He Washed Feet~The Rt Rev Michael Beckett,OPI

Y’all…..Ever fallen down a rabbit hole on the Internet?  For whatever reason t’other day, I did just that.  The question was asked on Reddit, “What would you do today if you knew you’d die tomorrow?”  The answers were as many and varied as the folks who answered that question.  Some of them were pretty tragic, some of them hysterical, and some were just odd.  But funny thing though, as we are in the midst of Holy Week, Jesus Himself answered that question, without submitting an answer to Reddit.  See, today is Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday.  Jesus knew that he would be crucified the next day, and reckon wonder what did he do?

He washed feet.

In the gospel we read that Jesus had gone to Jerusalem for Passover and gathered his twelve disciples at the dinner table.  He knew that by the end of the night one of them would betray Him to the authorities, one of them would deny Him three times, and all of them would leave him alone in his hour of greatest pain.  And yet there He was breaking the bread and pouring the cup, eating with them, and blessing them.  And he washed their feet.

Ya see, way back in Biblical times, especially in dusty, and hot regions like the Middle East, walking in sandals made foot washing necessary.  This was done as a courtesy shown to guests upon arrival to wash away dirt and refresh them.  It was what the proper host offered right off the bat when someone came to their house.  It was the proper thing to do.  Now, of course the host didn’t do the actual washing.  Nope.  It wasn’t socially acceptable, ya know.  Washing feet was generally handled by servants, or the lowest ranked person in the household. It was considered such a menial, demeaning job that it was sometimes deemed inappropriate for even a Jewish slave to do it.

But Jesus had some points to make, so he washed feet.

The disciples must have been stunned at this act of humility—that Jesus, their Lord and Master, should wash the feet of His disciples. Washing feet was  probably more properly their work, but no one had volunteered for the job, so Jesus kinda taught them a lesson.  We often forget that Jesus came to earth not as King and Conqueror but as the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. As He revealed in Matthew 20:28, He came “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The humility expressed by Jesus’ s act with a towel and basin foreshadowed His ultimate act of humility and love on the cross.

See, He knew that He was not about to be thanked or praised, but killed, and mocked, and tortured. Why? Because in the end, the goodness, the kindness, and the compassion He had brought were more of a threat to the Roman authorities and clergy of his day than any weapon or army.  (Sound familiar?) Jesus so radically upset the status quo that they decided to get rid of him so that things might return to the way they had been before Him, when there were no “radicals,” no “troublemakers,” no “problem children,” and most certainly none of that “woke nonsense.”

Jesus wanted the ones who knew who He was, what He had done, those  who would be his witnesses to His life and teachings after He was gone, to know how to tell others to keep moving forward after He was  gone.

He washed feet.

He gave a demonstration and a commandment.  And this is where the word “Maundy” comes from.   A little research reveals that the word Maundy comes from the Latin for mandatum, or “mandate” in our current English.  Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Now, here we are a couple thousand years later, still Jesus’s disciples, and still under the mandate that he issued. His commandment, His mandate; Love one another as I have loved you. This is the only way we can separate ourselves from the modern day Romans. We must continue to be Jesus’s disciples, continue to practice what he preached, and to love each other even when anger might be expected of us. 

This is a message all Christians need to be reminded of, over and over again. 

Now, this doesn’t mean that we just randomly wash folks’ feet.  In today’s society, that would be considered odd at best.  However, we  do need to let others know that this is how Christ said other people would know us: by how we love one another. Following Christ’s teachings and mandate’s makes us Christians. That’s what Christ wants us to be known for.

So how do we wash feet today?  House the homeless.  Feed the hungry.  Comfort the sick.  Love the least, the lost, and the forgotten.  Work for peace.  Work for truth.  Love the unlovable.  Stand up for the downtrodden, the poor, welcome the stranger.

Again, “maundy” means mandate.  Mandate means “this is something you gotta do, period, you ain’t got no choice.”   Love one another.  Regardless of sex.  Regardless of gender.  Regardless of politics.  Regardless of anything else that might separate us.  There is no one on this planet who God doesn’t love.  There is no one on this planet who Jesus didn’t die for.  Period.  Love.  One.  Another.

