Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 24th, 2017

Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 24th, 2017

"REJOICE in the Lord always . . . " (Philippians 4:4)

Have you ever tried to do something "non-stop"?  In other words, you kept doing the same thing over and over and over.  It's gets tiring after a while, doesn't it?  And after a while, we get worn out from doing whatever we are doing.  Whether it's going to always working on reports or always working without any days off.  Whether it's always fixing the same thing over and over and over again.  And yet St. Paul is telling the Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!"  As human beings, we rejoice when we are happy.  When our favorite sports team scores late in a game and wins, we rejoice.  When we are with good friends that we haven't seen for a while, we rejoice.  We rejoice when we get a raise at work.  We rejoice when a project gets completed.  We rejoice at many times over many things, don't we?  And yet most people don't constantly rejoice, do they?   Sometimes our favorite sports team doesn't win the game or the season, for that matter.  I know . . . I'm a Cubs fan . . . . Sometimes we get overwhelmed at work.  Sometimes we get bad news.  Sometimes we get angry.  Do we rejoice in these situations?  No.  And yet St. Paul reminds the Philippians  . . .  as he does us . . . . to "Rejoice in the Lord always!"  The key is to set our mind to rejoicing no matter what.  The key is to remind ourselves that life is sometimes good . . . . sometimes it's bad.  Sometimes we are healthy, other times we get sick.   Sometimes we get a raise at work.  But some times we get laid off from a job.  Again, life is not one constant, straight path where nothing ever changes and always stays the same.  If it was that way, it seems to me that it would be somewhat boring.  Sometimes things get difficult in life.  But if we remind ourselves that God is always with us, even in the bad times, then we can rejoice.   Even in the times that things seem the darkest, as long as we keep our minds focused on God, we know that we will get through whatever faces us.  God loves us more than we will ever know.   How do I know this, you ask?  I know it because He sent His only begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins.  He sent His Son into the world to walk among us, to be with us, to eat with us, to talk with us, to witness our good times and our bad times.  God knows that life is not always easy for us.  And yet Our Blessed Lord is always with us . . .  in the good times and the bad.  And we are called to always rejoice in that fact.  As we are on the doorstep of Christmas on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, let us not get overwhelmed by life, but rather let us rejoice that God sent His Son into the world to be with us always.  Let us remember that God is with us when we are on the mountain top but He is also with us when we are far down in the valley.  Let us rejoice that God is always with us.

St. Margaret of Scotland Church worships in the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Life Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Come join us for Mass.  We use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Version of the Bible.  

Mass will be celebrated on Sunday, December 24th at 9:30 AM in the Chapel

Mass will also be celebrated Christmas Day, December 25th, at 9:30 AM in the Chapel.

Third Sunday of Advent, December 17th, 2017

Third Sunday of Advent, December 17th, 2017

For the Third Sunday of Advent, we hear Our Blessed Saviour speaking the praises of His cousin St. John the Baptist:  "What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, `See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' " (St. Matthew 11:2 ff)  In this passage, Our Blessed Saviour is quoting Scripture from the Book of Malachi:  "Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: And the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple." (Malachi 3:1)   Two things for us to ponder in regards to these Scripture verses:  Number one, in God, we have such a loving Father that He was not just content to create us and then leave us alone.  No, He loved His creation so much that He not only created us, but He became one of us.  He became a Human Being.  " . .  . and the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple . . ."  The Lord did come to His temple . . . . He came to the world as a little innocent child, Who was the Saviour of the world.  Elsewhere, we read:  "And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people"  (Leviticus 26:12)  Our Blessed Saviour has indeed walked among us . . . He is Our God and we are His people.

The second thing for us to always consider is that Our Blessed Saviour desires our assistance.  Let me emphasize, He does not require our assistance, rather, He welcomes our assistance.  He created the universe and He created each one of us.  Anyone that powerful does not need my help and, yet, He desires my help.  `See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'  Like St. John the Baptist . . . like St. Mary . . . like St. Joseph . . .  each one of us are called to prepare the way of the Lord.  We prepare the way of the Lord for others to find God, but we also prepare the way of the Lord to our own hearts.  This is what the holy season of Advent is all about:  to prepare a place for the Christ Child in our hearts.

Join St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church on Sunday, December 17th, 2017 at 9:30 AM as we come together as God's family and worship Our Blessed Saviour in traditional worship.  Join us as we listen to God's Word found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we spend quality time before Our Blessed Saviour and then receive Him in His Precious Body and Blood.  St. Margaret Parish worships each and every Sunday morning at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Coffee Hour follows Mass where delicious goodies and treats are available.  Please consider taking time out of your busy schedule and join us as we prepare a way  for Our Blessed Saviour.

