Lectionary Edits Strike Again

This Sunday's reading from the Revised Common Lectionary  cut out part of the Epistle: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5,13-17. I have highlighted the missing verses in red.

As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you?

  And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed when his time comes. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false, so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned.

 But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.

 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.

I guess the editors thought those verses in red would be too difficult for the average pewsitter to understand or too difficult for the average preacher to explain and too deprecatory.

Still the part where it reads, "God sends them a powerful delusion" needs commentary.

Matthew Henry put it this way, 

6. We have the sin and ruin of the subjects of antichrist’s kingdom declared, 2 Thess. 2:11, 12. (1.) Their sin is this: They believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness: they did not love the truth, and therefore they did not believe it; and, because they did not believe the truth, therefore they had pleasure in unrighteousness, or in wicked actions, and were pleased with false notions. Note, An erroneous mind and vicious life often go together and help forward one another. (2.) Their ruin is thus expressed: God shall send them strong delusions, to believe a lie. Thus he will punish men for their unbelief, and for their dislike of the truth and love to sin and wickedness; not that God is the author of sin, but in righteousness he sometimes withdraws his grace from such sinners as are here mentioned; he gives them over to Satan, or leaves them to be deluded by his instruments; he gives them up to their own hearts’ lusts, and leaves them to themselves, and then sin will follow of course, yea, the worst of wickedness, that shall end at last in eternal damnation. God is just when he inflicts spiritual judgments here, and eternal punishments hereafter, upon those who have no love to the truths of the gospel, who will not believe them, nor live suitably to them, but indulge false doctrines in their minds, and wicked practices in their lives and conversations.

Too much for the Sunday pewsitters? 

A Funeral For a Friend

 We have reached the stage of life in which we attend more funerals than weddings, and the past month has provided a bumper crop of friends' souls to be processed through the Pearly Gates. This has given us the opportunity to visit many different churches and denominations. Unfortunately for me, I had to attend a funeral for a friend at my former Episcopal church which is now run by a "married" same-sex priest.

Does anyone really wonder why the Episcopal organization (TEO) is dying?

You can't deny the numbers which continue a decades long trend in Episcopalians' funerals (24,165) outnumbering baptisms (16,984) in 2024. Read a summary at Anglican Watch.

The futurists predict a slow death for TEO. I suspect that the larger urban parishes will hold on the longest while the smaller parishes' funerals will go largely unnoticed and unattended by their city dwelling counterparts much like these statistics will be unrealized by the average pewsitter.

May the souls of those who remained blind to the cause of death of their once faithful denomination rest in peace.

 Peace is easy when your head is buried in the sand.

[Verse 1] 

The roses in the window box have tilted to one side

Everything about this house was born to grow and die

Oh, it doesn't seem a year ago to this very day

You said, "I'm sorry, honey, if I don't change the pace

I can't face another day"

[Chorus]

And love lies bleedin' in my hands

Oh, it kills me to think of you with another man

I was playin' rock and roll, and you were just a fan

But my guitar couldn't hold you, so I split the band

Love lies bleedin' in my hands

[Verse 2]

I wonder if those changes have left a scar on you

Like all the burnin' hoops of fire that you and I passed through

You're a bluebird on a telegraph line, I hope you're happy now

Well, if the wind of change comes down your way, girl

You'll make it back somehow

 

[Chorus]

And love lies bleedin' in my hands

Oh, it kills me to think of you with another man

I was playin' rock and roll, and you were just a fan

But my guitar couldn't hold you, so I split the band

Love lies bleedin' in my hands

 

Beatitudes, Beatitudes...

This Sunday we decided to celebrate All Saints Day even though it was yesterday. There is nothing wrong with hearing the Beatitudes from Luke 6:20-31 on any day,

 Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

‘Blessed are you who are poor,

   for yours is the kingdom of God.

 ‘Blessed are you who are hungry now,

   for you will be filled.

‘Blessed are you who weep now,

   for you will laugh.

 ‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

 ‘But woe to you who are rich,

   for you have received your consolation.

 ‘Woe to you who are full now,

   for you will be hungry.

‘Woe to you who are laughing now,

   for you will mourn and weep.

 ‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

 ‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

I am struggling with that part about not asking for the goods that were taken from me as I have been cheated by a contractor, but I don't want others to be victimized. 

I know the Sheriff won't struggle with it if I turn it over to him. 

Still... I wonder.

Meanwhile in Brazil: Watch what you blog

When I think of "woke" ideology, Brazil never comes to mind, but not so according to The European Conservative, 

 “The Ministry of Human Rights, in partnership with the NGO Aliança Nacional LGBTI+, launched a platform aimed at holding legally accountable authors of publications considered to be disinformation or hate speech against LGBTI+ people and other gender identities,” reported Gp1, a major Brazilian news outlet.

The ‘Platform of Respect’ initiative was funded by a R$300,000 (around €50,000) parliamentary amendment sponsored by Erika Hilton, a trans-identifying male politician. According to Gp1, the “system uses an artificial intelligence tool called Aletheia, which, according to its official website, seeks to ‘track the origin of disinformation, report its impact, and enable accountability for authors and disseminators.’”

The ‘disinformation’ the AI platform will be tracking includes ‘misgendering’ politicians. Isabella Cêpa, a gender-critical women’s rights activist, was recently granted refugee status in an unnamed European country after correctly referring to Hilton as a male and facing up to 25 years in prison as a result. Hilton, who was elected to a municipal position in São Paulo in 2020, filed a report with the police.

In 2019, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court ruled that discrimination against the “LGBTQ Community” is a form of “racism” under the country’s anti-racial discrimination laws, thus constituting “transphobia” as an offence under Brazil’s Penal Code. Since then, there have been a number of high-profile investigations and prosecutions of Brazilian citizens for “transphobia,’ with some facing hefty prison sentences as a result.

“Initially, the project presents itself as a hybrid fact-checking agency, bringing together legal and communications professionals to work over 18 months to combat fake news on social media,” reported Gp1. “During the launch, held in Brasília on September 16, Jean Muksen, the platform’s coordinator, explained that the main objective is to continuously monitor profiles and media outlets, identifying ‘problematic’ content and eventually filing criminal complaints.” 