Loving God, Who continues opens the door, Who meets us at every table, Who breaks bread and drinks wine alongside us, Who came not to have his feet washed, But to wash our feet, How often do we focus on the smallest parts of your teaching?

We hear your directions to us, But we only follow you to the degree that suits us.  You call us to wash one another’s feet, But how far does your instruction go? 

Are we to humble ourselves before our families?  Our friends?  Our pew mates?  Our fellow congregation members?  That seems reasonable.

What about the man who lives on the street?  What about the woman who cleans our house?  What about the person whose political beliefs offend us?  That causes us to hesitate. 

Are we like Peter, Begging to have not only our feet, But our hands and head washed? When we can wash the feet of a stranger,  Will we be willing to follow you then?  Like Peter, will we deny you? 

Teach us to love others as Christ loves us.  Embolden and empower us by your love to live out these mandates of our faith:  To wash the feet of others.  To serve rather than be served.  To give without needing to receive.  Give us grace when we fall short.  Make us ready, In our hearts and our minds, To follow your son, Jesus Christ, In word and action, In love and service.

Help us to see and feel your presence alongside us As we imperfectly seek to follow Jesus in all we do, Give us courage to begin anew when we inevitably stray.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who first taught us the way, Amen.
The Rev Savannah Demuynck

The Looming Shadows~The Very Rev Lady Sherwood,OPI

As we move deeper into Holy Week, the atmosphere shifts. On this Holy Wednesday, the Gospels set a sobering scene. Jesus, sitting with His closest friends, reveals a heavy truth: one of them will betray Him, and another will deny Him. The cozy intimacy of the table is pierced by the reality of human weakness and the approaching cross. 

​It is easy to look at Judas or Peter and distance ourselves from their failures. Yet, this day invites us to examine our own hearts. How often do we profess love for Christ only to let convenience or fear dictate our actions? Holy Tuesday asks us to sit in the tension of our own frailty and rely entirely on His grace.

​Let us pause in the quiet of this day to reflect, realign, and pray.

​Lord Jesus, We see the shadow of the cross growing longer today. We recognize the times we have turned away from You in our thoughts, words, and actions. Forgive our betrayals and our silent denials. As we walk through this sacred week, anchor our hearts in Your unwavering love. Give us the courage to stand by You, even when the night grows dark. Amen.

The Humble Triumph~The Very Rev Lady Sherwood,OPI

My dearest Brothers and sisters in Christ,

​As we stand at the threshold of Holy Week in 2026, the image of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey remains a radical subversion of power. While the crowds expected a conqueror draped in the traditional finery of a Roman triumph, they were met with the “Prince of Peace” riding a beast of burden. This deliberate choice reminds us that the Kingdom of God does not operate on the currency of worldly status or military might, but through the transformative power of humility and sacrificial love.

​The palm branches laid on the dusty road were symbols of victory, yet the victory Christ sought was not over a political regime, but over the internal darkness of the human heart. We often find ourselves caught in the same “Hosannas,” cheering for the divine when it aligns with our desires, only to grow silent when the path leads toward the cross. Palm Sunday challenges us to look beyond the momentary excitement and ask if we are prepared to follow the Lord into the quiet, difficult spaces of service and surrender that define the days to follow.

​As we carry our own palms today, let them be more than decorative keepsakes. Let them be signs of a renewed commitment to walk the Way of the Cross with integrity. In a world often obsessed with loud proclamations and fleeting fame, the silent dignity of Christ’s entry calls us to a deeper, more enduring faithfulness. May we have the courage to welcome Him not just as a king of history, but as the living Lord of our present lives.

As we transition from the shouts of “Hosanna” to the quiet of the Garden, let us bring our petitions before the Lord.

​For the Universal Church: That we may follow Christ with courage, laying down our pride as he laid down his life.

​For Global Leaders: That they may seek the peace of the Heavenly Kingdom rather than the power of earthly ones.

​For the Marginalized: That those stripped of dignity may find strength in the One who was stripped for our sake.

​For This Congregation: That this Holy Week may not be a mere memory, but a transformative journey of faith.

​ Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

​Almighty and ever-living God,

We thank You for the witness of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who entered the holy city with humility to fulfill Your will. Grant us the grace to follow His example of patient suffering and selfless love. As we hold these branches, may our hearts be open to His reign, and may our lives reflect the peace He brings. Strengthen us for the journey ahead, that we may remain steadfast at the foot of the cross and rejoice in the glory of the resurrection.

Amen.

Truth in the Tomb~The Rev Frank Bellino,OPI

How many times have we heard the story of Lazarus? For many of us, the number is likely in the hundreds. We know the characters: the grieving sisters, the confused disciples, and the Jesus who weeps before he works. But if we treat this as a 2,000-year-old “magic trick,” we lose the Veritas—the Truth—that this Gospel is trying to breathe into us today. If it is just a miracle from the past, it’s a museum piece. If it’s just a “fortune-telling” of the Resurrection, it’s a trailer for a movie we’ve already seen. Through Dominican eyes, we must ask: What is the Truth of this story for a man or woman living in 2026?

Let’s look at this through a lens we rarely consider: the perspective of Lazarus himself. We often think of this as a “happily ever after” for him but think about that for a moment. Lazarus was on the doorstep of the Kingdom. He had passed through the veil; he was at rest. And yet, he is called back. He is made to “turn around” and re-enter a world of dust, pain, and eventually, a second death.

Why? Because the Truth is that our life is not our own. Lazarus was not raised for his own comfort; he was raised for the Mission. He became a living, breathing sermon—a walking protest against the finality of death. His very existence from that day forward forced everyone who looked at him to confront a reality they weren’t prepared for: that the stones we roll in front of our hearts are not permanent. Sometimes, God calls us back into difficult situations—into “stinky” circumstances—not to punish us, but because our presence there is the only way others will believe that light can penetrate the darkness.

Martha warns Jesus, “Lord, by now there will be a stench.” This is perhaps the most honest line in the New Testament. It acknowledges that some situations have gone on too long to be fixed by human hands. We all have “stinky” parts of our lives—addictions we can’t shake, bitterness we’ve nursed for decades, or a paralyzing fear of the future. The world tells us to leave those things behind the stone. The world tells us that once something starts to decay, it’s over.

But Christ stands at the mouth of our personal tombs and demands that the stone be rolled away. He isn’t afraid of the stench. The Dominican Truth is that God meets us exactly where we are “rotting.” He does not wait for us to get cleaned up before He calls us out. He calls us while we are still bound.

Perhaps the most profound Truth for us as a parish and an Order is what happens after the miracle. Jesus says the words that give life, but then He turns to the community and gives a command: “Untie him and let him go.” Notice that Jesus did not wave a hand and make the burial cloths vanish. He required the community to get their hands dirty. This is the mandate for St. Michael’s Catholic Parish/Unified Old Catholic Church. Christ provides the life-giving grace, but we are the ones called to the “Ministry of Unbinding.”

There are people sitting in these pews, or living in our neighborhoods, who have been “raised”—they have heard the call of God—but they are still walking around in burial cloths. They are bound by the labels the world has put on them, bound by the shame of their past, or bound by a lack of hope. As Dominicans and as followers of Christ, our job is to reach out and help peel back those bandages. We are called to be the hands that untie the knots of despair so that our brothers and sisters can truly walk in freedom.

As we move into Passiontide, we realize that the raising of Lazarus was the final catalyst for the death of Jesus. By giving Lazarus life, Jesus sealed His own earthly end. He traded His life for ours.

Today, let us ask ourselves: What stone are we keeping firmly in place? What “tomb” are we hiding in? The Voice that called Lazarus is calling you today. Not just to “live,” but to join the mission. To be a witness to the Truth that in Christ, nothing is ever truly “over.”

The Feast of St Joseph, Spouse of the Virgin Mary~The Very Rev Lady Sherwood, OPI

My dearest Brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today, we come together as the Church to commemorate St. Joseph, the Spouse of The Blessed Virgin Mary, and the foster Father of our Lord and Saviour,Jesus, when he became one of us here upon the Earth.

