Join us for the 25th Sunday after Trinity, November 13, 2016

Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity, 

(Second Sunday before Advent), 

Sunday, November 13th, 2016

If you are anything like me, you avoid watching the news if at all possible.  The "local" news is filled with nothing but reports of crime, deaths and murders.  The "national" news is filled with . . .well,  .  . .  crime, deaths and murders.  But, nonetheless, it is hard to miss the news coming out this week.  Of course at the beginning of this past week everyone was talking about the election and who would win.   But once the election was over, soon the attention of the media turned to "protests" against who won the election.   I put the word "protests" in quotation marks because, in my humble opinion, they aren't "protests" as much as they are "riots."  But I'll get to that more in a bit.  It's interesting that I saw a meme on Facebook in the past few days and the meme is a picture of "protesters" amid smoke and fires and litter and broken glass scattered all around them and the message goes something like this:  "Claims Trump will destroy America . . . .  as they go about destroying America."  To me, what we have seen in the past few days on TV, as I stated earlier, are not so much protests as they are riots.  Oh, I know the media labels these events as protests but, honestly, they resemble riots more than they resemble protests, if you ask me.  

Come to think about it, if you were to ask me my opinion, these events that we have come to witness in various cities are really closer to a big, collective "Temper Tantrum."   Temper Tantrums, if you recall, are something that two year old and three year old children throw when they do not get their way.  They yell and they scream and they cry.  They throw things and maybe even break things.  They do all this in hopes of getting their way.  Most people, though, quite frankly grow out of this stage.  They grow and mature physically but, more importantly, they grow and mature mentally and emotionally.  Generally speaking, if I am allowed to generalize here, there are a lot of people today who have never matured emotionally.  They are stuck in the stage where if they don't get what they want, they throw a fit.  Life is not about getting what we want when we want it, if you want to know the truth.  Life is about working for what you want.  Sometimes, to be honest with you, even when you work your tail off you will find that sometimes things don't go your way.  Usually, I find this to be the case when I work and work and work to pay off bills and then when I've got a major bill paid off . . .  it never fails . . . .  something breaks or needs to be replaced.  And then I have to jump on the bill-paying merry go round all over again.  Again, life is not about getting what you want when you want it.  Life is not about treating others with contempt who have a different opinion than you do.  Life is not about going to "safe spaces" so that you will not have to listen to other "big, scary people" and their "big, scary words."  Life is difficult.  Life is hard.  But, as Bishop Sheen reminded us, Life is certainly worth living.

We are reminded in the third chapter of the Epistle to the Colossians:  "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering: forbearing one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye."  (Colossians 3:12 ff)  You see, we are called to be kind .. . . and humble . . .  and meek  . . . and understanding of others.  And why is this?  Because Our Blessed Saviour was all of these things.  That's why we are called to be these things.  Being a Christian is not easy.  This whole "turning the other cheek" business is difficult to say the least.  And yet this is what Our Blessed Saviour did while he was on the earth dealing with difficult people.  . ..  dealing with people that hated Him . . . .  dealing with people that wanted Him dead.  How did He react to these folks?  Well, ultimately, He stated while hanging from the Cross, nonetheless:  "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."  We are called both by word and also by the example of Our Lord to treat others with love and charity  . . . . even to those with whom we disagree.  This is where we show our Christianity.  Our Lord said:  "For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye?  for sinners also love those that love them . . .  but love your enemines, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again: and your reward shall be great, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil."   And then Our Lord finishes up with:  "Be ye therefore merciful as your Father also is merciful."  (St Luke 6:32-36)  Strong words.  Difficult words and concepts to follow, to say the least.  And yet Our Lord practiced what He preached.  

Join us on Sunday morning at St. Margaret Church as we come together as God's family to worship Him.  We gather together each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  We use the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we worship Our Heavenly Father and receive the Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour at Communion time.  

