“It is what it is.”

Sermon Series July and August 2008

By Father S. Peter Donatelli

A man ran through a crowded train looking very agitated, calling out, “Is there a Catholic priest on board?” When he got no reply, he ran back up the train shouting, “Is there an Anglican priest on board?” There was still no reply. By now becoming more desperate, he ran down the train shouting, “Is there a Rabbi on board?” Eventually, a gentleman stood up and said, “Can I be of any assistance, my friend? I’m a Methodist minister.” The man looked at him and said, “No, you’re no good. I need a corkscrew!”

 

I served in a Methodist church for two years while courting the CEC and I remember several “old time” congregants who believed drinking was of the devil and gambling was of the devil and since I am Italian it made preaching somewhat challenging. Recounting the days I spent in Italy and drinking my uncle’s homemade wine was problematic; as was a sermon illustration I offered concerning what I would do if I won the lottery. In both cases a woman from the church challenged my seriousness as a Christian. Amazingly, I get it from both perspectives as some Christians judge people in regards to how holy and righteous they are NOT while others judge Christians in regards to how holy and righteous they actually are. {President Clinton named Kristine Gebbie, a lesbian, as the new AIDS czar. Four months later she spelled out her perceptions on traditional morality. She said, [The United States] needs to view human sexuality as an essentially important and pleasurable thing. [Until it does so], we will continue to be a repressed, Victorian society that misrepresents information, denies homosexual sexuality, particularly in teens, and leaves people abandoned with no place to go. I can help just a little bit in my job, standing on the White House lawn talking about sex with no lightning bolts falling on my head.” (Associated Press, October 29, 1993)} {More than four out of every five Americans agree that “we all will be called before God at judgment day to answer for our sins,” says a poll conducted for the Times Mirror company. National and International Religion Report, quoted in Signs of the Times, August, 1993, p. 6.}

 

Over the next few weeks Deacon Kevin and I are going to offer some insight into how all Christians are called to be harvesters of the abundant crop of lost people in the world and most specifically in Maine. Before we start this we need to know what we are standing up against. Come on folks, what do we hear when we offer ourselves as Christians? What do people think when they hear we are an evangelical, or charismatic, or Catholic Church? What looks do you get or what opinions do you hear? In my experiences in life, I find myself constantly trying to define who we are, what we are all about, and regardless of how well or how poorly I do it, most people determine that I am a judgmental Christian. I was arguing with a customer at work several weeks ago when he accused me of being judgmental after I made the statement that someone I knew committed adultery and that adultery was a sin. “Well,” he said, “that’s not my call; I don’t know the man well enough.” Despite the fact that I did know the guy well enough, let me let you all in on something, adultery is a sin! It’s not a judgment call. I find myself arguing with people over the most ridiculous concepts. No matter what I say, people in their self-determining way accuse me of being judgmental which ironically is a judgment call. Facts are facts, folks and there are absolutes in life that regardless of the discipline you seem to abide by, absolutes are absolutes. There are people in the world who try to convince you how tolerant they are and how diverse they until they find out you’re a Christian; then the thermometer rises. There are institutions in the world that know what they are doing in terms of manipulating the way you think by incorporating their agenda into their product. Take the movie industry for example. I loved the Star Wars series, however, they were saturated with bits of Hollywood’s P.C. agenda. There is a scene where Anakin Skywalker is fighting with Ben Kenobi and he tells him of his plan to rule his empire. As Ben is listening to this he makes the statement, “Only a dark sith deals with absolutes.” Ironically this rule of the Jedi is an absolute and a judgment call. It’s frustrating to explain to people that Christians do not judge, rather we try to offer a lifestyle and advice that are based on the omniscient God’s desire to live eternally with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven. Offering tips to this end can prove detrimental to casual relationships with secular humanists.

 

Because of our faith, my wife and I decided to wait until we got married before we had sex. The general reactions to this statement from either conservative Christians or liberal humanists are “Father Peter is being judgmental.” Some evangelicals consider that to be bragging, while other non-Christians think it’s patronizing. I don’t consider myself to be necessarily superhuman in this endeavor. I give Cindy a lot more credit than I deserve knowing how often I tried to convince her not to wait. Now I am not only glad I waited, but I am a strong proponent of abstinence and chastity. Why? Well whether you are religious or not statistics show that doing it the way Cindy and I did is better for yourselves and for society. We did not have to get tested before we got married. Promiscuity does really, really and medically factually produce an increase in person’s chances for disease and even death. This is NOT a judgment call but believe it or not God’s loving plan for humanity really works. Seemingly society does not want us to talk about these issues because it involves a level of intimacy that the world does not want you to have. I tell you this morning that I want to be your father and your friend and I will not hold back any information that is seemingly a touchy subject or socially inappropriate because I love you an I want you to be with me in Heaven for all eternity. My frustration is the same as Jesus’ as He tries to convince the people of the first century Mediterranean world that He really loved them and if they only just listened, their lives would be so much easier. I wan to read to you the premise of this morning’s Gospel as I start at verse 16. Matthew 11:  16″To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 17″ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.’ 18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.” ‘ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”…23And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” 25At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.  27″All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28″Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

 

It is what it is. Your faith is what it is. If you are a Christian then be a Christian. Jesus in today’s Gospel reveals to us the legalism that pervades our culture preventing people from entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Matthew 11 starts with the question, to what shall I compare this generation? Jesus shows us that the issues we have today are the same as the issues He had to deal with. Some people wanted John the Baptist figure representing the faith. Some churches and even some world religions focus in on the ascetic qualities of humanity. That’s fine if one chooses to be simple like St. John. I know people, who don’t drink or swear or have even, God forbid, have no cable! However, it is a false representation of our faith to require your flock or followers to do the same. Jesus tells us He came “eating and drinking” and they called Him a glutton and a drunk. Now let me accentuate, I don’t want anyone to cross over the line of gluttony and drunkenness, but people know Father Peter likes to party! The point being that these things have nothing to do with our faith. The rest of the chapter reveals the essence of our faith when Jesus tells them “And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.” So His first argument shows the healing power of God; where people witnessed the miracles and still did not believe. Those who chose to follow Christ repented and those who did not chose to reject salvation. When people think you are judging them they reject any notion of our faith and of salvation but when you introduce people to the healing power of reconciliation then you did all that you can do. I been working with my father since I was five thus hanging out on Munjoy Hill for the last thirty seven years. Needless to say I have developed many solid relationships. I never approach people with, “Hey sinner, you’re going to hell if you continue being gay or not going to church or being an atheist.” Jesus shows us how the invitation to love needs to be gentle, the yoke needs to be easy and light. And by speaking the truth in love, we may be able to lead people away from their sinful lives and walk with us into the Kingdom for all eternity. O Happy Day! The first reading captures this well.

 

Zechariah 9:  9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.

