Who is Jesus the Christ 1

IIII Resurrection Day! 3rd Sunday after Resurrection Day

IIII Resurrection!

3rd Sunday after Western Resurrection Day  

                                      

Greetings in Christ Jesus

Sunday April 22, 2018

Epistle: Acts 2:22-28

Gospel: John 4:5-42

Psalm:  Psalm 67/68

Friends,

Christ has risen. In today’s Epistle the Apostle Peter is speaking to everyone who will listen to him on the Day of Pentecost about the risen Christ, after the Apostles received the Holy Ghost, this Jesus whom they had crucified has now risen, many people became believers on this day and were baptized.

In our Gospel we see that Jesus is leaving Judea and has to pass through Samaria to get back to Galilee. We see a lot going on here in these verses during the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. One unusual thing is that Jesus, who is recognized as a Teacher or Rabbi as is plainly seen in the gospel is actually speaking not just to a woman but to a Samaritan woman at that. Jewish leaders of the day did not have common conversation with women and an Israelite would not speak to a Samaritan. Yet we find the Jewish Rabbi speaking to a Samaritan woman.

With this alone we see that when it comes to salvation and all being equal in Christ that Jesus is teaching us that in the course of humanity, male and female do not exist in Christ but are equals. This is not to be mistaken though for the fact that men are still men and women are still women. Each has a different role to play in humanity but each role or every role is equal under Christ. A woman is not less important than a man nor is a man any more important than a woman. God made them male and female, each with their own special role.

They were at Jacob’s well, Jacob was of course the father of the twelve Patriarchs who essentially fathered the twelve tribes of Israel. In Deuteronomy, 11:29-30 Moses tells the Israelites that when they cross over into the land that they are to set a blessing on Mt. Gerizim and a curse on Mt. Ebal. This is the same Mt. Gerizim where Jesus is now speaking.

The Masoretic Text of the Tanakh says the Israelites later built an altar on Mount Ebal, constructed from natural (rather than cut) stones, to place stones there and whiten them with lime to make korban (peace offerings on the altar), eat there, and write the words of this law on the stone. The Samaritan Pentateuch version of Deuteronomy, and a fragment found at Qumran, holds that the instruction actually mandated the construction of the altar on Mount Gerizim, which the Samaritans view as the site of the tabernacle, recent Dead Sea Scrolls work supports the accuracy of the Samaritan Pentateuch's designation of Mount Gerizim rather than Mount Ebal as the sacred site.

We find in reading the Book of Joshua chapters 7 and 8 the battle of Ai and the lessons of not following God, of sinning and not confessing until one is forced to confess because one’s sin has been discovered and what happens when one follows God. Joshua built an altar of unhewn stones there on Mt. Gerizim, the Israelites then made peace offerings on it, the law of Moses was written onto the stones, and the Israelites split into the two groups specified in Deuteronomy and pronounced blessings and curses as instructed there. Later in the Book of Joshua, when Joshua becomes old and is dying, he gathered the people together at Shechem, and gave a farewell speech, and then wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and set up a stone as a witness, placing it next to the sanctuary of the Lord, under the oak tree.

When the Babylonian Captivity was over and Jews began returning, there was a large split between the Samaritans and Jews developed, with the Samaritans, but not the Jews, regarding Mount Gerizim as the holy place chosen by God. The Samaritans built a temple there on Mt. Gerezim.  The Jews on the other hand went to Jerusalem. Now in all fairness, many of the Samaritans stayed behind during the captivity and they continued the worship as they always had. They believed that they were on the holy mount of God and worshiping in the manner that had always been; they also believed that the Jews in Jerusalem corrupted the worship and the law after the captivity when they returned and that the Jerusalem Jews were not the faithful ones. Of course the Jerusalem Jews had the concept that they were the true Israel and that the Samaritans were corrupted people with a corrupt worship. So with this very short history on the Samaritan well and Jesus the Jewish Rabbi speaking to a Samaritan woman at that well now stated, we can see the some significance of this whole scene. 

