Calling

As a seven year old who has mystical visions (I am talking Christian prayer, not ESP, not reading signs, not being in touch with some “ground of being”, and not anything that the Christian Church has ever been without), I only knew that I was not dreaming, that the images meant something that were to be understood, and that the understanding was not necessary to have right away. I simply found them interesting, but having never heard of anyone else describing these-- I knew nothing about what was taking place.

As a seven year old: Sitting on the stairs picking up the laundry which my mom had folded and left there for me to take to my room, and overhearing the words spoken from my big brother to my mom, “He is just different… in a good way. I think Crews would be a good priest” and finding, in a moment, that the statement resolved everything. There was no sense of “What a good idea” or, “That is an interesting thought” much less what I would think to be the normal reaction, “My brother is out of his mind!” Instead, I took those words, and understood that they gave voice to something of me I did not know how to articulate.

My family was Episcopalian, and the parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas were the only thing I knew of Christianity other than most of school friends were Baptists but seemed to believe what we (I) believed. I had no idea that their pastors were not priests. On television, and in movies, Christian worship was always centered on an Altar serviced by a Priest.

I suppose a brief aside is appropriate here…
The difference between a priest (in any religion) and any other religious minister is that a Priest makes sacrifice

Anyway, at about ten years of age, I risked hinting at my secret and told my Mom that I wanted a Bible for Christmas. The Bibles at home were all King James, and there was a modern English paraphrase out that was popular with my friends. I pretended not to notice my Mom’s delayed response, the confused look in her eyes, and the almost stuttered reply, “Uh, well, we’ll see.”

As I grew up, my family continually rose from upper middle class to out right wealthy, and presents were plentiful for my brother and me every Christmas. Like many families, we shared the tradition of getting to open one present on Christmas Eve, either after a light dinner or after we returned from the midnight mass. It was after dinner that night that my brother suggested we open one before we had to start getting ready for Church. My parents agreed, and off to the tree we went.

I am, even today, a terrible poker player. I give away too much by body language and facial expressions. My parents sat silently, exchanging wordless glances of what appeared to be concern when I pulled out the wrapped package that obviously was a book, and of the size and shape of a Bible. My Mom said something about choosing another one-- a toy or something. I was not dissuaded.

My parents were devout. To this day, I do not understand their behavior. At any rate, I read the first few chapters of the Gospel According to Mark before getting dressed for Church. In a few days or weeks, I had searched for and found many references to visions, and while it offered no real answers as to what to do about them, it reconciled these mysterious insights, as out of time and place as they often were when received.

Copyright © 2008 W. Crews Giles

relevant link

While I am busy editing several pieces to be posted, this is relevant; albeit far ahead of the story told so far.

Copyright © 2008 W. Crews Giles

PREAMBLE

I once had a life that was lively, exciting, challenging, directed, purposeful, meaningful, and best of all, included the love and relationship of my two children.

I have to re-tell some of this, because getting it out once in a while, even describing the same things, is (I am told) going to make what my life has now become more bearable.

I had a good job, about the top of my field, the “fair haired boy” of a small software company, hobbies, friends, activities, and beginning to seriously consider graduate school because while I made more money than I knew how to spend, I was unfulfilled,

I had known what I was supposed to be doing that would bring fulfillment (beyond making good money) since I was about seven or eight years old. That question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” was not producing a “normal” answer to me. At that age, my family had a set of the World Book Encyclopedias and I read almost every article over a few years. I particularly loved the entries on the sciences. So, my fake answer was that I wanted to be a scientist.

Actually, it was true that I did want to be a scientist, but that is not what I thought I was supposed to be—not what I thought I would become. I kept my vocation a secret, telling no one.

Over the next years, I enjoyed the academics of school, but pursued nothing with a passion because of this secret. I knew that what I was being taught was not directly relevant to what I was already and what I knew, somehow, I was supposed to become. Seven year old's don’t have the vocabulary and life experience to speak or even analyze to any benefit what I now can express at least in part:

Copyright © 2008 W. Crews Giles

Second Sunday of Easter - Year A - 1996

Second Sunday of Easter

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery
hast established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant
that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's
Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their
faith; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth
and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.

Preface of Easter


A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 2:14a,22-32
14 [But] Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, 22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-- 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, 'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will dwell in hope. 27 For thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let thy Holy One see corruption. 28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou wilt make me full of gladness with thy presence.' 29 "Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
The Word of the Lord.

118:19-24 Page 762

19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the LORD.
20 "This is the gate of the LORD; *
he who is righteous may enter."
21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
and have become my salvation.
22 The same stone which the builders rejected *
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD'S doing, *
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 On this day the LORD has acted; *
we will rejoice and be glad in it.

A reading from the First Letter of Peter 1 Peter 1:3-9
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, 7 so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy. 9 As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls.
The Word of the Lord.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John John 20:19-31
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe." 26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
The Gospel of the Lord.

2 Easter -- Year A

Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy. As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.


There is a question that I used to dread being asked. Actually, there are quite a number of questions which I dread, but this one in particular used to bother me. The question is usually asked in the context of an awkward encounter with someone who has recently been converted, and can occur from the lips of a stranger in almost any situation. The dread question is, "Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?"

I hate any question for which I do not have an answer, after I have already been asked it once. The problem is, that even when I knew the question was coming, I never seemed comfortable with my answer. To tell you the truth, I think that part of the problem was that it took me some time to even understand the question. My answer, half-heartedly given was always a simple, "Yes". This, of course was not at all the answer the person asking me the question wanted to hear, and I must confess, I sort of enjoyed the reaction to my simple answer.

In my most cynical moments, I have suspected that the question was phrased by some evangelist who knew that a straight forward answer to the question, "Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?" would require entering into a conversation, and it left many other questions lurking, just waiting to pounce on any reply that you provide. In other words, the question was phrased so that regardless of the answer, it gave the inquirer the opportunity to ignore you and go ahead and say what they wanted to say. But again, this is a cynical approach.