 

I would like to end this sermon as a springboard for the next five sermons. Next week Deacon Kevin is going to preach Matthew 13 and Jesus uses the image of a sower who plants seeds. That’s what we need to do plant seeds zealously. I want us to be excited for our faith. I want people to see us as the Jesus who went house to house partying with people, enjoying people’s company, loving people into the Kingdom, not judging them into other false cults or new age crap. The more excited we are about witnessing, the more people want to be part of what we are doing; be Charismatic! This morning’s second reading suggests this. Romans 8: 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

 

First when it comes to sin…[It was F.B. Meyer, I believe, who once said that when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are two things we do not know: First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin. And second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her. We also do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances. Stephen Brown, Christianity Today, April 5, 1993, p. 17.] So though we are called to speak the truth in love, we are not amateur psychiatrists nor are we judges of the Kingdom. And lastly be Spirit-filled! There’s a funny story about the Holy Spirit. The Trinity was planning a holiday. The Spirit, manifesting the creative part of the divine nature, was coming up with the ideas. “Let’s go to New York,” he suggested. “No, no, no,” said the Father, “They’re all so liberated, they’ll spend the whole time calling me ‘Mother’ and it will just do my head in.” So the Spirit sat back and thought. “I know! What about Jerusalem?” he said. “It’s beautiful and then there’s the history and everything.” “No way!” the Son declared. “After what happened the last time, I’m never going there again!” At this point, the Spirit got annoyed and went off in a huff. Sometime later he returned and found that the Father and Son had had a idea they both thought was excellent: “Why don’t we go to Rome?” said the Son. “Perfect!” cried the Holy Spirit. “I’ve never been there before!” I look at churches that are struggling and the fact is and statistics show that the overwhelming catalyst for churches in the 21^st century is how charismatic they are. People of today need energy, need lovers of the faith, need vigor for life. Here at the Church of Christ Jesus Victor we are going to give it to them! +++ Amen!

4th of July Hot Dog!

Today the Honeycutts were spotted in the Independence Day parade in Bath!

“Fear is in the Eye of the Beholder”

By Father S. Peter Donatelli

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (6-29-0

Lord our God, encourage us through the prayers of Saints Peter and Paul. May the apostles who strengthened the faith of the infant Church, help us on our way of salvation. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. During skydiving class a student asked his instructor a few questions. One guy asked, “If our chute doesn’t open, and the reserve doesn’t open, how long do we have until we hit the ground?” The jump master looked at him and in perfect deadpan and answered, “The rest of your life.” I am sure you have heard me say how I fear flying, but I would like to share with you how an amazing aspect of fear that I am sure you all can relate to. I was up in a single propeller plane once and the pilot thought it would be cool if I flew the plane. In these tiny planes the steering can be found on the passenger side also. Well it was exciting to fly the plane and as it were I sensed my fear of flying dissipating as I used knowledge to reduce my fear of flying. I bet if I took lessons I would eventually come to love flying. I believe that fear is in the eye of the beholder. We choose our fears. As we look at the three types of fear, there is a fear of God which is the understanding of the grace of God and the beginning of salvation, that is, man fears/respects God and starts obeying His commandments thus opening the door to the knowledge and friendship of the One Who can eliminate all fear. There is a fear inspired by demons which causes anxiety and anguish. We all know about these fears; are you going to make the next mortgage or rent payment, can you live the lifestyle you are use to, or are the friends you have now going to remain your friends? I can at least comfort you with the knowledge that Father Peter is your friend and always will be. I won’t pay your rent, but let me give you some financial advice. The more you obey God the less fear of financial failure you will have. That’s why I tithe. Besides these two fears there is also another fear so-called psychological fear, which is related to a person’s insecurity and emotional inadequacy. As I said earlier, these phobias can be overcome by knowledge and sometimes they cannot. I still freak out when leaning over the edge of the balcony of the Empire State Building. The thought of falling still scares the innards out of me. Maybe it’s just the fear of death which is overcome by the fear of God.

 

For the unbeliever, the fear of God is to fear the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31). For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 is a good description of this, ” 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our “God is a consuming fire.” This reverence and awe is exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe, to know His Son our Savior and friend, and to be consumed by His Spirit Who seeks to endow us with all the gifts we can possibly want. We have gone through a cycle of sermons that started with the old adage, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. We ended last week’s sermon with a discussion on the fear of God and now I want to show you how the two are related. Proverbs 1:7 declares, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…” Until we understand who God is, and develop a reverential fear of Him, we cannot have true wisdom. True wisdom comes only from understanding who God is – that He is holy, just, and righteous. Deuteronomy 10:12,20-21 records, “Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen.” The fear of God is the basis for our walking in His ways, serving Him, and yes, loving Him.

Many have the tendency of minimizing the fear of God for believers to “respecting” Him. While respect is definitely included in the concept of fearing God, there is more to it than that. A Biblical fear of God, for the believer, includes understanding how much God hates sin, and fearing His judgment on sin – even in the life of a believer. Hebrews 12:5-11 describes God’s discipline of the believer. While it is done in love (Hebrews 12:6), it is still a fearful thing. As children, the fear of discipline from our parents prevented, hopefully, some evil actions. The same should be true in our relationship with God. We should fear His discipline, and therefore, seek to live our lives in such a way that pleases Him. Believers are not to be “scared” of God. We have no reason to be scared of Him. We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him, that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshipping Him in awe.

 

In this morning’s second reading we see how God is relating to us. Romans 5:18Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. 20The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.—6:  1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

 

It almost took disobedience to understand obedience. Now I am not encouraging anybody to sin because sin takes us away from the knowledge of God. When we sin we choose to distant ourselves from God, but don’t believe for one second, do not fear, God is always there to take you back. God wants to be with you for all eternity so repent often and remember we can still produce even amidst our fears. Oliver Hazard Perry suffered a psychopathic fear of cows. He would even cross the road to avoid passing a cow. Yet that same man audaciously and fearlessly directed the American fleet against the British on the Great Lakes in the War of 1812. In the midst of battle, with his ship disabled, he rowed from it to another to keep his command afloat. Petrified of cows, he had no fear of guns, swords, or death. Fear of a single thing did not mean cowardice in all things. Christians struggle with multiple acts of obedience, and we may think we are not Christians because of that struggle. This is not true. The outcome, not the conflict, determines our place with God. We can have every intention of obeying, yet have to fight ourselves to obey. Jesus sympathizes, for he experienced the same struggle when he confronted the cross. His sympathy goes beyond even that. He also understands what it means to accept a burden we don’t want to bear, but cannot escape.

 

Finally I want to return to the truth that it’s not what you know it’s who you know. One fear that all of us have is loneliness, the fear of either losing a loved one or being rejected, or simply the separation of one relationship to another. I am proud to say that the Church of Christ Jesus Victor exists to restore wholeness of the ancient faith by restoring the wholeness of the faithful. The more we rally together in this cause, the less we will fear loneliness because we are available for each other 24-7. As this morning’s Gospel suggests, there is strength in unity.

