Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 26th, 2020

Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 26th, 2020

In the Eighth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Mark, we hear about the feeding of the Four-Thousand.  Now Four-Thousand is indeed an impressive number.  But in those days, it would have been beyond "impressive."  Consider some two-thousand years ago, there would be no social media to make announcements . . . . lack of transportation (at least compared to how "easy" we have it now . . . . just jump in your car and "go!")   . . . .  no television commercials announcing a gathering, etc.  These Four-Thousand people gathered by hearing others talking about the "mysterious rabbi," the "wonderful teacher," the "miracle worker from Nazareth."  They heard about him by word of mouth, I am quite sure, and came for a multitude of reasons ranging from pure curiosity to faith to needing or wanting something from Our Lord.  Again, the vast crowd that had gathered was certainly impressive, but this is not what St. Mark was focusing on when he wrote this passage of his Gospel.  Nor was the size of the crowd what Our Lord was focusing on when He performed the miracle.  No, Our Lord was concerned about the well-being of those who had gathered to hear Him speak.  "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have stayed with me now for three days, and they have nothing to eat."  (St. Mark 8:2)  What a wonderful Saviour we have.   He had compassion on the crowd and was "moved with pity" because He was worried for them.  He was concerned for them.  He had their well-being in mind.  "My Sacred Heart is moved with pity!"  Our Blessed Saviour was not just concerned with their spiritual well-being  . . . .  He was concerned also with their physical well-being!   This shows the compassion that Our Lord had!

When Our Lord had determined that there was a need, a desperate need!   He called the disciples around Him and asked them what to do in this situation.  The first response back from the disciples was an objection:  "Where could anyone get bread to satisfy them in a desert place like this?," was their response.  (St. Mark 8:4)    Instead of focusing on the positive, the disciples focused on the negative.  Aren't we like that?  I know I am.  How often when something comes up that needs to be taken care of, how often is my first response:  "How am I going to do this?!?"  "I can't believe this!"  "I'm never going to be able to take care of this!"  This is basically what the disciples were saying.  But Our Lord did not listen to their objections.  He immediately challenged them into action by asking how many loaves they had.  Very often we defeat ourselves because we look at the total amount needed and we get scared.  But more often than not the solution to a problem is to begin with a little bit and then move on from there.  The disciples responded that they had seven loaves and He was content to begin there.  From there it turned out, St. Mark tells us, that they also had a few small fishes as well.  We all know what happened next:  "So they ate until they were completely satisfied." (St. Mark 8:8)  "How many loaves have ye?"  "What do you have?"  "What can you spare?"  "What can you give?"  The words may be different but the meaning is the same.  The important thing really is the response we give.  What can you give?   Is our response negative?  "Oh, what can I do?  I don't have that much.  It won't make a difference.   Why should I even try?  Or is our response positive?  Well, I don't have very much but let's at least try.  You see, Our Lord doesn't expect riches from us but He does expect us to give 100% of what we do have.  This is why He was so impressed with the example of the widow who gave her two mites into the tithe.  Compared to most others, she had "nothing" to offer.  And yet she gave everything that she had.  What was seven loaves of bread compared to Four-Thousand hungry people.  What could seven loaves accomplish?  And yet Our Blessed Saviour takes we have and completes the rest.  Our Lord fills in what we lack.  The key is that we need to do our part.  We need to give our all.  We need to give 100% effort when it comes to God.  What do you have to give?  This is the question we should all ask ourselves today?  What do I have to give?  And am I willing to give it?  God doesn't expect us to solve all the problems of the world but He does want us to help.  He wants us to show some effort.  What will you give?

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, July 26th, 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!


