The First Sunday After Easter

May 1, 2011

Epistle Reading - I John 5: 4-11

Gospel Reading - John 20: 19-23

“And...he breathed on them and saith unto them, ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost.’ ”[John 20:22]

Season of Re-Creation:

We are in the season of re-creation...of re-birth...of re-vitalization. We see it every year as winter fades into spring and what looks dead begins to show signs of life. Trees all over the Front Range are in full bloom and the grays and browns of winter are fading into the greens of spring. It’s a great time of the year! It’s a time of the year that those of us without allergies and hay-fever can breathe deeply and smell that smell of new life...It’s a time of the year when our bodies seem to be rejuvenated and we start to feel good again.

Season of Spiritual Re-Creation:

Our spiritual side may also show signs of rejuvenation at this time of the year. We’ve just emerged from the solitude and introspection of Lent. Two weeks ago, we suffered with Our Lord through the events leading to His crucifixion. Last week, we rejoiced at His resurrection and the foundation of the new covenant between God and his people. Today, our Gospel related that Jesus breathed new life into his disciples and we look to see if new life has also been breathed into us.

Today’s Gospel:

In the Gospel reading for today, Jesus appeared to the disciples in the evening of that first Easter and showed them his hands and side to verify that he had indeed risen from the dead. Suddenly, that small, dejected band who hid in the upper room, out of fear that they would meet the same fate as their crucified master, was rejuvenated....Their sadness over unfulfilled promises they thought Jesus had made to them and their regret for having abandoned Him turned into a sense of joy and fulfillment that words cannot describe. He proceeded to give them the Holy Ghost with the admonition that “Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained.”[John 20:23] He literally breathed new life into them, giving them a share of His powers... The image we get from this passage is not unlike the image we get from the Book of Genesis when God created man: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” [Genesis 2:7] In Genesis, God created humanity by communicating natural life... in this short passage from John’s Gospel, the Son of God re-created humanity by communicating a new spiritual life:...a new way of living and a chance to lead a new life in this world with the promise of everlasting life in the next.

Today’s Epistle:

We heard in today’s lesson from John’s first Epistle that “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the son of God hath not life.”[I John 5:12] We heard that if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, we join the family of God which enables us to conquer the evil influences in our world...We heard that if we belief that Jesus is the Son of God, we accept the cleansing water of Baptism...we know the blood Our Lord shed for us on the cross was a living sacrifice for us...and we recognize that the spirit we receive through the Holy Ghost is the embodiment of truth and proceeds from God. We heard John tell us that we can overcome this world if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Summing up the Gospel and Epistle:

John in both the Gospel and the Epistle isn’t talking about passive belief...he’s not asking for a ‘yeah, right, I can buy into this stuff’ or for a ‘whatever’. He’s talking about a rejuvenation of our spiritual lives;....a total commitment to lead a new life;...a resolution to not only believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but to subscribe to and practice what he taught and revealed to us in the Scriptures.

Example:

Some of our brothers and sisters in Christ have taken the theme of rejuvenation to a level where it was never intended to go. They claim that the Spirit...that same Spirit that John wrote about in the Epistle as “truth”...has led them to modernize and upgrade God’s “one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church” to make it relevant for today’s world. They think that the truths of the past are no longer the truths of the present and what was written in the Scriptures is supposed to be updated to apply to contemporary conditions. While many stood by and trusted, many ‘innovations’ took place in their church:...innovations which flew in the face of tradition;...innovations which had no backing in the Scriptures;...innovations which were implemented because the Scriptures didn’t specifically say you couldn’t....(along with some that the Scriptures did specifically say you couldn’t) Once the church has left its historical foundation, it can never return; however, those who have gone with it can and should leave when they realize that their church has abandoned them...when they realize that the process of rejuvenation has taken on a life of its own and has moved in a way that is becoming increasingly anti-Christian and contrary to the intentions of the New Covenant between God and His people.

Our Church Abandoned Us:

Many of us who found that their church was leaving them sought rejuvenation in the traditions of the church which has stood for almost two thousand years. We have kept the old ways and the old rituals, yet we must guard against our attitudes and relationship with God from becoming old, staid, and routine.

