Sermon Notes - Sexagesima - The Hidden Bread - The Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide - 12 February 2023, Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord)

 

The Sunday called Sexagesima, or the

second Sunday before Lent.

 

The Collect.

 

O

 LORD God, who seest that we put not our trust in any thing that we do; Mercifully grant that by thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

 

Sermon – The Hidden Bread

 

I

N the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. ³² But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. ³³ Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? ³⁴ Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. ³⁵ Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. ³⁶ And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. ³⁷ And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. ³⁸ I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours  (Mark 4:31-38)

 

These verses, taken in isolation, may not open to us as fully as is made possible by reading the full context in which they occurred.

 

In order to know which direction a stationary train will be moving, we need to see on which end is the locomotive, and which the caboose – merely observing the middle cars alone will not fully enlighten. So, we need to read the preceding account to fully grasp the present.

 

The Occasion

  ¹ When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, ² (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) ³ He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.      ⁴ And he must needs go through Samaria. ⁵ Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour 

 

The Purpose

⁷ There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. ⁸ (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 

 

We read these lines as if this meeting occurred by simple chance, but it did not.

 

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenlyplaces in Christ: ⁴ According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: ⁵ Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,      (Ephesians 1)

 

With God, nothing happens by chance … all is predestinated and foreordained before of God. The last thing this woman expected was to find a Jew man at the well for Jews avoided the Samaritans as they would a leper.

 

The Process

a.     The woman, wanting to avoid the stares and gossip of other more reputable women (for she was one of ill-repute) comes to the well in the heat of the day. It was customary to come to draw water during the cool evening hours, but she comes at noon.

 

She expects no company. She does not have the least suspicion that great changes are about to happen in her heart and in her life.⁹ Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans

 

b.    The intriguing proposition

 

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

 

Do you know to whom you address your inquiry, madam?

 

c.     The furtive response:

¹¹ The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? ¹²  Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 

 

Not being a Bible scholar, the woman latches onto her only known Bible knowledge to respond to the Author of the Bible itself. She remembers the account of Jacob. She knows he was the greatest of the ancestors of the Samaritans (or at least believes this to be true). But her mind and heart is set upon the water located some scores of feet down in a hole in the ground. She has no knowledge of the Water of which Christ speaks.   

 

The Fountain of Living Waters is beyond the presnt vision of this woman, but Jesus draws her closer that she might, at last, see.

 

Christ tickles her curiosity and draws her interst more deeply into His own being:

 

¹³ Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: ¹⁴ But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

 

This woman, a castoff of society, has never heard of this beautiful and perpetually satisfying Water.

 

Christ, the greatest of Fishermen, has carefully set a loving hook in the woman’s heart: He then makes a seemingly unknowing appeal by asking:

 

¹⁶ Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

 

Do you believe that Jesus did not know all about this woman – her life, her sin, he need for salvation?

 

The woman responds with a technical truth, but a spiritual lie:

 

¹⁷ The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, 

 

Jesus knows of all the dirt we sweep under the carpet: He responds: Thou hast well said, I have no husband: ¹⁸ For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

 

The woman has failed in virtue and she knows it, but is surprised that Jesus – a total stranger – also knows it.

 

She is living in open adultery and has the equivalent of five husbands – for to sleep with a man is the same as being united in a marriage relationship.  But God condemns this kind of sexual relationship.

 

Rev SA Brooks beautifully describes the need of this woman in these words: The woman at the well, feeling about for light, was led to her own Scriptures, and in those Scriptures to a prophecy—a prophecy of a great Teacher who was to come—the Messias. The coming Teacher, she knew, would solve all her difficulties, and make her way quite clear. It is very beautiful, very comforting, very teaching, to watch this poor, earnest, baffled woman's soul, gathering itself at last till it centres upon Christ. She was in a great strait; where was the escape? Messias comes; He makes all things right. As the key fits into the lock, as the light matches to the eye, or as sweet music to the ear, so Christ is made for the soul, and the soul is made for Christ. Till nature has that filling it must be incomplete, and life must be restless till it settles on that one resting-place; and this that thirsting, confessing, enquiring mind was finding out, when God took her by the hand and led her, and put it into her heart to feel, "I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when He is come, He will teach us all things."

