God's plan or yours?

 While this Sunday the Revised Common Lectionary cuts out a large part of Hebrews chapter 1 and a slice of Hebrews chapter 2, I looked at the Gospel reading and was left wondering how the revisionist preacher would handle it.

Mark 10:2-16

Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’

Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’

 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

I imagine that the typical revisionist preacher will avoid talking about the first two paragraphs altogether and focus on the third one, or he/she/it will not even touch the Gospel reading and instead focus on where he/she/it took the grandchildren last week.

 When Jesus talks about human sexual relationships, he goes back to the beginning, a time before sin, and God's design for us. 

When the revisionist talks about human sexual relationships, he/she/it must push things to the present and humanity's designs, so he/she/it has to ignore Mark chapter 10 among other things.

Who will you follow, God or man?

Medical Necessity?

Power was finally restored on Monday afternoon, and we are cleaning up from the damage done by hurricane Helene. We are still waiting for the flood waters to recede. Estimates are that things should be back to normal levels by October 9. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the world remains upside down as trans craziness continues.

From Fox News,

A federal judge has ruled that it would be unconstitutional for an Indiana prison to deny a transgender inmate sex reassignment surgery following the inmate's lawsuit against the facility.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the Indiana Department of Corrections last year on behalf of a transgender inmate, Jonathan C. Richardson, also known as Autumn Cordellionè, who was convicted of strangling his 11-month-old stepdaughter to death in 2001.

Indiana law, however, prohibits the Department of Corrections from using taxpayer dollars to fund sex reassignment surgeries for inmates. However, the ACLU argues in the lawsuit, filed on Aug. 28, 2023, that the law is a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment."

The surgery for Richardson, who is serving out a 55-year prison sentence for reckless homicide, "is a medical necessity," according to the ACLU lawsuit.

Judge Richard Young agreed with the ACLU's claims and ruled in favor of Cordellioné last week.

"Specifically, Ms. Cordellioné has shown that her gender dysphoria is a serious medical need, and that, despite other treatments Defendant has provided her to treat her gender dysphoria, she requires gender-affirming surgery to prevent a risk of serious bodily and psychological harm," the ruling states.

The DOC must now take "all reasonable actions" to ensure Cordellioné undergoes sex surgery, according to the order.

Since when is a "gender-affirming" surgery a medical necessity? 

The Medicare definition of medically necessary is, 

Health care services or supplies needed to diagnose or treat an illness, injury, condition, disease or its symptoms and that meet accepted standards of medicine. 

 The insurance company Cigna is more specific,

• "Medically Necessary" or "Medical Necessity" means health care services that a physician, exercising prudent clinical judgment, would provide to a patient. The service must be:
• For the purpose of evaluating, diagnosing, or treating an illness, injury, disease, or its symptoms
• In accordance with the generally accepted standards of medical practice
• Clinically appropriate, in terms of type, frequency, extent, site, and duration, and considered effective for the patient's illness, injury, or disease
• Not primarily for the convenience of the patient, health care provider, or other physicians or health care providers
• Not more costly than an alternative service or sequence of services at least as likely to produce equivalent therapeutic or diagnostic results as to the diagnosis or treatment of that patient's illness, injury, or disease

For these purposes, "generally accepted standards of medical practice" means:

• Standards that are based on credible scientific evidence published in peer-reviewed, medical literature generally recognized by the relevant medical community
• Physician Specialty Society recommendations
• The views of physicians practicing in the relevant clinical area
• Any other relevant factors

I know there are physicians who would testify that this man's surgery meets the Medicare definition, but an equal or greater number would argue that it does not. 

Cigna would turn him down because of the lack of 

"credible scientific evidence published in peer-reviewed, medical literature..."

This murderer may get away with murder at the expense of the taxpayers. 

I guess if it keeps him from impregnating any female prisoners if he is in a (female prison) then it might be reasonable. 

But if he is in a male prison..

I don't want to think about that.

Thanks be to God

 Because of hurricane Helene, we are dealing with a twisted knee, a barked shin, flood waters, downed trees, no power, and no internet except using phones at present so I am typing this short post on my mobile app listening to the generators and chainsaws around me. 

The Psalm for today reminds me that if not for the grace of God, things could be worse. 

124 Nisi quia Dominus

1 If the Lord had not been on our side, *
let Israel now say;

2 If the Lord had not been on our side, *
when enemies rose up against us;

3 Then would they have swallowed us up alive *
in their fierce anger toward us;

4 Then would the waters have overwhelmed us *
and the torrent gone over us;

5 Then would the raging waters *
have gone right over us.

6 Blessed be the Lord! *
he has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth.

7 We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; *
the snare is broken, and we have escaped.

8 Our help is in the Name of the Lord, *
the maker of heaven and earth.

Our house is high and dry, but the waters have risen through our boat house and the waves from 60 mph winds carried away our neighbor’s pier and parts of ours. Many of our neighbors are on lower ground and will have more problems so pray for them.

We are fine because our trust is in the Lord.

Queer Theory Going Atomic

The LGBTqrsetc movement used some bizarre arguments when they worked to revise traditional interpretations of Biblical sexual morality. These revisionist ideas caught on with certain denominations. Those denominations are currently in a death spiral.

Where will the LGBTqrstetc forces strike next? Well they dropped a bomb in the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" when they published last year, "Queering nuclear weapons: How LGBTQ+ inclusion strengthens security and reshapes disarmament." 

Read it all if you dare. Here is an example, 

Queer identity is also relevant for the nuclear field because it informs theories that aim to change how officials, experts, and the public think about nuclear weapons. Queer theory is a field of study, closely related to feminist theory, that examines sex- and gender-based norms. It shines a light on the harm done by nuclear weapons through uranium mining, nuclear tests, and the tax money spent on nuclear weapons ($60 billion annually in the United States) instead of on education, infrastructure, and welfare. The queer lens prioritizes the rights and well-being of people over the abstract idea of national security, and it challenges the mainstream understanding of nuclear weapons—questioning whether they truly deter nuclear war, stabilize geopolitics, and reduce the likelihood of conventional war. Queer theory asks: Who created these ideas? How are they being upheld? Whose interests do they serve? And whose experiences are being excluded?

