Sermons

On Thursday, this week we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension. It completes the cycle of Jesus birth, ministry, crucifixion , rising from the grave and now ascending into heaven. The Son returned to the glory He had with the Father before the world began.

So here we are on earth, the blessings that they felt at that moment we now share in the expression of their love now expressed in God the Holy Spirit. It does seem to be a mixed bag for us. Yes, there are moments of blessing and now we experience a "fiery ordeal" that is mentioned in the last verse of I Peter in today's reading. So, it is everlasting love in heaven and an endless plague for us here below. Well sort of.

In ascending, Jesus takes our humanity with Him. As the Son of God our human nature has been permanently united in one divine person. We are told to set our minds on things that are above, not on the things of the earth. Saint Paul reminds us that our citizenship is in heaven. In a sense we are already there.

We have our anxieties, trials, an enemy to resist, and suffering that cannot be avoided. But the God of grace "will restore, support and strengthen you" (1 Peter5:10). So, we certainly have time during this time of confinement to set our minds on things that are above and still not neglect our obligations.

Right now, at this very moment, God is forming, preparing, teaching, fitting, and composing each person for the goal of salvation. We have experienced the work of Jesus from His birth to His ascension for sixty, seventy, maybe even eighty times in our lives. That is a lot of experience for us to have as we walk the path of salvation--again.

My prayer time seems to be longer during this isolation and my spiritual reading very definitely has increased. I also watch some of the teacher/preachers on television. I guess Dr. David Jeremiah is my favorite. I have started a new book with my Wednesday morning clergy group, "33 Days to Greater Glory", and one book that I really like is "Salvation of from the Jews". I also hope to have a computer problem fixed so that I can join Bishop Laura on Zoom for a study of "Saint Benedict's Toolbox". I do not exactly like this book, sort of basic stuff.

The result of all this input is a blessing to have the time to think about my faith, Saint Andrew's Church and to write sermons that will be read not listened to. So, there are blessings hidden in this time of disruption.

I stopped by Saint Andrew's Church this week and was really surprised to see the magnificent new floor in the parish hall. A lot of work has been done in our building. If you have not seen it, I think you will like it.

On this last Sunday before Pentecost we are moved by the Spirit to bring to our memory all that Jesus taught and di. A Spirit that speaks to our spirit reminding us that we are sons and daughters of our heavenly Father united by adoption and Grace to the eternal Son of the Father.

So now we try to prepare ourselves for the third major feast day of the church. The Feast of Pentecost or the coming of the Holy Spirit. Can we take it all in? Imagine being filled with the Holy Spirit! Try to imagine the Power of the holy Spirit. Try to see the fulfillment of the promise to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

We have the time, we have a new floor, do we have a new church filled with the power of the Holy Spirit? Maybe?