On the Feast of the Holy Innocent's - 2019

Today, much of the Church remembers a day that is strangely dissonant to the joyous strains of the Christmas Season.  While much of the twelve days are full of mirth and good cheer, today echoes of terrified little boys and the inconsolable cries of mothers helpless to stop the unfolding slaughter  that exploded in unimaginable horror before their eyes. Gari Melchers, an Artist of the Nineteenth & early Twentieth Centuries captured the moment in his rendering here on the page.  Try to Imagine for a moment you, your wife, your mother, or your sister jamming her frame in a a crevice in a desperate ploy to escape Herod's  murdering thugs?

Saint Matthew captures this moment in the second chapter of his Gospel:

"Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more."

Many have asked how was this overlooked by contemporary historians?  This is likely that given the depths of Herod's moral turpitude, the killing of a fifty or so peasants would hardly be a footnote.  Yet our God has a long memory and doesn't skip over footnotes.  

Today, my heart is broken afresh for all mothers who've found theirselves crying out like Rachael.  The mother who wakes to learn that a son took his life in a dark, despairing night.  The mother who receives a police notification that her son, a sleeping passenger, had his young life extinguished in a auto mishap.  For the mothers who were deceptively led by Planned Parenthood to believe that  they alone offered the best option.  Nor can I fail to remember mother's who right now, sit by beds of desperately ill children with the bleakest hope for recovery.  For the reader who's found themselves in this, I will not offer platitudes.  I will offer you Jesus of Nazareth.  As the late Francis Schaeffer would oft remind us, He is the God who is there.

The Coventry Carol captures this day

Archbishop Foley Beach's Christmas Message

A message from Foley Beach, Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).

Christmas Eve -- 2019

"...for we have seen his star in the east..."

Its Christmas Eve here in Suburbia Majora.  But as I type this I'm aware that its already early Christmas morning for friends in Melbourne Australia, and in the coming minutes for American service men and women spending this season on the Korean Peninsula.  Christmas Eve, traditionally, has been a time of in-gathering for those professing the most nominal Christian faith.  But reality has a way of taking a wrecking ball to our cherished idyllic memories.  There are those tonight and tomorrow will not be part of this in-gathering.  The soldiers, sailors, and airmen standing watch across the globe. The EMS community, taking solace in a hot cup of coffee.  Even the humble sales clerk, on duty for our "convenience" will be apart from family and loved ones tonight.  Saddest of all perhaps, are those whose sudden passing have created a sudden vacuum at the family table. In all, I could recite a sad litany of all the things that separate and divide this morning.  However, I refuse to as we who are followers of the way are in the closing hours of Advent, that season of remembrance, recalling the Incarnation of the very Word of God, and His promised return.

The Father's promise of His Son is found in the earliest books of scripture, but given greater clarity by the Prophet Isaiah in his prophesies to ancient Judah and Israel as he proclaimed:

Isa 40:1-5 ESV - Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

A two-sided season; in Advent, we give thanks for the gift of Immanuel (God with us). By the Father's will, He stepped out of the eternal and into time and space that he might walk with humanity.  Ultimately, He would become the propitiation (the satisfactory offering) for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world as told through Saint John's epistle.  Yet in the second side of this season, we're encouraged by the truth that the Son of God who came to sojourn with, and deliver humanity has promised to return and set his creation back to order.  Both testaments of holy scripture, along with the historic creeds of the church make this truth manifestly clear: "He will come again in glory, to judge the living and the dead; and His Kingdom will have no end."

In the closing hours of Advent and onto the season of Christmas 2019, take comfort in the truth that there is a God who so loved the World (and you), that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in will not perish, but have  eternal life.

Merry Christmas

Fröhliche Weihnachten

joyeux Noël

Feliz Navidad

felicem natalem Christi

圣诞节快乐

메리 크리스마스

Wilujeng Natal

Nollaig Chridheil

Thanksgiving 2019

I was blessed this year, to deliver the homily on Thanksgiving Morning at All Saint's.  It was a double blessing as I had the opportunity to serve with our Missionary, Mother Jessica Hughes who'll be returning to Uganda Christian university here in the next few days.  

Christ’s Counsel: Do not anxious because God is the King of Life

 Worry – Introduction

Its known by many names, and manifests itself in many ways; worry is part of life in the fallen world where we sojourn.  It has the ability insert itself into lives where people find themselves bound in worry over anything from real and tangible issues, to things nonexistent. Worrying comes easy to us and we find ourselves worrying at tender ages about boogeyman under or beds or the monsters in our closets. Left to its own, anxiety will follow us through our childhood, through adolescence, and into our adulthood’s where our boogeymen and monsters morph into even scarier things.  Financial woes, social status, job accomplishments become as frightening to some as were those shifting shadows.

Worry, carries its own side effects and consequences which are both physical and spiritual. Consider the physically debilitating effects of worry.  Chronic sleep loss, depression, hypertension, and cardio crises are by-products of a worried soul.  I witnessed this in my own extended family as a teen, where one particular aunt spent her afternoons and evening’s glued to her police scanner when much police traffic was still passed in the clear.  Like clockwork, when an incident occurred on her street, she would go into cardiac distress.  Ultimately under doctor’s orders, my uncle removed the scanner from their home. Beyond the physical effects, worry has a number of profound spiritual effects as well.

Worry provokes a type of spiritual visual distortion.  It causes the object of our worry to loom larger than it actually is, as it redirects our focus inward.  For the child of God, it pulls our focus away from God and onto our perceived predicament.   Perhaps the truest example of this is the long night on a stormy Sea of Galilee.