...Queer theory is also about rejecting binary choices and zero-sum thinking, such as the tenet that nuclear deterrence creates security and disarmament creates vulnerability. It identifies the assumptions and interests these ideas are built on—and imagines alternatives that serve a broader range of interests, including those of the invisible and resource-stripped.

Indeed, queer theory helps us not only see the bad of a world with nuclear weapons, but also imagine the good of a world without them. It envisions using the resources freed up by nuclear disarmament to build structures that tangibly increase people’s safety and well-being through healthcare, social housing, etc. In this scenario, the more than $100 billion that nuclear-armed states spend on nuclear weapons every year could be used to address the climate crisis, which could kill up to 83 million people by 2100. 

Disarmament, tied to climate change.. genius!  

If we follow this reasoning, we are doomed to the same fate as those denominations I referenced earlier. 

 The arguments are so weak and such a stretch that I hope that no one other than the authors take them seriously. 

These people are a few cans short of a six pack.

I think the "troll" that tweeted, 

“They should not allow mentally ill people near weapons of mass destruction.”

in response to a December 2022 panel discussion on LGBTQ+ identity in the nuclear weapons space was probably right.

The Revised Common Lectionary Strikes Out Again

This week the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) used in many churches once again strikes through parts of the Epistle of James. Initially, I could not figure out the reasons for this, but upon further reflection with Pewsterspouse, I think James words offend the zeitgeist. 

James 3:13-4:3,7-8

Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.

Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.  Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, ‘God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’?  But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says,

‘God opposes the proud,

   but gives grace to the humble.’

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

So it is okay for the simple Sunday pewsitters to hear about envy, selfish ambition, cravings, murder, covetousness, and asking wrongly, but don't you dare let them hear about adultery and most of all about PRIDE! That would really go against the spirit of the age now wouldn't it.

 

What Does This Pope Really Believe?

 

Pope Francis speaking recently to young Catholics in Singapore: 

"All the religions are a path to arrive at [or: reach] God. They are  – I make a comparison – like different languages, different idioms [or: dialects] to arrive there. But God is God for everyone. And since God is God for everyone, we are all children of God. 'But my God is more important than yours!' Is this true? There is only one God, and we, our religions are languages, paths to arrive at [or: reach] God."*

I have heard this and other variants of the "all streams flow into the same ocean" theory before, and I cannot square them with the Bible.  

Neither can Robert Gagnon, 

This is an unfortunate pluralistic view that bears no resemblance to the apostolic witness to the gospel in the NT. I hope my FB Catholic friends will agree with this. It is absurd to view all religions as arriving at the same God, with the Christian view of God being "no more important" than any other religious path. There are outright contradictions between the various religions. The God of Jesus is very different from the God of Mohammed, and both of these are even more different than the polytheistic religions of the Sikhs and Hindus. 

The primary NT witness is also that people become adopted children of God when they have faith in Christ. All people are children of God only in the diluted sense that all are created by God. But they do not enter into a covenant or kinship relationship with God until they believe in the gospel about Christ.

There are elements of Francis's message that agree with Paul's Areopagus (Athens) speech in Acts 17, making a bridge to pagans. Yet the most important part of Paul's speech there was left out by Francis: The imperative of proclaiming the gospel and the requisite response of faith in Christ. Without these there is no certain hope of salvation. 

The New Testament witness has an operating missionary premise, namely that sans faith in Jesus, people perish. Faith in Christ is the only certain means of being saved. Everything else is wishful thinking. "There is salvation in no other one" than Jesus. "For there is not even any other name under heaven that has been given to humans by which it is necessary for us to be saved" (Acts 4:12). Only by calling upon the name of Jesus can anyone be placed on a certain path to God. If God has anything else up his proverbial sleave, he hasn't told us about it. You would be a fool to stake your eternal life on something so insecure as a wish for which there is little or no support in the apostolic testimony to Christ.

The language of the RCC Catechism is better but still deficient: 

//The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life."//

The only assured way of receiving life is through faith in Christ. That was the operating premise of the apostles as they took the gospel around the Mediterranean Basin, always assuming that pagans and non-Christian Jews (like the pre-Christian Paul) needed to believe in the gospel about Christ in order to be saved.

*The original Italian reads:

//Tutte le religioni sono un cammino per arrivare a Dio. Sono – faccio un paragone – come diverse lingue, diversi idiomi, per arrivare lì. Ma Dio è Dio per tutti. E poiché Dio è Dio per tutti, noi siamo tutti figli di Dio. “Ma il mio Dio è più importante del tuo!”. È vero questo? C’è un solo Dio, e noi, le nostre religioni sono lingue, cammini per arrivare a Dio. Qualcuno sikh, qualcuno musulmano, qualcuno indù, qualcuno cristiano, ma sono diversi cammini.//

 Yet another reason to not swim the Tiber.

"No one can tame the tongue"

I wish our politicians and television commentators would put James 3:1-12 on the walls of their offices.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

 

Amazing Benefits of Amazing Grace

I sing in a couple of Christian groups so it was interesting to see the health benefits of this.

From Premier Christian News, 

Singing ‘Amazing Grace’ for just ten minutes a day could help reverse the effects of heart disease, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin investigated how singing various songs impacted the blood vessels of older individuals with heart disease.

The findings revealed that those who regularly sang 'Amazing Grace,' a hymn penned by clergyman and poet John Newton in 1772, experienced the most significant improvements in endothelial function—a key indicator of the health of blood vessels surrounding the heart. 

(This was an exploratory analysis)

The 1968 release ‘Hey Jude’ brought about smaller improvements, as did Dolly Parton’s 1976 hit ‘Jolene’. However, the US folk classic ‘This Land Is Your Land,’ recorded by Woody Guthrie in 1940, showed little impact.

