“Jesus is in the Boat!”

The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli

(All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

JOKE:

What do a tornado and a redneck divorce have in common? In the end, someone is going to lose a trailer.

INTRO:

I was watching the news the other day and there were some tornado chasers on that were following a tornado. What was interesting is that they were actually going towards the tornado. So I went to you tube and saw June 17^th viewing of a tornado near Aurora, Nebraska. Amazingly people posted videos of what they saw as they got closer and closer. I probably would have done the same. I am fascinated with natural disasters. I must say that during hurricane Gloria I was outside looking into the sky with appeal and awe. The only thing that really bothers me is snow storms that pile feet of snow on my house causing me to be stranded and claustrophobic. I do not like being in a position where I lose electricity in sub zero weather or not being quickly available to a hospital or major roadway. Forget about me, though, everybody including all you have some fear of some natural adversity. In all our lives journey’s we have all encountered trials and tribulations that have caused us anxiety and fear and stress. It may not be natural disasters; though this morning’s Gospel has an impressive scare as the disciples are freaking out over the possibility of a storm wrecking their boat and causing them all to drown. I hate boats so I can relate. This morning I hope to ease your stresses with one small reminder about life’s journey and I hope that you can walk away from this Mass with some blessed assurance knowing that Jesus is in your boat and you need not be afraid of anything. There are three points I would like to make that hopefully will allow you to sleep easy tonight.

POINT ONE:

Don’t spend too much time questioning God’s providence because no matter what plan you may have for your life, God has a better one. When I was in Italy I had the pleasure of going to the top of the mountain my father grew up on. Though it was impressive and bigger than any mountain in Maine, I was certainly not the biggest mountain in the world and yet the earth could contain it. The earth is very impressive and yet it is not the biggest planet in the universe, yet the universe can contain it. The point I am trying to make is that God is bigger than that! God made everything in the most perfect way that resulted in the beautiful grandeur of our world that resulted in the beautiful grandeur that makes us alive today. Finally this life we live is a direct result of God intervening in your life in such a personal, such a positive way that you are here this morning and you are worshipping the certainty that God is completely in control, that God loves you, and that God is looking forward to spending eternal life with you in Heaven. Job had experienced some tough times and though justifiably, Job questioned God’s perfect plan for him. God speaks back in a great diatribe of sarcasm that makes even Father Peter proud of his gift of sarcasm. Job 381 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

 2 ”Who is this who darkens counsel
      By words without knowledge?

 3 Now prepare yourself like a man;
      I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

 4 ” Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
      Tell Me, if you have understanding.

 5 Who determined its measurements?
      Surely you know! 
      Or who stretched the line upon it?

 6 To what were its foundations fastened?
      Or who laid its cornerstone,

 7 When the morning stars sang together,
      And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

 8 ”Or who shut in the sea with doors,
      When it burst forth and issued from the womb;

 9 When I made the clouds its garment,
      And thick darkness its swaddling band;

 10 When I fixed My limit for it,
      And set bars and doors;

 11 When I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther, 
      And here your proud waves must stop!’

Recently I went on the Godandscience.org web site and though I did not have the time to read completely through it I did read enough to understand that God is God and I am not. If there had been so much as one degree difference on the earth’s rotation we would not have been here today. The design of the universe is so perfect that it can only be explained by a cosmic Architect so wise and awesome He did everything right. The conclusion is that even today this design is in effect and you are a great and wonderful part of that design. As the Psalmist says; Psalm 139:13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. 

POINT TWO:     

The plan and the design God has for you can never be explained in selfish, self-fulfilling, or self-serving reasons. When one asks a secular humanist why Jesus died, he or she blabs about He angered the Jewish authorities or about Roman legal practices but these responses can never describe the impact on the whole Body of Christ that comprises of billions and billions of people not to mention billions of billions of angels and any other life forces in God’s astounding universe. Inasmuch as we believe this can we ultimately fulfill our lives with joy and thanksgiving and praise. It’s like the sermon several weeks ago when Scripture gave us the metaphors of a refiner’s fire or a potter. Gold can only be completely purified when all the dross is removed and that is best seen by the refiner when his image is perfectly mirrored in the gold. Eventually as we remove all the dross from our selfish, self-fulfilling, or self-serving sinfulness and allow God to see Himself in all that we do, all that we give, and all that we are. Jesus was praying in the garden and when he passed His final temptation to have the cup passed away and to allow God’s will to be done, the sacrifice began. You see that power of sacrifice, selflessness, and self-improvement can only end in perfection. Jesus emulated this for us so that we can end up with Him, for Him, and in Him. As St. Paul said this morning, 2 Corinthians 5: 14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. 16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

I don’t know about you but as I walk around the neighborhood that was founded by Christians several generations ago in Portland, Maine and see the egocentrism that permeates the streets I was so proudly part of. Italian, Polish, Irish, German, French, and other Christians came to Munjoy Hill and built business and communities and friendships that gave Portland the economic and philanthropic prosperity that we are slowly losing today. Glimpses of these peoples can be seen in the successful and community-minded business like ours that maintain. I can only hope and pray for things to become anew through the love of Jesus that compels us. We need Jesus! Our country needs Jesus. Our children and the future of America need Jesus.

POINT THREE:

Regardless of the hopeless and desperate events that seem to be prevalent in our world today the Good News is that Jesus is in the boat! Don’t get me wrong the disciples could touch Him and yet still be in a state of frenzy and fear. Mark 4: 35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

I wish that I can tell you that everything will be fine. I wish I can tell you that everything you want in life will be yours. But I know that our perception of what we want and what we consider desirous can be skewed by worldly images that pervert our eyes into thinking that life is painless, fearless, and carefree. The world perverts our eyes with images of riches and material goods that seem cool and fun. However, allow me to paint Heavenly images where there is nothing but love and goodness and celebration. Giving up the world for God only immerse you into a Body that is overly generous, overly plentiful, and overly loving. Friends, Jesus is in the boat and we are recipients of a caring Shepherd that will never let anything happen to our eternal life with Him.

CONCLUSION:

It’s OK to have some anxiety in life. We can be afraid at times. It is ridiculous to think that we will walk out of here and not have a negative surprise that will occur over the next few hours. Heck I will freak out if a big bug lands on me. However, let me give you some encouragement that God is in control and His plan is perfect and on. Nothing will derail God’s ultimate design and as long as we accept this, we are part of this great strategy. I love being on winning teams. Our coach, our guide, our teacher, and our Creator is with is every step of the way. May we simply embrace these facts by living out our lives in joyful obedience with the hope that someday we will spend eternity with our Lord and Savior, our Father and Creator, and our most Holy Spirit who endows us with every good gift we have, in the Kingdom with the angels and Saints for all eternity. Amen!

“Corpus Christi 2009”

The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli

(All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

JOKE:

Let’s see if any of these remind you of Father Peter. You know you’re Italian when you can bench press 325 pounds, shave twice a day and still cry when your mother yells at you. You know you’re Italian when your mechanic, plumber, electrician, accountant, travel agent and lawyer are all your cousins. You know you’re Italian when you are on a first name basis with at least 8 banquet hall owners. You know you’re Italian when there are more than 28 people in your bridal party. You know you’re Italian when you netted more than $50,000 on your first communion.

INTRO:

I still remember how much effort my mother went through to make my brother’s and my First Communion such a special day. We did not have much money back then but she still hired a professional photographer to take our pictures in rented white suits and white shoes. The predominantly first graders all went through a year of training and special attention went into making the morning pristine and festive. We were all nervous as we were about to consume the Body and Blood of Jesus for the first time. For us boys it was even more special as this graduation entitled us to aspire for the coveted altar boy position. I must say that one of my biggest objectives in CEC is to develop a better catechetical system by which the veneration and awe and reverence of this special indulgence. Maybe an expensive meal and having all your relatives over showering you with cash and sixteen gold necklaces is seemingly superfluous but just a pat on the back and allowing this the most sacred, the most charismatic, and the most intimate part of our faith to be understated, unassuming, and unpretentious is a tragedy. How life-altering is this decision that we make to consume the Body and Blood of Christ. Let’s just take a look at the readings for today to see how binding and how vital and how overwhelming this event in our life is.

