Thoughts and Prayers: Kobe's Family Got Plenty, This Weekend Pray For Nigeria

While the American media has been airing extensive coverage of the tragic death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and seven others, and while we pray that his family be comforted in their time of grief, the killing of Christians in Nigeria by Islamic terrorists goes on, and American news coverage continues to be lacking.

From Anglican Mainstream,

"The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria calls for a worldwide weekend of prayer for Nigeria"

"Dr Samson Ayokunle spoke to the press at the National Christian Centre, Abuja on January 23rd following the murder of the Rev Samson Akunle. The following are excerpts from his speech."

"Dr Ayokunle reported that the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Rev. Lawan Andimi, was murdered by the terrorist group, Boko Haram, because he refused to be converted to Islam. Although the ransom demand of 2 million Euros was ready they notified the CAN in Adamawa State that since the gentleman had refused to be converted to Islam, they had decided to behead him."

"In the same state, on January 19th Rev Denis Bagauri was murdered by unknown gunmen in his residence, because he was a Christian. Eleven Christians were beheaded by Islamic State on Christmas Day of 2019 in Maiduguri including a bride to be."

"A few days ago, four seminarians of the Good Shepherd Catholic Seminary in Kakau, were kidnapped along Kaduna-Abuja Road. In Kaduna State, thirty five people were killed and fifty eight abducted when bandits raided 10 communities in the Chikun and Birnin Gwari Local Government areas on January 13, 2020."

"These criminals have been stopping commercial and private vehicles asking them to come down and telling them to say what their religion is. Whoever claims to be a Christian is either killed on the spot or abducted and a demand for a ransom issued."

" From 1980-2019, the Stephanos  Foundation’ record shows a total of 1,785 attacks in 32 states of the country. This led for the death of not less than 28,878  innocent people."

"These terrorists have not hidden their goal to Islamize Nigeria. Their primary targets are Christians."

"The CAN Leadership has declared Friday, 31st January to 2nd February, 2020 as days for Special Fasting and Prayer for Nigeria in all churches, home and abroad, for the gruesome killing of innocent Nigerians to stop and for our government to develop capacity to overcome the criminals troubling the nation."

"Sunday 2nd February, 2020 is declared a Special Prayer Walk by Christians in all the States of the Federation in the form of a procession to be led by States CAN Chairmen in their CAN Secretariats and pastors of churches in all churches in Nigeria. Churches should process round their area, pray for God’s permanent intervention and help from all over the world so that all of us might not be consumed one by one."

What Was Jesus' First Teaching"

This Sunday's reading from Matthew 4:12-23 tells us about the start of Jesus; ministry,

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,   on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people who sat in darkness   have seen a great light,and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death   light has dawned.’From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’* As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. 

 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

Mark's Gospel contains this parallel,

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:14-15 

I fear we who know the forgiving grace of God all too easily forget Jesus' first teaching, that we must  "Repent!"

Nowadays. people only repent when they get caught doing something wrong, and then many fail to do so.

God, who hears our every thought, catches us in need of repentance many times a day.

Jesus saw that too.

I Swore I Would Never Do This Again

Having endured two separate three year terms on the vestry of my last Episcopal church, I swore that I would never serve on a vestry again, but after having relocated and finding myself at a fairly new, small Anglican church, I have answered the call and am now part of a vestry.

The rector swears that this will be a far better experience than what I went through in the past.

He may be right because we are in the black, we have reserve funds, we have new heating and air, and the roof doesn't leak.

But most importantly, when we gather together, we confess that we are sinners, we reassert the truths found in the Bible, and unashamedly proclaim Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

What could go wrong?


Update: One of the heating units just went out today!

When Does Life Begin?

In today's reading from Isaiah 49:1-7, the prophet states something that all Christians should also proclaim, that the Lord forms us in our mother's wombs.

Listen to me, O coastlands,   pay attention, you peoples from far away!The Lord called me before I was born,   while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,   in the shadow of his hand he hid me;he made me a polished arrow,   in his quiver he hid me away.3 And he said to me, ‘You are my servant,   Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’4 But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain,   I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;yet surely my cause is with the Lord,   and my reward with my God.’
5 And now the Lord says,   who formed me in the womb to be his servant,to bring Jacob back to him,   and that Israel might be gathered to him,for I am honoured in the sight of the Lord,   and my God has become my strength—6 he says,‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant   to raise up the tribes of Jacob   and to restore the survivors of Israel;I will give you as a light to the nations,   that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’
7 Thus says the Lord,   the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,   the slave of rulers,‘Kings shall see and stand up,   princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,because of the Lord, who is faithful,   the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’

Isaiah repeats the "formed in the womb" statement thus cementing its importance to the hearer of these words.

Woe be to those who destroy what God has formed and named.

The Not-So United Methodist Church

For the past couple of weeks I have been thinking about the plan for separation that the United Methodist Church (UMC) will consider four months from now. On Jan 3 Mark Tooley at IRD reported the news,

"United Methodism moved closer to formal schism with a new proposal released today negotiated with liberal and conservative groups, including bishops. The plan would divide the nearly 13 million member global denomination into separate conservative and liberal communions...

Under this plan, conferences (Methodism’s version of dioceses or presbyteries) could vote by 2021 to join the conservative denomination by a 57% vote. Local churches by 2024 could vote by majority. The conservative denomination would get $25 million from current denominational assets."

