what matters in life. Much of how we live is intuitive. When we make decisions regarding the use of our resources between two good things, there are assumptions behind our decisions.

 

It is also true that our hurts, fears, and anxieties, affect our decision making and priorities. Without careful meditation and evaluation (and the wise advice of those who love and observe us) most people won't recognize the true things that drive them. Instead of being responsive and thoughtful, we are often reactive and stressed-out.

 

One main purpose of the Church of Christ is to hold firm to the "first things" that give the redeemed true wisdom and direction. The Church is to help her people to keep their eyes on Jesus. Thus, during the storms, or when the storms do finally arrive, we are prepared and ready.

 

But if our lives are so jammed-packed with good things, so that we have no time for spiritual preparation and prioritization, should we be surprised when the storms knock us for a loop? Storms and crisis don’t care about our priorities, retirement plans, or scheduled events. They come anyway and sometimes force us to look at the true weakness and vulnerability of our focus and choices. They are the true “flash floods” that reveal our vulnerabilities. However, if we are building on the ROCK, we will stand firm and remain strong through the storms that hit us. Why? Because we are preparing for and we expect them to arrive in our lives.

 

In the below sermon we look at an everyday scene that will be familiar for most of us; two sisters, handling an important guest in different ways. One is wrapped up in convention and the cultural assumptions that are intuitive. Another is enthralled with knowing and following Jesus; this results in her taking a disciplined hearing to his teaching first of all. Jesus, as he often does, redirects the assumptions of us all.

Good vs. Best (Video Sermon)

Accepting the Challenge

 

When it came to the genuine, foundational, character problems of the Jewish religious community of their day, Jesus often meddled. I submit that if a person is actually honest with the clear revelation of Holy Scripture in the Gospels, there is just no way around it. While we can definitely say that Jesus was careful and strategic about how he taught, when he taught, and who he was teaching, he was also at times prophetic so as not to be brushed aside or misunderstood (He risked offence and misunderstanding in the beginning, middle, and end of his ministry on earth). Our text on Sunday is one of those stories where everyone who is listening would likely have been bristling.

When Jesus tells a parable in answer to the question of a certain lawyer of the Mosaic Law, ("who is my neighbor?") the crowd got an answer for which they had not bargained. Are we Christians today anymore ready for such challenging answers from Jesus? What did the Jewish leaders and the people do with the repeatedly challenging teaching of Jesus? What do we do?

Jesus had a clear understanding of where the Jewish Covenant People of God were headed with their many religious and political compromises in concert with the powerful rulers of the day. This, of course, culminates in the destruction of the Temple and the decimation of the Jewish people in Israel a mere 60+ years later (70 AD). As Jesus looks at the direction and future of the American Church in the years to come, what does he see?

Jesus often specifically identified the hard-heartedness of the Jewish leadership. Yet, the overwhelming majority of everyday worshippers were just fine tolerating their leaders as long as they themselves didn't experience too much disruption. Yes, their leaders were bankrupt theologically and corrupt in practice. Yes, these same leaders manipulated and took a buffet approach to Holy Scripture, picking and choosing from their pages the truth that fit their presuppositions and desires. However, in the end, the challenges of Jesus, as will be revealed Sunday with the "Good Samaritan", largely fell on deaf ears. Jesus just seemed too extreme. Those that did continue to follow him before and after his death and resurrection only ended up doing so at great risk.

It will take effort on our part to stay open and teachable to Jesus. It will take evaluation, meditation, and courage to evaluate why we hold some of the beliefs that we hold and why we hold them so tightly.

However, if we choose to listen and pursue the teaching of Jesus through the preached Word, with a reliance on the aid of the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts and minds, we truly have nothing of substance to lose, and everything eternal to gain.

Fr. Thomas Reeves

The Love Test - Video Sermon

GOING

 

One of the characteristics of being a follower of Christ is the desire and action of reaching out to others with the hope and redemption offered by Jesus to the world.

Recently, I was out at the Pitt's farm for a "blessing of the fields", setting them apart and asking our God for a fruitful harvest. While we were walking around on the homestead, Jack pointed out a particular gas vapor farm light that they used for security reasons. This light was no longer needed on one part of the property, and so, he had moved it to be better used at another location.