 

So the woman relies on the little spiritual and biblical knowledge that she can foster:

 

⁹ The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 

 

Now Jesus draws the hooked fish even closer to the Ark of Life:

 

²¹ Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. ²² Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. ²³ But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. ²⁴ God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

 

The woman stills clings to her own limited knowledge of God: she struggles against the hook - ²⁵ The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. ²⁶ Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

 

Now this exchange between Christ and this fallen woman is not only for her own benefit, but also for our own benefit, and the benefit of her village, and for the benefit of countless millions of sinners count in the net of Satan.

 

Look at the impressions the disciples have of this encounter:  ²⁷ And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? 

 

They did not understand, but they knew Christ well enough not to question His intent. Here He is talking with a woman whose very appearance revealed that she was not a righteous and faithful wife to any man.

 

d.    The Catch

a.     Knowing Christ changes things. The woman who was embarrassed to come with other women to the well, is now going into the city shouting to all who will listen the greatness of Christ!

b.    The steady love and purpose of Christ has drawn the hesitant fish to safe harbor: ²⁸ The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, ²⁹ Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? ³⁰ Then they went out of the city, and came unto him

c.     The testimony of one, even one of ill repute, can have dramatic results.

d.    Sometimes, we are so overcome with joy that we are not hungry for the food of this world. We can only think upon that Bread that comes down from Heaven – the spiritual food of Christ!

 

e.     The Effect!

Now we can read the sermon text with understanding can’t we?

 

In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. ³² But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. ³³ Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? ³⁴ Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. ³⁵ Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. ³⁶ And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. ³⁷ And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. ³⁸ I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

 

f.     The results of a single soul’s salvation!

 

³⁹ And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. ⁴¹ And many more believed because of his own word; ⁴² And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. 

 

So may you believe!

 

Collect for Sexagesima – 12 February 2023, Anno Domini

  

The Sunday called Sexagesima, or the

second Sunday before Lent.

 

The Collect.

 

O

 LORD God, who seest that we put not our trust in any thing that we do; Mercifully grant that by thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

            This COLLECT comes from the Gregorian Sacramentary but was justly altered to omit, following the term ‘defended’ the phrase by the protection of the Doctor of the Gentiles. This is Roman error that attributes active and divine intercession of the Apostle Paul. As you will remember, there is only one intermediary between God and man: For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5)

 

            O LORD God -The devil and his wicked minions can also refer to Jehovah as God, but they cannot refer to Him as LORD GOD because they believe that they reject His rule and authority; however, they believe wrongly for it is the LORD’S business to execute a final judgment on those who are wicked.  The wicked, in their sins, only build a strong case against them at the Final Bar. Those alone who are servants and family of the Lord of the Heavenly Manor may so call Him LORD GOD and be justified in the title.

 

            The only true and infallible trust is centered upon the Lord. …who seest that we put not our trust in any thing we do. Do you trust in your own heart, or in the labors of your own hand, or in the trustworthiness of friends? If you do, you do so to your own peril, for our trust is rightly placed in the LORD alone.  Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. (Psalm 115:1) Can you say with certain knowledge that you would go all of the way to the burning stake rather than renounce the Word of God? You may FEEL that you would do so, but do you KNOW it? Do you have the courage of Hus, of Latimer and Ridley, of Cranmer, or of the martyred missionaries to China, John and Betty Stam? If you do not KNOW if you will do the right thing at a time of peril and decision, do not worry about it for, when the moment comes, the Holy Ghost will empower you to glorify God even to the point of death. But that decision of Righteous Will is not your own, but God’s who strengthens you. It is popular today to rely upon government for our every personal failing, but government, unrestrained, only leads to tyranny, chains, and enslavement. This is such an important truth that God placed it squarely in the center of His Word: It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.(Psalm 118:8-9) It is so needful of remembrance that Peter reminds us: Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29) If a lie, or untruth, is told by a minister or an infidel, it is still and untruth. So we trust those in authority over us only insofar as their words and actions can be confirmed by Holy Scripture. 