Conclusion:

We all probably recall that passage from Ezekiel, or at least the old song based upon the passage, where God lead the prophet into a valley filled with dry bones. He resurrected these bones and “saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you and ye shall live.” [Ezekiel 37:5]...This is the essence of rejuvenation for ourselves and for our church. Like the disciples in Today’s Gospel, we must be open to receiving the breath of Our Lord this Easter season to resurrect our spiritual bones;...to continue rejuvenate our spiritual lives;...and to assist others in the rejuvenation process as we continue to provide a traditional home for those whose church has abandoned them.

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The Second Sunday After Easter

May8, 2011

Epistle Reading - I Peter 2:19-25

Gospel Reading - John 10: 11-16

“And I lay down my life for the sheep and other sheep I have which are not of this fold.” [John 10:15-16]

The Shepherd’s Role:

If we took this quotation from today’s Gospel literally, it’s probably far-fetched for us to imagine someone giving up their life for sheep. Yet, in Biblical times, the sheep were not only a source of food, but a source of clothing, and subjects for sacrifice to God. Thus, it’s conceivable that a shepherd would lay down his life for his sheep since these animals were counted upon for so much. But, as we know, Jesus spoke in allegories and the sheep he’s referring to are of the two legged variety: we are His sheep and today’s Gospel reading gives us insight into Our Lord’s world-wide mission: to die for the sins of the world.

Giving Up One’s Life:

Knowingly giving up our life for someone else is difficult for us to envision. Literature is full of instances where one person does the noble thing and dies in place of another. The lives of saints and martyrs provide many examples of individuals who have died for their faith. I’m confident that the suicide bombers throughout the middle-east feel that the explosives they carry are shrouds of holiness and that they act to glorify Allah. Yet, all the acts of dying for what is perceived by the individual as a greater good...for a cause which the martyr feels is justified, pale in comparison with what Our Lord did for us.

Giving Up One’s Life as a Choice:

Those who have died for causes throughout history made choices. The paths they selected to follow eventually led to their deaths. Jesus’ death was not his choice, but something that had to happen. Isaiah wrote centuries before our Lord walked among us: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the inequity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet, he opened not his mouth. He was brought like a lamb to slaughter and as a sheep before the shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth...He was cut off out of the land of the living. For the transgressions of my people was he stricken...Yet, it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief...He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their inequities.” [Isaiah 53: 5-11]

New Covenant:

The inevitability of Jesus’ death for our sins as a part of God’s plan is an essential ingredient of the New Covenant:...the new deal God offered to his people;...the deal which is too good to pass up;...the deal that gives us salvation...eternal life in exchange for loving God and following the teachings of His Son;...the deal where Jesus became the final sacrifice...the scapegoat for our sins.

The Scapegoat:

The notion of the scapegoat dates back to the days of Aaron in the Old Testament. God told Aaron in the Book of Leviticus to select two goats: one to be offered as a sin sacrifice and the other to be kept alive. God indicated that “Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land uninhabited; and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.” [Leviticus 16: 21-22] Thus, began substitutional atonement: using a scapegoat as a means for ridding themselves of sin was a very familiar concept to the Jewish people.

Sacrifice and Atonement:

Sacrifice was an important element in the Old Testament. Periodic sacrifice turned away the wrath of God and made Him look upon His people favorably. With Our Lord’s sacrifice of himself, there was no need for further appeasement of God by sacrificing animals. At each Mass we hear the Comfortable Words following the General Confession and Absolution. The last part of the Comfortable Words are from John’s first Epistle: “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins” [I John 2:1-2].....The propitiation:...the repentance;...the atonement for our sins;...the scapegoat who has taken our sins into the wilderness.

Application:

We’ve all been a scapegoat at one time or another in our lives. If we’ve ever been blamed for something we didn’t do or been the target of misplaced aggression, or been vilified because we’re a member of specific group, we know the discomfort of being a scapegoat. We can empathize with the Jews who were the Nazi’s scapegoats for the ills of the world; the Albanians who were the Serbs scapegoats for the ills of the world; the Shiites who are the scapegoats of the Sunnis and visa-versa for a portion of Iraq’s ills, and, to some extent, with any group or individual who currently bears the brunt for the ills of the world, the problems of an organization, or the troubles in a family. Today we celebrate Mother’s Day when we venerate the ideal of mom as the warm, loving, nurturing parent who makes everything alright with a touch; a kiss; and just the right words. Yet, we empathize with mothers for their role as a scapegoat for the ills and imperfections of their children when they grow up. How often do we hear blame placed upon mom because their adult children can’t get a job, fail at relationships, or lack a positive self-identity? We can also empathize with Jesus who was the scapegoat for the sins of the world.