In the same way in which God, our Heavenly Father, who gives each of us as his children, unconditional love, care, stability and who sets us the standard with which we should strive to live our lives with his holy word in the scriptures, a true Father to each and every single one of us, who only ever wants the very best for all his children.  St. Joseph follows our Father’s example, as both husband and foster father.  He gives us examples which men should follow in their lives. Joseph cared for and provided for the Holy Household. There are many qualities that Joseph had which we could use to be the role model for Christian husbands and fathers. Joseph was a very compassionate man.  We can see an example of this when he suspected his wife of infidelity; he planned to divorce her quietly rather than denounce her publicly and expose her to public shame and penalty.

Joseph was always obedient to God and did what he knew was God’s will without thought or hesitation.  Examples of this are that he kept Mary as his wife; he protected and provided for his family when they had to flee to foreign lands to protect them from danger.

Joseph led a life of deep prayer and was in communion with God, and would always seek out that which was God’s will. God often told Joseph his will using dreams.

Joseph was a provider of care, When Jesus’s life was threatened, Joseph would take them out of danger. He took his family to Egypt and only returned when it was safe to do so, and when Jesus went missing at aged twelve, Joseph went searching for him because obviously, both parents were obviously extremely worried about Jesus’s safety.

Joseph also brought much more to Jesus’s life, he taught him his trade which Jesus worked in for about twenty years, he gave Jesus the love and stability he as any child needs, and was his earthly male role model, which was and still is vitally important for a good father to give any child.

He was a man with a firm faith in God coupled with a resilient personality, who did not complain and was not appalled nor distressed in the midst of trials and tribulations, St. Joseph knew how to face, carry and solve the burden of his vocation, of life’s difficulties and responsibilities with serenity, with complete faith and love, entrusting himself totally and unconditionally to God’s plans.

Sadly not all children are brought up in such a way today, but husbands and fathers truly should seek to follow this sincere man of God in the way they run their lives. Are you married? Do you give all the love, trust and respect to your spouse? Or with stresses and strains do you always argue or not truly make time for each other? If you have children, do you know where they are and if they are safe, or who they might be talking to online? Do you give emotional stability, patience and unconditional love? Do your children see you as the role model they need in a Father?  We should always strive to be as our heavenly Father is to each of us, whether that be to our spouses, to our children, and in fact to all as our brothers and sisters.

While the Gospels do not shed much light on St. Joseph’s life, it is believed that he died before Jesus’ public ministry.

St. Joseph is the patron of fathers, spouses, priests and seminarians. But also, St. Joseph teaches  us so much by his silent example of his life, and just how we should love God faithfully and obediently.

Let us pray:

Blessed St. Joseph, husband of Mary,

be with us this day.

You protected and cherished the Virgin;

loving the Child Jesus as your Son,

you rescued Him from the danger of death.

Defend the Church,

the household of God,

purchased by the Blood of Christ.

Guardian of the Holy Family,

be with us in our trials.

May your prayers obtain for us

the strength to flee from error

and wrestle with the powers of corruption

so that in life we may grow in holiness

and in death rejoice in the crown of victory.

Amen.

Mountains, Valleys, and Light~The Rev Frank Bellino,OPI

As we ascend the spiritual slopes of this Second Sunday of Lent, we encounter the Transfiguration—a moment where the Veritas we seek in our Dominican study ceases to be an abstract concept and becomes a visible, blinding reality. We immediately face the striking selectivity of this event: why did Jesus leave the nine at the base of the mountain and bring only Peter, James, and his brother John? In a modern culture obsessed with a hollow version of “inclusion” that demands everyone get a participation trophy, the economy of Grace works with a more rugged logic. Jesus chose these three not for their comfort, but for their coming trials. He brought this “Inner Circle” to the summit because they were the leaders destined to carry the heaviest burdens of the infant Church; they were being given a “preventative grace,” a spiritual anchor to hold them steady when the sky would eventually turn black over Calvary. To those of you today who feel you are being tested more than your neighbor—who feel the weight of leadership in your families, your careers, or your community—we must realize that the Lord often allows a deeper “Tabor moment” precisely for those He knows must endure the greatest weight of the Cross. This vision was not a reward for their status, but a necessary foundation for their survival in a world that was about to try and break them.