Men and women under Christ or in Christ are equal in their humanity, Jesus declares Himself to be the Living Water of eternal life. We see that in spite of the prejudice between Jew and Samaritan Jesus shows us that in Christ there is no prejudice; there is no Jew nor Greek or in this case no Samaritan, there is no race of human that cannot be accepted into the Body Of Christ. He declares Himself to be the Christ, the Messiah that all Jews to include the Samaritans are waiting for. Jesus also declares that the ritual worship in the two temples; Jerusalem and the place of the Samaritans are void and will become meaningless because the true worshipers of God will worship in spirit and truth because God is spirit.

So from the Psalm let us declare; Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death.

The light has entered the world and the times; they are a-changing.  

If one does not have love for the soul of mankind and the desire that all come to the truth than one does not have Christ in them fully.

Little children, love one another; because this is our Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing else is needed. Through love and because of love we will follow all of the commandments that we have been given. They are written on our hearts by the hand of Almighty God. We simply need to see them within us and follow.

Remember; if we confess our sins and repent, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.

In Christ.

   

Member of the Autocephalous Orthodox Catholic Church of the Americas

Bishop William’s videos; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW8XyPtkmtu6a1vVg6MEiNg

Monk Michael's videos; http://www.youtube.com/user/HieroMonkMichael

Many Blessings!

+William

Who we are A O C C A

XXI Pentecost! Married and Called?

XXI Pentecost! Married and Called?

                                      

Greetings in Christ Jesus

Sunday October 29, 2017

Epistle: 1Timothy 3: 1-13

Gospel: Luke 16: 1-13

Psalm:  Psalm 112/113

Friends,

(About Bishops: “if a man desires the office of a bishop, he desires a good work.” Bishops should be blameless, husband of one wife, sober, prudent, good behavior, chaste, given to hospitality, teacher, not given to wine, no striker, modest, not quarrelsome, not covetous, one that rules well his own house, children in subjection with all chastity, not a neophyte, having a good testimony. Also Deacons. Also women.)

So what is it in this epistle today that St. Paul is saying to us? It starts with saying that the desiring of the office of Bishop is a good work and then he speaks on what makes a good Bishop; blameless; this does not mean to be sinless as this is impossible, St. Paul is stressing that the man should live an upright life in honesty, high integrity and not be the subject of scandal. Next we see that he is to be the husband of one wife; this will automatically exclude polygamists, one wife is also taken to mean that he should have been married only once not married, divorced and remarried.

Does it also mean that being married is a requirement of the office? For those who forbid the marriage of a Bishop (which of course goes against the scripture) they will say that this is not a command or requirement and of course they will say this because they refuse the office to a married man (which again goes against the scripture). Of course we realize that it is not an actual binding requirement because not all of the apostles were married. 

However I do find it ironic that the two largest groups of Christianity who claim ancient apostolic descendancy refuse marriage to a Bishop and one of those two actually forbids it. These two ancient groups of apostolic descendancy do not even agree on apostolic teaching or understanding, each has excommunicated the other, each claims that the other withdrew from the true church and yet anyone who is called to preach, who fasts, studies his lessons, listens to the Holy Spirit and lives a life dedicated to Jesus Christ teaching only that which has been taught since the apostles and the church father’s but was not born and raised into either of these groups and is married is not recognized as a teacher of the word, even though the two cannot themselves determine between them what is truth.

If one has been called by our Lord to teach, studies, fasts, prays, teaching according to the apostles and the father’s then no one has anything to say regarding this one’s calling. “Master, said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”…  Hmm. Perhaps the true church would like to monopolize the people of the earth and claim all for themselves instead of for Jesus Christ. Perhaps power has gone to the head and they have become drunk with pride and arrogance. I do not know but I do know that I am tired of those who would attempt to bar the gates of heaven to those who are of a different fold even though they may teach the same doctrine.

