The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Today was the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany and the Sunday we hold our Annual Meeting, which coincidentally is held once a year. The weather was beautiful, a high thin overcast, the kind that gives a copper on azure sunrise. Temperatures were in the low fifties range at the start of the service and in the mid-sixties by the time we left. May chance it was the fine weather, perhaps the promise of special goodies for the Annual Meeting, or even the anticipation of a great Sunday Holy Communion Service. Whatever the reason, we drew 25 attendees for our service.

Today marked the Twenty-First Sunday of the Confirmation – Reception classes. Today Father Acker continued the discussion on our Motto, moving to the second word:

Scripture • Reason • Tradition

In the First Book of St. Peter in Chapter Three, Verse Fifteen, he tells us:

… be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear…

The renowned Anglican writer GK Chesterton wrote, “Faith comes first, then understanding.” Before Jesus left, it is recorded in Chapter Fourteen, Verse Twenty-Six by St. John that He told His disciples there would be help in understanding the Word of God for:

… the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things,

Through the Holy Ghost, we gain faith and through faith understanding, which we can pass on through reason. As Anglicans we value reason. Why? First, God is Truth, God is Constant, God is Rational. God is the ultimate in reason. He does nothing without reason and is always consistent. If there is chaos, it is not of God. We receive the authority of God’s Word and accept it. Blind acceptance? Hardly, there is constant reasoning behind our acceptance. In all that we see, we see the hand of God. Reason does not tear down our faith, but rather reinforces it. There is a reason that almost all of the great scientists were believers in God. For it is impossible to use the powers of reasoning God gave us and not see Him in the world around us.

Hap Arnold read the Epistle for today, which came from Paul’s letter to the Romans, starting at the First Verse of the Thirteenth Chapter. Continuing his message from the last two Sundays Paul tells us not to be self centered, realizing all good power derives from God, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves condemnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: for he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” If we are following the will of God, followers of Christ are great citizens of the secular world. Jesus tells us over and over that His Kingdom is not of this world, but rather our performance here is a factor in our final destination.

Today’s Gospel came from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, the Eight Chapter beginning at the First Verse. It told of the time just after the Sermon on the Mount, giving two examples of true faith. The first a leper: “When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” Knowing the man would spread the word of this miracle, and apparently wishing to keep from being seen as boastful, “Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.” No doubt the man offered the requisite offering, but it is likely he spread the word further due to Jesus’ caution to “tell no man.”

The second demonstration of faith, one of your Beadle’s favorites in the Bible, comes as “Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Contrasting this powerful demonstration of faith by the Gentile Centurion to the failure of many Jews to to change from followers of the Law to followers of the Word, Jesus told them, “many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the faithful centurion Jesus said, “Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”

Sermon
Just before the events of today’s Gospel, Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount. In Chapter Seven, Verses Twenty-Eight and Twenty-Nine, St. Matthew tells us:

And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Jesus taught with authority, unlike the teachers of the Law, who followed the Law, Jesus teachings came from His heart, because He knew what God wanted. When He healed the leper, a man with a terminal disease in its final stages, He demonstrated His power to heal. A power to heal the most deadly disease of all, mortal sin. The leper would no longer be an outcast of society, living his final days on the Golan Heights, alone, depending on the charity of his family for scraps of food. He would be back amongst his family, in a world he could be at one with. In Jesus, the leper saw salvation. Did he see eternal salvation or just a chance to live out his life here on earth in peace. We will never know what he thought he was asking for, but we know what he got. The Peace of God which passeth all understanding. This miracle of healing was pretty impressive to the people who saw a man with a death sentence receive an immediate release to his family.

Later that day, the Centurion sought out Jesus. Had he heard the Sermon on the Mount? Perhaps. Had he heard of it? Perhaps. A Gentile, the equivalent of an Army Major, the Centurion was well educated and well respected. Yet this man of power sought out the country rabbi, saying, “Lord!” He knew who he was talking to and he knew His power. The Faithful Centurion is an example for each of us. “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But, speak the Word only and my servant shall be healed.” As powerful a statement of faith as there is in the New Testatment and seldom understood. The Faithful Centurion had seen and heard Jesus. The Faithful Centurion knew who He was.

