+In the Name of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Today is the Feast of St Mary Magdalene, the Protectress of The Order of Preachers.

She has a special place in the history of the church as Mary Magdalene is honored as one of the first witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus, and received a special commission from him to tell the Apostles of his resurrection. It is for that reason that in Orthodox and Catholic tradition she is referred to as the “Apostle to the Apostles.”

I would today like to look at her in the light of one verse from 2 Cor 5:17.

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

When Mary met Jesus, she was a new woman.  But what was the old Mary like?

We first come across Mary Magdalene as the woman out of whom Jesus drove seven demons (Lk 8:1-3).  St Luke records this as follows:  “After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another. The Twelve were with him, also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out—and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. (Lk 8:1-3)

She was obviously well off and supported Jesus in his ministry.

It was only at the end of the sixth century that it was first suggested that she was a prostitute

It was in Pope Gregory the Great’s homily on Luke’s gospel, dated 14 September 59, that he said this about Mary, “She, whom Luke calls the sinful woman, whom John calls Mary, we believe to be the Mary from whom seven devils were ejected according to Mark.  And what did these seven devils signify, if not all the vices?  It is clear, brothers, that the woman previously used the unguent to perfume her flesh in forbidden acts.”(homily XXXIII)

Anyone know what unguent is?

An “unguent” is a semi solid paste – a bit like ointment.

Whether or not she really was a prostitute, we don’t know, but we do know that when she met Jesus her life was changed forever.  We can relate to how Mary felt when her life was transformed by Jesus, as Jesus has that same effect on each and every one of us.

She is called Mary Magdalene to distinguish her from the other three Marys mentioned in the Gospel, possibly even four.

1. i) Mary the mother of Jesus,
2. ii) Mary the mother of James and Joses and

iii) Mary Salome the mother of the sons of Zebedee

(Mt 27:56)

And possibly she is also distinguished from Mary of Bethany, Martha and Lazarus’s sister – though some scholars think Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene are one and the same.

She is Mary from the village of Magdala, which means in Aramaic,“a tower.”  And what a “tower of strength” she was to the early Christian Community!  She is the first to meet the risen Lord – and it was this meeting that transformed her from a frightened woman to a tower of strength.  Uniquely, she is a witness to Jesus death, burial and the empty tomb.

It is said of Mary:  Mary’s role as a witness is unusual because women at that time were not considered credible witnesses in legal proceedings.  Because of this, and because of extra-biblical traditions about her subsequent missionary activity in spreading the Gospel, she is known by the title, “Equal of the Apostles”.

Through Jesus, Mary’s life was transformed.  Our lives too can be totally transformed by Christ if we let Him into our hearts and live as new creatures in Christ Jesus!

Let me tell you a little story:

A few years ago, a clergy friend and mentor of mine knew of some personal struggles I was having and gave me a book entitled, “Loving Mercy.”  He assured me reading this book would be an answer to my prayers.  I thanked him and to be totally honest, I placed the book on my bookshelf at home and didn’t crack it open for a long time.  Then one evening when I was feeling utterly overwhelmed by life, I happened to come across that book and I started to read it.  It’s a book about how encountering Christ should transform us to care for others.  In it, I found this fascinating story of Judson Cornwall, an American Pentecostal preacher who, after the war, was invited to speak at a renewal conference in Germany.

Let me quote you a little from that book:

“Remarkably, when his wife emptied the bin, she spotted the invitation, pressed it out and put it on his desk again. It haunted him for days as he shuffled around it. Finally, the Spirit won and he reluctantly agreed to go.

Arriving in Germany he was not relieved of his dis-ease and the Conference center turned out to be in the former headquarters of the SS, Hitler’s elite guard, which aroused all sorts of images and old hatreds in him. He spent two days before the conference praying and fasting and preparing – and avoiding the Germans.

On the first night of the Conference he went down to speak and took Umbrage at his translator, a somewhat stereotypical Aryan Ueberfrau – giant, buxom, blonde hair in a bun.

He spat out his sermon, so it was no surprise that it was badly delivered, badly received and died a death.

He returned to his room and decided to go back to America the next day.  Full of humiliation and emotion he cried himself to sleep.  In the night, he awoke to demons screaming in his mind; “You don’t belong here! You have no authority here! Go home!  Experienced in spiritual warfare, Cornwall recognized the attack and figured it had to do with the demonic history of the SS in the building, and immediately rebuked the demons in Jesus’ name.

Three times the demonic voices woke him; three times he rebuked them.

After the third time, he got up and asked God what was happening and why his prayers weren’t sufficient and the demons kept returning.

The Lord spoke immediately:

“The demons are tormenting you because you really don’t have any authority here. You have no authority here because you don’t love these people. Your authority to minister is related to your love for those to whom you minister. Now you can go on hating these people, pack up and go home tomorrow or you can let me love them through you.”