Worry will also function as a type of “gravity well” where one will be pulled ever deeper into the center where, if left unaddressed will emotionally and spiritually cripple the sufferer.  

In all, worry can be to most subtly corrosive sin that a believer can fall into.  While many sins are brash, loud and seen by all, the worrier walks among us behind a face which would belie their heart’s state.

Yet, for all the injury endured by worry, and all the temptation to worry, Jesus speaks directly to worry and counsels His children NOT to worry.  He presents the truth of the Father’s love for us, and how we might rise above this temptation.

 Christ’s Counsel: Do not anxious because God is the King of Life (Vv. 25-30)

 25 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Jesus sets out here in v. 25 to speak directly to our most basic needs: nourishment, hydration and shelter from exposure.  To the First Century hearer of this message, these were palpable needs that were basic to their survival.  Food was obtained for the current day, and nearly all were only one meal from hunger.  Potable water had to be located and a well’s production was not guaranteed.  A scant few had what we would consider a “wardrobe. Jesus, speaking here, doesn’t dismiss these needs, he tells his Disciples and greater audience not to fret or worry over them.

Jesus then calls their attention likely to the hillside where they’d been seated, pointing to the flora and fauna surrounding them; the birds above in the encircling skies and the lilies gracing the hillside.  While lilies and birds likely have no sense of the providential hand that sustained them, Jesus reminds them of the Father’s care and asked the rhetorical questions “how much greater value, and how much greater value then are you?”

While the passage gives us assurance, it should never be misconstrued as license.   God promises His provision to His children, it’s no license to be slothful and unproductive.  Saint Paul speaks to this though in his his second letter to the Church in Thessalonica, where he cautions those that those who will not work, will not eat. 

 Christ’s Counsel:  Do not anxious because you are the King’s Children

31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Jesus, in repeating the exhortation, tells us why we’re not to fret or be anxious over these things.  Its those outside the kingdom and family of faith who fear and worry over these these things. Jesus speaks to those who are outside the faith as being on a proverbial hamster wheel, in a never-ending quest to fulfill life’s basic needs.  We however, are called to rather seek the Lord and His Kingdom.  Jesus promises us that as we seek God’s kingdom first in our lives, that His provision will be ours.

Conclusion

So, where are we in all of this?  Like Saint Benedict tells us in has Cardinal rule, we “Work and Pray”, or in his words, “Ora et Labora”.  We pray and work.  Too, Following Saint Francis, we pray and seek to be channels of our Lord’s Peace, that we might be our Lord’s Heart & Hand’s extended to our dry and dusty world. 

What Susan Said

The music and lyrics of Rich Mullins as woven well into the tapestry of my life.  I can tell you where I was when I first heard The Lord's Troubadour sing "If I Stand".  I was driving towards Boonsboro, MD from Smithsburg, MD and listening to WCRH on FM 90.5 MHz.  His music would water and enrich my growth in the faith until his sudden and seemly. untimely death in 1997.  His falling out of Beaker's Jeep that night seemed a tragedy out of time.  It happened in a time where I was about to leave my Bride for an unaccompanied Military assignment in Korea, and an unnecessary gut punch.  Not only would I be leaving my bride and boys, I'd be leaving my Ministry Partners, Frank and Suzanne Vance. 

Whenever I hear this song, my mind goes back to those days.  I'ms still your friend.

  

A Blogger has crossed the Bar and Gone Home.

The Catbird Seat is now in its thirteenth year of existence.  Had it not been for the inspiration of one woman, this blog would have never seen the light of day.  It was 2006, and the Episcopal Church was in crisis as it's Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jeffers Schori in an NPR interview Espoused a Universalist position in stating that Christ Jesus was one of "many roads" to God the Father.  While conservative Episcopalians were vigorously debating liberals on a number of issues, this was a deal breaker.  Jesus of Nazareth was The Way, The truth, and The Life; The only avenue of approach to God the Father. It was during this time of Spiritual Crisis that I became acquainted with the writing of Mary Ailes.  

I met Mary in 2006 and while expressing my appreciation and admiration of her work, she encouraged me to launch a blog of my own.  It was a time when many great blogs were popping up on both sides of the debate.  On Both left and right, bloggers like Matt Kennedy, Joel Wilhelm, The Ugly Vicar, Underground Pewster, David Virtue, Padre Mickey, and The Mad Priest were all putting it out there. Mary offered her own perspective.  She wasn't a "cradle Anglican", but one whose family left the false church of Christian Science to embrace the true Gospel as expressed through Anglicanism.

Mary was both a brilliant and gifted woman.  She loved her God, Loved the truth, and loved the music and work of Bob Dylan (from whom her blog site was named.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. I Thessalonians 4:13-15

And, so we pray..

O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light: Grant that your servant Mary, being raised with Christ, may know the strength of his presence and rejoice in his eternal glory; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Well done, good and faithful servant.  we'll all see you again when its our time to cross the bar.

On a Somber Anniversary

6,570 days or 18 years ago today, the morning skies over Manhattan were much like those in the photo.  All this would be forever altered before the sunset.

Almighty and ever-present Lord, eighteen years go, our illusions were shattered under clear September skies when son's of Belial snuffed out innocent lives in heaps of rubble. This morning we remember those lives and pray that they’ve found their eternal rest under your throne. We pray too, that this Republic would come to the knowledge that its only in you that we have our strength, our safety, and our prosperity. Protect and preserve this nation, that it might be your heart and hands in this dry and weary world. Finally Lord, we pray that you would rise up and scatter your enemies, that your name would be revered far and wide and everyone with breath in their lungs, would exalt your mighty name. This we ask through your son Christ Jesus who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God now and forever,Amen.