“We created a platform with several artificial intelligence tools that continuously monitor pages, profiles, websites, and blogs,” Muksen said. He noted that “the technology analyzes discourse, intentions, and nuances of the Portuguese language, including irony and sarcasm, which traditional methods don’t automatically detect” and “when it identifies alleged fake news or a post containing hate speech, the system stores the content in a repository, which can be forwarded to the courts after evaluation by a lawyer hired by the NGO.”

In short, the new system will constantly scan online conversations and, when it identifies an interaction that might constitute “disinformation” or “hate speech” as defined by the state—which includes affirming the sex binary and rejecting the idea that men can become women—it sends the “evidence” to be reviewed for potential criminal prosecution. It is a fusion of totalitarian LGBT ideology and AI technology.

The “Platform of Respect” will also “monitor the profiles of members of Congress and state assemblies, as well as influencers, blogs, and news sites,” and “was developed by a startup, while the LGBTI+ Alliance’s permanent team consists of four professionals: a coordinator, a lawyer, a journalist, and a designer, with an annual maintenance cost of R$140,000.” The persecution of ordinary citizens on behalf of the LGBT movement will be funded by the state—that is, by the taxpayers being targeted.

Brazil... another place where you have to keep your mouth and social media shut. 

More Lectionary Edits

This Sunday's reading from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) is 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18. I have highlighted in red the verses that will not be heard in churches that use the RCL.

6 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

9 Do your best to come to me soon, 10 for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry. 12 I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will pay him back for his deeds. 15 You also must beware of him, for he strongly opposed our message.

16 At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory for ever and ever.

I suspect that Paul got too negative for the lectionary editors when he condemned Alexander the coppersmith and warned Timothy to beware of him.

The people in the pews shouldn't hear that!

When in Spain... keep your mouth shut

El Cid is turning in his grave right now. 

From Life Site,

Mon Oct 6, 2025 - 10:05 am EDT

(LifeSiteNews) — Sentencing for a Spanish priest who this past week was found guilty of making “Islamophobic” comments more than seven years ago has Catholics as well as free speech advocates concerned.

In February, Father Custodio Ballester was summoned by a regional court in Spain to respond to charges that he had committed a “hate crime” for calling attention to the unjust treatment Christians receive in Islamic majority countries.

Ballester, who serves as a parish priest in Barcelona, was charged with violating Spanish law in 2020 when the state prosecutor in Catalonia claimed that an article Ballester wrote in 2016 titled “The Impossible Dialogue with Islam” met the criteria of a “hate crime.”

Ballester wrote his essay in response to a pastoral letter by his superior, the archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Juan José Omella, titled “The Necessary Dialogue with Islam.” In his rebuttal, Ballester wrote: “This new reactivation of Christian-Muslim dialogue, paralyzed by the alleged ‘imprudences’ on the part of the late Pope Benedict XVI, is very far from becoming a reality. Islam does not allow dialogue. For Islam, either you believe, or you are an infidel who must be subdued one way or another.”

Ballester has also previously made remarks critical of LGBT ideology.

Ballester’s case involves Father Jesús Calvo and journalist Armando Robles. They had been accused of making “Islamophobic” remarks on a 2017 podcast by the Association of Spanish Muslims Against Islamophobia. The Málaga Provincial Court handed down its ruling earlier this week.

Ballester told Catholic News Agency that his statements “have never been discriminatory or hateful.” He also said, “they want to use me as an example so that others censor themselves.”

Violating Spain’s hate crime law carries a penalty of anywhere from one to four years in prison with additional financial penalties. Ballester says that he expects his sentencing may be delayed due to political pressure, and that he will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights if he is sentenced with jail time.

Several dozen supporters held signs at the courthouse when the decision was handed down. Law firm Abogados Cristiano has collected nearly 30,000 signatures on a petition supporting Ballester’s innocence. Clergy in Spain have largely remained silent, however. CNA reports that Cardinal Omella “has only offered private words of support, without issuing a public statement.”

“People are very angry about the excessive sentences being sought for ‘hate crimes,’ which are comparable to those sought for sexual assault or leaving someone paralyzed in a fight,” Ballester told CNA.

In an update received today, the pair were acquitted, but read some of the language in the ruling as translated for CNA, the Catholic News Agency,

Two priests and a journalist who were tried for criticizing radical Islam have been acquitted by the Provincial Court of Malaga in Spain. 

The priests, Custodio Ballester and Jesús Calvo, along with the director of a digital media outlet, Armando Robles, were accused of committing hate crimes on a talk show in 2017.

The public prosecutor’s office had requested a four-year prison sentence for Robles along with a 10-year ban from teaching and a 3,000-euro ($3,500) fine. In the case of the priests, the prosecutor sought a three-year sentence.

According to Europa Press, the ruling, after verifying that the defendants had not retracted their words and writings, which were treated as proven facts, focused its analysis on whether the spoken and written words were crimes. 

Specifically, the court determined whether the men’s statements criticizing radical Islam qualified as hate crimes under the law or were merely protected instances of freedom of expression.

The court determined that the elements of a hate crime were not present, “no matter how despicable and perverse the message” or how “clearly offensive” or “unfortunate” the statements.

“Not only is there speech protected by freedom of expression, but we could even accept that there is intolerant speech that also exists within the scope of freedom of expression, even though it may be offensive, not only to the group or person to whom it is directed but even to the person listening to it,” the ruling stated.

Regarding Ballester’s statement, the court determined that “no matter how despicable and perverse the message or its author may be, if it is not accompanied by a clear and manifest promotion of hatred toward one of the groups protected by [the existence of] such a crime,” it is not criminal.

In the case of Calvo, the court noted that his statements “could well be classified, at least in large part, as delirious,” in the sense of “a verifiable reality resulting from the delirious ideas and psychological ailments suffered by the accused.”

In 2017, the Association of Muslims Against Islamophobia filed a complaint with the Special Service for Hate Crimes and Discrimination of the Barcelona prosecutor’s office. The petition requested an investigation into comments made by the three men during a television talk show.

Since the program in question was located in Málaga, the case was transferred to that province. There, prosecutor María Teresa Verdugo not only evaluated the comments made during the discussion but also considered an article published in 2016 by Ballester. The text, titled “The Impossible Dialogue with Islam,” was written in response to a pastoral letter from the then-archbishop of Barcelona, ​​Cardinal Juan José Omella, titled “The Necessary Dialogue with Islam.”

The trial, initially scheduled for September 2024, had to be postponed because Ballester’s lawyer had another trial that took priority. The hearing was ultimately rescheduled for Oct. 1 of this year.

