Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, August 26th, 2018

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, Sunday, August 26th, 2018

Have you ever had the experience to look for something and you look and look and look and you can not find the object anywhere?  And then you go and look some more and you still can not find it.  And then at some point you find the item and it was exactly where you were looking the whole time.  In essence, you probably looked right at it but did not see it.  I am sure that each of us have had that experience at one point or another.  In the Tenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear Our Blessed Saviour giving instructions to the disciples:  " BLESSED are the eyes which see the things that ye see. . . ."  (St. Luke 10:23).  Our Lord is reminding the disciples that they are indeed blessed to see the things that they are seeing.  And certainly this is the case.  In other words, Our Lord was making the point further on that  " . . .  many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." (St. Luke 10:24).  While this is certainly the truth . . . . i.e., that the disciples and the Apostles had the distinct honour of being in the presence of the Messiah of the world . . . . the point remains the same that the disciples still had to make the effort to look for and make the point to see the Messiah.  In other words, they could have moved on with their lives and never even made the effort to notice the miracles which Our Lord performed . . . or they could have certainly not have cared enough to stop and to listen to the words that Our Lord was speaking.  The point that I am making is that while they were certainly blessed to see what they saw and hear what they heard, they still had to make the effort to stop long enough to see with their own eyes and to hear with their own ears what was being said to them by the Lord.

How many times has the Lord made the point to show Himself to us but, unfortunately, we were too busy to notice?  How many times throughout our life did God try to speak to us and we never heard what He had to say because we were too busy listening to everybody and everything else?  Sometimes the miracles are right in front of our eyes but we never take notice because we are too busy to look.  Sometimes the answer is being given to us but we never hear it because we are focused on other things.  Just like Our Lord showed Himself to the disciples and the Apostles, He also shows Himself to us.  Now, it may be true that we may have to pay closer attention and alter our way of looking for Him, make no doubt about it:  God is still making a point to show Himself to us . .  . He is still making a point to speak to us.  We just need to pay attention and know where to look.  " . . .  Blessed are the eyes that see the things that YOU see . . . .."

Please make a point to join us for Mass on Sunday morning.  Mass is celebrated in 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 and listen to what God is saying to each one of us.  Join with us as we worship Our Blessed Saviour as God's family and then receive His Most Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, August 19th, 2018

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, Sunday, August 19th, 2018

The older I get it amazes me how many incredible things are introduced and invented.  I don't think of myself as "old," by any stretch of the imagination but at the same time I see all the things available today that I never knew as a child.  For instance, when I was a child we did not have cable TV.  Therefore we didn't have 400 channels to choose from.  We had five channels to watch.  Speaking of televisions, we had no VCR's or DVD's back then so if you wanted to watch something on TV you better make sure you saw it when the show aired or you were out of luck.  There were no personal computers back then.  Certainly, no internet to browse and surf.  I could go on and on but you get the idea.  Things are certainly a lot different now than they were when I was a child.  It only causes me to think how different things will be fifty years from now, one hundred years from now.  How was life back in the year 1918 compared to how it is in the year 2018?  Thus, how different will life be One Hundred years from now?  The point that I'm making is that human beings are amazing when they want to be.  But St. Paul has a different spin on this point.

In the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, we hear:  ". . . . not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;" (II Corinthians 3:5)  God is the one who makes all things possible.  God is the one who gives us the tools we need to create, develop and produce the amazing things we enjoy in life.  He provides man with the talent and the ability to create amazing things.  We do our part by using the skills and talents we have been blessed with but God makes all things possible.  St. Paul recognized this fact.  "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain . . . " (I Corinthians 15:10)   As faithful, devout Christians we are called to use the skills and talents each one of us possess.  For some, they are good with their hands.  These people can fix things and build things.  While someone else may have the gift of teaching and making things understandable.  Others are gifted with the talent to make beautiful works of art enjoyed by others.  All of us have gifts and talents that only we possess.  We are all called to use the talents that the Good Lord has bestowed upon each one of us.  But first, we need to acknowledge the gift that God has given to us in these varied gifts and talents.  Like St. Paul, we should always remember that our talent, our skill, our ability .. . .  none of these would exist without God.  We depend totally upon God for the blessings we enjoy. 

