2007 The Sunday next before Easter, commonly called Palm Sunday

Today was the Palm Sunday, the Sunday next before Easter, commonly called Palm Sunday. With an almost full moon setting as we awoke, it was clear on Mount Olympus, with a very thin whispy overcast layer in the sky at church. The beautiful morning brought out 27 members.

The name Palm Sunday comes from the palm leaves, along with clothing and other honors strewn along Jesus’ path as He came in to Jerusalem the first day of the week before His crucifixion. Of interest, only Jesus knew of the upcoming crucifixion, every one else, including Jews, Romans and the Christians thought he was making a triumphant entrance in to the city. Those who thought of Him as Lord looked for a Kingdom of this World to be established. Far from that, He came to take us from this world to freedom.

Today in his Thirtieth Sunday of Confirmation – Reception classes in preparation for Bishop Boyce’s visit on 20 May 2007, Father Acker discussed the start of the first Holy Week. It is important to remember as you go through Holy Week that Jesus was in control of all the events of the week. The moon was almost full, this was the year of the Messiah according to Daniel. Jesus chose the route into the city, through the King’s Gate. The people saw Him coming and met him at the Mount of Olives. They expected Him to come in and proclaim His rule. And that He did, but not in the way the people were looking for. He went in to the temple and through out the vendors selling “sacrificial” birds and animals at exorbitant cost, as well as the money changers. Far from announcing Himself head of the temple, He announce they had made His Father’s house a den of thieves. Rather than working within the establishment, He over turned it! Having made His point, He left the city the way He came in.

The reason Jesus came to Jerusalem at the Passover was to take the place of the yearly sacrifice one time, by one perfect sacrifice for all time and for all mankind. His was to be the blood marking our door that the destroyer might pass over.

Before the service proper started, Father Acker blessed the palms from which we later made crosses.

Traditionally, we make crosses of the palm fronds after the service. It is a handy way to keep the palm frond until next year’s Ash Wednesday, when the palms are burned to make the ashes for that day.

Alice Acker read the Epistle for today, which came from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, starting at the Fifth Verse of the Second Chapter.

Paul reminds us that if Christ, the Son of God, was obedient to God, we should so be. Also, as a result of that obedience, God hath given Jesus the name to which all of earth should bow. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

This morning’s Gospel comes from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, starting at the First Verse of the Twenty-Seventh Chapter and tells the story of Jesus’ trial, crucifixion and death. The Gospel was read by the congregation in parts. It seems more powerful when read as a play, so to speak. The crowd’s part is very hard to read as it reminds us of our dark side. If you did not make it to church today, please find someone to read this with in parts. It is an uncomfortable experience that you nonetheless should not miss.
Gospeller: The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew: When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying,
Judas: I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.
Gospeller: And they said,
Crowd: What is that to us? see thou to that.
Gospeller: And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said,
Crowd: It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
Gospeller: And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me. And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying,
Pilate: Art thou the King of the Jews?
Gospeller: And Jesus said unto him,
Jesus: Thou sayest.
Gospeller: And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him,
Pilate: Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?
Gospeller: And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them,
Pilate: Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
Gospeller: For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying,
Pilate’s Wife: Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.
Gospeller: But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them,
Pilate: Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you?
Gospeller: They said,
Crowd: Barabbas.
Gospeller: Pilate saith unto them,
Pilate: What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?
Gospeller: They all say unto him,
Crowd: Let him be crucified.
Gospeller: And the governor said,
Pilate: Why, what evil hath he done?
Gospeller: But they cried out the more, saying,
Crowd: Let him be crucified.
Gospeller: When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying,
Pilate: I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
Gospeller: Then answered all the people, and said, Crowd: His blood be on us, and on our children.
Gospeller: Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying,
Crowd: Hail, King of the Jews!
Gospeller: And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there; And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying,
Crowd: Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
Gospeller: Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
Crowd: He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
Gospeller: The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying,
Jesus: Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
Gospeller: that is to say,
Jesus: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Gospeller: Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said,
Crowd: This man calleth for Elias.
Gospeller: And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said,
Crowd: Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
Gospeller: Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
Here silence is kept, some kneel or bow.
Gospeller: And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying,
Crowd: Truly this was the Son of God.

