Sunday, July 16, 2017

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.

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