Jesus as Scapegoat:

Most of us don’t volunteer for the role of a scapegoat. If we’ve ever been in that role, we’ve experienced feelings ranging from righteous indignation to deep hatred, perhaps leading to the desire to do aggressive and violent acts against those who made us a scapegoat. Can you imagine someone willingly taking the scapegoat role;...someone who was truly innocent;...someone who lived a sinless life;...someone who suffered to carry off the sins of all those who believed in Him then and believe in Him now?

Conclusion:

In today’s readings, we saw the dual role of Our Lord played: the role of shepherd and of scapegoat. The Apostle Peter in the Epistle we heard a few minutes ago, underlined Jesus’ example and admonished his readers that “we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness...for ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned to the Shepherd and the Bishop of your souls.” [I Peter: 2:25] May we reflect upon and realize the magnitude of the sacrifice our Lord made for us as the scapegoat for our sins. May we also truly acknowledge Him as our Shepherd and follow Him so that we may keep our part of the new covenant: that we may live righteously, keep true to our faith, and love God and others as our Lord loves us…and may we, today, reflect upon our mothers and the positive impact they have had upon the people we are today.

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Third Sunday After Easter

May 15, 2011

Epistle Reading - I Peter 2:11-17

Gospel Reading - John 16:16-22

“Ye now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again and in your heart shall rejoice: and your joy no man taketh from you” [John 16:20]

Re-Cap of Gospel:

Jesus spoke these words to the disciples just before the events that led to his crucifixion. He told them “A little while and ye shall not see me; and again a little while and ye shall see me: because I go to the Father.”[John 16:16] Our Lord was telling his followers of what was about to take place by outlining his impending death, resurrection and reappearance to them on the first Easter. He may also have been outlining the bigger picture to them:…of his removal from sight at the Ascension and His return on the Last Day. Jesus was reassuring his disciples... He was telling them that tragic things were about to happen:...things that would test them and their beliefs;...evil things that were way beyond their control, but that they must continue to believe in Him....That they would realize that joy would come from these sorrowful events. His analogy was a woman in labor whose memory of the pain of giving birth faded when she saw and held her newborn child.

World Events:

How appropriate these same words are for the episodes that seem to happen every week as we watch the events of the world unfold. We see violence begetting violence and look on as the Libian troops seek to put down rebel freedom fighters and the Taliban continues to fight our troops in Afganistan. This is interspersed by an occasional suicide bomber killing of a handful of Israelis or Christians trying to worship in the Arab world, or simply random people in the marketplace or enjoying coffee in a café. Violence continues in this country with the shooting of a congresswoman and people attending a meet-and-greet several months ago. We hear about gang violence perpetrated upon the unknown and the famous and go through a daily diet of such horrendous events as a mother killing her baby in a microwave oven. If we think about all these incidents, we can relate to the feelings the disciples had as our Lord processed to the Cross and death:...those feelings of fear and powerlessness and helplessness…the feeling of wanting to do something, but not knowing what to do. In the tragedies we see played out before us each day, especially those which hit close to home, we experience the feelings of sorrow for the loss of life: the same feelings of sorrow the followers of Our Lord felt when He died on Good Friday.

The Face of Evil:

If we’ve not become totally sensitized to tragedy and violence, we see the same face of evil in many daily occurrences as Jesus and the disciples saw during Holy Week and the fathers of the church saw during the early years of persecution and society has witnessed throughout history... The same face of evil as personified by Iran’s Abadinijad, Omar Kadifi, Al Quieda’s diverse leadership after Bin Laden, and a host of others. Perhaps we tend to write off the powerful force of evil. Yet, what is it but the powerful force of evil that move gang members to shoot uninvolved bystanders?...What is it but the powerful force of evil when innocent people get blown up in the name of Ala?...What is it but the powerful, but more subtle, force of evil that causes churches to run from the authority of the Scriptures and embrace heretical doctrines.?