Even when I am not cynical, I think the question has an adversarial tone in it. It smacks of, 'I have something that you don't have'--no matter how eloquently you position your reply, you have lost merely because the other person asked the question first. For this reason, my, "Yes", said simply without comment, I found to be utterly baffling to most of those many who have asked me this question. They are left with little to say.

I will point out here that one of the hidden benefits of wearing a collar is that no one ever asks me those kinds of questions anymore. It is this point that gave rise to my dwelling on this subject--that and Peter's words in his letter to the Church we heard this morning.

And in reading the letter, I believe I have stumbled upon the quintessential answer to the question, "Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?" and the cousin to that question, "Are you saved?" Rather than just a simple, "Yes." to either of those questions, I believe the answer that we should all hope to be able to give would be, "Yes" and then pause for a moment, look slightly offended, and then ask with a worried look, "Can't you tell?"

In fact, I think that I have found the question dreadful specifically because I was afraid that in being asked, I was being made aware of the fact that the people asking me indeed could not tell that I was a Christian. That is a very dreadful thought.

John quotes are Lord in his Gospel: By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

By being asked the question, I recognize that my love for others is not strong enough so that it shows.

But having love for another is something that ought to be able to be seen--at least, now and then. I have said before, and because I believe I am right, I believe it is worth saying again: The best form of evangelism that we can do is to lead our lives in such a way so that people want to know why we do the things we do, and so that they want to imitate us. And if the reason we do the things we do is because we are Christians, then we are showing the love that He expects of us. Moreover, we are evangelizing.

Anyone who really believes that Jesus is the Son of God, who took on flesh, died on the Cross and was raised on the third day, has the necessary ground work upon which to build a life--their own life.

But the groundwork is not all that is necessary. Jesus also said that if we believe in Him, then we have hope in His Resurrection. We must also believe that promise to us. And if we believe that by Jesus, and with Jesus, and in Jesus--we have eternal life after this one, and that the life we are to have is perfect and full of wonder, and full of glory--then the way we live this life will change. It must change if we really believe.

I spend much of my own life living a lie. The lie I live, I probably share with many of you. The lie I am talking about is a bumper-sticker slogan, and it says, "He who dies with the most toys, wins." When I think about what God has done for us on the Cross, and beyond the Cross, or when I think in theological terms, I can readily see the lie in that statement. But when I sit in my office at home and do my income taxes, or look at the advertisements in a magazine, I find that I can too easily live that lie myself.

I go through I life saying, "I want, I want, I want." Rarely do I walk around considering what it is that I already have, and what it is that God wants me to do with it--or to whom He wants me to give it.

I am not preaching against materialism (but I could, and perhaps I should), but there is better way. I am not preaching against anything, because if we are for God, then we cannot be leading our lives striving for the most "toys" before we die. If we are for God, then our lives will be lived accordingly. And if we are living our lives accordingly, then virtually every conscious moment will be to others our proclaiming that we have a personal relationship with God.

It is like asking yourself how you would live your life differently if you could do anything and not suffer any consequences. That is only the entry level question. The more sophisticated version of that question, for a Christian, is how would I live differently if I had no hope in the Resurrection?

Our answer to that question ought to be, "I am already living my life, at all times, and in all ways, as one whose hope is in the Resurrection." But my own answer would be, that while I know I do have hope in the Resurrection, I too often take it for granted, and frankly I fear that none could tell that I am living this life in that hope.

"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."

We all live under those words. None of us have seen the Risen Lord in His glory, yet we confess the faith. "Without seeing him, you love him." Those are Peter's words to the Church; and thus, those are Peter's words to you. It is the proof that you do, in fact, have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. But to the world, the burden of proof is on how that relationship can be seen by what you, and what I, do--and do not do.

Peter's next words were those I would hope we could use as the pattern for our lives, and the way by which we would never have to fear being asked if we know Jesus, or have a relationship with him. He said, "though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy."

Our lives as unutterable and exalted joy. It is not easy to do. In fact, as a Christian, very little is easy to do. Our lives would be far simpler if we had no threat of judgement, and far simpler if we had no hope in the Resurrection. But they would be lives without joy.

I watched a movie recently which quoted words from a poem. The words were either that of Bob Dylan or Dylan Thomas, I didn't catch which--you may have seen the movie. The words were, "Rage against the loss of light." The poem was not in context, and not being familiar with it, I cannot tell you what the author had in mind. But the words struck me deeply.

"Rage against the loss of light." How appropriate for us in those times when our getting on with life dims the light which is our belief in the Risen Lord. We must rage against it, because we cannot endure it if the light goes out. And others cannot endure if they are never allowed to see the light which has been given to those of us who believe--either because it is so dim, or worse if it has gone out entirely.

That we believe is a gift. And that gift is the product of another gift, which is the Son of God to the world. We are blessed by it, and have meaning because of it. We have hope because of these gifts. Therefore, these are causes for unutterable and exalted joy. And, as Peter concludes, As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls.

What a great life we ought to lead. What earthshaking news we have to share. How loved we are by God to have this gift. Sitting in a traffic jam, or filling out income tax forms may not be times when you feel like thanking God for all that he has done for you--but that is exactly what we ought to do. Considering the gifts we have been given--especially that of faith in the Risen Lord, the traffic jam or the income tax, or the other distractions of our lives are of little importance.

This is Easter. Eater did not end last week anymore than it did nearly two thousand years ago. In fact, in the Church, every Sunday is a little Easter. And in the Church, this is only the second Sunday in a Season of Easters--where every day is Easter. Given that it is the holiest and most joyous time of the year for us, how do we let others know about it?

Sometimes, we need to ask ourselves how we can let ourselves know about the joy that is there before us, if only we would take it up. As sons and daughters of the living God who has called us heirs of His kingdom--called his own because of his love for us, we have cause for unutterable and exalted joy. And so that His kingdom may spread to the end of the earth, we have a duty to express this joy that has been offered to us.

