Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany - Year A - 1996

Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Almighty and everlasting God, who dost govern all things in
heaven and earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of thy
people, and in our time grant us thy peace; through 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, or of the Lord's Day

A reading from the book of the prophet Micah Micah 6:1-8
1 Hear what the LORD says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. 2 Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the LORD, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel. 3 "O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me! 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of bondage; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the LORD." 6 "With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" 8 He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
The Word of the Lord.

37 Noli aemulari Psalm 37, verses 1-6(1-18), page 633

1 Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; *
do not be jealous of those who do wrong.
2 For they shall soon wither like the grass, *
and like the green grass fade away.
3 Put your trust in the LORD and do good; *
dwell in the land and feed on its riches.
4 Take delight in the LORD, *
and he shall give you your heart's desire.
5 Commit your way to the LORD and put your trust in him, *
and he will bring it to pass.
6 He will make your righteousness as clear as the light *
and your just dealing as the noonday.
7 Be still before the LORD *
and wait patiently for him.
8 Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, *
the one who succeeds in evil schemes.
9 Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; *
do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil.
10 For evildoers shall be cut off, *
but those who wait upon the LORD shall possess the land.
11 In a little while the wicked shall be no more; *
you shall search out their place, but they will not be there.
12 But the lowly shall possess the land; *
they will delight in abundance of peace.
13 The wicked plot against the righteous *
and gnash at them with their teeth.
14 The Lord laughs at the wicked, *
because he sees that their day will come.
15 The wicked draw their sword and bend their bow
to strike down the poor and needy, *
to slaughter those who are upright in their ways.
16 Their sword shall go through their own heart, *
and their bow shall be broken.
17 The little that the righteous has *
is better than great riches of the wicked.
18 For the power of the wicked shall be broken, *
but the LORD upholds the righteous.

A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians
1 Corinthians 1:(18-25),26-31
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart." 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; 27 but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption; 31 therefore, as it is written, "Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord."
The Word of the Lord.

The Holy Gospel is written in the 5th chapter of Matthew,
beginning at the 1st verse.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew. Matthew 5:1-12
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Gospel of the Lord.

Epiphany 4 - Year A

Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

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


When ever I read the Beatitudes that we heard in our Gospel lesson this morning, I feel a little robbed. In the very last blessing, Jesus tells us that those who are reviled and persecuted on his account are blessed. I want all of the blessings that Christ has to give us--perhaps that is gluttony on my part, but I want them all, and in this country, at this time, persecution for what I believe is simply not a realistic expectation.


Granted, if there ever was a mixed blessing, persecution would be it, and there is a sense of relief in knowing that we are gathered together to do this morning has no physical threat associated with it. But, I still feel cheated.

But the Christians upon whose martyrdom our faith was secured, had something in that blessing of persecution that we do not. They had a commitment that is difficult for us to equal because they had paid a price.

Last week, I had a conversation with Fr. Twyman and some others about tithing. We were discussing stewardship and Fr. Twyman mentioned something that I had never heard. He said that the Episcopal Church could try what some protestant churches and even some synagogues have done, and that is require a tithe to be considered a member of the congregation.

While I was thinking about how extreme that sounded, somebody else asked the question that was forming in my mind, they said, "What would that do to attendance?" Father said that those congregations that required a tithe were packed. Again I was trying to reason out why this would be when he said, it was for the same reasons that the Ancient Church, under persecution was filled with people risking their lives to attend every service.

Can you imagine what it would be like to go to Church and know that if you were seen by the wrong people--you may have been arrested by the state? Can you imagine having to sneak out of your house, under cover of darkness, to slink off to a Church held in cave outside of town--just so you could receive the sacrament and hear the Word preached? Can you imagine having to hide your faith from your business associates, and even friends, while looking for the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ with anyone you thought might not turn you over to the authorities?

If you can imagine yourself in that situation, could you then imagine NOT taking advantage of any opportunity to worship, NOT going to every service in the Church, NOT attending every Sunday? Thousands upon thousands of Christians have risked their lives just to attend the Eucharist, and thousands upon thousands have given their lives, just to attend a Eucharist.

They had a commitment. They had paid a price.

If you have paid for something in advance, that something is going to be more important to you. I wish I was going to the Superbowl in Arizona today. Theoretically, I could hop on a plane, and (if I had enough money to pay a scalper), I could buy tickets and get in. Strange how I keep coming up with football examples lately!

However, as it is, I'm going to go with our youth group to see a movie right after Church this morning, and be back in time to settle in and watch the game on television. But what if I had a plane ticket already, and had already purchased my superbowl tickets. If that were the case, you would not be surprised if I were absent this morning.

If I already had the tickets, I would have done a lot to make sure I could use them. But merely having the opportunity to buy a ticket is not enough to make me want to go to the trouble nor the expense. While football and the church are not the same, human nature is.

We will be found doing that which is important to us, and the more options that are available merely make our selection more difficult, but if something has cost us something--it automatically becomes perceived by us as more important than other things.

My parents just got back from a trip to England. They love the culture, they love the people, they love the countryside and they love the Church. For those reasons, they were outraged to have read in a paper over there that less than 4% of the people in England bothered to go to Church during Christmas.

People died so that the Christianity could be in England. English people died to insure that the church would continue. But now that it is a state Church, no one is required to pay a price. The result is that the Church is perceived as something of a low priority. It didn't cost them anything, so why should they bother? Why should they bother to celebrate with the body of Christ the Incarnation of the Son of God? Why should they bother to join with others and give thanks and praise for the salvation which God has offered us?

Did you know that you don't actually have to believe anything, but can force the local parish in England to baptize your baby? They are required by law to agree to baptism and marriage and burials of the people who live near. They are often seen as an instrument of the state, but not often seen as the Body of Christ.

In those blessings, the beatitudes, that Jesus spoke, we hear of od several other blessings. None of which are easy to gain and all of which cost us something. To be meek, we must put others above ourselves. To be a peacemaker, we must feel the pain when peace is lacking. To be able to mourn, we must first learn to love, and then, to know loss.

Blessing come at a cost. Eternal life came at the ultimate cost--the death of the Son of God who had become man for that purpose. To accept the gift of eternal life, we must begin to die to this world, so that we can life in the next. Our priorities must change. Despite the opportunities and choices we have available to us, the most precious is that of worshiping God and becoming sons and daughters of the Most High.

I remember with mixed feeling a time when I was in Junior High School. I had a wonderful circle of friends and we were together every weekend. We went to movies together, and went to each other's houses, and celebrated each other's birthdays, and became very close. We remained close in our first year of high school. But one day, one of the group, a girl named June made a point to speak to each of the group privately. She told me, as she told the others, that she could no longer have anything to do with us. She explained that she was Jewish, and that she felt it was important to associate only with other Jews.

I tried to reason with her, wanting her to remain my friend, but the fact was that reason was on her side. Her faith was more important to her than even her friends. God, was more important to her than anything else. A few years later the synagogue that she attended was attacked several times, the windows broken on one occasion, horrible threats spray painted on the walls, and once partially burned.

While I feared for her safety and the safety of others that I knew who worshiped God there, I also realized that had a commitment that was stronger than mine. They had been forced to pay a price for what they believed.