If you have been called then you must answer. I myself was married and had children when I received the call. Even though there was a calling and a desire within me at a very young age, I did not fully respond until I was married and had children and yet the calling persisted. I remember distinctly saying to the Lord, “O.K. Lord I am ready, test me and prove me to see that I am ready and make me to become what it is that you are calling me to do.” Since I uttered those words well over forty years ago I have had three hit and run drivers in my life who have driven off leaving me for dying.

Also there has been two shotgun attacks and one pistol attack. During these times I have seen an angel come, intervene, and go leaving me to live in spite of my pistol attacker, once while lying in the hospital and not expected to survive the night the Holy Virgin, the Blessed Mary the Mother of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ visited me and spoke with me. This was attested as true to me and not just a dream because the night nurse came bursting into the room and turning on the light asking how was it that I was awake and talking and who and where was the woman that she heard talking to me. So I know that it was not a dream as I lay supposedly dying.

One must answer the call; I have been called from my sleep at 2:00 a.m. to pray for the soul of a man who unknown to me at that moment was burning to death in bed over 50 miles away. I learned of it later that morning when I received a phone call. Listen, each and every one of us can reach someone that no one else can reach, even if only one it is still worth the effort and attacks from the evil one. Hardships will not cease, I have lost four homes during my lifetime as well because of the relentless adversary. Amazingly I am alive and well, still working at physical labor (although soon to be retired from the secular workforce), still have a wife, food on the table, and a roof over my head. It has truly been an amazing adventure.

Is God calling you? The rest of the epistle speaks on Deacons and women serving as well, these are to meet the same requirements as the Bishop or Priest, Pastor, Elder, Deaconess, or whatever name one chooses to use. Answer the call.

Rich man with a steward, and the steward reduces the bills of debt so that the debtors will receive him into their houses. Jesus says to make friends of the mammon of iniquity that when you shall fall they may receive you into everlasting dwellings. Faithful in the least…No man can serve two masters; you cannot serve God and mammon.

The gospel talks about a not so wise steward who misused the master’s money and so was fired from his job. He immediately went out and reduced the bill of what was owed to the master by the master’s debtors in order to win favor with them so that they may take care of him once he was completely gone.

We do not know if he cut the master’s itself down in order to reduce the size but this may not be likely since the master praised him for his ingenuity. He may have over charged the debtors from the start and simply reduced the bill to cost or he may have completely given up his own commission on the debt in order to reduce it.

However, let us see the master as our Lord Jesus and we are merely His stewards of what He has given us. Nothing is ours, everything is a gift that we are to use wisely and if we do not use it wisely we will be called in to answer for it. As for the parable; if the earthly master commended his steward for acting shrewdly after he had squandered his master’s goods, how much more will our heavenly master commend us if we do not squander but use our gifts wisely? Answer the call.

“Praise the Lord, you children: praise you the Name of the Lord. Blessed be the Name of the Lord: from henceforth now and forever. From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the Name of the Lord is worthy of praise. The Lord is high above all nations: and His glory above the heavens…”

As the Psalmist say; praise, praise the Lord, bless His holy Name, the rising of the sun and the going down does not refer to simply a block of time but since the sun rises in the east and sets in the west it covers the whole earth. This means that everywhere, every land, every nation, every person, all of life everywhere should be praising the Lord.

If one does not have love for the soul of mankind and the desire that all come to the truth than one does not have Christ in them fully.

Little children, love one another; because this is our Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing else is needed. Through love and because of love we will follow all of the commandments that we have been given. They are written on our hearts by the hand of Almighty God. We simply need to see them within us and follow.

Remember; if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.

In Christ.

Member of the Autocephalous Orthodox Catholic Church 

of the Americas

Monk Michael's videos; http://www.youtube.com/user/HieroMonkMichael

Many Blessings!

+William

XX Pentecost! Tradition and the Called!

