Bishop Jack brings the propers together. His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video HERE -> https://youtu.be/b84T6HfiBCY
Bishop Jack’s sermon looks at the unifying message of the Collect, Epistle and Gospel and examine how they share a common message as we look for our place in this world. At this Christmastide, we have been concentrating on the joy of the Christ’s coming to earth; rightly so! But, in our liturgical calendar, the days go on. At this Christmastide, it is not surprising to find “To take our nature upon him”, is a key phrase of the Collect, preceding “To be born of a pure virgin”, meaning He could not have been born from anyone else but Mary, who was at the time a pure virgin (this is before the birth of James, Jesus’ biological half-brother. As Paul says in his letter to the Galatians, we are not to be servants or slaves of God, but His own children. As we came upon this midnight clear, the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is here for us. Will we accept it? Follow Him, accept His Grace and all will be good forever.
The propers for today are found on Page 104-105, with the Collect first:
The First Sunday after Christmas Day.
The Collect.
LMIGHTY God, who hast given us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin; Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
The Epistle for today came from Paul’s letter to the people of Galatia, starting at the First Verse of the Fourth Chapter. Paul reminds us, as well as those long gone in Galatia, we are to do God’s will, but through our Lord, we are not servants, but children of God, for “Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: but when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
ow I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: but when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
The Gospel for today came from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, the First Chapter, beginning at the Eighteenth Verse.
he birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
Sermon - Bishop Jack Arnold
Anglican Orthodox Church of the United States
Diocese of the West
Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California
Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together because as is always the case there is a unifying message in the Scripture for this Sunday. Bp Jack’s sermon can be viewed on video HERE -> hhttps://youtu.be/b84T6HfiBCY
Good morning! I hope you are all doing well. In today’s sermon we will be looking at the unifying message of the Collect, Epistle and Gospel and examine how they share a common message as we look for our place in this world. Let us start by reading today’s collect:
The First Sunday after Christmas Day.
The Collect.
LMIGHTY God, who hast given us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin; Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
At this Christmastide, we have been concentrating on the joy of the Christ’s coming to earth; rightly so! But, in our liturgical calendar, the days go on. Right after Christmas, we celebrate Boxing Day in the Anglican tradition, but more than that 26 December brings us the recollection of Saint Steven Deacon and Martyr; he was killed under the direction of Saul of Tarsus, the same person who with God’s Grace and Help became Saint Paul. The following day, 27 December, recalls Saint John, the longest lived of the Apostles whose writing gives so much to the theology of the New Testament. Then on 28 December, we recall The Holy Innocents, whose deaths are connected with Jesus’ birth.
An odd combination of days and thoughts for those who do not choose to think or delve deeply into a subject upon which their eternal lives are dependent. Most people, if they go to church, are Creastors, that is people who attend church on Christmas and Easter. This is certainly better than not at all, but one wonders why the two major events of the Christian year do not inspire them to more in depth consideration of what is, after all, the instructions for the remainder of their life here on earth and eternity. As ministers, I guess most of us wonder why we cannot get the message across. Still other people, members of churches, come every Sunday, so long as it is convenient. That is certainly better yet, but their knowledge falls short of the information available in the Bible. While the Book of Common Prayer is a wonder, it only provides propers for the Sundays and Holy Days, the subject matter is limited to the 52 high points if you make every Sunday! Often parishes overlook inconvenient days, such as Holy Innocents, or even worse the Circumcision. They only fall on a Sunday every seven years and who will know, anyway?
At this Christmastide, it is not surprising to find “To take our nature upon him”, is a key phrase of the Collect, preceding “To be born of a pure virgin”, meaning He could not have been born from anyone else but Mary, who was at the time a pure virgin (this is before the birth of James, Jesus’ biological half-brother. But the more important part of the phrases is “to take our nature upon him.” When He came into this world, He took our nature upon himself, that is to say in simpler terms He became like us. That is, He became human. So He could experience what it is like to be us and how we operate and also so He could represent us in His Sacrifice upon the cross. This is a very core and important part of Jesus’s story. He came down to be one of us so He could experience what it is like to be human and relate to His Creation more. This is simply incredible and shows how much He loves His Creation that He would come down and become one of us, live amongst us, then suffer the death upon the cross and descent into hell and battle with Satan that we might have eternal life!
Part of becoming human meant He felt the emotions we feel; pain, joy, suffering and more material emotions; hunger, wants and needs. This He took upon Himself, so He might come to understand His creation more. That could only be done if He could experience our body for himself, thus requiring Him to incarnate into a human form in order to understand what it was like to be us. Even though He created us and thus knew a lot about us, He needed the experience of being us. And also, to sacrifice Himself for our sakes, He needed to be within our bodies, so He could be accounted as a “human” sacrifice, taking upon all of our sins upon Himself, that we might be accounted as perfect before God to enter into heaven. This is one of the most amazing things of the Incarnation, God Himself came down to view, meet and be with His Creation, to understand how they live on this Earth and not only to understand His Creation, but to save His Creation from eternal death. This is because He views us as part of His family, by adoption via the Holy Spirit.
This topic leads into the Epistle. As Paul says in his letter to the Galatians, we are not to be servants or slaves of God, but His own children, we are more precious to Him than servants or slaves. He views us as part of His very wide and extended family. He loves us like a father or mother loves their own children. That is a key difference between Christianity and Islam. Islam views its followers as a means to an end, but Christianity views the followers as part of God’s Holy Family in Heaven. We are not pawns but we are family members and participants in God’s big plan. This clearly shows Islam’s Satanic roots versus Christianity’s Godly origins. We are wanted by God as His Children, He loves us and cares for us very much, so much that He sent His Only Begotten Son that all who believe on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). That is a pretty big amount of love for us sinful beings! That He sent His Own Son to die for our offenses, our sins, shows we mean a lot to Him, that He loves us so greatly. This is truly deserving of being called the Good News. It is in fact Outstanding news for us. We should rejoice that He has made us whole, taken away the power of sins if we repent of them, so that we may continue to live our life for Him!
We are different than the world for this very reason. The world lacks the compassion, the love Christ has given us, and it is the reason why it is and has been filled with so much trouble and sin over the thousands of years of our existence. What Christ has given us is a gift beyond the world’s understanding and valuation systems. They simply cannot see the pure joy we get from following and serving God. The World will not know peace until they finally recognize that serving God is the only way to have peace on Earth. But we will not have as much trouble as the world has, for we have something they do not, the Love of God and Christ among us to comfort and restore us, and to refresh us whenever we are tired and weary.
We have to realize God took upon our nature and our infirmities for us, His love is infinite as He is infinite. He is the past, the future and the present, He is the Master of Time. He is indeed, the Lord of Time and He love for us expands beyond all the timelines into the unfathomable past and into the unknowable for us future.
When we pray, we must refer to God as Father, as He is our spiritual Father and physical Father too, for without him, our fathers would not have been created and our lives would not have sprung forth upon this Earth. He is our ultimate Father in this sense, for without Him, we would not be here. We are in a state of eternal debt to God for bringing us in and saving us from the trouble of our human nature. If we are to repay it, we must follow Jesus on the path to perfection, which we will never get to, but we will certainly never get to it if we never try.
As we came upon this midnight clear, the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is here for us. Will we accept it? Follow Him, accept His Grace and all will be good forever.
He comes!
Heaven is at the end of an uphill trail. The easy downhill trail does not lead to the summit.
The time is now, not tomorrow. The time has come, indeed. How will you ACT?
It is by our actions we are known.
Be of God - Live of God - Act of God