POINT ONE:

There is nothing more permanent and indissoluble then a blood covenant. When I was a kid there was a romantic yet manly ritual that was exhibited in some movies where two men would cut their palms and grasp each other’s wounds symbolizing each other’s blood flowing through each friend producing what was commonly known as blood brothers. This is not demonstrated in movies today because of the multiple diseases that would make liability manifold. However you get the gist. The ritual that is ancient as humanity illustrates the importance of our physicality when it comes to our divinity. It is hard to believe that God set up such an elaborate ritual of animal sacrifice to demonstrate how the consumption of flesh and blood can symbolize the purging and annihilation of sin. Allow me to put to rest the unpleasantness of temple sacrifice. Yes, draining blood is repugnant and seemingly uncouth however we still do it today. The world consumes well over 200 million tons of meat each year. The United States and China, which contain 25 percent of the world’s population, combine to consume 35 percent of the world’s beef, over half of the world’s poultry, and 65 percent of the world’s pork. Hopefully we are as civilized as the ancient Jewish people were back in the days of Moses. 3300 years ago the people wandering in the wilderness were very clean and sanitary as they conducted their rituals. The false assumption is that these Temple sacrifices were as disgusting as the scene from Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto where human sacrifices were a sick part of Mayan culture. The Jews, on the other hand, were very clean and dare I say kosher as they offered God sacrifice. People are sometimes under the misconception that these rituals were blood fests but the reality is that there were times when attendees were allowed to eat the cooked meat. One could say that Temple sacrifices were a great big awesome barbecue. This ritual resembles everything we and a billion others, do every Sunday morning. Let’s hear the first reading again and hear the confession, readings, and sacrifice order of the Mosaic liturgy. Exodus 24: 3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has said we will do.” 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.”

POINT TWO:

As God’s plan comes to fulfillment in Jesus Christ the ritual becomes neater and less intricate as the elements are easier to find and create; bread and wine. The divine and charismatic aspect of our liturgy is that these elements become the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in a Divine Cosmos that we are participating in, both on earth as it is in Heaven. Quite frankly our Faith is the faith of order not chaos. J. R. Tolkien understood this as he tried to conceptualize the Kingdom in a way that modern Westerners could understand. As a daily Mass attendee Tolkien found solace in our Sacrifice. “Tolkien acknowledged that his Catholic sensibilities unconsciously inspired characters and objects in his imaginative world. In a 1952 letter to Rev. Robert Murray, he readily admitted that the Virgin Mary forms the basis for all of his “small perception of beauty both in majesty and simplicity.” It is not surprising, he admits, that the character of Galadriel—a created being endowed with radiant beauty, impeccable virtue, and powers of healing—resonates with the character of our Blessed Mother. Nor could Tolkien deny that the Holy Eucharist appears in The Lord of the Rings as the waybread (lembas), given by the elves to the hobbits to eat on their journey. The lembas reinforces the hobbits’ wills and provides them with physical sustenance in the dark and barren lands on the way to Mount Doom. As the Church teaches, while the Eucharist still tastes and looks like bread and wine, our sensations shroud a deeper mystery: The Eucharist is truly Christ’s body and blood. So in The Lord of the Rings the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Eucharist appear shrouded in the mysterious elements of Middle-earth. The best way to understand this is to see such examples of Catholic symbolism as literary “accidents.” To leave them out would have diminished the story; they are parts of Tolkien’s effort to make his world complete, true for all times and places.” (Jason Bofetti, Crisis Magazine 2001) The author of Hebrews understood this as he attempted to explain the transition from the Mosaic Temple worship and the realization of God’s perfect plan accomplished in our Sunday Eucharist. Hebrews 9: 11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

POINT THREE:

Whatever God creates incorporates God, His creation, and His glory. The Last Supper was an elegant Passover meal prepared by Jesus for His friends and by our participating in this meal we are being prepared a most elegant banquet in Heaven. In Jerusalem, pilgrims would be celebrating the Passover in places that are designated. Pilgrims from Galilee usually took advantage of the hospitality of the citizens of Jerusalem during this festal period but Jesus had connections. Jesus gives them directions about where they are to prepare the paschal meal that lead them to a dining hall which scholars identify as in a large house somewhere in the Upper City, among the well-to-do. The indications given are the following: (a) a male water-bearer (b) a second-floor guest room. Male water-bearers will stand out since it is usually the women who fetched water; a male water-bearer indicates a slave. Second, ordinary houses did not have a second floor; a house with a second floor indicates a large house. The two disciples who were sent to prepare find the place just as Jesus told them. The situation is similar to the preparation for Jesus’ entrance to Jerusalem. Here, the evangelist emphasizes the fact that no one except Jesus knew what was about to happen. All has been prepared before hand. The Passover meal with the disciples was part of a plan that Jesus was about to carry out. Mark 14: 12Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?” 13 And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. 14 Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”‘.15 Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.” 16 So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover… 22 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 23 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. 25Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

CONCLUSION:

The Last several weeks define our Christian identity. We celebrated the life and death of our God, Jesus the Christ. We celebrated the time He gave to His followers both before and after the Resurrection. We celebrate His ascension into Heaven and the gift of perpetual divine presence at Pentecost. We learned last week that our God exists in relationship in the Trinity and how that community not only defines our relationship with God but also the unity of His Body throughout the world and the Divine Cosmos. Finally today before we enter Ordinary Time we come to an understanding that God is with us always and if only we can capture this understanding physically by going to Mass everyday so that we are assured that we taste and see that God is good. I suppose that is the gifting of being a charismatic church whereas we can feel that assurance each hour of the day by praying in tongues and living out our gifs of the Holy Spirit. Today is Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ. May we go forth in our day to day lives knowing that surging through our bodies is the Body of Christ. He is always with us waiting to spend eternal life with us at the Heavenly celebration with all the saints, the angels, and the communion of all believers in a life worth waiting for. Amen!

“Trinity Sunday; 2009

The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli

(All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

JOKE:

Stephen Wright has some great one liner. Here is one. I have the world’s largest collection of seashells. I keep it on all the beaches of the world. Perhaps you’ve seen it.

INTRO:

I like when people take truth and manipulate it to be funny. Truth is difficult. In 1997, Nathan Zohner, a 14-year-old student at Eagle Rock Junior High School in Idaho Falls won first prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair by showing how conditioned we have become to alarmists spreading fear of everything in our environment through junk science. In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical “Dihydrogen monoxide” because:

1. It can cause excessive sweating and vomiting.
2. It is a major component in acid rain.
3. It can cause severe burns in its gaseous state.
4. Accidental inhalation can kill you.
5. It contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
6. It decreases the effectiveness of automobile brakes.
7. It is found in tumors of terminal cancer patients.

He asked 50 people if they support a ban. 43 said yes; six were undecided; and only one knew that the chemical is … water. A website was established DHMO.org. It looked official, a real action committee feel to it. You can even buy the T-shirt with your MasterCard or Visa. The page reads: “You can help us to continue spreading the word about Dihydrogen Monoxide by purchasing one or more of these high-quality, 100% Cotton T-shirts. They make great gifts for yourself, co-workers, friends, family and that geek, nerd, dweeb or chemist in your life!” Then it assures the customer: “Our T-Shirts are DHMO FREE.” Ever try wearing a T-Shirt made of water?