Our faith gives rise to joy, and our joy ought to be seen in our love, and our love ought to be seen in our joy. They go hand-in-hand. Christian love must always have an element of joy in it. And Christian love is only possible if we have faith in the Resurrection. That is who we are, that is what we are. If you love and believe, but have no joy, than "Rage against the loss of light" and fight for what is yours for the willing. Your souls and the souls of countless others need our joy, need our love, and need our faith.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.


Copyright © 1996 W. Crews Giles

Fourth Sunday in Lent - Year A - 1996

Fourth Sunday in Lent

Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down
from heaven to be the true bread which giveth life to the
world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us,
and we in him; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Preface of Lent

A reading from the First Book of Samuel. 1 Samuel 16:1-13
1 The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." 2 And Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me." And the LORD said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me him whom I name to you." 4 Samuel did what the LORD commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" 5 And he said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD; consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." And he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him." 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he comes here." 12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is he." 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
The Word of the Lord.

23 Dominus regit me Page 612

1 The LORD is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.
3 He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.
4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those
who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians. Ephesians 5:1-14
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But fornication and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is fitting among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness, nor silly talk, nor levity, which are not fitting; but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not associate with them, 8 for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret; 13 but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. 14 Therefore it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light."
The Word of the Lord.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. John 9:1-38
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." 6 As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay, 7 saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. 8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?" 9 Some said, "It is he"; others said, "No, but he is like him." He said, "I am the man." 10 They said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" 11 He answered, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went and washed and received my sight." 12 They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know." 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 The Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." 16 Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" There was a division among them. 17 So they again said to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet." 18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight, 19 and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" 20 His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself." 22 His parents said this because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if any one should confess him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, "He is of age, ask him." 24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, "Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner." 25 He answered, "Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see." 26 They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" 27 He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you too want to become his disciples?" 28 And they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." 30 The man answered, "Why, this is a marvel! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if any one is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." 34 They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?" And they cast him out. 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of man?" 36 He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" 37 Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you." 38 He said, "Lord, I believe"; and he worshiped him.
The Gospel of the Lord.

"Do you believe in the Son of man?" He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you." He said, "Lord, I believe"; and he worshiped him.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

There are two phrases that I want to draw your attention to in this morning's Gospel reading. The first is Jesus' question, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" and the reply of the healed man, "Lord, I believe".

This is an Incarnational exchange, in that Jesus refers to his complete and utter humanity, by his self-discription, "Son of Man", while the man responds to Jesus' complete and utter Divinity, by addressing Him as "Lord" as in "My Lord and my God!".

Last week we hear Jesus tell the Samarian woman that, "God is Spirit, and that those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." But there is more to than that, and that more to it-ness can be seen in the Incarnation.

While Christmas is now more than two months past, the Incarnation is also a critical aspect of the Season of Lent. If we do recognize the complete humanity of Christ as well as the complete Divinity, that is: That Jesus was fully man and fully God, then we cannot understand that he was tempted in every way as we were.

It is important for us to know that the Son of God faced real temptations, and that as a complete human man, He knew not just temptations to sin, but pain, suffering and loss. He knew all that we knew, suffered as we suffer, and lived as we live--except that He did not sin. He was and is the perfect man.

Very often, I think, we may be tempted to view our beliefs as Christian as something merely of the Spiritual realm, but something that is apart from the flesh. However, Christianity differs from all other religions that I know of in that it is both spiritual and physical.

If Christianity was merely spiritual, then we can make no sense of God's Creation. We cannot pray for physical health, we cannot believe that what God has Created in the Universe is good and beautiful. But what God has Created is both Good and Beautiful--and that includes each and everyone of us. We are part of God's Creation and He not only calls us Good, but He calls us His.

And to show us how good we are to be, He became one of us--the first fruits of the New Creation. If God had not become man, then we would still be searching for, and waiting for, someone to come and show us the way to everlasting life. And if God had not died as one of us and for us, then we could not know what perfection He wants for us. But if God had not died and then been raised BODILY from the dead, then we would not know that the Body is important, or that the Creation is important, or that when He promises everlasting life--He does not mean a collective consciousness, or as ghosts or as disembodied souls.

God Created us to be alive, and part of our being alive is possessing a physical body which is to be at unity with the soul.

Consider the alternative:

A friend of mine recently told me of a video tape which he saw. A theologian of the academic variety put forth, as truth, these "facts". He said,
Jesus' true father was Joseph, not God.
Mary was not a Virgin.
Jesus was born in Nazareth, not Bethlehem.
Jesus did die on the Cross but was not raised from the dead.
And finally, that:
The story of the Resurrection is to be taken only figuratively, and really means that He lives on in our hearts, but is not truly alive.

If that theologian is right, than what have we? What hope have we? What purpose have we? The answer to those questions is that we have nothing but this life. We have no hope, and there is no purpose at all to our lives. We cannot believe the Bible. There has been no Messiah, and never will be one. There has been no sacrifice for our sins, and death reigns supreme, even over Jesus, but especially over us.

Fortunately, I can assure you that the theologian was wrong. I have no proof that would stand up in court, but neither does he. However, I have faith, as I trust you have faith. The faith we share often presents itself to us a passion for truth, and a passion for righteousness.

In fact, my friend who called and told me about the video tape was so unsettled about the contents, that he said that he thought that he might leave the Church, and go and find a simple Bible Church, where he could at least here the Bible read and preached and believed. There may be several here today who have changed churches in an attempt to find that "perfect Church" where there is no heresy, that the Word of God contained in Scripture is viewed as the ultimate authority, and where interpretations of His Holy Word do not change to fit our desires, but remain loyal to what we were taught as children.

If you have been, or perhaps are looking for such a Church, then I have some good news and some bad news for you.

The good news is that anyone who is searching for the perfect Church may be assured that their desire is a Holy one, that it is an indication of faith, and that faith is alive and passionate. The bad news is that you will not find that church by taking a passive role.