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church worships each and every Sunday at 9:30 AM.  Please take time to join us as we gather together to worship Our Heavenly Father as a family.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, August 12th, 2018

Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, Sunday, August 12th, 2018

In the Eighteenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear the story of what is known commonly as the "Publican and the Pharisee."  Now before I go any further I want to point out something that should be of great importance here.  Before he begins telling us the story that Our Lord told, St. Luke tells us to whom Our Lord told this story:  "JESUS spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others." (St. Luke 18:9)  It is the second part of this statement that really struck me as I was meditating on it:  " . . . and despised others."  Actually, the more I think about it the first part of the above verse really strikes home as well:  "Jesus spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, . . . . "  In other words, Our Lord is speaking to those who were "self-righteous."  Actually, when you think about this verse, Our Lord could have been speaking about our generation today, in my humble opinion.  We seem to have a whole bunch of "self-righteous" folks running around.  You can't turn on the nightly news . . or look at a news program . . .  or get on the internet . . . without having to see and hear someone who believes that their position is the only valid one and how the "other" side is corrupt, crooked, abusive, etc.  Do we despise others?  Do we hold others in contempt simply because they do not "think like us" or "agree with us" or "hold the same position as us?"  Do we despise others because they are "different" from us?  "Different" could mean anything from having a different gender .. .  or a different race . . .  a different nationality.  How about if that person has a different political persuasion.  What if that person lives in a different part of town . . . or a state . . . or a different country?  

Do we despise someone for something that they have absolutely no control over . . . . such as their race or what country they were born in?  Do we despise someone simply because they do not agree with what we believe?  I haven't actually even began discussing yet the actual parable itself because I am struck by what St. Luke wrote to whom Our Lord was addressing the parable:  ". . . unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others."  Are we so sure of ourselves?  If so, why?  Is it because someone told us to believe that way?  Is it because we have always believed that way?  Is it because it is "cool" to believe that way now?  We should try to base our beliefs on what God teaches us.  What God would have us believe.   So much of our society in which we live today base what they believe on what they are told to believe:  by the news media, . . .  by politicians,  . . .  by the media.  And none of these things is necessarily wrong but we always have to put everything in perspective of what God believes and what God thinks is important.

And even if we do believe correctly, when do we have a right to despise someone else?  The Pharisees certainly believed correctly when it came to the Law.  The Pharisees were proud of their strict observance of the Law.  They did everything in their power to keep the laws and observe the laws.  And yet they despised people that did not "keep the law."  These people were beneath them.  Again, do we despise someone that is beneath us?  Are we ever like the Pharisees?  Do we have a right to despise someone else simply because they are . . .  well, different?    It seems to me that God sent His Son into the world to save all of us from our sins:  Pharisees . . . Publicans . . . Republicans . . . Democrats . . . . Rich  . . . Poor . . . Progressive  . . .  Conservative . . . . We could go on and on and on.  But the point remains that Our Lord died on the Cross for all people everywhere.  He opened the door to salvation and offered it freely to all by dying on the Cross for us.  Even from the Cross as He was dying, Our Lord prayed for those who were against Him:  "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." (St. Luke 23:34)   

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.

What is Our Focus?

It would seem that people love pets, don't they?  Cats, . . . Dogs, . . . Birds, . . .  Fish, . . .  Just walk into any pet store, for that matter, and look at all the things we can buy for our pets:  food, toys, treats, pet beds, grooming supplies, collars, leashes, cages, etc., etc., etc.  Part of the reason why people love their pets is because pets are fascinating, aren't they?  Take my dog, for example.   I notice that he is focused on one thing and one thing only:  FOOD.  Well, that and playing.  Whether it's inside the house or sitting outside on the deck, he loves to play "fetch."  Whether it is with a tennis ball or a beat-up old frisbee or one of his stuffed animals, he loves for me to throw the toy and then he runs as fast as he can and brings it back to me so that I can throw it again.  Trust me, he will play this game as long as you let him.  He loves it.  And if you watch him he never takes his eyes off the toy as you are getting ready to throw it.  He has his gaze totally focused on that toy in front of him.  And what happens when I throw it?  Of course, he follows right after it as fast as he can.  He does this because he is focused on that toy.  He won't take his gaze off of it.

