Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, September 1st, 2019

Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, September 1st, 2019

In the Eighteenth Chapter of his Gospel, St. Luke writes of the time Our Blessed Lord told the parable of the two men who went into the temple to pray.  In telling this parable, Our Blessed Lord portrays the first man, a Pharisee, as being very self-righteous.  Our Lord describes the way this man prays:  "I thank Thee that I am not as other men . . . ."  "I fast twice in the week."  "I give tithes."  And then Our Lord describes the prayer of the other man:  "God be merciful to me a sinner."  The point which Our Lord was trying to make in telling this parable was to be humble because He explains:  "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." (St. Luke 18:14)  How often do we depend on ourselves and ultimately end up failing miserably?  How often do we depend on others and end up being disappointed?  How often do we put our trust in worldly possessions which end up coming short?  In the Fifteenth Chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul counts himself as one of the Apostles because the Lord appeared to him and chose him.  And he then goes on to briefly describe all the labors he performed as working for the Lord.  But ultimately, St. Paul acknowledges that everything he did  . . . . all the good works he was able to achieve . . . none of it would be possible without God's graces.  " . . .  yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (I Corinthians 15:10)   The Good Lord has given each one of us strengths, abilities and skills which we possess.  Each of us have something that we are very good at.   But that being said, we should always be like St. Paul.   We should acknowledge where these abilities come from.  We should acknowledge that all that we have, all that we are, all that we possess is only made possible through the good graces of Our Heavenly Father.  In the parable which Our Blessed Saviour spoke, the problem with the Pharisee was that he emphasized himself when he prayed:  "I .  . .  I  . . . . I . . ."  We need to be more like the second man and place the emphasis on God.  We need to always humble ourselves and acknowledge where are gifts come from.

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.

The Lost Pictures of Bishop Mote

The Story of the "Lost Photo's" of Bishop Mote

Recently, Mrs. Jean Smith presented to Fr. Todd a group of pictures of Bishop James Mote which had been in her possession for close to twenty years.  These pictures were taken at St. Edward the Confessor Cathedral (ACC) in Indianapolis, Indiana sometime around 2002 or 2003, I would imagine.  But I can not remember the exact year even though I remember being present when these photos were taken.

Mrs. Jean Smith and Mr. Phil Smith were married for over fifty years.  The Smiths had been long-time friends of the Bishop Mote.  They knew each other dating all the way back to when they were even teenagers and were active in church groups in Indianapolis where they had all been born and raised.

After Bishop Mote was ordained to the priesthood, he moved out to assist Fr. Lehman at St. Mary's in Denver, Colorado.  He spent the next fifty or so years there.  After his retirement he moved down to Florida for a time.   In the last years of his life, Bishop Mote moved back to Indianapolis to be close to his family.  This was around the year 2000.  It was at this point that I became familiar with Bishop Mote.  He was a wonderful man.  We spent many wonderful hours together and he would tell many wonderful stories.  Truth be known, Bishop Mote would very often tell the same story over and over and over . .  . . I am sure I had heard most of those stories a thousand times but I would gladly listen to them a thousand more times if I was given the chance.   I could tell so many stories myself about time spent with Bishop Mote but let me get back to these pictures.

I remember that the sister of Phil Smith (I believe the sisters name was Mary) and her son had come up from Florida for a family gathering.  The nephew (I think his name was Mark) was a photographer down in Florida.  So while he was up here they made a point to take pictures of Bishop Mote.  I do not remember the exact reason for the pictures at that particular moment in time.  It could have been his anniversary as a priest or perhaps as a bishop.  I just don't remember.   But I remember showing up at church one afternoon at the tail-end of this photography session.  So I was present when these photo's were taken.

In the years that followed after these pictures were taken, Bishop Mote left us back in 2006.  Phil Smith passed away as well a few years back.  And these pictures were left in a drawer or box among the possessions of Mrs. Jean Smith.  Jean had remembered these pictures and promised when she found them that she would give them to me.  Well, lo and behold, in the year 2019 Jean did stay true to her promise that when she located the photo's she would bring them to me!   And she did!  A wonderful memory of a wonderful man who dedicated his life to serving God and the Church.