Now, if that same security light had been purchased, put into the machine shed, unpacked, and left unconnected, what good would it do? For the lamp to fulfill its design and purpose, it had to be installed outside of the machine shed and connected to an electrical source so that it could have an appropriate place to have any influence.

Outreach is not something that the baptized Christian is supposed to do first of all; it is to be an evidence of who we truly are. Our genuine character will reveal itself through habitual patterns, whether good or bad. Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter five that "we are the salt and light" of the world. He goes on to say that we "should not hide our lights under a bushel-basket". How are we developing our full character in Christ?

This Sunday, we are looking at Luke chapter ten. Jesus has already sent out the 12 disciples to bring the good news of the Kingdom of God to various Jewish villages. In Sunday's text, he is now sending out 72 other disciples to attempt a similar mission. How does this text apply to the people of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church?

God is not asking any of us to be something that we are not.  However, he is asking us to claim who we are in Christ, and through the gifts and strengths that he has given us, bring the light of Jesus to a world in need of God's love.

(See the YouTube Channel for Father Thomas Reeves for the video sermon: "GOING")

St. Matthew's in Publication

 

Our Church, St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, was featured in the Summer 2025 issue of the Anglican Digest. My article appears on page 44.

The Anglican Digest

Towards Discipleship

 

Last week (July 22nd - Ordinary Time) in the Gospel of Luke chapter eight, we looked at the story of the demon-possessed man who was self-destructing, and the townspeople that were terrified when Jesus transformed him. We reflected on how much these people had to lose (in their way of thinking) if they "lost themselves in Christ". And yet, by sending Jesus and his disciples away, they likely sealed their own self-destruction and a continued life of chaos.

This Sunday, we follow the journey of Jesus in Luke as we look at chapter nine. Jesus is coming into what we could call the "final stretch" of his ministry (that had lasted roughly three years) which culminates in his death and resurrection. He is rejected in Luke 4 by his hometown and many who know him well. He is then vehemently hated and despised for confronting the Synagogue in Nazareth with truth about God's gracious saving actions for the Gentiles. This was truth that had “gone too far”, and they absolutely would not consider, nor could they believe that Jesus would suggest such an idea.

 In our chapter Sunday, Jesus in his journeys is again rejected, this time by a village of Samaritans, when he inquires if he may lodge with them for a while (of course, this lodging would include his teaching). Luke tells us that this Samaritan rejection was a precursor to the continual and final rejection of Jesus by the Jewish leaders and people in Jerusalem.

 As the chapter progresses, Jesus is then approached by multiple people who say that they want to follow him, but Jesus makes it hard on them by testing them. Each person makes a culturally acceptable excuse to communicate that NOW was not the right time for them to fully commit to Jesus as their Lord. In our Old Testament reading, Elisha gives a similar excuse to the prophet Elijah, and both Jesus and Elijah respond to those hedging in their commitment: "I don't believe you."

This Fall we will have several people claiming and recommitting themselves to their baptismal vows and pledging to serve with us as covenant family members in our redemption together. Here are a few parts of the baptismal ceremony that will be revisited by each person to be confirmed or received:

 Question:      Do you put your whole trust in his grace and love?

 Answer:         I do.

 Question:      Do you promise to follow and obey him as your Lord?

 Answer:         I do.

 Celebrant:     Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and

                        fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the

                        prayers?

 People:          I will, with God’s help.

 Celebrant:     Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever

                        you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?

 People:            I will, with God’s help.

 Celebrant:     Will you proclaim by word and example the Good

                        News of God in Christ?

 People:         I will, with God’s help.

 Celebrant:    Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving

                      your neighbor as yourself?

 People:         I will, with God’s help.

 

These are promises that are to become a part of our change in character, intent, and action. It means looking at all of life through the lenses of Jesus Christ and his callings without excuses. Our Baptismal promises are not to be motivated to placate or perform for clergy or fellow Christians but are about a genuine commitment to serving Christ and others - because we agree with Jesus that this is the way that leads to life and salvation. Our Lord knows if we are making excuses or if we are truly committed to honoring and obeying him.

This is why he challenges us to "take up our cross and follow him”. He leads the way, that we might follow. May we ask for his power and courage to seek him with all of our hearts, souls, and minds. Life and light await us. Amen.

Inconceivable!

What seems impossible makes us powerful.