Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, January 30th, 2022

 Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, January 30th, 2022

". . . but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed"  (St. Matthew 8:1 ff)

In the Eighth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, as Our Blessed Lord was going into Capernaum, we hear how a certain centurion approached Our Blessed Saviour to implore His assistance.  The centurion told Our Saviour that his servant was very sick.  In essence, this centurion wanted Our Lord to heal his servant.   And yet this was not the main point of the story.  There were many people seeking favour from Our Lord.  In this same chapter, St Matthew tells us, for example, of the leper seeking healing from the Lord.  The thing that made the centurion stand out in the eyes of the Lord . . .  and what we should take note of as well . . . was the faith of the centurion.  For you see Our Lord indicated that He was prepared to go to the centurion's home to heal the servant but the centurion protested saying that he was not worthy that Our Blessed Saviour would come into his home.  So he said to Our Lord to simply  "speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed"   (St Matthew 8:8)  Our Lord was impressed with this man's faith.  Our Lord was impressed that this man, who was a Roman, a Gentile, Our Lord was impressed that this man had such great faith.  This man knew that Our Blessed Saviour could cure his servant.  This man knew Our Lord could get the job done.  In other words, this man had faith.  And we should too.  The problem with most of us is that we give up too easily.  We want God's help . . . . We desire God's assistance. . . . We want God to solve our dilema  . . . . But we want God to do things our way.  We want to be in charge.  We want God's help, yes. We need God's help, yes.  But we want God to do things our way.  Friends, we are called to be like the centurion and have great faith at all times.  we are called to put our faith in the Lord and let Him do the rest.  ". . . . but speak the word only" should be our prayer a all times.   ". . . .  but speak the word only"  If only our faith could be that great!

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.

Third Sunday after Epiphany, January 23rd, 2022

 Third Sunday after the Epiphany, January 23rd, 2022

In the Second Chapter of the Gospel of St. John, we hear the first recorded miracle which Our Blessed Lord performed.   "And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine." (St. John 2:3)  You see, the newly married couple had run out of wine at their wedding feast.  This may not sound like a big deal to us but back then it would have been a huge embarrassment for the young couple.  So the Blessed Mother turns to the one person she knew could help.  She asked her Son to do something about this problem.  As we read in Verse Four of this chapter, it would seem that Our Blessed Saviour comes up with two quick excuses:  "Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee?  mine hour is not yet come."  (St. John 2:4)  Yet without missing a beat Our Lady simply says to the servants at the feast:  "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it."  (St. John 2:5)   Our Lord changed water into wine.  St. John tells us: "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed on Him."  (St. John 2:11)

If Our Blessed Lord can change water into wine, I am sure He can change just about anything.  Remember that this was simply " . . . the beginning of the miracles . . . " (v.11).  As we read through the Gospels we read about all the various miracles which Our Lord performed.   Sometimes we find ourselves in a fix that we can not seem to get out of.  Whether it be financial difficulties . . .  or bills we can not afford .  .  . or we are in need of a job . . . . or we have just screwed up royally and do not know where to turn.  Our Blessed Lord can help us.  Our Blessed Lord can help to fix things.  Our Lord is certainly able to do great things.  Our Lord said:   " . . . the works that I do in My Father's Name, they bear witness of Me." (St. John 10:25)  And yet how often do we doubt?  How often do we never go to God for a miracle because we are simply too stubborn?   How often do we not give our problems to God because of a lack of faith?  Our Lady did not doubt.  Our Blessed Mother did not hesitate.  When she knew something needed to be done for this young couple, she knew she could not help but she knew who could.   "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it." (v.5)  We have to have the same firm faith as Mary.  We say we believe but then we hesitate.  We say we gave our problem to God but then we stop and look back.  It is time for us to stand firm in our faith.  It is time for us to place our trust in God.  In the world in which we live, people place their trust in money and wealth . . . they place their trust in products they believe will change their life . . . people place their trust in booze and pills to take their hurt away.  At best, these things are nothing more than a "quick fix."  "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."  (Psalm 55:22)  Give your burden to God.  Have faith that God can perform a miracle in your life. 

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.

