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Office of the Presiding Bishop
PO
Box 128
Statesville,
N.C. 28687
Phone (704) 873-8365
website: www.aocinternational.org
24 November 2016, Anno Domini
Thanksgiving Day
2016
I do recommend and assign Thursday ... next to be
devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious
Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that
will be.
George Washington
1789
Go shew yourselves
unto the priests. And it
came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he
saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And
fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a
Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were
there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There
are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. (Luke
17:14-18)
How short our memories regarding blessings and yet enduring are those of
misfortune (usually resulting from our own shortcomings). As a nation and
people who have enjoyed an abundance of blessings from God for two hundred and
forty years, we may have begun to take those blessings for granted. If we do,
we do so at our own detriment for God does not lightly esteem the blessings He
bestows. We offend the Sovereignty of God when we become ungrateful for both
personal and national blessings. So why does a nation forget, or lightly
esteem, the blessings of God upon them and the nation? Perhaps we have ceased
to regard the sanctity of life itself. We have become a nation who, through
international organs which we control, have become the foremost purveyors of
abortion, pornography, and immoral living.
Our low regard for the sanctity of life and
even common courtesy may arise from a lowered view of Christian principles of
living and, in the end, God Himself. The Great Commandment has two parts that
are really interdependent in nature. Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. (Matt 22:37-38).
At first blush it seems easy enough to love God. There is so little outward
evidence upon which to weigh that love; however, the second part of this
Commandment does, indeed, provide a means of outward measure for the love of
our fellow neighbor. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets. (Matt 22:39-40) Are we wise and good stewards of the resources which God has
placed at our disposal? Do we turn a blind eye to the suffering of others for
whom we have the means of being Good Samaritans? Loving a neighbor as ourselves
is not really a greater commandment than the first, just more outwardly obvious
in its application, or lack thereof.
One point is certain: if we do not love God, we cannot love our neighbor truly,
or even KNOW true love. Conversely, if we fail to love our neighbor, this, in
itself, is evidence that we do not really love God. Our Lord abbreviated the
Great Commandment in these Words: This is my
commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. (John 15:12) And
what gage did Jesus provide us to measure that degree of love? Greater love hath no
man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)
The great shame of modern America, and her churches, is that we have forgotten
to love and honor God first. Were we to do so, our love and common respect for
one another would be established anew. Common courtesy, polite manners, decency
in dress, and commendable conversation are outgrowths of that love of God and
our fellow citizens. Civil conduct is based on the inner compass of the heart.
America may have a short space in which to appease the offended Sovereign. May
we begin to accomplish that feat through prayer, love, thanksgiving, and
charity this Thanksgiving Day and throughout the years ahead.
May
your Thanksgiving this year be joyful, prayerful, and faithful to the God of
all Mercies,
In Christ Alone,
Jerry L. Ogles
Presiding
Bishop