But through it all, there was no demonstration of outrage, but rather meekness. There was no demanding of vindication, but rather a thirst for righteousness that can only come from God. There were no threats from the people of that synagogue, but rather a desire for peace. Their sorrow was private, not displayed for the media.

I never heard a word about it from any of my friends. But a year or so later the news media ran a piece that told of how they had rebuilt, and how they had grown since the attacks on their place of worship.

Those people did not attend the synagogue because they deserved to attend their or because they had a right to attend there, but because they were willing and even desirous to pay a price for their faith.

Our faith must cost us something if it is to have meaning to us. Moreover, our faith must cost us something if it is to have meaning to others.

If we wish to having the blessing given to the meek, then we will be about the business of becoming meek. If we desire the blessing of being merciful, then we will be about the business of practicing mercy. If we are desirous of being Christians, then we will be about the business of being Christians.

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


Copyright © 1996 W. Crews Giles

Second Sunday after the Epiphany - Year A - 1996

Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light
of the world: Grant that thy people, illumined by thy Word
and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's
glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the
ends of the earth; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord,
who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one
God, now and for ever. Amen.

Preface of the Epiphany, or of the Lord's Day


A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah Isaiah 49:1-7
1 Listen to me, O coastlands, and hearken, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. 2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. 3 And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." 4 But I said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God." 5 And now the LORD says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength-- 6 he says: "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." 7 Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the servant of rulers: "Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."
The Word of the Lord.

40 Expectans, expectavi (verses 1-10) page 640

1 I waited patiently upon the LORD; *
he stooped to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay; *
he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God; *
many shall see, and stand in awe,
and put their trust in the LORD.
4 Happy are they who trust in the LORD! *
they do not resort to evil spirits or turn to false gods.
5 Great things are they that you have done, O LORD my God!
how great your wonders and your plans for us! *
there is none who can be compared with you.
6 Oh, that I could make them known and tell them! *
but they are more than I can count.
7 In sacrifice and offering you take no pleasure *
(you have given me ears to hear you);
8 Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required, *
and so I said, "Behold, I come.
9 In the roll of the book it is written concerning me: *
'I love to do your will, O my God;
your law is deep in my heart."'
10 I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation; *
behold, I did not restrain my lips;
and that, O LORD, you know.

A reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge-- 6 even as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you-- 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ; 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Word of the Lord.

The Holy Gospel is written in the first chapter of John
Beginning at the 29th verse.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John John 1:29-41
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel." 32 And John bore witness, "I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God." 35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples; 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" 39 He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ).
The Gospel of the Lord.

Epiphany 2 - Year A

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples; and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!." The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

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

In this morning's Gospel, Jesus only speaks seven words, and the first four are in the form of a question. He sees Andrew and the other Apostle (probably John), following him after they hear John refer to our Lord as the Lamb of God. Jesus asks them, "What do you seek?"

If Jesus were to ask me this question, I am not sure I would know how to answer. Apparently, while they met with Jesus, Andrew found the answer to Jesus' question, because we are then told that he ran to his brother, Peter, telling him that they had found the Messiah -- the Christ.

What Andrew and the other disciple were seeking was the Messiah, and that is who they found. But it was a strange matter that started their search. They had merely heard the words, "Behold the Lamb of God!" and decided to follow the man who John the Baptist had pointed out to them.

"Behold, the Lamb of God!" is a strange expression. It comes from a strange man who is somewhat infamous for his style of dress and, in particular, his eating habits. Neither the message nor the messenger would suggest that two searchers would be wise to take much notice.

I checked, and the term "Lamb of God" does not occur even once in the Old Testament. If it had, it might have made more sense for the Baptizer to have used it, and for the disciples to have headed it, but as it stands it would have been nearly non-sensical to a Jew in 30 AD.

Every significant reference to a lamb in the Old Testament relates to the idea of sacrifice and atonement. For example, the passover lamb which was to be eaten prior to the Exodus, it's blood sprinkled on the door post to protect the inhabitants from the death and judgement; and the sacrificial lamb, slain to purify sinners and transgressors of the law. Some of the other words used in connection with Old Testament references to a lamb are: offering, redemption, purification, sanctification.

So what was John the Baptist thinking? In hindsight, it is obvious that this must be a reference to the sacrifice that Jesus made on the Cross for our sins, but isn't it odd that John would be thinking in those terms before the fact? It is even odder that Andrew and the Apostle John would hear those words and follow Jesus.

As for John the Baptist, his whole message dealt with sin, and the ugliness of man's state. Perhaps he knew, as prophets sometimes do, a bit of what kind of nasty solution that God was intending. A nasty solution is required for a nasty problem, and our sins are definitely a nasty problem. John was not looking for a solution to the economic problems of the national economy, nor a way to end wars, lower taxes, balance the budget, save the whales -- or fill in your own favorite cause; rather, he was looking for the solution to the only problem that follows a man into the grave namely, how to get out of that grave once you are in it.

Easter is Glorious. Clean white linens, new life, and a happy ending. But, I have heard it said, you cannot have easter without the crucifixion. Ah, but we could have had! We could have had Jesus die a pleasant death -- going peacefully in his sleep, with no pain, no blood, no suffering. The kind of death that we all would like to have. The kind of death the antisemitists wanted our Lord to have. They blame the Jews for our Lord's suffering, and believe that without that suffering we would have been better off. But what would Easter have proved by itself?

Without the nasty death by being nailed to a piece of wood, without the sacrifice of the unspotted lamb without blemish, what would we have had? We would have had God's Incarnate Son inviting us to join Him in eternal life in Heaven without any hope of ever being able to accept the invitation.

Heaven is a very exclusive place, they don't let just anybody in there. For example, anyone with the stain of sin is barred at the door. And for Jesus to have simply died and been raised again, he would have gained admittance for himself only, being the only one to have achieved death without sinning. We on the other hand, each and every one of us -- dark with the stain of sin -- simply could not get in without first being cleansed of that stain. And the only method by which we can be cleansed is the nasty one -- sacrifice. We needed a Sacrificial Lamb. It was our only hope.

John the Baptists knew this, and the saints knew this too. It isn't a coincidence that any good book on prayer instructs one to first recognize one's sins, failures, imperfections, and complete and utter hopelessness before trying to speak or listen to God in prayer.

It is only reasonable that we must try to see where we stand in relationship to God if we are to be able to communicate with him. We are only righteous in as much as he has declared us to be righteous, but we have no righteousness of our own without Him. And even with that, we continue to sin, and thus still need the stain of sin removed.

Whether Andrew was thinking about any of this I cannot say. But something clicked with him. Something drove him to follow Jesus. Something clicked with Andrew, and suddenly he knew that he had found what he was looking for. We have all experienced this 'click' ourselves in various ways. We don't know how we know something, we just know that we do in fact, know.

Being a native Texan, I love football, and I have watched a lot of it in my day--and I have a gift, of sorts, for being able to predict when one team is about to take the ball away from the other team. The teams will be lined up and about to hike the ball and I suddenly know that the ball is going to be intercepted or fumbled on that play, or the next. I have even leaned over to the one next to me and commented that there is going to be a turn over. Probably nine times out of ten, it happens. This is not a gift from God, nor am I psychic, and I don't know exactly what it is that I see that causes this click, but the click happens every now and then.

