Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 30, 2017

Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 30, 2017

In the Eighth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Mark, we hear about the feeding of the Four-Thousand.  Now Four-Thousand is indeed an impressive number.  But in those days, it would have been beyond "impressive."  Consider some two-thousand years ago, there would be no social media to make announcements . . . . lack of transportation (at least compared to how "easy" we have it now . . . . just jump in your car and "go!")   . . . .  no television commercials announcing a gathering, etc.  These Four-Thousand people gathered by hearing others talking about the "mysterious rabbi," the "wonderful teacher," the "miracle worker from Nazareth."  They heard about him by word of mouth, I am quite sure, and came for a multitude of reasons ranging from pure curiosity to faith to needing or wanting something from Our Lord.  Again, the vast crowd that had gathered was certainly impressive, but this is not what St. Mark was focusing on when he wrote this passage of his Gospel.  Nor was the size of the crowd what Our Lord was focusing on when He performed the miracle.  No, Our Lord was concerned about the well-being of those who had gathered to hear Him speak.  "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have stayed with me now for three days, and they have nothing to eat."  (St. Mark 8:2)  What a wonderful Saviour we have.   He had compassion on the crowd and was "moved with pity" because He was worried for them.  He was concerned for them.  He had their well-being in mind.  "My Sacred Heart is moved with pity!"  Our Blessed Saviour was not just concerned with their spiritual well-being  . . . .  He was concerned also with their physical well-being!   This shows the compassion that Our Lord had!

When Our Lord had determined that there was a need, a desperate need!   He called the disciples around Him and asked them what to do in this situation.  The first response back from the disciples was an objection:  "Where could anyone get bread to satisfy them in a desert place like this?," was their response.  (St. Mark 8:4)    Instead of focusing on the positive, the disciples focused on the negative.  Aren't we like that?  I know I am.  How often when something comes up that needs to be taken care of, how often is my first response:  "How am I going to do this?!?"  "I can't believe this!"  "I'm never going to be able to take care of this!"  This is what the disciples were, in essence, saying.  But Our Lord did not listen to their objections.  He immediately challenged them into action by asking how many loaves they had.  Very often we defeat ourselves because we look at the total amount needed and we get scared.  But more often than not the solution to a problem is to begin with a little bit and then move on from there.  The disciples responded that they had seven loaves and He was content to begin there.  From there it turned out, St. Mark tells us, that they also had a few small fishes as well.  We all know what happened next:  "So they ate until they were completely satisfied." (St. Mark 8:8)  "How many loaves have ye?"  "What do you have?"  "What can you spare?"  "What can you give?"  The words may be different but the meaning is the same.  The important thing really is the response we give.  What can you give?   Is our response negative?  "Oh, what can I do?  I don't have that much.  It won't make a difference.   Why should I even try?  Or is our response positive?  Well, I don't have very much but let's at least try.  You see, Our Lord doesn't expect riches from us but He does expect us to give 100% of what we do have.  This is why He was so impressed with the example of the widow who gave her two mites into the tithe.  Compared to most others, she had "nothing" to offer.  And yet she gave everything that she had.  What was seven loaves of bread compared to Four-Thousand hungry people.  What could seven loaves accomplish?  And yet Our Blessed Saviour takes we have and completes the rest.  Our Lord fills in what we lack.  The key is that we need to do our part.  We need to give our all.  We need to give 100% effort when it comes to God.  What do you have to give?  This is the question we should all ask ourselves today?  What do I have to give?  And am I willing to give it?  God doesn't expect us to solve all the problems of the world but He does want us to help.  He wants us to show some effort.  What will you give?

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday at 9:30 AM at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Join us as we hear the Word of God found in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible.  Come dedicate one hour of your week to God.  Step away from the busy-ness of the world for just one hour and focus totally on God.  Come and worship Him.  Let Him feed you spiritually.   Receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.

Open Letter to Brother Francis Dominic . . . .

Open Letter to Brother Francis Dominic .  . . . .

