I have always been fascinated by language and words. Words are special. They enable interpersonal communication. They also enable the articulation of the intelligibility of the world. They are essential to our life as human beings. The Word we receive from God is also special. We speak of the Bible as God's Word. We also speak of Jesus as God's Word, His Logos, the Word-made-flesh through Whom the words of the Bible come alive. During Advent 2002 through Epiphany 2003 I had written a … [Read more...]
St. Bartholomew
Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. (St. John i. 47) Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Bartholomew. St. Bartholomew is mentioned in the Gospelsof Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but only as coupled with Philip in the list of the twelve Apostles. He is not mentioned in the Gospel according to St. Johnas Bartholomew, but is there named Nathaniel – this probably being his second name, where he is also found with Philip. And if our Bartholomewis indeed the same man as Nathaniel, then it … [Read more...]
Trinity XII
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art won't to give more than either we desire or deserve… (Collect Trinity XII) The Collect for the Twelfth Sunday afterTrinity expresses a truth that although commonly spoken is rarely remembered.And the truth is that it is in God’s nature to listen and respond to man’s needs always, and that our natures are more often than not lazy and slothful in the supplication of those needs. God hears in … [Read more...]
Trinity IX (1662 Gospel)
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. (1 Cor. x. 12) Last week we spoke about the Divine Providence of God and how we ought to be intent upon ordering our lives with the Divine Wisdom. This week we remind ourselves that His Wisdom is dead to us if it is not always God’s way of making good out of a bad situation. We must think about God’s always making good because the Christian journey is all about our ongoing assimilation and alignment to the new life that Jesus … [Read more...]
Trinity VIII
O God whose never-failing providence ordereth all things both in heaven and earth, we humbly beseech thee to put away from us all hurtful things, and to give us those things that be profitable for us… (Collect: Trinity VIII) We concluded last week’s sermon with an exhortation to zeal. Having learned that the Divine desire for all men is that they faint not, but rather feed continually on the living Word of God, we opened our souls to the ongoing nutriment that overcomes sloth. I hope that … [Read more...]
Trinity VII
Graft in our hearts the love of thy name, increase in us true religion, nourish with all goodness, and of thy great mercy keep us in the same. (Collect: Trinity VII) If you spend time reading the Epistles of St. Paul carefully, you cannot help but come away with a sense of the Apostle’s uncanny ability to unite spiritual contraries to make his point. Perhaps this is a natural consequence of his momentous conversion, when, in a fit of zealous and rabid hot pursuit of Damascan Christians, in a … [Read more...]
Trinity VI
O God who hast prepared for them that love Thee such good things as pass man’s understanding… (Collect: Trinity VI) Trinity-tide is all about growing in the knowledge and love of God; it is the green season, and in it, we focus on God’s spiritual harvesting of fertile virtue in our souls. The green vestments and Altar hangings of the season encourage us to pursue the fecundity of spiritual love and hope. We are being readied for things whose goodness, truth, and beauty exceed our wildest … [Read more...]
Trinity IV
I said unto the fools, deal not so madly…and…Set not up your horn on high, and speak not with a stiff neck. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor yet from the south. And why? God is the Judge; he putteth down one, and setteth up another. (Ps. lxxv. 5-8) We have said that Trinity tide is all about spiritual growth, fertility, and progress. In this season we are called into a state of sanctification and redemption that ensures our safe and eventual passing through … [Read more...]
Trinity III
To be a Disciple is to be a devoted love-slave of the Lord Jesus. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are not devoted to Jesus Christ. (Oswald Chambers) I have opened this morning’s sermon with these words of Oswald Chambers because I believe that the dangers of false Discipleship are everywhere present in this morning’s Gospel lesson. In it, we read that Then drew near unto [Jesus] all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man … [Read more...]
Trinity II
Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God. (St. Luke xiv. 15) The liturgical season of Trinity is all about virtuous and godly living. In this season we are called to translate and convert our vision of Christ the Way, the Truth, and the Life into habits of holiness and righteousness. In this season we are called to apply what we know to our hearts. From our hearts, we must will the good that Christ, through the Holy Spirit, teaches us. And the good that we are focusing on in … [Read more...]
Trinity I
And so, we love Him because he first loved us. (1 John 4. 19) Trinity tide is all about the moral life rooted in the vision of truth that we see in God. Today I will speak about the friendship of God and man. Throughout the seasons of the liturgical year you and I have been illuminated progressively by the knowledge of God so that we might come to find friendship with Him. If Eastertide might be called the season of vision and knowledge, Trinity tide is one of activity, experience, and … [Read more...]