We are like that sometimes, it seems to me.  We stay focused on things and won't take our "gaze" off of what we are fixated on.  In the scenario described above with the dog being focused on the toy, we know that the dog is not focused on anything else at all at that precise moment.  The toy . . . or the bone . . . or the tennis ball . . .  is his entire focus at that particular moment.  But, again, we are like that sometimes, aren't we?  For example, let's say a friend lets us down.  Lets say this friend does more than simply let us down.  Lets say this friend really hurts us deeply.  Do we get mad?  More than likely.   Do we get hurt?  Of course.  But the question really isn't if we get angry or if we get hurt.  You see, "Anger" is an emotion.  Being "Hurt" is a feeling.  As human beings, we all get angry.  We all get hurt at times.  Same as we all get happy . . . we all get sad . . . we all get tired . . . we all get joyful . . .  we all get afraid.   We all have emotions.  We all have feelings.  If we go all the way back to the Old Testament book of Genesis way back in Genesis 3:10, we hear the the very effect of Adam's sin was that he felt afraid:  "And (Adam) said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, . . .  " And we, just like Adam, experience feelings and emotions depending on the circumstances and our moods, etc.  Adam was afraid.  We get afraid.  We also get angry.  We also get mad, etc.  So the point then becomes  what do we do when we get angry?  How do we act when we get disappointed?   Many people when they get angry they end up dwelling on that anger and more specifically they focus on the cause of that anger.  It's like the proverbial "snowball:"  our anger when we are mad keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger  . . . . The problem with emotions such as anger and rage and bitterness, etc. is that they actually do more harm to you than they do to the person that you are angry with.

Let's use a very simple example.  Suppose I am driving to work on a nice sunny morning.  And all the sudden out of nowhere someone cuts in front of me in traffic causing me to swerve and almost hitting me.  In the process I spill my coffee all over my brand new shirt.  So now I am angry.  I'm angry that my car almost got hit and I'm angry that my brand new shirt has a big coffee stain all over it.  Or how about the example of when you get into an argument with a friend or a neighbor or a coworker.  You get into an argument, exchange words, and you leave angry.  Now, again, just like  previously when we described emotions and we said everybody has them.  We really could say the same thing about accidents and arguments as well, couldn't we?  Everybody has them every now and then.  Nobody wants to have an accident.  They aren't done on purpose.  This is why we call them as "accident," right?  Nobody wants to get into an argument.  But they happen every now and then.  But again the question becomes what do we do when someone cuts us off in traffic?  What do we do when get into a fight?   What do we do when someone treats us wrong and treats us like dirt?

Let's face it, so often when we are mad or when we are angry, we focus on that anger.  We think about the person we got into a fight with and in our mind we relive the argument over and over and over again.  Each time we think about new things we could have said . . .  new insults we could have given.  Or the person that cuts us off in traffic.  We think of the things that we would like to do to that person.  Again, it seems to me that getting angry is not necessarily the problem . . . getting angry is not really the issue.  Remember, anger is an emotion, first and foremost.  We all have emotions.  Therefore sometimes we will get angry in life.  But then question becomes what do we do with our anger?  Remember the image of the dog that we discussed earlier?  When the dog focuses on a bone or focuses on a toy that I am holding in front of him, his entire attention is focused on that ball, on that toy, on that bone.  In other words, everything else is blocked out at that specific moment.  He is just focused solely on the bone or toy held in front of him.  Same way for us sometimes in regards to our fear, . . . our anger . . . our bitterness,  . . . etc.   We totally become focused on our anger and the reason for our anger, for example.  Again, it's not that we got angry to begin with so much as we "choose" to be angry after that and "dwell" on our anger for an extended period of time.

And the longer we let anger, bitterness, jealousy, etc. boil up inside of us, the more harm it does to US.  The person that I am mad at probably doesn't even know that I am mad.  Or at the very least that person doesn't know the extent of how furious I am.  And so the point is the same:  when I am angry . . . or more accurately, when I choose to stay angry . . . . I cause more harm to myself than to the person I am angry with.  When I hate someone, I cause more harm to myself than the person I choose to hate.

