God, you have taught us through your son Jesus Christ that a prophet has no honor in his native place. Let me honor you, though my heart has been a native place to you; since a child, I have known you through Baptism and the Sacraments.
Journey Through Change is a chart provided by the Diocese’s Transition Ministry Office describing each step of the process to call our next Rector. We will post the chart on the bulletin board in the Parish Hall with a mark showing how far we have progressed. The chart provides general guidelines for all parishes in the diocese, so some of Ascension’s steps may be
I have always been sure of my motivation to be baptized, and sure of my motivation to be confirmed in the Episcopal Church and once there to become an acolyte and serve on various committees. But do I sometimes push aside the fact that I wish to glorify him in all these things, and instead wallow in the warmth of self-importance? Do I sometimes yield to the temptation of thinking, as the Pharisee in the Temple, that I’m better than the person next to me on the subway because I’m so involved in the life of my church?
You are not far from the Kingdom of God,” Jesus tells a questioner in today’s Gospel, unlike our two Old Testament readings, in which Israel seems very far indeed. Yet Hosea and the psalmist are at pains to stress that it is our distance from God, not God’s distance from us. Hosea likens God to a foolish lover, longing for the affection of those who carelessly abuse and spurn him. The psalmist strikes the same plaintive note: “If my people would but listen to me….”
Come join The Rev. Dr. Clair McPherson, Professor of Ascetical Theology and Patristics at General Seminary, who will lead us in our annual Lenten Quiet Day on Saturday, March 16 from 10 AM – 2 PM. Frank Griswold once said that Spirituality is “intentional discipleship,” and that echoes what St. Paul said almost two thousand years before: real Christian living, living in the Spirit,
Remember the cartoons that had an angel on the character’s right shoulder and a devil on the other? Well, today’s readings brought this scenario to mind, however simplistic it may sound.
In all three readings, the people are warned about how their ancestors “stiffened their necks” against God, his prophets, and, of course, against Christ, who warned: “Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls against house.”
After reviewing today’s readings, I felt I had been given counsel as to how to create a path toward fulfillment and wholeness. It was a set of instructions that I needed to hear today and need to remind myself of everyday. “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live….” All three readings, from Moses in Deuteronomy to Asaph in Psalm 78 to Matthew, are exhortations on the path to fulfillment and wholeness. “Live by God’s law,” they cry out in unison.
“REMEMBER NOT THE SINS OF MY YOUTH.” (But how often shall I forgive my brother?) The combined lessons of the day left me with the following impressions: We ask God to set up guidelines for us (e.g., “Lead me in thy truth,” “Teach me thy paths,” “Make me know thy ways,” etc.) Daily we beg God’s forgiveness and remind him of his promises to deliver us in the time of need. (All this despite the fact that we systematically disregard the very guidelines we asked him for in the first place.) We ask for (and secretly expect) carte blanche forgiveness for ourselves while carefully calculating and cataloging wrongs done to us by others. We are the children of God, and we often react like children — striking out blindly in fear/anger and avoiding responsibility for our actions by pointing a finger at someone else.
The first Parish Round Table Discussion on March 3 was a lively and productive session that provided important input for our Parish profile. If you were unable to participate, please sign up for the second session on Sunday, March 17. The sign-up sheet is in the Parish Hall. The hour-long discussions will start in the Parish Hall right after the service at 12:30pm. A
Playing the hometown crowd is not always easy. What stirred the congregation at Nazareth into such a rage? I have never heard a sermon so offensive that the preacher deserved to be hurled from a cliff. Perhaps if Jesus had been from a faraway town or a noted rabbi down from Jerusalem, his reception would have been different. The sudden fury could have come only from people who knew Jesus well.