Whitsunday 2018
They marvelled to see such things; they were astonished, and suddenly cast down. Fear came there upon them and sorrow, as upon a woman in her travail. (Psalm xlviii. 4,5) One day in the future men will look back at our age and describe it as the time when man had forgotten his past. In general we shall be judged as those who had little or no respect for the wisdom of our fathers, and in particular as those who spent their lives running away from the truth. Because of both, we shall be known … [Read more...]
Ascension I
As the briefest liturgical season in the Church Year, Ascension-tide lasts only ten days. We believe that on the fortieth day after Easter Christ ascended to the Father. Ten days later the Holy Spirit was sent into the womb of the nascent Church on the feast of the Pentecost or Whitsunday. So we have but a few days to examine the significance and meaning of the Ascension for us. The Ascension is Jesus Christ’s return to the eternal state that He shares, as Son, with the Father and the Holy … [Read more...]
The Question
The Question: Is Jesus the living Son of God, the Saviour, the Deliverer, the Mediator, the Advocate, The Judge for you? Is He is the Logos of God in your heart and soul? If He is, then He is the reason, truth, goodness, and beauty that animates your life. If he is, then He is the ruling and governing principle of your whole existence. He then indwells your heart by His Grace and through the Holy Spirit. He then moves and defines you. He enables you to die to sin and come alive to … [Read more...]
Easter II
This is thankworthy, that if a man for conscience endure grief, suffering wrongfully. (1 St. Peter ii. 19) Our Epistle reading for The Second Sunday after Easter, taken from St. Peter’s First Letter, continues our Easter tide theme of suffering. Last week we meditated upon how suffering and death are necessary components of Resurrection and new life. So today we continue to see how the ancient Church Fathers, who chose the readings for our liturgical season, had some deeper truth in … [Read more...]
Low Sunday
As my Father has sent me, so send I you. (St. John xx. 21) You and I have just come off of an intense Holy Week and Easter when we tried to walk with Jesus Christ from His suffering, Passion, and Death into the first intimations of His Resurrection. You will remember that last week we left Saints Mary Magdalene, John, and Peter having found the Empty tomb. Christ Jesus had not yet appeared to them, and so with them, our faith wondered and pondered what all of this might mean. What they did … [Read more...]
Easter Day
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on Things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life Is hid with Christ in God. (Col. 3. 1-3) There is something rather strange about our Easter Epistle, which was addressed by St. Paul to the Church at Colossae, a small Phrygian city in Asian Minor. For no sooner has Christ appeared to Peter, to Mary Magdalene, … [Read more...]
Maundy Thursday
He riseth up from supper, and laid aside his garments, and took a towel and girded himself. Tonight you and I are invited to the last supper of Jesus Christ. We move into a realm that is fraught with the fear and trembling of Jesus’ friends, who do not understand the meaning of it all and what will come next on the tomorrow of God’s today. For the Apostles have been following Jesus for some three years, and they have experienced the hand of God at work in Him. In a sense there was so much to … [Read more...]
Holy Monday
Although all be offended, yet will not I. (St. Mark xiv. 29) We ought to remind ourselves that our membership in the mystical Life of Christ is no easy business. To become a tried and true member of the life of the Crucified One takes time, practice, the development of spiritual discipline, and an ongoing surrender to the Mind of Christ that longs always to remold and remake us. One thing that we learn about the spiritual life today is that membership in the life of Christ requires vigilance, … [Read more...]
Palm Sunday
And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. (St. Matthew 27. 19) There is a good deal of silence that is meant to surround us as a response to the Passion and Crucifixion of the Son of God during Holy Week. Holy Week has been set aside from the time of the early Church to ponder our Lord’s suffering in silence and stillness. If we approach this time with a determined silence and stillness, we will, no doubt, find that it assaults and confounds our human … [Read more...]
Passion Sunday
Before Abraham was, I AM. (St. John viii. 58) The threat of God’s nearness and proximity are quite enough to unnerve, unhinge, and unsettle men in all ages. There is something about human nature that is resistant, refractory, and recalcitrant to God and His Word. Most men treat the existence of God carelessly, incautiously, indifferently, or haughtily. Think about it. The majority of men in our own time say, I am spiritual but not religious. What that usually means is that he or she isn’t in … [Read more...]
