Greetings in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Jesus had come to die, but His death had to be a specific death. He was the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8). The will of the Father, which He had come to do, included not only His sacrificial death but His Resurrection as well, to gain the victory over hell and death (Rev 1:18). When the time came He did die, bearing our sins on the cross, and He arose from the dead just as He said He would.
The Resurrection cannot be over emphasized. We have no assurance of His Deity, nor forgiveness of sins, nor eternal life apart from His Resurrection. “If Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain; ye are yet in your sins” (1 Cor 15:17).
The enemies of the Cross know this. They still seek to destroy the young child, denying His Incarnation and Virgin Birth. Priests and Bishops and politicians still crucify the Lord and set guards over His grave, declaring Him to be dead. But, as we see in Matt 28:6, “He is Risen, as He said.” By this fact, we can be assured that it is the skeptics and the detractors and the revisionists who are on trial. They either will come to the Cross for salvation or be cast by it into eternal darkness.
+Richard
Richard J. Boyce
Bishop of the Diocese of the West
Anglican Province of America
Easter Sunday
Today we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, “Christ the Lord is Risen today!” Last week we had snow on Mount Olympus, the Feast of the Resurrection brought a sunny mild Santa Ana with 81°F by the end of the service. This was also the first Sunday service in which our newest Lay Reader Greg Chase acted as Cup Bearer. Greg who is on his way to becoming a Deacon has been studying for this for some time.
The beautiful weather brought out 29 of our members. We had a great time. It made your Beadle wonder about all those who were not in church this morning. If you believe in God, do you accept that His Word is contained in the Bible? If you are a Christian, do you accept that Christ is the Son of God? If you are a Christian, do you accept that Christ gave His Life so that you might have eternal life? If you accept this gift of eternal life, why weren’t you at church this morning worshipping and thanking God for the gift of His Son?:
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.
If you attend church no other Sunday, you are encouraged to come on Easter to give thanks to God for the gift of His Son that we might have everlasting life. While we had no guests, we were pleased that most of our members were able to attend.
We met for the for the Easter service, as we did last year, in the Alpine Community Center. The room we used last year was in use, so we ended up with a bit larger room than we needed. The acoustics were a bit better than our usual location, but it was a bit further walk. On the other hand, the windows behind the altar and the carpeting made for a very nice church environment.
There was no pre-service class as we needed to be clear of the facility by 0930. Father Acker took the opportunity to remind us the Holy Communion Service, sometimes also referred to as The Holy Eucharist or Mass, begins on page 67 of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and works its way through to page 84. There near the beginning of the service, on page 70, we will be reading the Collect for the Day, Epistle and Gospel, these are referred to as The Propers. There are separate Collects, Epistles and Gospels for each Sunday and some special days. They are found a bit further back in the BCP starting on page 90 and in particular for Easter, they are on page 163. After the Collect, Epistle and Gospel, we come back to page 71 for the Nicene Creed and go page by page afterwards.
We take this opportunity each year to thank those who provide our music on a consistent basis, our lovely and talented organist Marianne Lane, Father Acker and Jack Arnold on the guitars and the first Sunday of the month, when the spirit moves them, the Free Teen Guitar Class kids.
Alex Boyd read the Epistle which came from Saint Paul’s letter to the Colossians, beginning at the First Verse of the Third Chapter:
IF ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
As usual, Paul is exhorting us to be the New Man, to put away the trappings of the old and go forward. He asks us to do what anyone who is successful does, hang around with those you want to be like in the end and to emulate their actions. In this case rather that earthly success, Paul is helping prepare us for eternal success through salvation.
The Gospel for this Sunday came from the Twentieth Chapter of the Gospel of Saint John beginning at the first verse. It is the straight forward accounting of the discovery by Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter and John that the Lord was risen indeed.
THE first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
Sermon
Father Acker started the sermon with an Easter Joke about the three San Diegans:
Three San Diegans …..
Three San Diegans died and found themselves standing before St. Peter. He told them that before they could enter the Kingdom, they had to tell him what Easter represented.
The San Diegan said, “Easter is a holiday where they have a big feast and we give thanks and eat turkey.”
St. Peter said, “Noooooo,” and he banished her to Hell.
The second blonde said, “Easter is when we celebrate Jesus’ birth and exchange gifts.”
St. Peter said, “Noooooo,” and he banished her to Hell.
The third blonde said she knew what Easter was, and St. Peter said, “So, tell me.” She said, “Easter is a Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish festival of Passover. Jesus was having Passover feast with his disciples when He was betrayed by Judas, and the Romans arrested Him. The Romans hung Him on the cross and eventually He died. Then they buried Him in a tomb behind a very large boulder … ”
St. Peter said, “Verrrrrry good.”
Then the blonde continued, “Now, every year the Jews roll away the boulder and Jesus comes out. If he sees his shadow, we have six more weeks of basketball.”
St. Peter banished her to Punxsutawney.
While this is a joke, and quite funny, there is also a lesson here. How many of us concentrate on the meaning of Easter? How many are caught up in the “details” of Easter instead?
Father Acker continued pointing out the new world we live in, so more complicated than the old, yet in many ways more simple. There are iPods, iPhones, iThis and iThat.
Perhaps there is a lesson here. Perhaps we should take a hint and try living an iLife.
EGO is Edging God Out. Little good comes of I, putting ME before THEE. God wants to provide us with life with a CAPITAL L. We just need to get out of His way. If we will listen to Him, to follow Him, we will get what He wants us to get, an iLife, which looks more like this:
iLife
A life big and so real that we won’t in the least notice how small the I has become.