This encounter with the Divine, however, was not one of easy consolation, as evidenced by the disciples falling prostrate in terror. This is the Timor Domini—the Fear of the Lord—which serves as a vital correction to a 21st-century world that tries to domesticate the Divine, reducing God to a “life coach,” a cosmic vending machine, or a convenient political ally. They were afraid because the “Raw Truth” of our Dominican tradition is naturally overwhelming to the human ego; to stand in the presence of the Transfigured Christ is to realize with jarring clarity that we are not the center of the universe. In an age where the “self” is marketed as the ultimate authority, this fear is a healthy reality check. Yet it is in this very moment of holy dread that we see the essence of the Gospel: Jesus reaches out to touch them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” At St. Michael’s, we do not worship a distant, cold light, but a Majesty that reaches into the dust of our human frailty to lift us up. This balance of awe and intimacy is exactly what our modern world lacks—we have replaced the awe of God with the anxiety of the world. We must rediscover the scale of God so that we can truly appreciate the radical humility of His touch in our daily lives.

This depth of experience leads to the often-confusing command of the “Messianic Secret,” where Jesus instructs them to remain silent until after the Resurrection. In our age of “instant sharing,” where we are tempted to post every spiritual impulse on social media before it has had ten minutes to settle in our hearts, Jesus’s command is a radical call to discipline. He understands that glory without the Cross is a dangerous delusion. If the disciples had descended the mountain preaching only of glowing garments and ancient prophets, they would have been peddling a “cheap grace” that skips the sacrifice of Friday, the kind of “feel-good” spirituality that collapses the moment real life gets hard. As Dominicans, we are bound by the principle of Contemplata Aliis Tradere—to contemplate and then hand on the fruits of that contemplation—and that requires the discipline of silence. We cannot truly speak of the Transfiguration until we have stood at the foot of the Cross, for the silence Jesus demands is the time required for Truth to mature in the soul. Our world is saturated with noise, yet our calling within the Unified Old Catholic Church is to a deeper, more disciplined quiet—one where the Word is digested before it is proclaimed to a world starving for something substantial.

Ultimately, the Transfiguration offers a blueprint for our lives between the mountain and the valley. We do not gather at the Altar to escape the world’s problems or to hide in a “religious bubble.” We come to the mountain of the Eucharist to be “re-visioned” by the light of Christ so that we may have the eyes to recognize His hidden, suffering presence in the poor, the marginalized, and the broken whom we encounter in the plain below. The mountain is for the vision, but the valley is for the mission. Like Abraham in our first reading, who was told to leave everything he knew and “Go forth,” we are called to move. we leave this sacred space today not merely with a memory of a miraculous light, but with the fortitude to face our own personal Fridays. We rise, we cast off our fear, and we walk back into our neighborhoods and our workplaces, certain that the light we witnessed on the mountain is a glory that the darkness of this 21st-century world can never, and will never, overcome.

The Urgency of the Desert~The Rev Frank Bellino,OPI

When we look at Matthew 4:1-11, we aren’t just reading a historical account of Jesus in the wilderness; we are looking at a roadmap for our own survival. As your Priest, I don’t talk about the “desert” or the discipline of Lent because I want to fill your calendar with more “church work.” I talk about it because I have stood at enough bedsides and seen enough of life’s fragility to know one absolute truth: Life is short, and eternity is forever. My deepest desire—the very reason I wear this collar—is to ensure that when your earthly pilgrimage ends, you are counted among the saints, reunited with your loved ones in the presence of God.

The devil didn’t tempt Jesus with obvious “evil”; he tempted him with shortcuts. He offered bread to the hungry, protection from pain, and power without sacrifice. Today, he does the same to us. He tells us we have “plenty of time” to get right with God, or that the Sacraments aren’t necessary if we are “good people.” But as a Dominican, I am bound to the Truth (Veritas), and the truth is that we are in a spiritual battle for our very souls. If Jesus—the Sinless One—was targeted by the tempter, what makes us think we can navigate this life safely without the armor of the Church?