Lent IV 2018
But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. (Gal. iv. 26) At the very beginning of Lent Jesus said to his disciples, Behold we go up to Jerusalem. (St. Luke xviii. 31) We began our journey at Christ's command. Long journeys are hard work, and this Lenten journey is no exception. For nearly some seven weeks Christians are invited to walk with Jesus towards Jerusalem. Walking to Jerusalem is what our lives are all about. We walk with Jesus in order to see how He … [Read more...]
Forgiveness of Sins
Against thee only have I sinned and done that which is evil in thy sight…(Ps. Li. 4) Ultimately when we sin we rebel against God. Even when we sin against our neighbors, we are sinning against God because they are His craftsmanship and work and deserving of our righteous respect. At the end of the day, whether we sin against others or ourselves, we shall have to give an account of our sinning before God our Righteous Judge. In the final reckoning, all sinners must deal with … [Read more...]
Lent III 2018
Blessed is the womb that bare thee and the paps which thou hast sucked. But Jesus said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. (St. Luke xi. 27, 28) In last week's Gospel, a heathen woman taught us how to come to know ourselves, repent of our sins, and to supplicate Christ for His merciful love and His all-powerful healing of body and soul. You will remember that the Syro-Phoenician woman taught us how to express humility and obedience … [Read more...]
William Law: The Spirit of Love, continued.
[Love-2.1-15] Eusebius. Oh! Theophilus, you have forced me now to speak, and I cannot contain the Joy that I feel in this Expectation which you have raised in me. If you can make the Scriptures do all that which you have promised to Theogenes, I shall be in Paradise before I die. For to know that Love alone was the Beginning of Nature and Creature, that nothing but Love encompasses the whole Universe of Things, that the governing Hand that overrules all, the watchful Eye that sees through all, … [Read more...]
A Quiet Day: Entering Christ’s Temptations, III
O LORD, who for our sake didst fast forty days and forty nights; Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit, we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness, and true holiness, to thy honour and glory, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. Third Session: St. Thomas Aquinas tells us about the order in which Satan tempted Christ. For at first he tempted Him to that which men desire, however … [Read more...]
A Quiet Day: Entering Christ’s Temptations, II
Let us Pray: O LORD, who for our sake didst fast forty days and forty nights; Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit, we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness, and true holiness, to thy honour and glory, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. Second Session: Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If … [Read more...]
A Quiet Day: Entering Christ’s Temptations, I
John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. (St. John iii. 27) He must increase, but I must decrease. (Ibid, 20) Let us pray O LORD, who for our sake didst fast forty days and forty nights; Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit, we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness, and true holiness, to thy honour and glory, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world … [Read more...]
Lent II 2018
As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness. Proverbs 26:11 The season of Lent is nothing if it does not confuse human wisdom and turn man’s expectations upside down. For what the lections of this Holy Season attempt to show us is that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He takes the wise in their own craftiness. (1 Cor. iii. 19) And again, as Isaiah records, therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people…for … [Read more...]
Ash Wednesday
We begin our Lenten Pilgrimage with the words of Lancelot Andrewes. Andrewes was a 17th-century poet, theologian, and Bishop of Winchester. He did not live to endure the horrific regicide of His Sovereign Lord, King Charles I. But on his own spiritual journey he culled gifts of Grace that have helped many a Christian in the modern age to understand the important place of enduring all manner of spiritual suffering as the soul moves from repentance and death and into virtue and new life. He had a … [Read more...]
William Law: The Spirit of Love continued
[Love-2.1-13] Had I an hundred Lives, I could with more Ease part with them, all by suffering an hundred Deaths, than give up this lovely idea of God. Nor could I have any Desire of Eternity for myself, if I had not Hopes, that, by partaking of the Divine Nature, I should be eternally delivered from the Burden and Power of my own Wrath, and changed into the blessed Freedom of a Spirit, that is all Love, and a mere Will to Nothing but Goodness. An Eternity without this, is but an Eternity of … [Read more...]
Septuagesima Sunday
So the last shall be first, and the first last:for many be called, but few chosen.(St. Matthew xx. 14-16) We have just completed our Epiphany-tide pilgrimage and now are entering what is called pre-Lent. The season we have left behind has been characterized by illumination and manifestation. In it, we saw that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us whom we discovered to be the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth (St. John i. 14). Now we turn to a period in the … [Read more...]
