2007 The Second Sunday after Epiphany

Today was the Second Sunday After Epiphany, the Sunday of a three day weekend and also a big football day for San Diegans. It was also the coldest morning of the current century, or millennium for that matter. It was 18°F up the hill and about 40°F at church when the service started, but about 55°F when it ended. Nonetheless, by the time the service started, we had 18 attendees.

Today marked the Eighteenth Sunday of the Confirmation – Reception classes. Today Father Acker discussed the first part of our Motto: Scripture • Reason • Tradition, breaking the subject into three areas: Source, Subject and Authority.

Our church is rooted in Holy Scripture. Our service by phrase count is 83% scripture; we take scripture seriously. Article Six of our Articles of Religion says:

Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or thought to be requisite or necessary to salvation.

We seek through study to understand more fully the meaning of the Bible. We do not claim to find hidden meaning in the Word of God. We think, like the Constitution of the United States, the Bible means what it says. We are not complete literalists, but rather we think the Bible was written to be understood by the people in terms they could appreciate. The meaning is clear to the reader and not hidden.

We believe the Word of God has the power to improve each of our lives, if only we will do what we are clearly told.

Source
The Source of Holy Scripture is God. The revelation can be either indirect or direct. We see the indirect revelation of God in nature and through science. It is no coincidence that the vast majority of scientists and engineers believe in God. The direct revelation is through chosen people to whom and through whom God has spoken. They were people who responded to God’s word faithfully and with faith in Him, who lived their lives in a faithful relationship with Him.

Some will say they do not believe in God. Frankly, it does not matter whether you believe in God. He believes in you and He exists whether you believe in Him or you chose not to. Whether one believes in reality, or not, does not change reality. There is no one or nothing more real than God.

Subject
In scripture, God is telling us what we need to know. You will notice there are two words, both of four letters that people often confuse – Need and Want. In scripture, God tells us what we NEED to know, not necessarily what we WANT to know. Often times we say we need those things we want, using the words interchangeably. But in scripture God gives us what we need for salvation. Again taking the words from Article Six of our Articles of Religion which says:

“Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation”

We see a little of the picture at a time; more study brings more knowledge. Faith and study bring us knowledge of a Sovereign, Cating, Testing, Personal and Faithful personal God. A God who knows us as a “Shepherd knows His sheep.”

Authority
Scripture is the inspired Word of God as written down by man. God chose those He spoke to. His criteria for choosing them was not shared with us. Some seemed likely candidates, others not so. Who, besides God, would have chosen Saul to be the Chief Propagator of the growing Church. Probably no one besides God, but He chose and what a choice it was.

People often ask, “Oh, Lord, why me?” More often the question should be why have You been so good to me and why has my life been so wonderful and I so ungrateful?” God asks, nay demands, we follow His will as made known to us through Holy Scripture. Written through the ages, divergent yet not conflicting in the important core values, Holy Scripture is the ultimate written authority from God.

Dru Arnold read the Epistle for today, which came from Paul’s letter to the Romans, starting at the Sixth Verse of the Twelfth Chapter. Paul notes that each of us are gifted by God in different ways and asks that we use the gifts God gave us as He gave them to us if “prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering; or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another.” We are not to pay inordinate attention to those in power, but to love and treat with respect all.

The Gospel for today came from the beginning of the Gospel according to St. Mark, the First Chapter, beginning at the First Verse. It tells the story of “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; as it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judæa, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; and preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him: and there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Sermon
The Gospel this morning is by Mark. Mark was not an apostle or one of the original disciples, his mother Mary was. He was a young man at the time of Jesus. He tells the story of Jesus. He tells an action packed story continually begging the question, “Who could this Jesus be?” and quickly providing the answer, “The Son of God.” Mark wrote his Gospel while in with Peter in Rome at the peak of Nero’s persecution of Christians, week by week they lost Christians to the Romans. Yet rather than their numbers shrinking, they grew. They were terrified, yet in the face of terror they persevered. Mark was a Jew, yet he seems to have written mainly for Gentiles. Mark knew that for Jesus’ mission here on earth to succeed, Christians would have to stand for what they believed in. They had to boldly and unashamedly answer the question, “Who could this Jesus be?” by quickly and boldly providing the answer, “The Son of God.”

Today is no different. Today for Jesus’ mission here on earth to succeed, Christians must stand tall for what they believe in. They must boldly and unashamedly answer the question, “Who could this Jesus be?” by quickly and boldly proclaiming, “The Son of God!”

You must be clear on this Jesus is the Son of God. As CS Lewis reminds us continually and in no place more clearly than in his book Mere Christianity, “The really foolish thing that people often say about Him is: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

“Who could this Jesus be?” • “The Son of God!”

Birthdays and Anniversaries
There were no reported birthdays or anniversaries today.

New Name Tags on Sunday
We had no new nametags today. We did have Darlene visit today, hopefully she will be back for another visit.