Cornwall acknowledged his deep racism and prejudice.  Too embarrassed to go home, he confessed his sin and asked God to love through him the Germans who he loathed.  He knew he needed a miracle of grace. Immediately he was overwhelmed by the Spirit of God and filled with Christ’s love for the Germans. Having spent two days avoiding the Germans and refusing to eat with them, he could not wait for breakfast. He rushed downstairs to the queue for the breakfast and greeted and hugged everyone in the food line.

When he got to his translator he gave her a big kiss and hugged her. Immediately she pulled back and barked: “You hate us!”

“No, no”, he replied “That was yesterday, today I love you!”

Judson Cornwall preached that morning and the power of God was on his words.

At the end of the sermon there was a huge line of people wanting to speak with him personally, something he usually avoided, but he sensed God wanted him to be attentive to the people individually.

One by one, people came and thanked him for helping them to forgive the Americans, whether because they had lost loved ones in combat against them or in the bombing raids.

Cornwall saw pain and resentment cut both ways…but the obedience to the Spirit of Christ heals historic hurts and unites us in the love of God”  (p.22-24 Loving Mercy : Simon Ponsonby)

Conclusion

It is our choice how we respond to Jesus.  We should follow the example of Mary Magdalene who was transformed from a sinner to a saint.  Mary Magdalene shows us that no one is too bad for the grace of God.  You might ask, “How can I be a saint?”

St Paul addresses the Ephesian Church with these words:

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God to the SAINTS who are in Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 1:1)

A Saint is simply someone who is sanctified – who has set himself or herself apart for follow God.

And we won’t always get it right as Judson Cornwall found out.  But God will guide us in the right way, if we are willing to allow him to do so.

On this day of the Feast of St Mary Magdalene, may I challenge you that, as saints, you are ready to allow God to change you into the person He wants you to be.

Just as He did with St Mary Magdalene.

Amen.

 

A couple of months ago I was visiting a friend from my college days. I had an enjoyable time with him and his wife, and we also participated in our College Glee Club’s annual spring concert: alumni are always invited at the end of the concert to sing some college songs and the Alma Mater. A marvelous evening, both musically and socially!

The next day, since my friend is very involved in the Society of Friends, we went to Quaker Meeting. Quaker Meeting, for those of you who might not know, is their equivalent of the Mass, with a mighty difference: there is very little talking…sometimes none…and no ritual, liturgy, hymns, or sermon. Quakers sit “expectantly waiting.” It is not a time for thinking or remembering the worldly distractions of the past week. It is not a time for intellectual exercises. It is a time to “come with mind and heart prepared,” to bring “neither a determination to speak nor a determination to remain silent.” If one is moved to speak, one ought to speak, because it may be the word of God moving in you.

So as I sat there, I began wondering what I was doing as an Old Catholic, and especially as a Dominican. It was a serious question, and I had no answer in those moments. So I prayed, and I asked for guidance in my mission.

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

And then my friend stood, moved by that still, small voice within, and began what is known as “spoken ministry.” He was worrying about the turmoil in the world today and what to do about those whom he felt were acting against others’ best interests, leading them, and us, down a sad and perilous path. “How do I react to them?” he said. “How do I love them, as I should?”

He went on to talk about an article he had just read, “The Seed of God” by Elizabeth Bathurst. In the article, he read that we all have the seed of God within us. With some, it is ignored or deliberately left untended. Others recognize it and cultivate it. But that seed is in everyone…it is from, and of, God.

And so, how can we condemn someone we think is doing harm? How can we censure them? If “that of God” is within them, who are we to judge?

I wasn’t moved to think about the answer to that question, but about the answer to my prayers…guidance in my mission.

There it was.

First, let’s look back at today’s first reading. “My word…shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.” And then look at the Responsorial Psalm: “The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.” And the second reading that talks about creation, harvest, first fruits.

All of these horticultural references. And that comment I once heard: “God doesn’t call the prepared, God prepares the called.”

My mission. Our mission as friars and sisters in the Order of Preachers. That morning, God was cultivating his seed within me, tending, watering, nurturing.

Now comes today’s Gospel: A sower went out to sow.

Let me tell you that I was not sure how to present this experience I had at Quaker Meeting. I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Should I write an article? Should I talk it over with our Prior? What do I do with it.

And then I was assigned the sermon for the 15^th Sunday of Kingdomtide. “A sower went out to sow.”

Jesus has already told me what my mission is. I was called, and, as he has done time and time again, God is preparing me. (I must admit here I’m a pretty hard row to hoe…) God is telling me once again that my mission is, as he often says, to go out into the fields and work for the harvest.

I’m a farmer of souls. God has sown the seed in all of us, and I am called once again, to tend it, to water it, to cultivate the soil in which it lies, to fertilize, prune, and then to harvest the yield. I am a farmer in the fields of the Lord.