People are so easy to believe in causes and feelings and fairy tales but when the truth is standing right in front of them, they ask questions until they can convince themselves that absurdities, abnormalities, and attitudes are more acceptable then truth, devotion, sacrifice, consequence, and faithfulness. People judge truths based on how they feel so we hear arguments like “it is not really a baby in the womb.” One lady argued with me recently that she did not think it was a real baby because the baby was unwanted and one cannot possibly bring an unwanted baby into the world. Well location aside, I wonder if we can say that about the millions of unwanted people of the world? I wonder who should determine who is unwanted and when the appropriate time to terminate the unwanted is. It is hard to believe that we live in a world where people can justify believing that some babies are unwanted in order to justify sin. I can go into a whole diatribe about how we have perverted sexuality to the point where saying anything or believing anything like something so simple as marriage being between one man and one woman as defined by Jesus Christ in Matthew 13, the founder of our faith, gets business owners, pastors, and ordinary people in trouble. One man in California was fired by the theater he worked at because it was discovered that he believed in marriage as defined by our Lord, (the only truthful way to define it). Imagine a time in the United States of America where Christians are hunted down, attacked, and attempts to destroy us are not only legal but glorified by the popular media.

So folks; here is the truth; God manifested Himself as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to billions of people in a real, tangible, physical way. The miracles keep coming and we are the recipients of the only truth, the only way, and the only life. I will not argue that being a Christian is easy and will make you feel good. But I will tell you the absolute truth that being a Christian will lead you into a Kingdom of eternal love, eternal peace, and eternal life! So here on Trinity Sunday let’s take a look at three aspects of truth that I just mentioned through our readings this morning.

POINT ONE:

Truth involves tangible realities that interact with your everyday existence in a way that transforms you and everybody you interact with. Oh that we could have been the people to walk through the Red Sea! Imagine if you saw the waters floating up and around you. The cartoon version of the Prince of Egypt had a real cool version of this. As the people walked through they could see silhouettes of large and small fish. Not only did they see the power of God, they felt His breathe, heard His voice, and experienced His unrelenting power. This historical event that millions of people saw, heard, felt, smelt, and even tasted was passed down from generation to generation as real as believing in formation of the United States, the journey of God’s elect was truthful. All God asked from His people was to live the truth in action. Deuteronomy 4: 32 “For ask now concerning the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether any great thing like this has happened, or anything like it has been heard. 33 Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? 34 Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him. 36 Out of heaven He let you hear His voice that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, 38 driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. 39 Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. 40 You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

POINT TWO:

The truth not only reveals itself to us in a physical way but we are the only faith tradition to bring unity to the divine. God is fully human as in the man of Jesus Christ, but God is also fully divine. That’s why living in a world where our physical lives can be filled with trials and tribulations yet the more we participate in the Divinity of our God, the less likely we are to be discouraged, anxious, or hopeless. People spend way to much time trying to get in touch with their inner selves. They use exercise devices like yoga or tai chi or meditation to replace a relationship with God. Whereas church attendance has gone down by yen percent, these new age devices, that try to get people calmed down or relaxed or in touch with God knows what, have gone up ten percent. The truth is that our desire to reach our souls comes from the desire to have a relationship with the divinity. This relationship cannot be formulated or concocted or even humanly conceived. The relationship with the Divine comes from the mind of God when He commanded that we exist. Our existence comes from the mind of God so naturally counting on our own devices cannot possibly result in a truthful relationship with God. Paul knew this in today’s second reading. Romans 8: 2 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

POINT THREE:

Therefore the Trinity teaches us the most important aspect of the Trinity; our God exists in community; our God exists in relationship; our God exists as the perfect triad of community, relationship, and unity. It is this friendship that enables us to be perfect disciples, perfect Christians, perfect people. As we read in today’s Gospel; Matthew 28: 16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Even though they doubted they still worshipped Jesus. Even though they were fallible men, Jesus still gave them all authority. Even though the world is not perfect and some people are hostile against the way of the Lord, the people of Christ still went into the world saving souls and baptizing as many people as they could. Even though people attacked them, and killed them, and went after their families and friends, Jesus was with them always even to the end of the age. The Trinity teaches us that we are never alone and not only can we count on our relationship with the Divine Relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we have a relationship both physically and spiritually with billions of people, billions of saints, living on earth and in Heaven, and billions of angels acting on our behalf. I suppose it is cool to be popular! So I will end this morning’s sermon with a little theology.

CONCLUSION:

I will end quoting a great sermon by Father Fred Anderson. The Father is not the Son or the Spirit, but the Father, Creator of heaven and earth. The Son is neither the Father nor the Spirit, but God in human flesh, sent as the Savior to redeem the world through divine love. The Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, but God’s present tense with us now, the means through whom you and I come to experience and know God, and who initiates within us the desire and ability to call out to God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit-three distinct means of God being over and above us, with and for us, and in and among us, and three distinct relationships with one another, who are nonetheless one in essence, will, purpose and work. What one wills all three will, what one does all three do–they work in concert, the three playing their different parts-three voices emerging from the same string at the same time, forming a trio of melodies that harmonize into one glorious sound, in order to accomplish the same purpose–as indivisible in their work as they are in their being–One God in three co-equal persons. This is the mystery of God we celebrate today: God over and above us, God for and with us, God in and among us, One God, the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ, the God who in the waters of baptism makes us his own, the God who meets us at table to give us the bread of heaven and the cup of salvation, the God who is in us and among us, using us to share the good news of his love and purpose for us all.

“Happy Birthday to Us!”

The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli

(Pentecost; 2009 – All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

 

JOKE:

I keep getting these birthday cards from Sherman, Maine in Aroostook County so I think it’s from Jesse. I read this card recently; forget about the past, you can’t change it. Forget about the future, you can’t predict it. Forget about the present, I didn’t get you one.

INTRO:

So we made it! Seven years ago this feast the Church of Christ Jesus Victor began its first official Sunday Mass. Back then I had a word that I thought was for the entire CEC but recently I have been thinking it was specifically for this church that we would experience seven years of famine followed by seven years of feast. Well now the word is in print and here we go. Today is also Pentecost and what a great day to celebrate our anniversary as Pentecost Sunday nearly two thousand years ago was the birthday of God’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. So, Happy Birthday Church and Happy Birthday CJV. What’s next? Why should God-fearing, Spirit-filled, joyfully obedient Christians need to experience famine, trials, or tribulations?

POINT ONE:

Christ’s departure was necessary to the Comforter’s coming. Sending the Spirit was to be the fruit of Christ’s death, which was his going away. Imagine that? Jesus had to die in order for the Church to bear the fruit of Holy Spirit. Sometimes we do not think of death and suffering and misery when we think of the abundant joy that the Scriptures promise us (c.f. John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.) We have been reading Dennis Bennett’s book “Nine O’clock in the Morning.” Last Tuesday we ended in the ominous chapter fourteen. That’s right for thirteen chapters we have been reading about predominantly cheerful stuff like people being healed, church resources coming in plentifully, and lives being changed for the betterment of the faithful, but then comes chapter fourteen and quite frankly I did not expect it. Father Dennis’s wife, Elberta, was diagnosed with cancer. The chapter takes us through her courageous battle and final acceptance of the inevitable. By the end of the chapter Elberta dies just three years after Dennis receives what he called the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. What a loop? I was not expecting that. Also, I have been reading about Jim Cymbala. I have been reading Jim Cymbala’s book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, also and this story involves a happily married couple who took a handful of people and built them into a church of ten thousand and the famous Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir! But was it all roses and song? Chapter four tells us of their daughter Chrissy who started falling into a sinful life at the age of sixteen, ran away at eighteen, and the parents spent months in utter desolation. Finally one evening at a prayer meeting both Pastor Cymbala and his daughter Chrissy heard the Lord together and they were reunited as God brought them out of despair into a fertile Christian life. Imagine that; famine before the feast. Jesus left the world bodily after His crucifixion and Resurrection but that is when things really started getting divine. His bodily presence could be only in one place at one time, but his Spirit is every where, in all places, at all times, wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. Today’s Gospel reaffirms this. John 15:26-27 and 16:12-15: 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

