“Bread of Life Discourse; Part Four”

By Father S. Peter Donatelli

(All Biblical Quotes from the New King James Version)

 

JOKE:

I was reading some jokes from this doctor’s page and apparently there is much jocularity amongst the medical professionals. What’s the difference between a surgeon and God? God doesn’t think he’s God. How many surgeons does it take to screw in a light bulb? One; she just holds it up and the world revolves around her.

INTRO:

There are many people, like my daughter Cassandra, that can do surgery or even be around mangled bodies. There are a lot more people, like me, that can hardly be around their own children’s birth without wondering which direction would allow for the least focal point. Blood and guts are semi-cool in movies but create a visual inconvenience in real life. So allow me to offer an acrostic this morning that will guide us through this last of the “Bread of life” discourses. This morning may be DRY; that’s D for dismembering, R for remembering and Y for the exclamation that “You are a Member!”

POINT ONE:

What causes one to be dismembered? Please, I am no talking about physical dismemberment but we live in a world where most people simply want to be part of something, want to belong, and want to think they have found a home in a place where they can make a positive impact in a community not to mention have a positive impact made on them. I remember nearly twelve years ago returning from the New England Conference for the United Methodist Church. I had served in the UMC for nearly four years and became a local pastor. As a graduating seminarian, I needed to make a choice to find a place where I could serve the Lord and His people. Quite frankly UMC founder, John Wesley was a man after my own heart. He was sacramental, evangelical, charismatic, and preferred the common folk over self-centered debutantes. So as I felt like a member of this community, I realized that the UMC had traveled far from the ideals of its founder. At my first big conference I saw a church that was struggling with declining membership, declining funds, and a need for solid direction. So I go to this conference to see if the Holy Spirit would percolate into a needy situation. I was hoping for a sacramental or charismatic or evangelical revival that would change the negative direction John Wesley’s movement was going in. Then my eyes were tragically awakened. The conference began a three day, one item strategy that I knew was not Biblical, not Godly, and broke the foundations that built the UMC up to its nearly fifteen million members. The leaders felt the best way to fix the UMC was to focus all attention on reconciling the faith to homosexuals. Now let me clarify. They were not trying to say that people who struggle with a behavior that is not Biblical or not even Christian could seek repentance and reconciliation through the Church (because they really can) but that we needed to change the Bible, change the tradition, and change the entire Faith as a way to evangelize to the gay community. Notwithstanding the fact that out of the over fifty percent of the unchurched population in New England only three or four percent fit this strategic plan, but so far every denomination that has tried this strategy has failed, not to mention putting the spiritual lives of all their members in jeopardy. I remember coming home from that conference depressed because I was unwilling to compromise the Bible or the faith for a secular humanist agenda. I wanted to be a member, I wanted to feel like I belonged but I didn’t. When I got home I decided to punch a few of my own characteristics into a computer search and the first site that came up was the Charismatic Episcopal Church. The Bible gives us some advice to move from dismemberment to putting yourself back together in the right order, the right movement, the right community, and living the right life. Proverbs 9: 1 Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars; 2 She has slaughtered her meat, She has mixed her wine, She has also furnished her table. 3 She has sent out her maidens, She cries out from the highest places of the city. 4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, 5 ”Come, eat of my bread And drink of the wine I have mixed. 6 Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the way of understanding. 

But the point of this passage is actually made after these verses because if you want to belong, of you want to know God, you must seek Wisdom. Let’s see what else Proverbs 9 has to offer; 9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. 10 ”The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 

Do you want to be part of the Body of Christ? Follow me; follow a movement that seeks to hear God and to fear God and to give Him Glory. We don’t try to fix our faith in the CEC. We don’t take a black permanent marker to the Bible to appease ignorant politically correct agendas. We do water down the Sacraments to offer weak explanations as to how the Flesh and Blood of Jesus are really present in His Church. Folks; the fear of God is the beginning of your faith journey and we seek you as a member as we seek to remember the faith; not dismember it.

POINT TWO:

Remembering means we are willing to know the Body; remember what we said about Wisdom and the fear of God, and the knowledge of Holy One is understanding. Paul reminds us that these definitions are applicable to all our friends in the Body of Christ. Ephesians 5: 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

I love that line about submitting to one another in the fear of the Lord. One way in which we remember Jesus is by seeing Jesus in all of God’s children especially our friends in Christ. Not only that but spending time with an individual in the Presence of God secures our role as we remember the knowledge of the Holy One. What if we spend time remembering our friends in a most profound way? Last Tuesday at the Healing Service Father John, my long time friend and brother in the battle, abbreviated our knowledge of one another by remembering that we had been friends for ten years when the reality is that it has been eleven. Howie chimed in and said, “The first year with Father Peter doesn’t count.” As funny as that was, there is some truth to it. Remembering takes time and effort and love and caring. It’s the Christian way. I remember the first time I met Howie. I was leading the band in Portland and Father Jim had a bad habit of letting anybody who claimed to be a musician in the band. Churches are notorious for letting the four-chord guitarist in praise bands. Don’t get me wrong; I can work with people’s talents but it’s a matter of time and effort. Suddenly, the rector is handing over this drummer and trumpet player on the same day. Howie sensed that I was a bit perturbed but in this particular case God sent me two awesome musicians. It took time going from a sarcastic, “Oh great a drummer,” to a serious, “Oh great a drummer.” Remembering takes knowledge of the individual and as covenantal Christians we are committed to giving all icons of Christ, all people that time. I do not want to be the priest that discourages people from walking with Jesus.

POINT THREE:

I want to be the priest and the Christian that convinces the world that, “You are a member!” Jesus wants us to feel His presence, flesh, blood, and soul surging through our bodies as we manifest His Glory throughout the Body, the Church. If people can experience that in you then we can transform the lives of all people. John 6: 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.” 

CONCLUSION:

I want to end this morning sermon by reading some of the points made in a speech given by Father Frank Pavone. The entirety of the speech can be found on our Blog, but as you read this remember the acrostic DRY; Christians are committed to reaching the Dismembered and getting them to the point of Remembering to transform them to “You are a member!”

 

The Pro-life Commitment is Eucharistic

– Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life

 

Our commitment to defend our pre-born brothers and sisters is shaped by our faith in the Eucharist as a sacrament of faith, unity, life, worship, and love.

The Eucharist is a sacrament of faith. The Consecrated Host looks no different after the consecration than before. It looks, smells, feels, and tastes like bread. Only one of the five senses gets to the truth. As St. Thomas Aquinas’ Adoro Te Devote expresses, “Seeing, touching, tasting are in Thee deceived. What says trusty hearing that shall be believed?” The ears hear His words, “This is My Body; this is My Blood,” and faith takes us beyond the veil of appearances. Christians are used to looking beyond appearances. The baby in the manger does not look like God; nor for that matter does the man on the cross. Yet by faith we know He is no mere man. The Bible does not have a particular glow setting it off from other books, nor does it levitate above the shelf. Yet by faith we know it is uniquely the Word of God. The Eucharist seems to be bread and wine, and yet by faith we say, “My Lord and My God!” as we kneel in adoration.