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Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 19th, 2020

Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 19th, 2020

Our Blessed Lord had very sound advice for the disciples.  Well, all of His advice was sound, wasn't it?  All of His advice was absolutely correct.  Yet some of His advice  . . .  for us human beings, in our humanity, that is . . . . is very difficult.  I say this because we always want to have the upper hand, so to speak.  We want to be on top of things.  We like to think that we are the captains of our own destiny.  That we control everything.  And sometimes we look down on other folks, don't we?  Sometimes we think we are better than other people.  This is because we are so sure of ourselves.  We are convinced that we are correct in our way of thinking, in our beliefs, etc. that those who disagree with us don't really matter much.  You see this way of thinking much of the time on the internet via social media, chat boards, message boards, etc.  And now this behavior has spilled out beyond cyber space where we are seeing destruction of businesses, taking down of statues, physical altercations, etc. because people think they have a right to do whatever they want.

But Our Blessed Saviour wants more for us than simply "being right."  Our Lord asks each one of us, you along with me, to do His work here on earth.  He asks us to follow Him and be His disciples.  But please be aware.  Jesus never asks us to do anything that He does not do Himself.  In other words, Our Lord leads not only by what He tells us.  He leads by example through what He does.  One more thing to remember:  Jesus doesn't merely do the bare minimum.  He goes the extra step.  He goes above and beyond.  This brings us to the conversation in the Fifth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel  Jesus said to His disciples:  "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven"  (St. Matthew 5:20)  You see, the Pharisees and the scribes knew the Law.  They understood the Law.  They followed the Law.  Yet, they knew the Law so well they knew their ways around the Law as well.  In other words, they knew the Law, yes, but they did not live faithful lives to God.  Our Lord wanted the disciples to be better than the Pharisees and the scribes and so He encouraged them to do better.  He asked them to do more.  He asked them to take it a step further.  And He gave the example of following the commandment "Thou shalt not kill."   In less you are a homicidal maniac, I would imagine this is really actually easy advice to follow.  So that is not the hard part.  Our Lord took it a step further and told the disciples not to be angry with those around them.  Now, this is not nearly as easy, is it?  How many times a day do we get angry with someone?  Do we get angry over and over again?  Do we get angry with those we disagree with?  Our Lord said:  " . . . . but I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire. "  (St. Matthew 5:22)  

Our Lord wants us to be at peace with those around us as much as possible because we are His disciples.  We need to focus our energies on serving God and being with Him.  Our Lord also said in this fifth chapter:  "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."  (St. Matthew 5:44)  God does not give us life so that we can focus on fighting with one another.   God gives us life so that we can serve Him in this life and spend eternity with Him in the next life.  Let us focus on God and allowing the love of God to show forth to those around us.  Let us be the instrument of showing God's love and grace to those in our lives.  

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, July 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.blogger.com

Fifth Sunday after Trinity, July 12th, 2020

Fifth Sunday after Trinity, July 12th, 2020

Whether we want to admit it out loud or just say it to ourselves:  human beings get scared of the unknown.  The unknown is a big, scary place for most folks.  This is because it is just that .   . . . .. the unknown.  Whether we are beginning a new job, or moving to a new state, or beginning a new relationship, all of these things represent the "unknown" because we don't know what will happen.  Something "new" represents new, uncharted territory for us, so to speak.  This is probably why people very often stay where they're at.  This could describe physically staying put . . . . emotionally staying put . . . . staying put in beliefs or ways of doing things, etc.  But to reach out to the unknown is actually very brave when you think about it.  In this Fifth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, St. Peter took a leap of faith.  When Our Lord told St. Peter to throw his nets back in, St. Peter didn't want to do it.  He knew better.  He had just spent the entire night out in these very same waters and had caught nothing for his effort.  And yet something compelled St. Peter to do what Our Lord asked.  This was faith on St. Peter's part even if he didn't realize it at the time.

Faith is not so much about "understanding" or "knowing" as much as it is about "trusting."  In today's Gospel, St. Peter acknowledges by his words that he thinks letting out the nets one more time will be a waste of time, but nonetheless he does it anyway at the Lord's request.  Faith is trusting even if we do not have understanding.  Faith is having confidence to move forward even if we are scared.  Faith is knowing Who to trust no matter  what lays ahead of us.  This is the lesson that St. Peter teaches today to all of us: to trust Our Blessed Saviour even if we do not understand.   Let us place our trust in God and allow Him to work in our life.  So often we want to tell God what we need, when we need it, and how we want it delivered.  And we want God to tell us exactly how everything will take place.  We are the proverbial "back seat driver."  Let us place our faith in the Almighty.  Let us put away our self-will and our need to be in charge.  Let us put away our need to know what will happen and how it will happen and when it will happen.  Let us have faith in God and trust Him with our very lives.  