I have a theory, however. You see, when I was five years old, my parents bought season tickets to the Cowboy games, and I faithfully attended each home game for nearly twenty years. I watched the games on television, I watched the coach's shows, I read about football, talked about football and even played a little football. It was important to me and so I learned everything that I could about the game. Then, in the middle of a game I would see something wrong that the offense was doing or something right that the defense was doing I don't know which, and knew ahead of time that the defense was going to take away the ball from the offense.

The point is that I was able to see something that few, if any, others saw; and furthermore, I believe that I had this ability because of the amount of time I spent studying and watching the sport.

Andrew, as a Jew, had been waiting for the Messiah. He had studied and watched for His coming, he knew the prophesies, and was ready when that small and almost imperceptible something caused everything to click.

Unlike most of those who encountered Jesus as he walked the earth nearly two thousand years ago, Andrew recognized that the Messiah the Christ was the one that would be Sacrificed and offered to atone for our sins and to bring about our sanctification.

Most expected a worldly king, greater than even David, but very much a king of this world like David had been. These were the ones who felt justified in their rejecting Jesus when our Lord was nailed to the cross and died.

The Magi brought gold, for a Christ the King, but Andrew was not looking for just a king. They brought frankincense for Christ the Great High Priest, but Andrew was not looking for just a priest, the ultimate of which Jesus Christ is. They also brought myrrh, which symbolized and foreshadowed the Death of Christ. It was this, the sacrifice -- the inevitable and blessed death that Jesus was to suffer -- that Andrew recognized in his (and our) Savior.

It is a revelation of sorts, but one that was conditioned by Andrew's (and the other Jews') waiting and searching for the Messiah. Once they had seen him, they recognized him.

So what are we, as Christians, waiting for? What is it that we have studied and watched for? To quote our Lord, "WHAT DO YOU SEEK?"

Paul tells us, in our Epistle today, that the Church in Corinth was waiting "for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ". Yet he also says of the Church in Corinth that:

They were Sanctified in Christ Jesus, They were called to be saints, They were given the grace of God, They were in every way enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge The testimony to Christ was confirmed in them, They were not lacking in any spiritual gift, and that they were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

And this was Paul's "problem Church"! It seems they had everything. Yet, Paul says that they were waiting. Waiting for the "revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ;" he says, "who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

As I studied and watched football and found that click that something big was about to happen, and moreover, as Andrew studied Scripture and watched for the coming of the Messiah, which he recognized with the click of the words, "Behold the Lamb of God!", we must be studying and watching for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The mere fact that you are sitting in this church right now is unarguable proof that you too have been called to be saints. You have been given the grace of God, and to a person you have most, if not all, of the seven attributes with which Paul credited the Corinthians. But, like those -- we must still wait, watch and study.

Our work is not done to have the testimony of Christ confirmed in us. Andrew, as a Jew, could not rest even though he was one of God's chosen even after he recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, Andrew still watched. We are told that he, with Peter, James and John ask Jesus about the end of the world so that they might be ready when it comes.

We have the revealing our Lord Jesus in the Four Gospels, and we find more revealed of him in the rest of the New Testament, yet we are still awaiting his revelation. It is in the Word of God, the Scripture, which tells us that Jesus is not finished revealing himself to us, and it is there that we must focus our study and watchfulness; and it is also in His Church that we must study and watch, so that when he does choose to reveal himself to us again, we will be ready for that click.

The Sunday temple that I faithfully attended in my youth sat seventy five thousand people. Nearly every seat was filled because what went on there was important to us. It was our way of life, and we knew the game.

We are in another Sunday Temple and we are, each of us, charged to make this our way of life, and we cannot do that unless we know the game. We must watch, we must study and we must wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to reveal himself to us, and if we do, Paul tells us that we "will be sustained to the end, guiltless".

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


Copyright © 1996 W. Crews Giles

First Sunday after Christmas Day - Year A - 1995

First Sunday after Christmas Day

This Sunday takes precedence over the three Holy Days which follow
Christmas Day. As necessary, the observance of one, two, or all three
of them, is postponed one day.

Almighty God, who hast poured upon us the new light of
thine incarnate Word: Grant that the same light, enkindled in
our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through the same
Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in
the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Preface of the Incarnation

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: Isaiah 61:10--62:3
10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
62 1 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. 2 The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the LORD will give. 3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
The Word of the Lord

147 Laudate Dominum page 804 or 806

1 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God! *
how pleasant it is to honor him with praise!
2 The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem; *
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted *
and binds up their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars *
and calls them all by their names.
5 Great is our LORD and mighty in power; *
there is no limit to his wisdom.
6 The LORD lifts up the lowly, *
but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; *
make music to our God upon the harp.
8 He covers the heavens with clouds *
and prepares rain for the earth;
9 He makes grass to grow upon the mountains *
and green plants to serve mankind.
10 He provides food for flocks and herds *
and for the young ravens when they cry.
11 He is not impressed by the might of a horse; *
he has no pleasure in the strength of a man;
12 But the LORD has pleasure in those who fear him, *
in those who await his gracious favor.
13 Worship the LORD, O Jerusalem; *
praise your God, O Zion;
14 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; *
he has blessed your children within you.
15 He has established peace on your borders; *
he satisfies you with the finest wheat.
16 He sends out his command to the earth, *
and his word runs very swiftly.
17 He gives snow like wool; *
he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.
18 He scatters his hail like bread crumbs; *
who can stand against his cold?
19 He sends forth his word and melts them; *
he blows with his wind, and the waters flow.
20 He declares his word to Jacob, *
his statutes and his judgments to Israel.
21 He has not done so to any other nation; *
to them he has not revealed his judgments.
Hallelujah!

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Galatians: Galatians 3:23-25, 4:4-7
23 Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. 24 So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian;
4 4 But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7 So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir.
The Word of the Lord.

The Holy Gospel is written in the first chapter of John,
beginning at the first verse.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. John 1:1-18
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God; 3 all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light. 9 The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. 11 He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. 15 (John bore witness to him, and cried, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.'") 16 And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.
The Gospel of the Lord.

Christmas I - Year A

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.

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

Over the last few years I have noticed a sort of renaming of the Holy Trinity which I find bothersome. Perhaps you have heard or seen a reference to the, "Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier." I recently saw three banners using this terminology. The first one showed a symbol of God the Father--an all seeing eye, but had the word, "Creator" underneath. The second banner had a Cross for God the Son, but underneath was the word, "Redeemer", and the third showed a dove for God the Holy Spirit, but was entitled, "Sanctifier".

This bothers me. The fact that it bothers me is of little, if any consequence. The fact that it bothers the Apostle, and Evangelist John, is, however, of the greatest consequence. John tells us many important things about God in His Gospel. He, in fact, is also known as Saint John the Theologian, because of the beautiful heights and depths of his theology to be found in his Gospel.

Some have said that John, the patron saint of this parish, is symbolized by an Eagle because his Gospel soars in the heavens compared to the other Gospels. And up until recently, His understanding of the Trinity, and of the nature of God was believed to be so sophisticated, that many scholars had assumed that the Gospel of John must have been written in the late second century.
That assumption proved to be false when a fragment of his Gospel was found several years ago that testing proved to be much older than the late second century, in fact, it may have been penned by the Apostle himself.

John's sophisticated theology is not due to the Gospel being written by Christians of a later age who knew more, but by the Apostle who knew more than we do, because he knew God. He knew God the Son, who was his best friend, and describes himself in relation to our Saviour as "the one whom Jesus loved."