   
                                   

Greetings in Christ Jesus

Sunday October 22, 2017

Epistle: II Thessalonians 2: 13-3:5

Gospel: Luke 13: 18-30

Psalm:  Psalm 110/111

Friends,

(Hold the traditions that you have learned. Not all men have faith, but God has faith. “And the Lord direct your hearts, in the charity of God, and the patience of Christ.”) What are we seeing here in this scripture? Before I expound on it I will place another one here that according to many is contradictory to what the church teaches; 2 Timothy 3:16-17 KJV, all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Two sides of the argument are presented here; what are they? The first scripture is held by all of Catholicism even back through the Church Fathers as instruction in holding onto the oral traditions taught by the apostle as well as the written word. The second scripture from 2 Timothy is used by all non-catholic to say that once scripture was completed it contains everything needed including proper tradition that is to be followed and that if it isn’t in the Bible then it isn’t true.

So, does scripture contradict scripture? According to the argument from two sides it does but is this really Christian? No! Why does the Body of Christ argue with one another and slap our Lord Jesus in the face with this nonsense? There are many written words that contain truth that are not placed in these sets of books that most call a Bible, so why do we have the ones that we have? Scripture has gone through many changes throughout time but the reason that it even exists in the first place is to be a guide. This Bible was put together to serve the worship practice of the church which was and is liturgical.

The worship service has prayer, praise, singing, reading, and expounding and it follows an order of teaching, this teaching is liturgical; which means it follows a particular pattern in method of praise and in teaching throughout the year in which all of the people join in. It is a public worship centered around the Eucharist or Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The method or tradition of worship is not defined in the Bible, it is spoken of and alluded to but not specifically defined. This is tradition, this is how it has been and is done.

Holy Scripture was placed where it is in order to follow this tradition of worship and teaching, there is no contradiction. The scriptures give us truths that we are to live by and the worship and the use of this scripture is from tradition. In worship we stand before Almighty God Himself, the entire heavenly host stands with us in worship, the communion of the saints is not just a phrase to be bandied about, it is truth. We do not tap dance on stage for entertainment when worshiping God. We do not entertain the people as worship. We face almighty God as one people and we worship, praise, petition, sing songs to, and partake of the Body and Blood as one body, one mind in Christ.

Hear the words of our Lord when He says that the kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed; think on this, Jesus is that grain of mustard seed buried in the tomb for three days and then rising. He became a tree when He ascended into heaven and He overshadows all of creation in the branches where all of the birds of heaven rest; these are the powers of heaven and all who raise themselves up by good works as commanded by our Lord. The apostles are the branches to where we take our flight on the wings of Christian virtue; we sow this seed of Christ in our hearts so that the grace of good works may flourish. Or like leaven hid in three measures of meal or flour till the whole was leavened; we as Christians are the flour who receive the Lord into the inner parts of our soul till we are all inflamed with the fire of His heavenly wisdom.  Try to enter by the narrow gate; Jesus also said that  many will come from the east, together these words are saying that many indeed shall be saved through the narrow gate but the true numbers as compared to all who have dwelt upon the earth shall be small.

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth…last that shall be first; and they are first that shall be last. Understand that many came to Christ early in life but through time they have lost some virtue and some have lost all virtue, they are saved, they have become complacent with their station in life and they believe that they have a great reward because they have been in the church since the cradle, others came late in life, some even in very old age or near death, these latter will also receive the reward of eternal life because they did indeed come and they came with all of their heart whereas those who have been around had a less full heart through pride and complacency. We must strive to the very end, all are called at different times, as St. Paul said; when it pleased Him who separated me from my mother’s womb. When did it please god to call Paul? When Paul was ready to be called as our Lord does with each and every one of us, He calls when we are ready to hear. The call never stops throughout time but to the individual it comes when he is ready to hear.

So let us along with the psalmist say; “I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: in the council of the just, and in the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord: sought out according to all His wills. His work is praise and magnificence: and His justice continues for ever and ever. He has made a remembrance of His wonderful works, being a merciful and gracious Lord: He has given food to them that fear Him…” 

If one does not have love for the soul of mankind and the desire that all come to the truth than one does not have Christ in them fully.

