Faith in Action
April 30, 2009
“Faith cannot be hidden away in our mind or heart. It is obvious in our life, or it is obviously not in our life … and that is a scary place to be because Scripture tells us it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God without faith.” ~ Tammie, When God Speaks In Themes at Are You for Real?
Pure Love by Isoke Mbongo
April 27, 2009
Pure love,
All need, but few truly seek or possess;
Pure love.
Our infirmities, He took;
Our sorrows, He bore;
Pure love.
Pure love for you and me
A Man of Sorrows the Divine became;
Stricken, smitten and afflicted;
Pure love.
Was pierced, was wounded
And crushed;
Was judged and punished,
Pure love.
Our transgressions, He took,
And peace He brought us;
Pure love,
Truly pure.
For it He came,
And for it, He died, but eternally lives;
Pure love,
Truly pure.
Pure love,
Every good thing, generously gives;
All guilt, all shame and sin, forgives;
Pure love.
If you’ve got Him, stay in His love;
If you don’t, seek Him while He may yet be found.
Pure love,
Truly pure.
© Mbongo Isoke
In His service with lots of love,
Isoke
Liturgy Lesson for St. Mark the Evangelist: Preach the Gospel
April 24, 2009
The Church has set aside saints’ days (such as St. Mark we commemorate today) in honor of the first martyrs and those mentioned in the Gospel as most nearly connected with our Blessed Lord in the work of establishing His Church and in honor of all those who have given their lives for cause of the true Faith of the Church. They’ve been established for us to study and emulate their virtues and thank God for their examples. It is important to note—we don’t pray to the saints or address them directly in devotion, but, rather, we may ask our Heavenly Father for our share of their prayers in Heaven. The first record we have of a saints’ day comes from the second century, although it probably existed far earlier. The practice grew from ancient Christians meeting at martyrs’ graves on the anniversaries of their deaths for the Faith Eternal to celebrate their Godly virtues and bless God for their pure lives and heroic examples. The great truth for us in observance of saints’ days is that the saints on Earth are fellow-citizens with the saints in paradise, and all, whether living or dead, are members of one great Heavenly parokia, or parish—the family of God—the Communion of Saints. Like Christians we meet, our spirits can “bear witness” with the saints, because we resonate on Christ’s spiritual frequency—one Faith and one Baptism for the remission of sin. We are all rewired to our Lord’s specification. And, we can take joy in that we are empowered, just as St. Mark was—to preach the Gospel, regardless of the cost. And, like him, we have a great company with us to God’s purpose in our lives. For the Kingdom!
Come for a Walk by Anne Pargeter
April 23, 2009
“Come out for a walk. Enjoy the beautiful day,” said a voice inside my head.
It’s too windy and the wind is probably cold. Besides, I need to clean the kitchen, I thought, trying to silence the voice I felt had intruded upon my day.
“The wind is brisk, but you may find it will blow away the cobwebs of winter from your mind and heart. Come for a walk and I will show you,” the voice persisted.
Still I resisted the voice, but it would not be stilled until finally I gave in and went outside for a walk. The wind was blowing briskly but it wasn’t cold. As I walked, I began to look around me and noticed how bright and cloudless the sky was. Only a few white jet trails far above me contrasted with its perfect blue. Around me I saw the signs that neighbors were beginning to plant flowers that would brighten their yards in the months to come. There was a lemon-yellow day lily near a foundation. In another yard were red and yellow snapdragons added a splash of bright color to a front lawn. My mood began to lift as I took in the simple sights of the beautiful day around me.
Suddenly, the wind I had wanted to avoid carried a wonderful scent of cedar to me that smelled so spicy and woodsy it stopped me in my tracks and made me breathe in deeply.
“The wind can bring beauty,” said the voice in my head that I now knew was God. “You just need to understand how to appreciate it.”
After the darker season of Lent, a season we must experience fully to truly appreciate the glory of the gift that God has given us, perhaps now is the time to take the lessons of Lent and lead our lives in a new way. Take joy in each new day. Unwrap it as we would a gift with anticipation and excitement. Thank God for His forgiveness of our shortcomings, have faith that with His help we will be more worthy of His love, and thank Him for the blessings in our lives.
See each day as a gift, new and shining with possibilities. Are we deserving of such generosity and love from God? Perhaps not when we take His gift for granted and waste the possibilities each day holds, but I believe that God wants us to be happy. Each new day is our chance to do better, to be better. Like a loving father who watches his young child take a few steps fall, get up, and try again, God will be there when we fall and will help us get up. His hand is always reaching out to us.
So if you hear a voice inside you asking you to take a moment to enjoy the beauty of the day (even if it is windy, or wet, or seems anything but beautiful), take the time to answer that voice and say, “Thank you.” I think you will find that you will be glad you did.
Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.
– Job 37:14
Uncase the Colors
April 20, 2009
Bible Reading: Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. – Acts 4:13
Bonus Reading: Acts 4: 7-22
I have been a military historian much of my life. I have always been drawn to stories of valor, discipline, and order of that profession. I suppose that’s part of why I spent over 30 years in uniform.