He knew God the Holy Spirit, because Jesus had promised him and the others that the Holy Spirit would enlighten their minds so that they could understand and teach the faith to others.

He knew God the Father because Jesus, His Son, manifest the Father to the whole world in the Incarnation, as we heard in this morning's Gospel.

Because John, knew God, John shared this knowledge with us in his Gospel. In the opening words, we hear that Jesus, the eternal Word of God is with God, and is God. We also read that through the Son, all things were made.

God the Father as Creator, ignores that God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are also our Creator. The entire Trinity Created the world, and all of us in their image. That is what my Bible says, and that is the Word of God received by this Church.

Likewise, God sent His Son to Redeem us, that is, to make us His people, as he declared long ago. And we accept Jesus by faith given us through the Holy Spirit. And God the Father Sanctified us by calling us His, and declaring us righteous, while God the Son sanctified us by His blood, and God the Holy Spirit sanctifies us by faith and grace and the water of our baptism. Therefore, God the Father, and God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit--all three persons of the Trinity Created us, Redeemed us, and Sanctify us.

This new trend to represent the Trinity by action rather than by name is bad theology and is contrary to Scripture as well as the faith received by this Church. Paul tells us in His Letter to the Galatians, that it is the Holy Spirit within us that cry's, " Abba, Father!"

But none-the-less, this discussion of the Trinity has not yet touched upon that which John would have us know above all other aspects of the Nature of God. There is something which is more important our Creation, and Redemption, and Sanctification, and it is more important than anything else that God has done for us, because it is the impetus, the reason, that God acts for us at all.

This crucial aspect of the Nature of God is that God loves us. Not only is the identifying nature of God--that he loves us unconditionally, has always called us His own, and has promised to take us to Himself through His Son--but it is this love of God for us that John recognized personally, that is the identifying nature of who John is, and how he sees himself.

Four times in his Gospel, he refers to himself as the one "whom Jesus loved". This is not a denial that Jesus, that is, God loves all of us, but rather a recognition of who the man John was.

You see, John was not just a great theologian, he is also a great anthropologist. Theology is the study of God, and there is no better student than John. Anthropology is the study of man, and again, none has bettered that Apostle. We are God's Creatures, and we are also His people. But most of all, we are the ones whom God loves. That is our nature, the aspect of us that defines who we are.

I can think of no better patron Saint to symbolize this parish. We at Saint John's are more than just God's people, we are God's beloved.

To a Jew, to be called God's people was birthright--born of blood and flesh, one would become a Jew. But as promised, all believe in his Name, that is, Jesus Christ are his by being born of God. We are therefore, sons (and daughters), and we are heirs.

Would that we lived our lives as testimony to our nature. Would that we could all see ourselves as the ones whom Jesus loved, and would that we could be known that we are sons (and daughters) of God by our love for Him, and for one another.

I read a headline in the paper yesterday to the effect that we ought to make our New Year's resolutions rather easily attainable, so that we don not feel defeated if do not keep them. On the other hand, as servant of God, I am going to recommend something far more difficult. I suggest that each of us set our sights higher, and reach for that which God would desire. We ought to resolve ourselves to living our lives as God's beloved, and moreover, living our lives always cognizant that each other is one of God's beloved.

I guarantee that if we as a parish make this resolution for the new year that we will simultaneously fail miserably, and succeed gloriously. God's beloved forgive because they have been given forgiveness. God' beloved pray for each other because God the Son prays for us, God's beloved help each other because God saves us, and God's beloved love one another, because God first loved us.

And when we start to think that someone is so impossible to deal with that we cannot any longer forgive, and pray, and help, and love, then remember that this is exactly what could say about us, but he forgives, and helps, and prays, and loves none-the-less.

John's sophisticated theology is not so easy for us. He saw God love, and heard him pray, he saw the miracles, and the Crucifixion, and he saw the Risen Lord. He laid his head on Jesus breast when our Lord was about to be betrayed. We lack that intimacy with God that John was blessed to have known.

And yet we know God through John, in part because of the words of hope and love that he gave to us. We have those words too, and we have Christ with us as well, because we have His Spirit working in us through His Church. In the coming year, let us also bring this message of hope and love to others--because all need it.

In the New Year, let us become Evangelists like John, not by writing great theological works nor by going to foreign lands to preach the Good News, of God made flesh, but by showing the love we have been given so that others desire to know its source. How wonderful if each of us will at some time during the coming year be asked why we behaved in such a way, and our answer would be, because it is how God would have me behave towards others, because that is how He is with me.

To be able to make that statement is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. And to be asked to explain that statement is a manifestation of His, not our own, Grace--because "from His fulness have we all received, grace upon grace."

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



Copyright © 1995 W. Crews Giles

Advent IV - Year A - 1995

Fourth Sunday of Advent

We beseech thee, Almighty God, to purify our consciences by
thy daily visitation, that when thy Son our Lord cometh he
may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; through the
same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with
thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for
ever. Amen.

Preface of Advent

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah Isaiah 7:10-17
10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11 "Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven." 12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test." 13 And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. 17 The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah -- the king of Assyria."
The Word of the Lord.

24 Domini est terra Page 613

1 The earth is the LORD'S and all that is in it, *
the world and all who dwell therein.
2 For it is he who founded it upon the seas *
and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep.
3 "Who can ascend the hill of the LORD? " *
and who can stand in his holy place?"
4 "Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, *
who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,
nor sworn by what is a fraud.
5 They shall receive a blessing from the LORD *
and a just reward from the God of their salvation."
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, *
of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
7 Lift up your heads, O gates;
lift them high, O everlasting doors; *
and the King of glory shall come in.
8 "Who is this King of glory?" *
"The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle."
9 Lift up your heads, O gates;
lift them high, O everlasting doors; *
and the King of glory shall come in.
10 "Who is he, this King of glory?"
"The LORD of hosts,
he is the King of glory."

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans. Romans 1:1-7
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; 7 To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Word of the Lord.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Matthew 1:18-25
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19 and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21 she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.
The Gospel of the Lord.

Advent IV - Year A

All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us).

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

When Ahaz heard that prophesy, that is, when he heard the words given to Isaiah by God, he believed that the young woman was his own wife (Abi), and that remains the interpretation among many who do not understand, or will not understand, the word of God in light of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, Incarnate. While the prophesy was fulfilled to the Jews' satisfaction in the birth of Hezekiah, it was not Hezekiah that embodied the sign from God given them. It was THROUGH, however, Ahaz and Hezekiah (and the numerable, if not memorable, generations which their seed produced) that the sign came.

The continuation of David's line through Ahaz was important to the salvation of the world. But the virgin was not Ahaz's wife. She may, in fact, had already born a son at the time which Isaiah gave him God's Word and promised a sign. It was through Joseph, betrothed to a virgin named Mary that the prophesy was fulfilled.

The signs of the Old Testament all point to a Saviour, but Salvation could only come through the completion of the entire Old Testament, not just a part of it. The completion of the Old Testament is also the conclusion. But is not the end of God's Word, because through this sign, through the virgin who conceived a child, God's word was fulfilled and His Gracious work begun in the salvation of the world.

It is not the Salvation of a political state known as Israel that God intended, Ahaz's kingdom was destroyed. It was the Salvation of the world that God intended.