Aren’t we all just farmers? In our Order, we are proclaimers of the Word. But to proclaim effectively we must first till the ground and cultivate the seed of God that is already planted.

In today’s Gospel Jesus says that the seed of God is given to all. Some ignore it, some reject it, some are not even aware that it is there. But for those who hear the word of God and understand it the yield is a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.

As I sat in Quaker Meeting I was being prepared for this Sunday’s sermon. I was shown that there is a seed in all of us. I was shown that there are garden tools in the shed. I was shown the fertilizer and the ground to fertilize. I am called to help those whose seed is on rocky ground, among thorns, threatened to be devoured by negative forces.

Whew!

And still God prepares me. Because in the face of such a daunting task, who am I to help bring in such a harvest? I have been called, and I am still, and probably always, being prepared to go out into the fields.

1. Alleluia, alleluia.
   The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower.
   All who come to him will have life forever.
   R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Lord, in your mercy, bless our eyes and our ears that we may receive your word and understand it. Bless our path to the fields of the harvest. And bless our work to deliver the harvest to you, who live and reign with God and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Reading 1: EPH 2:19=22

R psalm: Mark 6:15

Gospel: JN 20:24=29

Today’s we come together to commemorate the Feast of St Thomas the Apostle, often nicknamed ‘Doubting Thomas’,because on Easter Sunday after Mary had seen Jesus, he went to the room where the disciples were and suddenly appears to them despite locked doors and they could clearly see the wounds to His hands and side. Jesus tells them, “Peace be with you”. The disciples believed.

Thomas however, wasn’t with the other Apostles when Jesus had appeared to them, and when Thomas arrived after Jesus had left them, the other disciples told Thomas about Jesus visiting them, but Thomas didn’t believe, he told them, “Unless I see Jesus for myself, and can touch His wounds, I won’t believe.” I can easily imagine that Thomas may have thought the other apostles were teasing him; or why wouldn’t Jesus have stayed long enough until he had managed to arrive?

The next week however, the disciples are gathered together again, this time Thomas was with them. Jesus suddenly appeared and told Thomas to put his hands on His and to feel his wounds. Thomas does so, and Jesus asked Thomas, “Do you believe because you have seen me?” and he tells him, “Blessed are those who do not see yet believe.”

Can you imagine what it would be like to be mainly remembered by many because of our greatest moment of doubt? Haven’t we all doubted at one time or another? I can tell you that I have once or twice. Thomas therefore, is the disciple to whom all of us can relate. Most of us have experienced what it is to live between faith and doubt at some point.

Most people tend to think that Faith and doubt are opposites, but in true fact, it is often a part of our faith journey. It is a stop, or a bump in the road that most of us would’ve made more than once on our journey. This doesn’t make us bad Christians or believers. Indeed, rather, it can be seen as a sign that we take our relationship with God seriously that we allow ourselves to walk the journey of faith without knowing for certain through what we will be travelling.

Christian tradition tells us that Thomas set sail for India and indeed was the first to spread Christianity there. He is the Patron Saint of India.

The doubt that Thomas previously had, was what brought him faith and that faith was such that he brought the message of Christ to many.

We all have times of doubt, at least all of us that see faith as a true journey, not a one=time stop gap. Doubt can actually propel us to faith, and can be what gives us the shake up we may at times need. It can be what sends us out of our comfort zones and into a new and better world. Doubt can act like a ticket that starts us truly on our journey to a whole new life of faith. It can be a sign of not the absence of God as many may think, but rather of God working within us to do something new.

Let us pray:

O Glorious St Thomas, your grief for Jesus was such that it wouldn’t allow you to to believe that he had risen until you saw him and touched his wounds. But your love for Jesus was equally great and it led you to give up your life for Him.

Pray for us, that we may grieve for our sins which were the cause of Christ’s sufferings. Help us to spend our lives in His service and so to be Blessed, which Our Lord Jesus applied to those who would believe in Him without seeing Him.

Amen.

In the name of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

A few days ago we celebrated the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.  While examining the life of Peter, we were introduced to a man who, when called by Jesus to follow him, did just that.  The Bible tells us he did so without hesitation, without question.  He gave up a prosperous career as a fishermen, and he gave up his own family to follow Jesus.
In today’s Gospel reading, we here this echoed again.  Leave your parents, leave your family, leave everything you know and hold dear to you to follow Jesus.
Now does that mean that I, as a married Deacon, must leave my wife in order to follow Jesus?  The answer is of course “no.”  What it means is that I am to be free from anything that comes between me and ministry.  God and ministry first, family and career second.  Notice he doesn’t say, “whoever doesn’t leave your father or mother doesn’t love me.”  What He said was, “whoever LOVES your father or mother more than me, doesn’t love me.”