When God became man, he showed us that the material world, including are bodies, are important to Him. He showed us that what we believe is not enough. Our souls alone cannot save us because our bodies are also in need of salvation. It is, after all, our bodies which die as a result of sin. Therefore God does not allow us to become content with our belief and passively wait out our time to die and then wait for His coming again in glory.

Rather, God gives a passionate faith. It causes us to want to act and react. Not in any passive way, but pro-actively, so that we work out our faith with our souls and bodies.

Our passions are the cause of much turmoil in our lives. Passion, by definition, suggests that we are not unchanging, and that we do react, and adapt, and have effect as well as being, ourselves effected by the outside. The devil knows that we will react to stimulus and he uses stimulus to tempt us to react in unholy, unnatural ways. But God also knows that we are passionate, and he will use our passions to his purpose.

I fear that very often our God given passions are interpreted by us as frustrations. And that the only passions we feel comfortable about acting upon are those which are used by the devil. Those are the easy passions to follow. But God wants us to change as well, and His change for us is to turn away from the passions of the world, the flesh, and the devil and heed the Holy Passions he gives us. A Passion for truth, a passion for righteousness, a passion for right thinking about God, a passion for unity in the Church, a passion for the forgiveness of sins, a passion for live beyond death, and a passion for perfection.

We cannot, as individuals, bring righteousness in to the world. We cannot, by ourselves, bring about only true teachings. We cannot, alone, bring about unity in the Church, and we cannot, alone, bring about our eternal, and perfected bodies. But these are our Holy Passions which are a result of our nature as God's Creatures, and a result of our faith.

Therefore, we are to act on these passions, not mope about in frustration--but to actually do something about it. We are to live our faith, defend our faith, teach our faith, learn our faith, and believe our faith--and to do these things it requires a body with eyes ready to see, ears ready to hear, a mouth ready to speak, and hands ready to help, or make, or soothe, or whatever God is calling us to do.

Consider another indication of the importance that God has shown us in Creation as well as in His Church. We acknowledge seven sacraments which God has given us for our spiritual as well as physical welfare. The collect for the day tells us that Jesus is the True bread from heaven. This is a Eucharistic teaching, based upon Jesus' own words in John's Gospel when he tells us that unless we eat his Body and Drink His Blood, we have no life in us.

SO God gives His Body in the Consecrated Bread, and His Blood in the Consecrated Wine. These are material things which contain a spiritual grace. Baptism, for which Lent is, in part a preparation for many, uses that matter of water to cleans us of spiritual and physical sins. Again, we have the material used by God to bring about the spiritual. Even our own flesh is used as the material agent for bringing about the spiritual grace of reconciliation, of confirmation and of ordination by the outstretched hand of the priest of bishop.

That God's grace is imparted through the use of matter is the story of Creation, and the story of the Incarnation where Grace personified took on our flesh. But perhaps the most obvious, yet most overlooked, grace filled matter in the universe is the Christian. All of us are precious material beings in God's eyes, and yet we are spiritual beings as well. He created us that way, because that is how he would become.

Consider that in 1996, God the Son remains both flesh and spirit, both God and Man (albeit, perfected man). His body was indeed raised from the dead, and His body indeed ascended into heaven where it remains--living and reigning at the Right hand of the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever.

We are part of his Body, now, as we are each individual members of the Church of which He is the Head. But then, after the final Resurrection, we shall be united to God, through the Son who is one of us, and who was, and is, and ever shall be God.

The Passion of Christ made a difference. By being one of us he could be tempted and yet not sin. By being one of us, He could die, although He did not deserve to die. By being one of us he could be Raised, and Ascend to the Father so that we could follow Him as he has asked, and as He has called to each of us.

Our Passions for righteousness and Truth and Unity, and Holiness are all Holy Passions, wrought of God, and yet we cannot achieve them by going from Church to Church, or by changing denominations, or by any other passive means. Righteousness, Truth, Purity, Unity, and Holiness are to be found in the Church, but only in His Church where grace filled people do not just know the Holy Passion, but where grace filled people act on these passions and fight for righteousness, truth, unity and holiness by beginning with themselves. After this, the faithful will be raised in the next life to that perfection to which we are driven my God and by the Holy Passions he gives us.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Sacraments. Empty Tomb. Follow me. God now, in 1996, is still in the flesh (Ascension).


Copyright © 1996 W. Crews Giles

Second Sunday in Lent - Year A - 1996

Second Sunday in Lent

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious
to all who have gone astray from thy ways, and bring them
again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and
hold fast the unchangeable truth of thy Word, Jesus Christ
thy Son; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and
reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A reading from the book Genesis. Genesis 12:1-8
1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.” 4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions which they had gathered, and the persons that they had gotten in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 Thence he removed to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.
The Word of the Lord.
33 Exultate, justi (Verses 12-22, begining at the bottom of page 626)

12 Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD! *
happy the people he has chosen to be his own!
13 The LORD looks down from heaven, *
and beholds all the people in the world.
14 From where he sits enthroned he turns his gaze *
on all who dwell on the earth.
15 He fashions all the hearts of them *
and understands all their works.
16 There is no king that can be saved by a mighty army; *
a strong man is not delivered by his great strength.
17 The horse is a vain hope for deliverance; *
for all its strength it cannot save.
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon those who fear him, *
on those who wait upon his love,
19 To pluck their lives from death, *
and to feed them in time of famine.
20 Our soul waits for the LORD; *
he is our help and our shield.
21 Indeed, our heart rejoices in him, *
for in his holy Name we put our trust.
22 Let your loving-kindness, O LORD, be upon us, *
as we have put our trust in you.

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans. Romans 4:1-17
1 What then shall we say about Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to one who works, his wages are not reckoned as a gift but as his due. 5 And to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness. 6 So also David pronounces a blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not reckon his sin.” 9 Is this blessing pronounced only upon the circumcised, or also upon the uncircumcised? We say that faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them, 12 and likewise the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but also follow the example of the faith which our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. 13 The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they should inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants—not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
The Word of the Lord.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John John 3:1-17
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ 8 The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can this be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand this? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen; but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
The Gospel of the Lord.