Second Sunday after the Epiphany, January 16th, 2022

 Second Sunday after the Epiphany, January 16th, 2022

The Gospel for the Mass from the Second Sunday after Epiphany comes to us from the very beginning of St. Mark's Gospel.  And it makes sense that St. Mark writes here at the beginning of his Gospel by speaking about St. John the Baptist.  We hear:  "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." (St. Mark 1:1)   St. Mark is quoting this verse from the Old Testament book of Malachi  to describe St. John the Baptist:  "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me . . . ." (Malachi 3:1)  It is entirely appropriate that St. Mark would use this Scripture verse in reference to St. John the Baptist.  St. John did in fact prepare the way by preaching and speaking and telling about the Messiah Who was to come after him.  Very often, in our own life, it is through the introduction of other people that we get introduced to our friends.  Perhaps it is through a friend of a friend; or a cousin of a coworker; or a business acquaintance; etc.  The point being that we end up having a friendship with someone through being introduced to him or her by someone else.  And, if not for this introduction, we would most certainly have never met that person.  St. John the Baptist did just this:  he introduced countless souls to Our Blessed Saviour.  He did, in fact, prepare the way of the Lord through his preparation of preaching and baptizing and preaching.  Each of  us should follow the example of St. John the Baptist by preparing the way for the Lord.  We do this by introducing others around us to Jesus.  How do we introduce others to Our Blessed Saviour?  We do this in various ways:  speaking about our relationship with God; talking about what we read in Scripture; inviting others to come to church with us; acting with love towards others; and even praying for others that God will bless them.  There are many wonderful ways to prepare the way before Our Lord.  This reminds me of one of my all-time favorite quotations.  St. Francis said:  "Preach at all times, and sometimes even use words!"

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.

First Sunday after Epiphany, January 9th, 2022

 First Sunday after the Epiphany, January 9th, 2022

"And when they found Him not, they turned back again . . . " (St. Luke 2:41 ff)

Have you ever misplaced something very important?  Either it is something very valuable to you or something you need right away and when you go to look for it you discover that it is not there.   You panic.  You freeze in your tracks wondering what to do next.  The car keys when you are late for an important appointment.  An important report that you need to give to your boss.  We can all think of examples when we have lost something  very important . . .  something which we are in need of . . . . something we need right away.  What do we do?  Well, first we panic, don't we?  But then we begin searching until we find what we are looking for.  We turn our house or office upside down until we find what we have misplaced.

In the Second Chapter of his Gospel, St. Luke describes for us the occaision when St. Joseph and Our Lady along wiht the Child Jesus traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.  Everything went fine, one would presume, while they were there.  The problem arose when they left Jerusalem and it was then that St. Joseph and Our Lady discovered that the Child Jesus was not in their company.  At that point they panicked, I am sure, like every parent would in that situation.   And thus they returned to Jerusalem and searched for the Child Jesus until they found Him.  They searched for Him because they were scared.  They searched for Him because He was their Child.  They searched for Him because He was important to them.  He was their Son.  They loved Him.  

We search for things because we have need for them.  We search for things we have lost because they are important to us.  We search for things which have value to us.  Have you ever lost or misplaced something but in the final analysis you simply shrug your shoulders and move on?  You do this because you come to the realization that ultimately you really do not need that object after all.  We search for things which are important to us.  I would imagine the events of the past few years have helped to show us what is truly important in our lives.  A lot of things we hold as vitally important turn out to be not so important at all.  Our relationship with God is something we should cherish and hold on to.  We need to search for God every day.  Search for Him in the Scriptures.  Search for Him in our quiet times of reflection and prayer.  Search for Him in even when we meet others in our daily travels.  God speaks to us in a variety of ways.  God searches for ways to reach you and I.  He searches for us because He loves us.  He searches for us because we are important to Him.  We should search for God because he is important to us.  

NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, January 9th, 2022.  We are planning to go back to our regular Sunday scheduled on January 16th, 2022  Fr. Todd will still post his sermon online on January 9th, 2022.  Thank you for your understanding.  

Second Sunday after Christmas, January 2nd, 2022

 Second Sunday after Christmas, January 2nd, 2022

"But when (Joseph) heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither" (St. Matthew 2:19 ff)

In the Second Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel we hear when St. Joseph was directed by the angel to take Our Lady and the Child Jesus back to Israel.  But Joseph soon discovered that Archelaus was in the place of Herod and Joseph was paralyzed with fear over this fact.  In fact he was so scared that we read that "he turned aside into the parts of Galilee" (St. Matthew 2:22)  The point being is this, St. Joseph was afraid and this fear caused him to "turn aside," in other words, he changed course due to his fear.   In life sometimes each one of is afraid of something.  Our fear causes us to turn around, or turn aside,  . . . Sometimes our fear cuases us to turn around completely.  Other times our fear causes us to freeze completely in our tracks.  St. Joseph was afraid.  But he also was obedient to what God was telling him to do.  All of us have things to be afraid of in life:  when an illness hits . . . when we lose our job . . .  when bills come due that we can not pay .  . . accidents . . . disasters . . .  etc.  Very often people want us to be afraid.  They want us to cower in fear and stop moving altogether.  But with God we can move forward.  With God by our side we know that things will turn out fine in the end.  Keep your eyes focused on the Cross of Christ and keep moving forward.  Keep your eyes focused on the things of God and keep moving forward.   Focus on God and keep moving forward.  Listen to what God is telling you and keep moving forward.  Let us make the year 2022 God's year.  Let us stop focusing on what the world wants us to do.  Let us stop focusing on what other people want us to do.  Let us stop focusing on what the media tells us to think and how to act.  This year let us focus on what God directs us to do and keep moving forward no matter what the world throws at us.  

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.