Christmas Day
That day is called the birthday of the Lord on which the Wisdom of God manifested Himself as a speechless Child and the Word of God wordlessly uttered the sound of a human voice. His divinity, although hidden, was revealed by heavenly witness to the Magi and was announced to the shepherds by angelic voices. With yearly ceremony, therefore, we celebrate this day which saw the fulfillment of the prophecy…(St. Augustine sermon clxxxv) Tonight, we come to the cradle, the cratch, the manger, and … [Read more...]
Advent IV
Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. (Isaiah xxxii. 16) You can say what you will about the old Book of Common Prayer, which we use exclusively in this church, but what you cannot say it that it is not honest and forthright about the struggles which any human being finds in his journey towards salvation. Indeed, perhaps its most brilliant contribution to the history of Christianity lies in its full appreciation of the spiritual warfare … [Read more...]
Advent III
Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another? (St. Matthew xi. 2) We have said that Advent season is all about our preparing for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ at Christmas time. Our preparation is rooted in history and hope. Historically speaking Jesus Christ, the Desire of God, was made flesh some two-thousand years ago in ancient Palestine. The historical Jesus began to summon and carry followers to God’s Kingdom long ago, beginning in time and space through His Incarnation … [Read more...]
St. Thomas Aquinas, On the Creed, Part Seven
Then, again, if one were willing to believe only those things which one knows with certitude, one could not live in this world. How could one live unless one believed others? How could one know that this man is one’s own father? Therefore, it is necessary that one believe others in matters which one cannot know perfectly for oneself. But no one is so worthy of belief as is God, and hence they who do not believe the words of faith are not wise, but foolish and proud. As the Apostle … [Read more...]
Advent II 2017
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity…(St. Luke xxi. 25) Advent is that season which is all about preparing for Christ’s coming. What is coming to us is what endures forever and never passes away. With eager expectation, we await the one permanent and eternal thing that is all-important and all-defining for the life of any Christian. In the cyclical life of the Church, once again we prepare for the … [Read more...]
Genesis Musings
In stillness and silence Moses, the Lord’s Prophet, seeks and searches for God in Himself. What or who he searches for is what is not anything that he has experienced or encountered in the universe around him. In the universe are changing, moving, growing, and becoming beings. In himself he finds a changing, moving, becoming, being. Not only can he not step in the same river twice but he is not the same person who stepped in the river. Before he stepped into the river he was changing. While he … [Read more...]
Advent Sunday
Come, true light. Come, eternal life. Come, hidden mystery. Come, nameless treasure. Come, ineffable reality. Come, inconceivable person. Come, endless bliss. Come, non-setting sun. Come, infallible expectation of all those who must be saved. Come, awakening of those who are asleep. (Mystical Prayer of St. Simeon) It is hard to believe, but Advent has arrived once again. Advent means coming and for Christians, it means … [Read more...]
Trinity XXIII
For our conversation citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Phil. iii. 21,22) Perhaps the hardest challenge that Christians face in the postmodern world is that of disentanglement. Disentanglement means prying or freeing oneself from the world in order to … [Read more...]
St. Thomas Aquinas on the Creed, Part Six
“The Evidence of Things that Appear Not.”—But someone will say that it is foolish to believe what is not seen, and that one should not believe in things that he cannot see. I answer by saying that the imperfect nature of our intellect takes away the basis of this difficulty. For if man of himself could in a perfect manner know all things visible and invisible, it would indeed be foolish to believe what he does not see. But our manner of knowing is so weak that no philosopher could perfectly … [Read more...]
St. Thomas Aquinas on the Creed, Part Five
The fourth effect of faith is that by it we overcome temptations: “The holy ones by faith conquered kingdoms” [Heb 11:33]. We know that every temptation is either from the world or the flesh or the devil. The devil would have us disobey God and not be subject to Him. This is removed by faith, since through it we know that He is the Lord of all things and must therefore be obeyed. “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, strong in faith” [1 … [Read more...]
Trinity XXI
Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. (St. John iv. 48) It does seem that most men tend to call upon God when they are in trouble and to leave Him alone when things are going well. Francis Chan has said that The irony is that while God doesn’t need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don’t really want Him most of the time. God doesn’t need us since He requires nothing in addition to Himself to be pure and perfect. Yet He wants or … [Read more...]