Second Sunday in Lent
Year A

Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand this? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen; but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.


I want to begin this morning by drawing your attention to irony. The set up for this was provided last Monday night on the ABC News show, Night Line. There was a man whose name I missed, but the title which was flashed on the screen across his chest was, "Spokesman for the Episcopal Church". There was no sign of a halo, so I was skeptical from the start.

I will do my best to quote him. This may not be verbatim, but it is as close as my memory allows. This spokesman said, "The Episcopal Church is not a church which requires any strict adherence to any Creeds."

My skepticism proved to be justified. The man said this just as the Church has entered the Season of Lent -- a time which is traditionally used for preparing those who are being taught the faith for baptism. The words of our collect this morning came to mind, in that we ask God to bring us to, "embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of thy Word, Jesus Christ" and those words seemed particularly relevant as I watched and listened the other night.

As an ordained priest in this Church, I too am a spokesman for the faith of the Church. And at my ordination, I gave my solemn vow that I would "be loyal to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this Church has received them."

The doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as this Church received them can be identified as the Scripture, its interpretation through Holy Tradition and the Creeds (Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian) which are the statements which represent the faith of the True Church. I am also bound to declarations made by ecumenical councils.

In addition to this, the Bishop asked me, at my ordination, if I "will endeavor so to minister the Word of God and the sacraments of the New Covenant, that the reconciling love of Christ may be known and received?" To which I answered, "I will."

Finally, the bishop prayed to the Lord over me, in part, these words, "Make him a faithful pastor, a patient teacher, and a wise councilor... ...so that your people may be strengthen and your Name glorified in all the world." All of the people in the congregation responded, "Amen".

It for those reasons, in God's name, and in keeping with my ordination vows that I do not just remind myself of my own obligations as a preist but all of our obligations to God and his Church as baptized Christians.

In ancient times, Lent was the time in which those who were learning the faith of the Church underwent their final, rigorous catechism. In those days, the people not yet baptized nor confirmed were ushered out of the Church just before the Offertory because only those instructed in the faith and sealed by the bishop were allowed even to witness the Holy Mysteries which are to be celebrated here in a few minutes.

While the priest or bishop said Mass, those being instructed went to another place where their instruction would continue. They would be prayed for day and night, they would receive anointing of their ears so that they could hear and understand what they were being taught. They would have their lips anointed so that they could answer correctly the questions of the catechists. They were asked again and again if they were willing to leave behind them the world of their former life and enter into the new life in Christ Jesus. Their sponsors were asked if they could confirm that the catechumens had manifest a desire to receive the True faith and the Sacraments of the Church by amending their lives in accordance to the Church's teachings.

All of these things were done to insure that those who accepted the Sacrament of Baptism, and subsequently, the other Sacraments of the Church, would endeavor to be faithful members. Also, in the ancient days, to allow a non-believer into the Church was to put the faithful in jeopardy of being turned over to the authorities who had made Christianity illegal.

So little was known by the world of the faith and practice of the Church that rumor had it that we practiced cannibalism, and orgies. These were undoubtedly based upon whispers of the eating the Body and Blood of Christ, and the agape feasts, or love feasts as the Mass was then called.

But the Church was zealous, and sincere in teaching the faith, and the people were, as individual members equally zealous and sincere. And at the actual Baptism, the statement of faith required by all to be Baptized was the same as it is now.

If you were Baptized, as I was, under the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, you or your sponsors for you, were asked this question, "Dost thou believe all of the Articles of the Christian Faith, as contained in the Apostles' Creed?" To which the response was, "I do."

If you were Baptized under the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, you were asked directly if you believed in that Faith, and by answering, you and the bishop or priest recited the Apostles' Creed together.

In both Rites we were charged, and accented to the charge, to turn away from the enemy which is the World, the Flesh, and the Devil.

To believe in the Apostles Creed and to renounce the enemy requires that you know the faith of the Apostles, and that you recognize that the ways of the world, the ways of the flesh, and the ways of the devil are at odds with the way of new life to which we are to be born as Christians.

After Baptism, we can no longer look to our culture for what is right and what is wrong. We can no longer look to our society to solve our problems, we can no longer look to our own desires to determine our needs, and our duty. And we can no longer trust in our hearts to lead us to righteousness, because our hearts are subject to the temptation of the devil.

Therefore, we have only one recourse, and that is said well in the 1979 rite of Baptism:

Will you continue in the apostle's teachings and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?

The response to that is, "I will with God's help". Not just, I will, but I will, with God's help.

And if you have answered that, or had that answer given for you, then I charge you to remember that answer, and to be true to that answer, and attempt to live by that answer. We need to be reminded that our baptism did not complete the work of Salvation in us, but rather it only began the work of Salvation with in us, and with God's help, that work will be completed.

We must renew our zeal, we must know the true urgency of our state in life, and be aware of the consequences of not striving to keep those vows. And most of all, we must, in this season of Lent, prepare ourselves anew for the Celebration of New Life in Jesus Christ which is our joy and our hope to witness first in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That "Spokesman for the Episcopal Church" may have spoken for an administrative branch of the Church, but he did not speak for Christ, nor the true Church, nor to the teaching of the Apostles, nor Scripture.

In our Book of Common Prayer are the three Creeds of the Church, declared as Truth by Ecumenical Council, and to which we are indeed strictly to adhere. But before we can adhere to these Creeds, we must know these Creeds. And to know these Creeds which are based upon Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, we must also know what Holy Scripture says and what Holy Tradition says.

Therefore, this Lent, I urge you to pray over the vows of your Baptism, from whichever Book of Common Prayer they came, and then prayerfully determine what you need to be doing to be faithful to your vows and faithful to the Body of the Church of which Christ Jesus is the head.