[NOTE:  Brother Francis Dominic is scheduled to be ordained as a deacon on Tuesday, August 1st, 2017]

Dear Brother Francis Dominic:

I address this letter to you and it is meant for you but, really, it is meant for all of us  . . . . .  including myself.  All of us can learn important lessons in life by reflecting on the lives of others around us.  You will soon be ordained, God willing, as a deacon.  I know this is a busy time in your life with the preparations and getting things ready.  But come to think of it, when is it not a "busy time" when you are a minister of God's Word?  Reflecting on your upcoming ordination has caused me to think about my own ordination as a deacon twenty-five years ago.  Wow!  A quarter of a century seems like such a long time . . . . and it is . . .  but on the other hand, it seemed like only yesterday that I, too, was ordained as a deacon.  I remember being on edge the days and weeks leading up to my ordination, wondering if I was truly called . .. . wondering if I had what it took to be a deacon .  . .  . wondering  . . . .  wondering  . . . . wondering.  When I was ordained as a deacon I had spent some eight years in the seminary at that point.  This was eight years of studying, preparing, praying, pondering, working, worrying, sweating, enjoying, etc, etc, etc.   In other words, it was eight years of keeping busy . . . eight years of being occupied . . .  eight years of focusing on what I needed to do \right then and there, at that moment.  Preparing for tests; writing papers; being in the chapel; going to the Dining Hall; studying for finals; doing my chores at the seminary; going to do my seminarian work at various hospitals, schools and other ministries.  In other words, it was a BUSY eight years.  Come to think of it, most all of us are busy, aren't we?  Most everyone leads busy lives moving from one "chore" to the next:  going to work; paying bills; taking care of the house; cleaning; doing laundry; running errands; etc., etc., etc.   But sometimes it is good just to step back and look at the "big picture," if you will.  Because as I described above, life very often gets bogged down in the "little things" such as running errands or cleaning up messes, going from one project to the next project to the next project,  . . . .  Sometimes we get so busy running from this errand to that errand, we miss the "big picture" of why we do what we do, of who we really are, who we are called to be, quite frankly.

The "Big Picture" is this:   Ministers . . . .  whether they be priests, deacons, or bishops  .  . . . are called to do the work of the Lord here on earth.  Ministers are called to emulate Our Blessed Saviour and the work He did here on earth.  Our Blessed Saviour did His work of founding the Church and when He did, He called others to assist Him in this function.  "And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-12)  Our Blessed Saviour has called us to do the work of the Lord but, in essence, he has graced us with the awesome responsibility of doing His work here on earth.  Our Lord is so awesome, so powerful, that He could have done everything Himself.  And yet He called upon average men such as St Peter, and St Andrew, and all of the apostles.  Our Lord did not call on the rich and mighty and powerful to be the Apostles.  He called on the lowly and humble.  He called average fisherman and workers and those who had no formal education, to speak of.  He called them to assist Him in His wonderful work.  He called them to follow Him and do His work among God's people.  " . . . . as the Father hath sent Me, even so send I you." (St. John 20:21)   We should always keep this in mind that we are indeed "sent."  Our Blessed Lord has sent us and we are merely following the call.  Please always focus on the fact that you are following the call.  Remember, we in the Church, ordained or laymen, are following the call.  We are saying yes to be sent forth out into the world.  But always remember that Our Blessed Lord never asked us to be perfect.  Whether we like it or not, a deacon, a priest, and even a bishop are human before anything else and humans sometimes make mistakes.  Our Lord took this into account when He called the Apostles.  Our Lord knew very well that His ministers would make mistakes and yet He chose them anyway.  Look at St. Peter.  Sometimes, even in our ministry, we will make mistakes, but the point is to always remember that we are not called to be "perfect" but, rather, to do the work of the Lord here on earth as best we can.