 

Our God has always been a selfish god.  We were created in His image and our existence is solely to worship Him.  We were not place on this planet to become the most successful, to become rich, to be the most famous.  We were created only to worship God.  Think about that for a moment.  We were created ONLY to worship God.  When you are frustrated and overwhelmed by feeling like you have to have the fastest car, the biggest house, the fanciest clothes, the most prestigious job….remember NONE of that matters!  Our entire purpose in life is to love God and love others!

 

The Gospel goes on to say, “Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me, and the one who sent me.” Reading on, “and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these in the name of a disciple – truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
In these two verses we learn how to treat others.  Especially those who are less fortunate than us.  They teach us hospitality.  One of the greatest examples of how we are to be a host to others and how we are to treat others is found in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Being raised in a conservative Protestant denomination, I was always taught that God reigned down Hellfire and Brimstone upon the cities for the sin of Homosexuality.  I’m sure most of you have heard this before and sadly some of you may still believe it.  However, this was not the case.  God’s disappointment was over the violation of strict hospitality laws.  They were to welcome the stranger.  Wash the dust from their feet, offer them the softest pillow to sit on, serve them the finest food and wine, and offer them protection under your tent.  When the men of the city came demanding that the two Angels of the Lord be given over to them so that they may “know them” in the Biblical sense, was a clear violation of the hospitality laws.  Although the act would be sexual by nature, they wished to “know them” only as a way to mock them and to degrade them.  A way to show dominance.  True, there were many other sins being committed within the city walls, but Homosexuality was NOT the reason for the city’s destruction.

So we are to welcome others in the name of Christ Jesus and to offer food and drink to those in need.  We are to love others as God loves us and we are to love God above all others.  We are to put down our nets when He calls and follow Him.  No questions asked.

“Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me.”  This is a powerful verse and one that we here in the Unified Old Catholic Church strive to follow in all we do, in who we are, and in how we treat others.  We are a welcoming church.  A church that does not discriminate.  We don’t care if you are male, female, gay, straight, young, old, rich, poor, black or white.  ALL are welcome in our church, just as ALL are welcome at the Lord’s table and into His heavenly kingdom.  “Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me.”  On behalf of the Unified Old Catholic Church of Christ, I welcome you!  If you are seeking a church home, a family….then look no farther.  We are here for you. We love you. Just as you are. With all your flaws and imperfections. We welcome you, just as Jesus welcomes you.  With open arms, with acceptance, with understanding and most importantly….with LOVE!  Come to the loving arms of Jesus and find comfort in this, your new family.

Amen.

In the name of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Today we celebrate the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, two of the most influential men in Christianity.  Peter, the rock on which Christ built His Church and Paul, the converted persecutor of Christians turned missionary.  As Christians, we can look at the lives and deaths of these great men as a model of how we are to live and possibly die for Christ.

Let us look at each of these men individually.

Peter, known originally as Simon, was the brother of Andrew.  Both fishermen by trade, they later became “fishers of men.”  Andrew, having discovered Jesus as the Messiah through John the Baptist, ran home to tell his brother Simon of the good news.  Simon meets Jesus who instructs the brothers to lay down there nets and follow Him.  A command the Bible tells us they obeyed without even a second thought.  Simon’s faith is later tested by Jesus as he walks on water and then denies Jesus three times.  In the end, Jesus tells Simon that from now on his name shall be Peter (meaning Petros or Rock) and on this “rock” He shall build His Church.

After Pentecost, Peter traveled to Antioch where he established a church which he ruled from 33AD to roughly 39AD.  Peter goes on to travel all over the Roman Empire in what is now Turkey.  He arrived in Rome in 40AD and remained there for the next quarter century.  In 51 AD Peter returned to Jerusalem for the Council in which it was decided Gentiles need not adhere to the customs and regulations of Judaism.  It was at this council that Peter and Paul not only meet, but butted heads.  Paul rebukes Peter publicly over the subject of Gentile Christians.  These two would meet again in Rome in 67AD.

Paul, originally known as Saul, was a Roman citizen and a Pharisee.  As such, Saul was a leader of Christian persecution.  One day Saul has a blinding vision, a conversion moment in which his heart is turned to Christ.  He is baptized and becomes one of Christianity’s most fervent missionaries.  Now known as Paul, he preaches the Gospel to the ends of the world.  First to Arabia then back to Damascus.  Then to Jerusalem where he visits Peter for the first council.  From Jerusalem he travels throughout Europe, including Macedonia, Greece and Italy.

While preparing for a missionary trip to Spain, he is imprisoned for 2 years by the Jews in Capernium.  Paul later travels again, but his ship wrecks in Malta.  He is imprisoned once again.  This time for 2 years for preaching in Rome.  Paul was arrested a third and final time in 67 AD in Rome.

 

Although both Apostles of Christ, these two men ministered independent of each other.  In the end, there were two people who linked their fates one with the other; Simon Magus and the Emperor Nero.