In a statement to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, shortly before the trial, Ballester said he felt at peace: “As Jesus Christ says, they will take us to the synagogue and the courts, and there the Holy Spirit will give us wisdom that our adversaries cannot counteract.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA. 

 Acquitted, but defamed and called lunatics by the court.

The time has come

 In this Sunday's reading from 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, we are warned about something that was yet to come but now has arrived.

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

The time has definitely come for the Organization that calls itself the CofE to fall because they have accumulated false teachers and turned away from listening to the truth.

The time has come for the Global Anglican Communion to arise and affirm that,

"All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work."

Leather and Beeswax: It is not what you think

From Premier Christian News,

Animal rights campaigners have written an open letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury Designate, asking her to ban church items made using animal products. 

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) requested that Dame Sarah Mullally “modernise the church,” by swapping leather bible covers for plant leather, and beeswax candles with soy wax.

The group claimed that “candles symbolising Jesus Christ would better represent hope for bees,” with a wax swap.

“Bees can feel stress and pain,” the group said. “To procure beeswax, bees are intensively farmed, and queen bees’ wings are often cut off to disable them.”

They also requested that garments be made from plant wool or linen, saying: “Gentle, clever sheep, who represent God’s people, deserve better than being thrown around wool sheds, stood on, punched and kicked.”

Yet, certain vegan leather products have been criticised for being less durable than cow's leather, with leather book covers lasting for centuries if stored correctly.

The Church of England has already been attempting to “modernise” elements of its traditional services, with members of the General Synod discussing alternatives to wheat flour and alcohol in Holy Communion bread and wine. Current church rules stipulate that some trace of “reduced” alcohol or wheat content is required to constitute communion, but levels are so low that it is often still appropriate for those with intolerances to consume.

I read somewhere that soy wax candles produce less soot, so maybe PETA should focus on that angle. 

As for those clever sheep, this from Fauna Facts,

Despite the popular belief that sheep are not very smart, sheep do have some social intelligence. Their intelligence is seen through their ability to learn and remember the faces of other sheep.

However, as domesticated animals, their instincts have become dull. Through the generations, we’ve bred sheep to become docile and uncritical. They’re given food, safety, and shelter by humans, and so they don’t need to exercise their brains much.

As sheep have evolved as domesticated animals, they’ve learned to stay in herds and follow others to seek safety. They have learned that sticking with the herd will mean they stay safely close to their shepherd and, therefore, find safety.

But what about that shearing process? This from New Life on a Homestead,

Domesticated sheep have been bred over many generations to produce more wool than they need and also to retain that wool.

They literally do not shed; their wool just grows and grows.

If their wool is not removed, it can cause several problems, such as overheating, irritation, and even blindness if the wool covers their eyes.

In some cases, the weight of the wool can cause the sheep to fall over and be unable to get back up.

If sheep are not sheared, their wool continues to grow, and eventually, it becomes matted and entangled.

This can trap moisture, dirt, and feces against their skin, leading to skin infections and lots of other problems as detailed above.

In severe cases, the sheep may even die from the weight of their overgrown wool.

Invariably, shearing a sheep that is badly matted and neglected will be far more precarious for the shearer and also for the poor sheep so afflicted.

This is why it’s so important to make sure that you’re keeping your sheep well- groomed and sheared regularly.

Take that PETA! It is cruel and unethical to not shear your sheep! 

 

God's plan for the Church of England

I kind-of expected the appointment of Sarah Mullally or someone like her to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury. The trajectory over the past 20 years of the institution has been to slowly accrete more and more revisionist ideas and revisionist clergy into its soul. The same thing happened here in the U.S.A. with the Episcopal organization. 

So what's wrong with Sarah Mullally as Archbishop? She is,

1) Pro-abortion according to LifeNews,

"In interviews and public comments, Mullally has explicitly stated, 'I would suspect that I would describe my approach to this issue as pro-choice rather than pro-life.'

During her tenure as Chief Nursing Officer for England (1999–2004), when she advocated for NHS provision of abortion – where the British government was literally killing babies at taxpayer expense in hospitals and clinics."

2) Pro same-sex blessings according to The Gospel Coalition,

"...she voted for the introduction of same-sex blessings (liturgical blessings for same-sex couples) into the Church of England and 'has repeatedly promoted unbiblical and revisionist teachings regarding marriage and sexual morality.'  Mullally led the Living in Love and Faith project, a dialogue process on sexuality questions that created havoc in the English church."

 3) Not in line with the Apostolic faith according to 1Timothy 3.

"The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,  not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive,  for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?  He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.  Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil."

Is Sarah Mullally part of God's plan for this what is now called, "That Organization in England"?

Probably so if His plan is to let it go its own way.

And the Bible tells us over and over again what happens when we go our own way.

Nothing good.

The bright side may be that many orthodox clergy and lay people won't follow this new leader. That may mean leaving their historic church buildings, their pensions, and the graveyards that contain the bones and ashes of their ancestors just like we had to do here in the States. Let all those things go, shake the dust from your feet, and follow Jesus. 

He will guide you into greener pastures.

Going above and beyond

 This Sunday's reading from Luke 17:5-10 might be a tough pill to swallow.

 The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you.

‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink”? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!” ’

I don't remember any of the apostles uprooting a mulberry tree using their faith, but I do recall that after they received the Holy Spirit following Jesus' post resurrection appearances, they went above and beyond what they ought to have done, and that cost most of them their lives. 

We are called to do more than just the bare minimum.

We are called to go above and beyond the call of duty. 

Antisemitism on the rise in Europe

 From The European Conservative,

"What do the numbers show now? A record number of 144 antisemitic incidents were reported in Belgium in 2023, the highest since monitoring began in 2001, according to data from antisemitisme.be. But this isn’t a unique Belgian phenomenon. Dutch Jews said they had documented 421 antisemitic incidents last year, a record tally that surpassed the previous all-time high, reported in 2023, by 11%. The number of antisemitic incidents in Germany almost doubled last year, reported the semi-official German body that tracks antisemitism. The Federal Research and Information Point for Antisemitism (RIAS) said it had registered 8,627 incidents of violence, vandalism, and threats against Jews in Germany last year, almost twice the 4,886 recorded in 2023, and far ahead of 2020’s 1,957. France saw nearly 1,600 anti-Semitic acts in 2024, perhaps a slight dip from the year before, but still at levels unseen in recent years, the country’s main Jewish organization said. Britain suffered its second-worst year for antisemitism in 2024, with more than 3,500 incidents being recorded, the Jewish body advising communities on security reported in February."