The group recruited 65 participants, mostly in their 60s, who were being treated for heart issues or had previously had a heart attack. Under a singing coach's guidance, they sang four songs while researchers measured changes in blood flow, an important indicator of heart vessel health.

The study, published in medRxiv, found that 22 per cent of volunteers improved blood flow while singing ‘Amazing Grace,’ compared to just ten per cent when singing ‘This Land Is Your Land’.

The research concluded: “Singing along to a pre-recorded instructional video for 30 minutes improved microvascular, but not macrovascular, endothelial function, in older patients with known CAD. Singing should be considered as an accessible and safe therapeutic intervention in an older population who otherwise may have physical or orthopaedic limitations hindering participation in traditional exercise. Future studies should explore the sustained vascular response to singing over weeks to months and explore the potential for “earworm” effects between visits.”

Excuse me, but I have to go to rehearsal now... 

Qui confidunt

This week's Psalm 125 Qui confidunt is a prayer for peace to be upon Israel. I don't know if it will happen in our lifetime, but we should keep on praying.

1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, *

which cannot be moved, but stands fast for ever.

2 The hills stand about Jerusalem; *

so does the Lord stand round about his people,

from this time forth for evermore.

3 The scepter of the wicked shall not hold sway over the land allotted to the just, *

so that the just shall not put their hands to evil.

4 Show your goodness, O Lord, to those who are good *

and to those who are true of heart.

5 As for those who turn aside to crooked ways,

the Lord will lead them away with the evildoers; *

but peace be upon Israel.

If They Only Knew

 From Evangelical Focus,

People living outside their country of birth represent 3.6% of the world’s overall population. Almost half of identify as Christians.

There are over 280 million people in the world who are migrants, a figure that has grown by 83% in the last three decades.

A new report by Pew Research concludes that 47% of these migrants are Christians, while 29% are Muslim and 13% do not identify with a specific religion.

Christians are an estimated 30% of the whole global population but represent almost half of the migrants in the world. Other faith groups such as Muslims and Jews are also highly represented among the migrant communities. Meanwhile, is it the non-religious who are underrepresented among those who had to leave their home country.

Interestingly, the leading countries of origin for Christian migrants were Mexico (11 million), and Russia (8.9 million).

If the anti-Christian left only knew that the vast majority of those coming into the U.S. through our southern border were Christians, they would put up a wall quicker than they could raise the taxes to pay for it. 

 

RCL Strikes Through the Gospel of Mark

The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) that many churches use does not provide the casual Sunday pewsitter with a complete view of the Bible. The RCL commonly omits sections of the Bible that might be troublesome for progressive preachers to explain away or might sound offensive to modern listeners. The harm that is done is incalculable as pewsitters are taught an expurgated version of the Bible. 

This Sunday is no exception. I added (in red) the verses that were cut.

Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

“This people honours me with their lips,

   but their hearts are far from me;

7 in vain do they worship me,

   teaching human precepts as doctrines.”

8 You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’

9 Then he said to them, ‘You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition! For Moses said, “Honour your father and your mother”; and, “Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.” But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, “Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban” (that is, an offering to God)— then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this.’

14 Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’

17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 He said to them, ‘Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, 19 since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, ‘It is what comes out of a person that defiles. 

 21 For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, 22 adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’

I suspect the "goes out the sewer" bit was too graphic for the editors of the RCL, but I think the other goal was to eliminate the "Thus he declared all foods clean" comment because that essentially destroys the shellfish argument.

If your church uses the RCL, you should probably find another church. If you want to stick it out, you had better open your Bible and get the whole story. 

 

Mother/Father Deemed "Archaic"

 From The Christian Institute 

The words “mother” and “father” are being dropped from the US state of Massachusetts’ family law – in order to “be more inclusive to LGBTQ+ parents”.

The Massachusetts Parentage Act, which comes into force next year, replaces references to biological sex with gender-neutral phrases such as “the person who gave birth” and “other parent”.

The legislation, which affects birth certificates, child custody, and surrogacy, was backed by abortion giant Planned Parenthood in addition to LGBT activist groups such as GLAAD.

The state’s deputy governor Kim Driscoll boasted that the Act pushes “outdated norms aside”, while Senate President Karen Spilka claimed “archaic beliefs and laws no longer stand in your way as a parent”.

The new law replaces “man and woman” with “persons”, and ditches several references to “paternity” for “parentage”.

In addition, the Act enshrines surrogacy into the state’s law for the first time.

In 2022, it was revealed that the US state of Connecticut had ditched the terms mother and father from childbirth documents.

Journalist Colin Wright revealed that the state’s documentation on birth certificates, affidavits and immunization referred to the “birth parent” and “non-birth parent” instead of the mother and father.

To obtain proof of birth, one document stated that a written statement was required “by the birth parent attesting to the date, time, and place of the live birth”.

What's next? 

Will they have to ditch the words "brother" and "sister?" If they do, the Episcopal organization may have to reinstate the archaic word "brethren" into its Prayer Book. 

As C. S. Lewis wrote in "The Death of Words",

"Words, as well as women, can be 'killed with kindness.' And when, how ever reverently, you have killed a word you have also, as far as in you lay, blotted from the human mind the thing that word originally stood for. Men do not long continue to think what they have forgotten how to say."

When Words Offend

 In this Sunday's reading from John 6:56-69 Jesus says some things that cause many of his disciples to walk away. 

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever.’ He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.’

 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’

When Jesus asked, "Does this offend you?" I am certain that the reference to eating him was offensive to many at the time. Today we know better, but those who have not accepted Jesus as Lord probably are more offended by Peter's words, "We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." 

That is enough to cause many to walk away from Jesus in the present age.

I wish they would give Him a chance. 