The same dynamic of faith that enables us to see beyond appearances in these mysteries enables us to see beyond appearances in our neighbor. We can look at the persons around us, at the annoying person or the ugly person or the person who is unconscious in a hospital bed, and we can say, “Christ is there as well. There is my bother, my sister, made in the very image of God!” By the same dynamic we can look at the pre-born child and say, “There, too, is my brother, my sister, equal in dignity and just as worthy of protection as anyone else!” Some people will say the child in the womb, especially in the earliest stages, is too small to be the subject of Constitutional rights. Is the Sacred Host too small to be God, too unlike Him in appearance to be worshipped? The slightest particle of the Host is fully Christ. Eucharistic Faith is a powerful antidote to the dangerous notion that value depends on size.

The Eucharist is also a Sacrament of Unity. “When I am lifted up from the earth,” the Lord said, “I will draw all people to myself” (Jn.12:32). He fulfills this promise in the Eucharist, which builds up the Church. The Church is the sign and cause of the unity of the human family.

Imagine all the people, in every part of the world, who are receiving Communion today. Are they all receiving their own personalized, customized Christ? Are they not rather each receiving the one and only Christ? Through this sacrament, Christ the Lord, gloriously enthroned in heaven, is drawing all people to Himself. If He is drawing us to Himself, then He is drawing us to one another. St. Paul comments on this, “We, many though we are, are one body, since we all partake of the one loaf” (1 Cor. 10:17). When we call each other “brothers and sisters,” we are not merely using a metaphor that dimly reflects the unity between children of the same parents. The unity we have in Christ is even stronger than the unity of blood brothers and sisters, because we do have common blood: the blood of Christ! The result of the Eucharist is that we become one, and this obliges us to be as concerned for each other as we are for our own bodies.

Imagine a person who receives Communion, accepts the Host when the priest says, “The Body of Christ,” says “Amen,” and then breaks off a piece, hands it back, and says, “Except this piece, Father!” This is what the person who rejects other people may as well do. In receiving Christ, we are to receive the whole Christ, in all his members, our brothers and sisters, whether convenient or inconvenient, wanted or unwanted.

As St. John remarks, Christ was to die “to gather into one all the scattered children of God.” Sin scatters. Christ unites. The word “diabolical” means “to split asunder.” Christ came “to destroy the works of the devil” (1Jn.3:8). The Eucharist builds up the human family in Christ who says, “Come to me, feed on My Body, become My Body.” Abortion, in a reverse dynamic, says, “Go away! We have no room for you, no time for you, no desire for you, no responsibility for you. Get out of our way!” Abortion attacks the unity of the human family by splitting asunder the most fundamental relationship between any two persons: mother and child. The Eucharist, as a Sacrament of Unity, reverses the dynamic of abortion.

The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Life. “I am the Bread of Life. He who eats this bread will live forever. I will raise Him up on the last day.” (See Jn.6:47-58) The Eucharistic sacrifice is the very action of Christ by which He destroyed our death and restored our life. Whenever we gather for this sacrifice we are celebrating the victory of life over death, and therefore over abortion. The pro-life movement is not simply working “for” victory; we are working “from” victory. As the Holy Father said in Denver in 1993, “Have no fear. The outcome of the battle for life is already decided.” Our work is to apply the already established victory to every facet of our society. Celebrating the Eucharist is the source and summit of such work.

The Eucharist is the Supreme act of Worship of God. Two lessons each person needs to learn are, “1.There is a God. 2. It isn’t me.” The Eucharist, as the perfect sacrifice, acknowledges that God is God, and that “it is [His] right to receive the obedience of all creation.” (Sacramentary, Preface for Weekdays III). Abortion, on the contrary, proclaims that a mother’s choice is supreme. “Freedom of choice” is considered enough to justify even the dismemberment of a baby. Choice divorced from truth is idolatry. It is the opposite of true worship. It pretends the creature is God. Real freedom is found only in submission to the truth and will of God. Real freedom is not the ability to do whatever one pleases, but the power to do what is right.

The Eucharist is, finally, the Sacrament of Love. St. John explains, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us” (1Jn.3:16). Christ teaches, “Greater love than this no one has, than to lay down his life for his friends” (Jn.15:13). The best symbol of love is not the heart, but rather the crucifix.

Abortion is the exact opposite of love. Love says, “I sacrifice myself for the good of the other person. Abortion says, “I sacrifice the other person for the good of myself.” In the Eucharist we see the meaning of love and receive the power to live it. The very same words, furthermore, that the Lord uses to teach us the meaning of love are also used by those who promote abortion: “This is my body.” These four little words are spoken from opposite ends of the universe, with totally opposite results. Christ gives His body away so others might live; abortion supporters cling to their own bodies so others might die. Christ says “This is My Body given up for you; This is My Blood shed for you.” These are the words of sacrifice; these are the words of love.

In Washington in 1994 Mother Teresa said that we fight abortion by teaching the mother what love really means: “to be willing to give until it hurts…So, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child.”

Gustave Thibon has said that the true God transforms violence into suffering, while the false god transforms suffering into violence. The woman tempted to have an abortion will transform her suffering into violence unless she allows love to transform her, and make her willing to give herself away. The Eucharist gives both the lesson and the power. Mom is to say “This is my body, my blood, my life, given up for you my child.”

Everyone who wants to fight abortion needs to say the same. We need to exercise the same generosity we ask the mothers to exercise. We need to imitate the mysteries we celebrate. “Do this in memory of me” applies to all of us in the sense that we are to lovingly suffer with Christ so others may live. We are to be like lightning rods in the midst of this terrible storm of violence and destruction, and say, “Yes, Lord, I am willing to absorb some of this violence and transform it by love into personal suffering, so that others may live.” [Father Frank Pavone]

“Bread of Life Discourse; Part Three”

By Father S. Peter Donatelli

(All Biblical Quotes from the New King James Version)

 

JOKE:

A frustrated father vented, “When I was a youngster, I was disciplined by being sent to my room without supper. But in my son’s room, he has his own color TV, telephone, computer, and CD player.” “So what do you do?” asked his friend. “When I want to punish my son, I send him to MY room!” exclaimed the father. 

INTRO:

I can not imagine the frustration at times that God has with His own people. In all fairness it is frustrating being sent by God and being called a Christian for such a time as this for such a purpose as this. So if you combine the frustrations of being God and being sent by God we can conclude that there is a lot of frustration going around and that at times it can be too much for a Christian to handle. We certainly live in a hostile time for Christians both here in America and abroad. Bishop Prakash of Pakinstan called me up the other day as he landed in Rhode Island. He sounded veery frustrated. About 200 people have been arrested in a flare-up of anti-Christian violence in Gojra that left seven dead, a government minister said Monday. Seven people were killed and 20 injured Saturday when Muslim demonstrators set fire to houses in a Christian enclave and fighting broke out. Police said the Muslims were protesting an alleged desecration of pages in the Quran, the Muslim sacred text, at a Christian wedding. I told you before that flinging allegations against Christians in some countries is pretty easy and subsequently the violence that occurs is left unpunished. So how do we deal with our frustrations? Allow me to offer the three P’s of dealing with frustration; pray, produce, and personalize.