Please read this.

Having read this, do you see yourself in the crowd? There is a little or more of the crowd in each of us. Uncomfortable? Yes. But, sadly very real. Yet, if we realize this, we can act to make ourselves less of the crowd and more of the Christ. For in us each is the crowd and the crown. We chose, each of us, which it will be, crowd or crown. One simple letter of difference, yet the gap between the two is bridged only by Christ.

Sermon
This week was the first time our Core Singing Group met and with Marianne at the organ, this was Father Acker’s first opportunity to preach to the choir!

When we say we are Christian, what does that mean? In the Gospel according to Saint John, the Fifteenth Verse of the Fourteenth Chapter, Jesus tell us: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” In today’s Epistle, Paul tells us in a word, OBEY. If you believe, then you OBEY. You, being human and less than perfect, may do it well or poorly. But God never asks more than your best effort. As we progress towards perfection, our motto is Progress, not Perfection, while having perfection as our ultimate goal.

Jesus set the standard to which we aspire. As a man, He lived a selfless, obedient life: the one God wanted. Then, He died a selfless, obedient death the one God needed. Because He did not give up His humanity in His death, As the Father lifted up His Son, so then all creation will bow down before Him; for the Glory of God the Father.

In our baptism, itself an act of obedience, we promise to live selfless, obedient lives to the glory of God the Father. We have been adopted into the family of God as a first born son. This honor is not to let us “lord it over others”, but rather give us station to be humble and let our lives be so transparent that those others can see God through us.

So God loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. St. John iii. 16.

Birthdays and Anniversaries
We celebrated Father Acker’s 51st birthday today. There were no reported anniversaries.

New Name Tags on Sunday
We had no new nametags today.

After Church Hospitality
Annie Springer brought the goodies today. There were two kinds of cookies, yellow and red frosted. The Deputy Beadle reports both were superb. For the points challenged, she brought a lovely fruit plate. The Deputy Beadle said he could not report on the fruit, having stuck to the cookies, but your Beadle reports the fruit was great.

Barrista Don Patton served hazelnut coffee, as well as tea and hot chocolate. Once again, Father Acker got up in time to make fresh low carb lemonade before the service.

People in our Prayers

God’s Guidance
Please pray that Obra, Shamim, Zack, Aaron and Nadia 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.

Travel
No reported travel this week, although Ken was conspicuously absent, thus it is presumed he is on travel.

Sick or in need of healing
Betty Cook
Muriel Pappin
Betsy Lane
Ken Abbiss is recovering nicely from surgery for skin cancer on his nose and the bandages are getting smaller.

Lona Walsh (Wanda Michaelis' mother) surgery had been put off.

Miney Farrell is on antibiotics after bronchitis set in following a cold. She asks your prayers for Bertha Rose’s balance problems are compounded by her blindness.

Barbara Emrich was feeling less than her usual chipper self the past week.

Evelyn Hunt is doing remarkably well. Gene has been doing much better. He’s been able to manage lunch without assistance.

Lorraine Winkles is still suffering with the shingles with which she has been afflicted since Christmas.

Donna Dingwall is doing quite a bit better. She is getting medication that is helping her balance. She is doing so well she is considering going on a cruise with her family. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Back Door Lending Library
The Back Door Lending Library is happy to announce the availability of Amazing Grace books of several flavors, in addition, there are still several sets of the Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, as well as some background books on the series. There are plenty of sets, so don’t be shy.

There are also 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.

Core Singing Group
The Core Singing Group is meeting at 1900 (7:00pm) on Thursday at SCAIR, for details, call Walt, Fran, Holly or Ben, they would love to have you.