Simon Magus was a practitioner of black magic.  A sorcerer if you will.  Offering to pay the Apostles to give him the gift to confer upon others the Holy Spirit, Simon Magus is rebuked and ran out of the Middle East by Philip.  Now bitter and more determined than ever to show his power over that of these so called “Christians,” Simon Magus takes his show on the road all the way to Rome.  There he meets Emperor Nero.  Besides being an all around bad guy, Nero has a strong desire to be a sorcerer.  He appoints Simon Magus to his court and aims to learn all he can from him.  In order to show his superior power, Simon Magus decides to recreate the ascension of Jesus by flying around in the sky.  Simon Magus does so with the help of demonic spirits.  That is until the prayers of two men cause the sorcerer to come crashing to the pavement at Nero’s feet.  His legs crushing on impact, Simon Magus dies of his wounds a few days later.  Who were these men who caused the death of Nero’s sorcerer?  None other than Peter and Paul who were both in Rome preaching the Good News of Christ Jesus.

Nero, who had begun a city wide persecution of Christians, was furious over the death of his sorcerer by these leaders of the Christian movement.  Fellow believers pleaded with Peter to flee Rome and save his life.  Although he was determined to remain in Rome and suffer persecution alongside his followers, Peter gives in and heads out of town.  During all of this, Paul is now incarcerated in Rome.  When he comes to the city gate, Peter has a vision.  He sees Christ walking into the city.  Peter asks Jesus where he is going, to which he replied, “I go into Rome to be crucified again.”  Peter, understanding the meaning of the vision, returns to Rome were he is imprisoned alongside Paul.

While in prison, Peter and Paul convert the Captains of the guard and 47 others.  Eventually on June 29^th, 67 AD Peter and Paul’s lives come to an end.  Peter is taken outside the city gates where he is crucified upside down.  Paul, being a Roman citizen, does not face crucifixion.  Instead, he is beheaded.  Tradition is that his head bounced 3 times down the pavement, and at each place a spring sprang up from the ground.

 

Looking at the lives and deaths of these great men, we can find the strength, determination and faith to carry on the great mission to preach the Gospel unto the ends of the world, even in the face of persecution and death.  Like Peter, we are to give up everything to follow Christ when he calls us.  This may not be an easy task.  After all, we worked long and hard for that new car, that big house, and to secure the perfect job.  It is hard to give up everything and go where the Lord leads.  It is equally hard to walk out into the deep, trusting in the Lord that we will not sink.  Like Peter walking on the water, so are we to have faith strong enough keep us afloat.  Like Paul, no matter how hardened our hearts are, we can turn to love and accept Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Even when imprisoned and on a sinking ship, Paul didn’t let anything stand in the way of him carrying out his missionary duties.  No matter how bleak the situation or how tall the obstacle, we must remain strong in our faith and push on.

Remember these men when we feel that it is impossible for one person to make a difference.  Remember them when we are persecuted for our faith. Remember them when we see Christians around the world martyred for their beliefs.  When our own faith is shaken and we feel like the world is against us, remember Sts. Peter and Paul and ask them for guidance and look to their examples for the strength to go on.

Amen.
 

 

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Matthew 10: 26-33

 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable to you O Lord, our God and our Creator.

I want to start by being honest with you all; when I first sat down and read the Gospel today in preparation for writing this sermon I was a little perplexed. At face value the words were rather challenging and a little cryptic and I was at a loss for a focus, something that usually comes quickly to me. So I had to take a little while and really sit and stew over the words of Christ.

As I did this my mind wondered (a little off task in some ways) to my Dominican heritage. There’s a book that many of us Dominicans would have read called “The New Wine of Dominican Spirituality” and in these pages the Gospel and the Dominican approach to it is likened to wine and the process of drinking and becoming drunk (metaphorically of course). I realised that as I sat and thought about the Gospel I was actually doing what we’re called to do as Dominicans. Like a connoisseur of fine wine I was taking my time to let the tastes fully develop, to let the wine of the gospel breath; and I have to say that I am glad that I did. As I sat and read over the passage and contemplated its words the full bloom of the passages bouquet was opened to my senses.

I thought this was something worth sharing as I’ve known many people who are put off reading the Bible by the conception that it’s a musty, cryptic book that takes a lifetime to understand at even a basic level. However, nothing can be further from the truth! The Bible is as easy to consume as a bottle of wine; all we need to do is pull the cork and invite our friend the Holy Spirit to share it with us. If we do this the words of the scriptures will open before us and we can all become drunk with the Word.

So as I sat imbibing the drink of the Gospel it became apparent to me that today’s Gospel reading is extremely relevant for not only the Christian world, but the entirety of humanity at this time. The reading starts with Christ telling His Apostles not to fear; who are they not to fear? The reading simply says “them”. If we explore back into the preceding passages we see that Christ is speaking about those who would persecute the Apostles. Christ is adamant that we should not fear those who persecute us.