That we could all pray for our Republic and our world as we did on 9/12

The road, and where it takes us. -- Reflections

"St. Augustine-in-the-Fields", from another time

BLOGGER's NOTE:  This one is published out of season as I've been allowing it to percolate for a month or three...

The appreciation of well-crafted poetry is largely lost in our graceless age.  Much of our society has grown too crass and too coarse to enjoy the spoken lyric, as it takes us away from the instant gratification and sensory overload, to a place where we actually must pause and think.  Of all the American poets, I have a deep appreciation for Robert Frost (1874-1963).  A man of a breadth of verse and one acquainted with sorrows, one of his most familiar poems is perhaps 'The Road not Taken" (The Road Less Traveled).

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; 

Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, 

And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. 

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

Rod Stewart reminded us in 1971 that every picture tells us a story, and this photo offers no exception.  At first glance, this picture captures a weathered sign along a rural road, likely taken in late winter. It's weatherbeaten and fading, yet its clear that the sign was once beautiful. Even in its sad state, it conveys what was once a hopeful new vision to its community.  For me, this sign is emblematic of Mr. Frost's poem and of the final stanza particularly. Quoting the poet, "And that has made all the difference." 

Much like the vista offered by this photo, in muted late winter, I was looking up a hill on an unknown road, in a spiritually bleak season of life in early 2005. I hadn't found myself in a crisis of faith, but rather a crisis of Theology where my I'd been questioning much of what I'd taught for years as a Pentecostal pastor and teacher. At this time I was two years removed from the Church of God (Cleveland, TN), having sojourned with the Southern Baptists and more recently with a Calvary Chapel Congregation.  Each, though heresy-free, failed to satisfy an unanswered longing within my spirit. My heart yearned for a connection that transcended the transactional faith of American Evangelicalism.  

While in this place, I would routinely travel Shelton Shop Road, and pass a road sign advertising a new church which billed itself as both "Episcopal and Evangelical.  While part of me was drawn to the later, I was equally repulsed by the former.  In my mind, the Episcopal Church was essentially a toothless old dog that was bereft of the Spirit and power of the Almighty.  It was a body that once upon a time, embodied "America at prayer" but now was one the lashed itself to any and all Liberal cause.  I'd written her off as what Saint Paul spoke of as "having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof".  Yet for all of this internal revulsion, I was drawn and warmed by the message of this sign.  But an additional event would have to occur to knock me out a complacent space and onto the unknown road represented in this photo.

In March 2005, two prominent individuals were dying;  Pope Saint John Paul II, and Terri Schaivo.  If you remember, Ms. Schaivo was the woman who was starved to death by a "husband" who wanted to get on with his life, but his current wife was an impediment to his plans.  So, starvation was his easy fix to take Terri out of the picture.  When the Calvary Chapel pastor and his wife made it clear that they had no real issue with Michael Schaivo's intent to for his stricken wife, while rebuking me for referring to the death by starvation as demonic.  I knew that we were at an irreproachable place our time there was at an end.  So what then?

In the waning days of the 2005 Lenten season, I called the number on billboard to enquire about this new church that billed itself as such a hybrid.  I was traveling on business but would be back to visit the church on Easter Sunday.  As I now consider my life in the faith, Easter 2005 remains a significant mountaintop moments.  Had I turned onto the path "more traveled", I don't know that I'd be sitting here this evening, MacBook Pro in lap, sharing tonight.

Nearly a fifteen years have passed since that fateful Sunday.  I've been blessed to serve two Bishops, three Rectors, and two Parishes.  The bulk of my ministry has been lived out with the parish of All-Saint's Anglican, a loving, growing, serving, and going community that is truly a house of prayer to the Nations.  

Sadly, all that remains of Saint Augustine-in-the-fields (and her subsequent rebranding) is this sign.  She failed to thrive, yet for a season served the will and purposes of the Almighty.  She was the path less traveled, and the one that made all the difference.



    

Thinking...

From Saint Mark's Gospel:

Immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, "Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times." And he began to weep. Mark 14:72 (NASB)

We've been cursed with a Rooster, a block to our east and outside of our Home owner's association.  This stupid bird has no compunction about crowing whenever the urge strikes him.  Often, I daydream about taking this rooster on a trip to introduce him to Colonel Sanders, to give him a new vocation as a bowl of soup.  Mister Rooster will wake me up at 3:15 AM, hours before sunrise here in Suburbia Majoria.  A few days ago, the thought hit me at this dark hour which pointed me towards the Passion narrative of our Savior, zeroing in on Saint Peter's denial of the Christ.

In lieu of being annoyed, I now have something else to think about when Foghorn Leghorn shakes me out of my slumber at this hour.

On the National Day of Prayer -- 2019

From saint Paul's first letter to Timothy:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,  1Ti 2:1-3 ESV

I was blessed today, to have led friends, neighbors, and co-workers in prayer during observances at two sites in Stafford County.  It  was a perfect morning that was mercifully, warm and precipitation free.  I'd invite you to consider this prayer:

Almighty and ever living God, we your offspring and the generations of Adam gather this morning under this flag pole to bring praise to you and to intercede for our Republic, its Leaders and her citizens.

As we, civil Servants of this Republic approach you, we don’t presume to come into your presence, trusting in our own goodness, but in your great and bountiful mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather
up the crumbs from under your table. But you are the same God whose property is always to have mercy upon the contrite. Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, to enter into your presence, to lift up our petitions for our Republic that our Land may be healed and all her inhabitants would be reconciled unto you.

We stand before you as the giver of all good things and the one at whose command, nations rise and fall. You’ve taught us through your holy counsels that every good and perfect gift comes from you and for this reason; we come before you this morning, joining others around this Republic who’ve also gathered in intercession.