Why the rise you ask? The article focuses on the answer: Islam. 

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli believes that Jews have no future in Belgium. In a tweet, Chikli “highly recommended” that “the Jewish community in Belgium” leave the country, declaring that it “has been seized by Islamist mobs chanting for Hamas and Hezbollah.” He added, “Re-enactments of October 7 horrors and open death threats to Jewish leaders go unanswered. Hezbollah operatives operate in the country with complete impunity.” Concluding his message, Chikli wrote, “Belgium has surrendered!” and reiterated his warning: “I highly recommend the Jewish community in Belgium to leave—this country has lost its sovereignty and can no longer protect its Jews.” 

 Governments must crack down on antisemitism so that people do not have to leave their countries to the mobs, and if that means cracking down on Islamist mobs, then so be it.

"A great chasm has been fixed"

 In this Sunday's reading from Luke 16:19-31 we get an ominous warning in the form of a parable,

 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.' But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.' He said, 'Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.' Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' He said, 'No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

The great fixed chasm between heaven and hell cannot be crossed by anyone except Jesus. 

If you are in a hell hole right now, believe in the One who rose from the dead because He is the only one who can pull you out of that hole. 

England: "...Policing our tweets at the expense of policing our streets."

 From the "Get rid of hate speech laws" files comes yet another example. This time reported at Fox News.

The co-creator of the U.K. sitcom "Father Ted" was arrested at London Heathrow Airport on Monday allegedly over several social media posts criticizing transgender activists. 

Graham Linehan recounted the ordeal on his Substack, saying there were signs of something strange happening before he landed in London. 

According to the former comedy writer, a gate agent in the U.S. said he did not have a seat on his flight back home and needed to be issued a new ticket – something he didn’t think much of at the time. However, since the arrest, Linehan wrote on Substack that he believes he was flagged because "someone, somewhere, probably wearing unconvincing make-up" made a call.

When he got off the plane at Heathrow, Linehan was met by five armed officers, who told him he was being arrested over three posts on X.

"In a country where pedophiles escape sentencing, where knife crime is out of control, where women are assaulted and harassed every time they gather to speak, the state had mobilized five armed officers to arrest a comedy writer for this tweet (and no, I promise you, I am not making this up)," Linehan wrote.

In one of the posts, Linehan wrote that "if a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act." He then said those encountering such a scenario should make a scene, call police or even "punch" the offender.

He said officers questioned him about the post, and he explained it was a serious point expressed with humor...

Linehan said the only restriction on his bail was that he was banned from using X...

The former comedy writer added that the ordeal confirmed to him that "the U.K. has become a country that is hostile to freedom of speech, hostile to women, and far too accommodating to the demands of violent, entitled, abusive men who have turned the police into their personal goon squad."

"Harry Potter" creator J.K. Rowling, who has also been an outspoken critic of trans activism, slammed the arrest, writing "What the f--- has the U.K. become? This is totalitarianism. Utterly deplorable."

...Lord Toby Young of Acton confirmed to Fox News Digital that the Free Speech Union would be paying for Linehan's legal team.

"The over-zealous policing of social media posts by the British police is turning the country into an international laughingstock," Young told Fox News Digital. "It’s particularly egregious, given that the police only respond to one in five shoplifting offenses and 75% of burglaries went unsolved last year. They are policing our tweets at the expense of policing our streets."

Five armed officers to arrest one 50 year old unarmed comedian! Five officers who should be out on the streets fighting serious crimes.

That's a crime.

 

Healing for the sin-sick soul

This Sunday marks the end of summer which for some churches means that tomorrow they will celebrate the equinox with some sort of pagan ritual. Not in my church I assure you. We shall make the transition to fall by hearing the lament of Jeremiah in chapter 8:18-9:1,

 My joy is gone, grief is upon me,

   my heart is sick.

 Hark, the cry of my poor people

   from far and wide in the land:

‘Is the Lord not in Zion?

   Is her King not in her?’

(‘Why have they provoked me to anger with their images,

   with their foreign idols?’)

‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended,

   and we are not saved.’

 For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt,

   I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.

 Is there no balm in Gilead?

   Is there no physician there?

Why then has the health of my poor people

   not been restored?

O that my head were a spring of water,

   and my eyes a fountain of tears,

so that I might weep day and night

   for the slain of my poor people!

Poor Jeremiah. I hope he is listening now to this beautiful rendition of "There is a balm in Gilead" in the knowledge that Jesus came to be that healing balm.

 Refrain:

There is a balm in Gilead

To make the wounded whole;

There is a balm in Gilead

To heal the sin-sick soul.

1. Sometimes I feel discouraged,

And think my work's in vain,

But then the Holy Spirit

Revives my soul again.

(Refrain)

2. If you can't preach like Peter,

If you can't pray like Paul,

Just tell the love of Jesus,

And say He died for all.

(Refrain)

The Costs of Discipleship

If we bear witness to the saving grace of our Lord and defend the truths found in the Gospels, we will undoubtedly face persecution, even to the point of death as evidenced by the deaths of thousands of Christians yearly worldwide. Most of these persecutions and deaths go unreported here in the United States. When it happens here we get biased reporting such as CNN constantly labelling Charlie Kirk as a "conservative activist" and completely ignoring his Christian worldview. Just as certain, you can rest assured that no mention of the powers of darkness playing a role in Christian persecution and murder will be coming from CBS, NBC, ABC, NPR, etc.

As Christians, we know what we shall face and how to face it.

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” – 2 Timothy 3:12

 

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” – Romans 5:3-4

 

“For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him.” – Philippians 1:29

 

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” – 1 Peter 4:12-13

 

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4

 

“Remember what I told you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.” – John 15:20

 

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” – Matthew 5:10-12

 

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

 

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” – Romans 8:18

 

“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.” – Revelation 2:10

 

“Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.” – 2 Thessalonians 1:4

If the death of one man leads more to follow Jesus, to publicly defend the Good News that he came to save sinners, and to not be shy about naming the sins that offend God, and those things for which we are taught to repent, then let them know also the true costs of discipleship.

Often misused verses

This Sunday's reading from Luke 15:1-10 is so often misused by the LGBTQrstuvetc fans that reading it again is important.

Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’

 So he told them this parable: ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.