It seems that every time I turn on the television or read a news article I’m reading fresh tales of war, famine and persecution. It’s hard in these days of terror not to become afraid; images of bombings, stabbings, beheadings and even crucifixions adorn our media portals. However, Jesus wants us all to know that we don’t need to be afraid; it seems like a big ask doesn’t it; don’t be afraid when there’s an unending barrage of hate and terror presented to us? Nevertheless, Jesus offers the disciples some advice to combat this fear and terror and I think that it applies to us just as well as it did to those in the times of Christ.

Jesus points out to His Disciples that though they may face persecution and harm, maybe even death, these things are not final. The woes of this world can only impact upon our physical bodies; no persecutor has the ability to diminish or destroy our soul that power only rests with Him who created it. For this reason Jesus tells us that the only being we should fear is our Father in Heaven. If we breach the laws of the Gospel and fall short of the mark it is only He who can respect our rejection of His love by denying us eternal grace in Heaven. In contrast to this, if we accept the love of God in our lives then God will reward us abundantly with an eternity in His presence.

So you may be left wondering what prompted this discussion about fear between Jesus and the Disciples and how persecution factored into that. If we examine the exchange in the reading we can see that Christ is talking to the Apostles about spreading the message of salvation, He tells them that whatever they have heard they must tell to others and that if they don’t deny God’s message He will not deny them before God. And so it is with all of us, we are all called to not be afraid and to boldly spread the message of salvation that we have heard.

It can be confronting to think that we are all called to bring others to Christ, to open the paths to Salvation but when you read the scriptures there is really no way to avoid it. So let me ask, what are you doing to spread the message of Christ to others? When I’ve spoken about this with people they often say things like “oh nothing, I don’t know my Bible well enough” or “I can speak to people about Church they’ll think I’m a Bible Basher”. But the first step in bringing others to Christ is being an example to them. Right now you could all be, relaxing, enjoying a lazy Sunday, reading the paper and having a Cuppa, but instead you’re here, reading this sermon and that will have an impact on your actions throughout the week I am sure.

Don’t be afraid to get involved in the good works already happening in your community and equip yourself with knowledge to help you face the harsh realities of life and to be ready to fulfil your divine purpose on earth. It is my prayer that throughout the coming week you may all be strengthened by the Spirit that God may bind up your wounds and heal you so that you can begin the process of becoming that which he created you to be; that you can boldly go forward, unafraid and proclaim Christ and his Salvation.

Let us pray:

Lord,
by the light of the Holy Spirit
you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
In the same Spirit
help us to relish what is right
and always rejoice in your consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

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

 

Reading 1 :IS 49 :1=6

R psalm : PS 139: 1B=3,13=14AB,14C=15

Reading 2: ACTS 13:22=26

Holy Gospel: LK 1:57=66,80

 

Today, we as a church come together to commemorate the birth of St John the Baptist, often called the ‘Forerunner’.

John was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. In the Gospel of Luke, we are told that Zechariah was told beforehand about the birth, and that he was to be named John. The name John means “God is Gracious” (LK 1 :8=2:3).

John whilst still within his mother’s womb, instantly recognised the presence of Our Lord Jesus, who was also still in his mother’s womb, when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth (LK 1 :41). John lept for joy in Elizabeth’s womb as soon as Mary and Elizabeth met, and this is when John was cleansed of original sin. This came to pass just as the Angel Gabriel had previously promised Zechariah in LK 1 :15.

When John was older, he left the home of his parents and went to live his life in the desert. He wore only a garment made of camel skin and only had Locusts and wild honey to eat. John would preach in the desert (MK 1:6; Matt 3:4).

John went about preaching and proclaiming about the Kingdom of God and of a time of coming judgement. He invited those who wanted to repent, to accept him to baptise them as a sign of their repentance.

John, just like the prophets, disturbed the comfortable and gave much comfort to the disturbed. The message of John spread far and wide. The Gospel of Mark tells us that all peoples of both Jerusalem and Judea travelled to him and confessed their sins as John baptised them in the river Jordan (MK 1:5).

John clearly shows his humility because he never wanted attention for himself, he always directed people to Jesus. Some wondered if John was the Messiah, but John reassured them that indeed he wasn’t and he declared that his ministry was merely for to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. John said, “I have baptised you with water, but He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.” (MK 1:8)

Then Jesus himself came to John to be baptised and John immediately recognised Jesus as the Messiah and he declared, “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. (JN 1 :29). This statement from John is still used in Mass prayer today, when the Priest holds up the sacred Host as we prepare for the Holy Eucharist, as the Priest says, “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world…”.

It was after being baptised by John, that our Lord Jesus began his Earthly ministry. When John had been baptised by John, John again showed his humility as again, he turned his attention to Jesus, declaring, “He must increase, I must decrease”(JN 3:30).