After Church Hospitality
Today Jan Macauley brought the goodies. There were two types of cookie bars, one straight chocolate chip and the other mint chip. Based on a limited survey of Nick Patton, the mint chip won hand down. There were also deviled eggs, which your Beadle consumed with great pleasure, being a fan of world class deviled eggs, and for those with other tastes, roast mixed nuts, as well as grapes and strawberries. Absolutely lovely presentation, we might add.

Tim Macauley once again had to work, not to worry though, his House of Coffee provided freshly brewed coffee and hot chocolate under the supervision of Deputy Barrista Ben Lizak. As customary, Father Acker made fresh low carb lemonade, which your Beadle loveth.

People in our Prayers

God’s Guidance
Shamim Gray – Please continue to pray for God’s help and guidance for Shamim as she takes care of her three young children, Zack, Aaron and Nadia while her husband Obra is in Iraq and pray for Obra’s safe return. Pray also that their entire family will come to know God’s love, which can bring them happiness and strength by following the clear instructions He has given us through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Commander O is back in Iraq with the Marines; please pray for him to safely complete his combat tour.

Travel
Tim, Chris, Andrew

Sick
Gene Hunt has mostly recovered from his hip surgery; but spends most of his time in his wheel chair. Evelyn comes most days to see him at Chase Healthcare Center when her back is behaving itself.

Barbara Emrich has moved around quite a bit over the last couple of months. She is now at the Jacob Health Center. “Not an ideal arrangement” but she is doing quite well after her diabetes has put her in the hospital several times over the last few months.

Miney Farrell asks your continued prayer for relief of the blurred vision in one eye. Also at Evening Shade Home, Katie Benjamin, is doing well. Although she says sometimes she feels 96, she sure does not act it!

Donna Dingwall is doing much better. She is grateful for your prayers. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Lorraine Winkles, is doing well. Perhaps we can get her a ride to a service now and again from her home in Blossom Valley.
 
Front Door Lending Library
The Lending Library has some new Annotated Holy Communion Books. These books have the Prayer Book Holy Communion service on the left page and an explanation on the right page. They are a great way to learn about the service. Pick one up when you come in and use it for the service, if you like.

The Lending Library is a resource you need to use. Most of the books are short, understandable, but very powerful. Also, if you have any books you would like share, please bring them in.

Personal 1928 Books of Common Prayer
While not strictly part of the Front Door Lending Library, we have some personal 1928 Prayer Books. A church in Florida disposed of a nice quantity of personal hardback 1928 BCPs in excellent to new condition, which we were lucky enough to acquire. There are some on the Front Table. We have plenty, although we only put out a half dozen at a time. They are yours to take home as your very own. The only thing the parish asks is that if you ever go to the dark side, please return it. Otherwise, it is yours forever.

Free Teen Guitar Class
There is a new Free Teen Guitar Class starting up. As an outreach to the local community, Father Acker teaches a guitar class on Wednesdays at the Alpine Community Center. The class is known as the Free Teen Guitar Class (FTGC). If you know anyone with a teenager who would like to learn to play the guitar, have them contact Father Acker. This is an excellent opportunity.

Do not let the word Free in the title mislead you. Many people think something that is Free is not worth anything. That is not the case. Just in case you were not aware of it Father Acker is a professional class guitarist. And at least as important is he is not only a good teacher, but a superb guitar teacher. Many people can play. Father Acker is not just a world class guitarist, but he can teach others to play. Plus, the class is not really free. Once a month, on the first Sunday of the month, the class plays for our 0830 service. If you know much about teenagers, being in place for a 0830 Sunday service is payback.

Order of Saint James and Saint Matthew
The needs are many, the resources few. But, like loaves and fishes there are sufficient unto the day, with God’s help through our Lord and Savior.

Saint James tells us we are to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

Saint Matthew tells us to do our good without fanfare, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Saint James goes further telling us what we are to do to be doers of Jesus’ Word: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

In his role of Parish Chief Constable, your Beadle has established in his offices an Order of Saint James and Saint Matthew. If you know of a parish member who is keeping the Word, doing their duty to God and Country without fanfare, send your Beadle a note at thebeadle@mac.com for consideration of their potential admission to the order.

In keeping with the instructions of James and Matthew, details of the membership will be, as they say, closely held at the codeword level. Much like the Company, recognition is important, even if we do not tell the public.

Coming Up later this year
The pre-service lessons towards Confirmation or Reception have been very well received. Your Beadle believes he has prevailed on Father Acker to continue the classes indefinitely. As the Confirmation – Reception subjects are completed, he will be discussing portions of the Bible, as well as Christian history and Anglican history in particular. We have some study Bibles for those who are interested. Please contact the Beadle at thebeadle@mac.com for your copy.
Martin Luther King Day 2007
Monday, 15 January 2007, is the day set aside to honor the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King. But why? Because he was a great Black or African American? I think that thought would be repugnant to him as it surely is to God. In his “I have a dream” speech the Reverend King dreamed of an American where we would each be Americans, neither black, nor white.