 ‘Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.” Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’

How many times have I heard that since Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them that the Church must welcome, accept, celebrate, and bless the LGBTQrstuvetc lifestyle? Too many times to count.

How many times have I heard the LGBTQrstuvetc fans say that they and us are among the lost, are sinners, and that Jesus welcomes and eats with them and us in order to hear from Him that we are lost and that we need to repent? Never.

There is no joy in heaven when God's Word is misused.

Meanwhile in Finland, the Persecution of Christians Continues

I have been following the case of Finnish MP, Päivi Räsänen, for several years. The persecution that she has been subjected to because she dared to go against the LGBTQrstuv+etc agenda from a Christian worldview is something that is hard to believe.  

From Christianity Today, 

 The consequences of one tweet posted seven years ago continue to reverberate for Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen, who is at the centre of an ongoing legal case for “hate speech”.

In 2019 Räsänen, who is also a former government minister, sent out a tweet questioning the appropriateness of the Evangelical Lutheran Church being a sponsor for a Pride event in Helsinki.

Her tweet also included an image of a Bible verse from Romans chapter 1, which states, “The men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”

In 2021 Räsänen was charged with “agitation against a minority group” under the section of the Finnish criminal code that deals with “war crimes and crimes against humanity”. The charges related to the tweet, to her comments in a radio debate, and to a church pamphlet published in 2004. The co-publisher of the pamphlet, Bishop Juhana Pohjola, was also charged.

In the debate and the pamphlet, Räsänen argued that, according to the Bible, marriage is between one man and one woman and that homosexual relationships are sinful.

Both Räsänen and Pohjola were acquitted of all charges in 2022 and again in 2023. However the prosecutor has appealed yet again, taking the case to the Supreme Court, which is set to hear oral arguments on 30 October.

One of the key issues in the trial is Räsänen’s use of the word “sin”. Described as hateful and insulting by the prosecution, Räsänen’s defence notes this is the term used in the Bible and that as such it is not her that is on trial, but the Bible itself.

The Finnish State prosecutor, Anu Mantila, said, “You can cite the Bible, but it is Räsänen’s interpretation and opinion about the Bible verses that are criminal."

This is a perfect illustration of the dangers of hate speech laws. 

Even if the Supreme Court rules in her favor, the prosecutor's dogged pursuit of this case sends a chilling message to everyone in Finland that you do not dare to argue against the LGBTQrstuv+etc agenda from a Biblical worldview. 

Could it happen here? 

Giving it up for Jesus

 This Sunday's reading from Luke 14:25-33 says it all,

Now large crowds were travelling with him; and he turned and said to them, ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.

 Can anyone do it?

Root Causes of Mass Shootings and the Solution

In a recent essay by John Horvat at The Imaginative Conservative, he identifies three factors that contribute to mass shootings like that of Minneapolis from recurring.

1. A Refusal to Accept a Moral Law
2. Normalizing Abnormal Behavior
3. God does not have any sovereignty over the world

He sums it up with this, 

Such revelations should cause political leaders and Church officials to change their perspectives on why these things are happening and how they might be stopped. They must realize that no system in the world can monitor all the potential Westmans waiting for their chance to defy God’s moral order. An evil and powerful force is unleashed in society that cannot be opposed by ordinary means.

What is so disconcerting about the whole affair is that the response to the massacre changed nothing. Everyone—both on the left and the right, politicians as well as clerics—has reverted to their default positions inside the framework of the liberal premises.

The debate is often reduced to deciding between adding more security and allowing fewer guns. There is no need to promote individual or societal morals. There is no need for restrictions on unbridled license. Satan need not be combated directly.

Everyone rightly mourns the victims, the dead and wounded effects of this cowardly act. No one addresses the cause found in Satan, the evil he spreads, and the destruction of God’s moral law.

Change must come from within hearts and society. Either society returns to God, or these things will continue happening. When a society abandons God and His moral law, no one is safe, not even little Catholic children, praying before classes during their first week back to school.

I couldn't agree more, 

Missing Verses

This week's Epistle reading is Hebrews 13:1-8,15-16. Note that the editors of the Revised common Lectionary have deleted verses 9-14. I have included these and highlighted them in red.

 Let mutual love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. 4 Let marriage be held in honour by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ 6 So we can say with confidence,

‘The Lord is my helper;

   I will not be afraid.

What can anyone do to me?’

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. 

9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings; for it is well for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by regulations about food, which have not benefited those who observe them. 10 We have an altar from which those who officiate in the tent have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood. 13 Let us then go to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. 

15 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Isn't it interesting that those who teach would delete the warning to "not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings..." ????

Perhaps they are aware that they might be the ones who are guilty of teaching strange things.

Meanwhile in India

I have been seeing an increasing number of reports from India of attacks on Christians ever since the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is the most recent example from Premier Christian News, 

A Christian pastor in India has been assaulted by Hindu extremists who accused him of "distributing blood" during communion.

A video - uploaded by the attackers themselves and shared on social media - shows the group entering a small church in Solapur in Maharashtra last month.

The so-called 'cow protectors' confronted the pastor over the communion wine and although he explained that it was grape juice, the group demanded to see a license for distributing it. They then seized the remaining juice and assaulted him.

The persecution watchdog Open Doors said the Hindutva nationalists claimed the pastor gathered 20 to 25 women and gave them “addictive” red wine. He was also falsely accused of using bribes to carry out coercive conversions.

In another false post circulating on social media the church is accused of “forcefully offering red wine to the women believers and intoxicating and defiling them.”

In much of India, alcoholic beverages are banned.  

Open Doors local partner Radhika ( name changed for security reasons) said: “Hindu extremists distort and fabricate claims to fit their agenda and incite fear and hostility against Christians.

“Recently, incidents of church disruptions have become increasingly common in Maharashtra.

“There is immense pressure from Hindutva-led state government and Hindutva extremist groups to enforce a new anti-conversion law in the state.” 

There are currently 11 states in India which have enacted anti-conversion laws. They are ostensibly put in place to curb religious conversions carried out through inducements or coercion. However critics argue that in reality they give a free hand to Hindutva nationalists to marginalise and fuel violence against minority religions.

Radhika added: “Several Hindutva political leaders are known to be spreading hate speech and accusing the Christian community of coercive conversion.

“The extremists continue to attack the churches and pastors.”

India is number 11 on Open Doors’ World Watch List, an annual ranking system of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution.