St John the Baptist is an excellent example that we as Christians should take much notice of within our lives of faith. Just as John always showed his humility by turning his attention away from himself and towards our Lord Jesus, we too, also need to show this same humility if we are truly to serve and follow the Lord. We also, must turn attention away from ourselves and towards Jesus. Just as John himself declared, “He must increase, I must decrease”.

Let us pray:

O glorious St John the Baptist, greatest prophet among those born of woman, although you were sanctified in your mother’s womb and lived a most innocent life, nevertheless, it was your will to live in the wilderness of the desert, there to devote yourself to the practice of austerity, penance and humility;

Obtain for us by your intercession, the grace of the Lord to be wholly detached within our hearts, from earthly goods and self attention. Increasing our humility and service, by making ourselves far lesser and in the never ending increasing, to be ever greater within our hearts and lives.

Amen.

 

What is the Trinity and why is it important?

As a former youth minister I was always talking about rules. Things the youth group could and couldn’t do, where they could and couldn’t go in the church, and any time we did an overnighter  at the church or with the Diocese we would have the students sign a covenant. In this covenant there is a list of rules that the youth must agree to in order to be able to participate. In a sense as members of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church we have a list of covenants that we agree to in order to be part of this particular body of believers.

We are reminded of this covenant every Sunday when we say the Creed and we renew this covenant several times a year when a new member is baptized. We renew this covenant by saying the creed, and despite all of this happening in every almost every church across the country I have found an increasing number of members of certain Christian Denominations that are flat out denying some of the most basic fundamentals of Christianity, and what’s even more alarming is some of these people are our priests and bishops.

This week I was on the Episcopalians on Facebook page on Facebook where I saw a member say that she has to cross her fingers every time she says the creed, in the same group several days later many of the members were promoting reincarnation as an idea that is completely compatible with Christianity. When I questioned them and offered scripture to counter their ideas I was accused of being a fundamentalist.

Last year when I wrote my Trinity Sunday sermon it was in response to my post on the fact that I was preaching on Trinity Sunday. It was a reply with a link to an article. This article was written by a Christian, but a Christian who did not believe in the trinity, and at the end of the article, the author posed the question: why in the modern day church should we believe in a doctrine that does not make sense and has no bearing on how we live our lives as Christians, and most importantly, how we take the words of Jesus out into the world? Well that’s a good question; why do we need to believe in the trinity? Does it really matter?

More and more in the Church I am finding that I have to defend the doctrine of the Trinity and answer the question of is the doctrine of the trinity essential to what we believe as Christians?

In the book Episcopal Questions, Episcopal Answers: Exploring Christian Faith, Ian Markham the Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and C.K Robertson, Canon to the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church answers this very question. They Ask Why Do Episcopalians (and all Christians really) believe in the Trinity? The answer: Belief in the Trinity is a defining characteristic of all Christians. There might be moments when an individual Christian struggles with the doctrine, but the faith of the church remains resolutely Trinitarian.

Today we mark the celebration of the Holy Trinity. The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. But what is the Trinity? Is it a symbolic reference? Is it an outdated or unnecessary doctrine that we hang onto because we are a people who love our tradition, and that’s what our parents believed so that that’s what we are going to believe? The answer to all those questions is NO.

From the beginning of the New Testament Church, and the celebration of Pentecost, there has been much misunderstanding surrounding the Trinity. This is in part because of the fact that the word Trinity does not appear anywhere in scripture. However, that does not mean that the early church did not believe or teach that the trinity was real. All throughout the scriptures we see the Trinity being spoken of, from the very beginning of the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation we see the Trinity, the three persons who make up the Trinity, their specific functions and their personalities, all of these are given to us in scripture. Because of this, it is safe to assume that when the church was born on Pentecost, and they started to live out their call as Christians, the doctrine of the Trinity was being taught.

However very early on there was a group of people who did not understand the Trinity for what it was and tried to explain it away in terms of what they could understand and comprehend, these people were known as Arians, and this became known as the Arian Heresy.

Arianism is a nontrinitarian Christian belief that asserts that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is entirely distinct from and subordinate to the God the Father. Arianism is defined as those teachings attributed to Arius, which are in opposition to current mainstream Christian teachings on the nature of the Trinity and the nature of Christ. It was first attributed to Arius (c. AD 250–336), a Christian presbyter in Alexandria, Egypt. The Arian concept of Christ is that the Son of God did not always exist, but was created by—and is therefore distinct from—God the Father. This belief is grounded in the Gospel of John (14:28) passage: “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”

The Arians hold to that one scripture to define what they believe, completely ignoring the rest of the scriptures that affirm the Trinity. To address this, there were two ecumenical councils that were held to clear up any questions that the early church had in regards to the trinity. The first ecumenical council that was held in 321 at Nicaea and the second was subsequently held in Constantinople.  From these two councils we have the creed that we say today affirming our belief in the Trinity.