Question that only you can ask
What would you like to know about our history, what we believe, what we do or how we operate? Father Acker is looking for material for the Catechism class and the Beadle is looking for Thought for the Day material. Help us help you. Please send your question to the Beadle so we all can get an answer. Just because you don’t know the answer to your question doesn’t mean you are the only one who doesn’t know. But, if you don’t ask, no one will know.

Very Important
This is Christ’s Church, which makes it your church; it is not Father Acker’s church, the Beadle’s church, the Senior Warden’s church; it is your church, it is a gift from Christ to you. It is up to you to make it the very best you can.

So, if you see something that needs doing, do it or ask someone else to do it. If there is something you would like to see done or not done in our church, if there is something not being done right, tell someone. Let Father Acker, the Beadle or one of the Vestry know. You have an obligation to make this the very best church you can. Tell us how to help.

If you have a suggestion, criticism or query, tell the Vicar, the Beadle, one of the Vestry, or drop a note in the plate. We must have your help.

Church is like a bank: you get a certain return on your investment; but, if you don’t put anything in, you won’t get anything out.

Bumper or Window Stickers
The church’s stickers are finally in. You can get them from the front door table or the Lending Library table, or ask Father Acker or the Beadle. If you are a long distance reader, you can request one from Father Acker or the Beadle.

Coming Up later this year
Bishop and Mrs. Boyce will be with us on 20 May 2007 for both Confirmation and Reception. Afterwards, they will be joining us for the Second Annual Beadle’s Barbeque at the Arnolds’. Confirmation is a very significant milestone in our spiritual lives, as is the Reception into the Church, for those confirmed. We are expecting a big turnout as those who are confirmed bring family and friends. In addition, as those who attended the First Annual Beadle’s Barbeque can attest to, the Beadle’s Barbeque is not an event to be missed.

Holy Week Schedule
Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, is coming up:

Holy Wednesday
1830 (6:30 pm) We have an instructional Seder Dinner planned for Wednesday at the SCAIR Center, time and location as for the Lenten Classes. Everyone is invited, you need not be a class attendee to come to dinner. Father Acker is taking a head count, though. He needs to know how many are coming so that he can prepare the necessary food. This is a very interesting event, and if that does not draw you, you need to know it is really fun, with great food.
Location – SCAIR Learning Center, 2218 Alpine Boulevard, across from the Alpine Inn.

For more information and head count, please call the church office at (619) 722-1772.

Maundy Thursday
1830 (6:30 pm) Foot washing and Institution of the Last Supper
Location – Victoria Chapel

Good Friday
1200 Ecumenical Stations of the Cross
Location – Queen of Angels
1830 (6:30 pm) Good Friday Liturgy and Mass of the Pre-sanctified Gifts
Location – Victoria Chapel

Saturday
1900 (7:00pm) Easter Vigil (Lighting of the Easter Fire & First Evensong of Easter)
Location – Victoria Chapel
 
Easter Sunday
0830 (08:30 am) Holy Communion
Location - Alpine Community Center
0930 (9:30 am) Breakfast with the Kiwanis - First time attendees’ breakfast is on the church.
Location Alpine Elementary Auditorium (our normal church location)

Easter Sunday is the most important day of the Christian year. It is the day the promise of Christ is delivered. If you don’t attend church any other day of the year, join us for the Easter celebration of the Risen Lord.

Next Sunday
Next Sunday is the Easter. It seems a sure bet the sermon will be on the Risen Lord, in one form or another. On the other hand, it isn’t a bet if it is sure! Still, what about the pre-service class? Will we have one? Will it be about the use of the Book of Common Prayer? Unless you come to the service, you will have to wait until you read the Beadle’s Report to find out.

See you next week on Sunday!

Father Acker posts a .pdf version of the current Beadle’s Report on the church website:

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