 

            God will see to it that we learn, if not by His Word, then through hard experience, to doubt our own selves and put our trust in Him. It is like a loving father watching his very young son trying to move a large stone from his sandbox in the playground. The child would strain and exert himself over and over again, but the rock was much too heavy for him to remove from the sandbox. After watching this little drama transpire over a period of perhaps twenty minutes, the father approaches the son and asks if he is having a problem. The son responds, Yes, father. I am trying to remove this large stone from my sandbox, but I do not have enough strength to move it out of the way! The father responds, Of course you do have the strength. No, said the son. I have been trying for the longest and I am now too tired to try more. The father answers, Son, you have not called upon the power available to you. I am your father, and my power is YOUR power.  He then removed the rock from the sandbox. God is ALWAYS able, but we are never able apart from His grant of power. Mercifully grant that by thy power we may be defended against all adversity.  All grants of favor from God are not gained by our merits, but by His MERCY. We are not good enough, and so receive the gold star by our names. Justice would condemn us to outer darkness, but God, in His Mercy, provided a means whereby we may be justified and considered spotless in His eyes. The power of God defends us daily from a thousand unseen dangers – dangers of which we may never be aware. He fouls the plans of the wicked gossip that would demean our character and destroy our reputation, and He does it most often without our ever knowing. He stays the diseased organism from entering our body at sundry times so that we feel our good health is owing to our righteous living. Our scheduled arrival at some place of a highway accident, or an act of crime is often delayed by unexplainable events that we chalk up to coincidence. With God, there are no coincidences.

 

            Our defense is not against some singular danger, but from ALL adversities. This does not mean that we shall be spared trials, persecutions, accidents, etc; for that which seems at first and adversity may, in the end, become a great blessing. God will see us through. He may not remove the mountain blocking our way, but He will certainly make us able to climb over that mountain. The story is told of Bishop James Bashford of the Methodist Episcopal Church who, in 1904, was making an Episcopal tour of the mission churches in China. It so happened that decent quarters were not available to the Bishop on a certain night, and he was compelled to sleep under the trees. (Bishops were made of sterner stuff in those days). He was warned by the hotel keeper to beware of marauders in the night. Being watchful and sleepless for a while, the words of the Psalmist came to mind, Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand (Psalm 121:4-5), and so the Bishop said: There is no use in BOTH of us being awake, so he slept the sleep of the just!

 

            Do you trust even your closest friend not to go to sleep at any time in watching for you? You can trust the Lord. You can trust the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24) to see you through, for He already has fought your battle, paid your price, and redeemed you with His own blood. Do you trust Him completely, Friend?

 

Deep calleth unto Deep – 9 February 2023, Anno Domini

 

 

D

EEP calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. 8 Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. 9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?   (Psalm 42:7-9)

 

            I believe the wonder and mystery of this passage is lost to many commentators – Deep calleth unto deep. I am not remotely as qualified as the great masters of the past to disagree; however, this is a matter of spiritual meaning that can have many facets. It reminds me of Jonah who rose from his watery grave on the third day. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40) Was Jonah actually in the whale’s belly for three days and three nights in the same way the Lord was in the heart of the earth? The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. (Jonah 2:5-7) This language suggests Jonah was indeed in the belly of the whale in the same way our Lord was in the heart of the earth. This remains a mystery in our understanding, and it leads us to search deeper for spiritual understanding.