 

Taking on Water

You know times are bad when Episcopal Pravda prints things like this, 

"...The Episcopal Church still has nearly 7,000 congregations. The number of active Episcopal priests, on the other hand, has fallen over the past 20 years to fewer than 6,000.

 ...congregations of 50 or fewer worshipers make up  most of the church’s congregations (55%)

...in 2022, 12% of Episcopal congregations were served by a priest who is retired. That same year, 54% of priests were listed as part time, more than double the 26% from 2010. 

...Active priests, or those whose employers are actively contributing to the church’s clergy pension fund, peaked in 2004 at 7,886 and have since declined to the current 5,614. During that time, the number of retirees has increased. Retirees first surpassed the number of active priests in 2011 and now total 8,320."

The once mighty ship is going down as many have predicted.

So much for Presiding Bishop Curry's "Revival" plan. The new Presiding Bishop had better start working on a "resurrection plan" soon or Robert Ballard will be exploring the ship's grave site next.

Sing it!

This Sunday's text from Ephesians 5:15-20 contains Paul's thoughts about music in the Church, 

Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

After moving to a small ACNA parish, I had to give up singing in a church choir. We are too small and have too few singers to do anything more than making a joyful (for some of us) noise when we gather together. In fact, I became the de facto parish musician based on my history in church and other choirs. Someday we might grow to where we can hire a real musician and have a small choir. 

Am I just dreaming?  

Words of Sanity From Australia to England

 As the Episcopal Organization of England (CofE to some) goes down the tubes, don't say that they have not been warned.  

From the Archbishop of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, comes this via Sydney Anglicans,

Jesus prays for his church that they would be made holy by the truth of God’s word. Anglicans affirm the ‘ultimate rule and standard of faith’ (ACA Constitution, Fundamental Declarations s2)) of the teaching of Jesus Christ and the word of God revealed in scripture. The decision of the Church of England Synod to approve the use of prayers of blessing for same-sex marriages and to begin moves to allow clergy to enter into same-sex marriages, is a grievous abrogation of its responsibility to uphold the primacy of scripture in the life and ministry of the church. To reject God’s plan for human sexuality is a failure to love people experiencing same-sex attraction and who, like all humanity, are made in his image and designed for his purpose.

This decision is contrary to scripture and to Anglican expressions of the teaching of scripture in our formularies, including the Book of Common Prayer, and Lambeth resolution I.10, clearly affirmed by the Archbishop of Canterbury as the standard of Anglican doctrine as recently as the Lambeth Conference in 2022.

I’m very grateful for the gracious and courageous way in which many English brothers and sisters in Christ have taken a stand in their General Synod for biblical authority and the trustworthiness of Jesus’ teaching on human identity and sexuality.

We express our support for the coalition known as The Alliance which has, in love and integrity, been a clarion voice for truth. The Alliance is a broad grouping of faithful Anglicans from across the spectrum of the church who have in common, fidelity to the scriptures in matters of faith and life, a deep love for the Church of England and commitment to its mission to the nation. Importantly, the Alliance includes Anglicans who experience same-sex attraction and who gladly and courageously affirm the teaching of Jesus concerning marriage and sexuality. We honour them all.

I’m humbled and encouraged by the stance of The Alliance and offer them the hand of fellowship and the assurance of our prayers and support as they contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

I’m grateful too for those whose conscience has not allowed them to remain in the Church of England but who remain committed to Anglican doctrine and mission as members of the Anglican Network in Europe under Bishop Andy Lines and assure them too of our friendship and fellowship in the mission of the gospel in which we are fellow workers.

We note statements from global Anglican fellowships representing the majority of Anglicans worldwide, such as the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans, GAFCON and GAFCON Australia. We rejoice in our common hope, the Lord Jesus Christ, and remain committed to the faithful proclamation of his gospel in love and truth.

…the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. Col 1:5,6 (NIV)

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel

17 July 2024.

For more about the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals to which he refers, go to their web site. 

The Whole Loaf

 This Sunday the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) slices up John 6:35,41-51. I highlighted in red the missing verses.

35 Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; 38 for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.’

41 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ 42 They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ 43 Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

Jesus is the bread of life. It is too bad that the RCL only serves up part of the loaf. 

In Defense of Israel

Melanie Phillips writes opinion columns for The Times of London, the Jerusalem Post and the Jewish Chronicle. She has an excellent piece on the past 100 years of history in "Palestine" pointing out the legal rights that the Jewish people have to govern the area. You can find it at this link.

The Archbishop of Canterbury got it wrong when he said that Israel has been “denying the Palestinian people dignity, freedom and hope” — and that ending its occupation of Palestinian territory is “a legal and moral necessity”. 

They went to Capernaum looking for Jesus

 

A couple of years ago we went on a tour called "Into the Promised Land" and visited numerous places that are found in the Bible. This Sunday's reading from John 6:24-35 mentions one such place, a town which naturally put up a sign for us visitors.

We saw ruins of course.

But what did the crowd in Jesus' time hope to find there?

So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’

Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Jesus' words were upsetting to many then just as they would be today if you were to tell them to an unbeliever. 

Come to think of it, many so-called believers would probably have a hard time swallowing that if they were to think about it. 

Not Another Post About the Drag Last Supper

 The recent opening ceremonies at for the Paris Olympic Games has been characterized as the closing ceremonies for mankind after people witnessed various displays by LGBTQetc non-athletic types and especially the drag queen tableau that had a strange resemblance to the Last Supper of our Lord. 

Much has been written about this, and let me add my two dollar bill. 

My uber liberal Christian friends immediately posted that those who object to the image were too stupid to see that the drag queens were re-creating a bacchanal or a feast for Dionysus. I didn't buy it, but they certainly did. 

My conservative Christian friends posted their outrage.

Myself, I am not surprised that a bunch of Parisian drag queens would pull a stunt like this. Nor am I surprised the news media would televise some of the displays. Should we stand up and tell the world that this was offensive, blasphemous, or outrageous?

