Category: Lesson

Happy Easter….er….Merry Christmas? ~ The Feast of St. John ~ The Rev. Dcn. Brenden Humberdross

 

Open our ears, O Lord, to hear your word and know your voice. Speak to our hearts and strengthen our wills that we may serve you now and always. Amen.

First let me start by wishing you all a very Merry Christmas season!

Every year when Christmas rolls around I realise how very easy at this time of the year to get caught up in the hype, the presents, the food, and the times spent with family and friends and to lose sight of what Christmas is really all about and its place in our faith life.

I am sure that when many of you read or heard today’s Gospel there was hint of confusion in your minds. Here we are two days after celebrating the birth of our Saviour and we are hearing about Christ’s resurrection. It doesn’t really appear to make total sense at first glance. However, if we take a moment to contemplate Christmas and what it means for us, remembering Christ’s death and resurrection at this time of year is not that strange.

Most of us have known from an early age that Christmas is that time of year when we celebrate the birth of a very special baby, Jesus, who was born as God’s son through a special lady called Mary. As children though, the meaning of this message is somewhat lost on us, and rightly so. The birth of that baby in Bethlehem holds a potent significance in the life of the whole human family. Though we are of course, celebrating the birth of the Christ Child there is a much deeper significance to the event.

What we are celebrating at this time of year is theologically termed the incarnation; in Christ we do not simply have a baby born in peculiar circumstances, we in fact have God Himself coming to the earth to dwell and walk amongst us. Does God come clothed in glory to enact His will upon the human family? No He comes as a meek and humble babe, born in a stable to a carpenter and his wife. And it is here that we can begin to see the reason for remembering the resurrection today.

This miraculous birth leaves us with one big burning question; why? Why on earth did God in His power and majesty choose to come and walk amongst us mortals? Theologians have written many volumes on this topic, but I like to put it rather simply; God became incarnate as Jesus so that He could die. Take a moment to think about that; from the moment of His birth the babe in the manger was walking towards Easter.

I have to admit that I didn’t always look at Christmas in this light, for most of my life I’ve looked at it as the joyous birth of our saviour; and well we should. However, for me, this event has become tinged with a different shade as the story of Christmas is the beginning of the story of Easter. From here all of the life of this little babe was preparing humanity for His ultimate sacrifice for us. And so it is that today we are reminded of that fact by the Gospel reading. We are reminded that this little babe has laid the first foot on the path to Calvary and through His great sacrifice will come the miracle of the resurrection which will open the way for fallen humanity to enter into a restored relationship with God.

If there is one thing that we can take away from today I hope it’s the realisation that Christmas draws its significance from Easter. Christmas isn’t the penultimate celebration of Christ in our Calendar, rather it is the start of the path that leads to the greatest event in human history; the resurrection of Christ. It is my hope and prayer that we can all take a moment today in this busy Christmas season to remember the sacrifice of Christ and all it meant for us and to that God for loving us so much that He came to walk the earth as a simple child so that we could return to His loving embrace.

Let us pray:

Dear God, help us to focus on you today, remembering that the gift of Christ, Immanuel, is our most treasured gift for the whole year through. Fill us with your joy and the peace of your Spirit. Direct our hearts and minds towards you. Thank you for your reminder that both in seasons of celebration and in seasons of brokenness, you’re still with us. You never leave us. Thank you for your daily Presence in our lives, that we can be assured your heart is towards us, your eyes are over us, and your ears are open to our prayers. Thank you that your surround us with favour as with a shield, we are safe in your care. We choose to press in close to you today… In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

(prayer from http://www.crosswalk.com)

From Boxes to Forgiveness ~ The Feast of St. Stephen the Martyr ~ The Very Rev. Lady Sherwood, OPI

Liturgical colour: Red.

Reading 1: Acts 6:8=10, 7:54=59

R Psalm: PS 31:3CD=4, 6 And 8AB, 16BC And 17.

Holy Gospel: MT 10: 17=22

So now our Lord and Saviour is born! All the Turkey and trimmings have been eaten, and many people head to the stores, looking for the latest cheap bargains. Around the world, there will be people buying things in boxes. And so today we celebrate The Feast of St Stephen the Martyr, this also has the alternate name of ‘Boxing day’. Boxing day is not about shopping, it is a day where we give boxes of gifts and food to the poor and needy in our society. It is a day of showing the Lords love to the less fortunate. But what has all this talk about boxes got to do with today’s feast of St Stephen?