The Epistle Lesson for this morning is the story of Abraham as understood by Paul and Inspired by the Holy Spirit. In it we learn that Abraham was declared righteous by God before he had any works of righteousness. Instead, Abraham had only faith at that time. Yet great works abounded through him, because of his faith, and because of the righteousness which God had accounted him.

So our duty does not end with our faith alone, but the expectation is that we are to live out our faith. I want to share with you a quote from the footnotes of a study Bible I use. It is called the Navarre Bible, and it is speaking of the Abraham story. It says:
The entire story of Abraham, especially the episode where God makes him the promise, is an example of how God goes about things: he draws the human soul out of its state of ignorance and then leads it on towards faith and moves it to accept a supernatural mission of unimagined scope.

God drawing our souls out of ignorance and then leading it toward faith may seem backwards. You may want to say that first comes faith, and only then does ignorance depart. But I believe that the two go together.

So often we think of God and His works as miraculous, and therefore, being miraculous, we should not expect them to make sense to us. But I believe that our faith, being holy and miraculous, is not beyond comprehension. Rather, I believe that our faith is perfect reason. I believe it makes since in a way that nothing else can. I believe it is the ultimate wisdom, and I believe that our attempts to learn it and understand it make us wise, and increase our understanding, and thus strengthen our faith.

If we strive to learn our faith, and endeavor to understand our faith, then our faith will lead our souls to, "accept a supernatural mission of unimagined scope." In other words, an informed faith, and a wise faith will lead us to be the miracle workers. It will allow God to work through us things unimagined, and supernatural.

And it is not just to declare us as righteous, that God seeks for us, but rather it to make us supernatural, and to make us better than we can imagine, and this we do following our Lord who while flesh, is also supernatural, and whose righteousness is beyond our imagination. It is to be like that we are called in our baptism, and it is to follow Him that we are charged.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.


Notes:
Romans 4:3: Gen 15:6. And this is just after Melk. blessed Abraham after bringing bread and wine, and immediately after God first made the covenant with him. But Abraham’s faith was tried and purified through the offering of the blood of his son, and by many other works of faith. See v 10.
Romans 4:7: Psalm 32:1-2
Romans 4:10: Faith before circumcision. Thus stress is concerns works of the Law, as opposed to works of charity, works of a virtuous soul, works of repentance, works of devotion and works of piety (godliness). Romans 4:11: “reckoned”=counted up and concluded, as one would an inventory. This speaks of One who tallies what we have done, and said, and the grand total is such that Abraham won. It was faith that tilted the scales in God’s favor— they both won!
Navarre Bible: The entire story of Abraham, especially the episode where God makes him the promise, is an example of of how God goes about things: he draws the human soul out of its state of ignorance and then leads it on towards faith and moves it to accept a supernatural mission of unimagined scope. Romans 4:17: God’s Covenant is not a contract! As Peter Toon+ stressed, God’s Covenant is a declaration. I will be your God and you will be my people. There is no “if”. The “if” only comes in when His blessings are to be given or withheld. The “if” has to do with judgment, but the Covenant is not contingent upon man—it, like righteousness, is a gift, and one that is made by His, and only His, declaring it to be so.
Thus, the One who brings nothingness to existence with His Word, is the one who, gives us salvation, by faith, through His Word—that is Christ Jesus.


Copyright © 1996 W. Crews Giles

Last Sunday after the Epiphany - Year A - 1996

Last Sunday after the Epiphany

This Proper is always used on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.

O God, who before the passion of thy only begotten Son
didst reveal his glory upon the holy mount: Grant unto us
that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may
be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his
likeness from glory to glory; through the same Jesus Christ
our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Preface of the Epiphany

A reading from the book Exodus. Exodus 24:12-18
12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tables of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction." 13 So Moses rose with his servant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, "Tarry here for us, until we come to you again; and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a cause, let him go to them." 15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 18 And Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
The Word of the Lord.


99 Dominus regnavit page 728


1 The LORD is King;
let the people tremble; *
he is enthroned upon the cherubim;
let the earth shake.
2 The LORD is great in Zion; *
he is high above all peoples.
3 Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; *
he is the Holy One.
4 "O mighty King, lover of justice,
you have established equity; *
you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob."
5 Proclaim the greatness of the LORD our God
and fall down before his footstool; *
he is the Holy One.
6 Moses and Aaron among his priests,
and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *
they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; *
they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.
8 O LORD our God, you answered them indeed; *
you were a God who forgave them,
yet punished them for their evil deeds.
9 Proclaim the greatness of the LORD our God
and worship him upon his holy hill; *
for the LORD our God is the Holy One.

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians. Philippians 3:7-14
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Word of the Lord.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Matthew 17:1-9
1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." 5 He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear." 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead."
The Gospel of the Lord.

The Last Sunday in Epiphany
Year A

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

This past Christmas, I was given a pair of khaki slacks that I really like. Because they are comfortable and fit well, I wanted to make sure that I knew the manufacturer so that I could buy an additional pair. The label inside said, "Faded Glory".

This past week I again looked at the label and found myself wondering why someone would call their company "Faded Glory". It seems sort of negative from a marketing perspective. It brings to mind the term, "Has been", it brings to mind the Vietnam War when the phrase, "Faded Glory" was often applied to our military in relation to how the glory of the fantastic achievements in World War II were being forgotten, and the Vietnam era began to try an vilify the US military. I could find nothing positive about the term.

This past Thursday night, during one of our two weekly Bible studies here at Saint John's, I found myself again faced with the concept of "Faded Glory". This time in one of Paul's letters to the Corinthian Church. There he compared the Glory of God which shown in the face of Moses after he received the Commandments, to the glory of Christ Jesus.

Paul points out that the Law was received with Glory and Splendor. But that Moses veiled his face, not to hide the glory, but to hide its' fading. Moses' face did not continue to shine with the glory of the Lord, but instead, he only had to wear the veil immediately after he was in the presence of the Lord.

