Whitsunday (Pentecost), May 31st, 2020

Whitsunday (Pentecost), May 31st, 2020

When Our Blessed Saviour was speaking to His disciples He told them that after He was gone He would send them a Comforter.  "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; "  (St. John 14:16)   And after this He tells them:  "I will not leave you comfortless." (St. John 14:18)   The world has plenty of comfort.  We have plenty of things to comfort us.  People want "comfort foods."  People want "comfortable surroundings."  We need "comfortable beds which we will cover with our comforters."  We need to feel "comfortable with the people around us."  But when Our Lord was speaking of sending a "Comforter," this term is misleading to our modern ears.  He is speaking of sending us a helper who will strengthen us . . .  who will give us strength.   Simply put, Our Lord is speaking of the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost will comfort us, yes, but He will do this by drawing us closer to God and by showing us the things of God.  Also, please take note that in some translations in verse 18 of this chapter the word "comfortless" also is translated as "orphans."  In other words, Our Blessed Lord was saying to the disciples just as He is saying to you and me:  "I will not leave you orphans."  Our Blessed Lord promised that this Comforter, the Holy Ghost, will remain with us forever.  "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."  (St. John 14:26)  What the world certainly needs right now is strength.  What this old world of ours needs right now is guidance.  We need the Comforter right now more than ever.  At this current time in which we live, the world is filled with fear . . . . the world is filled with hate . . . . the world is filled with envy . . . with corruption . . . . with brutality.   We have people that make a point to listen to the world more than they do to God.  We have people today that are more interested in listening to social media than they are to God.  We have a people today that are more interested in the ways of the world than the ways of God.  We as a people need to stand up and listen to God.  We need to live our lives committed to God.  We need to be more concerned about obeying God than we are obeying the world.  We need to be more worried about offending God than we are of offending those around us.  God showed His commitment to us when He sent His Only Son into the world to not only save us from our sins but to show the Father's love to His people.  Being a devout Christian does not mean that your troubles are over.  It does not mean that our lives will suddenly be perfect.  It means that God will be with us no matter what happens to us.  God remains firm in His love to us.  We need to be firm in our love to Him by staying close to Him every single day  . . . . not just on Sundays . . . . not just when we need Him . . . .  not only when everything is going smoothly . . . . We need to be faithful to God every day of the week . . .  every hour of the day . . .  every minute of every hour.  This is only fair, isn't it?  Because God Himself is faithful to us every day of the week . . . every hour of the day . . . every minute of every hour.  

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, May 31st, 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.blogger.com

Rogation Sunday, May 17th, 2020

Rogation Sunday, May 17th, 2020

St. James tells us:  ".BE ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (St. James 1:22)   For a Christian, this sounds like pretty good advice:  " . . . . be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only . . . ."  But this Epistle of St. James has caused some controversy over the years for some Christian thinkers such as Martin Luther, for example.  These thinkers contended that St. James was proposing that we can earn our way into Heaven by what we do.   Now, without a doubt, there have been various individuals over the centuries who have tried to "buy their way" into Heaven.   But I contend what we hear from this verse ".  . . . be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only . .  ."  is just good old  fashioned common sense, if you ask me.  I say this because, sadly, each one of us can think of a person who is "nothing but mouth."  In other words, we probably each know someone who talks about being a Christian but they  do not particularly live as a Christian.  There are a lot of people who could explain the Christian faith and they could go on and on and on about it, but the really important question is:  Can they live the Christian faith and not just talk about it?  "Be ye doers of the word . . . ."  I think this is probably one of the biggest reasons why Our Blessed Lord came to earth as a human being, so that we could see Him in action.  Sure, God could have just simply spoken to us about being a Christian and left it at that.  But Our Lord chose to become a human being so that He could show us how it is to actually live as a Christian.  While Our Lord was with us He worked; He ate;  He traveled; He conversed and spoke and preached;  . . .  etc.  Our Blessed Saviour not only taught about God by His words but He lived His life for His Heavenly Father.  Our Lord was a wonderful teacher and taught the faith wonderfully . . . . but He backed up His teaching by the way in which He lived His life.  This is what we are called to do:  Live our life for God.  Do what God wants us to do.   None of us are perfect and we will make mistakes.  God already realizes this.  This is why He sent His Son into the world.  We are called to live our life for God and the evidence is shown in the way in which we life our life; in the ways in which we treat others;  in what we do for one another:    " . . . .  be ye doers of the word  . . . . ."