Flowers
With donations from the congregation, Martha Stevens came up with some beautiful Easter lilies. Thank you.
Birthdays and Anniversaries
Today we bypassed the birthday and anniversary blessings, we will double up next week.
After Church Hospitality
No goodies today as we had breakfast with the Kiwaniis.
New Nametags
We had no new nametags today.
People in our Prayers
If you are on our prayer list, or you have submitted a person for us to pray for, please update Father Acker in person, by telephone or e-mail. It helps to be able to pray specifically for these individuals including their specific needs; plus if they get better, it is good to give thanks!
Please note that on the green or orange cards at church, you can ask that those to be prayed for have their names disseminated to the “prayer team”, those names will be said in church and appear here. Or, your can ask that the names and purpose be kept confidential, then only Father Acker will know to pray for them.
Travel
Ken is on travel this week.
Walt and Fran are on travel this week.
Sick or in need of healing
Healing
Raymond (Fall/coma), Betty, Annie, Salvador (cancer), Betty, Marge, Uni, Bethany (collision), Greg (shoulder surgery), Kathy, Richard, Christian, Trish, Marie, Wanda, Sarah, Tina, Mark, Lois, Jennette, Linn, Gary, Delores, Anna, Ruth, Theresa, Don (post surgery), Melanie, Connie, Tom, Crystal, Thomas, Hadley, Diane, Norm, Gregory, Terri, Mary, Edward, Bert, Jesusa (difficult pregnancy), Sheila, Michele, Marybeth (broken foot, stroke), Bill (infection), Kevin, Bruce, Susanne, Paul (stroke), Ralph (eyes), Allison (kidney)
Guidance
Christiana, Alexander, Breyana, Vie, Asha, Cory, Heather, Holly, Ken, Maruja, Stella, Shelly, William, Joe, Alexander, Jonathan, Phil, Sandy, Larraine, Brad, Brian, Cindi, Uni, Jennifer, Greg, Ed, Ruthie, Rick, Carol, Susan, Curtis, Stephen, Donny, Chris, Andrew, Keith, Jeff, Penny
Homebound/Aged and Infirm
Mary, Donna, Betty, Noko, Adelaide, Evelyn, Lorraine, Ellie, Walter
Armed Forces & Contractors
Tillman, Patrick, Justin, Tim, Evan, Jim, Jason, JR, Matt, Phillip
Where did the term Easter come from?
Scholars variously attribute the name "Easter" to a derivation from Eostra (a Scandinavian goddess of dawn or spring) or Ostern (a Teutonic fertility goddess), both pagan figures honored at festivals celebrating the vernal equinox, about the time of the Passover. Traditions associated with these festivals include the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility; and Easter eggs, painted with the bright colors of spring, signifying growth and new life, concepts associated with the resurrection. Hence the name and symbols came to be associated with the festival of the Resurrection of Christ, which occurred at the time of the Passover. In the early English versions this word was frequently used as the translation of the Greek pascha (the Passover). When the Authorized Version (1611) was formed, the word "Passover" was used in all passages in which this word pascha occurred, except in Act 12:4. In the Revised Version the proper word, "Passover," is always used.
Easter is a Movable Feast The Easter holiday builds on the traditions of the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach (the derivation of Pascha, another name for Easter), celebrating deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. Passover begins on Thursday, when we're reminded that Jesus traveled with His followers to Jerusalem in observation of the feast He came to fulfill. In an effort to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord at the same time of year, before the calendar was standardized and synchronized to the solar year, Easter became a movable feast and is the lynchpin for the other movable feasts which take their dates from Easter. Victor I (c.189-198AD) standardized Easter as a Sunday holiday, and in 325AD the Council of Nicaea set Easter's date in relation to the paschal moon. The Gregorian calendar correction of 1582AD placed Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox, falling between 22 March and 25 April. If the fourteenth day happens on a Sunday, Easter day is the Sunday after.
A term long forgotten
Easter Dues – Unique to the Church of England, of which our Anglican Church is a direct descendant - Money due to the clergy at Easter, formerly paid in communication of the tithe for personal labor and subject to exaction. For Easter dues, Easter offerings, voluntary gifts, have been substituted.
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 continuing education 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.
I’d like to get a different point across or announce something
If you have a different point of view, I would be happy to give you room to get your point across. While this publication is my perspective on events, I recognize not everyone may agree and that some people would like to express their own opinion.
If want to write an article or make an announcement, please forward your item to the Beadle (with a note as to whether or not you would like editing help) to the following address: thebeadle@mac.com.
Epistle Readers
We post the list of Epistle Readers in the Beadle’s Report each week so you can either plan your attendance or your pre-reading as the spirit so moves you.
Date Reader
30 March 2008 Jan Macauley
6 April 2008 Hap Arnold
13 April 2008 Dru Arnold
20 April 2008 Jack Arnold
27 April 2008 Alice Acker
4 May 2008 Emilie Springer
11 May 2008 Alex Springer
18 May 2008 Jack Arnold
25 May 2008 Jan Macauley
The near future, as well as Next Sunday
Next Sunday is the First Sunday after Easter. It seems a sure bet the sermon trend will continue 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 pick up where we left off in the Old Testament or will Father Acker lose his place? Will it be about Kings and Chronicles? What about Ezra? 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!
The Lord is Risen
He is Risen indeed!
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