Second Sunday of Advent, December 10th, 2017

Second Sunday of Advent, December 10th, 2017

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."  (Romans 15)

Did you ever order something or send away for something and the item finally arrived and you open it with great anticipation.  And when you open the package and see what you ordered, the item that arrived does not match up with what you thought it would be.  You were "under-whelmed," so to speak.  "This is it?!?"   "This is what I've been waiting for?!?"   As we have spoken in the past, the faithful Jews were indeed praying for a Messiah to save them.  They were anticipating the arrival of the Messiah.  They knew that God would save them and they were waiting.  But they had a preconceived notion of what the Messiah would look like, I would imagine.  They expected the Messiah to arrive as a great warrior riding in on a powerful horse, surrounded by a mighty army in support with flags waving and banners raised.  They expected this messiah and his army to wipe out their foes and save them from their misery.    And yet we know that, yes, the Messiah did indeed arrive as promised but Our Saviour arrived as an innocent little baby, born to a common family, born in a lowly manger on a cold winter night  because nobody would take them in otherwise.  In fact, the actual arrival itself was so "low-key" that hardly anyone knew about it at all except for the angels and a few shepherds.  I mean let's be honest here.  In regards to anticipating the arrival of the Messiah, I am sure that none of us would picture the Saviour of the world arriving as a small baby, born to an impoverished family, with nowhere else to stay other than in a place for animals.  But, then again, if we look at a dying man hanging on a cross, if we didn't know any better, we wouldn't picture that as "victory," either.  It would seem more like "defeat" than "victory."  And yet we know through our faith that hope was born in that little manger at Bethlehem and we know that victory truly was earned on that Cross at Calvary.  Sometimes, hope is deceiving to our physical eyes.  The important thing for us to always remember as people of faith that we have to look at hope through the eyes of faith if we really want to see how God is working in our lives.  So, use this holy Season of Advent to look at things in a brand new way, the way of faith.

St. Margaret of Scotland  Church worships every Sunday morning at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located on the Northwest side of Indianapolis at 8140 N. Township line Road.  Mass begins at 9:30 AM.  Come join us for traditional worship.  We use the King James Bible along with the Anglican Missal and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  We gather together to join as God's family to listen to His Word and worship Him and receive Him in His Precious Body and Blood.  Please join us for Mass and then stay with us afterward for our delicious Coffee Hour. 

First Sunday of Advent, December 3rd, 2017

First Sunday of Advent, December 3rd, 2017

"OWE no man any thing, but to love one another" (Romans 13:8)

If you have ever applied for a loan from a bank, you will soon find out how many "hoops" you have to jump through in order to borrow the money you need.  You have to provide documentation of every sort:  copies of your ID; copies of bills that you currently have; copies of mortgage statements; copies of your latest paychecks.  You have to go though background checks and they need to verify who you are.  This is certainly understandable considering that banks can not go around handing out buckets of cash to anyone and everyone that walks in off the street.  But after a while, it becomes frustrating because you get the feeling that you are jumping through endless hoops.  The same process happens when you purchase a car, a house, apply for a credit card, etc.  That being said, it would be easy for me as a preacher to use the words of St. Paul in Romans 13:8--"OWE no man any thing, but to love one another" and say how simple and easy it is to love one another compared to getting a loan as described above.  But is it really that simple to go out and "love" someone?  How about showing love to our enemies?  How about loving those whom we are not fond of?  Is it ever easy to show love to those who have done wrong to us?  How about family members or even spouses that irritate us from time to time?  Is it that easy to show them love and to love them?  Yes, it's easy to show love to those that are lovable but it is definitely a challenge to love those who are not easy to love.  Now what does all this have to do with the season of Advent?  It is in the season of Advent that we prepare for the coming of the Divine Child born in Bethlehem.  Advent is a time that we prepare for the birth of the Messiah, the personification of pure love.  It was at Bethlehem that He was born to begin His earthly journey towards the hill at Calvary.  He died on the Cross for all . . .. not just for those who liked Him . . .  not just for those who loved Him.  He died on the Cross even for those despised Him . ..  who hated Him.  Our Blessed Saviour came to save all from their sins; a feat we could never achieve by ourselves.  So Advent is a time to prepare our hearts for Our Saviour.   No, it is not always easy to love but it is something as Christians that we are commanded to do.  So, this Advent season, let us prepare our hearts and do our best to show love to all . .. .  even to those that it is not easy to do.  This is something that Our Lord did and it is something that He wants us to do.  Showing love is not always easy but it is necessary if we want to call ourselves Christian.  

St. Margaret Anglican Church meets every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we worship Our Heavenly Father as His family here on earth.  Come receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour at Communion time so that you can be nourished and fortified for the week ahead.