So what is the Trinity?

To answer that, I would like to use a quote from the Didache. The Didache is a brief early Christian treatise, dated by most scholars to the late first or early 2nd century. It was the very first ever catechism, and in it the early church was given the following instructions:

“After the foregoing instructions, baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living [running] water. . . . If you have neither, pour water three times on the head, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”

Simply put the Trinity is the The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit, week after week we are also reminded of what the trinity is when we recite the Nicene Creed.

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Trinity three distinct beings yet one in essence. This past week I was speaking to an Anglican Dominican of the very subject of the Trinity, and he reminded me of Saint Augustine’s defense of the Trinity, which is that:

All persons that we know of are, or are at least describable in terms of, fundamentally relational in a Trinitarian way. As human beings we have a primordial seat of awareness which is in some sense immediate and pre-conceptual, a conceptual awareness of and picture of ourselves as situated in the world (what you might call a logos) and a sense of relation between the two. Critically, all of these elements of our being share in a single consciousness, although they might be considered to be, at least conceptually speaking, separate modules or modes thereof.

Or to put it in my terms, we are all trinities. We all have a body, soul and spirit. Each of those three parts serve a different purpose, yet they are all one in the same. I like to use this example when people say that the trinity cannot exist because three beings cannot occupy the same place simultaneously, while they are correct in the physical sense, they are incorrect in the spiritual, and the human trinity is a great example of that.

Why is the Trinity important?

Some could and do argue that the belief in the Trinity is not necessary… that is more important to reveal the teachings of Jesus, and to make sure we don’t force our doctrinal beliefs on others, because it might offend them, and while they may be correct that it might offend people that we have that belief, especially in the Muslim community, as they believe that we are polytheistic because we believe in the Trinity, I would argue that to deny the Trinity is to deny the very essence of God. If it were not important, we would not see the Trinity all throughout scripture, we would not see Jesus teaching and Paul reaffirming it. The doctrine of the Trinity is the very fundamental basics of what we believe as Christians.  But with that being said, if one does not grasp the trinity that does not mean that they are any less of a Christian than you or I, it just means that they have not yet received the grace yet to understand it.

Biblical Proof for the Trinity.

In Bible school we were always taught that in order to make a strong case for our argument, that we need to give scriptural proof, as a matter of fact in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he instructs us that it is in the testimony of two or three witnesses that truth is established. Earlier I spoke of how scripture is filled with references to the Trinity, so I am going to share some of those with you.

Genesis 1:26 ²⁶ Then God said, ^o“Let us make man⁸ in our image, ^pafter our likeness. And ^qlet them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Genesis 3:22 ²² Then the Lord God said, ^q“Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand ^rand take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”

Genesis 11:7 ⁷ Come, ^dlet us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

Isaiah 46:18 ^{16  y}Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,

from the time it came to be I have been there.” And now ^zthe Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.

Matthew 3:16-17 ¹⁶ And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, ^othe heavens were opened to him,² and he ^psaw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; ¹⁷ and behold, ^qa voice from heaven said, ^r“This is my beloved Son,³ with whom I am well pleased.”

I was reading a text for my course work last week, Christianity: An Introduction and the author was talking about the Trinity and he said, “ At one level, the doctrine emphasizes the sheer immensity of God. There is no way that the fallen and finite human mind is going to be able to comprehend the fullness of God. At another, it provides a framework both for making sense of, and deepening the quality of Christian worship. Christians pray to the father through the son in the Holy Spirit.” I believe this gives us the best understanding of how and why the Trinity is important.

For those of you who have never struggled with this doctrine, I hope that this sermon has been a great reflection for you. I hope that it has been a way for you to renew your faith. For those of you who have struggled or are struggling with this doctrine, rest assured you are loved and cherished by God just as much as anyone. We as the church are here to walk with you in your moments of doubt.  We have all been there at some point in our lives on some issue. To me these struggles are the very foundation of who we are as Christians. The Trinity is a great mystery, no one really knows the ins and outs, we can do our best as ministers to provide a road map of how we think the Trinity functions. Much like many things in the church, the belief in the Trinity takes faith. We must place our faith in the teachings of the early church fathers, we must place our faith in the words of the scriptures that try and shed light on the subject, and sometimes we lack the faith necessary to believe. We have doubts on the hows and whys. But I have found that when we have the doubts, and with an open heart, and an open mind, we approach something that we don’t understand, that once we understand it, once we grasp that concept that we struggled with, we come out on the other end firmly believing it.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, you have revealed to your Church your eternal
Being of glorious majesty and perfect love as one God in
Trinity of Persons: Give us grace to continue steadfast in the
confession of this faith, and constant in our worship of you,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; for you live and reign, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.