POINT TWO:

Though we participate in Christ’s divinity at times, we also fall at times. We are not perfect nor is the world we live in. So that is why we face trials and tribulations. The enemy is still in the world and the devil and demons can certainly make life difficult for us. God gives us life. Satan gives us death. God gives us a journey to the Kingdom. Satan wants us to slip into hell. We have the choice and the freedom to be faithful, obedient, and fruitful; or to be adulterous, rebellious, and barren. What makes the United States a great country is that because our founding forefathers were all Christian thinkers insistent on basing our ethos, our laws, and our government on Biblical principles, is our freedoms. We certainly see this work successfully in the commercial world we live in. I am not sure why, but every time I go to McDonald’s I am programmed to stare at their “menu” for several minutes before making a choice. Give me a break folks! The “menu” has not really changed in thirty years so we still celebrate freedom as we walk into a fast food “restaurant.” I have never ordered the same Subway sandwich ever. These lesser choices make way for more significant choices in life. Britney Spears and Jaci Velasquez are both great singers but who is doing the will of God. They both have been given a great spiritual gift but there is no comparison as to who glorifies God and who glorifies worldly hedonism. Jaci Velasquez, a successful award winning singer/songwriter is currently partnering with both Compassion and Feed the Children in an effort to put her words into action and “Love Out Loud.” God as a most beneficent Father gives His children choices and free will. This only works for our enrichment when we follow these Biblical principles. It works to our deterioration when we choose otherwise. This morning’s second reading illustrates this. Galatians 5: 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

POINT THREE:

When we make the right choices in life then no matter what the world throws at us, no matter what the devil tries to do to us, no matter how bad things seem to appear, the Spirit brings order out of chaos. Over four thousand years ago the people of God had a choice to dedicate a tower for the greater Glory of God or to the arrogant glory of man. Men chose division and confusion over unity and clarity. God had to punish this attempt to destroy His works by causing these people to speak in different languages until such a time as the unity of the Body of Christ would be made manifest to the entire world. Today we celebrate the reversal of Babel as the Church shows the most culturally diverse, giftedness diverse, and language diverse people to ever exist. Our two billion people have affected the world in the most positive way and though the devil still seeks to divide and destroy, we are the Church militant, the Church with infinite resources, the Church with the greatest talents, and we will be victorious. God gave us the marching orders to make the world a better place. His tower is perfect as He is the Great Architect who designs all things from moral issues like our sexuality, to faith issues like our spirituality, God’s plan is perfect and none else can compare. We seek perfection while others seek self-destruction. We are order amidst chaos. As the story goes; Acts 2: 1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

CONCLUSION:

We have the ability to use our spiritual gifts to bring order to our lives, the lives of those closest to us, and to heal this country as many seek to build towers for their own egocentric glory. There is a sense of renewal when people feel that wind blowing through them and percolating amongst the faithful. We need to constantly be feeling that wind. I have this cool feature in my car called “swing.” When I turn it on the fan circulates to the passenger and back to the driver. When the AC is on during the muggy days of summer, this feature is rather cool. However there is a special coolness when the fan actually hits me and then it moves and then I wait for it to come back around. Sometimes I feel that Christians behave the same way as the Spirit moves through them like a mighty rushing wind only to fluctuate away as we observe others doing the things we should be doing. People are constantly searching for that cool breeze to come back again when the reality is that the fresh Wind has never gone away. At baptism we are sacramentally filled with the Holy Spirit, and not even Satan himself can snatch us out of God’s hand once we have been washed in the water of regeneration. We do not lose the Holy Spirit once we have been born again in Christ. However, the Spirit can lie dormant inside us, if we make no effort to release Him. Now is the time of our seven years of feast. Though I am an eternal optimist and have always worked for the betterment of CJV, never losing hope or zeal, I feel that now we are ready to work harder as God will bless us with more time, more talent, and more treasures. The Spirit is a-movin’ and let’s get on that bandwagon to make our lives more abundant and God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven. Come Holy Spirit and feel our hearts with Your holy gifts.

Amen!

Ascension 2009

The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli

(All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

JOKE:

It was the last day of kindergarten and the students decided that they would each buy their teacher a gift. The first student, whose parents own a florist shop, gave her a present. She held it and said “I guess that it is flowers”. “How did you guess?” asked the little boy. She laughed and thanked him. The second student, whose parents own a candy store, gave her a present. She held it and said, “I guess that is some candy.” “How did you guess?” asked the little boy. She again laughed and thanked him also. The third student, whose parents own a liquor store, gave her a box which was leaking. The teacher touched the liquid with her finger and tasted it. “Yummy is it wine?” she asked. “No,” said the little girl. So she tasted it again. “Is it champagne?” she asked. “No,” replied the little girl, “It’s a puppy.”

INTRO:

I remember dropping Cassandra off at Holy Cross School her kindergarten year; when she actually liked to wear dresses. Now she is off to college where jeans, sweats, and pajamas will pretty much take her through the week. What does graduation have to do with the Ascension of our Lord? In some ways the Ascension is the Feast of us followers graduating from Christian School to go out into the world and teach all nations the love and the sacrifice and the discipline of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So this morning I want us to think in terms of the three R’s of being a Godly disciple; remember, receive, and relate. In some ways each reading has all three actions but let us take a look at Gospel first.

POINT ONE:

Our faith requires us to remember everything we learn. I do not want to necessarily get into where we learn our faith. We should not be struggling with the facts of our faith that Scripture has everything necessary for salvation, the Church has passed down the unchanged Canons of our Tradition for two thousand years, and the Holy Spirit still moves in us today as we touch, heal, and speak into the lives of all people. In today’s Gospel we see how Jesus gives his friends (reread last week’s sermon) some comfort and some instruction as He returns to His rightful place on His throne in Heaven. Mark 16: 14Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

By definition remembering requires us to bring to mind or think of again which justifies why Jesus rebukes His disciples. After all that was Jesus’ entire message for three years; the Son of Man must be handed over, be crucified, and rise from the dead. When all this happened and some of the disciples even saw Him after the crucifixion, the others still did not believe. Yes, Jesus had a right to be pissed off. The intimacy of this conversation proves beyond doubt that the New Testament is not only true but accurate. Amazingly liberal scholars like to point out the chronology of this account however we know that this Gospel was written ten to twenty years after Jesus died. Peter recounts this story to the best of his remembrance but in an age where TV and computers and printing presses did not exist, oral tradition was very accurate. Combine this with the fact that Jesus and Peter were and still are close friends; this historical account is more accurate than any ancient writing. If we were to examine the dating of Plato and Aristotle’s writings, the gap between the original autographs and subsequent copies is 1000 years. There is an interesting phenomenon about this. Most liberal scholars would not argue over the accuracy or content of these ancient classical works, but their perspective in regards to the New Testament is quite different. They are quick to find fault and criticize the NT more easily than they are to support it. If they were to suspend their tainted views and examine this objectively, they would realize that this is nothing but the result of bias attitudes towards the Bible. The fact is that our truth is not only based on truth but truth is absolutely a necessary and logical consequence coming from God who by definition cannot manifest anything but truth. Finally, how dare anybody question the relationship remembrance of billions of people? Remember what I said last week that the friendships of our faith are love relationships and the Eucharistic celebration that remembers the sacrifice of our friend Jesus Christ is a love feast which is remembered a billion times more than any other historical, factual event.