Since the Mughal empire brought Islam to India, there has been backlash from the Hindus against forcible conversions. Even though St. Thomas brought Christianity to India early on, it seems that hostility towards the Christian minority was not too severe until after British colonialism came in. After India's independence from the British we first saw terrible Muslim vs Hindu violence and the mass exodus of Muslims to Pakistan, and they are still leaving India today. Christians are the obvious next target of the Hindu extremists who want to rid the country of all "foreign" influences. Never mind that Christianity has been there for nearly 2000 years.

My Indian friends say that this stuff just goes on in the "villages" where there is a lot of ignorance. 

I say that P.M. Modi could stop it if he wanted to.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering

This Sunday's reading from Hebrews 12:18-29 struck me with its heavenly vision.

You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. (For they could not endure the order that was given, ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.’ Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I tremble with fear.’) But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

 See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.’ This phrase ‘Yet once more’ indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire.

"The spirits of the righteous made perfect" is a stark reminder that even the best of us will not achieve in this life the goal spoken in Matthew 5:48,

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

That perfection will be reached only through Jesus' mediation. 

 

Thinking about swimming the Tiber? Think twice...

 By Jules Gomes Published on August 19, 2025 at The Stream

Marking a historic first, the Vatican is officially recognizing group pilgrimages of LGBT+ Catholics as participants in Rome’s Jubilee Year events while Pope Leo XIV prepares to host a radical group dedicated to overturning biblical teaching on sexual morality.

Pro-LGBT+ Catholics are applauding the Vatican’s openness in arranging for Leo to meet with one of the Catholic Church’s most extreme lobby groups, We Are Church, which has been invited to the Vatican by Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod on Synodality.

The Italian bishops’ media outlet, L’Avvenire, confirmed on August 14 that Grech, one of the highest-ranking cardinals in the Vatican, has invited eight members from We Are Church to join the Jubilee Year events scheduled for October 26-28.

The movement is “known for its radical demands for ecclesial reform,” the bishops’ newspaper acknowledged, including the ordination of women, the freedom to use artificial contraception, the full inclusion of homosexuals in the Church, and optional priestly celibacy.

LGBT+ Leaders Rejoice Over Vatican Welcome

“We are delighted with this opportunity. There is much anticipation for this meeting, and even a certain amount of joy,” said Elza Ferrario, spokesperson for the Italian branch of the campaign group. “We are a reformist movement that hasn’t always had good relations with the institutional Church, so we are pleased to hear words of esteem.”

The pilgrimage is called: “Church: Home for All, LGBT+ Christians and Other Existential Frontiers.”

“Our patient work over 30 years, during which we have often been present in Rome at bishops’ synods, council commemorations, papal elections, and other events, may have contributed to this,” We Are Church cofounder Christian Weisner told Vatican News. “I also see the passage through the Holy Door as a sign for the Church as a whole: to leave mistakes behind and to set out again and again in Christian hope.”

The Jubilee 2025 website explains that the Holy Door in designated basilicas “is the most powerful sign of the Jubilee” and “passing through the Holy Door expresses the decision to follow and be guided by Jesus, who is the Good Shepherd.”

In Catholic understanding, pilgrims who pass through the Holy Door do so with repentant hearts and a genuine desire to change their lives. Conservative Catholics have objected to the weaponization of the Holy Door symbolism by LGBT+ groups that intend to subvert its meaning by calling upon the Church instead to repent for its biblical position on homosexuality.

Conservative Catholics Blast Holy Year Weaponization

“The practice of homosexuality is a very serious moral transgression condemned by Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church,” writes Italian historian Roberto Mattei.

If a homosexual repents of his sin and confesses, he can certainly pass through the Holy Door, entrusting himself to the mercy of God for the remission of the punishments due to his sins, but he does not need to do so with fanfare, and much less in an organized group.

Official participation in the Jubilee by an association of homosexuals, which does not have the goal of their conversion but rather justifies their conduct, has a clear instrumental intent: that of making it appear that the Church has changed its judgment on homosexuality.

The historian is calling upon Vatican authorities to “prevent these instrumentalizations” and reiterate “the incompatibility that exists between the Holy Year and moral transgression asserted as a right” lest “become complicit in the moral violation that they fail to condemn.”

Meanwhile, several Catholic LGBT+ groups have announced that they will be participating with the Vatican’s approval in the Jubilee Year services. The Vatican is officially listing their participation listed in the Jubilee Year Calendar, scandalizing Catholics who remain faithful to the Church’s traditional teaching on homosexuality.

That teaching, however, suffered a serious setback after Pope Francis permitted priests to offer nonliturgical blessings to same-sex couples in his 2023 declaration Fiducia Supplicans.

Bishop Will Celebrate Mass for Global LGBT+ Pilgrims

On August 12, LGBT+ Catholics Westminster’s Younger Adults Group members and others from LGBT+ Catholics Westminster announced that they will join pilgrims from the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics, the European Forum of LGBTI+ Christian Groups, Roman Catholic member groups, and a large number of Italian LGBT+ Catholic groups in Rome.

“For the first time in church history, LGBTQ+ Catholic groups are getting ready to participate in the Jubilee, not in spite of their queerness, but through it,” noted New Ways Ministry, a pro-LGBT+ Catholic campaign group.

On September 5, LGBT+ pilgrims will join in a Prayer Vigil, which will be “a time for everyone to be recognized in their uniqueness.” The next day, LGBT+ pilgrims will be guided through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica with Bishop Francesco Savino of Cassano all’Jonio celebrating Mass for LGBT+ groups at the Church of the Gesù, the mother church of the Jesuit order.

In an interview on the Feast of the Assumption, Savino said that LGBT+ groups participating in the Jubilee “is like a bell ringing loudly in the deafening silence of exclusion: a clear, strong and irreversible signal that reminds us that the Gospel is not a manifesto for a few elected, but a love letter addressed to the entire human family.

“It is not a question of ‘hosting’ someone in the house of the Lord, but of recognizing that everyone is already a full inhabitant,” the prelate said. “In the beating heart of the Eucharist — which is the very heart of the Gospel — nobody is a foreigner, nobody is excluded, nobody is invisible.”

Faithful Roman Catholics need to speak up now or forever hold their peace. 

Division

This Sunday's reading is from Luke 12:49-56,

‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:

father against son

   and son against father,

mother against daughter

   and daughter against mother,

mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law

   and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’

He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

My Dad used to say, "Never discuss religion or politics at the dinner table" to reduce the chance of conflict. 