St. Stephen was called by the Apostles at the dawn of the church from among seven Greek men who were of good reputation, who were filled with Spirit and who had wisdom. They were the first Deacons of the Church. They oversaw the welfare of the members of the church, they gave care to the poor, for widows and for orphans. This is the link that I see with the true meaning of the alternative name of ‘Boxing day’, about giving care and welfare.

According to tradition, Stephen was a young man, most likely still in his teen years. He was full of grace and power. He performed many miracles amongst the people in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This however, did not go down well with those of senior rank in the temple court, and various synagogues would challenge Stephen with many debates and arguments, however, Stephen would always come out of them on top every time due to being filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. This led to anger and before much time had passed, Stephen was charged with blasphemy, taken to the Sanhedrin to defend his case, which he did with great eloquence.

Stephen began with the promises given to Abraham and went all the way to the building of the temple during Solomon’s reign, before then directing his sights on the Sanhedrin itself. ‘How stubborn you are, heathen still at heart and deaf to the truth! You always fight against the Holy Spirit. Like Fathers like sons! Was there ever a Prophet your fathers did not prosecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, and now you have betrayed him and murdered him, you who have received the law as God’s angels gave it to you, and yet have not kept it! ‘ (Acts 7:51=53).

This led to a fit of anger and fury and the council dragged Stephen to the edge of the city to stone him to death, he had no true trial nor verdict. But Stephen still kept his faith until the finish, having a vision of the heavens being torn open with Jesus standing there at Gods right hand.

Stephen’s last mortal words were pleas to God for the forgiveness for his persecutors, that those sin would not be held against them. St Stephen is the Proto=Martyr, This is because he was the first victim of persecution of the church that is mentioned after the ascension of Jesus into heaven.

Life’s fulfilment =the eternal heavenly banquet rests squarely in God’s hands. This leaves us as children of God to love our neighbour, to care for this world, and to seek those things which make for peace, for joy, and for salvation. Stephen is such an excellent example for us to follow in our daily Christian lives, both in the way he cared for the poor and needy, and also by the way he forgave his persecutors and even prayed for them. May we strive to imitate the values in the life of St Stephen, for the glory of God within our own lives.

Let us pray:

Grant, Lord, we pray that we imitate the truth of the Christian life we lead following the example of St Stephen the Martyr, who we celebrate today. Mav we, as he did, love and care for the needy in our society in your ever=loving name and to your glory, and that also like St, Stephen, we can forgive and pray for forgiveness for all who may harm us. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Believing Is Seeing ~ Br. Jake Vogel, Postulant

 

Some of you may remember a wonderful Tim Allen Christmas movie from the 90s called, The Santa Clause. I remember seeing it the first Christmas it came out and re-watching it as a Christmas staple several Christmases thereafter. The movie is a light-hearted comedy about the main character accidentally becoming the new Santa and all to the shock and delight of his child who, due to his mom’s new boyfriend, had lost his belief in Santa. From the very beginning of the movie the father, played by Tim Allen is questioned by the boy about all the different reasons why believing in Santa seemed irrational to him and the father’s response was, “Charlie, sometimes believing in something means… you just believe in it.” wanting to instill faith in his son that anything is possible if you believe.

Later on in the movie the fathers own faith is tested when he arrives to the north pole and realizes that he indeed will be the new Santa, he questions an elf saying, “I see it but I don’t believe it.” to which the elf Judy responds, “You’re missing the point. Seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing. Kids don’t have to see this place to know that it’s here, they just know.”

The whole underlying theme of the movie is that sometimes we get so wrapped up in our lives and what society teaches us as a reality, that we start to lose our faith and need to, ‘see to believe’. In today’s gospel, “Joseph [Mary’s] husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose [Mary] to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”” like the elf Judy reminded Santa of his faith and duty to it, so did the angel of the lord to Joseph.

Often today not only in this season but in our lives of modernity, we forget that miracles are possible through faith if we are willing to believe and submit to God’s plan for us as Mary did so many years ago when she said to the angel Gabriel, “I am the Lord’s servant,… May it be to me as you have said.” Christmas is a time that we should remember and proclaim to others the awesome news that, “With man this [miracle] is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” and that our wonderful Father in heaven, “… God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This season is a time to reflect and be reminded of the literal birth of our salvation into the world.