The Importance of All Saints Day

“All Saints Day” is a feast traditionally celebrated on November 1^st of every year in our Western Church.  Keep in mind that the development of the actual universal Solemnity of All Saints may be somewhat confusing and hard to trace.  Why do we suggest this?  Because, keep in mind that various local churches celebrated their own “local” versions of All Saints Day from the earliest centuries.  One of the earliest origins of what has come to be known as All Saints Day dates all the way back to around the year 609 when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Mother and all the Martyrs of the Church.  This feast of All Saints was celebrated on May 13^th, though.  But even prior to this, we can see Church Fathers such as St. John Chystostom, for example, who assigned a date to commemorate a day in honor of All Saints.  His date was not set as November 1^st as we know it, though.  It was celebrated on the First Sunday after Pentecost, where it is still celebrated in Eastern Churches to this day.   It was about the time of Pope Gregory III where the celebration of All Saints was commemorated  on November 1^st.  Prior to this, as mentioned earlier, various churches in various countries around the world celebrated their own All Saints day at various dates throughout the year.   The point that we need to focus on in pointing out this brief history of sorts for All Saints Day is that Christians throughout the world were interested in celebrating and commemorating those Christians who had gone before them.  Again, this is not a new feast, in other words.  It is an ancient practice dating back to the earliest centuries of the church.   Many need to bear in mind that not only Roman Catholics and Orthodox but also Anglicans as well as even Lutherans and Methodists also celebrate All Saints Day.  Which now leads us into the importance and the underlying meaning of the Feast of All Saints to the Church in general and us as individuals.

Perhaps, first, we can make an analogy which may help to explain the underlying meaning behind the feast.  In America, for example, we will soon be commemorating “Veterans Day.”  In a similar vein, the idea is closely aligned with the general purpose and meaning of All Saints Day, when you think about it.  Veterans Day simply sets aside a day where we as a nation remember, honor, and commemorate those who have served our country to help insure the freedoms that we enjoy.  Again, to point out another secular example, we also commemorate “Presidents Day” to remember all the presidents who have helped to guide our country.  “All Saints Day,” then for the Church, is a day where we remember all those (both known and unknown) who are members of the “Communion of Saints,” in other words, the thousands who are recognized as canonized saints.  

Why is the Solemnity of All Saints important?   The Church commemorates various feast days or Saint days throughout the year (e.g., the feast of St. Andrew, St. Francis, St. Patrick, etc.) But on All Saints Day, the Church makes a point to remember all those saints who have gone before us and are now enjoying their reward in Heaven.    This includes those “known” and even “unknown” saints.  Again, why should we even care about remembering . .  . let alone set aside a day in honor of . . . . canonized saints?  The bottom line is that the Church honors those holy men and women as saints who have proven to be worthy of imitation.   In other words, they have each done their part, and in their own way, to  lead others to God.  Were the saints perfect during their lifetime?  Is this what we are celebrating when we celebrate All Saints Day?!?  Certainly not!  If we look at the Calendar of Saints, we will find all sorts of people from all walks of life . . .  priests, religious .   . . . . husbands, wives . . .  . teachers .  . . .  soldiers . .  .. farmers .   . . . . kings and queens .   . .  you name it!  No matter what their station in life, these wonderful men and women provide for each one of us an example of leading a holy life dedicated to God.  This is something we should all strive for:  to follow God and to live for God each and every day of our life.  The Solemnity of All Saints Day then should inspire each one of us to be a saint.   The Baltimore Catechism says:  “The faithful on earth, through the communion of saints, should honor the blessed in heaven and pray to them, because they are worthy of honor and as friends of God will help the faithful on earth.” (Lesson 13 from the Baltimore Catechism)  Yes, they are friends of God and they should be our friends as well.  They each have shown what it means to love God and to be faithful to God.  As such, they are valuable reminders of dedicating one’s life to God.  On the Solemnity of All Saints, the Church remembers those good and faithful servants who have gone before us as such good role models.  “Let us now praise men of renown, and our fathers in their generation. (Ecclesiasticus 44:1)”