We have the Sacraments and prayer not as “tasks,” but as medicine for a terminal condition. Confession isn’t about shame; it’s about clearing the wreckage so you can walk through the gates of Heaven. The Eucharist isn’t just a ritual; it is the “food for the journey” that sustains your soul when the world tries to starve it. We use these tools now because we do not know if we have tomorrow.

Our call to action this Lent is to live with a “Holy Urgency.” I challenge you to look at your life through the lens of eternity. Stop delaying the reconciliation you know you need—whether it is with God in the Confessional or with a family member you haven’t spoken to in years. Make the Sacraments the non-negotiable anchor of your week, recognizing that every time you receive the Eucharist, you are practicing for the Heavenly Banquet. Let us use these forty days to strip away the distractions that convince us we are immortal, and instead, cling to the Cross. Our goal is simple but infinite: to finish this race well so that we may see each other again in the Kingdom where there are no more departures, only the joy of being home with Jesus. Amen

The Discipline of Dust~The Rev Frank Bellino,OPI

For over a thousand years, the Church has gathered on this day to perform a ritual that
the modern world often finds jarring. We take the remains of last year’s victory—the
palms of Palm Sunday—and we burn them into a gray, lifeless powder. In the ancient
world, to “sit in sackcloth and ashes” was the ultimate sign of a soul stripped bare; it
was the mark of the exile and the public penitent. As we begin this holy season,
we must realize that the Prophet Joel’s ancient call to “blow the trumpet in
Zion” is not a call to celebration, but a declaration of a spiritual emergency. These ashes
are the “uniform” of those who recognize that the world is broken, and more importantly,
that we are part of that brokenness.
The theological heart of this day lies in the uncompromising command: Memento
Mori—”Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” This is the “Law of
the Garden” from the Book of Genesis. It serves as a stark reminder that despite our
ranks, our titles, or our years of service, we are contingent beings who do not own our
next breath. Ash Wednesday is the Great Equalizer of the liturgical year. Whether you
are a student, a retiree, a first responder, or a priest, we all receive the same smudge of
dust. It is a necessary confrontation with our mortality, intended to strip away the illusion
that we are the masters of our own destiny. We are creatures in desperate need of a
Creator, and we have forty days to re-align our lives with that reality.
The Prophet Joel challenges us to “rend your hearts, not your garments.” In the Hebrew
tradition, tearing one’s clothes was a sign of extreme grief, but God sees through the
theater of outward signs. He is looking for a strategic rupture in the soul—a deep,
internal surrender. A “strong” Lent is not defined by the quantity of our sacrifices, but by
the quality of our conversion. We fast to prove to our bodies that our souls are in
charge; we pray to prove to our egos that God is in charge; and we give alms to prove
to our hearts that we do not own the world. This is why we commit to forty days—the
biblical timeframe required for the “old man” to die so that the “new man” can be born.
As we embark on this campaign of Christian service, let us not wear these ashes as a
badge of holiness, but as a confession of our need. History teaches us that those who
forget they are dust eventually attempt to act like gods, a path that always leads to ruin.
I invite the community of the Unified Old Catholic Church to enter this season with
discipline and clear eyes. The orders for the journey ahead are simple yet profound:
Repent, believe in the Gospel, and remember who you truly are in the eyes of God. The
campaign has begun.

The Higher Standard~The Rev Frank Bellino,OPI

In the Gospel of Matthew, our Lord Jesus Christ issues a decree that challenges the
very foundation of our spiritual comfort. He declares that He has not come to abolish the
Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them. For the believer, this fulfillment is not a
relaxation of requirements, but an intensification of the heart. As we seek Veritas—the
Truth—we must confront the reality that external compliance with a set of rules is not
the same as salvation. St. Thomas Aquinas famously noted that the New Law is
primarily the very grace of the Holy Spirit given to those who believe. Therefore, the
“minimum” is no longer an option for the Christian. It is not enough to refrain from the
act of murder if we harbor the fire of anger or the poison of insults toward our neighbor.
It is not enough to avoid the act of adultery if our minds remain a sanctuary for lust and
objectification. Jesus Christ is not calling us to be “good citizens” who stay within the
legal lines of society; He is calling us to be disciples whose every thought and “Yes” is a
definitive alignment with the Cross.