POINT ONE:

When all seems impossible, just pray and God will take you out of your rut. There is a recent occurrence where a plane had to emergency land in Miami, Florida. I watched the news as several people were injured as the plane encountered some turbulence. Apparently no one was seriously hurt. I am not a big fan of flying and I remember once when Cindy and I were flying to Florida and we had the perk of watching a lightening show while the plane shook and shimmied. I know some people take pills to calm them down but I discovered a remedy that has worked for old Catholic women for one thousand years; just start flying through the Rosary. Now I know some Christians are not much into intercession but I would argue that ever since the Levitical priesthood and the call by St. Peter which makes all believers a royal priesthood, a Holy Nation, a people set apart, intercession, especially when it comes to the Mother of our Lord and Savior, is actually an obligation. Anyways, talking to God is a necessity for all Christians and we call this prayer. The benefits of prayer is that it strengthens our relationship with God and being specific in what you ask for builds you up to the perfection that God calls you into. Elijah had a problem this morning. Jezebel was killing all the prophets and priests of God he was being targeted. Now when you have been as faithful and prolific as Elijah, this can really put you in a bad mood. 1 Kings 19: 4But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” 5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. 

POINT TWO:

Prayer put Elijah back on the right track and soon he began to produce for God once again; so God wants us to produce and nothing beats a frustrating life then actually hearing and obeying God and producing. It’s hard to believe that a dairy farmer from Charlotte North Carolina touched nearly 215 million people in more than 185 countries. I won’t get into the fact it was a lowly shoe salesman who got him there to begin with but either way look at the produce from two men who simply said “Yes” to God’s call. Paul talked a little of God’s produce to the people of Ephesus this morning and basically sent them a reminder of who they need to imitate. Ephesians 4: 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 5: 1Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Believe it or not, if one simply follows these principles one can lead a pretty gratifying life. The products of a person who does not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, puts away bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking, is kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you and imitates God as dear children, are pretty awesome. Just try it and see what happens. Use your personality, your Spirit-giftedness and your life accomplishments to glorify God and see your frustrations disappear.

POINT THREE:

Therefore we conclude that God wants us to personalize our relationship by physically manifesting our walk with Him. St. Paul says we need to be imitators of God and I add to his observation that though we are called to be selfless, our personal walk is our personal walk. These “Bread of Life” discourses show us how Jesus Christ, a man, was obedient to His Father, and as He personalized His journey, miracles happened. Keep in mind that God has to be the focus of your life journey. Tennis star Boris Becker was at the very top of the tennis world—yet he was on the brink of suicide. He said, “I had won Wimbledon twice before, once as the youngest player. I was rich. I had all the material possessions I needed. It’s the old song of movie stars and pop stars who commit suicide. They have everything, and yet they are so unhappy. I had no inner peace. I was a puppet on a string.” Becker is not the only one to feel that sense of emptiness. The echoes of a hollow life pervade our culture. One doesn’t have to read many contemporary biographies to find the same frustration and disappointment. Jack Higgens, author of such successful novels and The Eagle Has Landed, was asked what he would like to have known as a boy. His answer: “That when you get to the top, there’s nothing there.”[Our Daily Bread, July 9, 1994]

As I said earlier Pray or communicate with God; Produce or imitate the attributes of God, and Personalize or give God all the glory. Perhaps you can see a pattern here. God is the cure for a frustrating, meaningless, empty life. Even His Son abided with these principles on earth. Let’s look at how Jesus personalized His call and through faithfulness and obedience became the sacrifice that is our food for the journey. John 6: 41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ’And they shall all be taught by God.” Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 

CONCLUSION:

Some people say, “If only I had met Jesus in person and been present at his miracles, it would be so much easier to believe in him and to accept what he taught. Such an attitude sometimes surfaces in my heart. Then I look at his contemporaries and see how they fared. In a recent gospel, we saw how the 5,000 enjoyed the multiplication of the loaves. In today’s gospel, we find some of these same people questioning their own experience of his power. They feel that there must be a simple explanation. After all; this man is from the family of Joseph and Mary. He cannot be a special messenger from God. The Jews did not like his message so they sought to discredit the messenger. His message was that he was sent by the Father and was, indeed, his Son. The miracles were to prepare his contemporaries to accept him as God but these signs could never compel acceptance. Such acceptance is always a matter of free decision and of faith. They chose to reject him. Nowadays, especially among some pious people, there is a temptation to seek visions and signs to justify or strengthen our faith. Such signs, even when they happen, are very transient. The permanent sign of God’s power and love is seeking Him, flesh and blood, Word and Sacrament, Spirit-giftedness and zeal for the God’s House. If we can learn anything from these “Bread of Life Discourses” is that through constant prayer, earnest produce, and charismatic personalization, Jesus is manifested in our lives and in the lives of those around us. When we look at the Eucharist let us remember these things and next week I am going to teach you how to re-member our dis-membered lives.

“Bread of Life Discourse Two”

The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli     

(All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

JOKE:

Have you heard about the new low-fat communion bread? It’s called I Can’t Believe It’s Not Jesus!

INTRO:

Last week I started the Bread of Life discourses that will take us through the next two weeks. Why so much time talking about Jesus as our living bread? Well folks I believe that the concept of being fed is integral in being a Christian. In the CEC we reiterate Ecclesiastes 4:12Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

And so we are fully fed in Word, Sacrament, and Spirit; or being a Christian involves being fully evangelical, fully sacramental, and fully charismatic. I have preached a series of sermons this summer instigating you to be evangelists and now I want to emphasize the sacramental nature of our faith. All concepts of sacramental theology flow from our willingness to believe, without reservation, without questioning, and without pessimism that Jesus is the Bread of Life that came down from Heaven, that He offered Himself up to all of humanity when He instituted the Eucharist, and that receiving Jesus, fully human and fully divine, every Sunday (perhaps even every day) fulfills His desire to have us participate fully in His Body the Church. God wants to take you into His Body, His Kingdom, dare I say the Promised Land. All we need to do is to just believe in Him and walk over. So allow me to be your guide and allow the God’s Church to manifest His Glory and let’s receive Him today in Word, and Sacrament, and in the Spirit.

POINT ONE:

Stop whining, stop worrying you have made it to the Promised Land! For me the story of the Exodus is sometimes difficult to read. We read the hardships of the children of Israel, brutally enslaved by the Pharaoh. Then God leads them about through a series of plagues, a windstorm of protection before the Red Sea, towers of fire, and finally God parts the Red Sea and they are on their way to the Promised Land. All these events would be enough for me to just entrust myself to actuality that I am going to the Promised Land and yet through a series of constant complaining, rebellion, and whining, it takes over forty years to convince God that His elect get it. Now don’t get me wrong. I do believe there are times in life when we have the right to whine. I remember Father Bret Crompton’s ordination. When the Bishop asked for sponsors to confirm Bret’s vocation, all these men Father Bret had been working with at the halfway house came forward. These men obviously had a rough past. I saw sleeveless t-shirts, tattoos, scars, and other physical impalements. These men knew what it was like to wake on the street, broken, addicted, and destitute. But the Church, an icon of Moses’ faithfulness, brought them out of that life and into the Promised Land as they were embraced by the physical reality that God exists. They received the Sacraments starting with Confession or the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Orthodox Church refers to this Sacraments as God’s embrace. Subsequently they received the Body and Blood of Jesus and they knew they were home. These guys had a right to whine and complain but after the miracle of their conversion, all they had to do is let God be God. The children of Israel had a very special conversion experience wrought with amazing supernatural wonders and quite frankly folks, they whines a bit too much. Exodus 16: 2Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. 5 And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7 And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He hears your complaints against the LORD. But what are we that you complain against us?” 8 Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD.” 9 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your complaints.’” 10 Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 ”I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’” 13 So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. 14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.