POINT TWO:

Therefore we must receive the truths that our faith has to offer. The people of Ephesus knew this as they consistently received the Bishops that the Church gave them. [According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Ephesus owed its chief renown to its temple of Artemis (Diana), which attracted multitudes of visitors. This building, which was looked upon in antiquity as one of the marvels of the world, was burnt by Herostratus (356 B.C.) the night of the birth of Alexander the Great, and was afterwards rebuilt, almost in the same proportions, by the architect Dinocrates. Its construction is said to have lasted 120 years, according to some historians 220. It was over 400 feet in length and 200 in breadth, and rested upon 128 pillars of about sixty feet in height. It was stripped of itsriches by Nero and was finally destroyed by the Goths (A.D. 262). It was through the Jews that Christianity was first introduced into Ephesus. The original community was under the leadership of Apollo. They were disciples of St. John the Baptist, and were converted by Aquila and Priscilla. Then came St. Paul, who lived three years at Ephesus to establish and organize the new church; he was wont to teach in the schola or lecture-hall of the rhetorician Tyrannus and performed there many miracles. Eventually he was obliged to depart, in consequence of a sedition stirred up by the goldsmith Demetrius and other makers of ex-devotees for the temple of Diana. A little later, on his way to Jerusalem, he sent for the elders of the community of Ephesus to come to Miletus and bade them there a touching farewell. The Church of Ephesus was committed to his disciple, St. Timothy, a native of the city.] Subsequently Muslims came into Ephesus and what was once a thriving seaport, a city known for her riches, a city known for her relationship with Jesus Christ, now is fairly desolate. I wonder if a country’s failure to remember the greatest Love of becomes a sterile country. Let us recall Paul’s admonition. Ephesians 1: 15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

POINT THREE:

As we conclude graduation day, we are reminded of our three R’s, remember, receive, and relate. Today we celebrate the Ascension as a springboard for next week’s celebration of Pentecost where our focus becomes how we use the gifts of the Holy Spirit to relate our faith to others. However, let us not jump the gun. Even as the disciples of the faith see the miracle it takes the angels to smack them upside the head. Acts 1: 1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

First, let me remind you again that Jesus can fly and that is so cool. Secondly, let me remind you that we cannot sit here on earth staring into Heaven and wonder what’s going on. Remember what the angel said, “why are you standing around? Get up! Do something!” The great sixteenth century reformer, Martin Luther, had to make a choice when it came down to relating his faith. He saw the abuses on the sale of indulgences, extracurricular activities between priests and women, and the financial excesses of the Roman church. He had to ask himself, “Well are you going to do nothing or do something about it?” When he posted his 95 thesis on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, he placed himself in a position where he understood the consequences may be grave and he said, “Here I stand, God help me.” Subsequently after much debate the leaders of the day tried to kill him. He survived and began the Reformation movement. Now, allow me to emphasize, no Christian nor does Luther himself want division. However as we relate our faith to others we must understand the consequences can be either extremely pleasant or downright hostile. But when it comes to our Kingdom covenant, when it comes to the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ, when it comes to our eternal salvation, it is worth sharing our faith with people we love.

CONCLUSION:

Praise God folks, we have graduated! We know our faith, we have a relationship with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we love His Bride, our Mother on earth, the Church and we are ready for the three R’s, remembering, receiving, and relating the faith to all the ends of the earth. Next week we get our super powers…

“Friends of God”

The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli

(Easter 5; 2009 – All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

 

JOKE:

Two men were out hunting in the northern U.S. Suddenly one yelled and the other looked up to see a grizzly charging them. The first started to frantically put on his tennis shoes and his friend anxiously asked, “What are you doing? Don’t you know you can’t outrun a grizzly bear?” “I don’t have to outrun a grizzly. I just have to outrun you!”

INTRO:

Great friend! One of the most important aspects of our faith and yet one of the least talked about is the concept of Christian friendship. Do Christians have a higher expectation of friendship? Do we hold ourselves up to higher standards? What does friendship imply and what does friendship have to do with being a faithful Christian? One of the most difficult aspects of being a Christian is constantly opening your heart to the possibility of friendship knowing that there is always a chance that your heart will be broken by abandonment, rejection, or being backstabbed. The Good News that’s found in this morning’s readings is that Christian friendship bears do much fruit, so much joy, and so much love, that we are willing to risk everything for this fellowship. This feeling is not only gratifying it is obligatory to our walk with Jesus. I thank Craig for putting Acts 2:42 on our Blog site because it reflects who we are as the family of God as we continue steadfastly in the apostles’ teachings and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayer. If we do this together as one mighty unit, according to Acts 2 we will grow. Aristotle said, “Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.” In the case of the Church of Christ Jesus Victor this reflection reigns with dozens of people and one single soul. The only question remaining is whether we are willing to be one or are we going to constantly divide. Our God is the God of unity and never division and let me be the first to say I am not going anywhere and I will be your friend for as long as you are willing to covenant with me. So let’s dive into the readings and discuss what this entails.

POINT ONE:

The message of God’s love is to all people. One of our callings as friends of God is make this message available to everyone. I have been getting into Facebook on line. I like to get on and check out if anyone is commenting on my latest pictures or words of wisdom (mostly absurd) or what people I know are doing. This messaging device also helps me keep up with people around the country even around the world. Though Facebook is mostly entertainment, sometimes it can be serious. When I get home I will inform everybody that we said Mass this morning for Ashley Brock in the hopes that all my friends keep her family in their prayers. We may weep a little as we recollect how special this little girl was, and maybe we will look beyond and celebrate her life on earth as we look forward to embracing her someday on Heaven. Regardless, here is a tool that makes our lives a bit more enriched. The fact is however, no tool can take the place of physical, personal interaction. This morning we read of a man who had a kind of Facebook, namely the Scriptures and this comes to fruition as he finally meets the apostle who will take Scriptures to its earthly resting place, the hearts of all who believe. Acts 10: 24 And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. 28 Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 29 Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?” 30 So Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you.’ 33 So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God.”34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.  35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. 36 The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all— 37 that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached:  38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. 39 And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. 40 Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. 43 To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”

There are two things to take away from this reading. First there is neither Gentile nor Jew, woman or man, slave or free, that is out of bounds for our messaging the love of God. Our friends, our fellowship is with all people who want a relationship with Jesus Christ. Now notice I did not talk about behavioral issues. Quite frankly a good friend is one who can tell you that you are sinning and need to repent and change your life for the sake of their own good. After all we want to spend eternal life with your friends. Secondly, our faith is not exclusive to anybody. Peter was shown by God that Cornelius was not only worthy of his friendship but understood the Scriptures better than any religious authority of the time; even Peter himself who needed to be corrected from his erroneous perception that Christianity was only available to the Jews. There is no arrogance in friendship.

POINT TWO:

Friendship is a form of the greatest passion of all; love. At the risk of being wishy-washy, we need love and we need to love and we need to be loved. This is how we were created because God is love and we are made in His image. The greatest example of this is marriage. I do not call my wife my best friend. Quite frankly I think it reduces her worth to me. Seriously folks, Craig is one of my best friends but when he walks into the room it pales in comparison to when Cindy walks in. Sorry Craig! However we learn an important message about friendship love when we understand the foundations of marriage. Quite frankly this foundation carries the whole purpose of the Church, the Bride of Jesus, our Mother on earth (c.f. last week’s sermon). This foundation principle is covenant and without an understanding of the lifelong, self-sacrificing, covenant we make, we cannot begin to understand friendship. I do not need transient friends. I need covenanted people with whom I want to spend this life and eternity with. The only way to respond to God’s messaging and share God’s messaging is to covenanting your life with God through fellowship with His eternal Bride, the Church. The particular call you received here is with us the Church of Christ Jesus Victor. The more we embrace this call the more we grow in His love. The more others see this love the more they want it and the more this community grows. The end of Acts 10 states that as Peter and Cornelius became friends, the Holy Spirit came to dwell in them and this percolated down into Cornelius’ house and community. St. John tells us in his first letter; 1 John 4:  7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

That awfully sappy movie “Jerry McGuire” has the line, “You complete me,” in it. Well I am not sure how far that relationship went but when God says it, completion can only go for ever.