The second thing to remember, in my humble opinion, is that we are called to be "servants," first and foremost.  In this fashion, we best emulate Our Blessed Saviour and the work He has called us to do.  "For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant."  (I Corinthians 7:22)  Our Lord gave us an example to follow in that he came to serve humanity.  He came to be a Servant.  He came to have compassion on those He came in contact with.  He came to heal and teach and preach and tell the world about the Kingdom of God.  Likewise, we too are called to serve those around us by living the life of a servant.  We are called to serve those around us in whatever fashion God calls us to serve.  Remember that any "power" we have, we only have it because it was first given to us by God.  If God wants us to do something, it will be done.  Make no mistake about it.   We have to do our part, yes.  We have to be open to doing God's will.  So often we do not understand why God would call us to begin with.  Why would God call me to be His representative?  Why would He choose me?  Why?  Our Lady certainly did not understand why she was chosen either.  And yet despite her lack of understanding to why she was chosen, she still gave her "fiat."  She still said "Yes" to doing the will of God.  So, too, should we give our "fiat" to God in our being called by Him.  We may not always  understand why He called us.  We may not understand how we will do what we are called to do at times.  But as long as we say "Yes," we know that God will be with us.  

The bottom line is this:  being called to the diaconate is an awesome responsibility, yes, but it is also a wonderful gift.  The God that created the universe has called you to assist Him in the work of the Church here on earth.  Always be open to doing His will . . . always remember that you are a servant, first and foremost . . . .  and always remember that you are God's representative that He has chosen . . .  chosen by Him to do His work on earth.  And always remember that you said "Yes" to that call. Let each and every one of us say "Yes" to God.  If only the whole world would give its' collective "fiat" to God.  To say "Yes" not only with our mouth, but to say "Yes" with our life.  To say "Yes" to God in everything that we do.  To place ourselves in God's hand . . . to place our lives in His service.  To keep God first and foremost in our hearts.   "As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you."  (Jeremiah 26:14)

God bless you on your diaconate.  God bless you in your service to God and His Church.  God bless you and God bless all of us and we grow in the love of Christ and give our "fiat" to Our Heavenly Father by the lives that we lead.

Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 23rd, 2017

Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 23rd, 2017

" . . . . . even so we also should walk in newness of life"  (Epistle to the Romans 6:4)

In addition to my work as a parish priest, I work as a counselor for the Department of Corrections in a juvenile facility.  The unit that I administer is a "faith and character" based unit and I wear many hats, as they say.  On a daily basis I write reports, and do counseling sessions, attend classes with the students, answer questions, give commissary,  speak to family members, etc, etc, etc.  Every day brings new challenges.  Every day is an adventure, as I like to say.  One of the things that I am required to do is sometimes sit in on either family sessions or meetings held with representatives of outside agencies.  These meetings, more often than not, are held in the visiting room of the facility.  While I set there in the visiting room I can not help but notice a curious thing just outside the window.  Outside the visiting room is a small courtyard with one or two picnic tables.  Since this is a maximum security facility, it is enclosed by a ten foot chain link fence with strands of barbed wire attached to the top of the fence.  Now the curious thing I noticed is that there are two birds nests nestled inside of the barbed wire.  I will see birds on occasion fly in and out of the nests.  It seems that it would be a very precarious place, to say the least, for a birds nest to be built---in barbed wire.  But the birds don't seem to mind.  The reason I bring all of this up is because I found myself staring at a bird this week setting in the barbed wire on top of that fence, totally oblivious to the danger surrounding him.  He didn't seem to notice or if he did, he obviously did not care.  How many of us are in similar situations, so to speak, in our lives?  Just like that little bird was satisfied to sit on that barbed wire and didn't think anything of the danger, so too we are satisfied to exist in a world caught up in greed, and hatred, and jealousy, and envy.  We sit in a world consumed with desire of material things . . . . .  expensive clothing,  .   .  fancy cars . . . drugs . . . . drink . . . . .   We lust after the desire of power and wealth and fame.   Clothing styles certainly change over time.  Modes of transportation and communication change over the centuries.  But beyond that, man has been the same since the beginning of time.  And just like that little bird was totally oblivious to the dangerous "perch" it had inside of that barbed wire, so too are we totally oblivious to the dangers and snares that this old world offers.  But St. Paul reminds us that we have a "newness of life" as Christians.  We are called to see the world differently.  We are called to live in this world, yes,  but not to be of this world.  Through our baptism, we are new creatures.  Through Christ's dying on the Cross, we are forgiven our sins.  And through Christ's rising to new life, each one of us has the opportunity to spend eternity with Our Heavenly Father.  This is the "newness of life" that we are called to, as St. Paul puts it.  But, sadly, so many in the world are content to sit inside of the "barbed wire" that is the world, just like that little bird, and not think any differently of it.  We are so accustomed to the baseness of the world that we are content to exist in it.  But Christ calls us to a new life.  Christ calls us to be new creatures.  Let us spend our days following Our Blessed Saviour instead of the world.  Let us walk in the "newness of life" and not the same ol', same ol' that the world offers.