In our Psalm this morning, David asks, "Who can ascend the hill of the Lord? And who can stand in His holy place?"

And David answers, "Those who have clean hands, and a pure heart, who have not pledged themselves falsehood, nor sworn by what is fraud--they shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and a just reward from the God of their Salvation!"

But now I ask you to consider just who those people are. Name one person you know who heart is pure. Certainly not mine. And yet, WE are the ones who can stand in our Lord's holy place. Not while our hearts remain impure, but only when the have been made pure. That is, in fact, the blessing which is promised us, that we can receive a just reward from the God of our Salvation.

Prior to the Son of God becoming man, none was able to be called pure of heart, and prior to the Incarnation, all were of unclean hands. And since the coming of God in flesh, none has been pure. But the purity which we seek for our salvation has come. The Old Testament has been fulfilled, and thus it has been completed and concluded.

The message of the Old Covenant was this, God declares to us a one way agreement, not a pact and not a contract, but a declaration from on High: "I am the Lord your God, and you shall be my people." Those words are a promise, and yet those words remained unfulfilled for us until One showed us the way.

The message of the New Covenant is this: God became man so that we might become gods.

How can we be God's people unless we are like him. And how can man, also be god? This is the mystery of the Word made flesh, and it is not just the completion of the Old Covenant, but is the way of Salvation. God became one of us, not so that he would know what it is like to be one of us, but so that we could know what is like to be man and to be God. We have seen it, we have heard it, we, as Christians, proclaim it, and yet we have not attained to this ourselves. But it can be done, because it has been done.

It is through God and flesh, perfectly united, that we have hope in the promise of the Old Testament. But it is not our birth in flesh that claims our purity, but rather His. For us, our birth must be of a pure lady which is the Church, who has known no other, but is betrothed, promised to be faithful to the One true and Triune God. But that union has, obviously, not yet been consummated.

By our baptism, we have been unified with the Church who is betrothed to God, through Jesus Christ. Now, like Joseph, is the time for us to be faithful to our betrothed. We must be obedient to the faith, as Paul says, because we are called by God to belong to Jesus Christ "for the sake of his name among all nations".

Joseph questioned the purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but by God's command, he remained promised to her, by his own will which he submitted in obedience to God;s command, and he remained with Mary.

Her purity, like that of the Church, is such that God found a place to enter into this world which was fit for himself. The purity of the Church, like Mary is something that we should love and honor. And, as was used in the old marriage rite, we ought to love, honor, and obey--for this is the love of the betrothed, and this is love which gives of self, and requires a response from us that manifests the "otherness" which is a requirement for any relationship. Obedience is not a dirty word when it is used to describe a relationship of giving based upon love.

Obedience of the Church is expressed, not in grudging acquiescence, but in adoring humility when facing our Creator. Verbally expressed by our Lady, when she said, "Be it unto me according to thy word." and equally obediently expressed by Joseph, when he took Mary as his wife, despite her being with child.

We cannot expect to find ourselves in adoring obedience in the way that Mary and Joseph are known to us. Most of us will probably never encounter a holy angel announcing to us our task, and making clear our way in God's sight, but we must struggle. We struggle personally, because our own salvation is at stake, and we struggle collectively as the Church, because the Salvation of the whole world is at stake, and dependant upon God's grace manifest in and through His Church to proclaim the truth to an unbelieving world.

While we may fail, as Ahaz failed personally, God does not fail, and despite Ahaz's disobedience to God, despite his worshiping false idols, and despite his ignoring most of what God spoke to him, and misunderstanding the rest--God did indeed bring through him the Salvation of the world in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

What you read of Ahaz's life in the Old Testament is quite depressing. His is the story of selfishness, pride and arrogance. His is the story of the destruction and ruin of Israel. His is the story of judgement. But Ahaz, is mentioned once in the NEW Testament: and here, the glory of the grace of God is manifest, because here, in the New Testament, Ahaz may be found in the opening verses of Matthew's Gospel as an ancestor, in the Davidic line which brought about God made flesh. In the verses immediately preceding this morning's Gospel, Ahaz is mentioned along with such greats as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Boaz, David, and Solomon. He is not listed because of the work he did, but rather the work of God done through him.

We must strive to be more than Ahaz in hopes that we can also be brought into such a list. We must strive to be WILLING participants in the work which God is doing through us, preserving the one true faith, teaching the one true faith, and proclaiming the one true faith. And when we find that we cannot LIVE the one true faith, praising God for the gift of his Son which gave us forgiveness of our sins, so that we too, having received the one true faith, may find our names listed as those which the Old Testament declared as God's People, and which the New Testament promises, shall be gods, by being made one with Him, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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

The Last Sunday after the Epiphany - Year A - 1993

Year A - Epiphany Last

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;

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


Three weeks ago, Father Sloane invited me to have lunch with your bishop in Fond Du Lac. I mentioned to Father before we arrived that bishops terrify me, but soon after we sat down at table with Bishop Stevens, I was much relaxed and put at ease by his manner. He even had a little joke concerning a brand that he thought appropriately described me.

You see, we had been discussing that Lent was almost upon us (its Wednesday) and the bishop mentioned that he had always found that there was a curious sort of person who would not be seen at Christmas or Easter, but that would attend every Lenten event offered by the Church. I commented that I could relate to that in that I find Lent to be the Season in which I am most comfortable. He immediately determined that I was, as he put it, very Gothic. For the rest of the discussions over lunch, he took great delight in repeating how Gothic everything I said was.

I've been giving this some thought, however, since that lunch (as seminarians quickly learn to give serious thought to anything a bishop tells them-- even in jest), and it reminded me of something my rector back in Arlington once told me. He said, there are two major categories of Christians: The kind that stand at the empty tomb on Easter Sunday and look back at the Cross, and the kind that stand at the foot of the Cross and look forward to the Empty Tomb. I stand at the Cross... ...and look forward to Easter.

In our Gospel today, we have Matthew's account of the Transfiguration of Jesus, and at first glance, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the Cross. We have Peter, James and John on top of the Mountain, seeing a vision of our Lord in his Glorified State. His face shining like the sun, and his garments became white as light (glistening white is how I think Mark puts it in his Gospel). Try to imagine this sight in Steven Spielburg terms:

You follow Jesus up a mountain for hours until you reach the top, you can see the small villages far below, and its quiet and peacful. Then suddenly, he is changed before your very eyes. His face begins to shine, and his clothes are emitting light. The other Transfiguration stories from Mark and Luke add different detail, but they all indicate an iridescence, and great glory. Just as suddenly, he is accompanied by to men which he refers to in speaking as being Moses, the Law giver and Elijah the Prophet. Both have been dead for centuries, but these are the greatest hero's of the Jews.

This is beyond history making, this is the singles greatest event that man has ever witnessed to that time. The beauty of the Lord's Transfigured countenance, his raiment of white, the two heros of the Jew's. It is glorious to Peter, James and John. It would have been Glorious for any of us to have witnessed-- but what has this to do with the Cross?

The answer is in what Jesus had told these apostles in the six days prior to Peter's confessing Jesus as the Messiah. There are three items of great importance which have a bearing on the Cross during those six days.

