Septuagesima, or the Third Sunday before Lent, January 28th, 2024

 Septuagesima, or the Third Sunday before Lent, 

January 28th, 2024

On Sunday, January 28th, 2024, the Church celebrates Septuagesima Sunday . . .  or the Third Sunday Before Lent . . .  The "Gesima Sundays" are the final countdown, if you will, or the three Sundays of preparation for the holy season of Lent. The Gospel for today's Mass comes to us from the Twentieth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew.  In this Chapter, St. Matthew recalls the words of Our Lord in regards to the householder who hired laborers to work in his vineyard.  And the householder went out at various points throughout the day to hire laborers to come and work in his vineyard.  And at the end of the day each of the laborers got paid the same exact wage whether they worked the whole day or just the last hour of the day.  God invites those whom He chooses to invite.  But the key is that it is up to us to accept or decline the invitation.  The very end of the passage that we heard today ends with:  " . .  .  for many be called, but few chosen ."  (St. Matthew 20:16)  I speak to so many people and it's the same thing for most people:  they are involved in a whole host of activities.  Just think about all the different "hats" that you may or may not have in your own life:  worker; homeowner; spouse; parent; neighbor; volunteer; friend; customer; etc.  The list could go on and on.  But I talk to so many people who have been chosen to work on a special committee or who have been chosen to be in charge of a special project of one sort or another.  Even at work, we get chosen by our boss or our manager to be in charge of something.  Throughout our life, all of us can think of one example or another where we have been chosen.  God has chosen His people as well.  "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord Thy God: the Lord Thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all the people that are upon the face of the earth."  (Deuteronomy 7:6)  We are chosen by God to be a "special people" unto Him.  We must never forget that.  God has chosen YOU!  It is up to us whether or not we accept the invitation.  Remember who you are:  You are "special"; You are "chosen" You are "loved."  I do not think that most of us realize the importance of this fact.  If we did, we would spend more time focused on the things above as opposed to being focused on the things here below.

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church is a traditional Anglican parish, which uses the Anglican Missal and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  We also use the King James Version of the Bible.  We believe strongly in Our Lord's words . . .  "this is My Body and this is My Blood" . . . and believe that Our Blessed Saviour is truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar and we receive Him at Communion time.  Come join us every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM as we gather together as God's family to worship Our Blessed Lord.  We celebrate Mass in the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.