 

Matthew 10:37″Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 40″He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. And here is the unity in community Jesus implies. 41Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”

 

In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn’t. “What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus.
“These five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually they’re nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.” “Which channel do you want?” asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, “Why can’t you guys get organized like that?” Unity is strength. I would be remiss if I did not mention on this Holy Day the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul when not only is today their feast but it falls on Sunday of lectionary cycle A. In their lifetime Peter and Paul did not work so closely together. Peter was called directly by Jesus and given “the keys of the kingdom” (Matthew 16:16-18). He is portrayed in icons carrying the keys. Paul, on the other hand, was once a persecutor of the church, his conversion came about through a vision on the road to Damascus. His inspiration and his style of presenting the gospel came from visions and charismatic experiences. He is portrayed in icons carrying either a sword or a book. Peter and Paul were so different that Peter was surnamed the Apostle of the Jews and Paul the Apostle of the Gentiles. Paul once had a public disagreement with Peter on whether Jewish Christians could eat together with Gentile Christians. (Galatians 2). If Peter and Paul did not agree in life, they did agree in death. Both suffered the same kind of death, martyrdom, in the same city, Rome, at about the same time, 64-67 A.D. The early church recognized Peter and Paul as the two pillars of the church of Christ. This is depicted in an ancient icon with Peter on the right and Paul on the left, each extending a hand with which they bear up the church. By placing two of them together in one icon, united in lifting up the church, the church is sending a message to all her children that they all likewise should be united, in spite of individual and local differences, in building up the one church of God. In the early church there was a tendency to splinter into various factions, each faction claiming to follow the leadership of one of the chief apostles or missionaries. This was one of the reasons why Paul wrote the first letter to the Corinthians. The Corinthians were breaking up into followers of Paul, followers of Peter, and followers of Apollos. Paul reminds them strongly that these human leaders are all equally servants of the one Christ. Christ, therefore, should be their focus and not the human leaders. [1 Corinthians 3: 21So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.] If division among believers was a problem in the days of Paul, it is even more so today. Like the Christians of Corinth, Christians today are divided, variously recognizing the absolute authority of John Calvin, John Wesley or John Paul. We are like the weak fingers of Linus that cannot embrace one another and unite into a formidable punch. Disunity of Christians is a scandal that weakens the Christian witness to the world. How can Christian churches preach love and unity, forgiveness and reconciliation to the world when they themselves are living in disunity, unable to forgive and reconcile themselves? I want to commemorate these two great apostles by starting here and starting now. The Church of Christ Jesus Victor and the CEC will vow to never walk away from our friends in Christ, we will give you a cup of cold water and we will look forward to walking with God’s to desire to spend eternal life with all of us and all our brothers and sisters in Lord in the Kingdom of Heaven for all eternity. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

It’s not only personal, it’s business.

A Sermon by Father S. Peter Donatelli

June 15, 2008

All Scripture taken from the NIV Bible

 

JOKE:     A prominent mob boss, accompanied by his attorney, walks into a room to meet with his accountant. The mobster asks the accountant, “Where’s the three million bucks you embezzled from me?” The accountant doesn’t answer. The mobster asks again, “Where’s the three million bucks you embezzled from me?” The attorney interrupts, “Sir, the man is a deaf-mute and cannot understand you, but I can interpret for you.” The mobster says, “Well, ask him where the money is.” The attorney, using sign language, asks the accountant where the three million dollars is. The accountant signs back, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The attorney interprets to his client, “He doesn’t know what you’re talking about.” The mobster pulls out a pistol, puts it to the temple of the accountant, cocks the trigger and says, “Ask him again where the money is!” The attorney signs to the accountant, “He wants to know where it is!” The accountant signs back, “Okay! Okay! The money’s hidden in a suitcase behind the shed in my backyard!” The mobster says, “Well, what did he say?” The attorney interprets to the mob boss, “He says that you don’t have the guts to pull the trigger.”

 

INTRO: Last week I told you about how much I loved watching mobster movies. I guess it has something to do with my cultural background. I recalled last week one of my favorite lines from a movie where the Godfather says to a soon to be victim, “Hey it’s not personal, it’s business.” Over the last three weeks we began to look at a sermon series that started with Deacon Kevin offering a word that it’s not what you know it’s who you. Last week I took off with that and tried to look at how God uses relationships, the who you know, to accomplish His purposes in life. Finally, I asked the question, “How do we get to know God?” Well this sermon is about the knowing God by participating in His plan of salvation. In other words it’s not just personal, it’s business. I am often amazed at how some people claim to be Christian but they say that they don’t go to church. “The golf course is my church.” “I don’t need the building to be in church.” Excuse after excuse, begins an uncomfortable conversation about the real business of being a Christian. Just this week I argued with a man who tried to convince me that going to church was neither Biblical nor traditional. As I produced Biblical quote after quote and went through the entire history of the Judeo-Christian world, he relented. So is it somewhat unusual to talk about the business of being a Christian or the business of church? I would argue that if you do not understand these concepts you are not really participating in God’s plan of salvation. If you do not participate in God’s community how can you know the Person that is God the Father, the Person that is God the Son, and the Person that is God the Holy Spirit? Further, Augustine, Cyprian, and Calvin all said that you cannot have God as your Father unless you have the Church as your mother. So let’s see what it means to be in the business of church and how we know God by participating in God’s commandments.

 

POINT ONE: We participate in God’s kingdom when we subscribe to the priesthood of all believers. Let’s look at this morning’s first reading in context. Exodus 19:3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ Now I am not saying we are all called to be priests but by recognizing and respecting and obeying God’s creation, we all participate in this priesthood.

The Church has always talked in terms of a “royal priesthood” which encompasses all believers. However, it recognizes that the Lord set apart certain individuals for specific roles, some were Apostles, others healers, others teachers. In order to establish and maintain good order within the community of believers, certain individuals were specifically ordained by the laying on of hands to specific ministries, particularly that of bishop (elder) and deacon. The Lord gave the power to forgive and retain sins to the Apostles, not to all believers. The Apostles delegated this authority to the bishops, but not to deacons. In the fullness of time, as congregations grew beyond the ability for a single bishop to administer, the office of presbyter was established. Specific men were chosen, ordained by the laying on of hands, to be the officiator in place of the bishop in the parishes for the Eucharist. These individuals we refer to as priests in English. Even as there was a Levite priesthood and the priesthood of the order of Mekielzedek for ancient Israel, we have the ordained priesthood and the royal priesthood in the New Israel. I will not entertain the politically motivated discussions about why the Church does not ordain women into this Holy Order. That debate is for people who don’t like the word “order.” You all have heard of the pregnant woman who is becoming a man thus trying to persuade the world that man can get pregnant. Sadly we live in a culture that some professional pastors and psychiatrists will tell you that this totally normal. Well folks it’s NOT. It’s a sick perversion of God’s creation and the fruit on this woman’s behavior can only be decay. When God orders we need to obey. The priesthood is a way in which we participate in this order and from these gifts, you gifts can be strengthened. God is dead serious about this. We read yesterday in the daily office; Numbers 3: 5 The LORD said to Moses, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 7 They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community at the Tent of Meeting by doing the work of the tabernacle. 8 They are to take care of all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle. 9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him. 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary must be put to death.”