POINT THREE:

That is why “remaining in God’s friendship” means we stay there and we don’t move. How we admire the obedience a dog shows to its master! Archibald Rutledge wrote that one day he met a man whose dog had just been killed in a forest fire. Heartbroken, the man explained to Rutledge how it happened. Because he worked out-of-doors, he often took his dog with him. That morning, he left the animal in a clearing and gave him a command to stay and watch his lunch bucket while he went into the forest. His faithful friend understood, for that’s exactly what he did. Then a fire started in the woods, and soon the blaze spread to the spot where the dog had been left. But he didn’t move. He stayed right where he was, in perfect obedience to his master’s word. With tearful eyes, the dog’s owner said, “I always had to be careful what I told him to do, because I knew he would do it.” Sad as this is it speaks of the amazing sacrifice Christians must endure. The Good News is that God’s command is simply to love. John 15: 9″As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.

CONCLUSION:

I was proud of Pope Benedict for choosing love to be the topic of his first encyclical. As he said in the very beginning, “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” We do not sacrifice our lives for a lofty idea but we do sacrifice our lives for our friends. Let us encounter one another over and over again for the rest of our lives. In doing so perhaps we will continue in the apostles teachings, the breaking of the bread, and the prayers, fulfilling what Jesus commands us to do. The result of this obedience is the greatest love of all. Imagine you can tell people that you are friends with God!

 

“Our Mother on Earth”

The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli

(May 10, 2009 – All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

JOKE:

A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does. The next day in a written test, she included this question: “My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I?” When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50 percent of the students answered the question with the word Mother. David Finkelstein recounts, “The mother of three notoriously unruly youngsters was asked whether or not she’d have children if she had it to do over again. “Yes,” she replied, “but not the same ones.”

REFLECTION:

I spent most of my six years at the Bangor Theological Seminary en route to my Masters in Divinity hearing comments about the male-dominated ethos of Christianity. After all God is the Father and the Son and this was problematic for some of the up and coming pastors of this school. Most people leaned heavily on the Holy Spirit as the feminine side of God. Biblical passages that personified Wisdom as the Divine were used to justify this. As it says in Proverbs 8: 12 “I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence, And find out knowledge and discretion. 13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate. 14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength. 15 By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice.” Justifiably we can make a lengthy argument that exhausts all the possibilities from Isaiah 49 to Matthew 23 that sees God as a mother nursing her babies. Even the letters of Paul suggest the apostle feeding milk to his followers. I only wish they could have just sat back and instead of making the issue a battle for women’s rights, we can all just see the beauty of motherhood and femininity as God’s way of completing His work on earth. The beauty of Christianity is our support of the glories of being a woman. This morning I offered the collect, “Gracious Father, we pray for thy holy Catholic Church. Fill Her with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where She is corrupt, purify Her; where She is in error, direct Her; where in any thing She is amiss, reform Her. Where She is right, strengthen Her; where She is in want, provide for Her; where She is divided, reunite Her; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior. Amen.” Amazingly it was Father Peter who feminized the PC motivated 1979 Book of Common Prayer version of this collect which actually refers to the Church as an “it.” I find that offensive. For those seeking a connectedness to a nurturing Mother simply do what I do; either pray the Rosary everyday or simply rejoice that on earth we participate in the inner nurturing works of our Mother the Church where we become Sacrament for the world and the outer nurturing workings of our Mother seeking to bring Christ to the world.

As early as the 3rd century AD, Cyprian of Carthage wrote: “You cannot have God as your Father unless you have the church for your Mother.” The Church is God’s work on earth. That makes those of us who have accepted God’s call to follow Him, co-creators, co-nurturers, and co-rescuers. It also involves, as Paul reminds us, the need to develop a number of virtues that are characteristic of the family of people who follow Christ: forgiveness, compassion, love, humility, kindness, meekness, patience, and peace. In short, it is Mother Church that nurtures Her community to work together to make a community of peace, love and forgiveness and to take up our responsibility for our community. As we saw, Jesus made the Church central in God’s saving economy and Paul’s letters explain how that is so. The Church embodies in a community the way that Jesus lived in the world, and by doing so it opens up access to God. Just as Jesus made God available to all (sinners and to the righteous), so does (or should) the Church. Just as Jesus forgave people on behalf of God, and so brought real, material salvation from sin, so does (or should) the Church. Paul tells us we should forgive as we have been forgiven by Christ. At the end of John’s Gospel, the risen Christ appears to His disciples and tells these future Bishops and priests that if they forgive the sins of any they are forgiven by God. In other words, we have continuous access to the authority by some (not to mention the obligation by others) to forgive sins on God’s behalf as Jesus did. This is why the Church is our Mother. Jesus won our salvation for us NOT by persuading an otherwise disinclined God that He really should forgive us, but by putting us in contact with the non-competitive God who is already loving and forgiving us, who already accepts us no matter what our moral state. The other side of the coin is that God is also to be found outside the Church, and that we as the Church often fail to embody God’s presence to one another and to the rest of the world. (I appreciate the reflection on the Faith and Theology Blog by Andrew Brower Latz)

Even this morning’s readings suggest the importance of our presence as God’s representatives on earth that can only be through the Church. In the Acts reading Paul is nurtured by the Church in order to fulfill what God created him to fulfill. Acts 9: 26 And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. 28 So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. 29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. 30 When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. 31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

John reminds us in the second reading that our participation in action and obedience is not only a command, it defines us as Christians. 1 John 3: 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. 24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Finally John again reminds us that if we cannot obey what God commands us to do, then God will get someone else to do it. In the last year of his life Mozart was approached by a outclassed stranger who offered him generous payment for the composition of a requiem, at the same time swearing him to secrecy. Seriously ill, Mozart believed the commission was an omen of his own death and began working feverishly to complete what he feared would be his funeral music. Five months later, on his deathbed, Mozart, 36, gave final instructions about the unfinished Requiem to his pupil, Franz Sussmayr, to whom Mozart’s wife entrusted the work. Sussmayr arranged the music in accordance with Mozart’s intentions, filling in gaps with sections of his own composition. The Requiem was represented to the stranger (who turned out to be the steward of the eccentric Count von Walsegg) as being entirely by Mozart. The deceived nobleman then deceived others by having it performed as his own composition (hence the secrecy). Later Mozart’s wife identified the work. Mozart, ironically, had been thrown into an unmarked pauper’s grave without benefit of sacred music, but his Requiem was played for Beethoven and Chopin at their funerals. John 15:  1″I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