  St. Margaret Church celebrates Mass each and every Sunday at 9:30 AM.  Mass is celebrated at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located as 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Join us for Mass as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we hear God speaking to us in His Word.  Our Lord also offers to each one of us His Most Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.  Receive the Precious Body and Blood to strengthen and nourish you for your daily journey.  And afterward, please join us for our Coffee Hour to have some delicious goodies and good fellowship.

Fifth Sunday after Trinity, July 16th, 2017

Fifth Sunday after Trinity, July 16th, 2017

" . . . but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts"  (I St. Peter 3:15)

If we look up they word "sanctify" in the dictionary, we will find definitions such as: "to make holy," "set apart as sacred," "to purify or free from sin."  There is one more definition of "sanctify" that I found:  "to entitle to reverence or respect."   It is actually this last definition that I would like to focus on for the time being.  "  . . . . to entitle to reverence or respect."  In the society in which we live how many objects . . . . things . . . . people . .. .  do we reverence or respect or love or adore?   Of course, I am speaking of the society in general but let's face it, how many "things" or "people" do we sanctify in our heart?  We spend time and energy focusing on the things that we love, don't we?  If you love a particular restaurant, it stands to reason that you will choose to go there when you go out to eat.   If you love a particular food, again, it stands to reason that you will choose that over something else when picking out something to eat.  We love celebrities in our country.  We follow the exploits of our favorite movie stars, our favorite television actors, our favorite musicians, our favorite sports stars ..  ..  . we follow their every move.  We enjoy seeing pictures of them, hearing gossip about them, reading about them.  In general, whether it be a favorite  movie star, sports star, food item,  movie, TV show, etc, etc, etc, don't we "sanctify" these things in our heart to a certain extent?  Now, don't get me wrong, I am not saying it is wrong to "love" pizza, or wrong to "love" watching baseball, or wrong to "love" eating at your favorite restaurant.  We all have our own likes and dislikes.  We all have our emotions as human beings.  We all have hobbies and things that each one of us enjoy.  What I am saying is that as a society we spend more time sanctifying "food" . . . . and "movie stars" . . . . and "sports celebrities" . . . . and "TV shows" . . . . and "rock stars" . . . . . and our "favorite possessions"  . . . . . we sanctify these things in our heart more than we sanctify God.   Again, going back to the definition of sanctify:  "to entitle to reverence or respect,"  we reverence and respect movie stars more than we reverence or respect God.  We reverence and respect popular singers more than we reverence or respect God.  We reverence and respect inanimate objects . . . . . .  clothes . . . . .  electronics . . . . expensive shoes . . . . . . cars  . . . . . possessions . . . . we reverence and respect these things in our heart more than we do Our Heavenly Father.  There is nothing wrong, again, with enjoying a good meal.  There is nothing wrong with enjoying your favorite TV show or movie.  There is nothing wrong with going to your favorite restaurant.  But when we begin to "respect" and "reverence" material possessions in our hearts before we respect and reverence God, this is where the problem lies.  "Home is where the heart is."  I am sure that we have all heard that old saying.  Our hearts are at home with the world more than they are at home with God, I am afraid.  "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise." (Psalm 57:7)  We need to fix our hearts on God and not fix them on material possessions or celebrities or "things."  Again, in Psalm 108:1, it states:  "O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory."  As a society, we give our praise to everything but God, it seems.  We give glory to everything imaginable.  But it is God who gives us our glory.   It is God who makes all things possible.  It is to God that I owe my very existence.  It is God that I should sanctify in my heart . . . . reverence in my heart . . . . . enthrone in my heart.  As human beings we will focus our attention on the things that we love.  As Christians we need to focus on our love of God.  We need to sanctify God in our hearts.  We need to make Him the center of our attention.  We need to place the focus on Him and dedicate our life to Him.  So many of us waste our lives focusing on passing fads or celebrities or inanimate objects that brake, rust, or go out of style.   Let us spend more of that time dedicated to Our Heavenly Father, the only One worthy of our love, our time and our attention.  Let us sanctify God in our hearts.