Consider if you will the intertwined stories of Thomas J. Hudner and Jesse Leroy Brown whose lives came together before God and parted on 4 December 1950.

Ensign Jesse LeRoy Brown was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on 13 October 1926, Jesse did not know the Navy had no black pilots and never intended to have any. He was told that, but he paid no attention. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1946 and was appointed a Midshipman, USN, the following year. After attending Navy pre-flight school and flight training, he was designated a Naval Aviator in October 1948, the first “African American” to achieve this status. Midshipman Brown was then assigned to Fighter Squadron 32. He received his commission as Ensign in April 1949. During the Korean War, his squadron operated from USS Leyte (CV-32), flying F4U-4 Corsair fighters in support of United Nations forces. On 4 December 1950, while on a close air support mission near the Chosin Reservoir, flying his 20th mission, Jesse’s Corsair was hit by ground fire over hostile territory and lost power. The only place to land was on the side of a mountain covered by snow. LTJG Thomas Hudner, two years older than Jesse, a Naval Academy graduate and his wingman watched in horror as Jesse’s plane pancaked hard on the mountainside.

Hudner was briefly buoyed by hope to see Jesse wave from the open canopy. But he wasn’t making any effort to get out of the cockpit. Something was very wrong, and to make matters worse, there was smoke rising from the shattered plane.

Hudner made a quick decision to try to rescue Jesse. That meant crash landing his plane next to Jesse on the side of the mountain, which he successfully did. Can you imagine what it takes to put a six ton machine down onto the side of a mountain at 85 miles per hour? Meanwhile, the rest of the squadron circled overhead to watch for Chinese soldiers and radioed for a rescue helicopter.

Hudner found Jesse trapped in the buckled cockpit without his helmet and gloves in below zero temperature and undetermined internal injuries. He covered Jesse’s head with a wool cap and his numb hands with a scarf and used the snow to put out the smoldering fire. But he couldn’t budge Jesse no matter how hard he tried. He returned to his crashed aircraft and radioed other airborne planes, requesting that the helicopter bring an ax and fire extinguisher.

Charlie Ward, a pilot friend of Jesse’s, arrived, making a difficult landing with the helicopter. Charlie had an axe, but that didn’t help free Jesse since the axe just bounced off the metal surface of the plane. Jesse kept getting weaker as the two men desperately tried to free him.

Their efforts were for naught and Jesse slipped slowly away as they worked in frustration. His last words were to his wife, "Tell Daisy that I love her. " Hudner and Ward wept.

Back on the ship, Jesse’s squadron debated what to do. They didn’t want to leave him for the Chinese so they decided to give Jesse a "warriors funeral. " The next day seven aircraft left the carrier and flew over the crash site. While one plane accelerated in a vertical climb toward heaven, the others dove and released their bombs on the mountainside. The voice of one of the pilots could be heard over the radio reciting the Lord’s Prayer.

On 13 April 1951, President Truman awarded the Medal of Honor to Jesse’s friend and wingman, Thomas Hudner. Jesse was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and the Purple Heart.

Think of this, down below he could see his fellow Naval Aviator trapped in the cockpit, with enemy forces likely to close soon. With no thought for himself, thinking only of his fellow Aviator (notice not black or African, but just a fellow Aviator), Tom Hudner did the only thing he could to help. Charlie Ward came in to pick up his fellow Aviators; not black, not white.

This is the America the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King dreamed of. It had taken root far before the “I have a dream” speech and with actions, not mere words. It is an America with Americans, plain and simple. God’s chosen people showed their face once again at the Chosin Reservoir in this story as in so many others from that terrible place.

Second Sunday After Epiphany
Once again, due to the press of work events, primarily out of office travel, your Beadle was not able to print and mail last week’s Beadle’s Report to those who get it non-electronically. As usual, it will be mailed with this report. This was not the fault of the Deputy Beadle who handles mailing, but rather the press of work on the Beadle himself who regrets the late mailing.

Next Sunday
Next Sunday is the Third Sunday after Epiphany. The Confirmation – Reception classes are doing exceptionally well. If you are one of those people who only comes to church on Christmas or Easter, that is fine. If you are not, come join us for next Sunday’s fun! Plus, we need to tell you, we are having a great time on Sundays. One of the advantages of meeting at the school, is we have to set up and break down our little church. You might think it would be a pain. Actually, it is a lot of fun. Nick and Marianne have really gotten in to it. Ken is a superb chair setter, after all what would one expect from a professional photographer? Everyone pitches in and we have a great time!

See you next week on Sunday!

A full version of the Beadle’s Report with more photographs is available by e-mailing the Beadle at:

thebeadle@mac.com

The full .pdf version of the current Beadle’s Report posted by Father Acker on the church website and is available at:

http://www.alpineanglican.com/Beadle/beadle.pdf

An alternative version of the Beadle’s Report without photographs is available at:

http://web.mac.com/thebeadle/iWeb/BeadleBlog/Blog/Blog.html

All back issues of the Beadle’s Reports are available on request from:

thebeadle@mac.com