In your presence, we’ve come seeking your mercy for ourselves, and for our nation. Too often, we’ve been like the prodigal child; the one who though desiring their father’s riches and bounty, but determined to live life on their terms, or as the other older Brother, harboring bitterness and malice under thin veneers of conformity and civility. In this we ask your mercy, and for the strength and resolve to live lives of gratitude and mutual concern for one another.

We ask that you would move within our lives, that we would be used as change agents for good. We pray that we might become channels of your peace and mercy to those you’ve placed in our lives and paths. We pray too, as public servants, that through your help, we will be faithful and diligent stewards of the nation and its collective trust and treasure.

We commend to you this morning, those who’ve you placed in authority to govern and lead this Republic including Donald our President, Michael our vice president, William our Attorney General, and Christopher, our Director, and those on Capitol Hill; may they administer justice, govern wisely, and strive for the welfare and peace of the whole world. May they always stand faithfully, with an ear towards their constituents and a heart towards heaven.

We uplift to you those in our nation who are in need or who suffer this morning. We call out on their behalf, asking that you would open your storehouses of mercy for them. Too, we offer ourselves that we might become you heart and hands extended to those in need. Make us channels of your provision. We commend to you, all those who stand in harm’s way, those who’ve sword oaths to protect, defend and serve their fellow citizens. Watch over them as they serve in faraway deserts, stand on thin blue lines or place their safety aside for the sake of others.

Today too, we would pray for the safety of those gathering to worship and that we’d speak loudly and in one voice, against the evils of anti-Semitism. A sin that has no place in our Republic.

Finally Lord, we seek your protection against our enemies, both here in our homes and around the world. Not because we are deserving, but because you are merciful. Protect us not only from our enemies, but also from ourselves that we might not only be recipients’ stewards of your blessings in this day, but also be able to pass along your bounty to those who will follow after us.

All of this, we ask, seek and hope for in your name. Amen

Following the prayer, the point was made to point out Saint Paul's instructions in praying for Kings and rulers.  At this time, all of the Empire was under the rule of Nero, the maniacal ruler of Rome.  They were encouraged to pray for the President, whether he be considered a hero or a zero in their minds.  "Hero or zero, he's certainly no Nero."

Accept my invitation to pray for your Nation, which ever it might be.

Lent & Easter 2019: Reflections

If one were to ask me, "Deacon, what's the difference between reflection and dwelling?"  I might answer something like this. Dwelling is a continual rearward focus with a desire to return and remain in the past.  Reflection is, looking at what has passed, considering the lessons learned (both positive and negative), and integrating this into our forward focus.  Some examples might be a melancholy longing for the simplicity of childhood with an insatiable desire to return there, or the thoughts of "Dang, that stove was hot!"  While the former only begets more unsatisfying longing, the latter will cause you to think twice before grabbing another baking pan bare handed.  Keeping with these thoughts, this past Lenten Season, Holy Week, and Easter have given me much to consider, much to consider how those things have already begun to propel me forward into this new season.

On the evening of Ash Wednesday, Anglican Christians are given the following exhortation following the evening sermon:

Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord's passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer.

This is the type of exhortation which sets many off with visions of what they're going to accomplish over the next forty days.  Then, dejectedly, they step towards the waning moments of the season realizing how little they were able to mortify their flesh in the season that was ending in growing twilight of Holy Saturday.  I make this observation, not looking down my nose, but gazing into mirror far too many times for my liking.

This year for  me, Lent was ushered in with some significant obstacles and challenges.  Family dynamics were significantly different than the year prior, which brought a slew things.  And while I was able to "modestly mortify" the flesh, I was able to experience a profound and seminal change with my personal prayer life.  While my public prayer life may have seemed deep and profound to those around me, my private prayer life was anything but.  I prayed silently daily, yet , my prayer stream seemed distracted and wandering, never making it past the turf of the infield. For as many times as I'd read that "The effectual, fervent prayers of a righteous man availeth much", according to Saint James.  Yet my prayers seemed impotent and tepid, hardly the incense described by Saint John in the Apocalypse. This Lent brought something different.

Where I would have saved my personal petitions for last, I began to lift them first.  Praying first for mercy for the rising day, I began to regularly pray for Wisdom, Focus, Stamina, and Perseverance.  Wisdom to perceive the inevitable rising challenge, focus to not loose sight of the challenge, stamina not to let that challenge get the best of me, and perseverance to see the challenge through to its end.  I also began to pray aloud.  This wasn't to make a public show of piety, I was still in my private prayer space where it was only me in the presence of the Almighty.  

As this progressed, I began to notice that prayer was becoming less of a wander through a garden, and more of an intentional march forward, keeping my heart on the object of those intercessions, and my heart on the target of those prayers, that being the throne room of God, and his mercy seat.

I won't presume for a moment to think that I've suddenly become a mighty prayer warrior.  I will happily say that I believe that I was shone a way towards praying prayers that are far more "fervent and effectual" than what once passed for personal prayer.

So in all of this, I can say that through the Almighty that, even if my flesh was only modestly mortified, my spirit was mightily fortified.

Good Friday -- Tetelestai!

From the Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today's Gospel passage is extremely long, recapturing the Passion narrative that was read from a great group of Lay Readers at All Saints' this past Sunday.  I'm sharing a portion of that large passage to accompany our thoughts in this moment.