Please join St. Margaret Church for Mass on Sunday, July 16th, 2017.  Join us as we take time out of our busy schedule and worship God as His family.  We use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Version of the Bible.  We hear God speaking to us through His Precious Word.  We receive His Most Precious Body and Blood at Communion time so that we can be nourished and strengthened.

Mass begins 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.

Conformity to the Will of God

Conformity to the Will of God

Have you ever listened to yourself pray?  Or for that matter have you ever listened to others pray?  It would seem that very often in prayer we do not typically pray for God’s will to be done as much as we pray for “our will to be done,” so to speak.  In other words, when most people pray, it seems that they are praying for things that they need at the time:  a job . . . . health . . . . personal relationships  . . . .  finances . . . .  the list goes on and on and on.  Typically when most people pray, let’s face it, it is when people are desperate for an answer.  Quite frankly, though, we should go to God in all situations and NOT only when we need something from God.  As we ascend spiritually, so to speak, we will find that our relationship with God is based on doing His will and not based on our own.  As such, the question becomes “how do I do the will of God in my life?”  “How do I make my life more ‘in tune’ with God and what He wants?” 

Saint Alphonsus Liguori wrote:  "If we wish to Satisfy the Heart of God, we must in everything, bring our own Will into Conformity with His. We must also Strive to bring our Will into Uniformity with His, as regards all that He Commands."

In regards to the above two sentences, St. Alphonsus gave us an awful lot to ponder in those few words.  In its’ totality, I think these two short sentences would be enough to scare anyone away.  I mean, let’s face it, how does one “satisfy the Heart of God?”  How do we bring “everything” in our life and conform it to the will of God?  How do we follow “all that He Commands?”  Surely, we must be set up for failure based on what was said above.  But is that really the case?  Why don’t we break it down into three short points and go from there.

1)      “Satisfy the Heart of God”

This is certainly easier “said” than “done,” but how in the world do we satisfy the Heart of God?  As stated above, St. Alphonsus wrote that we must do everything with God in mind.  I would imagine this word “everything” is what scares people off.  It’s not that people are not wanting to be in union with God.  Yes, people want to do the will of God.  People want to do God’s will.   In Proverbs we read:  "The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want."  (Proverbs 13:25)  Did you ever eat a good meal and get really satisfied?   It's funny how we human beings stay "satisfied" for such a short period of time.  Even when we get a "full belly" we soon start thinking of other things that would "satisfy" our hunger.  St. Augustine had this in mind when he wrote his "Confessions."  St. Augustine discovered in his own life that he would be "satisfied" with something until it became "boring" to him.   In other words, he would keep doing something until it did not satisfy him any longer.  In the case of St Augustine, he found "satisfaction" in a number of items:  love of women . . . love of drink . . . . love of learning.   St. Augustine became "consumed" with each of these things in his life.   All of them brought him pleasure and satisfaction and contentment.  Each one of them satisfied him briefly . . . . that is, until they no longer satisfied him.  And at that point he would go in search of something else that would "satisfy" him.  He had a passion for everything that brought him satisfaction.  That is, until it no longer satisfied him and then he would simply move on to something else.  What St. Augustine discovered was that every thing that he thought satisfied him ultimately came to an end.  St Augustine discovered that only "true satisfaction" . . . . . in other words, "lasting satisfaction" . . . .  came from the love of God.  All else ultimately fails.  The only thing that is never-ending for us is the love of God.  He is truly satisfying.  And we satisfy God ultimately by going to Him .  . . . . listening to Him . . . . spending time with Him.  God knows that we are not perfect.  God knows that we will make mistakes.  But we can satisfy the Heart of God by bringing ourselves to Him and committing ourselves to Him.