St. Thomas Aquinas On the Creed: Part Four
Prologue: The third good that comes from faith is that right direction which it gives to our present life. Now, in order that one live a good life, it is necessary that he know what is necessary to live rightly; and if he depends for all this required knowledge on his own efforts alone, either he will never attain such knowledge, or if so, only after a long time. But faith teaches us all that is necessary to live a good life. It teaches us that there is one God who is the rewarder of good and … [Read more...]
St. Thomas Aquinas On the Creed, Part Three
The second effect of faith is that eternal life is already begun in us; for eternal life is nothing else than knowing God. This the Lord announced when He said: “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent.” [Jn 17:3].This knowledge of God begins here through faith, but it is perfected the future life when we shall know God as He is. Therefore, St. Paul says: “Faith is the substance of things to be hoped for” [Heb 11:1].No one then can arrive … [Read more...]
St. Thomas Aquinas on the Creed: Part Two
Prologue: What is Faith? The Nature and Effects of Faith –The first thing that is necessary for every Christian is faith, without which no one is truly called a faithful Christian. Faith brings about four good effects. The first is that through faith the soul is united to God, and by it there is between the soul and God a union akin to marriage. “I will espouse you in faith.” (Hosea ii. 20) When a man is baptized the first question that is asked him is: “Do you believe in God?” This is … [Read more...]
St. Thomas Aquinas on the Creed: Part One
Among all the truths which the faithful must believe, this is the first— that there is one God. We must see that God means the ruler and provider of all things. He, therefore, believes in God who believes that everything in this world is governed and provided for by Him. He who would believe that all things come into being by chance does not believe that there is a God. No one is so foolish as to deny that all nature, which operates with a certain definite time and order, is subject to the rule … [Read more...]
Octave of All Saints
After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and peoples, and tongues, stood before the Throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, palms In their hands, and cried with a loud voice saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. (Rev. 7.9) Today we find ourselves in the Octave of All Saints Day. The Octave is a period of eight days that follows the Feast of All Saints, which we celebrated last … [Read more...]
Come in Lord Jesus
The Counter-Reformation revived a late-Medieval tendency to adore the Lord Jesus Christ in the Reserved Host of the Altar. Anglo-Catholics of a certain stripe tend towards such devotions also. Prayer Book Anglicans tend to consider such practices as being beside the point. They are beside the point because Prayer Book Anglicans follow Archbishop Cranmer in his emphasis on the real meaning of the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper is given to us so that we might come into … [Read more...]
St. Simon and St. Jude
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (St. Jude 20) Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude. Both are of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Of each, we know scarce little. Saint Simon is mentioned four times in the New Testament and then only in a list of the other Apostles. Saint Jude is mentioned … [Read more...]
Trinity XIX
There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines. All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased. (Jeremiah xxx. 13, 14) Our opening verses come to us from the 30th Chapter of the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah is describing the spiritual man who suffers the punishment of … [Read more...]
Reasoned Existence
The Ancient Greeks became convinced that the balanced life was essential to the mind’s discovery of Divine truth since it conditioned the body and soul to the service of God. Of significant importance was the virtue of temperance or moderation- sophrosone, sometimes translated as self-control. We think of that virtue specifically in relation to food, wine, and sex but the Greeks meant something more all-encompassing than that. They taught of a moderate disposition in relation to all things, … [Read more...]
The 39 Articles…
Thoughtful Prayer Book Anglicans believe that The 39 Articles of Religion ground them in the fundaments of the Christian religion and faith. They believe that they are written to guide the Anglican mind towards God and to retain its undivided attention. They do not tolerate the distractions of a spiritually immature Medievalism that is forever obsessed with incidental minutiae and beside-the-point theater. They insist that the Anglican mind give its complete and undivided attention to God in … [Read more...]
Trinity XVIII
Lord we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil; and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee.(Collect Trinity XVIII) In the Gospel for Trinity XVII you and I were advised by our Master to take the lowest seats in the community of men, spiritual spaces of little interest to people of the world, and a disposition or character of lowliness and humility in an effort to better situate ourselves in relation to God’s Grace. What our … [Read more...]
Trinity XVII
From His position in Heaven Jesus continues to exercise his magnetic power on all creatures; all feel deep within themselves His summons, His injunction to ascend. (Paul Claudel, ‘I Believe…’) Trinity tide is all about the flow of God’s Grace into the hearts of faithful souls who desire to ascend ultimately back to God the Father. In this season our Collects, Epistles, and Gospels help us to acquire this Grace. Grace is essential and necessary for our salvation and it is given to be embraced … [Read more...]