While I'd seriously doubt that many reading this today have actually witnessed a Crucifixion, yet most have seen one or more theatrical or cinematic dramatization of the event. Many of these dramatic recreations are relatively sterilized while some are extremely graphic and visceral.  But the bloodiest depiction fails to capture the horrors of a roman crucifixion, an execution engineered to inflict one of the worst deaths a human may endure.  The Gospels capture a sense of this in their description of how the Roman execution detail broke the legs of two of the sufferer's in order to accelerate their end.

Our portion of Saint John 19 captures the Christ, in the moments leading to His death upon the cross:

 "When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst." A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." John 19:26-30 (ESV)

It was approaching 3:00 PM in Jerusalem.  It could easily have been 68 Degrees Fahrenheit or 20C and fair on any given day, but this was an afternoon like no other.  Three hours prior, an unnatural darkness enveloped Jerusalem that held the city in the grip of twilight.  in this gloom, each breath taken by the master took the full measure of his strength as he strained against the nails to fill his lungs.  No doubt, he was dehydrated and in shock from being beaten and awake for 33 hours.  For all of this, the Christ WOULD NOT die until his mission was complete.  

In these moments, Jesus scans the perimeter, and sees his Disciple John Bar Zebedee with Mary, his Mother.  He commends his mother into John's care while comforting his mother that John would care for her.  Now, his thirst slaked by the sour wine, Jesus was able to cry out in a loud voice that the redemption of the Creation was complete. His words captured the sense that our sin debt at that moment was now paid in full.

Thursday in Holy Week -- A Mandate

From the Book of Common Prayer, the Collect for Maundy Thursday:

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

When I first became aware of the word "Collect", it had a strange ring to it.  But simply put, a "Collect" is simply a prayer meant to gather the intentions of of the people and the focus of the worship into a succinct prayer.  Anglican Collects seem to follow a certain meter and have been a part of historic Anglican since the time of Archbishop Cramner.  Today's apropos prayer calls to mind the Sacrament that was first instituted over two millennia this evening.

*From the Gospel of Saint John:

"Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand." Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me."  Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"  Jesus said to him, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you." For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "Not all of you are clean."  When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you?  You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.  For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.  Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.  If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. ... When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.  If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.  Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.'  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:1-17, 31-35 (ESV)

(*NOTE: The ACNA Lectionary prescribed Matt 26:1-to 5, 14-25)

Perhaps its our aversion to the baring our feet in in church to be washed by a nodding acquaintance that drives many to place the focus of Maundy Thursday on the institution of the Eucharist rather than the call to the humility of washing a possible stranger's feet. I inwardly cringe at the thought of someone being confronted by my gnarly, middle-aged feet.  But its at this moment that I'm reminded that it was the composer and conductor of the Aria of Creation who stripped down to his underwear to wash the dirty fallen feet of his Apostles, feet he conceived in Eternity past.

I continue to be arrested by this moment. The Christ is mere hours away from enduring the most hellish ordeal ever endured by one clothed in human flesh. The spotless Passover lamb would soon have the sins of the vilest offenders laid upon his shoulders.  It's weight may have felt like the shattering blow from a pile driver. It's at moments of reflection, such as now, my careless sins and betrayals become a foul, wretched stench in my own nostrils.

In this unfolding moment. Christ, in demonstrating this love that loves someone to the end, strips down to his inner garments and girds himself with a towel in preparation to wash the feet of his disciples. Try to imagine a dinner where the host suddenly strips down to his boxers and tee-shirt; it would be an awkward moment at the very least. The Christ of God is now seen as the servant of all; transformed from High King of Heaven to lowly house slave. All were shocked, but Peter seems to have been scandalized as seen in his reaction. Jesus doesn't mince words; without this "washing" St. Peter would have no share in the Kingdom. Peter suddenly gets it, and all but asks for a bath.

For a visual learner, this moment in the Gospel packs a powerful punch. It teaches volumes about the Kingdom and how it will unfold. It shows us that the Kingdom looks far more like a tiny sun-baked Albanian nun cradling the dying than a slick, polished preacher trying to sell you your best life now. Its self-emptying rather than self-aggrandizing. Our Lord has no need or use for strutting popinjays who seem to pervade the vast spiritual and cultural wasteland. The "No Fear" Crowd does little more than stir His holy wrath. He saw all of these traits in His onetime anointed cherub, and threw both him and his company of fallen angels down from Heaven. No, He seeks something quite to the contrary. 

Consider on this Maundy Thursday... Our Lord seeks those who've grasped the concept that in the greater scheme of things, they're truly of no account. They've got nothing to bring to the table. These are the ones whom the Master can fill with His power, and may well use them mightily in proclaiming the good news of the kingdom in both word and action.

Wednesday in Holy Week, or "Spy Wednesday"

This morning's Collect, from the Book of Common Prayer:

Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

This morning's Gospel takes us to a pivotal moment, an inexorable point events are locked in, and destinies become fixed:

After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, "Lord, who is it?"  Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it." So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."  Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him.  Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the feast," or that he should give something to the poor.  So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.  When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.  If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. John 13:21-32 (ESV)

From the moment of the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve and the works of the flesh supplanted the fruits of the Spirit, treachery became a an indelible stain on humanity. Treachery, in its most basic, is defined as a violation of allegiance, or of faith and confidence by Webster.  It is carried out in shadows. It occurs through the furtive actions of cowards unable to face the recipients of their actions.  In Dante's Inferno, the deepest depths of Hell were reserved for history's worst traitors.  But at this moment, this man remembered in infamy is seated at the same table with the Christ of God.

A deep scene is unfolding as Saint John, the beloved disciple of God, hears his Master uncover the conspiracy.  Eleven of the Apostles are instantly thrown into a tangle of anxiety while the twelfth was now doubtlessly experiencing a surge of fear and adrenaline as his plan is unmasked and exposed to all.  Even the youngest of the band was now immeshed in self-examination.  Jesus would momentarily answer all of their questions.