 

POINT TWO: Participation produces great fruit and when this is seen by all people, God is seen and physically known. As the second reading suggests; Romans 5:1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

 

A great example of this is how amazingly our Bridges program is doing in the Northeast. Sixteen years ago as the CEC started to roll, an ex-mobster by the name of Frank Constantino began is journey into Holy Orders. Eventually he became Bishop Frank who was Bishop Craig’s spiritual mentor. Bishop Frank inspired us all to reach out to the least, the lost, and the lonely. Eventually as Father Bret Crompton remembered how amazingly faith saved him, he took up this cause by trying to emulate what God did in his life to men and women who were broken with addiction, crime, and no sense of belonging. Look what participation in faith can do. Not only can knowing the fullness of God the Father’s love for you, not only knowing the sacrifice of God the Son’s life for you, not only knowing the generous gifting of God the Holy Spirit for you, but living these blessings through His Bride the Church our Mother on earth gives us character, integrity, and eminence. It is this mission that compels us to build the Transfiguration Center where the message of character shines out for all to see. We emanate the Glory of God when we participate in Kingdom work and the more we get into it the more lives can be changed for the better.

 

POINT THREE: I know that we accomplish everything God has purposed us to accomplish. Yes we will see the Transfiguration Center come to fruition. Yes we will see the Church of Christ Jesus Victor be a center for art and literature and music. Yes we will see Rwanda be a center for economic prosperity. Matthew 9:35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 10:1He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 2These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; 10take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep. 11″Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. 12As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. 16I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

 

I conclude by offering this Gospel as a support and a warning. As we go into the towns and villages preaching “the Kingdom of Heaven is near,” healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing the diseased and driving out demons, we need to be shrewd and innocent. How we present ourselves and the seriousness in which we take on this task will determine our success. I cannot possibly give the number of examples of Christians who transformed the world in one sermon. Imagine. “Imagine there’s no heaven . . .” sang John Lennon, “and no religion too.” The implication is that the world would be a better place without religion. Wrong. Christianity has changed the world in dramatic and positive ways. Without Christianity, we probably would never have heard of John Lennon, particularly if he were an poor musician unknown outside his own town, which would have been likely. Without Christianity you’re dropped back into a world without a broad spread of individual freedoms, hospitals, organized charities or scientific advances (for Lennon, no electric guitars, sound systems, radio or television). Amazingly the popularity of detractors of the faith is due mostly to the freedom offered by proponents of the faith. Regardless, we know what’s right and what’s wrong and we need to be advocates of the Gospel because that is what we are called to do, that is our business here in this world and by fulfilling this business on earth we will participate in the business of God’s Kingdom in Heaven with all the angels and the Saints for all eternity. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It’s Who You Know

A Sermon by Father S. Peter Donatelli for the 10^th Sunday in Ordinary time

June 8, 2008

(All Bible quotes taken from the NIV Bible)

JOKE: This is most of the text from a little book called “The Optimist Sees the Bagel, the Pessimist sees the Hole. (Life’s Little Jewish Instruction Book by Leonard Sorcher) Israel is the land of milk and honey; Florida is the land of milk of magnesia. If you can’t say something nice, say it in Yiddish. If it tastes good, it’s probably not kosher. It’s not who you know, it’s who you know had a nose job.

INTRO: Last week Deacon Kevin came up with a Word that maybe he did not know was going to be a Word but propelled me into focusing the next two weeks on a common phrase. It’s not what you know it’s who you know. I have noticed over the last few years that evidence and facts and the reality of tangible relationships mean nothing to people. Have you noticed the rise in psychic “hotlines” and TV shows nowadays? Fifteen years ago, it would have been difficult to find even a psychic commercial on TV. Now, there are several half-hour infomercials, aired almost round the clock. Have you also noticed New Age music cropping up here and there, not to mention the infiltration of the occult and fake mysticism into the lives of people claiming to be Christian, and increased UFO sightings and the Church’s necessity to give explanation? How about the rise of “what’s in it for me” attitudes, a morality of convenience, and a market-driven society? Amazingly Christianity is the only faith tradition seeking to marry the physical with the divine, substance and soul, reason and experience. Whereas some traditions like the Hindu-Buddhist philosophy demonize the physical, while others like Islam and Aryanism attempt to destroy the divine or the experiential, Christianity tries to bridge the two. The largest reason for our failure in the U.S. has more to do with our lack of respect for the truth which I believe is a reluctance to see facts or the tangible or the rational. Amazingly if written documents of eyewitness accounts were the judge of truth and facts then no other person has more evidence of not only existence but of proof to be the Divine, than Jesus Christ. Not only that but if proof is compiled to substantiate the overwhelming beneficial contribution of any faith tradition, there would not be libraries large enough to document how Christianity has saved the world. Yet we still hear people perversely critique and falsely accuse and condemn our faith and our God and our Church daily. All I want to reiterate to them that if they got to know Jesus the person, or His people, or His Church, really and honestly and exhaustively, the Truth would set them free and they couldn’t help but realize there is no other Name from whom men can be saved than Jesus the Christ! Sometimes it really is NOT what you know, but WHO you know. This morning I want to delve into the three readings in order to prove this or at least offer some support to get you on the way to my lifelong conviction. I really want us all to be on the same page knowing that this path, this direction, this mission is where you all should be. This morning I want to approach the idiom of “who you know” by asking three questions; how do we know others, how do we know the faithful, and how do we know God?

POINT ONE: How do we know others? I guess because of my Italian background, I have turned out to be quite the name dropper. Last Thursday I helped the Cathedral School in Portland with their fundraising golf tournament by collecting several dozen donations that we used as prizes; from boxes of golf balls to restaurant gift certificates. Every year the lady who directs the tourney is amazed at how many prizes I collect. Well being in business I have learned the power of bartering and dealing. I am extremely nice to some of my customers, first because some are nice to me, but secondly because perhaps something they are associated with can help me out in the future. It is completely ethical in the business world to take on the attitude, you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. It’s like the Godfather movie where the father is explaining to one of his goombas that “hey, it’s not personal, it’s business.” Quite frankly there are times when the Church must get busy and focus on Her business. Most certainly God can transcend business norms so that His Church, His Bride can stay focused on the ultimate plan of salvation. This morning we see an interesting “name dropping” episode where one of the prophets, Hosea, who was asked to emulate God’s plan of salvation by marrying a prostitute to show the people of Israel how their infidelity will be punished by God, and how subsequently God will redeem them. I want to start a few verses before this morning’s reading to allow you to hear how God’s plans always succeed. Reading 1: Hosea 6: 1 “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us that we may live in his presence. (a very specific reference to the Resurrection) 3 Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” 4 “What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. 5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you. 6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

 

Hello! God is specifically asking us to acknowledge Him. Every one of us understands the importance of being acknowledged. We all know how much people need to be affirmed. Unfortunately when it comes to namedropping the people spend too much time acknowledging others rather than God. Imagine if Britney Spears came to our church and people started saying, “Hey, let’s go to the Church of Christ Jesus Victor so maybe we can meet Britney Spears.” God is going to use us and we are going to see people flocking to our church by people saying, “Let’s go to the Church of Christ Jesus Victor so maybe we can meet Craig Honeycutt or Steve Mann or Bob Green or Jason Perry or Cassandra Donatelli.” Would it be more beneficial to focus on stars and athletes? I am sure that Hosea thought so as he obeyed the will of God by marrying a prostitute and became the ridicule of the town. But we know God is up in Heaven dropping our names and saying “That Howie Slaughter is doing quite the great work, right Ezekiel?”