On this wonderful vigil of the Nativity of our Lord, I ask that we not be like Charlie the questioning child or like Joseph the caring but doubting husband and rather that we chose this Christmas season to believe that Christmas miracles do exist and that we don’t have to see them to know that they exist. Sometimes we just have to trust in ourselves and in our faith and instead of questioning or trying to figure out the will of God, we should just submit to it, understanding that if we only believe he will provide for us what we need because he loved us enough to let his only son who was born on this very eve die to save us so that we can one day be reunited with him and all his saints in his heavenly kingdom. So as we embark into the Christmas celebrations just remember, “Seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing.”

God, the one who loved us enough to give up your only son;

God the Holy Spirit who brought us the Word which became flesh and dwelt among us through your humble servant Mary,

and God the son who was born on this day to save us from our trespasses;

We ask that on this day of your nativity,

you grant us the hearts to believe without being witnesses to the event but knowing that it and its message is the truth of this season. May we each be witnesses to the Miracle of Christmas and bless others as you have blessed us.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

AMEN

Shepherds? “THOSE” People? ~ The Rt. Rev. Michael Beckett, OPI

8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.  16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.  18And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.  20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. Luke 2:8-20  King James Version (KJV)

After 2000 years of Christmas sermons, in hundreds of languages, in different countries throughout the world, and by way of innumerable faith traditions, is there anything new or original left to be said about Christmas, and what it means, that hasn’t been said before?   Perhaps not.  However, like re-reading that favorite book for the 17th time, or watching that favorite movie or television show for the 358th time, even when you know exactly what comes next, what the very next word is going to be, often we find a new meaning or a new slant on something that is as tried and true as Christmas itself.

 And so it is with me this year.  This Gospel reading  recalls the story of the angels bringing the news of Christ’s birth to the shepherds.  Now, we all know that story.  We’ve heard it many times over, and those of us who cherish “A Charlie Brown Christmas” will always, in some ways, hear Linus quoting from Luke, no matter who is reading that passage of the Bible to us.   We know the story.  We SEE the story in every Nativity scene we pass by.  There is almost always a shepherd near the manger carrying a lamb on his shoulders and another lamb or sheep to be seen somewhere hanging around.    It’s always seemed to me that the sheep and the shepherds were just THERE, minor players in a Christmas play, the “extras” assigned to the kids who didn’t quite measure up to the roles of Mary or Joseph;  they enter stage left, ooh and aah over the baby, and exit stage right, singing “Go tell it on the mountain”, singularly unimportant and taking secondary roles to the more illustrious wise men (who in reality weren’t there at all) and most definitely playing supporting roles to the Holy Family, or just standing around as so much scenery, contributing to the mood and filling up the bare spots in the Nativity scene.  I overheard a conversation recently that made me really think about the shepherds.  While visiting some friends, their cat jumped into the midst of the family crèche and knocked over the obligatory shepherd.  It was chipped.  The younger daughter of the family was somewhat distressed, and to make the little girl feel better, the mother said to her, “Don’t worry about it, Honey.  It’s just the shepherd.  He’s not all that important.”    I didn’t think much about it at the time, but when reading the Scripture appointed for today, it struck me.  Not all that important?  But weren’t they?  Who WERE these shepherds?  Why were they there in the first place?  Why did THEY get the news of Christ’s birth in such a spectacular way?  Who were they that they should be eyewitnesses of God’s glory and receive history’s greatest birth announcement?

In Christ’s day, shepherds stood on the bottom rung of the Palestinian social ladder. They shared the same unenviable status as tax collectors and dung sweepers. Only Luke mentions them.  When the twelve tribes of Israel migrated to Egypt, they encountered a lifestyle foreign to them. The Egyptians were agriculturalists. As farmers, they despised shepherding because sheep and goats meant death to crops. Battles between farmers and shepherds are as old as they are fierce. The first murder in history erupted from a farmer’s resentment of a shepherd.  Smug religious leaders maintained a strict caste system at the expense of shepherds and other common folk. Shepherds were officially labeled “sinners”—a technical term for a class of despised people.

Into this social context of religious snobbery and class prejudice, God’s Son stepped forth. How surprising and significant that God the Father handpicked lowly, unpretentious shepherds to be the first to hear the joyous news: “It’s a boy, and He’s the Messiah!”  What an affront to the religious leaders who were so conspicuously absent from the divine mailing list.  Even from birth, Christ moved among the lowly.  It was the sinners, not the self-righteous, He came to save.  So is it  really all that surprising that the first announcement of Christ’s birth was to the lowly shepherds on Bethlehem’s hillsides?