 

            The Word of God is a great Deep just as the Ocean Seas are a great deep. We behold the ocean with its tides, tranquility and storms, but we have only observed the surface. The greater mystery lies in its great unseen deep. This is much like the Bible. Many read the words of Scripture, and some boast of having read the Bible many times over, and, yet, have not even a fundamental understanding of its meaning. I believe the reason for this is our motive and spiritual purpose in the reading thereof.  G.K. Chesterton suggests that man has come to learn in reverse order from that which is efficacious: We tend to learn through the mind to the heart when we should be learning through the heart to the mind. Perhaps the one thing missing in motive is an insatiable love for God and His Word as we search out the mysteries of His Word. Chesterton also said: Once we presume to abolish God, the government becomes our god.

 

            Though there are many mysteries in God’s Word, there are also the simplest of truths – so simple that a child can comprehend them[1]. The fundamentals of salvation are examples of that simplicity. But our joy in salvation drives us deeper into that depth of God’s Word – constantly seeking to learn more.

 

            As many Christians grow in sincerity and devotion to God’s Holy Word, our mainline churches are rife with compromise and apostasy. They desire to be accepted more by the world than by their Maker. They even seek to amend the very word of God with the new and perverse version of the Bible that compromise to the extent that they can no longer be called the Word of God.

 

            Just as the oceans are never overfull, so is the depth of the Word of God never wholly mastered by men’s understanding. It challenges us to grow in wisdom and truth. It invites us to try all things by its sound doctrine. Its tantalizing beauty keeps the faithful Christian searching its pages to satisfy a great spiritual thirst. Unfortunately, the only access to the pages of Scripture many Christians experience is the hearing of a twenty-minute sermon each Sunday. The old home altars are almost non-existent today, and so is family prayer and Bible study fading from the spiritual landscape. We see the great loss and hurt caused by this neglect in our modern society. 

 

            The Scriptures assure us the elect of God will have their names written in the Book of Life. But if not written there, those names shall be written on the earth which will be the inheritance of all who reject the Lord. O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. (Jeremiah 17:13)

 

QUESTION: Where is YOUR name written?

---

[1] In point of fact, the simplest of truths are the most important; the mysteries bear no thought or consideration until you are at one with the simple truths.

They that go down to the sea in ships – 8 February 2023, Anno Domini

  

 

T

HEY that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; 24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. 25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. 26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. 27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. 28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. 29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. (Psalm 107:23-30)

 

            The sea is prominently mentioned in Holy Writ in a variety of ways. First of all, it is the largest cemetery in the world containing millions upon millions of lost souls some of whom whose names are not known to men but whose resurrected bodies shall be reconstituted and raised from the watery grave at the last day: And the sea gave up the dead which were in it. (Rev 20:13)

 

            The sea was looked upon as a medium of escape by the rebellious prophet, Jonah. He is perhaps the first to be risen from the sea even if by means of an angry whale whose digestive constitution could not abide such a one in his belly. The sea is also a source of sustenance by millions who thrive upon her treasures of seafood.

 

            The Lord Jesus Christ found the shores of Galilee to be a remunerative retreat for preaching and healing the afflicted. He used it as well to teach his disciples lessons on how to fish for men. At one point, He sent forth a great storm upon the Sea of Galilee to pester His disciples into rigorous terror when they were forced to wake Him and reveal their lack of faith. Likewise, the Lord illustrated His power over the sea, which He had made, by walking on its glassy surface. When Peter beseeched Him to call him also out onto the sea, he walked well until he took his eyes off the Lord and focused on the turbulent waters. Peter’s three-worded prayer revealed that lengthy and fancy prayers are not essential to the desperate one seeking in the waters of the world: Lord Save Me!

 

            Viewing the sea from the shore we are overwhelmed by its mystery and beauty. It is a perfect example of peace, yet, constantly in turmoil to break out from the pre-determined barriers decreed by God. . .  who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? (Job 38:8-11)

 

Viewed from the security of the shore, one is not privy to the great storms in which ships, at some points, are struggling to stay afloat upon its billows, or the great tidal forces working unseen beneath its tranquil surface where many varieties of sea life must do battle daily against her currents as well as larger predators.