2)      Bring Our Will

What does Our Blessed Saviour have to say in this regard?  In the Tenth Chapter of St. John’s Gospel, Our Lord states:  “I and My Father are One.” (St. John 10:30)   Have you ever worked on a project where the people involved are not 'working as one?"  In other words, one person sees the project going one direction and then someone else sees the project in a different way.  And before you know it, the project is not going anywhere because nobody can "get together."  In football, can you imagine all the players on the offensive line doing their "own thing."  One player goes this way and another players goes his own direction and so on.   In order for the play to work, each of the players have to be on the "same page," so to speak.  In the spiritual sense, we have to be on the "same page" with God.  This is why Our Blessed Saviour could say that "I and My Father are One."  Have you ever been in the position of speaking for someone else?   In order to do this, we have to know the person we are representing.  We have to know what they would do and what they would want done in a given situation.  "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip?  He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father."  (St. John 14:9)  People have said to me in the past that they see my mother in me.  Or they might say they see my father when they look at me.  It might be the way that I look.  Or it might be the things I say.  It might be how I move my fingers or walk a certain way or laugh a certain way.  Children reflect their parents.  Students reflect their teachers.  We, as Christians, reflect Christ.  In order to do this we need to know God and what He would want us to do.  We have to make God's will our will.  So often, as we were saying above about "prayer," we want our will to be done instead of God's will.  We need to bring our will into tune with God's will.  

3)      All that He Commands

St. Paul writes:  "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  (I Thessalonians 5:18)  The concept "everything" scares a lot of people.  But if you are anything like me, you give your "everything" when you have a passion for it.  If you discover that you have a "passion" for a specific sport or a specific sports team, don't you spend countless hours watching games . . . . buying tickets . . . buying books  . . . . finding scores  . . .  learning about specific players?   Same way with someone who discovers a love of music, that person spends their time learning their craft, . . . . practicing  their instrument, . . . . spending time with other musicians.  Whether your passion is sports . . .  or music . . . . or cooking . . . learning a language . . . .  or a relationship with the love of your life . . . whatever example we come up with, we give it our "all."  We do everything we can to satisfy our passion.  This is how it should be with God.  We should give Him our "all."  So often for us, though, we give Him our "all" when the time is right . . .  when we need something . . . . when we are ready.  We should always be ready to do the will of God and all that He commands in our life.    This takes time and effort on our part.  We need to continually put into practice thinking of God in everything that we do, whether that be our prayer life, or the way we relate to others around us:  family, friends, coworkers, even complete strangers.  Habits take time . . . whether they are good habits or bad habits.  Habits don't develop after one time or one day or one week or one year.  When  it comes to God and Spiritual things, as human beings, we are impatient.  We want everything now.  We want it five minutes ago.  And if we don't have the "perfect" relation with God right away, we get disappointed and give up.  Our challenge is to continually grow in our relationship with God.  The challenge is not to be "perfect."  If that was the key everyone of us would fail.  But as long as we continue to grow in our love for God, we will continue to grow obedient to Him in everything that we do.  The key is to have God in mind when we have to decide things in our life.  Too often, we only have ourselves in mind when we make decisions in our life.   