St. Michael & All Angels
THERE was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. (Rev. xii. 7) Today is the Feast of St. Michael & All Angels. It is our Patronal Feast. And, evidently, our Patron and His angelic compatriots are soldiers of war. We don’t tend to think of angels –and St. Michael is a sainted angel, as being at war at all. Because of the modern psychologizing of Christianity, … [Read more...]
Be Thankful
It is a truism that no man fully fathoms the depth of God’s love. Saintly folk do better than most, but on the whole human beings are a rather forgetful lot. Perhaps the real problem with the human condition involves a kind of forgetfulness or willful amnesia. What I mean is that we humans … [Read more...]
Trinity XIV
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light… (1 St. Peter 2. 9) You might be wondering this morning how exactly I plan to weave the words just quoted from St. Peter’s first Epistle into this morning’s lections. St. Peter seems to be speaking of something rather grand, elevated, and regal, or of a reality that is radically other than the … [Read more...]
Trinity X
We begin today’s sermon with the words of Richard J. Foster: Recently I experienced a special grace which I believe was from God. It is the gift of tears. I had been considering my sin and the sin of God's people. I had also been meditating on the gospel teaching (and ancient teaching of the Church) on "compunction"--heart sorrow. As I did this, God graciously helped me to enter into a godly mourning in my heart on behalf of the Church, and a deep, tear-filled thanksgiving at God's patience, … [Read more...]
William Law: On the Spirit of Love, continued
[Love-2.1-11] Why are Love, Knowledge, Wisdom, and Goodness said to be infinite and eternal in God, capable of no Increase or Decrease, but always in the same highest State of Existence? Why is his Power eternal and omnipotent, his Presence not here, or there, but everywhere the same? No Reason can be assigned, but because nothing that is temporary, limited, or bounded, can be in God. It is his Nature to be that which He is, and all that He is, in an infinite, unchangeable Degree, admitting … [Read more...]
Choral Evensong with Sermon For the Feast of St Benedict
Evensong upon the Feast of St Benedict of Nursia Abbot of Monte Cassino, c. 540 The Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair London Officiant and preacher: The Revd Canon Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff Introit : Venite adoremus, Mode VII Psalm 27, 10-16 Dominus illuminatio ; Lessons: Proverbs 2:1-9 ; Luke 14:27–33 Preces and Responses, Radcliffe; The Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, Howells in B minor The Anthem: Lord I have loved the habitation, Tomkins Recessional Hymn: Rendez à … [Read more...]
American Independence began with an act of free speech.
The Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull, 1819 June 6, 1756 – November 10, 1843, “The Painter of the Revolution” Born in Lebanon, Connecticut, to Jonathan Trumbull and Faith (née Robinson) Trumbull. His father served as Governor of Connecticut from 1769 to 1784. He entered the 1771 junior class at Harvard College at the age of fifteen and graduated in 1773. After services as a soldier in the American Revolutionary War, he travelled to London, where upon an introduction from … [Read more...]
A Reflection for the Feast of St Thomas
St Thomas' Basilica Cathedral Chennai A Reflection by Canon Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff for the Grosvenor Chapel in the Parish of Mayfair, for the Feast of St Thomas the Apostle, remembering also St Elizabeth Queen of Portugal and the distinguished ecclesiastics of the Venn family. The music comprises the Agnus Dei from the Missa “Delectus Meus” by the Portuguese composer Filipe de Magalhães A setting of Psalm 149 O Praise ye the Lord by Thomas … [Read more...]
Readings, Sermon and Liturgical Resources for the Third Sunday After Trinity
The Readings 1 Peter 5:5-11 All of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that … [Read more...]
A Reflection — from the Grosvenor Chapel
Above: The Holy Roman Emperor Frederic II with Al-Kamil the Sultan of Egypt This short reflection: https://soundcloud.com/user-140188366/meditation-for-evening-of-26th-june-grosvenor-chapel by Canon Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff features music performed by the Choir of the Grosvenor Chapel and opens with one to the Chandos Anthems by Handel: "In the voice of Praise and Thanksgiving". The reflection itself touches upon the life of St Edmund of Abingdon (1175-1240), who was … [Read more...]