 

I believe the sea gives us an excellent understanding of true faith in God, We do not understand its mighty mysteries, but we trust that they are under the providential control of its Maker. When sailing vessels of wood construction sailed the ocean seas, there was always a great dependence upon God to bring them to the safe harbor of their destination. Raw and manly effort was required to safeguard against the perils of her gales, the shoals of her shorelines, and the mighty winds that threatened her canvas. 

 

In a certain sense, those ships of the sea represent the Church which is comprised of too many divisions. This is unfortunate since all who are in Christ Jesus are of One Mind with Him. But her under-shepherds seem very much like the captains of those sailing vessels of old. The fate of the ship depends on his ability to set a true course and hold it. His chart and compass of the spirit must be true and relied upon, and a thousand perils can threaten at any moment if the watchman atop the ‘crows nest’ fails to sound the warning.

 

Just as the ship is made to sail the seas and carry necessary provender and treasures to far shores, so is the Church intended to sail the turbulent seas of political and social ruin to carry the Gospel to the four quarters of the earth. The ship, too, is made to sustain itself by sailing ON the sea, The sea, however, must be kept out of the ship else it perishes. The same is true of the Church. God has clothed it with beauty and just enough mystery to keep the faithful searching her papers. She is made to sail through the waters of a sin-laden world. But when the world, like the waters, get into the Church, she will sink as certainly as a stone to the depths of ruin and shame. The Church MUST be IN the world, but the world must not get into the Church! Do we not see this happening before our very eyes today?

They that go down to the sea in ships – 8 February 2023, Anno Domini

 

 

T

HEY that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; 24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. 25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. 26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. 27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. 28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. 29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. (Psalm 107:23-30)

 

            The sea is prominently mentioned in Holy Writ in a variety of ways. First of all, it is the largest cemetery in the world containing millions upon millions of lost souls some of whom whose names are not known to men but whose resurrected bodies shall be reconstituted and raised from the watery grave at the last day: And the sea gave up the dead which were in it. (Rev 20:13)

 

            The sea was looked upon as a medium of escape by the rebellious prophet, Jonah. He is perhaps the first to be risen from the sea even if by means of an angry whale whose digestive constitution could not abide such a one in his belly. The sea is also a source of sustenance by millions who thrive upon her treasures of seafood.

 

            The Lord Jesus Christ found the shores of Galilee to be a remunerative retreat for preaching and healing the afflicted. He used it as well to teach his disciples lessons on how to fish for men. At one point, He sent forth a great storm upon the Sea of Galilee to pester His disciples into rigorous terror when they were forced to wake Him and reveal their lack of faith. Likewise, the Lord illustrated His power over the sea, which He had made, by walking on its glassy surface. When Peter beseeched Him to call him also out onto the sea, he walked well until he took his eyes off the Lord and focused on the turbulent waters. Peter’s three-worded prayer revealed that lengthy and fancy prayers are not essential to the desperate one seeking in the waters of the world: Lord Save Me!

 

            Viewing the sea from the shore we are overwhelmed by its mystery and beauty. It is a perfect example of peace, yet, constantly in turmoil to break out from the pre-determined barriers decreed by God. . .  who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? (Job 38:8-11)

 

Viewed from the security of the shore, one is not privy to the great storms in which ships, at some points, are struggling to stay afloat upon its billows, or the great tidal forces working unseen beneath its tranquil surface where many varieties of sea life must do battle daily against her currents as well as larger predators.

 

I believe the sea gives us an excellent understanding of true faith in God, We do not understand its mighty mysteries, but we trust that they are under the providential control of its Maker. When sailing vessels of wood construction sailed the ocean seas, there was always a great dependence upon God to bring them to the safe harbor of their destination. Raw and manly effort was required to safeguard against the perils of her gales, the shoals of her shorelines, and the mighty winds that threatened her canvas. 