The worst subject to bring up is church politics.

Jesus still divides. 

I have had friends who developed such anti-Christian opinions that they no longer speak to me. 

I guess I was warned.

Meanwhile in Sweden: A Storm over the Rainbow Vestment

 Tamás Orbán reports at The European Conservative,

Swedish Priest Under Media Fire for Refusing To Wear Rainbow Vestment

Multiple leftist media outlets attacked Swedish pastor Håkan Persson, the parish priest of Markaryd, after a recent social media post in which he criticized the new rainbow-colored, LGBT-friendly vestments designed to be the symbol of the progressivism of the Church of Sweden.

In his Facebook post, Persson stated that the rainbow-colored chasuble and stole, designed at the initiative of the Västerås diocese, “will not enter Markaryd’s church as long as I am vicar.” 

While the media paints him as acting from “a hidden minority-intolerant agenda” and accuses him of discriminating against the LGBT community in his parish, the priest insists he merely follows the liturgical rules of the church, and his doors remain open to anyone, but not to momentary political trends and sexual advertising.

“In the Church of Sweden, we have liturgical vestments that follow the church year. We actually have rules for that,” Persson explained. Anything other than white, red, green, and purple, depending on the liturgical season, is inconsistent with the Church’s official guidelines, he said.

Good for him for standing firm in an otherwise wayward Church. 

Be Dressed For Action!

 This Sunday's reading is from Luke 12:32-40,

‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

‘But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’

How do you stay dressed for action? 

Freefalling: The Organization in Wales

I have been following the situation in Wales for a number of years thanks to the Ancient Briton blog, and the following came as no surprise,

From Christian Concern, 

The Church in Wales has appointed an Archbishop who is openly living in defiance of Christian teaching.

Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of Christian Concern, comments: “Cherry Vann lives with her civil partner, Wendy, in a same-sex relationship. This directly contradicts the Church’s historic and biblical doctrine that marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman, and that sexual relationships are reserved for marriage.

“As an ordained minister, and now Archbishop, Cherry Vann has sworn to uphold the teaching of the Church. Instead, she is publicly living in deliberate rejection of those very doctrines.

“That she was elected with a two-thirds majority of the Electoral College demonstrates that the Church in Wales has now institutionally turned away from biblical teaching on sexual morality.

“What is a church if it refuses to uphold the doctrines it professes to believe? What does the Church in Wales actually stand for, if not the gospel handed down through the centuries?

“This appointment marks a tragic moment, evidence that the Church in Wales is in open rebellion against God’s Word. It is a clear sign of apostasy.

“No Bible-believing Christian can remain under the spiritual leadership of someone who so publicly rejects the clear teaching of Scripture.

“God will judge His Church for abandoning the gospel. As James reminds us, those who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1).

“And yet, there is hope. My prayer is that this judgment would bring repentance, that the Church in Wales would turn back to God, recover the truth of the gospel it once proclaimed, and again become a faithful witness in this land.”

By eye witness reports, weekly attendance in the Organization in Wales is in freefall but the Organization no longer releases attendance figures. 

The new Archbishop's election will accelerate the decline. 

God may be working His purpose out by speeding the demise of the Organization in Wales.

But God said to him, ‘Fool!

 This Sunday's reading is from Luke 12:13-21, The Parable of the Rich Fool

One of the multitude said to him, “Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?”  And he said to them, “Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully;  and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’  And he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’  But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Jesus explains the meaning of the parable, no need for me to add to it. 

This is not a Monty Python Sketch

 Did you know that in the organization that calls itself a Church, the CofE, one cannot expound upon the organization's own standards for marriage (which still align with traditional Christian teaching) in a sermon for children? 

If you do, you will lose your job, and get referred to a counter terrorism program!

That's what happened to one poor chap in the U. K.

Read all about it at Christian Concern,

New revelations have raised serious concern over the ongoing blacklisting of the Rev. Dr Bernard Randall, for a sermon in which he said it was ok for children to debate and disagree with gender identity teaching.

Dr Randall, who is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, was dismissed as chaplain at Trent College in Derbyshire and then referred to the UK’s counter-terrorism programme, Prevent, after delivering a sermon in a CofE chapel in a CofE school on the CofE’s teaching on marriage.

The sermon followed the invitation of discredited and controversial group Educate and Celebrate into the Christian school to promote, in their words, the need to ‘smash heteronormativity’, to even nursery aged children.

The sermon was given six years ago, no one claimed that they were harmed, but he remains blacklisted by his bishop. 

A review was ordered which led to this interesting exchange,

As part of the ‘new’ safeguarding process and investigation into Dr Randall, a meeting was held in June with ‘independent’ CofE safeguarding adviser, Lee Elliot, and Bishop of Repton, Rt Revd Malcolm Macnaughton, the Bishop of Derby’s deputy.

The purpose of the meeting was for the CofE to put their allegations to Dr Randall and allow him to provide a formal response. Although this meeting is a basic part of Church safeguarding processes, Dr Randall repeatedly had to request that it even happen.

Bishop Malcolm read a statement to Dr Randall where it was claimed Dr Randall remains a risk based on what he might say in future sermons. It was suggested his sermon and beliefs could cause emotional and spiritual harm.

When pressed for evidence and justification for this, Mr Elliot cited a now-overturned employment tribunal ruling that had been declared “unsafe” due to anti-Christian bias.

Following the statement read to him, Dr Randall asked what the nature of the alleged abuse is and who the victim is.

Mr Elliot said: “There is no named victim…the school has not supplied that.”

Dr Randall asked: “So how do we know there is a victim?”

Mr Elliott also referred to Dr Randall’s Christian beliefs as ‘your views.’

Dr Randall responded by saying that his sermon reflected official Church of England doctrine, not personal opinion:

“These are not my views… they are the teachings of the Church of England”, he said.

Mr Elliot said: “My understanding is that there are different parts of the Church of England that have different views and beliefs around the various sexual orientations.”

Elliot further claimed that saying “things that are controversial … could significantly lead to harm”. When challenged on how controversial views could be a safeguarding issue Mr Elliott brought the discussion to an abrupt close. Mr Elliott also went on the record as not answering questions.

This is not a Monty Python sketch.  

Does anyone wonder why the CofE is in freefall? 

Our FATHER!