First Sunday after Trinity – Readings for the day and Sermon
The Rich Man and Lazarus, Hendrick ter Brugghen (1588-1629) A Sermon for the First Sunday after Trinity 14th June 2020, The Revd. Fr. Gavin Dunbar Rector, Saint John’s Church, Savannah O Lord, my trust is in thy mercy, and my heart is joyful in thy salvation: I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt so lovingly with me. Ps 13:5,6 We are just past the midpoint of the Christian year. From Advent to Trinity we have rehearsed the story of the Son of God’s becoming … [Read more...]
Audio Recording of Liturgy for Whitsunday
Liturgy with Procession for The Day of Pentecost Whitsunday Missa “Dum complerentur" Tomás Luis de Victoria (c1548-1611) at The Church of the Advent, Boston / May 31, 2020 With music from the Sound Archive https://soundcloud.com/mark-dwyer-2/20200531-sunday-mass-webcast The Rev’d Douglas Anderson, Celebrant The Rev’d Jay C. James, … [Read more...]
Sermon for Pentecost, Whitsunday – St John’s Savannah
A Sermon for the feast of Pentecost, or Whitsunday Sunday By Fr Gavin Dunbar, Rector, and PBS USA President 31st May 2020, at Saint John’s Church in Savannah ... with many other words did [Peter] testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 2:40 Pentecost bursts on the disciples of Jesus with the sound of a mighty rushing wind – the power of the storm-wind, the untameable hurricane, terrifying and exhilarating all at … [Read more...]
Facebook decides the Devil is real & needs their protection
In a curious turn of events, Facebook blocked promotion of a post for the Feast of St Dunstan on the PBS USA facebook page Facebook blocked this on the following grounds : "it uses an image or video that contains shocking, sensational, or excessively violent content" Evidently, the problem was the mediaeval manuscript illustration above (on velum), showing the saint (in a much celebrated episode) evicting the Devil from his hermitage where he had come to tempt him, … [Read more...]
Soothsayers, Magic & the end of Fanaticism: the case for Bishop Butler
Canon Macdonald-Radcliff reflects upon a week that began with the Feast of St Augustine of Canterbury and considers the relevance of Bishop Butler's thought to the current pandemic and our responses to it. Please use the link below: https://soundcloud.com/mark-dwyer-2/20200529-daily-meditation-webcast Please follow this … [Read more...]
The Feast of St Bede
The Venerable Bede from a manuscript in the British Library From a Letter on the Death of the Venerable Bede By St Cuthbert (Nn. 4-6: PL 90, 64-66) On Tuesday before the feast of the Ascension, Bede’s breathing became labored and a slight swelling appeared in his legs. Nevertheless, he gave us instruction all day long and dictated cheerfully the whole time. It seemed to us, however, that he knew very well that his end was near, and so he spent the whole night giving thanks to … [Read more...]
Sermon for the Sunday after Ascension Day
Hans (Suess) von Kulmbach, 1513 (born c. 1480 in Kulmbach, Franconia, died. c. 3 December 1522 in Nuremberg), He was the artist who created the Kraków St John's Altar. Preacher: The Revd. Fr Gavin Dunbar St John's Church Savannah If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.1 … [Read more...]
The Feast of St Dunstan – A reflection
St Dunstan takes the Devil by the nose.... Canon Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff reflects upon the life of this 10th Century Archbishop of Canterbury and the way in which his biography later became hotly contested terrain, used and interpreted in very different ways by polemicists of the Roman Catholic church as well as the High and Low church factions of the Church of … [Read more...]
Fifth Sunday After Easter – Additional Liturgical Resources
Above: Colonel John Lemon, MP of Truro (1754 - 1814) (Composer of the Psalm Chant heard in the Evensong linked below) https://soundcloud.com/mark-dwyer-2/20200513-choral-evensong-webcast Here painted by Gilbert Stuart (North Kingstown, Rhode Island 1755 - Boston 1828), circa 1780. Date circa 1780 - 1793 Colonel Lemon was educated at Truro Grammar School and Harrow. He became a lieutenant colonel in the Horse Guards before being elected to Parliament as a Whig MP Lemon was an amateur … [Read more...]
Fifth Sunday After Easter (Sixth of Easter) Rogation Sunday
Above: Blessing of the Fields for a good harvest and walking of the parish bounds during WWII Book of Common Prayer Collect and Readings for the day and Sermon The Collect. O LORD, from whom all good things do come; Grant to us thy humble servants, that by thy holy inspiration we may think those things that be good, and by thy merciful guiding may perform the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The … [Read more...]