 

In a certain sense, those ships of the sea represent the Church which is comprised of too many divisions. This is unfortunate since all who are in Christ Jesus are of One Mind with Him. But her under-shepherds seem very much like the captains of those sailing vessels of old. The fate of the ship depends on his ability to set a true course and hold it. His chart and compass of the spirit must be true and relied upon, and a thousand perils can threaten at any moment if the watchman atop the ‘crows nest’ fails to sound the warning.

 

Just as the ship is made to sail the seas and carry necessary provender and treasures to far shores, so is the Church intended to sail the turbulent seas of political and social ruin to carry the Gospel to the four quarters of the earth. The ship, too, is made to sustain itself by sailing ON the sea, The sea, however, must be kept out of the ship else it perishes. The same is true of the Church. God has clothed it with beauty and just enough mystery to keep the faithful searching her papers. She is made to sail through the waters of a sin-laden world. But when the world, like the waters, get into the Church, she will sink as certainly as a stone to the depths of ruin and shame. The Church MUST be IN the world, but the world must not get into the Church! Do we not see this happening before our very eyes today?

Hymns of the Church – My Father’s World – 7 February 2023, Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord)

 

T

HE earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.  (Psalm 24:1-2)

 

            I must confess that I do not recall writing of this hymn in past years, but I should have done. It is a beautiful hymn composed by a great Bible scholar and minister – Dr. Maltbie Babcock (1858-1901) – a great athlete at Syracuse University who was called to preach the Gospel, and well did he answer the call. The present hymn is taken from a poet he wrote by the same title, but extending for sixteen verses. This hymn was written in the year of his death of a fever at Naples, Italy – age 42 years. The tune is titled TERRA BEATA– an old English folk tune.

 

My Father’s World

 

This is my Father's world,

And to my listening ears

All nature sings, and round me rings

The music of the spheres.

This is my Father's world:

I rest me in the thought

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas--

His hand the wonders wrought.

 

This is my Father's world:

The birds their carols raise,

The morning light, the lily white,

Declare their Maker's praise.

This is my Father's world:

He shines in all that's fair;

In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,

He speaks to me everywhere.

 

This is my Father's world:

O let me ne'er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong,

God is the Ruler yet.

This is my Father's world:

Why should my heart be sad?

The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!

God reigns; let earth be glad!

 

1 This is my Father's world, And to my listening ears All nature sings, and round me rings The music of the spheres. This is my Father's world: I rest me in the thought Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas-- His hand the wonders wrought.Unfortunately, only a small remnant of all tribes, tongues, and nations can proclaim the first clause of this hymn with sincerity – This is my Father’s world– because a very small fraction of the world claim Him as Father though they are the objects of His Creation. Only those who are the bona fide children of God can call Him Father. This is sadly true, even in the Church! But to the devout Christian, called and ordained of God, all of the wonders of nature proclaim His love and Beauty. What a privilege and security to lay our burdens upon His broad shoulders and sleep the peace of protection. Do we not see Him in the vast, unfathomable depths of the sea, in the scroll of sky at sunrise, or the mountain heights that sweep down to the valleys and fertile plains?

 

2 This is my Father's world: The birds their carols raise, The morning light, the lily white, Declare their Maker's praise. This is my Father's world: He shines in all that's fair; In the rustling grass I hear Him pass, He speaks to me everywhere.To the trusting heart committed to Christ, there is no darkness – the light surrounds him in a world of smothering darkness. But God is not only Love, but our Lord is the Light of the world. The choir of birds, singing from the trees of the forest, need no human words to express their praise for it is a language of the hearty and spirit with which they convey their music. Can man create an artificial light to compare with a morning sunrise in spring? Can any artist create anything of beauty to surpass that of the Lily White? All these things of Creation exclaim their Maker’s name. The evolutionists may boast of knowledge of things unseen and unproven, but all his presumed knowledge falls at the altar of the flowers of spring. Every place the believer looks, He beholds Christ. His artistry has made every snowflake and every rain droplet. He walks always in the corridors of beauty and truth.