One. Jesus has told the Disciples that he must be Crucified and raised again on the third day. If you remember, this is the point at which Peter expresses his displeasure and Jesus says to him, "Get behind me Satan." This is the first time the Disciples have heard anything about their master being killed, and Peter's reaction is understandable... But the news gets worse.

The second matter of great importance is that Jesus tells them that if anyone would come after him, then he must first deny himself and take up his own cross and follow Jesus.

The third matter is much better news, and it has to be understood that this is the last thing we are told by Matthew, before Jesus goes up to the Mountain of the Transfiguration. Jesus tells the disciples, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."

What the disciples saw at the top of the mountain was the Glory of Jesus that is in His kingdom. They saw Jesus, for a few moments, in the Glory that is his after the Resurrection. They saw the light and beauty of the glorified body. Moreover, they saw what awaits their own bodies; if they too can deny themselves and pick up their own Crosses, because the glory they see is not that of Jesus alone, although his certainly outshines all others. But in Luke's Gospel, Elijah and Moses are said to have "appeared in glory" as well.

Peter says, in his Second Letter, that he wishes to remind the Church of many things as longs as he is still "in this body" and that he knows he will "be putting off this body as the Lord Jesus Christ showed me" on the mountain.

You see, the beautiful vision of Jesus Transfigured was a promise. A promise that made denying oneself and lifting up one's own Cross and following Jesus a blessing rather than a curse. The promise is that we too can share in that glory, it is a glorified body like that of Moses and Elijah that we are to have in the resurrection, and this is a blessing.

This summer, I worked in a hospital with some other seminarians from other denominations. Two of them were from a protestant denomination which I will not name here, because I mean them no malice.

One day, we were praying together and began the hymn, Amazing Grace. It was an easy hymn to choose for a group of varied denominations, because we all knew the words. The Roman Catholics and I sang the first line as

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me."

The other two, however, sang the last part of that line as:

"that saved and strengthened me"

They gave us a funny look. One of them appeared to be almost disgusted with the way we had sung the hymn. They probably thought I was Gothic or something. I later found out that their denomination did not consider their members to be wretches, and explained that as this is the Kingdom of God, and as they believe in Jesus Christ, they are without sin altogether.

Now, even in a theological discussion, one must be very careful how one responds to an opponent who states that they are not a wretch... I know this... Now... because, if you do it the wrong way, as I did, you end up leaving them perfectly willing to accept the fact that you are indeed a wretch, and all the more sure that they are not.

You have to admit, they have a very appealing point of view (about already being without sin, not about my wretchedness). It is also a very American point of view. We, more than any other culture are tempted to pray the prayer of the Pharisee, "God, I thank thee that I am not like other men." While the righteous man prays quietly in a corner, "God, be merciful to me a sinner." We do not have a corner on the righteousness market. We are in fact, in grave danger of assuming that our wealth and prosperity are a sign of divine favor, when in all probability they will be a cause for Divine Judgement.

Yes we are strengthened, as the protestants sang. But we are not strengthened to the exclusion of our wretchedness. What is that T-Shirt slogan "If I'm O.K. and Your O.K., What is that guy doing up on that Cross?" The United States of America is not the Kingdom of God. We are not a nation of glorified people. I have met no one who glows so brightly that they must be covered with a cloud to prevent harm to those who are near. Moreover, we are not a people capable of building the kingdom of God. How sad to think that we can.

If we start believing that we have no wretchedness, then we might start believing that we are capable of building God's Kingdom. And I want no part of that Kingdom. No, we are promised more than that. We are promised glorified bodies, and a Kingdom prepared by our Lord himself.

But to receive these bodies, and to inherit this Kingdom, we must pick up our Crosses. Facing our wretchedness is a very heavy Cross. It is all the more heavy in a culture such as ours where the current trend is to blame parents and/or society for every crime that is committed, and every parent is able to blame their lack of perfection on their own parents-- it seems nobody is responsible. But the truth is, every time a crime is committed it is a sign that we are indeed wretched. And we must face the fact that we are not perfect, and we are not even any better than those to whom Jesus was speaking nearly two-thousand years ago. We are as much in need of a Saviour as they were.

We need to take our queue from Paul who tells us in the Epistle today that he has no righteousness of his own, but what righteousness he does have belongs to God, and is received only by faith. He then says that he presses on towards that righteousness by sharing in the suffering of Christ. Paul is talking about picking up his own Cross.

This is the last Sunday of Epiphany, and the Transfiguration is the ultimate showing of the Glory of our Lord before Easter. It is also a startling indication of how far from his Glory we are. We are to strive, or press on, towards that Glory ourselves, knowing that we cannot obtain it for our own, except by faith and suffering for Jesus sake. This is the perfect attitude in which to begin a penitential season. Shrove Tuesday is so named because on that day we are to be SHRIVEN, that is we are to confess our sins, accept penance, and receive absolution for our sins by a priest.

Being the Gothic man that I am, I commend two things to you. One is my favorite prayer which is very ancient, and as near perfect as any prayer that man can devise. It is called the Jesus Prayer, and it is almost identical to the prayer of the righteous man in Jesus parable. It goes, "Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, have mercy on me a sinner. Amen." It is not a very fasionable prayer, but it is a very good one that has found to be appropriate for any situation.

The other thing which I wish to commend to you, is to be gothic yourselves. Embrace Lent as a season to recognize how our glory compares (or doesn't) to the glory of Christ. And also how our humility compares (opr doesn't) to the humility of Christ during his forty days in the wilderness.

Remember that picking up the Cross is not a curse, it was not a judgment upon the disciples, it was a blessing and an invitation to us all to follow him and receive our glorified bodies which will dwell with our Lord for ever.

I'll leave you with Peter's own words concerning the importance of the Transfiguration:
And we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 2 Peter 1:10 19
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

00:12:00


{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. Exodus 24:12 18

{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. Philippians 3:7 14

{17:1} 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." Matthew 17:1 9



Copyright © 1993 W. Crews Giles

Second Epiphany - Year A - 1993

Note: This was my first sermon.  It was preached at Grace Church, Sheboygan, Wisconsin.  I served in that parish while in seminary as a layman, which I was at the time of this sermon, and as an ordained Deacon, which I would be in December of that (1993) year, until I graduated.  I was ordained a Priest in Apostolic Succession on 2-Jul-1994.

Of note, it was aired on the local radio station at the time.

Year A - Second Sunday in Epiphany

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples; and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!." The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.


In my first sermon to a real congregation, I had hoped for the really good stuff like the crucifixion, the resurrection or one of the more tantalizing parables of Jesus to preach upon. However, in today's Gospel, instead of the end, we have the beginning of Jesus' ministry; and Jesus speaks only seven words.

However, those seven words prove profitable. The first four are in the form of a question. Andrew and the other disciple (probably John) upon hearing John the Baptist refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God, follow our Lord. When Jesus saw them following him, he asks a simple question: WHAT DO YOU SEEK?

If Jesus were to ask me this question, I am not sure I would know how to answer. Andrew apparently had a similar problem, because he replies by asking Jesus where he is staying.

Jesus responds, "COME AND SEE."

Apparently, while they met with Jesus, Andrew found the answer to Jesus' first question, because we are then told that he ran to his brother, Peter, telling him that they had found the Messiah -- the Christ.

What Andrew and the other disciple were seeking was the Messiah, and
that is who they found. But it was a strange matter that started their search. They had merely heard the words, "Behold the Lamb of God!" and decided to follow the man who John the Baptist had pointed out to them.