Even if they were just posing as worshippers of a Greek or Roman god, then there is still a problem:

“You shall have no other gods beside me."

I think that we first need to pray for these people, both the performers and my uber liberal friends that they see the error of their ways.

Second, we do need to let the world know that God should not be mocked. There is eternal judgement involved here. 

Third, don't watch NBC's broadcast of the Olympics. 

Fourth, we should tell the world that we do not accept such behavior lest those who are weak in faith like my uber liberal friends get dragged down further from the Apostolic faith.

Make Up Day

 This Sunday the Revised Common Lectionary makes up for last weeks deletion of the miracle of the loaves and fishes and the miracle of Jesus walking on the water by quoting John 6:1-21. 

Let us focus this week on the Epistle in which Paul prays for the church in Ephesus, 

Ephesians 3:14-21

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every fatherhood in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

I like to think that St. Paul is saying the same prayer for us here today. Keep that in mind as you re-read the passage. 

Dirty Alabama-West Florida United Methodist Deal

In the church split wars it is hard to imagine dirty dealings on a par with what went on during the Episcopal and Anglican conflict. The United Methodists (UMC) have pulled a move that would make Episcopalians proud.

From the Christian Post,

In 2019, at a special session of the General Conference, the UMC added a temporary measure to the Book of Discipline known as paragraph 2553, which created a process for churches to leave the denomination due to its decades-long debate over LGBT issues.

From 2019 to 2023, approximately 7,500 congregations left the UMC, with most of them affiliating with the recently launched theologically conservative Global Methodist Church.

According to numbers compiled by UM News, 248 congregations based in the Alabama-West Florida Conference were granted disaffiliation during that four-year time period.

In October 2023, 42 churches filed suit against the Alabama-West Florida Conference, arguing that the conference was wrongfully delaying the dismissal process.

“After laying out the plan by which Plaintiffs could disaffiliate with their property and invoking Plaintiffs’ reliance on that plan, Defendants have now revoked that plan and are attempting to prevent their disaffiliation, exercising leverage over Plaintiffs by holding their church buildings and property hostage,” the lawsuit claimed.

A couple of weeks later, however, the Montgomery County Circuit Court ruled against the departing congregations, arguing that, as a secular court, it held no jurisdiction in the matter.

And finally the Supreme Court of Alabama chimes in, 

Alabama Supreme Court rules against 44 churches trying to leave the UMC

“But the churches' central claims turn entirely on the interpretation of [paragraph] 2553 and whether their efforts to leave the UMC were consistent with that church law. Under existing First Amendment law and our precedent, that interpretive issue constitutes an ecclesiastical question that courts do not have jurisdiction to decide.”

Pray for those congregations that they wipe the dust from their feet and find alternative worship spaces.  

We have seen some lateral movement locally in the form of UMC members joining our ACNA church. 

 

Feed My Sheep

This Sunday's reading from the Revised Common Lectionary is Mark 6:30-34,53-56. Notice the huge gap.

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34 As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. 54 When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, 55 and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

So what did the Sunday pewsitters miss? Did they even notice?

They did not get to hear about the miracle of the loaves and fishes feeding 5000 men, and they did not hear about Jesus walking on the water. I guess those things were felt by the editors to possibly strain the listeners belief, and we can't have that. 

Serve us up the whole Gospel. After all, When Jesus said, "Feed my sheep", do you think he meant a watered down meal? 

 

 

The DOJ's Pro-Genital Mutilation Lawfare

Remember when politicians were frequently referring to "the children" as a group that must be cared for through various social programs? Remember when "It takes a village" to raise a child was the buzzword? Did you ever think that those politicians really understood what they were proposing?

Jesus had words of warning for us, 

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,  but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:1-6 

While other countries are banning puberty blockers and genital mutilation surgeries for minors, the practice continues in much of the U.S. Many states are taking the lead in banning these procedures in children, but the federal Department of "Justice" is finding ways to intimidate people so that the practice can continue in spite of such laws. 

There is a case in Texas that is a particularly egregious example. 

From The Christian Post,

Such was the realization Dr. Eithan Haim had when he came forward after Texas legislators said ‘no’ to trans-ing children via a bill restricting so-called “gender-affirming care” for minors. Texas Children’s Hospital claimed that as a result of the liability risks that the approved legislation posed, they were ending the transgender program at the hospital. But the opposite was true. Speaking anonymously at first, Dr. Haim told Christopher Rufo in May 2023 that the hospital was continuing it in a stealthy manner. Among the atrocities still being carried out were surgical procedures to implant hormone blockers in children’s arms, some of whom were as young as 11. 

Even though he redacted the identities of the young patients being harmed, Dr. Haim is now being targeted by the federal government, leveling charges against him for allegedly exposing private information. The feds are now threatening this man with potentially 10 years in prison on what amounts to a technicality while doctors are chemically castrating children. What is encouraging though is that the general public has rallied behind the 34-year-old surgeon, raising over $1 million in funds via a crowdfunder for his legal defense expenses. 

According to nurse Vanessa Sivadge, it was because of the conviction of the Holy Spirit that she, too, knew she could not stay silent about the medical scandal that is trans-ing children. As she told Allie Beth Stuckey in a July 2 Relatable podcast interview, this was something that she came to understand as one of the “good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” referencing Ephesians 2:10. 

Although she did not know Dr. Haim at the time, it was her testimony that corroborated what he exposed. FBI agents showed up at Sivadge’s home, and tried to intimidate her into cooperating with them. Sivadge also revealed how doctors fraudulently miscategorized the treatments in order to do these procedures as a legal workaround given the ban that Texas Medicaid had instituted on such practices. 

I understand the law that the DOJ is applying. It is called a violation of HIPAA rules that were made to protect patients' private information. I suspect the physician accessed the hospital computerized record system for some of his information. This should not be done without a patient's consent or a consultation request from another physician. I also suspect that someone in the hospital's administration or staff reported this as retribution. Believe me, I know how this works. 