The sop, a hard piece of unleavened bread softened by wine perhaps, was handed to the man from Kerioth.  In the unseen realm of this moment, the sop hit Judas' hand with all of the force of a firing pin striking a primer cap.  The Holy Spirit which had once rested upon this man was gone, and Lucifer himself entered him.  At once, any fellowship he may have enjoyed with The Christ was irrevocably severed.  He was now compelled by the command of God to depart and set his plan into motion.

Many have offered up theories as to why. Judas did as he did.  For now, I won't offer my opinions on that here.  Still it is important to remember that there would be two betrayals over the next several hours.  Each would have completely different outcomes.

Lent, and Holy Week both compel us to look deep into the mirror.  It demands that we too ask, "Is it me Lord?"

Tuesday in Holy Week

From this morning's Gospel reading:

"Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.  So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.  And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.  "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.  Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."  The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him."  Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine.  Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.  And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."  He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.  So the crowd answered him, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"  So Jesus said to them, "The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them." John 12:20-36 (ESV)

So much had happened in a few dozen hours; a man dead four days was walking among the living, the words of Zechariah 9:9 had been fulfilled:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

 In my own story, I can recall days in what was then West Germany when the Sonic Booms of NATO warplanes would shake our home.   They were sudden, and impossible to ignore. Like those sonic booms, the voice of God the Father exploded in the atmosphere and rolled like thunder.  Doubtless, many of those gathered in Jerusalem for the passover may have sensed in their hearts that they were on the cusp of something epic, something that was paradigm-shifting. Yet for all of this, the Christ is standing center stage, with a heart growing heavier with each beat.

A heavy heart is not an enviable possession and I suspect that most reading this this morning have the sense of a heavy heart.  Even so,  our heaviest of hearts could never even approximate what Jesus was experiencing.

What weighed on Christ's heart? Was it the knowledge that in less than 72 hours, he would become the recipient of 15 hours of hell on earth? Was it knowing that the city where he stood would be leveled and her residents the recipients of imperial genocide? I suspect that what was occurring at present was certainly a cause for sorrow. At this point, the city was swelling and surging as pilgrims filled Jerusalem in preparation for the Passover. The lion's share of those coming for the Lamb of Passover would ultimately reject the Lamb of God.

Monday in Holy Week

From the Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Omniscience is not one of our strong suits as people. Often times, we're far closer to being bricks than approaching anything close to omniscient, not being able to see the impending consequences of our own shortsightedness. This I suppose is a divine gift, given our fallen natures. Omniscience would probably drive us insane or make us suicidal. For instance, consider what it would be like after receiving a welcome fit for a king just yesterday, you knew that in four days you'd be betrayed, tortured to the point of death, and finally dying on a Roman cross in abject humiliation? 

 Consider further the omniscience of the Almighty in light of today's Gospel reading. In the passage we see Jesus at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus along with the apostolic band. We could infer that this may have been a feast, celebrating the return of their brother to the living, or not. What is fact is the fact that there was a deep friendship between Jesus and the three siblings. It was here that Mary, in an act of devotion broke open an alabaster jar of the finest perfume and anointed the feet of the Master. I'm confident that many in the room were stunned by Mary's action, knowing that the perfume flowing out and filling the room was in fact her old age pension. Judas became indignant, wrapping himself in faux-righteous indignation, rebuked Mary for her supposed waste of such a precious commodity. 

 Had it been you or I there and possessing the gift of omniscience, we'd have torn into Judas like a hot knife through butter in our otherwise faulty human nature. We'd have called him out for his hypocrisy and the fact that he was an embezzler. Or worse, we may have confronted him over what he would do in the next few days. But not Jesus. In his love, he only gently rebuked Judas and turned the attention to Mary's act of worship.

 The Master loved the traitor as much as he loved the tender-hearted Mary. This is incredible and our frail human minds can't comprehend the heights and depths of the pure agape love of the savior. We must however, apprehend own this truth.

Palm Sunday, Redemption's Trigger

From the Gospel of Saint Luke, 19:29-40 (ESV):

"When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples,saying, "Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' you shall say this: 'The Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them.  And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?" And they said, "The Lord has need of it."  And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.  And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near--already on the way down the Mount of Olives--the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples."  He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."

It was a cool, damp Palm Sunday morning here in Suburbia Majora.  Where in year's past, the family at All Saint's (ASC) would begin Palm Sunday outside to process into the sanctuary, the celebration began in our Atrium.   Still, even with the mist outside, the ASC family was Able to apprehend the magnitude of what's been referred to as both the Triumphal Entry and Palm Sunday.  Father Scott Bailey's well-crafted homily worked to capture the moment.

Consider the Christ's entry into Jerusalem.  Jesus, the Son and very expression of the Father, was King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He had every right to ride into Jerusalem on a fiery steed that was draped in battle array.  The sound of horseshoes grinding against stone and the snorts of a warhorse could have filled the streets.  It was his, and his prerogative to exercise.  But no, rather than entering Jerusalem as a conquer, he entered as a King on a mission of peace.  The Prophet Zechariah captures it well:

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

History recalls how rulers would mount Donkeys or Mules when engaged in peaceful diplomatic missions. And if ever their was a peace mission, it was occurring here in the pages of the Gospels.  The Christ entered into the Eternal City, the site of God's Holy Temple.  A place where daily sacrifices had been offered for a millennia as an atonement for sin and transgressions.  A place where five more sin offerings would be made by the Aaronic order of Jewish Priests before the once and final offering would be made for all of mankind.  