"Behold, the Lamb of God!" is a strange expression. It comes from a strange man who is somewhat infamous for his style of dress and, in particular, his eating habits. Neither the message nor the messenger would suggest that two searchers would be wise to take much notice.

I checked, and the term "Lamb of God" does not occur even once in the Old Testament. If it had, it might have made more sense for the Baptizer to have used it, and for the disciples to have headed it, but as it stands it would have been nearly non-sensical to a Jew in 30 AD, as all of these men were.

Every significant reference to a lamb in the Old Testament relates to the idea of sacrifice and atonement. For example, the passover lamb which was to be eaten prior to the exodus, it's blood sprinkled on the door post to protect the inhabitants from the death and judgement; and the sacrificial lamb, slain to purify sinners and transgressors of the law. Some of the other words used in connection with Old Testament references to a lamb are: offering, redemption, purification, sanctification.

So what was John the Baptist thinking? In hindsight, it is obvious that this must be a reference to the sacrifice that Jesus made on the Cross for our sins, but isn't it odd that John would be thinking in those terms before the fact? It is even odder that Andrew and the Apostle John would hear those words and follow Jesus.

As for John the Baptist, his whole message dealt with sin, and the ugliness of man's state. Perhaps he knew, as prophets sometimes do, a bit of what kind of nasty solution that God was intending. A nasty solution is required for a nasty problem, and our sins are definitely a nasty problem.
John was not looking for a solution to the economic problems of the national economy, nor a way to end wars, lower taxes, save the whales or fill in your own favorite cause; rather, he was looking for the solution to the only problem that follows a man into the grave namely, how to get out of that grave once you are in it.

Easter is Glorious. Clean white linens, new life, and a happy ending. But, I have heard it said, you cannot have easter without the crucifixion. Ah, but we could have! We could have had Jesus die a pleasant death -- going peacefully in his sleep, with no pain, no blood, no suffering. The kind of death that we all would like to have. The kind of death the antisemitists wanted our Lord to have. They blame the Jews for our Lord's suffering, and believe that without that suffering we would have been better off. But what would Easter have proved by itself?

Without the nasty death by being nailed to a piece of wood, without the sacrifice of the unspotted lamb without blemish, what would we have had? We would have had God's incarnate Son inviting us to join Him in eternal life in Heaven without any hope of ever being able to accept the invitation.

Heaven is a very exclusive place, they don't let just anybody in there. For example, anyone with the stain of sin is barred at the door. And for Jesus to have simply died and raised again, he would have gained admittance for himself only, being the only one to have achieved death without sinning. We on the other hand, each and every one of us -- dark with the stain of sin -- simply could not get in without first being cleansed of that stain. And the only method by which we can be cleansed is the nasty one -- sacrifice. We needed a Sacrificial Lamb. It was our only hope.

John the Baptists knew this, and the saints knew this too. It isn't a coincidence that any good book on prayer instructs one to first recognize one's sins, failures, imperfections, and complete and utter hopelessness before trying to speak or listen to God in prayer.

It is only reasonable that we must try to see where we stand in relationship to God if we are to be able to communicate with him. We are only righteous in as much as he has declared us to be righteous, but we have no righteousness of our own without Him. And even with that, we continue to sin, and thus still need the stain of sin removed.

Whether Andrew understood any of this when he heard those words, "Lamb of God," I cannot say. But something clicked. Something drove him to follow Jesus. Something clicked with Andrew, and suddenly he knew that he had found what he was looking for.

We have all experienced this 'click' ourselves in various ways. We don't know how we know something, we just know that we do in fact, know.

Being from Texas where football is more than the national sport, and more like a way of life, you will excuse me, I am sure, if I use an example from my over thirty years of experience in this area:

I have a gift, of sorts, for being able to predict when one team is about to take the ball away from the other team. The teams will be lined up and about to hike the ball and I suddenly know that the ball is going to be intercepted or fumbled on that play, or the next. I'll lean over to the one next to me and comment that there is going to be a turn over. Probably nine times out of ten, it happens. This is not a gift from God, nor am I psychic, and I don't know exactly what it is that I see that causes this click, but the click happens none the less a few times every season.

I have a theory, however. You see, when I was five years old, my parents bought season tickets to the Cowboy games, and I faithfully attended each home game for nearly twenty years. I watched the games on television, I watched the coach's shows, I read about football, talked about football and even played a little football. It was important to me and so I learned everything that I could about the game. Then, in the middle of a game I would see something wrong that the offense was doing or something right that the defense was doing I don't know which, and knew ahead of time that the defense was going to take away the ball from the offense.

The point is that I was able to see something that few, if any, others saw; and furthermore I believe that I had this ability because of the amount of time I spent studying and watching the sport.

Andrew, as a Jew, had been waiting for the Messiah. He had studied and watched for His coming, he knew the prophesies, and was ready when that small and almost imperceptible something caused everything to click.

Unlike most of those who encountered Jesus as he walked the earth nearly two thousand years ago, Andrew recognized that the Messiah the Christ was the one that would be Sacrificed and offered to atone for our sins and to bring about our sanctification.

Most expected a worldly king, greater than even David, but very much a king of this world like David had been. These were the ones who felt justified in their rejecting Jesus when our Lord was nailed to the cross and died.

You know that one of the gifts that the Magi brought was Myrrh. The gold represented Christ's kingship, the frankincense his priesthood, and the myrrh his death.

Andrew was not looking for just a king, nor was he looking for just a priest, the ultimate of which Jesus Christ is, but it was the sacrifice -- the inevitable and blessed death that Jesus was to suffer -- that resulted in Andrew's recognizing his (and our) Savior.

It is a revelation of sorts, but one that was conditioned by Andrew's (and the other Jews') waiting and searching for the Messiah. Once they had seen him, they recognized him.

So what are we, as Christians, waiting for? What is it that we have studied and watched for? To quote our Lord, "WHAT DO YOU SEEK?"

Paul tells us, in our Epistle today, that the Church in Corinth was waiting "for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ". Yet he also says of the Church in Corinth that:

They were Sanctified in Christ Jesus, They were called to be saints, They were given the grace of God, They were in every way enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge The testimony to Christ was confirmed in them, They were not lacking in any spiritual gift, and that they were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

It seems they had everything.

Yet, Paul says that they were waiting. Waiting for the "revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ;" he says, "who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

As I studied and watched football and found that click that something big was about to happen, and moreover, as Andrew studied Scripture and watched for the coming of the Messiah, which he recognized with the click of the words, "Behold the Lamb of God!", we must be studying and watching for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The mere fact that you are sitting in this church right now is unarguable proof that you too have been called to be saints. You have been given the grace of God, and to a person you have most, if not all, of the seven attributes with which Paul credited the Corinthians. But, like those -- we must still wait, watch and study.

Our work is not done to have the testimony of Christ confirmed in us. Andrew, as a Jew, could not rest even though he was one of God's chosen even after he recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, Andrew still watched. We are told that he, with Peter, James and John ask Jesus about the end of the world so that they might be ready when it comes.

We have the revealing our Lord Jesus in the Four Gospels, and we find more revealed of him in the rest of the New Testament, yet we are still awaiting his revelation. It is in the Word of God, the Scripture, which tells us that Jesus is not finished revealing himself to us, and it is there that we must focus our study and watchfulness; and it is also in His Church that we must study and watch, so that when he does choose to reveal himself to us again, we will be ready for that click.

