Saturday, June 25, 2016

Join us for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity, June 26, 2016

Fifth Sunday after Trinity, Sunday, June 26th, 2016

Now at the beginning of the the fifth chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, St. Luke kindly points out as he begins this chapter that as Our Lord passed by, He saw some fishermen already out of their boats and they were in the process of washing their nets.  Now, keep in mind that the mere fact that they were out of the boats and washing their nets shows that they were done for they day.  They had not caught anything . . . they were tired . . . perhaps even very frustrated, I would dare say . . . and they were cleaning up so that they could call it a day.  And here comes Our Lord in their presence telling them to put out their boats to give it one more try.  The response of St. Peter is what we need to focus on.  We already know that he thought this was pointless to go out again for the reasons outlined above.  And yet what was the response of St. Peter?  " . . . nevertheless at thy word  . . . "  (St. Luke 5:1ff)  When we say we trust in someone's word, what does that mean?  What does a person's word signify?  A person's word signifies a number of things, quite frankly.  First and foremost, a person's word represents our trust in that person.  If I trust a person and they give me their word they will do something, I trust that person.  I believe that they will do what they say.  With God, though, this is called faith.  We know without a shadow of a doubt that God will see us through any strife or tribulation.  Faith is knowing that God is in charge and that He will do His part.  Now, keep in mind that we may not always know how this will take place or exactly what steps will be taken.  But then again neither did St. Peter when Our Lord requested that he take the boats out for one more try.  St. Peter responded " . . .  nevertheless at thy word .  . ." This needs to be our response to God as well on a daily basis.  

Join St. Margaret of Scotland Church on Sunday, June 26th, 2016 as we celebrate the Fifth Sunday after Trinity.  Mass begins at 9:30 AM.  Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Version of the Bible.   We gather together as a family each and every Sunday to worship God in a respectful, traditional manner.  And we receive the Precious Body and Blood of Christ at Communion time in order to nourish and strengthen us for the journey called "Life."  

St. Margaret worships at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Join us for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity, June 19th, 2016

Fourth Sunday after Trinity, Sunday, June 19th, 2016

The Bible is often referred to as "The Good Book."  I refer to it by this name sometimes in my sermons or when I speak in general.  But, actually, as most of us know, the "Good Book" is really many smaller "books" added together into one large volume that we know as the "Holy Bible" or the "Good Book."  As such, you know as well as I that there is a lot of wisdom that can be gained by reading the pages contained in the "Good Book."  There is much to be learned from reading the Bible, obviously.  It is God's Word after all.  But some people pick and choose which verses from the Bible they want to focus on.  In fact, you will hear verses of the Bible quoted by people to try and support their position or justify their beliefs.  For example, sometimes either in person or on TV or in a movie, you will hear someone say " . . . . an eye for an eye . . . ."  And typically when you hear someone say that in a movie or in person, the context is that if someone hurts you you are going to hurt them right back in the same way.  People must have been in the habit of using this Scripture verse to justify their actions two-thousand years ago because even Our Lord takes time to speak about it.  "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for and eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." (St. Matthew 5:38-39)  So you see even back then Our Lord had to explain things and put things into proper perspective.  God is not about revenge and hatred and "getting even."  Listen to Our Lord putting things into proper perspective:  "BE ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." (St. Luke 6:36)  It is never wise to "pick and choose" Scripture verses to justify our own beliefs.  There is ample opportunity to "pick and choose" random Bible verses if some people choose to do that.  But as I say so often in my sermons, we need to know the context of what the specific Scripture verse is that we are reading and/or citing.  So, too, we need to do this with God in general.  Our Blessed Lord showed us the "context" of His Heavenly Father:  God is merciful. God is love.  And as we heard above, we are called to be merciful as Our Father is also merciful  Is this easy?  No, certainly not.  But on the other hand, how easy was it for Our Blessed Lord, hanging from the Cross after hours of being tortured, bruised and beaten to say:  "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" ?   All we can do in these situations is to remember Our Lord's words "Be ye therefor merciful as your Father also is merciful."

Please join us on Sunday, June 19th, 2016 at 9:30 AM as we celebrate Mass for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity.  St. Margaret Anglican Church worships in the Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Join with us as we listen to the Word of God found not only in the King James Version of the Bible but also from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as God speaks directly to each one of us.  Take just one hour out of your busy schedules so that you can worship Our Blessed Saviour and dedicate that time to the One Who gives you so much.  And, finally, join us as we receive the Precious Body and Blood in Holy Communion

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Join us for the Second Sunday after Trinity

Second Sunday after Trinity, Sunday, June 5, 2016

It always amazes me that some people make doing something look so easy.  For example, some people I see do carpentry work make it look so easy.  Me, on the other hand, have trouble hammering a single nail.  Other people have an amazing talent for numbers and math.  Again, math is something I struggle with.  But all of us have certain struggles and all of us have certain things that we are skilled at.  As Christians, though, all of us are directed to do something very difficult:  to love everyone.  If we look to the Third Chapter of the First Epistle of St. John, we hear: "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren."  (I St. John 3:13 ff) Let's face it, this is more than likely the most difficult thing about being a Christian.  Human beings have emotions.  Very often, we are led by our emotions.  And if someone hurts us, we will not like that person very much.  But what Christ directed us to do is to love one another and not "like one another."  We will not "like" every single person that we meet.  But we can still do our best to "love" every single person that we meet.  Some people will rub us the wrong way with their personalities.  Other people we will admire right away.  But we are called to love one another.  I would say this is true for a few different reasons:  first, because Our Blessed Saviour directed us to do so.  And next because everyone we meet was also created in the image and likeness of God just like we were.  Those whom we do not like, we probably find it difficult to believe that that person was created in the image and likeness of God like we were.  While it is true that we may not "like" everyone, we are still called to "love" everyone.  This is extremely difficult but it is important for us to constantly attempt to do this even if it takes an entire lifetime to master.

St. Margaret Church meets every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  We meet at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Come join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we worship God together as God's Family.