I just want to end this Mother’s Day sermon to remind us that as great as mothers are in bearing fruit, so must we all be in bearing the fruit that God not only requires us to bear but created us to bear. Do NOT let anybody tell you differently. Though the media, and the pagan culture that surrounds us, and the popular powers that be win a few battles, the victory belongs to our God and we are purposed to evangelize His Word to all people mostly in what we do everyday in our Christian lives. I read this on Catholic Online (www.catholic.org); “Happy Mothers Day: Queen of the Holy Ordinary” By Jennifer Hartline; 5/9/2009. “I’m a mother and a homemaker, and it isn’t glamorous. It’s tedious, monotonous, thankless, messy, germy, and it can be really hard on your manicure. It’s also the greatest job in the whole world. Provided I stop looking to the world to validate and praise me for doing my job well, ’cause they never will. People with ulterior motives may pay political lip service to mothers and the sacrifices they make for their families, but it’s just self-serving schmooze. I don’t need it. I have the smile, the blessing of my Father in heaven, and I follow in some highly-favored footsteps. Before she was Queen of Heaven, she was the Queen of the Holy Ordinary. I am awestruck by what our great God did for us and how He did it. It is truly what sets Christianity apart from every other religion. God could have chosen to take human flesh and come among us as a grown man, fully capable of taking care of Himself. But He didn’t. He came to us utterly helpless and vulnerable. He came to us the same way we have all come to be – through a mother. By inhabiting the womb He proclaimed the honor and dignity of motherhood. By choosing to submit Himself to the care and authority of a mother, He put His indelible stamp of approval and merit on the vocation of motherhood. He declared it sacred and gave it the highest esteem and honor. In fact, He thought motherhood so important that He didn’t want to miss out on having one Himself. In my admiration and wonderment of the Holy Family I often forget that the normal rhythms of earthly life still existed for Mary and for Jesus. The daily tasks of motherhood remained. This God-child depended on her for His survival. He required her milk for food. He needed her to keep Him clothed, warm and bathed. He needed her constant care. She set about raising Him the way every mother does, doing the same ordinary, everyday things that must be done. There was a home to be kept, laundry to do, food to cook, dishes to wash, even diapers to change. She did all of it, and let there never be any doubt ever again that all these ordinary things are holy in God’s sight.” Happy Mother’s Day and may God bless all the women of the world who did not give into the pressure of or liberal society and instead chose to give life to their babies, everyone of God’s beloved children.

Amen.

“One Powerful Shepherd”

The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli    

(Easter 4; 2009 – All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

JOKE:

A man walking along a road in the countryside comes across a shepherd and a huge flock of sheep. Stopping to rest, he tells the shepherd, “I will bet you $100 against one of your sheep that I can tell you the exact number in this flock.” The shepherd thinks it over. It’s a big flock, so he takes the bet. The man looks around and answers, “869.” The shepherd is astonished, because that is exactly right. The shepherd says, “Okay, I’m a man of my word, take an animal.” The man picks one up and begins to walk away. “Wait,” cries the shepherd, “let me have a chance to get even. Double or nothing; I can guess your exact occupation.” The man agrees. “You are an accountant for the government,” says the shepherd. “Amazing!” responds the man. “You are exactly right! But tell me, how did you deduce that?” “Well,” says the shepherd, “put down my dog and I will tell you.”

INTRO:

There’s a lot of talk about the economic failures of our government and how that has turned the world’s economy upside down. I sometimes look at the leaders of our secular world and wonder if they have our best interest at heart. Amazingly people with power and wealth and prestige seem to be the least likely to be society’s “Good Shepherds”. When we read about philanthropy and we see how people give, we rarely seem affected by the presumably large donations of the mega-wealthy. Then some person of low esteem does something and he or she becomes a hero. Last Christmas we remember the Wal-Mart worker who was crushed to death as he saved a pregnant woman’s life. The lady spoke out afterwards and thanked him as she and her baby lived. We really did not see much of this story as the next season moved on. Apparently the day after it happened, Black Saturday I guess, people resumed their lives and went back to Christmas shopping; but rarely does one think of life-changing heroes when you think of Wal-Mart security. This morning we have a similar metaphor in the Gospel as Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd. It is not a huge stretch to suggest that the shepherd position of the first century was as popular or as highly regarded as the shepherd position of the 21^st century. I have never heard of anybody who suggested, “I want to be a shepherd when I grow up.” This morning we want to walk away with the knowledge that not only is Jesus the Good Shepherd, but He is our Shepherd, and He is one powerful Shepherd.

POINT ONE:

Our Shepherd is not only a hero but He can move mountains. If you knew somebody that was extremely popular and had every resource available in the world, wouldn’t you want to hang out with him? Not only do we know Him but He is the source of everything thing that’s good in us. No one else has His power and offerings. Quite honestly as our first reading points out there is no other name by which we can be saved. After the Name of Jesus healed the man under the authority of Peter and John, we read in Acts 4: 1 now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. 5 And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ’stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Well folks we do have the most popular, most powerful Shepherd ever and regardless of life’s ups and downs, we are in with a great Leader and one lives and dies for a great leader. As other religions preach ridiculous concepts like nothingness, a Gnostic approach to living where our physical reality is evil and should be discarded, or Aryanism where all they have is their own physical reality where everyone else is easily discarded, we do not follow a concept or an ideology, we follow a Person who wants an eternal relationship with us, individually and corporally. People do not live and die for a concept or a stupid ideology. People sacrifice their lives for a person and we can see that Person in the lives of each person who follows Him. While the media prints false reports about Christianity dying in America, Operation World reports the growth in China at 7.7 percent. In a nation with over one billion people, this is a significant growth. According to the Prayer Foundation, on June 15th, 2006, 3,000,000 believers paraded through Sao Paolo, Brazil in the world’s largest “March for Jesus” (William Stearns). The number of Christians in Indonesia has grown from 1.3M forty years ago to over 11M today.  Missionary-founded churches in Japan are being turned over to nationals to lead, so missionaries can plant other churches. No Christian was officially allowed to live in Nepal until 1960.  Now there is a church in every one of the 75 districts of Nepal with estimates of over half a million believers (Operation World). About 500 Muslims come to faith in Christ every month in Iran–a country ranked among the top ten persecutors of Christians in the world.  Many of the new believers are young, since 70% of Iran is under the age of 30 (Vision 2020). Every day, 20,000 Africans come to Christ.  Africa was 3% Christian in 1900 and is now over 50% Christian (Vision 2020).

POINT TWO:

We are not just part of this success; we are representatives of the greatest Person Who ever lived. I suppose that is why we are persecuted, because people who have fallen from the faith know that their lives are devalued without the presence of Jesus Christ. When they see our joy, they become jealous and at times hostile. I cannot tell you how many times people try to needle me because I am a Christian. When I respond vehemently or when I use their colorful metaphors they think they got me with, “and you call yourself a Christian.” I am sure they walk away knowing they have not made their point nor furthered their lives. I fought with someone the other day over the attempt by some to redefine marriage and when I made my point that the definition Jesus gave in Matthew 19 will never change. Then they respond, “It’s all about love and don’t you want us to be happy.” Well folks true love and true dignity and true happiness can only come from the One who loves us the most. We must do what he commands because He is our Shepherd and we are the sheep of the only flock worth residing in. Don’t you want to be His friend and the children of the God Most High? 1 John 3: 1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

M.H. Alderson once said, “Success is getting up just one more time than you fall down. If at first you don’t succeed, you are running about average.” All our success in life is motivated by how well we serve God. This will involve our sinning but when we fall we just get on our knees and strengthen ourselves by asking for God’s mercy. Os Guinness pointed out that a truly mature person has an audience of one, and that One is God. In other words, people who are mature in the Faith seek no one else’s approval but God’s approval. Mature people know in the end, God’s judgment stands; all others are mere opinions. Not only that, God’s approval is motivated by His love for us; while the approval of others is motivated by our support of them or our need for their support. At work I need the support of my customers so I try, to some extent, to do what they need me to do. Quite frankly I need their money because I have two kids to support. As a priest, I’ve had to remind myself that I’m ultimately a servant of God, not a servant of church members. I get some criticism and a lot of approval from you all and I post my sermons so I welcome the comments, but unless I look for my approval ultimately from God, I would not be leading this church, but I would be led by my need for approval. Only the person who has an audience of one, and that One being God, can experience empowered living.