The Sunday temple that I faithfully attended in my youth sat seventy five thousand people. Nearly every seat was filled because what went on there was important to us. It was our way of life, and we knew the game.

We are in another Sunday Temple and we are, each of us, charged to make this our way of life, and we cannot do that unless we know the game. Watch, study and wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to reveal himself to you, and if you do, Paul tells us that you "will be sustained to the end, guiltless".

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

{49:1} Listen to me, O coastlands, and hearken, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. {2} He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. {3} And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." {4} But I said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God." {5} And now the LORD says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength {6} he says: "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." {7} Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the servant of rulers: "Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate them selves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you." Isaiah 49:1 7

{40:1} To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. {2} He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. {3} He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. {4} Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods! {5} Thou hast multiplied, O LORD my God, thy wondrous deeds and thy thoughts toward us; none can compare with thee! Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be numbered. {6} Sacrifice and offering thou dost not desire; but thou hast given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering thou hast not required. {7} Then I said, "Lo, I come; in the roll of the book it is written of me; {8} I delight to do thy will, O my God; thy law is within my heart." {9} I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; lo, I have not restrained my lips, as thou knowest, O LORD. {10} I have not hid thy saving help within my heart, I have spoken of thy faithfulness and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness from the great congregation. Psalms 40:1 10

{1:1} Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, {2} To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: {3} Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. {4} I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, {5} that in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge {6} even as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you {7} so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ; {8} who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. {9} God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:1 9

{29} The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! {30} This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.' {31} I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel." {32} And John bore witness, "I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. {33} I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' {34} And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God." {35} The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples; {36} and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" {37} The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. {38} Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" {39} He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. {40} One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. {41} He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ). John 1:29 41


Copyright © 1993 W. Crews Giles

Advent I - Year A - 1992

 A seminary assignment-- in my middler year.  This may have been the first sermon I wrote-- but it was not preached liturgically.

Isaiah 2:1 5 (RSV)
The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. {2} It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, {3} and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. {4} He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. {5} O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Psalms 122 (RSV) A Song of Ascents. Of David.
{1} I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD!"
{2} Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!
{3} Jerusalem, built as a city which is bound firmly together,
{4} to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
{5} There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.
{6} Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! "May they prosper who love you!
{7} Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers!"
{8} For my brethren and companions' sake I will say, "Peace be within you!"
{9} For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.

Romans 13:8 14 (RSV)
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. {9} The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." {10} Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. {11} Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; {12} the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; {13} let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. {14} But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Matthew 24:37 44 (RSV)
As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. {38} For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, {39} and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man. {40} Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. {41} Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. {42} Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. {43} But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. {44} Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Advent 1 - Year A


Intended audience: EYC group at evening Eucharist.




I don't know if this works or not. I am not very happy with the results, and suspect that the material may be too light or too condescending. I had in mind trying to use the "End is Near" syndrome that seems to be the focus of youth (it was in my teenage years, and it has been with EYC groups that I have seen since) to the end of prompting an interest in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (something that I wish I had been exposed to at that time).

Advent 1 - Year A

But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

A group of my classmates from seminary went on a road trip one weekend. We had been asked by the rector of a parish about a hundred miles from the seminary to come and speak to his congregation about our vocations, about the seminary, and about Jesus Christ. Since we were to begin early on Sunday morning, he asked us to come up the day before. Some of his parishioners volunteered to put each of us up for the night -- dinner and all.

We had been told to expect it to be a short evening and that we would likely dine on pizza or McDonalds. To the contrary, my host cooked a turkey dinner, and we stayed up until two in the morning doing reading our Bibles. This is my idea of a good time, so I was delighted. The first passage that my new friend wanted discuss was the one just read:

Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

And the rest of the night was spent looking at similar apocalyptic texts.

The next morning, after the first service was over, my host told me that he had to run an errand, and that he would be back before we returned to the seminary. About two hours later, Dan walked into the parish hall, and handed me a book. I later found out that he had driven to a bookstore, and waited for forty-five minutes for it to open. This man really wanted me to read that book!

I cannot now remember the title, but it had the word "Armageddon" in it. He told me that he would be very interested in my comments.

Well, I read the book, and noticed that many of the comments that Dan had made in our Bible study together were echoed in it. The author had come up with an ingenious system that dated the second coming of Christ to sometime in the 1990's. He had used a super computer to verify certain dates, and it was all very elaborate, and actually fairly convincing. Unfortunately -- or perhaps that should be fortunately -- the author made an error in the birth year of Jesus. No one knows the exact year that our Lord was Incarnate, but there is substantial evidence that Jesus was born probably in the year 4 BC, but almost certainly not in the year zero.

What this meant is that many of the things that the author believed would happen in the early nineties would have actually already have had to have happened by the time I read the book. They still haven't.

But Dan was nonplussed. There were other books, and other formulas.

What concerns me is that Dan obviously declared Jesus to be his Lord and Savior, had a strong faith, and did his best to amend his life as that faith requires. So why the anxiety?

Dan isn't alone. You can find a hugh assortment of such books at almost any bookstore, and many sell by the millions. It seems plain to me that it requires a faith in Jesus to expect his coming again, and a trust in Scripture to try to date His return. Someone with that faith, and with that knowledge of His Holy Word, and with that excited anticipation must be the last ones who ought to be worried.

Ah, but my concern was misplaced -- at least in Dan's case. Yes, Dan was worried, and anxious. But it wasn't for himself, it was for others who don't have the faith that he had.

Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Dan was doing his best to be ready. But no matter what hour the latest book identifies, you can be sure that it is not the right one. It will be at an hour that we don't expect.

But let's pretend. Let's pretend that we have been given conclusive proof that this is it. Jesus will be here in four weeks, say December 25. Do we wait until the 24th to do anything? Do we need to start getting ready now?

Advent is a season of anticipation. We anticipate the celebration of the birth of Jesus, and we anticipate the return of our Lord at the final resurrection. According to TV, we make ourselves ready for Christmas starting the day after Thanksgiving, but the Church starts the preparation on the first Sunday in Advent -- today.

But rather than parties, and stringing lights, there is another kind of preparation which takes place in the Church. We prepare ourselves for the second coming of our Lord, and that means preparing our souls for the final judgement. And the Church teaches one way to do that -- confession. In a few minutes, we will all confess our sins to God in the general confession. Some of you may also wish to use the Rite of Reconciliation at some time, and Advent is always an appropriate time to consider such a thing.

What we confess, are the things that should make us very anxious if we were to learn that Jesus is coming again in four weeks. In Paul's letter, we get a fairly good list of such sins. First he mentions the ten commandments, and he also states that being ready for Christ's return includes conducting ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

I think that when Paul is talking about living our lives becoming the day, he is speaking in recognition of the tendency that we have to do things under cover of darkness that we would be ashamed of doing in broad daylight. He also speaks of the "armour of light".

Paul sums up all of the commandments by saying that:

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Jesus is coming again, and all of the theories of just when that will happen won't be of any use to us unless we intend to live our lives as if he were coming now. Now is the time to start preparing for that time, and we begin that preparation by loving our neighbors as ourselves, and then "Watch for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming."

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


Copyright © 1992 W. Crews Giles