Consider the events leading up to Christ’s birth.   Mary was barely 15.  Christ was born to an unwed mother, Mary, a servant girl; Mary the young woman who delivered while only betrothed to Joseph.  He was born in a stable, a cave!   A holy God being born to a couple no different than immigrants, far from home and in a strange city, in a place where animals were kept.  A couple who couldn’t even find a place to stay, turned out of every inn!  It’s all too bizarre.

Yet this is the God we experience.  This is our claim;  This is the meaning of his very name: Immanuel, meaning “God with us” — with us not just in nice times, but most especially in the times of our lives when we are in the caves, and stables of our lives, when we are turned out of the places we’d like to be, when we are at the lowest of low points, when we are out in the dark, and in the cold like the shepherds.

Our God, the God who comes to us in the person of Jesus Christ, is the God of the oppressed, the repressed, the depressed; the God of the sad, the grieving, the sorrowful; the God of the lonely, the lowly, the poor, the God of the Shepherds; the God of the despised, the destitute, the dejected. Our God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who stood with the enslaved Hebrews in Egypt, who led them out of Egypt to a promised land of freedom.  Our God is the God of widows and orphans and stranded travelers. Our God is the God who doesn’t stay neat and tidy and spotless, but comes and stands beside us in our times of deepest need, who comes among us as the child in the dirty manger and the God of the shepherds on the hillside.  The God we’re speaking of dares to join the unsuccessful, the failures, the dispossessed, and the downtrodden;  the God of the Shepherds.

Wherever there is suffering, our God is there. He stands with Zacchaeus, the despised tax collector, and with Bartimaeus, the blind beggar. He is with us when we face cancer, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments. He is with us when we face amputations, operations, loneliness, the loss of a loved one, or even death itself.  The God of the manger and the Shepherd is Immanuel, God with us. At our deepest times of loss and need, in the dirtiest and most embarrassing parts of our lives, God is with us, His rod and His staff, they comfort us.  It is God who glues us back together when we become, like that figure in my friends’ Nativity scene, chipped, flawed, and much less than perfect.

And it is up to us, to demonstrate the love of God, the God of the lowly, the downtrodden, to the world.  We, like the shepherds in the Christmas story, are to be the ones who are to proclaim the good news “which shall be to all people” to all the people of the world.   It is our responsibility as Christians to be the instruments through which God can work in this world.  As was  most famously stated more than four centuries ago by Saint Theresa of Avila:

Christ has no body but yours,
no hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

 My very favorite Christmas carol, “In the Bleak Midwinter,” includes the lines, “What, then, shall I bring him, empty as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb. If I were a wise man I would do my part.  What can I give Him?  I can give Him my heart.”

Won’t you, this Christmas, give Him your heart?  Won’t you, like the shepherds in the children’s plays of the Christmas story, be one to “go tell it on the mountain, over the fields and everywhere” that Jesus Christ is born?  Amen.

 

 

Rejoice!!! The Very Rev. Lady Sherwood, OPI

 

R 1 : IS: 61:1=2A, 10=11

R Psalm: LK 1: 46=48, 49=50, 53=54 (R: IS 61:10B)

R 2: 1 THES 5: 16=24 (R: IS 61:10B)

Gospel: JN 1: 6=8

Liturgical colour: Violet/Rose.

 

Today we come together to celebrate the Third Sunday of Advent, also called ‘Gaudette Sunday’.  This is when we come together to REJOICE as we await in hope and anticipation the coming of our Saviour. ‘Gaudette’  originally comes from the vulgate translation (Phil 4:4) of ‘Gaudette in Domino Semper’, and which means “Rejoice in the Lord always”,  and as such the theme we focus on today is Rejoicing and joy!

We are half way through our observance of Advent and we REJOICE because we know that the coming of our Lord and Saviour is now less than two weeks away. Today we light the Rose/pink candle on our advent wreaths to signify and to remind us that this a time to REJOICE.

In our Liturgy of the Word today, we clearly hear St Paul (in the conclusion of his first letter to the Thessalonians), telling us important Do’s and Don’ts, let us look at these:

Do: “REJOICE always. PRAY without ceasing. In all circumstances GIVE THANKS.

Dont’:” Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise Prophetic utterances.”