Little children, love one another; because this is our Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing else is needed. Through love and because of love we will follow all of the commandments that we have been given. They are written on our hearts by the hand of Almighty God. We simply need to see them within us and follow.

Remember; if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.

In Christ.

   

Member of the Autocephalous Orthodox Catholic Church of the Americas

Monk Michael's videos; http://www.youtube.com/user/HieroMonkMichael

Many Blessings!

+William

Pentecost XIX! Pray without Ceasing!

      
     Greetings in Christ Jesus
            Sunday October 15, 2017



Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 5: 9-28
Gospel: Luke 12: 2-12
Psalm: Psalm 108/109



Friends,

God has not made us for wrath, but purchasing of salvation through Jesus Christ; whether we watch or sleep we may live together with Him. [Pray without ceasing] Jesus Christ is faithful to you and will do it. Friends what does it mean ‘whether we watch or sleep’? Scripture is speaking of the living and the dead here. Whether Christ comes while we live or are in the grave doesn’t matter, if we are His then we are His eternally.

Understand that there is order in the church, this epistle tells us to rebuke the unquiet, and that is those who are disorderly. Another reading is to rebuke the unruly, so within the church there are those who call themselves Christian and yet their lives are disorderly or unruly and not conformed to the teachings of our Lord, for these we are to rebuke. It is up to those Christians to heed the rebuke, love everyone; as this epistle says to comfort the feebleminded or fainthearted, support those who are weak; this could be said for both the physically weak but even more so for those who are spiritually weak. We all have faults and we need to support one another.

Do not commit an evil act to someone because that one has committed an evil act against you. Follow that which is good towards one another, rejoice always, and be constantly in prayer and do not extinguish the spirit that was given to you. Prove and hold fast to that which is good, in today’s world just as in the days of the apostles the false prophets abound, many people are deceived or end up in endless debates that are fruitless and waste time that should be spent seeking Jesus, these endless debates are most often things that have nothing to do with salvation and serve no real purpose but are given some purpose by the deceiver and spread throughout Christendom as a means to take up that precious time.

Hear the prophets but investigate and prove all things whether they are true. Give thanks for all things and stay away from anything that even has the appearance of evil. How many Christians do this today? We have so many excuses and we can come up with any number of reasons why something is o.k. that has every appearance of evil. We are told to stay away. May the God of peace Himself sanctify you in all things: that your whole spirit, and soul, and body, may be preserved blameless in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. How will this happen when we do not abstain from the evil?

There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed. Do not fear those who can kill the body. But I will shew you who you shall fear: fear him, who after he has killed, has power to cast into hell. Yea, I say to you, fear him. Confess me before men, him shall the son of Man also confess before the angels of God. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him: but to him that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven. The Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what you must say.

How much is needed to be explained here? Confess Jesus and Jesus will confess us. Be careful in one’s judgment, as the Pharisees claimed that Jesus was working through the spirit of the evil one they were condemned. Be very careful in one’s condemnation of another and of the words used; choose one’s words carefully as we all shall answer for every word spoken by us. If we do indeed depend on the spirit alone then we shall be given wisdom and the words that we must speak. There are many among us who earn a good living by condemning others and calling them the antichrist. Be careful. Those who constantly speak in this manner may very well be condemning themselves. I am speaking of the condemnation of those who claim to be speaking in the name of Jesus. Truth and falseness must be proven not just conjectured by and through prejudice and pride.

O God, be not silent in my praise: for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful man is opened against me. As this Psalm states; God will take care of all who would speak against the spirit. God will have mercy on all who call upon His name in truth and love, all others will be as dead, even now as they attack the Holy Spirit by attacking Jesus they are already dead, they are a dead man walking until such time as they repent and confess, on the other hand it is us who must pray for them so that by the mercy of God they may believe and become saved through Christ.

If one does not have love for the soul of mankind and the desire that all come to the truth than one does not have Christ in them fully.

Little children, love one another; because this is our Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing else is needed. Through love and because of love we will follow all of the commandments that we have been given. They are written on our hearts by the hand of Almighty God. We simply need to see them within us and follow.