The doctor should be hailed as a hero for stopping these crimes against children. Instead, he faces persecution by the DOJ and probably by the hospital as well. 

The lawyers in the DOJ would be well advised to take heed of Jesus' words.

 

Herodias the antihero

This Sunday's reading form Mark 6:14-29 contains the gruesome story of the execution of John the Baptist. It is one of those stories that when you first hear it as a child, you really remember it.

King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, ‘John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.’ But others said, ‘It is Elijah.’ And others said, ‘It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’ But when Herod heard of it, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.’

  For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.’ And he solemnly swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What should I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the baptizer.’ Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’ The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

This was the brutal world that Jesus lived in. Jesus had to be aware of the fate of his cousin.

As for Herodias, she was divorced from her first husband and married his brother, Herod Antipas. Jewish law forbade a man to marry his brother's divorced wife. 

Divorce, an unlawful marriage, and conspiracy to commit murder make Herodias quite the antihero.

Church Weddings a Rarity in England

As The Organization in England continues its debate on same-sex marriages, it might be good to look at some wedding statistics from that island.

From The Telegraph,

 A record 204,982 marriages were sealed in civil ceremonies in 2022, crossing the 200,000 threshold for the first time, new data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

Almost 250,000 couples tied the knot that year in total, marking a 12.3 per cent increase on 2019 levels.

But religious marriages – those held on Church of England grounds or in other places of worship – are continuing their pattern of steady decline since they reached a peak of more than 400,000-a-year in the early 1970s.

Just 41,915 took place in 2022. Civil ceremony services, meanwhile, have proved much more resilient.

On the one hand, the soaring cost of church weddings is likely to be having an impact. 

With couples now spending  £20,775 for the big day on average, according to wedding planning app Bridebook, a scaled-back ceremony at the register office is a more financially palatable option.

On the other, the collapse in religious weddings is observed alongside the waning of religious affiliation more broadly.

In the 2021 census, less than half of the population (46.2 per cent) described themselves as “Christian” for the first time.

Religious ceremonies made up just 17 per cent of the total in 2022 – a record low outside of the pandemic, when the number of weddings plummeted due to successive lockdowns.

The legalisation of same-sex marriages in 2014 has also had an effect, just 1.2 per cent of which were held in religious premises in the latest year of data.

It remains against the law for Anglican clergy to wed same-sex couples in church, but many now offer “prayers of dedication” for those who want to “give thanks for their love in faith before God”.

It is, however, possible for homosexual couples to hold a civil partnership ceremony in a religious building that has been licensed by the council.

A record 7,800 same-sex marriages were held in 2022, of which only 91 were on religious premises of any kind.

The data also show opposite-sex couples electing to cohabit before taking their vows more than ever before, up from 59.6 per cent in 1994 to 90 per cent in 2022.

The wait before a first marriage is also growing longer, with the median age across men and women up by almost a decade from 23.3 years in 1970 to 32 in 2022.

The unchurched are not interested in a church wedding, and the homosexuals generally are not so inclined either. 

I wonder what the funeral statistics show.

 

The Twelve Sadhus

In this Sunday's reading from we hear about Jesus teaching in his home town, and then sending out the twelve to heal unclean spirits. 

He left that place and came to his home town, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town, and among their own kin, and in their own house.’ And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.’ So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

In India people like those Jesus sent out two by two are called Sadhus and are typically by themselves unless accompanied by a disciple. They survive on handouts. Jesus' disciples were to survive by faith as well as the kindness of strangers. Jesus warned them that they would face rejection. In today's age, followers of Jesus face rejection as well. While we may shake the dust off our feet in such a case, we must continue to pray that those unclean spirits depart that house.

Church of England members may seek "Alternative Spiritual Oversight"

 Back during the war of Anglican independence here in the United States, the Episcopal organization tried to keep the orthodox from leaving by offering "Alternative Episcopal Oversight". By this process, a congregation that did not approve of their bishop's position on same sex marriage or blessings could have a bishop from another diocese come in and "oversee" certain functions. History shows how well that worked... it didn't. Tens of thousands of Bible believing Christians eventually left and many formed the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).  

Now the "Church" of England (referred to here as "That Organization in England" or TOiE) is witnessing the same thing as they creep towards same-sex blessings and weddings. A group called the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) is offering "Alternative Spiritual Oversight" to those who wave the Bible at revisionist bishops.

"Many clergy and/or PCCs now feel in impaired fellowship with their bishops as a result of their bishop’s support for the Prayers of Love and Faith.

While they recognise the ongoing formal and legal role of their bishops, the reality is that many people (both lay and clergy) are feeling isolated, and long for support and spiritual oversight from people continuing to hold the biblical and Anglican view of marriage.

CEEC is therefore facilitating the provision of such support in order to help clergy and parishes receive spiritual oversight without having to look outside of the Church of England. This is a temporary provision which will support evangelicals until a settlement based on structural provision is made available.

We are pleased that a group of Honorary Assistant bishops have agreed to initiate this ministry and we will be discerning who God might be calling to join them in making this provision as non-consecrated overseers. We have appointed a diverse panel of experienced leaders from across the evangelical constituency (spanning charismatics and conservatives, egalitarians and complementarians) to discern whom God might be calling to such an role. This panel will be chaired by CEEC President Julian Henderson (the previous Bishop of Blackburn) and includes two other Honorary Assistant bishops. CEEC is inviting suggestions of people who might be called to an overseer ministry. 

Clergy and/or parishes, seeking alternative spiritual oversight, must continue to be accountable for safeguarding to their diocesan bishop and safeguarding officers.

This provision is both informal and temporary and will serve as a stepping-stone to the formal and permanent provision which we hope and pray will be agreed as part of a new structural arrangement and settlement."

"Temporary" is right if things go as they did in the U.S. 

The definition of insanity is....