Can you tell us:

“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 four new nametags today.

Mike Springer Annie Springer Alex Springer Emilie Springer

After Church Hospitality
For a special treat today, in honor of the Annual Meeting, Karen Dingwall brought a lovely Blueberry Pound Cake and cut up fruit. The cake was absolutely outstanding and the apples were great, the red and green color choices were a super presentation.

Even though Tim Macauley once again had to work, 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.

Annual Meeting
Today was our Annual Meeting. In the meeting we elect Vestry Members, ratify the voting status of the Clerk and Treasurer in the event they are not elected Vestry Members and adopt a budget.

The Vestry Election resulted in the following:

Ben Lizak Three Year Term
Hap Arnold Three Year Term
Jan Macauley Two Year Term – Clerk of the Vestry
Craig Maxwell One Year Term
Greg Chase Appointed to a One Year Term as Treasurer with voting status

We adopted a budget based on last year’s actual spending, with slight increases in some areas and slight decreases in others.

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.

Travel
Greg will be teaching next weekend and will miss church.

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), but due to a scheduling miracle, the class is now open to Third Graders. If you know anyone with a youngster 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 kids, 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.

Thought for the Day – Can you tell me what these words mean?
There are a couple of words that I really do not understand: covet and primate.

The Tenth Commandment tells me not to covet. I thought covet meant want and I certainly want.

Then we are praying for Primates, which when I look it up means monkey. Why the heck are we praying for monkeys? Or is it Monkees, the now defunct band who certainly could have used some help?

Covet is one of those troublesome words that have more than one meaning. Not as confusing as cleave, but still not an easy one. Basically to covet is to want. But, there is good wanting and bad wanting.

• In the good sense, it is to wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of.

• On the other hand in a bad sense, it is to long for inordinately or unlawfully.

To want or desire something is not only okay, it is desirable as long as you want to acquire it by hard work or other legitimate means. When you want something and think to acquire it by theft, force or other illegitimate means, you are on the bad side of covet. It you “want” it bad enough to steal for, you are coveting it. Another way of putting it is to have or indulge inordinate desire. Ordinate desire is okay; inordinate is not okay!

Now on to the Primate thing. Yes, primates are monkeys (not Monkees); but that is only one meaning of the word, the zoological meaning of the word. It actually means one of any placental mammal of the order Primates, which is the highest order of mammals. It includes man, together with apes, monkeys, lemurs and tarsiers, all of which have good eyesight and flexible hands and feet.

There is also an ecclesiastic or religious meaning, with a similar meaning. As a primate is the highest order of animal, a Primate is the highest order of ordained minister. A Primate is the chief ecclesiastic (Head Bishop) in a national church; one who presides over other bishops in a province; an archbishop, a senior clergyman or dignitary, an archbishop who has jurisdiction over one or several other metropolitans.

There is also a definition in the Devil’s Dictionary, which appears to be written by Screwtape, which seems to apply to the various apostate bishops of the north:

PRIMATE, n. The head of a church, especially a State church supported by involuntary contributions. The Primate of England is the Archbishop of Canterbury, an amiable old gentleman, who occupies Lambeth Palace when living and Westminster Abbey when dead. He is commonly dead.

Question that only you can answer
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.


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 very nice King James Version study Bibles for those who are interested. Please contact the Beadle at thebeadle@mac.com for your copy.

Next Sunday
Next Sunday is the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany. Your Beadle understands through the grapevine that there are some very special goodies on line for after church. After all, it is the First Sunday after Groundhog Day, a special Sunday, if ever there was one. Also, Father Acker looks like he is going to finish up on our motto – Scripture • Reason • Tradition in his Confirmation – Reception classes, but you never can tell. There is a lot of suspense there. Also, it is only one more week until we find out when the Bishop will be coming.

If you are one of those people who still only wants come to church on Christmas or Easter, that is better than nothing, and after all, better is the enemy of good enough. On the other hand, if you did not get your engraved invitation last week, here it is:

Please join us Sunday
at
0830L (8:30am)
for
Holy Communion

See you next week on Sunday!

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