POINT TWO:

So folks, I stand up here to tell you this morning that you are about to receive the bread which the Lord has given you to eat, so act like you are in the Promised Land! I found this cool web site of Muslims who converted to Christianity. Unfortunately I cannot tell you too much information about the site as the people on it are in constant danger of being discovered and persecuted so just ask me after Mass. This is the testimony of an East African lady called Leah. I became a Christian in July 21st 1996. Let me tell you how this came about. “I was a very devoted Muslim but I began to feel that there was something missing in my faith as a Muslim. I started praying to God to show me if the Muslim faith was the truth and soon after that I began to have strange dreams. In one of these dreams I saw some Christians standing in line to get into Heaven. I tried to get into this line also, but a very tall being blocked my path and I started to cry because the side I was on was really horrible but the side they were on was a beautiful place, so beautiful, so blue. I could not get this dream out of my mind. I really haunted me. I confided to my Muslim friends about this dream, except that I didn’t tell them it was Christians in the line in my dreams because I was scared of what they might think. Well, they just said that God was telling me to pray more, and I did. But increasingly a great emptiness and depression enveloped me, an emptiness like I had never experienced before. I couldn’t sleep and I even started taking [pills] to get away from that feeling. I became a totally different person, a recluse, and started to seek out psychics, but it only became worse. I even wanted to commit suicide. I did not even fear death anymore. Then, the day I told my best friend (who was an agnostic) that I was going to take my life, she said she remembered some Christian ladies who had come to see her a few times, and thought they might be able to help me. That same day, I met with them and they shared the gospel with me, and they prayed for me, and that terrible emptiness began to lift and this huge load on me was taken off me. I started attending Church with them and the second time I went; the pastor gave an invitation to receive Christ. I was so torn up inside. I fought the Holy Spirit and was trembling. I did not accept his invitation but as I was walking out of the service, the Lord spoke to me: It is now or never. I broke down crying on the sidewalk and said to myself, I must go back to the prayer room where the people were getting prayed for to receive the Lord, and I did. God removed my burden and I started seeing everything in a new light. Soon I began losing friends and all I loved and knew. But God loves me and gave his son for me, and so that I would never perish. Incidentally, my best friend got saved the same day in a different church. The Lord showed me I was truly on the right path. I have never regretted becoming a Christian. It has been hard at times because I have been persecuted so much but I have become even stronger in faith because of it. Right now I have a son who is being brought up as a Muslim and his father has denied me rights to communicating with him. I have surrendered my son to God because it has given me sleepless nights thinking of my son who is thousands of miles away from me and I have no control of what is happening now but God is in control. Please pray for me and a miracle from God that I will one day be able to see my son again as we are now even living on different continents. I pray that this short testimony of mine will touch those who read it. God Bless You All.” St. Paul speaks clearly of this kind of testimony in this morning’s second reading. Ephesians 4: 17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart (19) who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

POINT THREE:

When you accept the fact that you are part of the Heavenly banquet and you are receiving God, flesh and blood into your body, mind, and soul, and then you can proceed to participate fully in Kingdom work and Kingdom life. Last week Jesus created physical bread when he fed the 5,000 – He had met the needs of their physical hunger (what their stomach wanted). This morning, He wanted to meet their spiritual needs (what their soul needed). They had to figure out that He was where eternal life came from. This eternal life was so important because sin brought spiritual death. When Jesus challenged the people to believe in Him as God’s anointed messenger, they wanted another miracle like Moses did in providing manna (something like bread) in the desert. Jesus tried to explain the difference between temporal food and eternal food, between physical and spiritual needs. John 6: 24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?” 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” 28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ’He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

CONCLUSION:

Jesus wants all of us to make the leap from thinking physically to thinking spiritually – from their stomach and tongues, to their heart and their soul. He threw down this outrageous promise to meet their spiritual needs for all time: they would never hunger and they would never thirst if they came to Him. Of course, it carried some strings – they had to come to Him and believe in Him. They had to turn on their minds, their will, and their hearts – they had to commit themselves to Him. The formula that Jesus gives here shows that faith is something you got to keep doing. Our faith in Him says that, “I believe You are who You say You are, and I am trusting You to feed and water me for eternity”. “Come and believe” means that you really got to believe Jesus’ radical promise. For those people that were hearing at Capernaum, it meant stepping out of the crowd of the unbelieving miracle-seekers and crossing the line from unbelief to belief (you can’t get the bread at the store unless you believe that it’s there). Jesus’ claim and promise is something you can’t find anywhere else. This is why for some people, choosing Jesus as the Bread of Life is a difficult decision. There are all kinds of phony breads. People might think their “bread” is their work, their marriage, what others think of them, etc. In the end, all of those things spoil. Only Jesus gives that bread that satisfies the deepest needs that we have. Next week I am going to pursue this on an even deeper level because I want us all and all who we need to seek out to consume Jesus for their lives and for the life of the world.

“Bread of Life Discourse; Part One”

The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli     

(All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

JOKE:

Two cannibals were eating a clown. One said to the other: “Does this taste funny to you?” Two cannibals were sitting beside the fire after a sumptuous meal. One turned to the other and said: “Your wife sure makes a good roast.” “Yeah, I’m really going to miss her.” What is the title of the best-selling cannibal book?  “How to Serve Your Fellow Man.” What did the cannibal get when he was late for dinner? The cold shoulder.