Our Liturgy and Holy scriptures today are all about REJOICING!!

This can be seen both in the message of the Prophet Isaiah (today’s first reading), and also in our Holy Gospel reading today of St. John the Baptist, and also of St. Paul, to remind us of the ever presence among us of the One Lord, the one and true source of our Joy: Jesus Christ!!

We all know how very easy it can be among all the hustle and bustle of the preparations of our Christmas celebrations to forget to recognise that Jesus is present and in the midst and indeed is the true reason for our Christmas preparations and celebration. This is why today is so important. It is an invite to us and for us to REJOICE always, to PRAY without ceasing, and to GIVE THANKS!! Why is this important? Because we have SEEN THE Light and we truly recognise Christ’s presence among us.

Let us not be mistaken, Jesus is NOT only present in the Baby of Bethlehem born of Mary; NOT only present as the crucified Lord nailed to the cross dying for our sins; NOT only present as the Risen Lord outside the empty tomb on Easter Sunday, nor only with the Apostles in that upper room on Easter Sunday night.

The Risen Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, truly IS PRESENT, among us, yes, right here and right NOW, speaking to our hearts and Spirit through the Holy scriptures, and giving himself to us ALWAYS in the Holy Eucharist which we share.

May we truly REJOICE!  May the blessing told to us by St. Paul (second reading), truly be a blessing to each and every one of us, as we continue our Advent journey and preparation for the coming of Our Lord and Saviour: ” May the God of peace make us perfectly holy: and may we entirely=Spirit, soul and body =be preserved blameless for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Let us pray with joy and rejoicing in our hearts:

O God, who sees how your people faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity, enable us, we pray, to attain the joys of so great a salvation and to celebrate them always with solemn worship and glad rejoicing.

Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Make a Change! The Memorial of St. John of the Cross ~ Fr. Shawn Gisewhite, Novice

  

 

St. John of the Cross, born Juan de Yepes y Alvarez, in Spain in 1542, was a Spanish mystic, Carmelite Friar, influential poet and major figure of the Counter Reformation.  He was educated in Biblical Studies, Theology and Philosophy and chose at an early age to pursue a Religious calling.  In 1563 he joined the Carmelite Order and was ordained a Priest in 1567.

St. John of the Cross was a follower of Theresa of Avila.  He later became her Priest Confessor.  He and Theresa were on a mission to reform the Carmelite Order.  To restore the Order to the more strict observance that earlier followers were required to adhere to.  Because of these waves of reform, St. John was kidnapped and held in prison in a cell barely large enough for him to lay down in.  He was fed bread and water and his only possessions were a prayer book and an oil lamp to read it by.  He was taken out into the town square once a week where he was publicly whipped and then returned to his tiny cell.  Through all of this, his faith remained strong and he found solace in writing poetry.  After 9 months, John managed to escape from prison and rejoined Theresa and her Nuns in Toledo.  He spent the remainder of his life traveling and establishing new Carmelite Houses throughout Spain until his death in 1591.

As we read and reflect on the life, ministry and death of St. John of the Cross, we can’t but help to see the need for reform in our own time.  Not just in the Church, but in our Country, in our society and in our own lives.  As the year 2017 rapidly comes to and end, and we look forward to the start of a new year, we must pause to reflect on all that has happened.  2017 saw, in our Nation, division, hatred, prejudice, turmoil, death, destruction, a watering down of Church teachings and the decline of society.

In the Church, we saw traditional  Christian doctrine replaced by a more watered down and “socially acceptable” set of beliefs.  Beliefs that Jesus is no longer the only path to Heaven. That Hell does not exist.  That salvation is no longer necessary.  Sin is no longer sin.  Forgiveness is no longer needed because sin does not exist.  God is no longer The God….the one and only.  He (or she) is now defined by human characteristics and within the confines of human rationalization.  We now are able to decide who and what God is based on who and what we want God to be in order to meet our own views or agenda.  I attended a Bible Study earlier this year at an Episcopal Church where each participant described for us the “version” of God they worship.  My version, the God who has existed before the dawn of time, was viewed as out dated, judgmental and not “hip.”  Yes….you heard me!  My God was not “hip!”