POINT THREE:

Finally we the measure intensity of our empowerment by our capacity to sacrifice our all for Jesus and His Bride the Church. This only makes sense. We know what it’s like to be loved by other people and we also feel honored when someone sacrifices for us. I was much honored when over four hundred people showed up my mother’s funeral Mass. Even the chief of police called in seven cruisers so that they could follow us and clear the road to the burial site. The sacrifice that these people made for our family was touching and it reflected the sacrificial nature of my mother. No other person has had the same respect and support and following as Jesus Christ. Why? Because nobody has given more love for humanity than Jesus Christ. The Gospel shows this by the fact and the eventual reality of Jesus repeating how He will give up His life for His sheep. John 10: 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

CONCLUSION:

Quite frankly I do not want anybody to ever be put in a position where he or she has to die for the faith. Though I am sure I would be willing to die for the faith and the faithful, I hope I am not put in that position. If we want to feel empowered though and if we want to know what it’s like to be as strong as the Shepherd then we need to make Jesus the Lord of out lives; the Lord over all our friends, our monies, our talents, and our time. I will end with a quote from the best example of how the most meek becomes the most powerful in God’s Kingdom. As Mother Theresa said, “I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.”

Lectionary Bookmarks

Here are the daily office Bookmarks for May 2009.

“The Sinful Side of Conversion”

The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli

(Easter 3; 2009 – All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

 

JOKE:

I saw a particularly funny cartoon which had two people crossing each other on either side of two escalators. One was an angel in clown make-up traveling on the down escalator to hell. He looks at the man going up to Heaven and says, “Apparently God does not like the “whoopee-cushion” trick!”

INTRO:

I am not sure that God would punish a good joke with a sentence to hell. Lately there has been no little controversy about morals and values in this society. I believe the devil’s greatest accomplishment has been the politically correct movement that teaches us there is no hell nor devil and thus our moral and value system has reverted to the “if it feels good it’s OK” mentality. The pendulum has swung so far to the left, a Christian cannot speak into anybody’s life with any level of relevance or consideration. I am in no way suggesting that fire and brimstone needs to be preached as in the 18^th century. I somewhat admire the great preachers who influenced the foundations of our great nation. Though I would never preach this, I can imagine the prestige that the minister would have had if he could get away with it. Allow me to do my best Jonathan Edwards impression as I read an excerpt from “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (1703-1758; Enfield, Connecticut; July 8, 1741) “They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of hell. And the reason why they do not go down to hell at each moment, is not because God, in whose power they are, is not then very angry with them; as he is with many miserable creatures now tormented in hell, who there feel and bear the fierceness of his wrath. Yea, God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on earth: yea, doubtless, with many that are now in this congregation, who it may be are at ease, than he is with many of those who are now in the flames of hell. So that it is not because God is unmindful of their wickedness, and does not resent it, that he does not let loose his hand and cut them off. God is not altogether such an one as themselves, though they may imagine him to be so. The wrath of God burns against them, their damnation does not slumber; the pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow. The glittering sword is whet, and held over them, and the pit hath opened its mouth under them. The devil stands ready to fall upon them, and seize them as his own, at what moment God shall permit him. They belong to him; he has their souls in his possession, and under his dominion. The scripture represents them as his goods, Luke 11:12. The devils watch them; they are ever by them at their right hand; they stand waiting for them, like greedy hungry lions that see their prey, and expect to have it, but are for the present kept back. If God should withdraw his hand, by which they are restrained, they would in one moment fly upon their poor souls. The old serpent is gaping for them; hell opens its mouth wide to receive them; and if God should permit it, they would be hastily swallowed up and lost.”

Is this kind of talk inappropriate, outdated, and unconnected? Can we really expect people to believe that hell and the devil and demonic activity really exists in our great modern society? Heck, we’ve got computers, artificial hearts, and spaceships! Augustine and Aquinas never flew to the moon; therefore they cannot speak into our great 300 channel cable TV world that we live in. Allow me to use this morning’s readings to sidetrack our Pascal celebration of Resurrection glorification and talk a little about sin and salvation.

POINT ONE:

So what is sin? Sin is a removal or distancing oneself from God. Since God is all good, and it is impossible for God to possess any evil, sin therefore is evil. To want to possess God or be with God or want to be a channel of God’s grace is what we call moral or morality. If we remove ourselves from God’s plan for our salvation, we are immoral. In essence sin is a moral evil. Sin implies our desire to do something or possess something that is not of God. God hates sin because it distances ourselves from our all-loving God who wants us to reach our full potential in Him by living our lives of love, goodness, and truth. We live in a country where nearly 20,000 people are murdered every year, nearly 100,000 women are raped, and nearly 500,000 people are robbed. As far as human sexuality is concerned just read the last two sermons and see how God’s perfect plan has taken a leap off the cliff. God wants us to be faithful in marriage and/or celibate. Now imagine if our country was to remove everything outside of these sexual norms and how that would affect TV shows, movies, commercials, magazines, laws, and the internet. Since President Clinton’s misfortune in the Oval office, our country has so loosely defined Godly, God-given sexuality that the concept of a man and woman covenanting until death due them part is not only an amazing minority, it is rather a joke. This morning’s second reading speaks to this in terms of the society St. John lived in. 1 John 2: 1My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

POINT TWO:

Just do what God says and we will be all right. Amazingly we have a tendency to do what is wrong and what makes it more difficult is how peer pressure whispers into our ears. A lot of people ask me how bad things can happen to good people. Well sin is the product of everything bad that has happened in the world. God as a loving Father and thus a purveyor of free will has to allow us to make our own choices in the world. St. John says in the third chapter of his letter, “7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.” Jesus, our Savior and friend, has our back and thus has conquered even death. Therefore if we do what is good in His eyes we will be embraced by Him in Heaven for all eternity where there is nothing but love, morality, and goodness. I re-watched the movie 300 the other night and what made the Spartan army so great was the peace of mind that each man had knowing his brother had his back. How can an overwhelming minority overcome odds of nearly 40 to one? Well it takes strength, camaraderie, obedience, and faithfulness. The enemy was eventually defeated although 300 men were sacrificed for this to happen. Well we live in an unusual era in American history. Our core beliefs which were founded by the Christian thinking of our founding forefathers and foremothers which made us into the most blessed nation on earth are being challenged and to some extent destroyed. Not only has the Bible and Christianity been outlawed in public forums it has been replaced with other religious teachings and secular humanism for the sake of diversity. Luckily there are many of us left in the U.S. and all we need is the gumption to do what is right and a community of fellow soldiers that will allow us to focus on the future and not be constantly watching over our backs fearing our brothers and sisters have either deserted us or have joined the enemy to destroy us. I keep preaching every week that I have been called to task to build our church and though we have lost more soldiers than we have, I look forward to covenanting with we happy few on Pentecost with the goal of bringing Jesus Christ to all people of Maine, the U.S. and the world.

POINT THREE:

The Good News is that we have everything inside of us to successfully accomplish the task of destroying sin and the devil and healing souls of all infirmities. I will not repeat my sermon on the healing power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or Confession, but I am amazed how Confession lines are diminishing in our country. Most Christians do not go to Confession nor do they go to Mass. I cannot tell you how powerful the Sacraments are in our battle to destroy the enemy. If you want to bring a struggling neighbor into the Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven, then invite him or her to Church! It is amazing our the power of Scripture, Sacrament, and Spirit, exorcises all demons and gives someone the tools to get through any difficulty of our earthly life. Remember the healing story this morning in Acts 3: 11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. 12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. 17 “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.

CONCLUSION:

Friends if we can avoid all occasions of sin and if we have the support group to avoid these shouldn’t we? If I promised you a better life and more importantly life eternal with God who is all-Love, wouldn’t you take it? I know I want all the promises of our risen Savior and I encourage all of you to not only desire it for yourselves, but to want it for all your friends, family, and fellow citizens. Well folks you have the Power which is the Promise Jesus made this morning. Luke 24: 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. 46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

All we have to do is want it bad enough to simply say enough bad and take a 180 degree turn to all that is Good. Once we have made that eternal commitment, we can focus on eternity with our friends, our family and our fellow faithful, in the fulfillment of the God’s undying vow to His Church, here on this earth and living out our immortality in Love.