Disciples Take on Evil:

On the surface it would appear that the disciples were luckier than we are. They had Our Lord’s explanation before the events that led to his death and they had Jesus in their midst after His resurrection. They knew the reason things happened as they did and they realized that evil had to appear for good to take root. They had something to hold on to. So do we, but perhaps we are too used to the violent events and the tragedies around us to realize it.

Good Comes from Evil:

In our faith, we believe that out of evil comes good. Out of the horror of the crucifixion came the route to salvation. Out of the sorrow generated by the too many tragedies at schools and colleges that have swept this country over the past few years, came the joy of those who passed from this life to the next and an in-depth examination of how law enforcement, mental health agencies, and emergency personnel should deal with similar situations. Out of the calamity of the 9/11 massacre came a strengthening of many people’s belief in God as they searched for solace and meaning, along with a tightening up of domestic anti-terrorism systems. I pray that out of seeing evil on what seems to be a daily basis will come a renewal of our personal strategies for dealing with it through prayer and a rededication of ourselves to Our Lord.

Epistle and Evil:

We must realize that we cannot legislate against evil nor mandate its disappearance. In one form or another, it permeates our world. We can only, like the disciples, model our lives in service of Our Lord. St. Peter, in today’s epistle, told his readers and us quite clearly what we must do. His words become more meaningful when we realize that he wrote this in Rome during the reign of the emperor Nero: a time of fear, unrest, and persecution of Christians by a tyrannical, evil maniac. Yet, Peter knew what had to be done to be prepared for the glory of everlasting life, even in the worst of situations. He wrote: “For it is the will of God that with well doing (Good works and service to our fellow human beings) ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men (in essence combat evil)” [I Peter 2:15]...”Honor all men (in other words, treat everyone with dignity), love the brotherhood (those who have a kinship in Christ), fear God (not as an object of dread, but with holy reverence...as the Proverbs tell us that ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’ [Proverbs 15:33] and honor the king” [I Peter 2:17] (do what needs to be done to work within structure put down by the government).

Conclusion:

We must take strength from what Peter wrote in today’s Epistle and what Jesus told us in today’s Gospel because it is a part of the foundation of our beliefs. It gives no reason for the violence and tragedy that happens in our world today...no rationale for the evil we encounter on a daily basis, but gives us hope and purpose. Peter said that we have no other choice then to be citizens of this world during our time on earth and outlined for us what this means to the Christian. What Our Lord told his disciples and us should be in our hearts and minds as we live our lives as Christian citizens of this world: “Ye now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoice and your joy no man taketh from you.” [John 16:22]

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The Fourth Sunday After Easter

May 22, 2011

Epistle Reading - James 1:17-21

Gospel Reading - John 16:5-15

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights...” [James 1:17]

Light V. Dark:

Interesting how we associate goodness with light and evil with darkness. The guys in the white hats:..the Gene Autrys, the Johnny Mack Browns, the Hoot Gibsons always triumphed over the guys in the black hats to ride into the sunset with the good looking girl perched behind them in the saddle. The message that good always wins out over bad was clear as a bell back in the days of the old westerns. No matter what the situation, the men in white hats always came out on top. We talk about the illumination truth...the ray of hope...the brilliance of glory...and the light of love, reason, joy, and grace. It’s the constant battle between the God of power and light and the Prince of Darkness...It’s our choice to be either wrapped in the light of faith so that we may enjoy the brilliance of Heaven or to live without faith and spend eternity in outer darkness.

The Gift of the Father of Lights:
For the Apostle James, who wrote today’s first reading, and for us, it is indeed from the Father of Lights that we receive “every good gift and every perfect gift [James 1:17]...the most perfect of gifts being Our Lord Jesus Christ: the “God of God, Light of Light, Very God of very God.” [Nicene Creed] who gave us the gift of the new covenant...The gift of his sacrifice for our sins...The gift that through our faith in Him;...through our love for God and for our neighbor that we can have eternal life. There’s no jewel...no amount of money...no material possession that can outshine this gift...A gift which is ours for the asking...A gift which is ours if our hearts and minds are open to receive it...A gift which is ours to cherish when we let the Holy Ghost...the Holy Spirit work in our lives.