The glory of Christ too, was veiled for a time. But not because He did not want us to see that glory fade. Christ's Glory is the Glory of God, because Christ is God. And as were heard in this morning's Gospel, the glory of God, when witnessed by perishable, corruptible, and sinful mortals brings about fear, and it brings about confusion.

Imagine yourself on the mountain top with Christ when his glory is allowed to be seen. His clothes and face do not just become white, they actual give off light. A glowing person would be a fearful thing. But then Moses and Elijah, both who were known to be in Heaven, suddenly appear.

Listen again to the words which indicate Peter's reaction, he says,

"Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah."

That is not a particularly rational response to what Peter was witnessing, but it was the best he could manage under the circumstances. It is a manifestation of Peter's awe, fear, and confusion. He is reacting to the Glory of God which he witnessed unveiled for the first time, and it simply overloaded his circuits.

This is the same man, who was the first to confess that Jesus, "was the Christ, the Son of the living God," only a week before. Peter knew who Jesus was, but he was not prepared for the beauty, and the splendor, of His Glory.

Now God's Glory does not fade. The Glory of Christ has no beginning and no end. He did not receive His Glory at His Baptism, because He is the eternally begotten Son of the Father, begotten before all worlds. The Glory of Christ did not end because He now sits at the right hand of the Father in Glory everlasting. The Glory of Christ is eternal. But His glory was veiled so that faith would come.

The glory of Christ was veiled so that faith would come. It was necessary for Peter to believe and know that Christ was God before Peter could behold His Glory, because Peter needed to first have faith. And if one has faith, and if one beholds the glory of the Lord, then that Glory begins to become a part of those who were Created in His likeness, because God's glory is something that man is to share.

I must wonder if the faces of Peter, James and John shone with the same radiance as did that of Moses. The Gospels do not mention this, but I wonder.
If they did shine, then it could not have been for long because the other Apostles would have reacted to it. I suspect that the reason the Glory which shown in the face of Moses faded, is because Moses, like the rest of us, sinned. Perhaps a sinful body cannot retain glory. Or as Paul said, the perishable cannot inherit the imperishable.

Not only can we not receive the everlasting glory of God as we are, but we can only rarely glimpse that glory, and only if God chooses to unveil it, that is, reveal it, to us. But what perceptions we have of God as He is, is always but a fleeting moment. Never to be grasped by us fully, and always diluted with our sins, and the distractions of the world.

I was taught during my confirmation classed that we are always to genuflect if we cross before the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament of His Body and Blood--except under two circumstances. The first is important only if you are an acolyte, and that is you merely bow deeply if you are carrying a torch. This is a practical consideration, but the other circumstance in which you would not genuflect before the Sacrament is not so much practical as it is spiritual.

Fr. J.J. Niles told me that when you return to the pew after receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord, you bow to the Altar, but do not genuflect to the Sacrament because you are carrying the Sacrament within you at that time. But there is another form of piety that I have noticed some in this parish follow, and that is to genuflect even when you are carrying the Sacrament within you from the Altar Rail. I asked a priest several years ago why some did this, and he asked me a question by way of response. He said, "How long does the Consecrated Bread and Wine remain in your body?"

I said, I don't know, but it was certainly still there by the time I got back to my pew. He asked another question, he said, "What happens to the effect of the Body of our Lord when we sin while it is still in it?". To this I answered that I thought it probably was as if we had rejected Christ at that moment and the effect was diminished, but not power of Christ within the Sacrament. He then asked me one more question, he said, "How far can you go from the Altar Rail before you have thought of something other than God, or sinned in your mind, or had an uncharitable, or unholy thought?" And I answered, I am pretty sure I have never made it back to my pew before that happened. He then said, "That is why some genuflect right after they received, to indicate that they recognize that the undiminished glory always remains only in the pure presence of Christ."

I have genuflected after receiving the Sacrament ever since. It is a way of confessing that I have no glory of my own, and that which Christ gives me, fades because of my lack of holiness.

But while I attempt to recognize my own sinfulness, and thus, my own dependance upon God's Grace, I do not wallow in self-pity, nor do I loose hope that one day, God's glory will be in me, and nothing will be able to cause it to fade, nor diminish. Paul tells us by his example in our Lesson this morning that we are to 'forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead.' And that we are to "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

That prize of the upward call is the prize of an imperishable body that lives forever without sin, and that upward call is to His Glory which never fades, but rather is everlasting by our being made one body with Him, that he may dwell in us, and we in Him. It is to that day, that we all must press on. Not that we have already attained it, but yet we press on to make it our own, as Christ Jesus has already made us His own. We press on to the glory which never fades--we press on to Christ's Glory.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Last Sunday after the Epiphany

This Proper is always used on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.

O God, who before the passion of thy only begotten Son
didst reveal his glory upon the holy mount: Grant unto us
that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may
be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his
likeness from glory to glory; through the same Jesus Christ
our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Preface of the Epiphany

A reading from the book Exodus. Exodus 24:12-18
12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tables of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction." 13 So Moses rose with his servant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, "Tarry here for us, until we come to you again; and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a cause, let him go to them." 15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 18 And Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
The Word of the Lord.


99 Dominus regnavit page 728


1 The LORD is King;
let the people tremble; *
he is enthroned upon the cherubim;
let the earth shake.
2 The LORD is great in Zion; *
he is high above all peoples.
3 Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; *
he is the Holy One.
4 "O mighty King, lover of justice,
you have established equity; *
you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob."
5 Proclaim the greatness of the LORD our God
and fall down before his footstool; *
he is the Holy One.
6 Moses and Aaron among his priests,
and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *
they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; *
they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.
8 O LORD our God, you answered them indeed; *
you were a God who forgave them,
yet punished them for their evil deeds.
9 Proclaim the greatness of the LORD our God
and worship him upon his holy hill; *
for the LORD our God is the Holy One.

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians. Philippians 3:7-14
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Word of the Lord.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Matthew 17:1-9
1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." 5 He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear." 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead."
The Gospel of the Lord.