In our society we saw racism rear its ugly head once again.  Blood was shed on our streets.  A war broke out between the police and the public.  Misguided youth rioted in towns across America; burning down buildings, destroying property and assaulting anyone in their path of destruction.  Leaders in our Government on both sides of the aisle, instead of standing up for what was right and leading us by example, used these travesties to push their political agendas.  We saw the Nation torn apart by one of the most hostile, disgusting and rigged elections in American history.  Politicians, vying for the role of Leader of the Free World, acted in ways that should embarrass us as a Nation and as a People for many years to come.  All of this fanned and fueled by a dishonest media.  Now as we come to the close of 2017, we are plagued by a storm of sexual harassment allegations.  From Hollywood to the Senate, hundreds of victims are coming forward to share their story.

If now is not the time for reform, I don’t know when is!  Just as St. John of the Cross set out to reform the Carmelite Order, we too should do all we can to usher in reform in both the Church and in our society.  Reform is not easy and often leads to hardship or even punishment for those who champion it.  Fear of arrest and imprisonment, just as St. John endured, is indeed a valid fear.  Maybe it’s a fear of losing your job or losing your friends.  I have seen many within the Episcopal Church speak out against the ever growing heresy within her walls, only to then be thrown out of the Church as a result.  I have seen friends lose friends over the election and even one passed over for a promotion because his beliefs are too “traditional.”  But do not be discouraged.  Find within yourself and within the Holy Scriptures the strength and the courage to speak out.  To champion reform.  To be the lonely voice crying, shouting, over the crowd.  Preach reform, teach reform, and above all, strive to reform yourselves first and foremost.  As the late Michael Jackson said, “if you want to make the world a better place, just look in the mirror and make a change.”

Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord! ~ Br. Jake Vogel, Postulant

 

Often during the Advent season with all the shopping, baking, gift wrapping, cleaning, and preparing for guests, etc… I feel that we forget what this season is truly all about. During this season we are called to prepare the way in our hearts for the coming of our Savior but we often get too distracted instead by preparing our shopping agenda.

Some Christians may be surprised to find that from as early as the late 3rd century if not earlier, Advent was seen as a ‘mini Lent’; a time to prepare ourselves body and soul for the Nativity of the Lord. Christians were not only encouraged but expected to give alms to the poor and fast to prepare for Jesus’ coming to the earth. As John the Baptist encouraged his people to repent for their sins through baptism to make way for the Messiah. So are we called to put aside the commercialism of the pre-Christmas season and take time to make way in our lives and souls for the awesome beauty that is the nativity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

Humility is another important aspect or theme of this season that some Christians seem to forget. We get upset about receiving the wrong gift or not receiving one at all after giving someone else a gift; YouTube is laden with spoiled children throwing temper tantrums because they didn’t receive exactly what they wanted. The true gift we receive this season John the Baptist tells us he is, “not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” The true gift we receive during Christmas is the man who gives up his life to save us from our sins, not the newest video game or latest and greatest smartphone.

So as this season in the US is preceded by a time to give thanks for all the things we do have, maybe we need to carry over that feeling of thanks and humility into the Advent season. Even if fasting or long hours in prayer is not your thing, try to focus on giving to those who genuinely need help and maybe volunteer at the local shelter or try to attend every Sunday in Advent and see where you local parish could use your help as for us in the religious communities this can often be the busiest times of the year and help from parishioners is always a blessing.

During this season I am often reminded of one of my favorite carols, “Good King Wenceslas”, in which a king sees a homeless man gathering fuel for a fire, when he asks his squire where the man lives he decides to bring the man food and wine and logs to help the poor man. It is a beautiful story but the part that always rings out loudest to me during this season is, “therefore Christian men be sure wealth or rank possessing, he who now shall bless the poor shall himself find blessings.” Sometimes it is hard in a commercially over-saturated culture like that of the USA to ‘stop and smell the roses’ or stop in to the church around the corner and light a candle and spend some time in prayer but as it was important for John to prepare the way for his people so long ago, I encourage you to take some time this Advent to prepare your heart and soul to experience the beauty and majesty of the birth of our Lord.

 

Heavenly Father,

During this holy time of Advent help us to prepare ourselves to experience the true meaning of this season as John the Baptist your faithful servant prepared his people.

We ask this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Being Prepared, Gifts, and The Feast of St. Nicholas ~ Br. Chip Noon, Novice

December 6th is the feast day of Saint Nicholas. In Western Christendom it is celebrated on this day. In the east, on December 19th. And in the Netherlands, on the 5th. Well what is it about those Dutch?

Traditionally, this was a day that Saint Nicholas would bring little gifts to good boys and girls. Those who were not good got coal or ashes.