The Holy Spirit:

Jesus, in our Gospel reading for today, was preparing the Apostles for his departure from this world and the coming of the Holy Ghost. He was trying to wean them from His physical presence so that they might realize the magnitude of what lay ahead so that they might get some understanding about what was to come after He was no longer physically present. He was trying to prepare them for the Holy Spirit who “will guide you into all truth...and he shall shew you things to come.”[John 16:13] The Holy Spirit...the Helper...the Comforter...the Paraclete who would come after Jesus ascended to be with His Father. What a difficult concept this must have been for the Apostles to understand! No doubt, they didn’t understand until after our Lord’s crucifixion, resurrection and ascension...until the Feast of Pentecost when the Holy Ghost made his appearance known in no uncertain terms.

The Paraclete:

It’s perhaps the term “paraclete” which best describes the work of the Holy Ghost:...the Holy Spirit Jesus sent after his ascension. A ‘Paraclete’, in the Greek society at the time of Christ, was both a witness and a prosecutor. The Paraclete would come to court to both accuse the defendant and testify against him. In capital cases, if the paraclete was found to be wrong or lying, he would be put to death. Thus, the role of the paraclete as witness and prosecutor was quite special. As a witness, the Paraclete that Jesus was going to send “will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin, because they believe not on me.” [John 16:8-9] It is a role of the Holy Spirit to bear witness and accuse the world of its disbelief. It’s the ultimate sin to remain in the darkness of disbelief…to reject Jesus when one knows that He is the Messiah and the Savior of the world. Of Righteousness or justice, (perhaps more accurately injustice) because Jesus was unjustly condemned to die. Of judgment, “because the prince of this world (Satan and the principle of evil) is judged.” [John 16:11] Jesus was condemned to die on the cross by the power of evil. Through the Holy Spirit, His condemnation brought about the condemnation of evil. Thus, it’s the role of the Holy Ghost, the paraclete, as the accuser and the witness to present that testimony to us...and he presents that testimony to us through His Church.

The Work of the Holy Spirit:

It’s the Holy Ghost sent by Our Lord that enlivens the Church. We, as members of God’s “One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church,” by letting the Holy Spirit work within us by accepting this gift from the God of Light, become witnesses to the darkness of sin and injustice and bring others into the illumination of faith and recipients of His gifts.

Examples:

Here’s another one of those ‘easy in theory-hard to put into practice’ concepts that confront us. It sounds easy to let the Holy Ghost guide us through the sea of right and wrong. Back in the day, it was clear as white and black about what was right and what was wrong...about who the good and bad guys were. Batman always trumped the Joker...Superman always wriggled out of the clutches of the kryptonite bearing evil-doer. The Church and the clergy were good...they represented God and were the source of morals and values. Now, things are not so clear cut. Perhaps they were not so clear cut back then either, but we were not ready to question the institutions and the people in whom we always trusted. The dichotomy between good and evil is no longer the separation of white from black. Good may seem to be evil and visa versa. We’re unsure any more of the direction the Holy Spirit is leading us and how we can access those good and perfect gifts from the Father of light. It is said that The Holy Ghost guides the election of Popes. Recall a couple of years ago when Pope Benedict XVI was elected and a significant portion of clergy and lay people felt that the Roman church took a step back a century and went against what the Holy Spirit was telling them...Why? Because those who disagreed with the College of Cardinals’ selection may have had difficulty accomplishing their own, rather than God’s, agenda. His desire and work to re-unite God’s Church seem to indicate that the Holy Ghost guided the selection of the right man. The Evangelicals feel they’re guided by the Holy Spirit when they seek to influence the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the government. Is it the Holy Ghost or the evil one’s seductress of power and control that guide them? The Episcopalian Church, who have left the traditional to travel to points unknown, no doubt felt led by the Holy Spirit. Is it indeed the Holy Ghost or Satan who is leading them into the land of apostasy?

Conclusion:

To let the Holy Spirit....the Holy Ghost work within us so that we may truly receive “every good gift and every perfect gift from the Father of Light” [James1:17] and bring the illumination of faith to others, requires us to look at what’s going on around us through the lens of the gifts the Father of light already gave us through the Holy Ghost at our Confirmation: The gifts of the spirit of wisdom and understanding...of knowledge and true godliness...of grace, counsel and strength. These are the gifts which should permeate our minds and our hearts that, along with the Scriptures as our guide, can help us discern the right from the wrong...the good from the evil...the light from the dark...These are the gifts that we must use to attain that one perfect and everlasting gift of eternal life.