Remember; if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.

In Christ.

Member of the Autocephalous Orthodox Catholic Church of the Americas







Monk Michael's videos; http://www.youtube.com/user/HieroMonkMichael

Many Blessings!
+William

Walk Worthily of God!

XVIII Pentecost! Walk Worthily of God!

                                      

Greetings in Christ Jesus

Sunday October 8, 2017

Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 2: 9-19

Gospel: Luke 11: 14-26

Psalm:  Psalm 106/107

Friends,

In our epistle today we see that we are to walk worthily of God. Friends, this is not simply mere belief, our very life should reflect Jesus Christ. Everything that we say and do should reflect Jesus. What are we told? Avoid cursing, flee from fornication, do not lie, do not cheat, love God first and love our neighbor as our self. These things are necessary for us who claim to be a friend of Jesus. We also see in this epistle that even this great apostle, St. Paul, was hindered by Satan. We see that those who choose to follow the way will be persecuted; the world is becoming even more insane, slowly spiraling downhill into the pit.

This is a planned and a well executed strategy to bring mankind into complete degeneration of spirit, mind, and body. Far too many people simply close their eyes and continue to be concerned with comfort and games, excitement, the things that we somehow deserve and while we are doing this the world is destroying humanity while humanity is accepting this with open arms and an excited mind because of all of the great creature comforts that it will have and the completely free lifestyle that it may live without fear of chastisement or ridicule.

This wickedness is not new to the world; it has been around since the beginning. It shows itself in many different ways but always with the same goal in mind. Almost immediately after Paul preached the persecutors would arrive, the persecutors followed Jesus Himself around ridiculing and questioning. None of this is new. The church allowed the evil in even in the beginning; Paul’s letters are proof of this. The body of Christ is so split that it mocks Jesus simply by its existence. There are many who come to believe of course but there are many who refuse to believe and many who leave because the Body of Christ is so divided that there are those who will kill others simply because they have a different manner of worship.

In our gospel today Jesus is accused of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, can you imagine that the savior of the world who came to His own people who were expecting Him to come would be accused of using the power of darkness? This is still happening today and far too many people believe it. What are the words of the Lord in today’s gospel? Every kingdom divided against itself, shall be brought to desolation, and house upon house shall fall. And if Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?

Is this any different for the church? No it is not. We must destroy our pride, we must become humble and truly seek the truth, and we cannot simply determine that we already know all truth because obviously we do not. There are too many different doctrines taught, too many false prophets followed, too many accusations of heresy, yes there is true heresy; if one denies that Jesus is God then that one is a heretic but if one understands the Holy Trinity, if one believes that Jesus is from God and is God who came in the flesh and truly loves Jesus and is also making every attempt to live as Jesus would have him to live, how can this one be called a heretic.

We all have error in our understanding; the Body of Christ needs to begin acting like the Body of Christ. Far too many are concerned with riches in this world by making money on their attacks on another. Admire who you want but our every action and our every word will be held accountable. There will be no one to blame but ourselves for this.

It is good, as we learn in today’s Psalm; that God is good and merciful. He will forgive us of our sins if we repent of them and give thanks and glory to God. But this is what we must do. The idea of loving our neighbor is not simply a New Testament concept but something that is from the beginning. The so called Old Testament is full of the same teaching and understanding, one just has to simply read it to see and understand it. This is the true law of God, love. Until one understands this then one will always be in error.

If one does not have love for the soul of mankind and the desire that all come to the truth than one does not have Christ in them fully.

Little children, love one another; because this is our Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing else is needed. Through love and because of love we will follow all of the commandments that we have been given. They are written on our hearts by the hand of Almighty God. We simply need to see them within us and follow.

Remember; if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.

In Christ.

   

Member of the Autocephalous Orthodox Catholic Church of the Americas

Monk Michael's videos; http://www.youtube.com/user/HieroMonkMichael

Many Blessings!

+William