 

When Miracles Test Belief

 Last Sunday we heard about Jesus calming a storm. In this Sunday's reading from Mark 5:21-43, Jesus heals a woman and raises a child from the dead. 

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered round him; and he was by the lake. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, ‘My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.’ So he went with him.

And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.’ Immediately her haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, “Who touched me?” ’ He looked all round to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’

  While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?’ But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’ He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, ‘Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’ And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

What are we to make of these miracles? All too many people these days dismiss them as myths or misinterpretations of what actually happened. People cannot believe that any person could perform such feats. 

I find that people who believe in an omnipotent God are much more willing to accept miracles than those who either believe in a god of limited power and interest in intervening in human affairs or who do not believe in God at all.

I think therein lies the crux of the problem with people accepting Jesus as God's son, and that is a theology gap. 

Let's consider theology, 

Theology is the study of God, God’s character, God’s actions in relation to the cosmos, and especially God’s relationship to humanity (the character and history of humankind) in its responsive relationship to God within the panorama of the world and history, space, and time. (Grace Theological Seminary)

 Those who study the God of the Bible, Jesus of Nazareth, his resurrection, and the Acts of the Apostles who died refusing to deny that they were witnesses to that miracle, usually come to the conclusion that anything, even miracles, is possible when talking about God. 

Even that Jesus was God's son.

 

 

Praying for Steve Wood

 This Sunday we said a special prayer for our bishop, Steve Wood, who was elected Archbishop of the ACNA. I first heard about Steve Wood several years ago during the Episcopal war of secession when his large church decided to leave the Episcopal organization. I was friends with him on Facebook at the time. After a while he deactivated that Facebook profile and became a bishop in ANCA. He then became my bishop when I joined an ACNA parish. 

I have been reading some negative comments about him from those  who are strongly opposed to women's ordination (W.O.).  I do consider the issue of W.O. to be an important unresolved question for the ACNA. I understand the concern that by ordaining women into the priesthood, the door is open for women to be rectors and then for them to demand to be bishops. We shall see if that happens, but I think that as long as ACNA leadership follows biblical principles, we are not going to go down that slippery slope.

I do not think that anyone has to worry that W.O. will be imposed upon them by the new Archbishop given the current structure of ACNA. 

So, pray for Steve Wood as he takes on his new role in ACNA.

To better understand the W.O. problem and Steve Wood's election please listen to the Stand Firm podcast from this past Sunday. 

When the Lord is with you

 In this Sunday's reading from Mark 4:35-41, Jesus calms the sea.

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

Just like us, the disciples waited until the last moment to beg Jesus to save them. 

When we sailed the Sea of Galilee with a Christian tour group a couple of years ago, we were blessed with calm seas, but it was easy to tell those waters could get rough enough to sink a small vessel. 

 

The Lord was with us on that trip. 

On Wedding Photography

 As Pewsterspouse and I approach our 43rd year of marital bliss, I came across an article in the Guardian about modern day wedding photographers and how complicated things have become for them. It seems that some are upset that vicars tell them not to intrude during the marriage ceremony while at the same time young couples are demanding increased documentation and stylized shots. The poor photographers have to spend much more time filming everything, and they have to compete with the ubiquitous cell phone cameras wielded by wedding guests. 

Forty three years ago our wedding photographer was permitted to take one shot during the ceremony from a balcony, with no flash, and no shutter noise. Father Comfort (yes that was his name) insisted also that any intoxicated bridesmaids would be sent out. 

This was the shot,

I believe the absence of the photographer made the ceremony more God centered rather than us centered. I am not so sure that today's couples care to keep God in the center of their marriage.

Of course, there were the usual pictures taken before and after the ceremony that we had to choose to go in our wedding album (which currently lies undisturbed on a shelf in an outbuilding), but  this was nothing compared to the thousands of images and videos taken at today's weddings. 

I have attended several weddings recently none of which were held in a church, and I think it is an indication of our society's walk away from God.

It takes God and the Church to bind two as one and to keep them together, not pictures.

 

Kingdom Parables

 This Sunday's reading is from Mark 4:26-34,

He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’

He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’

 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

Notice that these kingdom of God parables do not say that this is a kingdom that is grown by people. God is in charge and he grows His kingdom in mysterious ways. 

Resisting Pride

This Pride Month craziness has many businesses waving the rainbow flag in hopes this will protect them from retaliation by those marching through the streets. Where in history have we seen that before? 

Is resistance futile?

For many years I have supported a certain non-profit organization that serves both North and South Carolina, and more recently I have served on its Board of Directors. In order to secure grant money from large corporations it became necessary a couple of years ago to demonstrate that the non-profit had a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policy (DEI), and that the organization could demonstrate that its governing board and employees were representative of the diversity of the population being served. Board members had to endure DEI training one morning which was for me a waste of time and money as I have been the minority partner a large part of my working life. I am all for diversity, but the equity and inclusion bits are coded messages that open the door for what happens next. 

Now the non-profit's web page features its DEI program in rainbow colors, and its social media pages proudly wave the LGBTQietc flag in support of "Pride Month". I notified the CEO that the organization had strayed from its primary mission. I suspect an employee posted these without the knowledge of the part time CEO placing the CEO in a bind: take the post down and incur the wrath of the LGBTQietc police and potentially lose big corporate donors, or support it and maybe lose a board member.

Needless to say, the CEO's response was in full support of the social media messaging. 

After consulting with Pewsterspouse and my priest, I made my decision.

Scratch one board member. 

As I explained to the Chairman of the Board, Pewsterspouse and I can no longer support an organization that steps outside of its primary mission statement and starts to advocate for those who push for puberty blockers for children, genital mutilating surgeries, and all of the other harmful and shameful things that "Pride" represents. 

I'm outta there. 

A House Divided Will Not Stand

 This Sunday's reading is from Mark 3:20-35,

and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’ And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.’ And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.

 ‘Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’— for they had said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’

 Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, ‘Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you.’ And he replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and mother.’

