Thursday, May 10, 2018
Saturday, May 5, 2018
VI Resurrection. 5th Sunday after Resurrection Day. Western Calendar.
VI
Resurrection
5th Sunday after Resurrection Day
Beginning of
Rogations
Greetings in Christ Jesus,
Sunday May 6, 2018
Epistle: Acts 16: 19-36
Gospel: Mark 7: 31-37
Psalm 70/71 “In thee,
O’ Lord, I have hoped
My Friends,
It is now time to introduce the Days or Rogation, this is a
Western Christian celebration that has actually been removed from the church
calendar and is rarely celebrated in the United States. So what are the Rogation
Days? Rogation is simply an English form of the Latin rogatio,
which comes from the verb rogare, which means "to ask."
The primary purpose of the Rogation Days is to ask God to bless the fields and
the church geographic area that they fall in.
Starting at the church, (whether inside or outside, either
one), the congregation would begin the Litany of the Saints and proceed to walk
the grounds, not just the building itself but the whole of the property. This
would be repeated as necessary depending on the size of the property and the
length of time that it took to walk it. Or rather than repeating the Litany
they would supplement it with some of the penitential or gradual Psalms. Thus,
the entire church and property would be blessed, and the boundaries of the church
would be marked.
After this a worship service would be held in which all were
expected to attend. Rogation Days are tied to the spring planting. The Rogation
days end on ascension day which is May 10, 2018. The Rogation Days are days of
prayer, and formerly also of fasting, instituted by the Church to ask
protection in calamities, and to obtain a good and bountiful harvest.
In the readings today we see troubles, there are health
issues; a man is brought to Jesus who is deaf and has a speech impediment, Jesus heals the man. This healing may also be symbolic of the healing of mankind through the acceptance of Jesus the Christ. We first must hear the word and understand it before we can go out and explain it. The fact that the man's friends came to Jesus bringing the man along and the fact that the man agreed and allowed Jesus to put His fingers into the ears of the deaf man and then also to touch the man's tongue shows a faith in Jesus, his friends had the faith to lead him to Jesus and then the man had the faith to believe and so he was healed. The same as we and all who come to Jesus and believe are healed of our sins.
Notice that Jesus groaned before He healed the man; we have read this before
when Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead after four days in the tomb.
We have read that Jesus wept. This in fact shows that Jesus was not only God was was man as well. A man with emotions, one that could feel pain and hurt, one that demonstrated love physically for all people. Jesus is the God/Man.
We see the Apostles are imprisoned because St. Paul cast an unholy
spirit from a girl who was being used for profit by her keepers because she
could divine or tell the fortunes of those who she came into contact with. This young girl was annoying the Apostle by following them around and constantly announcing who they were and what they were dong.This
of course made those who were her keepers much money. While the Apostles were
in prison they began praising God, an earthquake came and shook the prison, the
doors of the prison were opened and the bands fell off of all of the prisoners.
Our Psalmist speaks of his troubles and of those who seek
his life and cause him great grief. Yet in spite of these things, even though
his life is in peril, he praises God. He glorifies Him as savior and protector,
he believes the promise of God, and he has great faith. The Psalmist as well as
the Apostles, who are imprisoned after being beaten, never stops praising God
in spite of their life being in great jeopardy.
These are lessons for us today. Regardless of our life and its many
difficulties, we are loved and helped. We cannot know how much more difficult
it would be for us if our Lord Jesus did not love us. Jesus groans at the
healing of those who ask, Jesus weeps at the grave of His friend. Jesus does
indeed love us to the point of giving His life for us.
Notice however that all of these people faced great
challenges in their life. They had no easy life because they praised and
preached Jesus, no, their life was indeed difficult. The world does not want
anyone to live in eternal glory because the world is ruled by Lucifer the
devil. He was and is the first to defy Almighty God and he suffers greatly for
it. So how can he rule the world that God created? Because man allowed him into
the world and followed him, this is how. Man continues to allow Lucifer to
control him and the world system. Because we have been given free will by the
Father, this will continue. We need to struggle against the devil and live for
Jesus on this earth. There will come a day when man no longer praises the
Creator and when this day comes it will finally signal the end. Currently
people are still being born who turn to the Savior Jesus the Christ. Enough so
that Almighty God has not instituted the end of the world as we know it and a
new earth begins.