 

POINT TWO: The next thing I want to focus on is the importance of knowing who the faithful is. There are people out there in communities claiming to be Christian but are most certainly perverting the Word of God to the point of damaging the Church. Recently, yet again the so-called Trinity church in Chicago of the so-called denomination the United Church of Christ made headlines went a Roman priest went on a tare concerning the bigotry of white people, reiterating the message of the so-called reverend Jeremiah Wright. Be careful who you consider the faithful. Those churches focused on politically motivated agendas that demonstrate a clearly racist ethos are NOT Christian. So who are the faithful? Let me expound upon this morning’s Reading II: Romans 4:18Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

 

Basically brothers and sisters in Christ, this is our confession. Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins and was raised from the dead in order for those who confess Him Lord and God live eternal life with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit and the angels and Saints in the Kingdom of Heaven? One can tell by the fruits of the unfaithful that this point is NOT being made. I utter this every time I preach. The fruits of this agenda will hopefully allow us to be together as a community, as a family, forever. Bashing races, cultures, genders, and ages, will not accomplish this. It’s like your buddy who tells you he can help you paint a wall and you trust in the fact that he is steering you in the right direction when several hours into it, you realize that this guy don’t know what he’s doing. Then you spend even more time fixing what he screwed up. Well, we actually dealt with that at CJV several years ago when someone infiltrated our church with bright ideas and even brighter rhetoric about how he was going to make us a common name but God fixed the problem when the people who actually manifested the plan of God joined our church. So I want to thank the Perry’s for repainting the messed up job.

 

POINT THREE: How do we get to know God? Well this is a springboard for the next several weeks, because knowing God first means our willingness to accept Him into our lives, our willingness to understand His plan for us, and finally our willingness to live out that plan as we seek to edify His Body the Church throughout all our lives.
Gospel: Matthew 9:  9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this; they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?” 12On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

 

Jesus is reiterating Hosea 6: 6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. Matthew, regardless of his popularity or lack thereof, regardless of his past sins, regardless of his gifts or lack of gifts, decides to acknowledge God and thus he places himself as a friend of Jesus. With Jesus as your acquaintance, with Jesus as your associate, with Jesus as your social contact, you can do great things. Remember how our Lord encouraged His disciples in John 14: 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

 

This is a guarantee in life worth abiding in. This is a guarantee in life worth sacrificing everything for. This is a guarantee in life worth pursuing.

 

CONCLUSION: We have a great thing going here. It’s like in Matthew 12 when the Pharisees keep taunting Jesus for healing people on the Sabbath and doing other things that go against their agendas and their man made laws. Jesus reminds then how foolish they are and how superlative God is. Matthew 12: 38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.” 39He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. 42The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.

 

So look around you here in this mission Church of Christ Jesus Victor. There is something greater than Solomon here people. We are embarking on a mission to build a church that fulfills God’s plan for our salvation and the salvations of countless others. It’s all about knowing Jesus and when we realize that we can actually accomplish anything and everything. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

The International Development Agency

….as we spoke about in Church today, please visit their website here.

Corpus Christi 2008

Sermon by Father S. Peter Donatelli

JOKE: Juan comes up to the Mexican border on his bicycle. He’s got two large bags over his shoulders. The guard stops him and says, “What’s in the bags?” “Sand,” answers Juan. The guard says, “We’ll just see about that -get off the bike.” The guard takes the bags and rips them apart; he empties them out and finds nothing in them but sand. He detains Juan overnight and has the sand analyzed, only to discover that there is nothing in the bags. The guard releases Juan, puts the sand into new bags, hefts them onto the man’s shoulders, and lets him cross the border. A week later, the same thing happens. The guard asks, “What have you got?” “Sand,” says Juan. The guard does his thorough examination and discovers that the bags contain nothing but sand. He gives the sand back to Juan, who crosses the border on his bicycle. This sequence of events is repeated every week for three years. Finally, Juan doesn’t show up one day and the guard meets him in a cantina in Mexico. “Hey, Buddy,” says the guard, “I know you are smuggling something. It’s driving me crazy. It’s all I think about. I can’t sleep. Just between you and me, what are you smuggling?” Juan sips his beer and says, “Bicycles.”

 

INTRO: It’s amazing when we struggle seeing something that’s right under our noses. Have you ever looked around a room to find your glasses that were resting on your head? I cannot tell you how many times I flipped out looking for keys that I left in my pocket. It would be easy as we journey toward Heaven if all the mysteries of the Church were extremely obvious or even better visible. The mystery of the Body and Blood of our Lord will be always be a mystery, however, it is essential to approach the altar with fear and trepidation as we are nourished by His flesh and blood in order to participate in the Divinity of Christ. Now if we go to the Bible and look at Hebrews 11 we get a clear definition of faith:  1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Even so, God blesses us with occasional miracles that help us understand God. By definition a miracle is a sensibly perceptible effect, surpassing at least the powers of visible nature, produced by God to witness to some truth or testify to someone’s sanctity (catholicrefernce.net). There are churches all over the world with a bleeding monstrance. Now a monstrance is a vessel where consecrated hosts are displayed for veneration. Imagine if during a Mass we observed a host bleeding; what would you do? There is a great story of how in Italy, this happened during a celebration with Padre Pio. Yes, the Church is very careful in providing evidence that these miracles are legit. Some of these hosts are still on display, but my sermon is not about proving that the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus.

 

POINT ONE: Philosophies and scientific evidence have little to do with Corpus Christi Sunday. I spent a lot of time this week as I prepared this sermon looking at Catholic and Orthodox and Reformed theologies regarding the Eucharist. I read about transubstantiation and trans-elementation and consubstantiation and guess what? When someone comes to your church looking for Jesus, you are not going to impress them with your knowledge of doctoral level religion. Because the CEC exists to to provide a home for all Christians seeking a liturgical-sacramental, evangelical, charismatic church and a foundation for their lives and gifts of ministry, we need to consider, yes be considerate, of the seeker. All you need to know is that it happened and it happens and will continue to happen. Let’s read about the first few centuries of Christian activity.

