Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, September 23rd, 2018
In the Epistle to the Ephesians, beginning in the fourth chapter, we hear the following: " . . . . one Lord, one faith, one baptism . . . . " Now, in my opinion, it seems so often in the society in which we live that we focus on what makes us different. We are African-Americans; Hispanic-Americans; Asian-Americans; etc. I also notice a lot of articles or new-stories focusing on the differences between men and women. Men do things a certain way and women do things a completely different way. Men think a certain way. Women think a certain way. And even in religion, we are constantly reminded on the differences between the various churches, the various denominations, the various liturgical styles, and so on. If you look around, it's plain enough to find out about what separates us, what makes us different from one another. But St. Paul is focusing on what unifies us as Christians: " . . . one Lord, one faith, one baptism. . . . . " In this sense, St. Paul is focusing on what unifies us and not on what makes us different. This unity is what defines us. And this unity comes to us through being the children of Our Heavenly Father: "One God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Chapter 4: 6) Obviously, we are all different in one way or another: I like certain types of food and you prefer other types of food. I like to go to bed early and get up early. Someone else is a "night-owl" and likes to sleep in. I like certain singers and certain types of music, and so on. The list goes on and on in regards to what makes us different. But in focusing on what we each have in common: " .. . . one Lord, one faith, one baptism . . . ." focusing on what unifies us helps us to focus on the source of our unity: Our Heavenly Father. And when we focus all of our attention on Him, the things that separate us become less important. They become secondary. We need this message preached to us like never before, it seems to me. We are all ONE in CHRIST! Christ died for all of us. God is OUR Father.
Join us on Sunday, September 23rd, 2018 at 9:30 AM at St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church as we celebrate Mass and listen to the Word of God. Mass is celebrated at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest Side of Indianapolis.
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