Many legends have grown up around the Saint’s life, including gift-giving, bringing murdered children and men back to life, the protection of a ship during a violent storm, and the giving of the Emperor’s wheat to the town of Myra and the miracle of its replenishment in the hold of the ship.

The idea of gift-giving is present throughout all these and other miracles.

We find the same idea throughout today’s Readings, don’t we? Rich food and choice wines given to the Lord’s people; repose, refreshment, a groaning table, and hundreds of loaves of bread and fish for everyone.

All are freely given, and gratefully taken.

But let me back up a little to Saint Nicholas. The precious little gifts given by the Saint and his helpers used to fit into a sabot, or wooden shoe, or into a stocking hung either in the chimney or on the mantel. They were reminders of the Saint, and lessons for the year: be good, or you won’t get them next year. Also, these gifts were given secretly to the children, who awoke to the presents.

A charming, traditional celebration of generosity and grace.

But then somehow, all this gift-giving got transferred to Christmas, even though the Three Wise Men came with their gifts on January 6th. And a wonderful tradition it is, this exchange of presents on Christmas morning among family members. I still remember the excitement of Christmas Eve when I was a child.

But as with many of our national and global celebrations, somehow it got out of hand. Now we get 4 or 5 catalogues a day in our mailboxes, we are bombarded on every radio and TV show with suggestions for gifts, almost every printed piece of paper stamps the holiday into our minds, people are fighting over how to greet others during the season, and whole industries rely on one day after Thanksgiving to salvage their businesses for the next year.

Now I don’t want to harangue you with all of this. I know it’s preaching to the choir. Let me just point out again the significance of the readings as they focus on gift-giving. In all these cases, God is giving his people something. They didn’t have to do anything, just be there. “He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake.” That’s it. Just be alive and God’s gifts are given to you.

And it’s not just gifts. Courage is given, tears are wiped away, peace and restful times, food and wine and oil, and for some of us, restoration of sight, limbs made whole, disease vanquished…all freely given. “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.”

Wait, there’s something in what Jesus just said, “…for they have been with me…” It turns out they were not people along the way who were hungry, they were people who were following Jesus, listening to him, learning from him, believing him.

And there were a lot of them. Five thousand, in fact. They were following him. So it must have been a bit of work, moving that many people from town to town, village to village. And to be honest, it couldn’t have been exactly an easy trek. Just moving one carful of kids can be an ordeal, can’t it?

So here we see what today’s Alleluia is about. That little section of the Mass that often carries all the weight of the readings:

Behold, the Lord comes to save his people;

Blessed are those prepared to meet him.

“…prepared to meet him.”

Well. How is it that Saint Nicholas gives the children little presents? What’s the catch? They must be good throughout the year. And what is it that Jesus asks of us for his presents? We must be prepared to meet him.

So it’s not exactly the case that all we have to do is exist for God’s grace. There’s a little work involved…a little… “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” We must just be ready to meet the bridegroom. Watch and wait, and prepare your mind and spirit.

So no, we don’t have to move mountains, clean out the stables, scour the seabed. All we have to do is be prepared for his coming, like a thief in the night.

All these gifts will be given to us, if only we believe, and get ourselves ready, and wait patiently for the Lord.

So as we celebrate this Advent season, let us do a little preparation for the coming of Christ. Let us ready ourselves and be ready to welcome him.

Lord, help us this year to be prepared for your coming. Help us to put the old year behind, and look forward to the new one that you bring. Help us to get ready for your gifts.

Amen.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel~The Season of Advent~The Rt. Rev. Michael R. Beckett, OPI

Within the calendar year, there is another year:  the  great cycle of the liturgical year, revolving around the life and ministry Christ.  Each season of the liturgical year has its own particular focus, feasts, words, and colors, giving us an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of the coming of Jesus, his life, and his commission to His people to be a light to the world. Since the 900s, Advent has marked the beginning of the church year, and is a season of great anticipation, preparation, and excitement, traditionally focusing on the Nativity of the Christ Child, when Jesus came as our Savior.  During Advent, we as Christians also direct our thoughts to His second coming as judge.

