Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 28th, 2019

Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 28th, 2019

Most people do not want to go through the trials and tribulations of life.  We just want to enjoy the good things.  On the other hand, I would say that most folks who have lived life for a while understand that you have to go through trials and tribulations in order to enjoy good things.  If you want to re-do the middle room in your house, to use that as an example, you have to go through the hassle of moving everything around; getting the materials such as paint, etc.; do the painting; etc.  It is only in going through all the hard work do you enjoy the end result.  This is true of just about everything when you come down to it.  I can't enjoy my delicious, home-made lasagna without shopping for all the ingredients, messing up the kitchen during preparation, and then cleaning up afterwards.  Even working on being "debt-free" involves hard work and sacrifice:  not going out as much; staying home more; limit your spending; etc.  But in the end your sacrifices are well worth it by getting rid of your outrageous credit card bills.  I've only named a few examples but we can all come up with examples of our own.  Enjoying life usually comes with a price tag.  If I want to take a vacation in Florida, it will usually involve working some overtime, setting some money aside, and not spending as much on other things we would normally enjoy in the meantime.   Negative and Positive .  .  .  Sacrifice and Reward . . .   Hard Work and Satisfaction . . . . Typically, these are all two sides of the same coin when you think about it.  But as I said most folks would rather skip past the hard work and go right to the enjoyment part.  Why do you think credit card companies make so much profit?  They realize that people don't want to scrimp and save and make sacrifices in order to save for what they want.  They want it now . . . .  whether they have the money to pay for it or not.  

St. Paul writes to the Romans:  "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection"   (Romans 6:5)  St. Paul is pointing out that we are called to follow Christ in all aspects of our life.  St. Paul is pointing out that we first have to die to our old self if we are going to be re-born as a new creature.  Giving up old ideas.  Dying to old lusts and desires.  Doing away with former ways of doing things.  Again, it is very much like that middle room I described as needing a much-needed remodeling.  We need to take everything out and clean it out and then the new things get put in.  A new Christian has to be remodeled as well.  New thoughts; new perspectives on life; new priorities in place; Living for God instead of living just for yourself; etc.  And very often this dramatic change in living and approaching life takes a lot of work . .  . and patience . . . . and dedication.  And when  it doesn't work out  . . . . in the first five minutes or so . . .  we give up.  This is because we have become a generation, a society that wants everything NOW!  "I wanted that five minutes ago!"   "Give it to me NOW!"  Being a Christian takes fortitude.  Being a Christian takes dedication.  Being a Christian takes patience.  This last one is because we are going to mess up.  We are going to make mistakes.  We're human, after all, aren't we?  But the efforts are worth it.  The benefits are outstanding.   Following Christ takes hard work.  It takes effort on our behalf.  But Christ did the same thing for us.  He carried the Cross to Calvary loaded down with our sins.    The glories of Easter morning never could have been possible without the events on Good Friday.  Aren't you grateful that Christ was willing to endure the bad so that we can enjoy the good?

   St. Margaret of Scotland  Church worships every Sunday morning at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located on the Northwest side of Indianapolis at 8140 N. Township line Road.  Mass begins at 9:30 AM.  Come join us for traditional worship.  We use the King James Bible along with the Anglican Missal and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  We gather together to join as God's family to listen to His Word and worship Him and receive Him in His Precious Body and Blood.  Please join us for Mass and then stay with us afterward for our delicious Coffee Hour.