INTRO:

Why did I start the “Bread of Life” discourses with cannibal jokes? Because that was one of many false accusations flung against the Christians. Pliny the Younger was governor of Pontus/Bithynia from A.D. 111-113. His letter from him to the Emperor Trajan accused Christians of cannibalism as Christians were helpless to defend their understanding of the Eucharist to the pagan world. Unfortunately, Christians today find it difficult to defend themselves against other Christians when it comes to the Body and Blood of Christ found in the bread and wine every time we remember the night when Jesus died for our sins. I once asked a U.C.C professor at seminary why she did not use the word “Mass” to describe her Sunday “service” and she told me that it was the language of sacrifice and people did not associate well with that concept. Well despite the fact that in 21^st century North America, we have sacrifice issues, I am so glad the CEC will not sell out to seeker sensitivity and pervert the understanding of the Lord’s Supper to mean anything else other than Jesus Christ really present in the elements that He Himself instituted as His Body and Blood. My friends, obedience is a lot more important that how you feel. As ordained priests we are called to hear God and fully submit to His providence. Hopefully this joyful obedience percolates into the congregation or the priesthood of all believers and it is when that happens that the Church can fully manifest the Glory of God in the world. My dear friend, Father Greg, is just about to be elevated into the episcopacy and he was a bit uncomfortable about people kissing his bishop’s ring. So as pastorally proficient as Father Peter is, I replied, “It’s a good thing it’s not about you.” Our Patriarch reminds us that Moses was chosen for a purpose and his job, his anointing, his stick was more important than his ineptitude, his feelings, and his comfort-level. In order to understand who we are as Christians we need to understand the language of sacrifice, self-denial, and total commitment to the One we serve. In her article, CONSCIENCE AND THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH; Dr. Jay Boyd discusses her views of the direction the Church needs to take. She says, “Societal events have brought a number of important issues to the fore in the lives of many Catholics as they consider the Church’s teaching on several very specific issues, including contraception, abortion, chastity and the homosexual lifestyle. There are others issues, too, such as belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and the existence of hell and purgatory, which the Holy Father has raised recently. However, the so-called “pelvic issues” are the ones that seem to cause Catholics the most difficulty in their everyday lives. The issues most likely to be mentioned as stumbling blocks for individual Catholics are the ones we see in the news every day. While these volatile issues themselves are certainly cause for societal concern, I would suggest that the real issue under debate here is not the specific Church teachings with which one might find oneself in agreement or disagreement. The real issue is a lack of understanding of what the Church demands of us with regard to our acceptance of and obedience to the teachings of our faith.” Though we are not under the auspices of the Roman hierarchy, I would argue that if we deny the institutions set by our Lord Jesus, the Church’s demands, and the directive revelation of the Holy Spirit, we will fail as individuals, as a church, and as an international movement of God. So please excuse me as I bypass all politically correct or seeker sensitive language and focus over the next few weeks on the sacramental nature of our Church which begins with the center of our Christian lives, the sacrifice of the Mass, upon which is offered the “Stone which the builders rejected” the Christ, the center of our lives and the foundation of our faith.

POINT ONE:

Sacrifice should not be an issue in comparison to what God has sacrificed for you, me, and every one else. The adage that one cannot out give God is so true. That is why it is important to understand this as we begin and continue our walk with Him. In our first reading this morning, a man came from Baal Shalisha, bearing the first fruits of his barley harvest—twenty loaves of bread and some fresh ears of grain. Normally, these offerings would have been brought to the priest in Jerusalem, and because this was Israel, and there was no temple the man who wished to abide by the law brought his offerings to the next best person—the prophet Elisha. It is interesting that this man is said to have come from Baal Shalisha. The name of this town includes the name of the heathen god, Baal, which would suggest that this was not a very godly place. Yet in spite of this, the man came to Elisha to present his offering. Elisha seems to see these first fruits as first fruits. They were the promise of more to come. He instructed that this bread and the ears of grain be fed to the people who were there. Elisha’s attendant pointed out the obvious—there was not enough bread or grain to go around. The food was adequate to feed a few, but those gathered to eat were about 100. Elisha was told the obvious. He assured his attendant that God had spoken concerning this matter. The LORD had promised that ”They will eat and have some left over.” It will not only prove to be enough, it will be more than enough. And so the food was set out, as Elisha instructed, and when the meal was over, there was food left over, just as God had said. The similarity of this to the feedings of the 5,000 and the 4,000 is obvious. This miracle is a prototype of the bread our Lord will provide, in even greater quantities. 2 Kings 4: 42 Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people that they may eat.” 43 But his servant said, “What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?” He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’” 44 So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.

POINT TWO:

It’s never too late to start anew. Sometimes the most difficult aspect of sacrifice is sacrificing your old self to become a new life in Jesus Christ. I saw a video online about a man named Michael Franzese. He was a mobster on the same level as Al Capone and John Gotti. He made a lot of money and was surrounded by family and friends and money. Suddenly he had an experience that led him to Jesus Christ. Determined to use the experiences of his former life for the benefit of others, Michael’s compelling testimony explodes from a deep passion to inspire others to make positive changes in their lives against intimidating odds. Michael’s amazing story and engaging delivery have brought record attendance to events all over the country. He candidly explains how he survived dozens of grand jury appearances, three major racketeering indictments, five criminal trials, and seven years in prison and a Mafia death sentence. His unique perspective and direct approach captivates all kinds of audiences, from teens to athletes to business execs to the average seeker trying to make it on his/her own in the world. Michael’s theme always hits home: “You can’t escape the long arm of the law—and you sure can’t escape the longer arm of the Lord.” God requires us to sacrifice our lives for Him. Paul gives us a glimpse of this in Ephesians 4: 1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

POINT THREE:

Being reborn in Christ, we are called into sacrificial obedience to His authority as instituted in the Sacraments of our faith. Through most of Lectionary Cycle B, our Sunday Gospel readings are taken from the Gospel of Mark. Over the past two Sundays, we heard how Jesus sent his disciples to share in his mission. If we were to continue reading Mark’s Gospel, we would next hear his report of how Jesus feeds the crowds in the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Our Lectionary, however, leaves Mark’s Gospel for the next several weeks and instead presents this event from the Gospel of John. In John’s Gospel, Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves and the fishes is presented as a sign of His authority and divinity. Jesus interprets the meaning and significance of this miracle as a sharing of his Body and Blood. John’s Gospel uses the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes to teach about the Eucharist. Like the Last Supper, this miracle is said to have occurred near the time of the Jewish feast of Passover. John’s description of this event also anticipates the Messianic banquet of heaven, as the crowd reclines and all hungers are satisfied with abundance. This connection is further amplified by the response of the crowd, who wants to make Jesus a king. John is teaching us that each time we celebrate the Eucharist; we are anticipating the eternal banquet of heaven. The Gospel of John teaches us that the Eucharist is an action. Our word Eucharist is taken from the Greek language and describes an action: “to give thanks.” In the Eucharist we are fed by Jesus himself, and we are sent to serve others. John’s Gospel notes the detail that the bread blessed and shared with the crowd are barley loaves. This is the food of the poor. It reminds us that God feeds and nourishes us, fulfilling our physical needs as well as our spiritual ones. In the Eucharist, we are sent to serve the poorest among us. The story of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes recalls a particular aspect of the Mass. In this miracle, Jesus transforms a young boy’s offering of five barley loaves and two fish. In the offertory at Mass, we present the fruits of our labors, represented by bread and wine. These gifts, given to us first by God as grain and fruit, are returned to God in our offering of thanksgiving. God in turn transforms our gifts, making this bread and wine the very Body and Blood of Jesus. We also offer ourselves in this exchange, and we, too, are transformed by the Eucharist.  John 6: 1After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. 7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 ”There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” 10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” 13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

CONCLUSION:

Make no mistake about it; the Eucharist is language of sacrifice. It is in the sacrifice where Jesus’ obedience and humility unto death created for us the foundations of our faith whereas our obedience to Jesus empowers us to have the abundance to heal and to restore, to feed and to nourish, and to go out into the world and teach all nations blessing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Shepherd Leadership”

The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli     

(All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

JOKE:

I was reading some U. S. Marine Corps bumper stickers. Heaven won’t take us and Hell’s afraid we’ll take over. To err is human, to forgive is divine; however neither is Marine Corps policy. All men are created equal, and then some become Marines.