We do not know when this end and the new beginning will be,
in spite of the many modern prophets who make a living selling Jesus and the
destruction of the world; we have no clue when it will be. In the meantime, it
rains on us all, haters and lovers of Jesus. The sun shines on us all, haters
and lovers of Jesus. We remain together in this world until that day. So take a
lesson from the readings. Continue to praise and worship Jesus the Christ and
the Father through Him. Never cease to pray and live according to the gospel. Allow
the Holy Ghost to guide you. Love God with all of your heart, with all of your soul,
with all of your mind, and with all of your strength; love your neighbor as
yourself. You never know whose life you will change because of this love of God
in you.
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.
May the peace of our Lord Jesus the Christ be with you
throughout this day and the rest of your life. May the Holy Spirit fill us all
to overflowing so that everyone in whose path we cross may receive a blessing
from our Lord Jesus the Christ.
Blessings
In Christ.
Bishop William’s videos; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW8XyPtkmtu6a1vVg6MEiNg
Many Blessings!
+William
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Saturday, April 28, 2018
V Resurrection! 4th Sunday after Resurrection Day!
V Resurrection!
4th Sunday after Western Resurrection
Day
Greetings in Christ Jesus
Sunday April 29, 2018
Epistle: Acts 4:36-5:11
Gospel: John 9:1-38
Psalm: Psalm 69/70
Friends,
Christ has risen. In today’s Epistle the Apostle Peter is
speaking to someone who sold a piece of property and brought the money to the
church to be used to help others who may have a need. The man lied and stated
that he was giving all that he had. When Peter confronts him the man drops
dead. Later his wife comes in and Peter then questions the man’s wife who
backed up her husband’s amount therein again another lie was told, when Peter
confronts the woman she falls down dead as well. Why? The issue here is not
that the couple kept back some of the money or proceeds from the sale of the
property, the issue is also not because the couple lied to Peter, when Peter
confronted the man he said; you did not lie to us but to God, when the man
heard these words he fell dead.
This is the lesson; we cannot hide anything from God, we
cannot lie to God. There is no where we can go that He will not see, there is
nothing that we can do that He will not also see, and there is nothing that we
can say that He will not hear. We must be honest and upfront in all that we do.
Lying to God or attempting to trick Him is always a bad idea. We must confess
and repent of these things now or we will pay a price.
In our Gospel we see that Jesus is healing a blind man by
putting clay on the blind man’s eyes and then telling him to go wash in the
Pool of Siloam. Jesus can obviously heal the blind man Himself without anything
else needed so why did Jesus use clay on the blind man’s eyes and then tell the
man to go and wash in the pool?
A few things here; one is obedience, do we obey God when He
directs us to do something or do we whine and question? The blind man did not
question but obeyed and came away seeing. Two; Jesus spit on the ground and
made clay. When man was created God Himself used clay to form man from the
earth, by spitting and using the clay Jesus is symbolically showing the old man
made of clay which is placed on the eyes of the blind man and then by obedience
the blind man goes and washes in the pool of Siloam which is symbolic of
obedience and being baptized in water for the washing and regeneration and
forgiveness of sins, thus washing away the old man (the clay) and walking away
seeing symbolizes the new man created in Jesus who is now no longer blind to
faith but can now see.
In spite of those who refuse baptism claiming it is simply a
sign, and in spite of those who feel as if because they said a special prayer
calling on Jesus so that now they are saved that they can continue living their
life as they please making no changes. This is incorrect. Once our eyes are
opened it is our job and duty to change for the good. We are saved unto good
works. We are saved to glorify God.
We have received a new life. Be thankful
for that and tell others, live a life in Jesus, do good. When we fall, confess
from our heart and repent. Get back up and keep on going. Praising God.
So from the Psalm let us pray; O God come to my assistance,
O Lord make haste to help me. Let those who seek you rejoice and be glad in
you. Let those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is Great!” But I am
poor and need; hasten to help me O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O
Lord, do not delay!
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.
Bishop William’s videos; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW8XyPtkmtu6a1vVg6MEiNg
Many Blessings!
+William
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Saturday, April 21, 2018
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
Monday, April 9, 2018
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