Second Sunday after Easter, April 26th, 2020

Sermon of Fr. Todd given on the Second Sunday after Easter, April 26th, 2020.  

Please click on link to hear Fr. Todd’s sermon:

https://youtu.be/Mdlk1btdbjU

First Sunday after Easter, April 19th, 2020

First Sunday after Easter, April 19th, 2020

In the Twentieth Chapter of St. John's Gospel,  the evangelist tells us when the disciples were gathered together after Our Blessed Lord had been crucified and laid to rest in the tomb.  St John relates in verse 19 that "the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews."  Our Lord appeared to them and we can only imagine their utter shock and disbelief if we were in their position at that time.  After after Our Blessed Saviour had greeted them, St John tells us:  " . . . . He shewed unto them His hands and His side. "

How often when we are in disbelief about something . . .  anything . . . do we have to show the evidence to show what we are talking about?  If we get cut doing something, we run and show the cut.  Or if a storm has gone through and knocked down a tree or at the very least knocked down heavy branches, you tell somebody to come and look at this.  "Oh, look at that  . . . . "  As humans, we are physical beings.  We see with our eyes.  We feel with the touch of our hands.  We hear with our ears.  We want to experience something first hand by seeing it for ourselves.  Our Lord knew this and this is why He showed the disciples His wounds.  He wanted them to see with their own eyes the "evidence" that it was Him.  

In our own life . . .  for those of us who claim the name of "Christian,"  . . . . . the question remains how do we show the "evidence" of our faith?  As mentioned above, we are able to see with our eyes, for example, the result of a storm . . .  or a car crash.  We can see the fruit of our labour when we work hard on a project and we see it after completion.  Such as building an addition on a house, cleaning and organizing a room, etc.  We can see the results with our eyes with examples such as those mentioned.  But how do we "see" a person's faith?  Faith is definitely something that is internal to each one of us.  Faith itself is not something that we can "see" physically with our eyes.  And yet the faith that we have inside of us.  The faith that we have internally that demonstrates our love for God.  This same faith is translated into action.  The way that we treat others.  The way that we are moved with compassion.  The things that we do for others around us that are less fortunate.  These are all examples of how we can "see" faith.  

As human beings, we want to "see the evidence," we want to see with our own eyes.  Let us all work on "showing" others our love of God.  Let others see how much we love God by how we live our lives.  As I often say in my sermons, the majority of people that you encounter this week probably do not ever go to church.  For those people they will only see the face of Christ as it is found in you.  If this is true, what will the world see?

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, April 19th, 2020.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!

indyanglican.blogspot.com

Easter Sunday, April 12th, 2020

Easter Sunday, April 12th, 2020

Because we know how the story ended, it is difficult for us to know exactly what the disciples were experiencing in the days leading up to that first Easter morn.  They had seen their beloved Master arrested and taken away.  They did not know what was going to happen next.  They were in fear for their lives as well.  After that they saw Our Lord crucified, died and buried.  As I state, it's very difficult for us to know what it was like before that very first Easter because we know what the ultimate outcome was.   But this year experiencing the worldwide lockdown due to Coronavirus pandemic probably gives us many similarities.  We are stuck in our homes.  We do not know what will happen next.  We are scared for ourselves and our loved ones.  Unsure of what the outcome will be.  But we know as Christians that God is our hope.  We know as Christians that God is always with us.   We know as Christians that God loves us with a deep, everlasting love.  The original disciples had dedicated their lives to Christ.  They left everything behind to come and follow Him.  And then suddenly their world came crashing in around them when Our Lord was arrested and taken away.  They were certainly scared and terrified of what would come next.  And yet that very first Easter morn, Our Blessed Lord gave hope once again to the world.  We do not know how things will turn out for us sometimes.  We are unsure and scared at times.  And yet we know that Our Blessed Lord will always be with us.  "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."  (St. Matthew 28:20)

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, April 12th, 2020.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!

To visit the website of St. Margaret Church, please go to the following link:

indyanglican.blogspot.com

Sermon for Palm Sunday, April 5th, 2020

Below link will take you to the Sermon for Palm Sunday, April 5th, 2020 given by Fr.  Todd

“My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me”

St. Matthew Chapter 27

Listen To Fr. Todd’s Here

Palm Sunday, April 5th, 2020

Palm Sunday, April 5th, 2020

The Gospel appointed for Palm Sunday is taken from the Twenty-Seventh Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew.  In this chapter, St. Matthew describes the events leading up to the Crucifixion of Our Blessed Saviour.  One of the events described is the meeting between Our Lord and Pontius Pilate.  It is at this point in the chapter that Pilate speaks to Our Blessed Saviour:  "Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly."  (St. Matthew 27:13-14)  Pilate is not the only one who "marvels greatly" at the reaction of Our Lord recounted in this passage.  If you look throughout the chapter, you can not help but contrast the emotions and reactions of those around Our Blessed Saviour.  It is interesting to compare and contrast the reaction of the Lord compared to the crowd.  If you look at the example of the crowds and the chief priests and the elders mentioned in this chapter, it would seem that they were outraged, full of anger, and filled with hatred.  When we read this account from St. Matthew we feel the anger and hatred and outrage from the crowd all directed toward Our Blessed Saviour.  And despite this "venom" from those around Him, ". .  . He answered (Pilate) to never a word . . . "  This is why Pilate, as St. Matthew observes, "marvelled greatly."  It is little wonder that Pilate found this contrast amazing because on the one side he saw so much hatred . . . and anger . . . and bitterness  . . . . . and when he saw Our Lord, he did not witness any of those emotions.  How often in our own life is our first reaction to become outraged when someone has wronged us?  How often do we become angry when we feel we are in the right about something?  How often do we react with bitterness and contempt towards others around us when they have differing points of views that do not necessarily match ours?  We are called to pattern our lives after Our Blessed Lord.  Of course, as humans, we are prone to failure but we are still called to keep on trying.  All of us have reason to be outraged.  All of us have reason to feel frustrated in life.  All of us have reason to feel anger at various points now and then.  And yet it is our reaction to these feelings that we need to work on.  Are we constantly outraged like the chief priests and crowds surrounding Our Lord or are we calm and prayerful like Our Blessed Saviour?  When confronted by our enemies and those who have wronged us, is our reaction "anger" and "outrage"?  When confronted by those who hate us and are angry with us, do we ever respond with prayer for that person and a sense of calm?  As much as possible, we should be different from the world.  As much as possible, we should not conform to the world.  We achieve this by following the teachings and the example of Our Blessed Saviour. Just like Pilate "marvelled greatly" at the reaction to the outrage and the anger of the crowds, the world should "marvel greatly" at the way in which we react to anger and outrage: responding with love and prayer.

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, April 5th, 2020.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!