Fourth Sunday After Trinity, July 9th, 2017

Fourth Sunday after Trinity, July 9th, 2017

"Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful . . . .  ." (St. Luke 6:36)  

In the Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, we hear Our Blessed Saviour speak of difficult subjects such as:  "mercy;" and "forgiveness;" and "judging not;"  etc; etc; etc.  Now, when I say these are difficult concepts ..  . ..  trust me, I know from experience how difficult it is to "talk" about these concepts as opposed to, say, putting them into actual use.  It is difficult to show mercy and forgiveness to those who have done us wrong.  It is extremely difficult to forgive someone who, for all intents and purposes, does not even deserve our forgiveness.  But this whole business of "wronging others,"  . . . . and "doing the wrong thing,"  . .. .  and "hurting others by our actions" . . . .  .  none of these are a "new" concept,  they've been happening for a long, long time . . . .  . Well, since the beginning of mankind, basically.  Ever heard of Cain and Abel?  Human beings have been in the business of doing wrong to those around us for a long, long, long, long time.  Human beings have been hurting one another since  . .  ..  . well, . . . . .  since forever.   But if you continue reading through this passage of St. Luke, you'll find that Our Lord hit the proverbial nail right on the head because he gives the example of finding a "mote" in our brothers eye while all the time we have a "beam" in our own eye.   

I am convinced more than ever, especially in the age of social media that we live in, how easy it is to bypass the wrongs we have done by focusing on the wrongs others have done.  As long as I am fixated on the wrong you have committed against me, that's less time to fixate on the wrong I have done against someone else.  None of us like to think of ourselves as "bad people."  While, yes, there are some truly "bad people" in the world, I think that most of us are "good people" that make bad choices.  We make wrong decisions.  Let's face it, we sin.   And that's the whole point.  That's the obvious point that our Lord was making when He stated that we should not focus on the "mote" in our brother's eye when we fail to take out the "beam" in our own eye.  What did Our Lord say?  He said, "Thou Hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye."  (St. Luke 6:46)  Human beings are so busy searching for the faults in others that they don't see their own faults.  We would rather focus on the wrong that someone else did to us than to focus on what we did wrong.  Our Lord was making the point that first and foremost:  All of us have sinned.  All of us have done wrong to our brother.  All of us are guilty.  None of us is perfect.   And the second thing that Our Lord was pointing out is that if we are so busy looking for the faults in others, we do not have time to focus on our own fault, our own sins.  And God sent His Son into the world for ALL of us.  God sent His Son into the world to die on the Cross for ALL of us . . . . you and me.  All of us have benefited from that saving Cross on the hill at Calvary.  Let us spend less time searching for the faults in others.  This will allow us to have more time to focus on the things that we have done wrong in life.  And this will cause us to be even more grateful for the forgiveness that God is giving to us for the wrongs that we have done.  

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church gathers together each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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 gather together as God's family and worship Our Blessed Saviour.  And, at Communion time, we come forward to receive His Precious Body and Blood so that we can be nourished for the journey ahead.

Third Sunday After Trinity, July 2nd, 2017

In the Fifteenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear Our Blessed Saviour speaking to a group of "publicans" and "sinners," as St. Luke reminds us.  Here, in this passage that we hear appointed for the Third Sunday after Trinity, Our Lord is relating what it is like to lose something and find it again.  In this brief passage that we hear today, Our Lord gives two examples of people that have lost something and are rejoicing that they found the item:  the first example is the shepherd that lost one of his sheep; the second is the woman that lost one of her silver coins.    Everyone of us can relate to this joyful feeling, I am quite sure.   How many of us have "misplaced" something and you do not realize it is "misplaced" until you actually need it and then suddenly "panic" sets in because the certain item that you need is nowhere to be found.  After that you spend however long it is until the find what you need.  In my house, I refer to it as being "organized into oblivion."  Depending on what you are looking for and how important it is will determine how long it is you search for the item.  Important papers . . . .  books . . . .  clothing items .  . . .  and one item that is always seems to come up missing:  the remote control.  And then when you find what you are looking for . . .  . again, this will depend on the "importance" of what you just found . . . . what happens?  You breathe a sigh of relief.  When you were searching for the "said item" that was misplaced, how many emotions were involved?  Panic?  Frustration?  Anger?  Confusion?   "Oh, where is it?  I just had it HERE!"  But then when you find what you are looking for:    "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . .  ."   A sense of relief sets in.