 

“As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.” These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” (John 6: 57-66)

They took Him at His Word, so why shouldn’t we? If the Eucharist is merely a memorial and merely bread and wine, then why does the Holy Apostle Paul warn us that: “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.” (1 Corinthians 11:29-30). Would ordinary bread and wine make people sick or even cause them to die? It is very clear from the writings of the early Church that, if the Church got it “wrong”, they did so at a very early stage! The writings of St. Ignatius makes this very clear: “Do not err, my brethren,: if anyone follow a schismatic he will not inherit the kingdom of God. If any man walk about with strange doctrine, he cannot lie down with the passion. Take care then to use one Eucharist, so that whatever you do, you do according to God: for there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup in the union of his blood; one altar, as there is one bishop with the presbytery and my fellow servants, the deacons.” (Letter to the Philadephians 3, 3-4) written around 110 AD.

And in his letter to the Smyrnaeans: “From Eucharist and prayer they hold aloof, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father in His loving-kindness raised from the dead. And so, those who question the gift of God perish in their contentiousness. It would be better for them to have love, so as to share in the resurrection. It is proper, therefore, to avoid associating with such people and not to speak about them either in private or in public, but to study the Prophets attentively and, especially, the Gospel, in which the Passion is revealed to us and the Resurrection shown in its fulfillment. Shun division as the beginning of evil.”

And St. Justin Martyr, writing in 150 AD tells us: “We call this food Eucharist; and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in the washing which is for the remission of sins annd for regeneration, and is thereby living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread nor as common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by Him, and by the change of which our flesh and blood is nourished, is both the flesh and blood of that incarnated Jesus.”

Therefore, from the first followers of our Lord Himself, through the Apostle Paul and the first leaders of the post Apostolic early Church, the Real Presence of our Lord can be seen to be an accepted teaching from the very beginning. It was only after the most recent “reformation” that any different teaching even existed! Martin Luther himself believed firmly in the Real Presence. It was not until the German Zwingli in 1519 that the idea that the Eucharist was merely a “memorial” appeared!

 

POINT TWO: The Body of Christ is our intimate contact with the Second person of the Triune God.  It is an incredible privilege for me to be able to say Mass and it follows that we are all honored and privileged to participate. I remember meeting one of my heroes, Lyle Mayes at a bar in Portland. It was after a Pat Methany concert and as I walked into Horsefeathers in Portland there he was. I went up to him, not sure if was appropriate and was amazed to find out that he was kind enough to talk to me. Well folks this is Jesus Christ Himself! And the amazing thing is that he really, really wants to hang out with you. He wants you to know that He is with you always and Jesus instructs us to just receive Him, at least once a week, as a way to respect Him and the Church. Unlike some stories, which would have Him an illiterate carpenter, Jesus shows a thorough knowledge of the Jewish Scripture, and a mastery of language. Obviously, He was VERY well educated. There is evidence that He knew Greek and even some Latin. In the Last Supper narrative, Jesus says:  ”This is my body,” and a little later:  ”This is my blood.”  The Greek word He uses in both places — estin — is 3rd person singular active and indicative ( a fancy way of saying that it means exactly what we mean when we say “This is a chair” or “This is a glass of water”).  No funniness, no shading, no exaggeration, no fooling around.  Very direct — He knew what he wanted to say, and said it the way he meant it.  “Is”, not “symbolizes.” St. Paul reflects this understanding of the Eucharist in his letter to the Corinthians:  “…participation in the blood [and a little later: body] of Christ…”  Literal blood; literal body — how else would we really participate?  This is neither our imagination nor some symbolic misunderstanding. The attacks of the pagans (accusations of cannibalism) which the early Apologists reply to show that the early Church — in the 2nd Century, a hundred or so years after the Resurrection — certainly believed in the literal presence, else why would the pagans (like modern-day Protestant fundamentalists) attack us on that score?  Why would we die for this?

 

POINT THREE: I want to end by reiterating last week’s sermon about the Trinity and how God and we exist in relationship. I think the most important aspect of the Body and Blood of Christ is that in enables us through the Sacrament to be in this wonderful relationship with our God. If provides us yet another means where we are one with God and proves our inheritance and our genetic makeup where through our absolute faith we know that the flesh and blood surging through our bodies is His Body. Jesus loves you and wants to be with you so let us continue praising him this morning as we in relationship offer ourselves as a praise sacrifice whereas Jesus offered Himself as a Paschal sacrifice for us. What a relationship we have with Jesus!

 

CONCLUSION: As we reflect upon our relationships, I want to expound upon the idea of Sacrifice and the Mass. Just as we pray for each other and share each other’s burdens now, the faithful on earth can offer prayers and sacrifices to help the departed souls undergoing purification or celebrating at the Banquet in Heaven, and no better prayer could be offered than that of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Well this week, one of our own, the sadly young, Ashley Brock died in neighbor’s pool. The accident has caused overwhelming sorrow to permeate our community throughout. Ashley was and still is a doll and the Church of Christ Jesus Victor would like to remember her this morning as we offer up the Mass to honor Ashley, to remind her and her family and her Christian family that she is still celebrating with us and we will celebrate with her again when we join her and all the angels and saints in the Kingdom of Heaven for all eternity.

 

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

The Holy Trinity

“We as believers are drawn into the life of the Trinity, which is a life being transformed into the image and likeness of Jesus. As we live in relationship with the Godhead, we are transformed so that we can live a life of love and unity in the Church. This calls us to the join in the mission of Jesus to bring the world into restoration and reconciliation with the Father through the Spirit.”

 

–Archbishop Craig Bates, Patriarch of the ICCEC

Unity in Community

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

May 18, 2008

(Italics are notes from a sermon preached by Father John R. Donahue)

A small boy was lost, so he went up to a policeman and said, “I’ve lost my dad!” The officer said, “What’s he like?” The little boy replied, “Beer and women!”

Ah, the relationship between a father and his son. What a tacky way to start a Trinity Sunday Sermon but here in the CEC, a most distinguishable character of our church, dare I say of THE Church, is relationship– notwithstanding our personality quirks. I just got back from Atlanta, Georgia where eleven of us spent three days beginning an academic dialogue as we develop a Catechism for the CEC. Amazingly, regardless of the fact that I just met eight of the eleven people there, in person, for the first time, I felt like we were family with a common mission. The conversation was friendly, social time reminded of the Celtic Evensong that I spend with Deacon Kevin, Craig Honeycutt, or the Patriarch himself. Though we disagreed many times, we fought hard, argued, and sometimes became very frustrated, we maintained a commonality that will continue, I believe, forever; unity in community. How can this be if we just met? I would argue that Christianity is first and foremost about relationship and this is exemplified most perfectly through the Trinity. I am not going to try to theologize the mystery of how we worship one God, though three Persons. St. Augustine said that if we try to understand the Trinity, we lose our minds, and if we deny the Trinity we lose our souls. I just want to focus on how our God exists in relationship; unity in community. This perfect love, Agape, shows us that though three, there is no hierarchy, no abandonment to either the relationship nor the purpose nor the vision. Imagine, a fellowship that is ongoing, always was, and always will be. It seems like in our society we are lucky to just make it through a year before we lose our friends. I personally have no childhood friends, no high school friends, and the only person I have been hanging out with since my college years is my wife and thankfully we plan on spending the rest of our lives together. On the other hand, I have been in the CEC for ten years now and those journeying with me have remained extremely close. Imagine a fellowship when a stranger can call and based on one commonality, I can call someone I never met and get picked up at the airport, taken to dinner, and accommodated. Can people enter into a relationship or a community forever? I would argue and pray that we can and should. What if we HAD to be in relationship forever? Would this change the scope of how we act, how we forgive, how we participate in life? I am going to offer some reflections based on today’s feast that hopefully will clarify the fact that God is mysterious; He is also accessible and present.