Revisionist Americans in the UMC have been pressing for same-sex marriages and openly LGBT ministers for years but have been stimied by their structure in which traditionalist Methodists in Africa hold the majority vote. Once the UMC in America splits, it appears that the revisionists will retain the name, UMC, but will they still be affiliated with the greater UMC that includes the traditionalists in African churches?

Maybe the revisionists wish to continue the fight to convert the African churches to start blessing the LGBT agenda or perhaps they want to force the traditionalist African churches to split as well.

It would make more sense for the revisionists to leave and start their own denomination, but it doesn't look like that will happen just like it didn't happen in the Episcopal organization.

At least this split is more amicable than what happened to us.

As a fair exchange, I ask you as my children: Open wide your hearts also. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?… 2 Corinthians 6:13-15 

All You Need To Know

This Sunday's reading from Acts 10:34-43 quotes St. Peter's testimony to Cornelius along his friends and relatives, and I believe it is an excellent summary of just about all you need to know,

"Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 3but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’"

What more do you need to know other than Peter was willing to die rather than deny this assertion. Remember that this was the same man who denied Jesus three times before the Crucifixion.

Peter's transformation following the resurrection of Jesus is maybe one more thing that can be added to Peter's testimony if you are going to use it when talking to an unbeliever.

Gender Neutral Baptisms? Just Say No!

At my last Episcopal parish things went downhill over a thirty year period of time. One of the final straws occurred when the priest conducted a baptism of a young man and she announced two men as the fathers who were presenting him for Holy Baptism. That is how she decided to handle a situation that is becoming problematic for other denominations, even Roman Catholics, in countries that have approved of homosexual "marriages".

In France, it seems that one bishop has his own solution. From "The Church Militant" comes the following,

"A Catholic diocese in northeastern France is endorsing new 'gender-neutral' language in ecclesiastical baptismal registers after the bishop issued a letter recommending the removal of all references to 'father' and 'mother.'"
The traditional terms for parents will be replaced on a default basis with 'the name of the parents or other holders of parental authority.' 

The bishop of Langres defended the new guidelines, saying it would enable the Church to adapt its initiation rite to homosexual unions without offending anyone.

'The situation in France is becoming more and more complex. This makes certain Catholic acts difficult, in particular, those that concern baptism,' Bp. Joseph de Metz-Noblat stated in an official letter to clergy on Dec. 13. 

'Following canon 843, [ministers can't refuse the sacraments to people who properly ask for them], and since children should not be disadvantaged by their parents' situations, a number of chanceries have found problems relating to what kind of vocabulary should or could be used,' the bishop elaborated. 

Writing as the president of the Council for Canonical Questions (Conseil pour les Questions Canoniques) of the French Bishops' Conference, de Metz-Noblat recommended that bishops and clergy adopt the 'new formula in your diocese, since it seems the most culturally appropriate.'" 

I would interpret canon 843 to also mean that if someone improperly asked for a sacrament then it can be denied. To my mind, if you cannot promise to raise a child teaching him or her orthodox Christian teaching, then the priest has every right to refuse to perform a baptism until that time that the parents agree to those conditions.  That idea is clearly counter-cultural, and this French bishop is incapable standing up to the pressures of the zeitgeist.

Priests and bishops without spines, that is one thing that crosses denominational differences.

Oh yeah, and about the boy who was baptized in my parish... He and his two "fathers" were never seen again which makes me really wonder about the motivation of the priest who had to know that these folks were not fully committed to the vows they made .

How Long Will They Be Called Wise Men?

In this Sunday's reading from Matthew 2:1-12 we hear of the journey of the Magi to see the infant Jesus. 

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 

 “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;for from you shall come a ruler   who is to shepherd my people Israel.” ’ 

 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

We typically think of the Magi as being men and three in number because of the three gifts, but there are those who claim that it might have been women who brought those gifts (see this uber-liberal National Catholic Reporter post).

Earlier, when Katherine Jefferts Schori was Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal organization, she sent out a Christmas card depicting the Magi as three women.

We even have seen the LGBT's portraying the magi as homosexual who shared their dream because they slept together.

In this day and age, when people are "gender neutralizing" just about anything, how long will it take before one of the wise men are portrayed as trans-sexual?

Oh yeah did that by claiming that the magi were eunuchs and therefore would be classified as trans-sexual by today's standards in the previous link.

By chipping away at the Christmas story, the Devil is doing what he does best, chipping away at people's faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

A New Year's Resolution

 At the end of every old year we get a recap of all the news headlines of the past year. I hate those things. In American football there is a teaching that every corner must take to heart, and that is, "Forget the last play on which you got burned, and focus on the next play."

Every new year starts with predictions for what is to come. There is a teaching in football that says, "Don't look ahead to next week, focus on this week, and take 'em one game at a time."

All too often our minds are so full of thoughts of what was and what will be that we lose sight of what is in front of us. Anyone who has rear-ended another vehicle probably knows this to be painfully true.

Jesus tells us that the first and greatest commandment is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Is that really possible?

If I am any example of humankind, with my mind full of distractions, then I don't think any of us can Love Him with all of our hearts, souls, and minds all of the time.

Thank God for his saving grace because we just can't do it by ourselves.

We need a Savior, and he is there for us.

This year let us resolve to pray and to give thanks each day as best we can.