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The Fifth Sunday After Easter
Rogation Sunday

Epistle Reading - James 1: 22-27

Gospel Reading - John 16:23-33

“Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”[James 1:22]

Culminating the Easter Season:

This last Sunday of the Easter season brings together our readings from the previous four weeks: readings which describe the meaning of The Resurrection and give hope of eternal life. Basically the message is that through prayer, we make our faith known to God and continually deepen our relationship with Him and, through our works: our attitudes and behaviors toward others, we put our faith into action. It’s through this cycle of prayer and letting God work through us to answer our prayers and the prayers of others by being “doers of the word,” [James 1:22] that our faith grows and we become closer to God. If we have faith, we know that Jesus’ sacrifice for us on that first Good Friday was the final sacrifice for our sins and the beginning of God’s new covenant with us: that through faith, as manifest in our love and forgiveness of ourselves and others, we may obtain life eternal.

The Gospel and Rogation:

The key is in prayer and the results of our prayers. Jesus made this abundantly clear to His disciples in today’s reading from John’s Gospel: “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name, He will give it to you...ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” [John 16:23-24]. It’s through our prayers that we learn and know what Jesus knew: that “I am not alone because the Father is with me”... that “I have overcome the world.” [John 16: 32, 33]. The highlighting of prayer as the vehicle to salvation is the theme of the short season of Rogation which we begin today and continue to the Ascension of Our Lord which we celebrate on Thursday. Back in the day when the mainstay of society was agriculture, the rogation, [from the Latin verb to ask..as in inte-rogation] centered around asking God for a successful growing season resulting in a bountiful harvest. In today’s world, our rogations are more diverse, yet the bottom line should be our willingness to let go and let God guide us as He responds to our prayers. It’s through this willingness...the same willingness Jesus demonstrated throughout His abandonment by His disciples, the degradation He suffered, and the pain of His crucifixion...that we grow in our faith.

The Development of Our Prayer-life:

Our first prayers as kids are recitations without much meaning for us because we don’t have a grasp about the abstraction and the reality that is God. We may request a litany of things in our prayers from video games to passing examinations without ever cracking a book. We learn that God is not the dispenser of things and that He doesn’t control the outcome the tests we took or most athletics events [If He did, the Rockies would surely not be in their present month-long slump]. We come to realize that He does give us the abilities we have and the freedom of choice to use them. Thus, we come to find out that if we use the intellectual abilities He has bestowed upon us, we may be able to pass examinations. We also begin to realize that He is there to help us over the hard times and give us strength to go on. When we begin to rely upon God, our prayers become less of a request list and more of a conversation and we realize the importance of the relationship of prayer and action:...the importance of discerning God’s guidance and acting upon it.

The Epistle:

The portion of St. James Epistle we heard this morning focused upon the importance of discerning what God would have us do and then acting upon it...The importance of “being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” [James:1:25] James wrote during the Church’s first century to an audience in need to knowing the ethics and behaviors associated with Christianity. The pagan converts needed to change their mind-set that worship and prayer was not a method of getting on the good side of a divine despot through bribery, flattery and material sacrifice while Jewish believers needed to realize that strict adherence to ritualized law to appease God had been replaced by the new covenant leading to eternal life. Thus, the emphasis needed to be placed upon an individual’s response to God, rather than God’s response to the individual: God, through Jesus, had already made the gifts available. It was the individual’s purpose to behave in such ways that demonstrated faith and led to obtaining these gifts.

Demonstrating Faith:

For James, faith is not an abstract belief, but expressed in the way we live. He wrote “Even so faith, it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, ‘Thou hast faith and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works’” [James 2: 17-18]... “but wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” [James 2:20]. Thus, we can talk about our faith ad nauseam, we can recite the Creed, but if we don’t live our faith and live the Creed, we are only engaging in self-deception and doing little to truly live the promises of Easter.