The current way of looking at issues is to not really look at them but instead to divide houses into opposing factions, and to be forced to take sides. Usually people do come together when facing a national emergency, but remember how polarized we became during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

I wish we could all come together and agree that the real enemy is Satan, and that he is working to tie up our strong man (Jesus) by turning people away from him and to false prophets, false religions, and other gods such as the self worship evident in this month's "Pride" parades.

We know from Revelation that this earthly kingdom will fall. Until that time, divisions will never cease.

In Your Face

The Episcopal organization (TEO) based in New York City has updated its shield to be more inclusive for "Pride Month".  

I don't see any element in the new shield that includes the marginalized and oppressed minority of orthodox Christians who might lurk in the shadows of this organization. 

Diversity and inclusivity in TEO is, like their fancy vestments, miters, and episcobabble, a sham. 

There is little to be proud of.

 I can only hope that someone somewhere in TEO will open their Bible this month and inwardly digest these verses before joining the parade,

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:15-17 ESV

And,

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Isaiah 64:6 ESV 

Revised Common Lectionary Strikes Again

This Sunday's psalm is 81 Exultate Deo, but the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL)  shortens it to verses 1-10 only,

1 Sing with joy to God our strength *
and raise a loud shout to the God of Jacob.

2 Raise a song and sound the timbrel, *
the merry harp, and the lyre.

3 Blow the ram's-horn at the new moon, *
and at the full moon, the day of our feast.

4 For this is a statute for Israel, *
a law of the God of Jacob.

5 He laid it as a solemn charge upon Joseph, *
when he came out of the land of Egypt.

6 I heard an unfamiliar voice saying, *
"I eased his shoulder from the burden;
his hands were set free from bearing the load."

7 You called on me in trouble, and I saved you; *
I answered you from the secret place of thunder
and tested you at the waters of Meribah.

8 Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you: *
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

9 There shall be no strange god among you; *
you shall not worship a foreign god.

10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt and said, *
"Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it."

All well and good until we get to the parts the lectionary cut out, 

11 And yet my people did not hear my voice, *
and Israel would not obey me.

12 So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their hearts, *
to follow their own devices.

13 Oh, that my people would listen to me! *
that Israel would walk in my ways!

14 I should soon subdue their enemies *
and turn my hand against their foes.

15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, *
and their punishment would last for ever.

16 But Israel would I feed with the finest wheat *

and satisfy him with honey from the rock. 

Ironic that "And yet my people did not hear my voice" was cut because they certainly did not hear it this Sunday in churches that use the RCL.

This is yet another example of how the RCL sanitizes the Bible in order to make it more palatable to the Sunday pewsitters. 

When Popes Offend, Bishops Laugh

How should a Pope comment about homosexuality in his seminaries without offending anyone? Probably not in the way that he did it, 

from Religion Media Centre:

The Italian newspaper La Republica has reported that the Pope told a group of Italian bishops that there is “too much frociaggine (faggotry)” among those training for the priesthood.

The report is of a closed-door meeting from a week ago during a discussion on admitting gay men to seminaries. Corriere della Sera, Italy’s bestselling daily, confirmed the report and said bishops were incredulous, believing he was unaware of the offensive meaning of the word.

And from CNN (which could not print the word "faggotry" and instead wrote “f*****ry").  

The Corriere della Sera newspaper stated that the Argentine pope, who speaks Italian as a second language, may not have been aware of how offensive his language was, adding that the remark was greeted with incredulous laughter by the bishops.

 How do the know that the laughter was incredulous? It might have been giggling, chuckling, rolling on the floor laughing out loud. For all we know, only the homosexual bishops were offended. I suspect one of them leaked the conversation to the press.

 

 

Trinity Sunday and Memorial Day together in song

 This Sunday is the confluence of Trinity Sunday with a Memorial Day weekend. For this I chose what some might consider an unusual processional hymn to begin the service, "Let all mortal flesh keep silence" in part because "St. Patrick's Breastplate" was too hard for our small congregation to sing. 

1 Let all mortal flesh keep silence,

and with fear and trembling stand;

ponder nothing earthly minded,

for, with blessing in His hand,

Christ our God to earth descendeth,

our full homage to demand.

2 King of kings, yet born of Mary,

as of old on earth He stood,

Lord of lords, in human vesture,

in the body and the blood.

He will give to all the faithful

His own self for heav'nly food.

3 Rank on rank the host of heaven

spreads its vanguard on the way,

as the Light of light descendeth

from the realms of endless day,

that the pow'rs of hell may vanish

as the darkness clears away.

4 At His feet the six-winged seraph,

cherubim with sleepless eye,

veil their faces to the Presence,

as with ceaseless voice they cry,

“Alleluia, alleluia,

alleluia, Lord Most High!” 

From  Hymnary.org, 

"One of the lesser sung Christmas hymns, this paraphrase of Gerard Moultrie is based on a text that has been used by the church since the late fourth century: the Liturgy of St. James. Moultrie’s words come from a part of that liturgy known as the Cherubic Hymn, which would be chanted as the bread and wine of Holy Eucharist were brought forward. This old text evokes a sense of majesty at the incarnation of Christ, and the slow, almost chant-like melody in a minor tone wonderfully expresses that awe and mystery. We come before Christ in silence and in awe to reflect upon the mystery of the incarnation, joined even by the hosts of heaven to witness the miracle. Singing this hymn, one can imagine him or herself standing in the stable, angels above, in reverent silence to worship the King, born a child to banish the darkness away."

I chose it because it fits perfectly with the reading from Isaiah 6:1-8

I

n the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:

‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory.’

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’

 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’

 I felt that the reverent tone was appropriate for Memorial Day also. 

I chose "Almighty Father strong to save" for the Offertory.

We'll process out to "Crown Him with many crowns". 

Postlude tune will be "Materna" which should be familiar to the congregation as it goes to, "O beautiful for spacious skies...".