Sunday Next Before Advent, November 26th, 2017

Sunday Next Before Advent, November 26th, 2017

"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch . . . "  

(Jeremiah 23: 5)

This week, the Church liturgical year is coming to a close.  Next week a brand new year will begin.  This is confusing to most folks because we are so accustomed to the idea of "New Years" being on January 1st.  But for the Church, our "New Year" begins with the first Sunday in Advent.  Thus, for the Church, we are closing out this year and will begin a new year next Sunday.  Whenever we begin something, don't we have hope?  This is certainly true of celebrating "New Years."  We are hoping that the coming "New Year" will be filled with good things.  If you begin a new project certainly you have hope that you will complete the project and it will fulfill the purpose you had for it.  If a window needs to be replaced, for example, you begin the project of changing the window with the hopes of keeping out the weather and other elements.  If you begin a trip, there is excitement and anticipation of reaching your destination.  If you are like me and you enjoy cooking, you certainly will look forward to tasting your new "creation" or the new recipe that you are trying for the first time.  Throughout each of these examples, hope is what motivates us to do what we do.  If we were not hopeful that any of these "projects" would achieve their stated results, why attempt any of them?   "Hope" is something that keeps us motivated to move forward whether we realize it or not.

The Prophet Jeremiah is one of the Major Prophets of the Old Testament.  As a prophet, Jeremiah was warning the people against inevitable judgment, yes, but he also weaves in a message of great hopefulness.  This is what the season of Advent is, which the Church will begin observing next Sunday.  Advent is a season of hope.  Advent is a time to look forward to the coming of the Divine Infant born at Bethlehem.   Unfortunately, in our secular society, we are instead focusing on the season of  "Give me, Give me, Give me" . . . . "Buy me, Buy me, Buy me."  As a result we must force ourselves to focus on the real reason for this time of year:  to anticipate the birth of the Christ Child and the significance of that event for the world.  If you set down and watch the commercials (at this time of year especially) you begin to notice a pattern that hope and joy and fulfillment is achieved with what we buy in the stores.  While it may be true that we can find joy in what we receive and contentment in receiving something that we have wanted for a long time, this joy is only temporary.  We say "temporary" because material things either break,  . . .  or wear out,  . . .  or go out of style.  Or, quite frankly, we lose interest in things that we hoped for because our interests have moved elsewhere.  With God, though, we will always find fulfillment.  With God, we will always be satisfied.  With God, we have true assurance that He will never abandon us.  Jeremiah was telling the people . . . as he is telling us:   Focus on God!  Look for the Messiah!  And also in the words of St. John the Baptist:  "Prepare ye the way of the Lord!"  (St. Mark 1:3)   This is what the season of Advent really is:  a time of preparation of our hearts for the coming of the Messiah into the world.  I know that the holiday season is a busy time of the year for all us, but this year let us do our best to leave aside the ways of the world and to prepare a place in our heart for that small Infant born at Bethlehem two-thousand years ago.

St. Margaret Church gathers together each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM to listen to the Word of God and to worship Our Heavenly Father.  Join us as we take time out of our busy schedule and dedicate that time solely to God.  St. Margaret worships in the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity, November 19th, 2017

Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity, November 19th, 2017

"For our citizenship is in Heaven;"  (Philippians 3:17 ff)

Whenever we go somewhere out of town such as on a day trip or we are travelling to another state, my wife is "amazed"  . . . . my choice of word, not hers . . . . at how fast we get there.  She says I drive fast.  I don't think I drive that fast.  Well, I try not to because:  A) I'm too scared of getting pulled over and getting a ticket; and B) I can't afford the ticket.  Let's just put it this way:  when I start driving I continue driving and driving and driving.  I keep my mind focused on our destination and I don't let anything get between me and where I'm going.  Well, of course there are things that always show you down no matter what:  slow-down's  due to construction . . . or a crash . . . or a stalled vehicle.  Then there are also detours that might slow you down as well.  And you always have to make allowances for bathroom breaks and getting something to eat while you are on the road.  But to the determined driver such as myself, these are only minor inconveniences on the road towards my destination.  Remember that song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough?"  I like the version by Diana Ross best, I think.  But the lyrics in this song demonstrate the determination in a human being to get to the destination:  "Ain't no mountain high enough .   . . . . Ain't no valley low enough    .. . . . . Ain't no river wide enough . . . to keep me from getting to you."   All of us are determined in something, aren't we?  Some of us are determined to get to our destination far away.  Some of us are determined to get promoted or to get another position where we work.  Some of us are determined to obtain a certain item that we would like to possess; whether that item be a new pair of sneakers or a new appliance or a new house.  We save and we work overtime and we cut corners so that we can earn the money to get what we want.  Again, all of us can think of something where we are determined to get something and we will not let anything or anyone get in our way.