Example:

Early on in my life, I knew there was a God. The first prayer I remember offering, besides those we recited each day in school, was when I was around eleven and I asked for God to help get me through surgery to correct a deviated septum. At the time, as a scared kid alone in the hospital, I didn’t know that this operation wasn’t life threatening. I came to realize the next day, that God saw me through it and that there was something to praying. In my later life, I never prayed to become a priest, but I prayed to be closer to God and for Him to use me as He saw fit and to do what was right and just toward others in my work and daily life. I continue to pray this prayer God continues to answer as I try to listen and discern my actions. Many times I get off track, but He’s given me people in my life, past and present, who guide me on my course to keep my part of that covenant He offers each of us.

Conclusion:

None of us can afford to sit on the sidelines and pay lip-service to our faith. To do so is deceive ourselves. May each of us on this last Sunday of Easter...this Rogation Sunday, focus upon our prayer life and, through our conversations with God, listen, discern, and act upon those things we need to do to exhibit our faith. May we keep James words foremost in our minds that we be “doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” [James 1:22]

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“Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is...” [Ephesians 5:15]

Introduction:
Paul’s words to the Ephesians are apropos as we reflect upon last Tuesday’s announcement by the Vatican that a procedure has been developed to make it possible for traditional Anglican Catholics to be in communion with our brothers and sisters in the Roman Catholic Church. Let’s take some time this morning to see how this came about and what it means for us.
Background:
Bp. George Langberg, Vice President of the ACA House of Bishops, gives us some background. He wrote, that “in the early 1960's. the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury pledged to accomplish the reunification of the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion: a pledge heartily endorsed by both sides. An official dialogue was established to make that happen, but within a few years, the Anglicans began unilaterally changing the rules. Last summer, Cardinal Walter Kasper advised the worldwide gathering of Anglican bishops at Lambeth that changes in the Anglican faith and practice which had produced, along with other innovations, female priests and bishops, an openly homosexual bishop, and the blessing of same- sex unions, had made the goal of full communion much less realistic.”

“Ten months earlier in October, 2007, the bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion (a twenty-year old worldwide union of Anglican churches no longer in communion with Canterbury) had come to the same conclusion, and we sought a way to keep alive the hope of reunion. As the “faithful remnant” of Anglicans who had made the original pledge, the thirty of us who had gathered for the purpose, drafted a formal letter to the Holy See expressing our desire to fulfill the forty-year old vision, and asking what we could do to bring it to pass. We see Cardinal Levada’s announcement [on behalf of the Holy See] as an answer to that question.”
Bishops Letter:
Our Bishop, Stephen Strawn, wrote us the following letter to be read today which further explains Cardinal Levada’s announcement and it impact upon us:
“I am sure you all know by now, October 20, 2009 will forever be seen as an historic day in the life of the One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. It appears that the Vatican has answered our question as to how we might enter into a state of full communion with the See of Peter. As has been indicated, the Roman Catholic Church has been working on a structure in which they could respond to our petition in a positive way. After two years of work, Pope Benedict XVI has issued an Apostolic Constitution that creates a “Personal Ordinariate” as the means to achieve corporate unity, without absorption, with the See of Peter.

While the full text of the Constitution has yet to be released, William Cardinal Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Archbishop Augustine DiNoia, Secretary of the Congregation for the Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, held a conference Tuesday, October 20 at which time they announced the canonical vehicle by which Anglican jurisdictions could be received into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Since yesterday, there has been much press from both the Roman and Anglican media, not to mention the secular press. As we might expect, much of the press reporting is inaccurate and many of the quotes come from individuals with the own personal agendas. These media reports can become a distraction for us and it may be best if we consider only what is released from the Official Vatican News Service and from the Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), and the Anglican Church in America (ACA).

Let me remind you of the history and discussions between Rome and the Anglican Church. For over 450 years, both Anglican Catholics and Roman Catholics have explored ways in which the churches could be “united, but not absorbed.” Additionally, two years ago the TAC presented a petition to the Vatican stating that we desired to be restored to full communion with the See of Peter and asked how that might be accomplished. The Apostolic Constitution answers our question and offers a way to accomplish such a state of corporate reunion. The media will not be a reliable source of information for you in this matter.

So, what are the facts? Right now there is only one absolute fact: we have not received the Apostolic Constitution.