The Fourth Sunday after Easter
The Fourth Sunday after Easter For an Audio webcast of The Liturgy for the Fourth Sunday After Easter (From The Church of the Advent Boston) use the following link https://soundcloud.com/mark-dwyer-2/20200510-sunday-mass-webcast Vidi Aquam – Tomás Luis de Victoria, (c1548-1611) Paschal Kyrie - John Sheppard (c1515–1558) The French Mass – John Sheppard O Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house - Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656) Domine, quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo … [Read more...]
The Third Sunday After Easter Sunday
The Third Sunday after Easter The Collect Almighty God, who shewest to them that be in error the light of thy truth, to the intent that they may return into the way of righteousness: Grant unto all them that are admitted into the fellowship of Christ's religion, that they may eschew those things that are contrary to their profession, and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The Epistle 1 St. Peter 2.11-17 Dearly beloved, I beseech … [Read more...]
Prison Chaplains and the Corona Virus Pandemic – a view from London
The chapel of HMP Wormwood Scrubs a prison built in 1874 (mainly for prisoners awaiting deportation) to a design by the military engineer Edmond du Cane (c.f. https://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/historic-buildings/art66719) PRISON CHAPLAINS AND THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC By John Plummer a member of St George's Parish, Mayfair and Coordinator of the London Prisons Mission (This article was originally published in the Parish bulletin and while not … [Read more...]
A Reflection on the Occasion of the Feast of St Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo
Above: St Monica, the mother of St Augustine of Hippo by the Spanish mannerist painter of Toledo Luis Tristán de Escamilla 1585-1624 (The Prado) A Reflection by Canon Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff with the Choir of the Church of the Advent Boston In recent days, as we follow the Church Calendar through the Festal season of Easter we have had occasion to think quite a bit about the early church in North Africa, with Cyril of Carthage coming up in my last reflection, as he grappled so … [Read more...]
If a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully….
Christ the Good Shepherd c.1540 Lucas Cranach the Younger Angermuseum, Erfurt A Sermon for the Second Sunday after Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday) 26th April 2020, at Saint John’s Church in Savannah From the FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF SAINT PETER THE APOSTLE 2:19 i . In the ancient world slaves supplied needed muscle in mines and fields, skilled labor in workshops and households. They occupied positions of responsibility as managers, doctors, … [Read more...]
Second Sunday After Easter Sunday liturgical resources
Above: The Supper at Emmaus Rembrandt, 1648, The Dulwich Picture Gallery, London The Second Sunday after Easter Sunday For an Audio webcast of The Liturgy for the Second Sunday After Easter (From The Church of the Advent Boston) With Sermon by the Revd. Dr Jeff Hanson Click here For the Friday reflection on St Cyprian and the Early Church in a time of Plague (Canon Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff) Click here St John's … [Read more...]
The First Sunday after Easter
For an Audio webcast of The Liturgy for the First Sunday After Easter with Sermon By Canon Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff (From The Church of the Advent Boston) Vidi Aquam -- Mode VIII Kyrie in D –– Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) Communion Service in D Major, Sir Edward Bairstow (1874–1946) as also the motet, Let all mortal flesh keep silence The Gradual: Psalm 114, Festal Setting and the setting of the Regina coeli à 8, by Tomás Luis deVictoria … [Read more...]
Allelulia, Christ is risen…..
(The Church of the Advent, Boston above) To hear the Easter Sunday Webcast CLICK HERE Holy Week EASTER DAY AT Morning Prayer, instead of the Venite, the following shall be said, and may be said throughout the Octave. CHRIST our Passover is sacrificed for us : therefore let us keep the feast, Not with [the]* old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness : but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Cor. v. 7. CHRIST being … [Read more...]
The Liturgy of Good Friday
(St George's Hanover Square) To hear the opening of the St Matthew Passion by J.S. Bach as traditionally sung in the parish on this day Click here Holy Week GOOD FRIDAY The Liturgy of Good Friday audio is available HERE A Sermon for Good Friday is available HERE (further listings are also placed below the Collects and Litany) The Collects: ALMIGHTY God, we beseech thee graciously to behold … [Read more...]
Good Friday Sermon
Good Friday Sermon by Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff My God, my God, look upon me; why hast thou forsaken me… Psalm 22, 1 In the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost…. AMEN Today we come to the darkest point in the church’s liturgical calendar In a bare and somber church intentionally emblematic of the utmost earthly desolation --as is uniquely appropriate to that terrible moment which we have just heard narrated in the Gospel, namely the … [Read more...]