In the Third Chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Philippians, St. Paul is reminding the young church who and what they truly are:  "For our citizenship is in Heaven."  In other words, your feet may be here on earth but you need to remember that your heart should be in Heaven.   Let me say that again just so it will sink in:  we need to remember that our heart should be in Heaven and NOT here on earth.  For so many people, their heart is anywhere BUT Heaven.  Their heart is in their possessions . . . their treasures . . . their riches.  Their heart is in their career or getting promotions or getting wealthier.  Their heart is in getting high or drunk.  "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  (St. Matthew 6:21)  St. Paul is reminding all of us that our true citizenship is in Heaven and we should keep our mind focused accordingly.  Too many of us forget that fact because our minds get too occupied on the latest distraction that the world throws our way.  Do you ever notice that us human beings are never content?   We never seem to be happy . . . at least for very long.  We get focused on one thing and we work and work and work until we get whatever we were working on.  And we are satisfied for about .. . . . . oh, a minute or two . . . . and then our mind gets diverted to something else that grabs our attention for the time being.  St. Paul is saying to each one of us:  "Hey!  You are a citizen of Heaven!  You are a child of the Most High!  You already have a mansion waiting for you up above!  Why are you messing around with this nonsense down here?"  Let our prayer be today that we keep focused on who we are and what we are.  Let us not get our attention diverted from the fact that our true citizenship is in Heaven and keep our minds focused on that fact.

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  Come hear the Word of God preached from the King James Version and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we receive the Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour at Communion time.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity, November 12, 2017

Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity, November 12, 2017

". . . . that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment" 

(Philippians 1:3 ff)

The Epistle to the Philippians has been called by some the "Epistle of Joy" because it is in this epistle that St. Paul makes the point that he does rejoice.  As such, he is asking the Philippians the question, "Do you rejoice?"  Being joyful is certainly a human emotion.  We are joyful just as we are sad.  We are happy just as we are angry.  Depending of course on our mood and circumstances, we can experience just about any mood.  For example, I may be anxious and joyful about going to Opening Day of the baseball season and then I find out the weather forecast calls for Storms all day.  As a result I am then disappointed and sad instead of happy and joyful.  Again, human beings have the potential to "love" all kinds of things, don't we?  We "love" food, for instance.  If you would ask me the question as to what kinds of food do you enjoy, more than likely I would respond:  "Oh, I just love fried chicken."  Or I might say that I love to eat German food.  Again, it is not limited to food as to what we "love."   If someone happens to mention a show out of the blue that you like and you jump in, "Oh, I just love that show!"  "I just love that move."  Human beings tend to "love" all kinds of things:  fads . . . . clothing . . . shoes. . . .  food . . . . Hollywood stars . . . . sports teams . . . . hobbies . . . .  We could go on and on.  We love what we are interested in.  We love what brings us joy and satisfaction.  We love the things that entertain us.  St. Paul is telling us though to remember that true love is realized in the things of God as opposed to the things in the world.  Yes, there are things in the world that do bring us joy.  There are things in the world that do satisfy us for a time.  But true love and true satisfaction only resides in our relationship with God.  As such our true joy and contentment will also be found in letting others know about our love for God.  Have you ever been to a wonderful restaurant and you were so pleased with the food, also with the service, perhaps even with the price of the meal.  And you just couldn't wait to tell somebody about your experience.  The same thing happens when you see a movie or a show that you truly enjoy.  You just can't wait to tell others about your experience:  "Hey, let me tell you about a great movie I saw last night .  . . ."   This is only natural for human beings:  to share their experience of life.  Thus, St Paul is telling us as he was telling the Philippians, Let your joy be shared among others.  Let others know why you are joyful.  Share with one another the joy that you have.  And of course our joy as Christians is our love for God Himself.   All the joys . . .  all the satisfactions that this world has to offer are only temporary.   The things we love in this world are not meant to be long-lasting:  either they will wear out . . .  or they will break . . .  or they will rust away . .  . but the love that God offers us is everlasting.   In this should we find our true love.  It is the love of God that we should find our real love in . . .  our real contentment . .  our real satisfaction.  So many of us find our satisfaction solely in the things of the world.  This is a mistake because we can not take the "things of the world" with us when we die.  The only thing that we can carry over to the next life is our love of God.  Let us use our time wisely in this world to develop a love for the things of God and not for the things of the world.

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday at 9:30 AM.  We worship God in the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Please feel free to join us as we gather together to worship Our Heavenly Father and listen to His Word.