 

3 This is my Father's world: O let me ne'er forget That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet. This is my Father's world: Why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King: let the heavens ring! God reigns; let earth be glad! God, with amazing repetition, reminds us throughout Scripture to REMEMBER Him and forget not. This is especially important during times of trial and moments of temptation. We must remember that God rules in the affairs of men despite man’s false perception that he, himself, is, as Mr. William Henley wrote in Invictus, the master of his fate and the captain of his soul: 

 

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

– William Ernest Henley, INVICTUS.

 

            This poem, Invictus, was one I had to memorize in the fifth grade. To my young and undiscerning mind, the words seemed to be possessed of great power. My teachers all commended its supposed power and majesty; however, those words are an illusion staged by the Dark Prince of this World. There is, after all, great matter in the road that we take – either that of the Broad Way of the world, or else the Straight and Narrow way that leads up. And, too, we shall be judged by our sins if they are not annulled by the blood of Christ. Show me the man who is the master of his fate at the moment of death or horror; or what man is captain of his soul as he passes through the gloomy gate of ruin? Mr. Henley misses the mark with inconceivable ignorance while the writer of this hymn gets his rounds on target for truth. “Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. (Isaiah 45:11-12)

 

AOC Sunday Report – Septuagesima

  

Happy Septuagesima!

The AOC Sunday Report is available RIGHT HERE!

We have excellent sermon this morning from the Bishops Jerry and Roy, as well as Revs Jack, and Bryan.  Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His sermon can be viewed on video here -> https://youtu.be/7oqs-HyhGds 

Today’s Collect asks God to hear us and though we are due punishment for our imperfextion that He might account us as sufficient through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Saint Paul reminds the people of Cornith and us that we will never gain our crown of incorruption (eternal life) if we do not try; as successful racer must be coderate in all things.  The Gospel is Matthew’s account of the parable of the vineyard workers with its many lessonsl  It all comes together, listen or read to understand how. 

As every week, we have a lot of people who desire your prayer. Please start with the Flanagan family, Michelle, Harry, Tricia, Shamu, Laurie and work out from there.

What is Septuagesima?

Septuagesima Sunday is the name given to the third Sunday before Lent. The term is sometimes applied to the period of the liturgical year which begins on this day and lasts through Shrove Tuesday (with the following day being Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins). This period is also known as the Pre-Lenten season or Shrovetide. The next two Sundays are labelled Sexagesima and Quinquagesima, the latter sometimes also called Shrove Sunday. The earliest Septuagesima Sunday can occur is January 18 (Easter falling on March 22 in nonleap year) and the latest is February 22 (Easter falling on April 25 in leap year).

 

Septuagesima comes from the Latin word for "seventieth," with Sexagesima and Quinquagesima equalling "sixtieth" and "fiftieth" respectively. They are patterned after the Latin word for the season of Lent, Quadragesima, which means "fortieth" because Lent is forty days long (not counting the Sundays, which are all considered little Easters).  Because a week is only seven days long, not ten, and since even then only six of those days might be counted if the pattern of Quadragesima is followed, Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima, don't literally correspond to the periods of time they imply. It is interesting, however, that just about 70 days (68 actually) is the minimum number of days between the octave day of the Epiphany on January 14 and Easter, implying that a season just about 70 days long can always fit between the two.

 

The 17-day period beginning on Septuagesima Sunday was intended to be observed as a preparation for the season of Lent, which is itself a period of spiritual preparation (for Easter). In many countries, however, Septuagesima Sunday still marks the start of the carnival season, culminating on Shrove Tuesday, more commonly known as Mardi Gras. The Gospel reading for Septuagesima week is the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16).

There is a lot going on in the week ahead, some of it good some of it bad, you'll have a lot better feeling about the week if you will open your heart to God's guidance. That Third God Guy can be a big help.

Godspeed,

Hap

Church of the Faithful Centurion

Descanso, California

United States of America