This “Law of the Heart” demands a radical integrity that bridges the gap between our
Sunday worship and our daily conduct. If we approach the altar to offer our gift while
holding onto a grudge or refusing to reconcile with those we have hurt, our sacrifice is
hollow. The Truth dictates that our faith must be more than a spectator sport. Every one
of us has been equipped by God with specific gifts—be they financial, physical, or
spiritual—intended for the building up of His Kingdom. To possess these gifts and refuse
to use them is to choose the “fire” of self-interest over the “water” of sacrificial life. The
economy of the Kingdom of Heaven operates on a principle of divine generosity: when
we offer back to God the labor of our hands and the integrity of our souls, He returns it
to us in “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”

As we move through the cycles of the liturgical year, let us remember that the “Higher
Standard” of Christ is not a burden meant to crush us, but a guardrail meant to guide us
toward true freedom. True freedom is found when our internal character matches our
external profession. We are invited to strip away the “internal noise” of resentment and
half-heartedness, replacing it with a discipline of reverence and service. Let us stop
looking at the Law as a list of constraints and start seeing it as the path to the Ruler of
our hearts. May we choose this day to move beyond the letter of the Law and embrace
the Spirit that gives life, building a Church that is defined not by its rules, but by the
transformative power of its Truth.

Let Your Light So Shine~The Rt Rev Michael Beckett,OPI

Y’all…….  The United States is frequently characterized as a “light to the world” or a “shining beacon,” symbolizing a global model for liberty, democracy, and economic opportunity. Founded on ideals of equality and individual rights, the U.S. has served as a beacon for freedom, offering an, at times, unique, and evolving society.   The concept of being a “light to the nations” stems from biblical traditions regarding an example of righteousness, which some interpret as applying to the nation’s historical mission of promoting freedom and, to a lesser extent, religious, liberty.

Religious Liberty.  I’m sure that you have noticed that here in recent months, there has been a great cry among a certain segment of our population to restore Christianity into the United States, and that is has been said that there is a war on Christianity.  The president of the United States said, at a Rose Garden event on the National Day of Prayer in May, “We’re bringing back religion in our country. His faith adviser, pastor Paula White-Cain, proclaimed that in his administration, faith “has been brought back to where it always belongs, and that is center.”  He has even gone so far as to establish a Task Force Against Anti-Christian Bias. 

Well…..yay?  I think not.  While all of this sounds good and wholesome and right, when, in reality, it is far, far, far from anything good;  as far as east is from west.  It would seem that many today actively espouse things that are far and away from anything Jesus taught.  He kinda summed it up when he said, in Matthew 23:27-28: 

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

If the powers that be were truly interested in furthering Christ’s message, well, the Scripture’s appointed for today would be a great place to start.  From Isaiah:

Thus says the LORD:

Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own.  Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed;  your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.  Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!  If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;  if you bestow our bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday.

I really haven’t seen much of that on the national news lately, have you?  But then again, that’s the “Old Testament” and we are supposed to be New Testament people, no?  So, let’s check out the Gospel Reading for today:

Jesus said to his disciples:  “You are the salt of the earth.  But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?  It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.  You are the light of the world.  A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;  it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house.  Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”    Matthew 5:13-16

Well now.  It seems to me that we, this country, each of us, needs to work on letting our lights shine.  Really and truly shine.  We need to light up the darkness in this world.  And reckon wonder how do we do that?  Wonder of wonders, Jesus tells us!  Again from Matthew:

‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’  Mt 34-40

The “least of these.”  Who are the “least of these”? 

So…are the people and policies in place now actively shining this kind of light?  What’s more important though, is the question, are YOU shining on the folks around you?  Jesus wasn’t playing when he said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’   All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Mt 22:36-40

When we were wee, we were taught the song, “This Little Light of Mine, I’m Gonna Let it Shine,” and we sang it with gusto!  Now, as adults, we have come to the point in our lives that we have to decide if we are, indeed, gonna let our lights shine, or are we gonna support, vote for, and continue to hide in the darkness?   Amen.