 

The best place to find how the Trinity shapes our lives is the article “Trinitarian Spirituality,” in the Collegeville Dictionary of Spirituality, edited by Michael Downey and the late Catherine M. LaCugna. Some phrases capture its dynamism: “[T]he doctrine of the Trinity affirms that it belongs to God’s very nature to be committed to humanity and its history, that God’s covenant with us is irrevocable, that God’s face is immutably turned toward us in love, that God’s presence to us is utterly reliable and constant…. Trinitarian spirituality is one of solidarity between and among persons. It is a way of living the gospel attentive to the requirements of justice, understood as rightly ordered relationships between and among persons.” Though not explicitly Trinitarian, today’s readings convey the fundamental mystery that the Triune God reaches out to people in love, seeking the deepest communion. The reading from Exodus follows the apostasy of the people in worshiping the golden calf. Moses again ascends the mountain to intercede, offering his own life for the people. This evokes yet another revelation of God (Lord=Yahweh), as a merciful and gracious God, “slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity,” truly a God who knows the suffering and weakness of humanity and is constantly summoning them back to his love and mercy.

Reading I (all quotes NIV): Exodus 34:4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.” 8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. 9 “O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes,” he said, “then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”

 

How many times have we been so angry at someone else that there seems to be no compromise, no possibility of forgiveness, and even hurtful desires? St. Catherine of Genoa certainly can relate. During her rocky marriage she had a conversion experience where she started working at a plague infested hospital. She hungered for the Sacraments going to Mass everyday and also going to Confession. She had a clear understanding of the relationship with God and His daughter as a large part of her life was spent participating in her own divinity as she received the Bread from Heaven, and absolution and affirmation from a confessor, her priest, the icon of Jesus, the great High Priest. What was it like when she found out her husband had a mistress? Eventually, her husband’s mistress had a child. What would you do? She had to feel the same feeling we all would, yet because of her understanding of God’s grace, she realized the only thing to do was to keep manifesting Jesus to her husband and his mistress. God never gives up because God, by definition, exists in Communion, perpetual and unbreakable. Though God never makes mistakes, never sins, we do and we all feel the bitterness of sin but to what end? Catherine decided to show mercy and love and eventually her husband not only converted but led his mistress to Christ. He even became a Franciscan tertiary.

 

This understanding of perpetual community is expressed in today’s second reading. I would like to start a few verses before so as to receive the fullness of the message. Reading II: 2 Corinthians 13 5Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? 6And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 7Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. 8For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection. 10This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down. 11Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 12Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13All the saints send their greetings. 14May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

A recent article in Discipleship Journal concluded that people are less likely to sin when they have other people that they are accountable to. I have this theory that the devil seeks to blind you from the fact that you are always in communion so that you can start thinking egocentrically. Since sin is our desire to cut off any ties with God, we would have to pretend that we are the center of our own lives, thus allowing us to be accountable to no one. We in turn are our own god. What a world that would be if everybody acts like this, a bunch of selfish gods seeking only the gratifications of our own needs; CHAOS. But when we place on the goggles of our faith we realize there is someone always watching over us and the physical manifestation of this is the Church, the Bride of Christ, our Mother on earth, through whom we are saved. The Church is a person with real tangible signs of grace called the Sacraments. These were instituted be Jesus Himself to do what Paul instructs his people to do. We, the Church, offer each member of our community accountability. I have a dog and if you have ever been a dog owner you know the amount of work it takes to train him. Even though Ollie is been in training for over nine months, we still cannot leave him home alone. Even when I am home I feel like I got to constantly be watching him lest I turn my eyes and find a sock missing only to conveniently show up in the grass in my backyard with the rest of his deposits. Well, your faith journey involves a life time of training and though I have been a Christian all my life I am amazed at much I am still learning. The Good News is that we have a Community constantly watching us, always loving us, and seeking the perfection of what God has called us to do. Will we screw up? Of course! Will God forgive us? Yes! Will we forgive each other? I hope so.

 

Finally we end with the Gospel from John that contains one of the most quoted New Testament texts, chiseled into churches and displayed on bumper stickers: “God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” The God who heard the cries of his people in Egypt, witnessed their affliction and came down to save them (Ex. 3:7-10) now sends his Son, the Word made flesh (John. 1:14) so that “the world,” that is, everyone who believes in him, may be saved. Though the first half of the Gospel is constantly cited as an index of God’s love, the last phrases (most often left out) raise questions today: “Whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” There are Christian groups today who believe that explicit belief and confession of Jesus as savior are necessary for salvation, which leads at times to heroic missionary activity, as it once did for missionaries like St. Francis Xavier. Contemporary Catholic theology wrestles with this issue by stressing the necessity of explicit faith juxtaposed with the statement of the Second Vatican Council, that salvation is possible for “those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience” (”Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,” No. 15). The Gospel of John does not present a theology of non-Christian religions, but it is written both for fence-sitters like Nicodemus (3:1-15) and for John’s persecuted community. He cautions against those “who preferred darkness to the light, because their deeds were evil.” For John judgment is not something that happens at the end of history; it takes place within history, as people consciously choose evil over good and turn away from the covenant God of love, mercy, grace and truth (see 1:16-17). The ultimate mystery is that the Trinitarian God who reaches out in love is the same God who gives freedom to reject that love. The solemnity of the Holy Trinity offers the foundation of Christian hope. We are not loved by a distant God, but by one whose Son offered up the very life of God for our sake. The church today lives in the gift of the Spirit from Father and Son, which forms us into sons and daughters of God (Gal. 4:1-7). This Spirit, which touches all those created in the image and likeness of God and who bear the imprint of the last Adam, is capable of leading people who love the light into ever more profound unity and reconciliation.

 

The Church of Christ Jesus Victor would like to extend to everybody a happy Trinity Sunday and I want to personally remind people that not only is God in perpetual relationship, God has a perpetual covenant with His Bride the Church of whom we are part of. As members of His Body we participate in this relationship and though we have the choice to either accept this relationship or reject it, God and we His Church will always have our arms open to receive you back. Remember it is God’s desire and our desire to spend eternal life with you in relationship with all the saints, the angels, and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in the Kingdome of Heaven.

Can Jesus Fly?

Ascension Day 2008 Sermon by Father S. Peter Donatelli (all passages taken from the NIV)

 

JOKE: Superman spray paints on the wall: “Batman is a wimp.” The next day Batman writes directly under it: “Superman is Clark Kent.”