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, July 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!

indyanglican.blogger.com

Keep Learning

Some thirty years ago the author Tom Follett wrote a novel entitled "Pillars of the Earth."  This was a historical novel set in a fictional town in England called "Kingsbridge."  In this novel, the setting is a priory where a cathedral is being built.  If you have read the novel you realize that the story takes place over a fory year time span, give or take.  And in this time a cathedral is being constructed in Kingsbridge.  The primary person who is first in charge of building this cathedral is the character known as "Tom Builder."  It is Tom's lifelong dream to build a cathedral.  And through misfortune Tom finds himself in Kingsbridge where that dream actually becomes a reality.  There is one part in the story where Tom is sitting down with his sons (one his biological son and the other his step-son) well after the construction of the cathedral has begun.  In this conversation with his two sons he begins explaining to both of them that he will never see the completion of the cathedral.   He goes on to say that they (meaning the sons) will probably not see the completion of the cathedral either.  He stated that it will probably be his grandchildren who will be the ones to see the completion of the cathedral.  What he said to his sons is the point that I would like to focus on.  He said to his two sons that since the cathedral will take an entire lifetime to build, that they should never stop learning.  He said to never stop learning because it is through learning that we will be given the tools for what we need to do.  I found this to be profound because it is so true.  How many of us "learn" because we are told to do so while growing up.   When we are younger, we go to school because we are told we must go to school.  Learning, in that sense, is not done voluntarily.  We go to school.  We learn. Because we are told to go to school. 

"An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge."  (Proverbs 18:15)

How many of us make a point to never learn again.  We may not phrase it that way but we may say that we will never go to school again. Not if we can help it, anyway.  I know I was one of those people.  I never did well in school, quite frankly, growing up.  As a result, I swore I would never set foot in school again when I graduated high school.  Little did I know that God had the seminary set for my future.  And the young man who swore that he would never set foot in school again ended up being in the seminary for eight and a half years.   But the point is that when we are young most of us fight against it, quite frankly.  And why is this?  It is because we are being told to learn.  We are being forced to learn, so to speak.  Our parents tell us we have to go to school.  The state tells us we have to go to school.  The society says that we have to go to school. In other words, we go to school because we have to.  But I know in my own case, at least, I found when I actually did start attending classes in college everything had changed.  I discovered I was in that class because I chose to be there.  I chose to learn.  I chose to be a student.  No-one was telling me to take these classes.  Certainly, no-one was forcing me to attend these classes.  I was taking them because I wanted to take them.  I chose to take these classes.  And that made all the difference in the world.  I did not feel that I was being "forced" to learn.  I was choosing to learn.  How many people have a similar story to mine? 

What "Tom Builder" said to his sons in regards to never stop learning is sound advice for us in a Christian sense as well.  How many of us have stopped learning about God?  How many of us refuse to learn about God because no-one is compelling us to learn?  As children . . . .  well, at least when I was growing up . . . . most children took religious instruction.  Children were enrolled in catechism classes.  Children went to Sunday school.  Today, how many children do these things?  And even if they do, how many of these children continue to learn about God once they grow up and no-one "compels" them to attend Sunday school or catechism class?  Learning about God should be a life-long pursuit.  Learning about Scripture should be something we continue to do as long as we live. 

"Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance." (Proverbs 1:5)

When we learn, we certainly do grow and increase.  As Christians, we need to follow God's command but we need to know what God desires for us in our life.  So often as we get older we think we know what is best.  The problem is that we soon discover that what we actually seek is what we want, what we desire, what we crave in life.  Increase in learning about God.  Increase in learning about the ways of God.  And, most importantly, increase in the knowledge of what God has in store for each one of us.  As I like to say that each and every one of us is a unique instrument that God uses for His will.  Each and everyone of us has a part to play in promoting the Kingdom of God.  But it is up to us to be willing and to be open so that we can become the "instrument of God" that we are meant to be.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."  (Proverbs 1:7)

We need to continue to learn.  We need to continue to grow in wisdom.  So many of us in today's society seek to grow in the ways of the world.  So many of us seek to grow in the world's wisdom.  From what I have seen, the "wisdom of the world" is very fickle.  What is considered "wise" in one generation is tossed out the next generation.  Or vice versa.  Seek to grow in the wisdom of God.  St James tells us:  "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."  (St James 1:5)  Yes, let us ask God.  Let us seek God.  Let us search for God's wisdom.  Let us ask for God to teach us.  So many people in today's world stopped seeking wisdom.  So many of these people do not ask to be taught.  They either do not want to learn or, even worse, they do not believe they need instruction.  These people think they know everything.  They think they know it all already. I know as I continued taking classes and as I continued learning, I came to understand one thing:  the more I came to learn, the more I realized that I did not know.  In other words, the learned man realizes that there is always so much more to learn in order to grow in understanding.  And this comes from a desire to learn.  We have to be the ones to choose to learn, to want to learn.  Let us ask God to send the Holy Ghost to instruct us and to help us learn the things that God would have us learn.  And let us pray that we be open to this learning.  And Our Blessed Lord assured us that this will happen if we are open:  "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." (St. John 14:26)

Fourth Sunday after Trinity, July 5th, 2020

Fourth Sunday after Trinity, July 5th, 2020

It is interesting to look back and reflect on your memories as a child.  One of things I remember growing up is thinking to myself how things were going to be when I became an adult.  For you see, in my juvenile way of thinking, I was sure that when I became an adult I could do anything I wanted to do . . . . buy anything I wanted to buy . . . . live anywhere I wanted to live  . . . . and nobody would ever tell me what to do ever again.  As I became an adult I discovered that "being an adult" came with a lot of responsibility.  I also discovered over time that a lot of this new-found "responsibility of being an adult" was not enjoyable in the least:  getting a job; working everyday; paying bills; doing chores around the house; etc.  Another thing I think I discovered was that I never truly was totally independent as I got older.  Yes, as I got older I took on more of my own responsibilities for various aspects of my life but I still maintained a relationship with my parents.  My parents would help with advice when I needed it.  My parents would help guide me in "uncharted waters of adulthood."  They might even help in times of need when I might need help repairing something around the house, etc.  But my parents never forced their support on me.  In other words, they waited for me to ask for help.  They allowed me to be independent but they were always very supportive of me in time of need.  Sometimes we need to experience failure or hardship in life, quite frankly.  I say that because over the course of my life I have learned the best lessons from failing and re-trying again.    

Certainly this is how it is with God, it would seem to me.  God loved us.  We are literally His creation.  But at the same time He did not make us some sort of "robotic creatures" who only do as we are told or programmed to do.  Our Blessed Creator did not fashion us as beings with no choice whatsoever.  Just the opposite: He gave us choice.  Human beings have free will to do what we choose to do.  And yet just as I discovered growing up, being an adult is never truly as "free" as we would like it to be.  There are responsibilities that go along with being an adult.  Likewise, even though we have been given the gift of free will by Our Creator we can not ever truly turn our back on Him Who created us.  Bishop Fulton Sheen writes:  "How can we continue to be free unless we keep the traditions, the grounds, and roots upon which freedom is founded?"  In other words, our freedom as human beings would never be possible without God granting us these freedoms in the first place.  We owe everything we have to Our Gracious Creator, Our Heavenly Father.  We owe our skills to Him Who created us.  We owe any health which we enjoy to the Creator.  The food on our tables and the roof over our head is made possible by Our Heavenly Father.  We may enjoy our freedoms, our independence, if you will, but we should never forget our dependence on God, Our Heavenly Father.  It is He Who gives us every good gift.  We can never be truly independent from Him.

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, July 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!

indyanglican.blogger.com