We can pause, and ask how many of these who were crying out "Hosanna" would bitterly shout "Crucify him" in a few short days.

On a Saturday Sabbath in Bethany

From The Gospel of Saint John, Chapter Twelve:

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, "Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."

Mary, the sister of Lazarus, was the one who for whatever reason, seemed to be far more spiritually attuned to the Christ as seen from the Gospel narratives.  While her sister Martha was seen as busy preparing for Jesus, Mary was commended for listening and sitting at the feet of the Master.  So, in this scene, we see a devoted, grateful Mary, in a moment of unbridled devotion to her Lord, in taking a very expensive perfume and anointing the feet of the master.  The very feet the next day, that would set off for Jerusalem.  I find a few moments in which to latch onto in these moments.

The Humanity of Jesus.  The "very God of very God" was also very human.  And like us, he enjoyed the company of friends.  I believe that we can reasonably conclude that this family group (Lazarus, Mary, and Martha) were personally known by the master.  He clearly loved them, as witnessed by his reaction to the death of Lazarus.  Now, before the consummation of his mission to Redeem fallen man, he comes to Bethany to rest an enjoy the fellowship of friends.

The Devotion of Mary. The discussions during that visit are known only to time and eternity.  Did the Master share with the siblings, what was to unfold in the coming hours?   We don't know. What we do know, is that Mary took the most treasured object in the home and anointed her friend and Savior.

Those who love, and know Jesus of Nazareth will someday share in that same closeness as did this family in Bethany.  As for me, I long for that moment.

On the Subject of Spiritual Gifts - II

As promised, the audio link to the Homily on St Paul's first letter to the Church in Corinth.  I want want to give a hearty thanks thank you to Miles and the Technical Ministries at All Saint's Church for work in the AV booth. Like anything else in life, it seems that those who labor unseen and out of sight are those who make the most difference in our daily lives.



 You can Click Here to access the *.mp3 file of the message.

Australia Day 2019

I've had the opportunity to meet, interact, and work with a number of groups through my work as Deacon and Electronics Technician.  Of all of them, I've experienced the greatest joy & affinity of working/interacting with our Australian Siblings.  Siblings?  I purposely use this as with the fact that we along with our Canadian neighbors are all products of our Mother Britannia. May our roots bind us together and our LORD continue to bless, preserve and keep you Australia.

On the Subject of Spiritual Gifts

The Holy Spirit, by Louis Comfort Tiffany

The past weekend marked the tenth anniversary of an Ankle fracture which had me cast bound, and in a Boat for an additional four weeks.  (Step into the Wayback Machine to see that tale.)  Short Story:  I was putting boxes up on the top shelf in the garage, standing on my tip toes instead of a step ladder.  My balance shifted and my ankle rolled resulting in reconstructive orthopedic surgery.  As an upside, this opened a season of "Reading for Orders", and ten months later I was ordained into the order of Vocational Deacons.  So in retrospect, I don't consider it to be a coincidence that a Decade later to the day of the spectacular fracture, I'd be delivering the morning sermon at All Saint's Anglican in Woodbridge, VA.  After the message is uploaded, I'll link to it here on the Seat.

Yesterday's sermon was drawn from the our New Testament reading, taken from Saint Paul's first letter to the Church at Corinth, Chapter 12:1-11.  In general, this letter leads like both a rebuke accompanied by remedial instruction.  Chapter's 12 through 14 address the idea of "Spiritual Gifts", their purpose and place in the Church. Here's the message's manuscript:

INTRODUCTION

Spiritual Gifts.  The topic of Spiritual gifts is one that many in the church avoid for a number of reasons.  I suspect that if we were survey the church at large this morning, we might encounter a range of thoughts as to how they operate, and just what their place in today’s church may be.  Are the gifts for today?  Do we still have Apostles in our midst? If Spiritual Gifts are still extant in the church, who has them?  Do I possess a Spiritual Gift?  Let’s pause here to consider some of these questions, and as we unpack these ideas, we’ll draw our thoughts from this morning’s Epistle, Saint Paul’s First Letter to the church in Corinth.  I suspect that we’ll find his words to be both insightful and instructive.  

The city of Corinth, which still exists today, has roots which stretched deep into antiquity past.  It had been first settled prior to the second Millennium B.C. It’s rise to prominence around 800 B.C. paralleled Jerusalem’s glory days. It’s location on a narrow isthmus between the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas made her a natural crossroads for goods, thoughts, and religious practice.      The Church in Corinth was planted by Saint Paul on his 2^nd Missionary journey, following the Macedonian Call which diverted his intentions in what is now modern day Turkey.  This was at a time that Christianity was beginning its transformation from a regional faith in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin into one that now had a beachhead on the European Continent.   At the time of this first letter to the young church, Paul was addressing Believers who had been walking in the faith for only a handful years. 

At this time, the Corinthian Church was in chaos, if not in outright crisis.  She was dealing with a wide range of issues that were effecting her ability to grow and thrive as a healthy, reproductive church.  They weren’t merely debating over the color of the drapes; these were problems that could pull the church apart at her seams.  The church was divided along sectarian fault lines where groups were stating their allegiances to various apostles.  Scandalous sin was being swept under the rug.  Worship gatherings seemed to take place without a sense of purpose or direction and their celebration of the Eucharist bordered on Blasphemy. It’s no wonder that the Epistles to the Corinthians read the way do, both as a rebuke and like remedial instructions.   

So in our time this morning let’s consider St. Paul’s words concerning these Spiritual Gifts, which the Father bestowed not only on the Corinthians, but to His Church in general.  Too, I want to challenge you to consider your Spiritual Gift.  And yes, every child of God has been entrusted with at least one Spiritual Gift.