 

INTRO: I love comic book and fantasy stories. I can imagine the stories of when hundreds of people started talking about how they actually saw Jesus flying into Heaven.

 

Acts 1:  6So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11″Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” I suppose we can come up with conspiracy theories on how St. Peter cast a spell on the people but seriously there is no way a first century fisherman can slip hallucinogenic drugs in people’s wine. So I can only imagine how cool it was to see Jesus flying but unfortunately the Ascension is not necessarily about the fact that Jesus can fly. I remember over a decade ago when Cindy and I were on vacation, Sunday morning came around we decided to go to the closest church which happened to be part of ECUSA. Now I am not ranking on ECUSA, but I heard the worst Ascension Day sermon that morning. The pastor began to dissect the Scriptural account by referring to the actual events that occurred that day as metaphors for something else. He went on to share his thoughts of what flying into Heaven was comparable to like daydreaming or flighty times in your life when you space out. Well I think this guy’s sermon was one of those moments for him. When I have time to go through what “literal” means, I will give a sermon about why I do take the Bible literally. Yes there is allegory, and I can see by the fact that you all have your arms and eyes and legs in tact you all don’t take Matthew 18 too seriously:8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. And there is metaphor and parables in the Bible, but there is also eyewitness account. Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, also wrote the Gospel of Luke and he clearly states in Luke 1: 1Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

 

So my friends I want to celebrate this morning’s feast as an event that really, really happened and that we can use as a jumping board to talk about the seriousness of who we are as disciples of Christ, how we are going to use our Spirit-giftedness to edify His Body, and why Sacramental participation with His Bride the Church, is an integral part of being a Christian for those of us who call ourselves Christians. So let’s dive into what Jesus instructed us to do before he left. Matt 28:16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

So here are the three points I am going to make this morning. First, we must as Christ’s disciples know what are faith is. Second, we must know what are faith is NOT. Lastly, we must know what gifts we have in order to offer or faith to others. So why do we have to know the teachings of Jesus and obey His commands? Jesus tells us that He has been given all authority, but what’s so important about authority? In Max Lucado’s book, In the Eye of the Storm, (Word Publishing, 1991, p. 153) he recounts this story. In U.S. Navel Institute Proceedings, the magazine of the Naval Institute, Frank Koch illustrates the importance of obeying the Laws of the Lighthouse. Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities. Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, “Light, bearing on the starboard bow.” “Is it steady or moving astern?” the captain called out. The lookout replied, “Steady, Captain,” which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship. The captain then called to the signalman, “Signal that ship: ‘We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees.’” Back came the signal, “Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees.” The captain said, “Send: “I’m a captain, change course twenty degrees.’” “I’m a seaman second-class,” came the reply. “You had better change course twenty degrees.” By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, “Send: ‘I’m a battleship. Change course twenty degrees.’” Back came the flashing light, “I’m a lighthouse.” We changed course.

 

Well Jesus is the Rock on which all authority lies. He is the lighthouse, the Light of the world and if the Church is to survive, we need to follow Him. I can imagine what it was like for Jesus to pass the reigns over to His disciples on that fateful day. I have been working at my family business pretty much since my father started it 37 years ago. Sadly I must admit that I cannot envision the family business will last much past the next generation. Only 40% of family owned businesses survive to the second generation, 12% to the third, and 3% to the fourth (Boston Globe, May 4, 2003). Well obviously this is a little different as the Savior of the world, after spending three years and fifty days post Resurrection with His disciples must leave them to prepare for His Second Coming, and allow God’s plan for the Church to unfold the exact way God’s plan for the Church will unfold. Amazingly enough as the CEC boasts her vision to make visible the Kingdom of God to all the nations of the world, we notice that this family business has maintained over 250 generations. There is nothing the CEC is doing that is new! So the first thing you need to do is just believe that your walk with Christ is right and truthful and solid.

This brings up my second point; know what your faith is not. Remember last week when I cast aspersions on interfaith dialogue I reminded you all of Satan’s deception in the desert regardless of whether Satan knows Scripture or not. The fact is that some of the world’s greatest deceivers know Scriptures. Let me waste some time by giving Jeremy Wright some press and just bring up a current event which illustrates this point. Under the auspices of being a “Christian” pastor under the banner of the “United” Church of “Christ” (quotes represent sarcasm) this man makes some anti-Christian points. A Christian does not uplift anti-white, ant-Semite spokesman Louis Farrakhan as “one of the most important voices in the 20^th and 21^st century.” A Christian does not offer ludicrous conspiracies about the spread of HIV. And finally I hate to be the one to share this with the world but there is no “black” church. There is a Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church that covers 5,000 years of history spanning hundreds of nations, languages, cultures, people but the Church goes beyond race, gender, economic standing and ignorant commentary. I know I shouldn’t get worked up over a lousy pastor’s comments like, “Louis Farrakhan is not my enemy. He did not put me in chains and he did not make me this color.” Well the enemy of the Church is deception. The enemy of the Church is lies, gossip, sin, and division. We, as Christ’s disciples, should know what is right and what is simply offensive because as this morning’s second reading states: Ephesians 1: 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church; 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

 

I will end this morning’s sermon by reading some of St. Augustine’s Ascension Day sermon in order to build us up to the understanding that we are all important, gifted, and necessary disciples in God’s Church. Never underestimate yourself and walk away this morning knowing that God has created you for a reason, for now, for such a time as this, for such a place as this. This reading, used in the Roman Liturgy’s office of readings for the Solemn Feast (Solemnity) of the Ascension, is taken from a homily by St. Augustine (Sermo de Ascensione Domini, Mai 98, 1-2, PLS 2, 494-495).  Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him. Listen to the words of the Apostle: If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth. For just as he remained with us even after his ascension, so we too are already in heaven with him, even though what is promised us has not yet been fulfilled in our bodies. Christ is now exalted above the heavens, but he still suffers on earth all the pain that we, the members of his body, have to bear. He showed this when he cried out from above: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? and when he said: I was hungry and you gave me food. Why do we on earth not strive to find rest with him in heaven even now, through the faith, hope and love that unites us to him? While in heaven he is also with us; and we while on earth are with him. He is here with us by his divinity, his power and his love. We cannot be in heaven, as he is on earth, by divinity, but in him, we can be there by love. He did not leave heaven when he came down to us; nor did he withdraw from us when he went up again into heaven. The fact that he was in heaven even while he was on earth is borne out by his own statement: No one has ever ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven. These words are explained by our oneness with Christ, for he is our head and we are his body. No one ascended into heaven except Christ because we also are Christ: he is the Son of Man by his union with us, and we by our union with him are the sons of God. So the Apostle says: Just as the human body, which has many members, is a unity, because all the different members make one body, so is it also with Christ. He too has many members, but one body. Out of compassion for us he descended from heaven, and although he ascended alone, we also ascend, because we are in him by grace. Thus, no one but Christ descended and no one but Christ ascended; not because there is no distinction between the head and the body, but because the body as a unity cannot be separated from the head.