INTRO:

I remember when the two Bobs were alive and how proud I was to have two men in our small congregation that were lifetime Navy and lifetime Marine. Back then Mass started on time as Bob Yarumian simply had to tap on his watch at 10:30 AM, which obligated me to gather people together. Bob Greene was the evangelical dictionary as I made absolutely sure that nothing I said would offend him. Both men warranted and earned respect and prestige. Both men were great patrons, fathers, and leaders of our community. Now they are spending time with their God and I am still asking these two great leaders to pray for us. So what makes a leader a leader? In today’s corporate world of media popularity, greed, and fame, we could discuss leadership in terms of financial success, athletic prowess, or magazine covers and don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind tapping into either category. But great Christian leadership is on a much higher plain. Here is a definition of Christian leadership I read on line: If you were going to be caught in your worst failure, who would you want to catch you? That person needs to be as disciplined, as compassionate, and as loving as Jesus Christ.

One of the recruitment speeches that led me into the CEC was Shakespeare’s St. Crispin Day’s speech. Quite frankly Henry the fifth was a remarkable Christian king. Although Shakespeare penned this work nearly two hundred years after the Battle of Agincourt (1415), it remains the finest dramatic interpretation of what leadership meant to the men in the Middle Ages. Prior to the Battle, Henry V had led his English footmen across Northwestern France, seizing Calais and other cities in an attempt to win back holds in France that had once been in English possession and to claim the French crown through the obscure but powerful Salig Law. The French, aware of Henry’s troops weakening condition because of their distance from England and the attacks of Dysentery that had plagued the dwindling band, moved between King Henry and Calais, the port he needed to reach in order to return to England. The troops followed Henry’s band along the rivers, preventing their crossing and daring them to a battle they thought they could not win. The French seemed to have sufficient numbers to deal, some say as many as ten to one, with this threat, and they refused to allow Henry pass, angered by the English seizure of the cities. Morale in the English line as they looked upon the overwhelming force of heavily armored, highly skilled French knights must have been extremely low. King Henry, rising to the occasion, spoke words of encouragement that rallied the English troops and carried them to a victory. As a result of the victory the French Princess Catherine was betrothed to Henry V, and France and England were at peace for the remainder of Henry’s short life. Although the speech below is a work of fiction, it is evocative of the spirit with which Henry–and all strong medieval kings–ruled through the strength of their convictions and by force of their personality. It was St. Crispin Day, November 19^th and as they approached the battle line their leader says;

Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;

And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

So let’s remember this morning’s sermon using the word few. “F” stands for facilitate, “E” stands for equip, and “W” stands for watch over.

POINT ONE:

A good shepherd facilitates his or her sheep. The opposite of facilitate is to encumber, or to slow down, or to impede. Guess what folks? Because Jesus is the head of our church, and we are the Church of Christ Jesus Victor, nothing can hinder us; nothing can impede His will nor slow it down nor restrain our success. This Sunday’s first scripture, from the prophet Jeremiah, is a condemnation of unfaithful shepherds and the Lord’s pledge to replace them with more faithful shepherds. Jeremiah 23: 1 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the LORD. 2 Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the LORD. 3 “But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the LORD. 5 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

POINT TWO:

A good shepherd equips his or her sheep. The best example I can think of is the amazing work of the stage crew. I can tell you for a fact that more work is done behind the curtains than in front of the curtains but who shines in plays, movies, and TV shows? I remember working on “Nun sense” and we had the girls watch the You tube, professional version. There was a singing solo and the young lady who sang the song started off in the same mannerism as the actress on Broadway. Not only wasn’t it working but I thought we could do it better so I gave her some tips that allowed her to put herself in the role and not try to imitate someone else. Needless to say her solo manifested her personality so amazingly well that it came out much better than the You tube version. The middle text, from Ephesians, never mentions no shepherd nor Jews nor Gentiles but the passage is about the way the God shepherded both of these groups into one through the blood of Christ, the Good Shepherd. Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

POINT THREE:

The shepherd leader watches over his or sheep. In the gospel passage, Jesus is moved to pity the crowd who seem to him to be like “sheep without a shepherd.” This is a particularly poignant verse where Jesus and the apostles try to escape for a few days of rest – a mini-retreat perhaps. But the sheep hear his voice and follow him, and they no sooner get to the place of retreat when they are surrounded by a crowd of people “like sheep without a shepherd” – and Jesus resumes teaching. I suspect most people in church ministry can identify with this passage – it’s very difficult to maintain the balance between being a good shepherd and maintaining dependent sheep. To be honest I could only look at this passage in light of the maternal nature of our church. Remember how the Gospel of Mark begins. As Jesus calls Peter to ministry they enter his house where his mother-in-law is ill. Jesus heals her and the first thing she does is gets out of bed and serves them. Every great mother I know has one thing in common; they hate to say “no” or give less to their children. My mother worked her tail off to get us through parochial schooling. For roughly sixteen years she had four children trudging through high school and college paying boat loads of money because she felt she had to. When Jesus tried to get away He knew when the sheep came running for help that He had to stop relaxing, put everything down, and watch over His disciples by teaching them and feeding them His Word. Over the next few weeks we are going to hear more about how this happens through Word, Sacrament, and Charisms, but for now let us focus on this tender, maternal moment. Mark 6: 30 Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. 31 And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. 32 So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. 33 But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. 34 And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.

CONCLUSION:

Shepherd leaders facilitate their people giving them the catalyst necessary to grow in Christ. They never seek to control their people because no one increases, multiplies, or progresses without a great leader making it possible. Shepherd leaders equip their people for growth so that they produce greater works than the leader himself or herself has accomplished. Even Jesus said in John 14 that as much as He did His apostles would do greater things than these. Jesus has equipped us to be great apostles, great prophets, great evangelists and yes, folks, great leaders. We must let Jesus in allow Him to penetrate our minds, our souls, and our hearts in order for us to show others the Jesus in us. When this happens we can watch over others and show them that we love them and that we only want for them what God wants for them; to spend eternal life with Him, the angels, and all the saints in the Kingdom of Heaven for all eternity. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

 

 

“The Sense of being Sent”

The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli

(All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

JOKE:

Four blondes and a brunette went mountain climbing one day. They were all friends, but the four blondes were closer to each other then they were to the brunette. They started climbing up the mountain by pulling themselves up with a rope. Halfway up, they noticed that the rope was slipping. “There’s too much weight for the rope to support all of us.” the brunette said. “One of us is going to half to jump.” All the blondes were screaming and crying because they didn’t want to risk loosing each other. “I’m very moved by your friendship.” the brunette said to the blondes. “Because of that, I’ll jump.” The blondes were so touched by her courage, that they all started clapping.