The Corinthian’s were familiar with “Spiritual Gifts”, albeit counterfeit gifts (Vv. 1-2)

Saint Paul begins by acknowledging  their knowledge and experience with what the Corinthians believed to be “Spiritual Gifts”, and in the same breath points to their counterfeit nature.

[1Co 12:1-2 ESV] 1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.

Ancient Corinth was a city steeped in pagan worship and ritual, having the god Apollo as its patron deity.  The worship of Apollo was significant in this region, and Corinth was also within a few hours sailing distance across the Corinthian Gulf to Delphi, the seat of Cult of Apollo, where the oracles like Pythia would prophesy.  Itinerant prophets and prophetesses walked the streets, claiming to speak on behalf of the gods. Paul and Silas had an intimate knowledge of this fact, recalling their encounter with the street prophetess in Philippi, another devotee to Apollo. Paul speaks to the counterfeit nature of these “gifts”, their only purpose was to lead people away from the knowledge of the truth and into the bondage of idolatry.  This isn’t a first century problem.  There are several places in our own world today where pagan deities are still revered and false prophets and demonic utterances can be heard. Nascent Neopaganism is on the rise; it is our challenge even here in the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia).  It’s clearly a time for Followers of the Way to exercise Godly wisdom and discernment.  

So, in light of this, Paul provides us with a litmus test of sorts that allows us to easily discern which manifestations of Spiritual Gifts are genuine, and which ones are false or counterfeit.

The mark of a true Spiritual Gift (V.3)

[1Co 12:3 ESV] 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit.

Let’s consider for a moment how a gift will reflect the heart of the giver.  Aside from the “gag” gifts we give on occasion, our gifts will nearly always reflect the esteem in which we hold the gift’s recipient.  We see this dynamic in play with Spiritual Gifts and how they reflect the heart of the Holy Spirit.  Let’s unpack this.

Jesus, speaking to His disciples, spoke of the work of the Holy Spirit.  Christ described the many facets of the Spirit’s ministry as essentially bearing witness to the Son.  Christ’s words also spoke of the Spirit as one who is the advocate and the comforter of the saint.  So it should stand to reason that the one operating under the unction of the Holy Spirit would be constrained to declare the glories of God, rather than curse Him. And any alleged gift that would pull attention away from God the Son, or God the Father must be viewed suspiciously and considered to be a counterfeit. 

 A Variety of Gifts, Originating from one Giver Vv. 4-8)

[1Co 12:4-6 ESV] 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.

As we read this passage, we risk a temptation to write it off as unnecessary redundancy, calling to mind that scene in Monty Python’s Holy Grail where Brother Maynard is providing instruction in the use of the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. Yet, we’re lead to believe that the seeming granularity in Paul’s words are both deliberate and instructive. 

For a purely cultural context, the Corinthians existed in a pagan culture where the devout pagan worshipped a pantheon of twelve major gods, and scores of minor gods and demigods.  In total these Corinthians would have been familiar with a pagan host approaching 360 separate entities.  Each of these would have been patrons of any number trades, animals, or objects, and were believed to endow mortals with a wide range or gifts, blessings or curses.  Yet the God of all creation was the sole wellspring of all true Spiritual Gifts. All who received them, received them by Him alone, by the agency of the Holy Spirit.  Yet there are even more important reasons for Paul’s words. 

In their spiritual immaturity, there were Corinthians who looked at this gifting as a source of personal pride.  By their own imaginations, they were applying a pecking order to these gifts, believing that they conveyed a spiritual/moral superiority to the possessor.  Saint Paul’s words deflated this carnal puffery.  Each Spiritual Gift was truly unique, of incomparable value, and given to accomplish a specific purpose.  No gift was of greater or lesser value. The Discerner wasn’t subordinate to the sharer of Wisdom.  Nor was the Speaker of Tongues superior to the one who interpreted them.

Each of these gifts are given through the grace of God, that His Spirit can be expressed to the body of Christ, and to the world.  These gifts differ, but their difference doesn’t diminish any of them.  

Examples of these Gifts (Vv. 7-11)

[1Co 12:7-11 ESV] 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

These Spiritual Gifts haven’t been given to us for our own benefits, but rather given to the saint for the common good of the Body of Christ.  In writing to the church in Ephesus, Paul speaks to how this common good is benefited when he declares that they’ve been given:

[Eph 4:12-14 ESV] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Saint Paul outlines other gifts, in addition to these, in Verse 29.

[1Co 12:28 ESV] 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.

We alluded to the fact earlier, that there’s an ongoing debate today over the Gifts of the Spirit and their place in the Church.  The Cessationists, those who contend that the Gifts ceased at the close of the Apostolic Age, will argue these gifts were for another time, and any charismatic manifestation is not only false but harmful.  Conversely, there are those in Pentecostal/Charismatic schools who stridently contend that all of the Spiritual Gifts are extant in our time. The answer lies between the polar ends of this debate.

While its not our intent this morning, to wade into this debate, we can confidently state that many of these gifts in regular operation within the church, we also recognize that the absence of Spiritual gifts in the life of God’s church would leave her weak, ineffective, and sterile. God has gifted, and will continue to gift his church and his saints, until he brings all things to their conclusion.

So, there is a more relevant and more important discussion this morning concerning the Spiritual Gifts, and discussion poses some important questions:  What’s your Spiritual Gift?  Every follower of Christ has been gifted, yet there are many who’ve neither considered this truth, nor have sought to learn where they’ve been gifted.

So, this is my appeal to you this morning; what is your gift?  If you’re wrestling with this question, I’d invite to visit one of our prayer teams in the rear of the church during Communion.