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.  He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (I St. John 4:18)

When we do get angry, for example, we need to take time out and acknowledge that we are angry, yes, but we need to take it a step further.  We need to recognize WHY we are angry.   For example, are we mad solely because we got into a fight or is it more accurate to say that we are angry because we got into a fight with someone that we like or love?  More than likely, we are more hurt by getting into squabbles with people that we love than when we get into arguments with people we do not know.  If we are out in the store and a complete stranger is rude to us, we typically simply move on.  We may notice, yes, that the person is being rude but beyond that we typically don't let it affect us.  But contrast that when someone we love or someone we call a friend is rude to us.  It's going to bother us much more.  So in that example, we would state that we are angry because the person we got angry with is someone we love or like a great deal.

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear: but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8:15)

If we are going to get "focused" on anything, let us get "focused" on the fact that God loves us and He is our loving Father.  As Christians, let us get "fixated" on the fact that God has a plan for each one of us.  Let us "focus" on what God would have us do each and every day.  As Christians, let us "focus" on staying away from sin as much as possible.  God loves us.   He loves all of us.  The rest is up to us how "we" respond to His invitation.  How do "we" respond to His call?  Do "we" ignore Him and focus on what "we" want in life?  Or do "we" choose to live for Him on a daily basis?  The choice really is up to us.  We have to choose in life what we get "focused" on.

Tenth Sunday after Trinity, August 5, 2018

Tenth Sunday after Trinity, Sunday, August 5th, 2018

"And when He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it, . . . " (St. Luke 19:41)  St. Luke describes for us Our Lord's reaction as He travels towards Jerusalem.    If we continue on in this chapter, St. Luke relates the words of Our Lord concerning Jerusalem:  "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes."  (St. Luke 19:42)  If thou had known . .  . . If thou had only known .  .  . .  I have no doubt that we have each had the occasion to interact with someone and just shake our head because we know, we just know that this person is headed for trouble.  They are on a pathway to destruction in their life.  It's mostly due to the choices they have made in their life, quite frankly.   And sometimes we just shake our head in disbelief because we know exactly where these poor choices will lead to.  And if the person in question is someone you love dearly:  a son, . . . a daughter, . . . a good friend,  . . .  you may have the same reaction as did Our Blessed Lord:  you weep over them.  You weep because you know there is nothing you can do.  You weep because in your heart you see the person you love on a pathway to destruction and you feel helpless to stop them.  I dare say this is why Our Lord wept.  Yes, Our Lord describes the destruction of Jerusalem which was certainly a sad event.  But I think it was more than that.  

When you think about it, St. Luke describes a profound event for us.  The tears of Our Blessed Saviour are indeed the tears of God.  God is crying because He knows that despite His best efforts, there will be many men and women in Jerusalem and beyond those city gates that will persist in going against the will of God.  Our Lord weeps because He sees people more focused on doing their own will than doing the will of our Heavenly Father.  Our Lord weeps because He sees all the needless pain, suffering and agony throughout the generations that human beings will heap upon themselves.  "If thou hadst known . . . .  "   God sent His Son into the world for one ultimate purpose.  This is why we hear Our Lord quoted throughout the gospels when He said:  "My time is not yet come."  He, of course, was referring to when He died that cruel death on the Cross.  When He suffered the pain and the agony of that cruel death, He suffered it for you and me.  He endured that pain and agony for all men and women throughout the ages.  He did it because He knew that you and I could never have the capacity to do what He did.  He bore our sins on His shoulders that fateful day.  And in so doing, Our Lord defeated sin once and for all.  Our Lord died on the Cross to save us from our sins.  And He rose again from the dead to lead the way to new life . . . . eternal life for us spent in the presence of our Heavenly Father.  And yet Our Lord knew that countless souls, despite His best efforts to save us from our sins, would still persist in their foolish ways.  This, I dare say, is why Our Lord wept.  

St. Margaret Church gathers together every Sunday morning to listen to the Word of God, found in the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we listen to God speak to each one of us.  Set aside one hour of your busy week and dedicate this time to God.  Receive the Precious Body and Blood of Christ at Communion time to strengthen and nourish you.  

We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Mass begins at 9:30 AM.  Come join us and use this time to thank God for the many blessings He has shown you.