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, May 17th, 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.blogger.com

Fourth Sunday after Easter, May 10, 2020

Fourth Sunday after Easter, May 10th, 2020

The epistle appointed for the Fourth Sunday after Easter is a very brief passage.  The passage appointed for the day is only four verses long.  In these four short verses there is so much that St. James writes about of great importance.  But I want to focus on the beginning verse of this passage because St. James writes: "EVERY good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights" (St. James 1:17)  In this one verse St. James writes a powerful reminder to every single human being to remember where our priorities belong.  Human beings spend their lives searching for happiness.  And more often than not this "happiness" is found in the things of this world.  We find our happiness in worldly possessions.  We find our happiness in worldly riches.  We find our happiness in what the world tells us will make us happy.  Have you ever had the experience of seeing  an advertisement for something which really caught your attention and you made it a point to go out and get it.  Or it could be that you had to order the item and it was sent to you.  In either event have you ever had the experience where you just had to have a item and then once you got it you found out it was nothing but junk?  It didn't work.  It wasn't worth it.  You wanted your money back.  But unfortunately with everything from this old world of ours "wonderful things" never last . . .  they wear out . . . they rust out . . .  they become obsolete . . .  they bore us . . . . they don't excite us . . . we need something "better" . . .  The list goes on and on.  But St. James reminds us that the only perfect gift comes from above.  The only perfect gift we can ever obtain comes to us from God.  It is the gifts from God which should bring us true happiness.  And yet it is the gifts of the world which we focus on obtaining.  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  (St. John 3:16)  For the average human being they expect things of this earth to bring everlasting life.  Two problems with this notion.  First of all, nothing is this life is everlasting.  Second of all, life comes from God.  Life is a gift of God.  It is the Almighty that gives us life.  As we were reminded above God loved us so much that He gave His Son to the world.  It is Christ Who gives us life.  It is Christ Who gives us purpose.  It is Christ Who gives us meaning.  Let us spend less time searching for earthly treasures and more time searching for things of Heaven!

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, May 10th, 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.blogger.com

Third Sunday after Easter, May 3rd, 2020

Third Sunday after Easter, May 3rd, 2020

In the Sixteenth chapter of St. John's Gospel, Our Blessed Saviour is preparing the disciples for His eventual departure from their midst.  But this is confusing for the disciples because Our Lord is telling them "A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me." (St. John 16:16)  Obviously, He was referring to His coming Death upon the Cross, Burial, and Resurrection.  Later on He says:  " . . . and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. " (v.20)  As human beings, we have a lot of emotions, we feel happy; we feel sad; we feel joyous; we feel anxious; we feel scared; we feel peaceful; etc.   And typically, these emotions have root causes.  For example, we might feel sad because a beloved family member just passed away.  Or we might feel joyful because it is a beautiful Spring day, and we are off from work, and we are going to the baseball game.  Sometimes we feel a certain way due seemingly to no reason at all but typically our emotions are caused by some factor as described in the examples above.  For Christians, Christ is the reason for our hope.  He is the reason for our joy.  Our Blessed Saviour is the reason for our motivation in life.  We must always remember to acknowledge that God is the Lord and Master of our life.  We must always remember to put God first in everything.  We need to have a personal relationship with God and to speak with Him every day.  When we have God deep in our heart, the world can never take that away, no matter what it throws at you.  This is why Our Blessed Savior said:  "And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." (v.22)  No man can take away the joy that God has given us.  The world can not take away the love that we have for Our Heavenly Father.  No amount of heartache can take away the love that God has for each one of us.  Always keep in mind the love that God has for you.  Always remember that God has chosen you as one of His own.  Never forget that Christ died on the Cross to atone for your sins so that you can be forgiven.

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, May 3rd, 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