In today's passage, Our Blessed Saviour relates in both examples  that when the owners found what they were looking for they wanted to share their joy:  "Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost."  How many of us share our feelings with those around us?  With social media such as FB or Twitter or countless others, it is certainly easy enough to do.  How about those of us with cellular phones?  Texting out our feelings in just a few "clicks" is the way to go.  And when you get down the abbreviations for texting, you can describe your feelings even more quickly.  But have you ever noticed that we are quick to describe when we are mad about something?  When we have a bad experience, we are quick to tell everyone about it.  For example, if we had a bad experience at a restaurant, we might tell the manager; we might fill out a survey card.  If we are mad enough, we might make a point to look up the corporate offices and let them know of our experience.  We will write scathing reviews and post it on FB and Twitter and anything else.  We will tell our friends.  We will let the whole wide world know  . . . . . via every avenue we can find handy at the time . . . . how truly "horrible" the experience was.  But how many times do we have a wonderful experience and we let it go at that.  Sure, we may feel satisfied, after a good meal, for example, and we thank the server but then we leave it at that.  "Thanks . . . the food was good . . .  and your service was great.  Thanks."  And we leave it at that.  But if the same food and the same server was just the opposite:  LOUSY!  How much time and effort would we have made letting the whole world know.  I mean, let's face it, human beings spend more time concerned with "negative things" than we do "positive things."  Look at the nightly news, for example, the first twenty minutes of the local broadcasts tell us about:  murders.  . . . deaths . . . . accidents . . .  . shootings . . .  crime . . . the price of gas going up . . . . . the Cubs losing again . . . . You get the picture.  And then after all of this, they throw in one "feel good" story.  Isn't it the same way with us?  It would seem that many of us . . .  most of us? . . . .  are more interested in "negative" stories than we are "positive" ones.   "She did what?"  "He did what to you????"  "Oh, that's horrible."  "I can't believe my ears"  "Tell me more . . . . ."    Perhaps this is because as human beings we just love the things that we shouldn't love.  This is why we want to look at the car accident as we pass by.  Or why when we are switching the channels and we see people arguing and/or fighting on "Jerry Springer."  We pause and watch because we just can not believe our eyes that two grown folks would carry on like that.  And we shake our head in disbelief but we keep watching.

Our Blessed Saviour gives us important advice today.  He reminds each of us to "rejoice" when we are happy.  And to share our joy with others.  "Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost."  As Christians, we should share this joy with those around us.  As Christians, we should share the "Good News" that we are saved.  As Christians, we need to take our faith seriously enough to let others know how good God is and what He has done for us.  And speaking of telling folks what God has done for us, how many of us are guilty of only talking to the Good Lord when things are bad?  When something is wrong, do you go running to God to ask Him to help you?  When you are nervous or anxious about something, do you go to God in prayer?  How about when things are going smoothly?  Do you still run to God and let Him know?  How often do we turn to prayer in times of trouble compared to how often we go to God when we simply want to thank Him?  Now, I am sure that would make a good comparison.   This day, make an effort to rejoice for the blessings God has given you in life.  Make it a point to dwell on the good things in life as opposed to dwelling on the negative.  As human beings, we have a tendency to dwell on the negative.  But as Christians we should dwell on the goodness of God. We should dwell on the good things He has done for us during our lifetime.  And we should spend more time in prayer thanking Him instead of simply asking for something.

St. Margaret Church gathers together every Sunday morning and we would love for you to join us in our weekly worship of Our Heavenly Father. Mass begins at 9:30 AM. We celebrate Mass in the Chapel of Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road in Indianapolis, Indiana. Please choose to take some time out of your busy schedule to spend some quality time with God.