February Message
Thoughts from the Rector
On the last Sunday
of Christmas
-
our Old Testament
reading included one of the most beautiful prayers of all scripture.
God instructed Aaron the priest on how it was he should pray
God’s blessing upon the people of Israel.
One can just imagine the nightly scene in the desert
wilderness. The twelve
tribes encamped around the Ark of the Tabernacle.
Aaron standing in the doorway, lifting his arms to the
heavens and proclaiming: “May
the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face to shine
upon you, and be gracious unto you; may the Lord lift up his
countenance upon you, and give you his peace”.
When the children of Israel thought of blessings,
they thought in practical terms.
This included ‘material’ blessings.
“May the Lord…Keep you”
included protection from material or economic woes, just as much
as it meant to be kept from all evil.
When they thought of God’s face shining upon them, they
literally thought of Moses coming down the mountain, how his face
literally radiated the Shekinah glory of being in the very presence
of God at the top of Sinai.
The same too when asking that: “The
Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you his peace”.
God’s desire for his people is that their very
countenance should radiate something of God’s glorious presence in
hearts and lives. He
wants us to bring his peace, which quite literally passes all
understanding as we look to the world around us.
C.S. Lewis once said that Christians best share their faith
when others catch it by way of “infection”.
Christian faith, joy and peace are supposed to be infectious.
Others can’t help but catch the disease!
Epiphany Sunday
-
This speaks of
God’s light bursting forth in the person of Christ.
Our Old Testament reading that day spoke of how God first
created light in the opening verses of Genesis.
On that first day of creation, and OUT OF NOTHING:
“God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was without form and
void, and darkness was on the face of the deep”.
At that point earth and water were indistinguishable. So,
too, was light and darkness.
It was a mess, sheer chaos.
Although Genesis tells us that
“The Spirit of God moved over
the face of the waters”, there was as no clarity.
You couldn’t even see what there was to work with!
So, on the first day of Creation we are also
told: “God said, ‘Let there be light’”. That was good, a good start.
“And God saw that the
light was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
And there was evening and there was morning, the first day”.
So, after the first day of creation, at least it was
possible to see what materials God had provided to work with.
The Spirit of God could make a survey.
In the New Testament we learn of Jesus: “In
the beginning was the Word” Jesus
was God’s designated Planner, Creation’s architect.
In the book of revelation we are learning something else
about Jesus. Only Jesus
is worthy to open God’s Final Scroll, sealed with the Seven Seals.
Not only is Jesus privy to creation’s purpose.
Only Jesus is privy to God’s plan of Redemption.
When you think about it, whatever exists by way
of darkness in this confusing world of ours was created and put
there by God. God has a
plan that encompasses both the good and the bad things in life.
Nothing that exists in this world of ours is beyond his power
and control. Why?
Because he placed all things and created all things in the
first place!
Second Sunday of
Epiphany -
From
this week’s readings we learned some of the different ways God calls
us into his service. The
prophet Samuel received a different call to that of Isaiah, of
Jeremiah or of Ezekiel.
In the Gospels Jesus called each of the disciples in a different and
personal manner. Someone
once said that God knows the secret passageway into each and every
heart. God wants to meet
us as individuals and, in a personal way.
Having called us, we learned from our Epistle
reading that God regards each of us as temples, as a dwelling place
for his Holy Spirit. “Your
body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from
God, and that you are not your own.
For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God with
your body”. Think
about some of the wondrous temples or the world’s glorious
cathedrals crafted by man to honor God’s presence among us, and into
which we can go to worship and praise him.
Isn’t it amazing that God’s
clear and stated preference
is that he wants to live in your heart ,and body, and mine!!
Third Sunday of
Epiphany -
Our Old Testament reading that Sunday was of Jonah.
After his reluctant, yet highly successful, preaching
ministry to Ninevah, these happy pagans agreed with him!
They were wrong, and God was right – they did indeed need to
repent! We are then
told: “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God
changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring
upon them; and he did not do it”.
How you ever thought about this?
The Old Testament is not embarrassed to say it.
God has, he is, and perhaps wants to be able to do so –
CHANGE HIS MIND.
When, finally, we listen to God, when we are
willing to change our conduct, God rejoices to be able to change his
mind. At last, we
listen, and learn what God wants us to hear.
How often have we prayed (and not doubt need continue to
pray) that the behavior or activity of a family loved one need’s to
change, so that their lives no longer limp along in frustration, but
finally become a blessing to God, and rejoices the hearts of all
that love them!