Robert Moynihan, a reporter in Rome, probably had the most accurate press release I have read regarding this. In his release he said, “The Vatican today made a dramatic announcement: Pope Benedict has authorized a bold new plan to bring Anglicans back into full union with Rome. But many questions remain unanswered.” That is a very true statement. I expect that the answers to these “many questions”will come with the release of the full text of the Apostolic Constitution in the coming weeks.

See what do we know right now? First, we know the Apostolic Constitution creates a a process which will allow us to enter into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Second, should we decide to accept this opportunity, we can be assured that we will not be absorbed into the Roman Catholic Church. The Constitution provides for suri juris (of one’s own laws) ordinariates (another name for diocese) that choose their own unmarried bishop or priest (married or unmarried) from among our own clergy to serve as Ordinary of the Ordinariate. These Anglican Ordinariates will exist parallel to existing dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church. As such, they will have complete autonomy fro the local Roman Catholic Diocese.

If the Ordinary is an unmarried Bishop, he will serve the full Episcopal orders. However, it the Ordinary is a priest, he will serve with all the usual functions of a bishop, with the exception of ordination. So, should we accept this opportunity, our jurisdiction will not lose our autonomy and we will still function according to our current structure. We will still be able to go through the exact process we have now to choose who will succeed a retiring bishop or Ordinary. The change is that if he is an unmarried man, he will be consecrated bishop. If he is married, he will remain a priest, but will serve as “Ordinary” of the ordinariate with full authority, including the administration of Holy Confirmation.

Therefore, we know that we will not be converting to Roman Catholicism or otherwise be absorbed. Rather, the Apostolic Constitution provides the canonical vehicle for full communion with the Roman Catholic Church while, at the same time, retaining our Anglican liturgy, spirituality, patrimony, and ability to function suri juris. Additionally, we will retain our autonomy in that the Constitution creates Anglican Ordinariates that will exist parallel to the existing dioceses of Roman Catholic Church. Additionally, when I retire, resign, or an called home by God, you will choose my successor just as you did when ABp. Falk retired. If he is unmarried, he will be bishop. If he is married (as I am), he will remain a priest, but serve you exactly as I have and will continue to do should we accept this opportunity.

This information was reinforced during the Bishops Conference Call on Tuesday. This is all we know or likely will know until the full text of the Apostolic Constitution is published and we can review it. When we have received this document, should there be differences with what I have written or what we have been told, we can address any differences at that time. However, I do want to assure you that based on current information, you would not notice any difference in the day to day life of your parish or parish worship.

So what is next? Long ago I learned that it is not wise to make quick decisions, but that it was best to obtain all the facts, weigh those facts, pray for guidance, and then make a decision. That is what I am going to do and I pray that you will join me in doing the same. Once we have all the facts, we can make an informed decision together in the Special General Synod which will be called to discuss this matter.

You will recall that before the TAC petition was formalized and delivered to Rome, each TAC jurisdiction endorsed that effort, with the ACA doing so at the General Synod in 2005. Now that we have the offer of this new structure, all TAC Jurisdictions will need to consider and either accept or reject this offer. We are already looking for venues that might be available for this Special General Synod on short notice.

But for now, I encourage everyone to first step back and simply appreciate, regardless of your feelings, that October 20, 2009 was indeed an historic day in the life of the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Secondly, Rejoice in the power of the Holy Ghost inspiring the hearts of those in God’s Church and be confident that God’s Spirit will guide us in the days ahead. Once the Apostolic Constitution is received, we will meet in Special General Synod to discuss the facts and vote on accepting or rejecting the opportunity to enter into communion with the Roman Catholic Church. In the meantime, I encourage you to focus all your energy on the proclamation of the Gospel in your communities

Your Brother and Servant in Christ, Stephen D. Strawn-Bishop of the Missouri Valley.”

The Primate’s Conclusion:

The Primate of the TAC, ABp. John Hepworth wrote that the offer of the Apostolic Constitution “is an act of great goodness on the part of the Holy Father. He has dedicated his pontificate to the cause of unity. It more than matches the dream we dared to include in our petition two years ago. It more than matches our prayers.” He concluded that “this is a moment of grace, perhaps even a moment of history, not because the past is undone, but because the past is transformed.”

Conclusion:

As further information is revealed to us, let us weigh the importance of the decision our Church will make in the very near future through discussion, thought and prayer and keep Paul’s words in mind as we engage in this process: “Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is...”