INTRO:

Sorry blondes! Sorry mountain climbers! I don’t get the passion some people have for climbing mountains. Don’t get me wrong. I love looking at God’s grandeur as much as the next person but usually on the nature channel. What’s really amazing though is that all creation was and continues to be created by God for humanity and when we look at mountains and seas, churches and symphonies, we need to appreciate everything by their relationship with God. The more something glorifies God the more we as Christians reflect positively to creation. For instance, if I show someone a picture of an olive branch, one immediately thinks of peace. God also had a plan for His creation when His plan for humanity included the birth, the life, the death, the resurrection, and the enthronement of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and God. Jesus Christ is not, in God’s plan, an inactive model of a perfect creation that was interesting to look at and read about but a prototype demanding. This is not a burden but a massive privilege: we are called to be like the Son of God: to incorporate into our being, with the help of grace, the features of the greatest and most beautiful of God’s creation. For this we should be willing to give up all those unlovable and sinful aspects of our personality we oddly cling to as if they were some kind of treasure. Christians should hate all behaviors that lead to self-destruction, of social destruction, or deconstructing the plans and purposes God has for His constant creative activity. God hates gossip, covenant breaking, lies, selfishness, self-pleasing behaviors, and other activities that do not add to creation but somehow destroy God’s progress for human fulfillment. Remember the Good News, John 10:10The 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. 

Why does God create? Because God loves us; God loves you specifically. Who has ever loved us always, from eternity? Not even those who have loved us best and most. And He is the only one we can be absolutely certain will love us for the rest of eternity and will never, ever abandon us. Now don’t you want to participate in this creation? Well folks here is the purpose of this sermon; you were created to participate and become co-creators as you are sent forth into the community to spread the news that God loves you and is waiting to spend a joyful life with you in Heaven for all eternity. This is the reason we call what we do on Sunday morning a Mass. Mass comes from the Latin word misere which means to send and the word dismissal was created for this action as we are sent out at the end of every Mass to love and serve the Lord. And the final tidbit in this long introduction is that we are privileged and honored and should be ecstatically happy to love and serve the Lord. So why are the best of us reluctant to serve God by being sent and proclaiming the love and excitement of Jesus is our Lord and God? Well hopefully I can offer three points that explain this because as we finish these discussions concerning our purpose and the gifts the Holy Spirit has given us, I need us to want to market our church and our faith and become true co-creators.

POINT ONE:

No one is a prophet, an apostle or even a Christian by his own initiative. Whether or not he or she is aware of it, God “chose each one of us in Christ before the world began:” called from all eternity. Called from nothingness to being, called to enter the graced existence of children of God, called to be apostles of that same grace – this is the reality of each one of us here present. This is a great cop out for us if we do NOT want to be evangelists; we can simply say, “God made me do it.” For those us old enough to remember comedian Flip Wilson who made the phrase, “The devil made me do it!” popular. We live in a culture where saying, “God says so,” is not popular. I believe our culture’s, our country’s negative descent over the last two generations has to do with our culture’s brainwashing in believing authority is evil. I cannot tell you how many people over the years are getting more and angrier over simple observances at work. For instance at our family business we have a Laundromat where people over the decades have become less and less courteous about what I think are simple considerations. For instance I asked a lady who was dragging a heavy basket full of laundry to either pick it up or put it in a basket with wheels as the basket was scratching my floor. The angry reply was, “Well the floor is not in good shape.” Well that’s because rude people drag their heavy baskets across it. That’s just one of many examples like people have been more likely to damage our machines by slamming washer or dryer doors or stuffing 8 by 10 foot rugs in single loaders thus breaking them and getting belligerent with me for pointing out what I think is the obvious. I would like our church to change the cultural paradigm that tells us the devil made me do it to “God made us to do it.” The fact is what we do in Christian charity can only benefit the world all the time. Amos and to some extent all of us are reluctant messengers. Amos rejects being labeled as a prophet because, at the time of his call, a professional guild of self-appointed “prophets” had given prophecy a bad name. That is why he labels himself as a sheep breeder. Have you seen the movie coming to America? I do not necessarily recommend it because of some language and some sexual innuendos but it is a prince and pauper movie where a rich prince comes to America to find a bride who is not into him just for money. So, of course, he chooses Queens to find this bride and disguises himself as a goat herder who works at a fast food joint. When his love interest finally finds out he is a prince, she is confused about the man she fell in love with. The funny line is when he asks her, “Do you not love me when you thought I was a goat herder?” This was said in a New York City subway and the expressions on the people’s faces were priceless. Amos has the same dilemma and he clears his “God made me do it” moment with this explanation; Amos 7: 12 Then Amaziah said to Amos: ”Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, and there prophesy. 13 But never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is the royal residence.” 14 Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: ”I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheep breeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. 15 Then the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said to me, ’Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’ 

POINT TWO:

The fact is our vocations are part of our call to be prophets, ministers, and evangelists. Paul the tentmaker knew this and look how happy he was in this morning’s second reading: Ephesians 1: 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Although it isn’t clear from the English translation, the Greek text of Ephesians 1:3-14 is made up of one very long run-on sentence. Paul started this sentence in verse 3 with the phrase: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…” Then he proceeds to tell us what God has done. He does not stop to take a breath, but continues on until the end of verse 14. He cannot stop talking about God. He speaks of all three members of the Godhead. The Father who planned our salvation from eternity past; the Son who accomplished our salvation on the cross; and the Spirit who signed, sealed and delivered us in our new relationship.

POINT THREE:

You are ready so go out and teach all nations that Jesus is Lord and God. God has already given you the equipment to do this so just do it. The twelve Jesus sent out were no more qualified than you are but they just did it. Mark 6: 7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. 8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— 9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. 10 Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for that city!” 12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

CONCLUSION:

What the prophet (you and I) has to say is not his own; in the final analysis, whether or not he is extraordinarily bright, or well-read, or wise, or experienced, or eloquent, has no bearing. His words represent the mind of God to His people, and it is on this account that they merit credence. What the apostle has to give others is not his own either, but a gift given him by Christ. Or rather, Christ himself is the gift the apostle, as bearer of his word and his healing grace, offers to every town and village. When you offer these gifts people who receive your message get healed. There are two types of healings. The first is the healing that manifests the Glory of God on earth. The second is the healing that manifests the Glory of God in Heaven. Either way, they are healed! Be proud of who you are good Christian people! Do not be nervous or uncomfortable or fearful of proclaiming the Christ. It is part of our co-creative purpose for being alive. That’s why you are here and that is the sense of being sent.

“Is God Working In You?”

The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli     

(All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

JOKE:

What did one flag say to the other flag? Nothing, it just waved! What would you get if you crossed George Washington with cattle feed? The Fodder of Our Country!