One of the practices that even modern militaries continue from antiquity is displaying the colors. In more formal times, uncasing and raising the colors demonstrated a commander’s loyalty to his sovereign, as well as intention to do battle in his name. So it is with Christians. Every day—we have a choice, as we used to say in the Air Force, to “stand with pride, or run and hide,” in this case, as Scripture teaches us, “glorying in Christ.” Consider this story, from a brand-new teacher in a public high school:
My first teaching job also involved coaching. One day, I walked into the teachers’ lounge and overheard three or four coaches and one teacher huddled around a table after lunch was over and the women had cleared out. They were talking in a crude way about some of the more attractive female students of our school. I could not believe what I was hearing. I thought, how could they sit here and make explicit sexual comments about 16-and-17-year-old girls they teach?
Finally, as calmly as I could, I said, “Hey, gentlemen, I know that I’m the brand-new teacher here and the youngest in the room. But what you are saying is absolutely unprofessional and uncalled for. Imagine being a father of one of these girls listening to how you are talking about them! I think this needs to stop and stop right now.” It got very quiet.
This young teacher uncased his colors and raised them. He stood…boldly. Like SS. Peter and John in the Scripture reading, his actions said clearly—he had been with Jesus. And it shows us clearly this was not a function of what they knew—saying they were “uneducated and untrained men,” but was, rather, an indicator of Who they knew—the King of Glory, the Changer of Hearts, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. The Lord, Our Righteousness. And knowing Him was life-changing. But it was more than that.
The context of the Word here shows us that is was more than simple understanding. These blue-collar workers had been seized by the Sanhedrin, a council originally instituted by Moses, composed of seventy-one members—chief priests, scribes, and elders. In first century Jewish terms, this was the Supreme Court. And, if you recall, only a few short days earlier, these men cowered and hid anytime Jesus was not with them, face-to-face. Their crime? Healing a man in Jesus’ name, and preaching against sin and iniquity among the Jews, calling them to repentance. They had uncased and hoisted their colors. But how did they move from simply knowing Jesus to the militant stance?
The council asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” Acts 4 records what happened next:
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Anyone who has ever raised a flag knows it cannot be seen well without wind, a word the Greek renders as “pneo” the root word for “pneuma,” or spirit. If we will uncase and hoist our colors in Christ, the Holy Ghost will show them for us. Our job, like the young teacher or SS Peter and Paul, is taking that action to stand for Him.
Contemplative Prayer: “Holy Spirit, please fill us with Yourself so we can raise our Sovereign’s flag to Your breeze.”
Think about it: Will you stand with pride…or run and hide?
All love in the Beloved,
Chip+
Liturgy Lesson for the First Sunday after Easter: Joy of Resurrection Life
April 18, 2009
This is the first Sunday in Eastertide, the oldest festival of the church year—and one that rightly enjoys a far greater emphasis than Lent, which is, more than anything else, a spiritual examen to prepare us to receive the joys and empowerment of Resurrection life made possible by Easter’s victory. In ancient times, there was one long festival between Easter and Pentecost, correctly linking the two great holidays as one spiritual event—the birthing of the Church Militant by the conquest of sin and death and subsequent coming of the Holy Ghost. The early church called Easter “Pascha,” derived from the Hebrew word for Passover and our faith’s Hebraic roots. The liturgical color of the season is white, honoring our Lord’s purity and royalty. The symbols of the season are pleasant, in contrast to the hard symbols representing the unpleasantness of our falleness we discover and overcame in Lent. Eastertide symbols tie to the Resurrection—typified by the lilies decorating the nave and sanctuary areas. This flower represents the season in two ways: (1) it blooms at the appropriate time and (2) the seeming decay of the bulb before its growth, beauty, and fragrance is an icon of the Resurrection. Alleluia!
Preparing for Holy Week and Easter
April 15, 2009
O LORD, our heavenly Father, whose blessed Son came not to be ministered unto, but to minister; We beseech thee to bless all who, following in his steps, give themselves to the service of their fellow men. Touch the hearts of All Saints parishioners to inspire them to service in your Kingdom. We give thee thanks for those who serve you at All Saints—the clergy, staff, vestry, officers, layreaders, acolytes, lay ministers, Altar Guild, Flower Guild, administrative and support volunteers, teachers and nursery workers, youth and adult group leaders, choir members and Koinonia leaders, greeters and those who provide hospitality, prayer intercessors, and those who serve in countless other ways. Endue them with wisdom, patience, and courage to show your love, spread your Word, strengthen the weak, and raise up those who fall; that, being inspired by thy love, they may worthily minister in thy Name to your church and to the suffering, the friendless, and the needy; for the sake of him who laid down his life for us, the same thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Easter: He Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!
April 12, 2009
Liturgy Lesson for Easter: He Is Risen … He Is Risen, Indeed!
April 12, 2009
Today is Easter Sunday, a term derived from the old Anglo-Saxon word Eostre, which designated the month of April, in which this 40-day feast most commonly begins and on which we celebrate three great facts. First, our Lord’s divinity—for while others were raised from the dead, He arose by His own inherent power, gaining victory over death for us all. Next, it established the immortality of our spirits, which before the Resurrection was only a matter of speculation. Finally, His Resurrection underscored God’s seal of approval—and validated everything Christ claimed and taught. Easter is, then, rightly the queen of all Christian festivals and is the hinge point of our faith. No wonder St. Paul wrote, “…if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” He is risen … He is risen, indeed—our Hope of Glory—alleluia!!
Easter Services
April 11, 2009
Easter Sunday — April 12th
- 7:11AM Sunrise said service/Holy Communion in Prayer Garden (in chapel if weather is inclement)
- No Sunday School, Children’s Church/Children’s Sermon/Youth Group
- 11:00 AM Blessing and procession of the Paschal Candle, Mass with incense
- Reception following the service