The word Advent is from the Latin adventus, meaning “coming,” and is celebrated during the four weeks of preparation for Christmas. Advent always contains four Sundays, beginning on the Sunday nearest the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, (November 30) and continuing until December 24. It blends together a penitential spirit, very similar to Lent, a liturgical theme of preparation for the Second and Final Coming of the Lord, called the Parousia, and a joyful theme of getting ready for the Bethlehem event.  Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God. That is a process in which we  participate, and the consummation of which we anticipate. Scripture readings for Advent  reflect this emphasis on the Second Advent, including themes of accountability for faithfulness at His coming, judgment of sin, and the hope of eternal life.

In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power. That acknowledgment provides a basis for holy living, arising from a profound sense that we live “between the times” and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s    people.     As the church celebrates God’s  Incarnation in the physical presence of Jesus Christ, and anticipates a future consummation to that history for which “all creation is groaning , awaiting its redemption,” it also confesses its own responsibility as a people commissioned to “love the Lord your God with all your heart” and to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

We celebrate with gladness the great promise of Advent, yet knowing that there is also a somber tone as the theme of final judgment is added to the theme of promise. This is reflected in some of the Scripture readings for Advent, in which there is a strong prophetic tone of accountability and judgment of sin. This is also faithful to the role of the Coming King who comes to rule, save, and judge, the world.

Because of the dual themes of judgment and promise, Advent is a time of preparation that is marked by prayer. While Lent is characterized by fasting and a spirit of penitence, Advent’s   prayers are prayers of humble devotion and commitment, prayers of submission, prayers for deliverance, prayers from those walking in darkness who are awaiting and anticipating a great light (Isaiah 9).

Historically, the primary color of Advent is Purple. This is the color of penitence and fasting as well as the color of royalty to welcome the Advent of the King. The purple of Advent is also the color of suffering used during Lent and Holy Week. This points to an important connection between Jesus’ birth and death. The nativity, the Incarnation, cannot be separated from the crucifixion. The purpose of Jesus’ coming into the world, of the “Word made flesh” and dwelling among us, is to reveal God and His grace to the world through Jesus’ life and teaching, but also through his suffering, death, and resurrection. To reflect this emphasis, originally Advent was a time of penitence and fasting, much as the Season of Lent, and so shared the color of Lent.

In the four weeks of Advent ,the third Sunday came to be a time of rejoicing that the fasting was almost over (in some traditions it is called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word for “rejoice”). The shift from the purple of the Season to pink or rose for the third Sunday reflected this lessening emphasis on penitence as attention turned more to celebration of the season.

In recent times, however, Advent has undergone a shift in emphasis, reflected in a change of colors used in many  churches. The penitential aspect of the Season has been almost totally replaced by an emphasis on hope and anticipation.  Many churches now use blue to distinguish the Season of Advent from Lent. Royal Blue is sometimes used as a symbol of royalty. Some churches use Bright Blue to symbolize the night sky, the anticipation of the impending announcement of the King’s coming, or to symbolize the waters of Genesis 1, the beginning of a new creation. Some churches, including some Catholic churches, use bluish violet to preserve the traditional use of purple while providing a visual distinction between the purple or red violet of Lent.

The Advent wreath is a popular symbol of the beginning of the Church year in many churches. It is a circular evergreen wreath with five candles, four around the wreath and one in the center. The circle of the wreath itself reminds us of God, His eternal being and endless mercy, which has no beginning or end. The green of the wreath speaks of the hope that we have in God, the hope of newness, of renewal, of eternal life.

The four outer candles represent the period of waiting during the four Sundays of Advent, which themselves symbolize the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Christ.   The center candle is white and is called the Christ Candle. It is traditionally lighted on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The central location of the Christ Candle reminds us that the incarnation is the heart of the season, giving light to the world.

The light of the candles becomes an important symbol of the season. The light reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world that comes into the darkness of our lives to bring newness, life, and hope. It also reminds us that we are called to be a light to the world as we reflect the light of God’s grace to others (Isa 42:6). The progression in the lighting of the candles symbolizes the various aspects of our waiting experience. As the candles are lighted over the four week period, it also symbolizes the darkness of fear and hopelessness receding and the shadows of sin falling away as more and more light is shed into the world. The flame of each new candle reminds the worshippers that something is happening, and that more is yet to come. Finally, the light that has come into the world is plainly visible as the Christ candle is lighted at Christmas, and worshippers rejoice over the fact that the promise of long ago has been realized.

As we enter this holy time of the year, we ask you to join with us in preparing for the coming  of the Christ with joy, with anticipation, with prayer, and with love for all mankind.  Amen.

We wish you a blessed and holy Advent.

The Order of Preachers, Independent