INTRO:

I am not one of those people who have lost hope in our country. Perhaps the fact that my parents immigrated here with the intentionality to better themselves in the land of opportunity helped my patriotic ideals. Imagine that a citizen is actually proud to be an American and instead of bashing this county, which seems to be the trend in modern politics One can look back at our foundations and admit that the U.S. is a great country. What made it a great country? The most ignorant argument of modern day revisionist historians is that the U.S. was NOT founded on Christian principles. I will say that positively now and with 100% accuracy; our country WAS founded on Christian, Biblical, principles. Those foundations led to the most blessed nation in the world. Every politician, revolutionary, and leader was steeped in Biblical truths that led to our desire for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These freedoms could never have been found in any other faith tradition except for ours. Every signed of the Declaration of the Independence was a Christian. The most liberal, and I use that word in an 18^th century context, was Thomas Jefferson. As an 18^th Unitarian he believed that the Bible was the Word of God and was absolutely necessary to create the document that would set us free. Again I emphasize that the most liberal of Christians in the 18^th century put to shame most mainline denominations and Jefferson was certainly a lot more conservative then most Protestant churches of our 21^st century nation. He was Pro-Bible, Pro-Life, Pro-Marriage, and Pro-Jesus. He was quoted as saying, “I hold the precepts of Jesus as delivered by Himself, to be the most pure, benevolent and sublime which have ever been preached to man.” Unfortunately we have not progressed over the past fifty years and quite honestly and frankly we need to bring our Christian foundation back to life in the schools, in the government, and in our homes. When we do this we will be a stronger nation and perhaps we can return to the blessings that made us the greatest country on earth. This morning I want to talk a little about foundations and their importance on every aspect of our lives. The Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy was going to fall. Scientists reported that the 179-foot tower moves about one-twentieth of an inch a year, and is now 17 feet out of plumb. They further estimate that it would have collapsed by the year 2007 the 820-year old tower will have leaned too ristorante, where scientists gathered to discuss their findings. Quite significantly, the word “pisa” means “marshy land,” which gives some clue as to why the tower began to lean even before it was completed. Also–its foundation is only 10 feet deep! In order to fix the tower they injected the foundations with special cables and cement and now expect it to last at least another 300 years. Amazingly God only works in truths; scientific, academic, and spiritual. This illustration shows why God puts so much emphasis on foundational thinking. As the psalmist says, “Psalm 118: 22The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.24 this is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” And without our chief cornerstone we will sink and we will lean and we will fall. So I want to journey in the readings this morning and reconnect us to what makes us strong, unwavering, foundational Christian thinkers and doers.

POINT ONE:

No matter what we must remain faithful to God. The prophet Ezekiel is the type of man that I enjoy reading about. He lived during a time of international upheaval. The balance of power in the area we call the holy land was changing. The Assyrian Empire to the north was falling apart because of military action from the Babylonians. The Egyptians from the south were trying to re-assert their influence over the area. Battles were fought and King Josiah of Judah, all that was left of the former great Kingdom of Israel, was killed in battle. Judah became a vassal state of Babylon. Soon Judah rebelled and Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon sent forces to quell the rebellion. This happened 597 years before the birth of Jesus. Nebuchadnezzar took about 10,000 of the Judeans and exiled them in Babylon. This group of exiles joined a group that was previously taken. Ezekiel left with the second group. Daniel was taken with the first group. The exiles taken were generally the most capable of the citizens, those most likely to rebel if left in the conquered land and those most useful. Zedekiah was made another vassal King of Judah. He too rebelled leading to the complete destruction of the city of Jerusalem and it’s Temple by the Babylonians. Ezekiel received his call in 593 BC in Babylon and seven years before the destruction of the city and temple. He was thirty years old at this time and was active for 22 years. Life for the exiles was confusing. They missed their city, their temple, their ritual. They were not sure they could even worship God in this strange place. They had little experience with public worship other than Temple ritual and sacrifices. This is the period in Jewish history when synagogues were established and other worship forms were developed. The temptation to give up the ancestral faith was strong. To assimilate into the local population was an attractive alternative. Those who turned their backs on the God of Israel and merged with the locals tended to prosper. Ezekiel in one aspect was more fortunate than most of us. In the first Chapter of the book of Ezekiel he received a powerful vision followed by his clear call. Most of us get a gentle whisper, a nudge from the Holy Spirit, sometimes a daily nudge that we manage to ignore. Ezekiel was called for a difficult task. He could have avoided the assignment completely or just basked in the glory of the vision for awhile. His assignment was to make it abundantly clear that by turning their backs on God and worshiping the detestable gods of the pagans, they brought this national catastrophe on themselves; not a popular message. For seven years he preached to his fellow Jews the bad news. Jerusalem will fall, the temple will be destroyed and they were not going home. After the destruction of the temple, he preached consoling words of hope for his people. They would experience revival, restoration and a glorious future as the kingdom of God in the world. Ezekiel was in many ways the glue that kept the Jews together. By answering the call he was permitted to experience the joy of working for the Lord. The Lord, however, was not dependant on Ezekiel; He could have called another prophet. But Ezekiel proved to be a great man of God. In the first reading imagine yourself being called by God. Ezekiel 2: So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.  1And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” 2 Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. 3 And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. 4 For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ 5 As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.

POINT TWO:

No matter what God calls you to do, you have the power and the strength to accomplish it. I cannot tell you how many times in my life I have argued with God about what He asked me to accomplish and He keeps telling me, “Stop whining and just do it.” It’s amazing how these concepts make for great sneaker commercials or even self-help books that tell us how to be driven for our God-given purpose (if I used those words the other way around, I would be sued as these concepts are all copy-written). But commercialism aside, God has empowered us because He has all the power. God has built us up because He created us. By definition God is omniscient so why argue, just do it. Paul said it best this morning. 2 Corinthians 12:7And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

When I am weak, then I am strong. To the world this is nonsense. Power and strength are worshipped by most people, and weakness is despised above all things. The world teaches us to conceal our vulnerability, lest we are hurt, and it teaches us to hide our weakness, lest we be taken advantage of. The world teaches us to camouflage our inadequacies with self-confidence, self reliance and self assurance, so that we can build a Heaven for ourselves here on earth. The world teaches us that we can help ourselves, that we can do what we need to do on our own, and that all the answers we need we can find in ourselves.

POINT THREE:

We can feel bad about our weakness and that’s OK. We can feel bad about rejection or being hated and attacked but that’s OK. I hate being hated. I want to be loved and feel good and get along with everybody but that’s not the reality of a sinful world. Last year 26 people were killed and 4,000 Christian homes, churches and centers were destroyed by Hindu extremists. Recently Karachi attacks were part of escalating Muslim Taliban violence throughout the country. The Pakistani government informed the National Assembly on April 20 that 1,400 people had been killed in terrorist attacks in the last 15 months. Ignoramuses try to argue that there are Christian extremists but the reality is there are NOT! There is no Christian church or nation that does not embrace the principles of freedom. In other words Christianity is the only faith tradition where God is the Father who allows His children to choose to accept or reject Him. Every parent here knows that there comes a point where we let go and allow our children to make mistakes. As much as I miss Cassandra, I know she is fine in Ireland and making me proud as yesterday she marched in Dublin to protect life. Do Christians believe in defending life? Absolutely! But Christians would never go door to door killing and destroying men, women, and children who reject Jesus. Heck, Jesus understood this only too well in His own country. Mark 6:  1 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him. 4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

CONCLUSION:

The end of the Gospel this morning is the Good News. If you want to build yourself up or lessen your stress and participate in the best self-help, simply go village to village teaching, healing, and testifying. God will bless you as you bless others. It’s that simple folks! You’ve go the power! Just let God work in you!

 

“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.