The Last Sunday in Epiphany
Year A


I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.


In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

This past Christmas, I was given a pair of khaki slacks that I really like. Because they are comfortable and fit well, I wanted to make sure that I knew the manufacturer so that I could buy an additional pair. The label inside said, "Faded Glory".

This past week I again looked at the label and found myself wondering why someone would call their company "Faded Glory". It seems sort of negative from a marketing perspective. It brings to mind the term, "Has been", it brings to mind the Vietnam War when the phrase, "Faded Glory" was often applied to our military in relation to how the glory of the fantastic achievements in World War II were being forgotten, and the Vietnam era began to try an vilify the US military. I could find nothing positive about the term.

This past Thursday night, during one of our two weekly Bible studies here at Saint John's, I found myself again faced with the concept of "Faded Glory". This time in one of Paul's letters to the Corinthian Church. There he compared the Glory of God which shown in the face of Moses after he received the Commandments, to the glory of Christ Jesus.

Paul points out that the Law was received with Glory and Splendor. But that Moses veiled his face, not to hide the glory, but to hide its' fading. Moses' face did not continue to shine with the glory of the Lord, but instead, he only had to wear the veil immediately after he was in the presence of the Lord.

The glory of Christ too, was veiled for a time. But not because He did not want us to see that glory fade. Christ's Glory is the Glory of God, because Christ is God. And as were heard in this morning's Gospel, the glory of God, when witnessed by perishable, corruptible, and sinful mortals brings about fear, and it brings about confusion.

Imagine yourself on the mountain top with Christ when his glory is allowed to be seen. His clothes and face do not just become white, they actual give off light. A glowing person would be a fearful thing. But then Moses and Elijah, both who were known to be in Heaven, suddenly appear.

Listen again to the words which indicate Peter's reaction, he says,

"Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah."

That is not a particularly rational response to what Peter was witnessing, but it was the best he could manage under the circumstances. It is a manifestation of Peter's awe, fear, and confusion. He is reacting to the Glory of God which he witnessed unveiled for the first time, and it simply overloaded his circuits.

This is the same man, who was the first to confess that Jesus, "was the Christ, the Son of the living God," only a week before. Peter knew who Jesus was, but he was not prepared for the beauty, and the splendor, of His Glory.

Now God's Glory does not fade. The Glory of Christ has no beginning and no end. He did not receive His Glory at His Baptism, because He is the eternally begotten Son of the Father, begotten before all worlds. The Glory of Christ did not end because He now sits at the right hand of the Father in Glory everlasting. The Glory of Christ is eternal. But His glory was veiled so that faith would come.

The glory of Christ was veiled so that faith would come. It was necessary for Peter to believe and know that Christ was God before Peter could behold His Glory, because Peter needed to first have faith. And if one has faith, and if one beholds the glory of the Lord, then that Glory begins to become a part of those who were Created in His likeness, because God's glory is something that man is to share.

I must wonder if the faces of Peter, James and John shone with the same radiance as did that of Moses. The Gospels do not mention this, but I wonder.
If they did shine, then it could not have been for long because the other Apostles would have reacted to it. I suspect that the reason the Glory which shown in the face of Moses faded, is because Moses, like the rest of us, sinned. Perhaps a sinful body cannot retain glory. Or as Paul said, the perishable cannot inherit the imperishable.

Not only can we not receive the everlasting glory of God as we are, but we can only rarely glimpse that glory, and only if God chooses to unveil it, that is, reveal it, to us. But what perceptions we have of God as He is, is always but a fleeting moment. Never to be grasped by us fully, and always diluted with our sins, and the distractions of the world.

I was taught during my confirmation classed that we are always to genuflect if we cross before the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament of His Body and Blood--except under two circumstances. The first is important only if you are an acolyte, and that is you merely bow deeply if you are carrying a torch. This is a practical consideration, but the other circumstance in which you would not genuflect before the Sacrament is not so much practical as it is spiritual.

Fr. J.J. Niles told me that when you return to the pew after receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord, you bow to the Altar, but do not genuflect to the Sacrament because you are carrying the Sacrament within you at that time. But there is another form of piety that I have noticed some in this parish follow, and that is to genuflect even when you are carrying the Sacrament within you from the Altar Rail. I asked a priest several years ago why some did this, and he asked me a question by way of response. He said, "How long does the Consecrated Bread and Wine remain in your body?"

I said, I don't know, but it was certainly still there by the time I got back to my pew. He asked another question, he said, "What happens to the effect of the Body of our Lord when we sin while it is still in it?". To this I answered that I thought it probably was as if we had rejected Christ at that moment and the effect was diminished, but not power of Christ within the Sacrament. He then asked me one more question, he said, "How far can you go from the Altar Rail before you have thought of something other than God, or sinned in your mind, or had an uncharitable, or unholy thought?" And I answered, I am pretty sure I have never made it back to my pew before that happened. He then said, "That is why some genuflect right after they received, to indicate that they recognize that the undiminished glory always remains only in the pure presence of Christ."

I have genuflected after receiving the Sacrament ever since. It is a way of confessing that I have no glory of my own, and that which Christ gives me, fades because of my lack of holiness.

But while I attempt to recognize my own sinfulness, and thus, my own dependance upon God's Grace, I do not wallow in self-pity, nor do I loose hope that one day, God's glory will be in me, and nothing will be able to cause it to fade, nor diminish. Paul tells us by his example in our Lesson this morning that we are to 'forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead.' And that we are to "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

That prize of the upward call is the prize of an imperishable body that lives forever without sin, and that upward call is to His Glory which never fades, but rather is everlasting by our being made one body with Him, that he may dwell in us, and we in Him. It is to that day, that we all must press on. Not that we have already attained it, but yet we press on to make it our own, as Christ Jesus has already made us His own. We press on to the glory which never fades--we press on to Christ's Glory.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.


Copyright © 1996 W. Crews Giles