Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, August 29th, 2021

 Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, August 29th, 2021

Have you ever had the experience to look for something and you look and look and look and you can not find the object anywhere?  And then you go and look some more and you still can not find it.  And then at some point you find the item and it was exactly where you were looking the whole time.  You looked right at it but did not see it.  I am sure that each of us have had that experience at one point or another.  In the Tenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear Our Blessed Saviour giving instructions to the disciples:  " BLESSED are the eyes which see the things that ye see. . . ."  (St. Luke 10:23).  Our Lord is reminding the disciples that they are indeed blessed to see the things that they are seeing.   In other words, Our Lord was making the point further on that  " . . .  many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not see them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." (St. Luke 10:24).  While this is certainly the truth . . . . i.e., that the disciples and the Apostles had the distinct honour of being in the presence of the Messiah  . . . . the point remains the same that the disciples still had to make the effort to look for and make the point to see the Messiah.  In other words, they could have moved on with their lives and never even made the point to notice the miracles that Our Lord performed . . . or they could have certainly not have cared enough to stop and to listen to the words that Our Lord was speaking.  The point that I am making is that while they were certainly blessed to see what they saw and hear what they heard, they still had to make the effort to stop long enough to see with their own eyes and to hear what was being said to them by the Messiah.

How many times has the Lord made the point to show Himself to us but, unfortunately, we were too busy to notice?  How many times throughout our life did God try to speak to us and we never heard what He had to say because we were too busy listening to everybody and everything else?  Sometimes the miracles are right in front of our eyes but we never take notice because we are too busy to look.  Sometimes the answer is being given to us but we never hear it because we are focused on other things.  Just like Our Lord showed Himself to the disciples and the Apostles, He also shows Himself to us.  Now, it may be true that we may have to pay closer attention and alter our way of looking for Him, make no doubt about it:  God is still making a point to show Himself to us . .  . He is still making a point to speak to us.  We just need to pay attention and know where to look.  " . . .  Blessed are the eyes that see the things that YOU see . . . .."

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

Please Join us as we gather together as God's family to:  hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, August 22nd, 2021

 Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, August 22nd, 2021

Humility is a very good thing.  I have learned that lesson (and re-learned it!) the hard way.  Very often it seems that when my head gets too big  . .  .  and I get full of myself . . .  . without fail, it seems at that point that I do something stupid and I get knocked back down to earth.  Perhaps that has happened to you a time or two.  And at that point, we just stand there and shake our head and say to ourselves:  "why in the world did I do that?"  There is nothing wrong with being confidant in ourselves or in our ability.  There is nothing wrong with even being proud of what we have done or what we have accomplished in life.  But as with everything, even this must be done with moderation, number one, and for the Christian, an understanding where our strength comes from.  St. Paul wrote in the Second Letter to the Corinthians:  "not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves"  And then he goes on to emphasize the point:  " . .. . but our sufficiency is of God. . . ." (II Corinthians 3:4)   St. Paul wanted to remind the Church at Corinth that if we have riches, it is because God provided those riches;  if we have abilities or strengths or skills, it is only because God has provided each one of us with what we are good at; if we have a roof over our head and food on our table every day, it is because God provides.  Our Heavenly Father provides for all of His children.  Those who are practicing, committed Christians acknowledge this fact.  But, quite frankly,  sometimes we forget or over look that fact.  You see, it's difficult sometimes for us to always acknowledge God as we should because, quite frankly, we get all caught up in our busy schedules, our busy life styles.  This is why I always emphasize that relationships take effort.  You have to work at a relationship.  In a relationship, we have to make time for our loved ones.  In a relationship, we have to make time for those we love.  We have to make a point to show love to those whom we love.  This is true of our relationship with God as well.  We have to make a point to acknowledge the gifts that God have bestowed upon us; we have to show God and tell God how much we love Him; and, finally, we have to spend time with God every day.  Many of us have the tendency to only go to God when we need help with something.  Make a point to go to God every day.  Speak to God every day.  Tell God how much you love Him every day.  And, finally, take a lesson from St. Paul and never forget that our sufficiency is of God.  Acknowledge the fact that everything we have:  our life; our knowledge; our strengths; our health; our possessions . . . .  everything we have is made possible by our Heavenly Father.  Give Him thanks and show Him love on a daily basis.

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

Please Join us as we gather together as God's family to:  hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.

Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, August 15th, 2021

 Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, August 15th, 2021

I recently read a post on social media about a wonderful restaurant that I remember growing up.  And hearing about this restaurant from long ago brought back so many wonderful memories.  And the person wrote that after the original owner died, the restaurant was left to the children and they, in essence, did not want to do anything with the restaurant so they closed it.   Hearing that it was closed down  that way because the kids did not want to deal with the restaurant got me kind of depressed.  But it happens sometimes, doesn't it?  And it's not just restaurants.  Have you ever been given something that you never put to use?  Perhaps you received something as a gift and never made use of it and the item goes to waste sitting up on a shelf gathering dust.  Sometimes we make good use of something that is given to us and sometimes it goes to waste and we don't make use of the item.  In his first epistle which he wrote to the Corinthians, St Paul writes:  "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received" (I Corinthians 15:3)    St. Paul certainly made good use of what he received.  He is telling the church at Corinth that which he received  " .. . . Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures " (vv 3-4)  As Christians, we need to pass along that which was given to us.  We need to pass along the Good News.  We need to tell people about God.  We need to share with folks what Our Blessed Saviour has done for us.  We need to pass along the blessings which we have received and bless others around us.  We need to share our testimony not only through the words which we speak but also through the way in which we live our lives.  So many blessings are bestowed upon us by Our Heavenly Father throughout our lifetime.  First and foremost, the wonderful gift of Salvation, freely bestowed, is offered to each and everyone of us.  And sadly so many people ignore this free gift and do not make use of it.  Don't ignore God's blessings.  Please do not miss out on receiving God's grace because you are too busy chasing after earthly riches and treasures.  The Salvation which God offers is the most wonderful gift we will ever receive.  Make use of it.  Don't let it go to waste.

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

Please Join us as we gather together as God's family to:  hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.

Tenth Sunday after Trinity, August 8th, 2021

 Tenth Sunday after Trinity, August 8th, 2021

"And when He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it, . . . " (St. Luke 19:41)  St. Luke describes for us Our Lord's reaction as He travels towards Jerusalem.    If we continue on in this chapter, St. Luke relates the words of Our Lord concerning Jerusalem:  "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes."  (St. Luke 19:42)  If thou had known . .  . . If thou had only known .  .  . .  I have no doubt that we have each had the occasion to interact with someone and just shake our head because we know, we just know that this person is headed for trouble.  They are on a pathway to destruction in their life.  It's mostly due to the choices they have made in their life, quite frankly.   And sometimes we just shake our head in disbelief because we know exactly where these poor choices will lead to.  And if the person in question is someone you love dearly:  a son, . . . a daughter, . . . a good friend,  . . .  you may have the same reaction as did Our Blessed Lord:  you weep over them.  You weep because you know there is nothing you can do.  You weep because in your heart you see the person you love on a pathway to destruction and you feel helpless to stop them.  I dare say this is why Our Lord wept.  Yes, Our Lord describes the destruction of Jerusalem which was certainly a sad event.  But I think it was more than that.  

When you think about it, St. Luke describes a profound event for us.  The tears of Our Blessed Saviour are indeed the tears of God.  God is crying because He knows that despite His best efforts, there will be many men and women in Jerusalem and beyond those city gates that will persist in going against the will of God.  Our Lord weeps because He sees people more focused on doing their own will than doing the will of our Heavenly Father.  Our Lord weeps because He sees all the needless pain, suffering and agony throughout the generations that human beings will heap upon themselves.  "If thou hadst known . . . .  "   God sent His Son into the world for one ultimate purpose.  This is why we hear Our Lord quoted throughout the gospels when He said:  "My time is not yet come."  He, of course, was referring to when He died that cruel death on the Cross.  When He suffered the pain and the agony of that cruel death, He suffered it for you and me.  He endured that pain and agony for all men and women throughout the ages.  He did it because He knew that you and I could never have the capacity to do what He did.  He bore our sins on His shoulders that fateful day.  And in so doing, Our Lord defeated sin once and for all.  Our Lord died on the Cross to save us from our sins.  And He rose again from the dead to lead the way to new life . . . . eternal life for us spent in the presence of our Heavenly Father.  And yet Our Lord knew that countless souls, despite His best efforts to save us from our sins, would still persist in their foolish ways.  This, I dare say, is why Our Lord wept.  

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

Join us as we gather together as God's family to:  hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.