 This Sunday's reading is from Luke 11:1-13 in which Jesus teaches us how to pray,

He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:

   Father, hallowed be your name.

   Your kingdom come.

   Give us each day our daily bread.

   And forgive us our sins,

   for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

   And do not bring us to the time of trial.’

 And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

 ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’

It amazes me that some priests and ministers want to change the word "Father" to "Mother" or some non genderish term when they recite the Lord's Prayer.  Isn't that saying that Jesus was wrong?

That's not an argument I would care to defend when the time comes.

Heads in the sand

 In a recent post, "ISIS Extremism or Islamic Doctrine?", Raymond Ibrahim summarizes recent atrocities carried out by Islamist groups and rightly points out that we should focus on the ideology common to these groups, Islam itself. 

"A lie, by definition, conceals the truth. And when unpleasant but vital truths remain hidden, they go unacknowledged, unaddressed, and ultimately unresolved."

"This principle underscores one of the most consequential falsehoods of our time: the claim that violence committed in the name of Islam is wholly unrelated to Islam itself. This widespread denial has enabled what is, at its core, an ideologically vulnerable religion to become one of the most persistent sources of global instability, with no end in sight..."

 "No problem can be solved unless it is first acknowledged. The uncomfortable but necessary truth is that Islam — not this or that terrorist group — provides the ideological framework that inspires hostility and violence against non-Muslims. Unless this reality is faced head-on, the cycle of denial will only continue — along with the persecution and loss of countless lives."

I am afraid the reality that Islam embraces violence, intolerance, prejudice, inequality, discrimination, polygamy, etc. will only be faced with more heads in the sand than watchdogs like Raymond Ibrahim.

We are Martha

This Sunday's lectionary selection was Luke 10:38-42,

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’

 We are Martha.

Think about it.

First the Christian cake shop, now the coffee shop

 

Oh Colorado, where Christians go to... be harassed.  A Christian coffee shop that began as a ministry to the homeless in Denver Colorado has run afoul of local communists and LGBTQrs activists by posting on their web site the Bible's guidance about homosexuality. 

From Fox News,

As part of this mission, Sanchez opened The Drip Café the next year. It's a regular coffee shop that also hires and mentors individuals who have completed the ministry’s program, and are sober and ready to reintegrate into the workforce.

"We've had a few people go through the project so far, and it's been very successful," he said.

However, even before The Drip Café opened its doors, Sanchez says they began receiving social media messages accusing the café of being anti-gay. On the opening day, protesters, organized by a local group called the Denver Communists, held signs and passed out flyers accusing the coffee shop of being run by a "right-wing church" that hated those in the LGBTQ community.

"I was in shock," Sanchez recalled. "Our whole purpose opening the café was to serve the homeless community and help people get off the street, change their lives. And here we got a group who just hates us because we're doing that, and we're Christian."

...His property has been vandalized, windows broken and "Keep Santa Fe Gay" stickers have been left on windows and mirrors. Recently, a spray-painted image of a KKK member hanging was left on the café's front door...

The Denver Communists told Fox News Digital they were not protesting the café strictly because it is Christian, but because of its religious beliefs on sexuality.

"There are plenty of Christian denominations that don’t share their bigoted view, such as the ELCA [Evangelical Lutheran Church in America] and we’ve been joined by pastors and many Christians in our protests. Since then Drip has doubled down on its homophobic position," a spokesperson for the group said. "Jamie and his bigoted coffee shop don’t have a monopoly on Christianity, but he sure is willing to try and profit off of it."

The communists say they view the protests as part of a "broader struggle" against forces like the Trump administration, which they say is attacking LGBTQ+ rights.

"We may not succeed in running the Drip out of town before the end of its lease, but that is ultimately irrelevant. The protests against the hate-café are serving as a training ground for new queer-rights activists, the message of queer liberation is being spread, and our ultimate victory, while delayed, is inevitable," the group wrote in a blog post...

The stated goal of the Denver Communists is to "run the Drip out of town." That's a threat is it not? Don't they have hate crime legislation there? Is that legal? 

In Colorado, I guess it is permissible. Remember that Colorado is the state in which a Christian baker was taken to court on several occasions (all the way to the Supreme Court) for his beliefs.

Shouldn't the Denver Communists be the ones in legal trouble?

Alas, not in Colorado. 

The Road to Jericho

This Sunday's reading is from Luke 10:25-37 and contains the story of the good Samaritan.

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’

 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

I read that it takes about 8 hours for a person to walk from Jericho to Jerusalem. I don't know what the Samaritan was riding, but the time involved in providing aid and transporting the injured man and getting him situated may have put the Samaritan’s arrival at his final destination close to dusk. Most sermons on this day never think about the time that the Samaritan sacrificed in service of the man. How many of us miss opportunities to serve the Lord because we feel under the pressure of another thing demanding our precious time? 

How more precious is the time spent caring for another human being?

As thick as a Biblically illiterate former Archbishop could be

 Most of us could not give a hoot about the search for a new Archbishop of Canterbury because the last two were disasters and there is no reason to expect a different outcome given the current state of the Organization (formerly known as the "Church") of England.

The last Archbishop over there showed his true colors  and the likely direction for his sect the other day according to Premier Christian News, 

Most Rev Justin Welby, former Archbishop of Canterbury has said he was “thick” not to recognise that faithful and committed same sex relationships are a "huge blessing”.

Speaking to the Cambridge Union, Most Rev Welby said “When they fall in love, and when they live out that love faithfully and with stability and caring for others, it is a huge blessing for them and for society; and I have seen that in so many places that, in the end, even I began to realise that I was being thick.”

I think he is pretty dense because he was supposed to defend the apostolic faith not oppose it.

I know a thick book he needs to open up and study more carefully. 

Woe to the Revised Common Lectionary editors

This Sunday the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) used in many churches makes another startling edit by removing verses 12-15 from Luke 10:1-11, 16-20. I have highlighted the missing verses in red. Readers if this blog should be able to see right away why the editors deleted Jesus' words.

 After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you; nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 

12 I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

13 “Woe to you, Chora′zin! woe to you, Beth-sa′ida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it shall be more tolerable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Caper′na-um, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.

16 “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Time and time again we have seen the Bible treated this way. I guess that Jesus' references to judgement, Hades, and especially Sodom cannot be shared with the Sunday pewsitters because they might make Jesus look bad.

I say, "Woe to you, RCL editors!"