Eighth Sunday after Trinity, August 11th, 2019

I am sure that you have heard the expression that someone is "bigger than life."  In other words, someone who is "bigger than life" is a person that is known for doing things in a wild way or who is known for doing something dangerous or exciting.  Like, for example, a race car driver or a movie star.  We meet a person with a "big personality" and we say he/she is "bigger than life."  You could say that a person "bigger than life" is someone who points to something beyond his or her self:  they do a dangerous job . . . they have a unique hobby . . . . they take care of dangerous animals, for example.  In a strange sort of a way, all of us point to something beyond us.    Each one of us represent something to someone else.  What do I mean, you are probably asking yourself.  Well, for example, to a store owner, you are not just a person, you are a customer or a potential customer.  If you have a spouse, you are a husband or wife.  If you have children, you are a parent.  If you like a particular sports team, you are a fan.  The list goes on and on.  To your boss, you are an employee.  It is rare that we are just merely our self, in other words.  Typically, we represent something beyond our self.  In other words, we fill roles that point beyond our self.  People don't look at us and just see . . . . Jack  . . . . or Mary . . .  or Gladys . . . . etc.  When people look at us they see rather . .   . a scout leader . . .  a customer . . . . a potential customer . . .  a parent . .  a neighbor, etc.

As Christians, we are also called not to point to our self but rather we are called to point to something greater than our self.  We are called to point to something beyond our self:  God.  In a certain sense, this is why Our Lord gave a warning about false shepherds who were only looking out for themselves.  "BEWARE of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits." (St. Matthew 7:15 ff)  A true man or woman of God points beyond themselves.  They point to someone greater than they are.  A false prophet will only worry about fulfilling their own needs and not the needs of others.  A false prophet will spend their time feeding their own desires and making sure their own needs are met.  A false prophet will want all of the attention focused solely on them . . . they want the spotlight focused on them alone.  But we as true,  committed Christians are called to focus the light on God.  We are called to point towards God and not to ourselves.  We should learn to imitate St. John the Baptist when he said:  "He must increase, I must decrease." (St. John 3:30)

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church meets every Sunday at 9:30 AM at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 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.

Seventh Sunday after Trinity, August 4th, 2019

Seventh Sunday after Trinity, August 4th, 2019

Recently, I was browsing the internet and I came across a meme which caught my interest.  It was a picture of a priest and the caption read:  "I am a Priest of Christ."  And it also stated that these were his last words.  These words needless to say caught my attention and the fact that these words were the last ones spoken by this priest fascinated me even more.  So when I got the opportunity I did a little research.  Well, the quote was attributed to St. Pedro Poveda, a Spanish priest who dedicated his life to working with the poor and also took a great interest in education.  During the Spanish Revolution, when there was much religious oppression and persecution, Father Pedro was told to identify himself by his persecutors.  And he proclaimed it loud and clear when he stated loud enough for everyone to hear him:  "I am a Priest of Christ!"  You see, Father Pedro was facing execution when he spoke these words.  He could have said and done anything, I would imagine, under those circumstances.  But he chose to proclaim loudly who he was.  "I am a Priest of Christ!"  But it got to thinking why don't all of us proclaim loudly who we are?  Maybe we do already.  But if we don't, why don't we?  St. Pedro was a priest who was facing execution by those who hated the Church with a passion.  And yet it didn't stop him from proclaiming who he was.  Does the world hate us for who we are?  Does the world try to hold us back?  Does our "politically- correct" society mock us and scorn us for our Christian beliefs, traditions and values?  Do we proclaim to these people?  "I am a Child of Christ!"  "I am a Son of God!"  "I am a Daughter of the Most High!"    We should scream out to the world:  "I am a Child of God!"  

You know, my grandson was home recently and I had the opportunity to see him in his dress blues.  He looked so handsome and the uniform was so sharp.  It was impressive to see.  He was proud to wear the uniform.  The uniform stands for something.  It means something.  It represents not only who he is but what he endured to earn the right to wear that uniform.  He had every right to feel proud and hold his head high.  But so do we as Christians.  We are indeed sons and daughters of the Most High.  Christ came into the world to save us from our sins.  We have been washed in the Blood of the Lamb.  We should feel proud as well.  Proud that Christ loved us so much that He was willing to die on the Cross for us.  Proud that God has forgiven us our sins and wants us to spend eternity with Him.  We should proclaim not only with our voices but also with the way in  which we live our lives:  "I am a Child of God!  Christ died on the Cross for me!  And I want to live for Him!"   Tell the world who you are.  Tell the world what you are.  Tell the world who you belong to.  

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.