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| The AOC Sunday Report can be downloaded RIGHT HERE! |
Happy Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity!
A lot to read this week in the AOC Sunday Report which is RIGHT HERE!
There are great sermons from Bishops Jerry and Roy, as well as from Revs Jack and Bryan! I am confident you will enjoy them as much as I did; but only if you read them.
There are a lot of people who need your prayers. Plus, if you have someone on the list please make sure the entry is up to date. Start by praying for Shamu, Jimmy, Mary, Bob and Michael and work out from there.
The Collect.
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ORD, we pray thee that thy grace may always prevent[1] and follow us, and make us
continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The
Epistle for today came from the letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians beginning
at the First Verse of the Fourth Chapter.
Once again, Paul calls us to a new life, different from our old
life. A life in which we act in a manner
worthy of the better life to which we have been called by Christ and for which
He gave His life. Paul, of all people, knows
the importance of setting aside your old life, as Saul did, so that as Paul he
asks us to put God first in our lives, to put ourselves last. He reminds us, “There is one body, and one
Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith,
one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and
in you all.” The key to a successful
life is to put the important things at the top of your To Do List. And,
notice it is a To Do List, not a To Think About or To Wait a While
List. What is more important than God?
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therefore, the prisoner of the
Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, for-bearing one another
in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your
calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is
above all, and through all, and in you all[2].
Today’s
Holy Gospel came from the Gospel of Saint Luke, the Fourteenth Chapter,
beginning at the First Verse. The Gospel
starts out reminding us the Law was designed to be flexible. The goal is to do God’s will, not to “follow
the letter of the law” as the Pharisees were so keen on. They brought before Him a man in need of
healing as they sat to eat on the Sabbath Day.
They watched to see what He would do.
Putting the monkey on their back, He asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the
Sabbath Day?” Wishing to be in a position to criticize rather than
answer, “they held their peace.” He
healed the man, then asked them, “Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit,
and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath Day?” They would not respond; for the answer was
obvious.
Then
“He put forth a parable to those” who had been invited to dine with him, after
He had seen them joust for the seats of honor.
“When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the
highest seat; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; and he
that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou
begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when thou art bidden, go and sit
down in the lowest place; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto
thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of
them that sit at meat with thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be
abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Do we put God first and let others raise us
up, or do we put ourselves first and let others put us down?
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came came to pass, as Jesus went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees
to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. And, behold, there was a
certain man before him which had the dropsy. And Jesus answering spake unto the
lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? And they held
their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; and answered
them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not
straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? And they could not answer
him again to these things. And he put forth a parable to those which were
bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief seats; saying unto them, When
thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest seat; lest
a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; and he that bade thee and him
come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take
the lowest place. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest
place; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up
higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with
thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted.
[1]
Prevent is a word that has many uses, and at least one has fallen out of
general usage as time has gone on. This
is one of them. In this case the word
prevent means to go before. Before you object to archaic words, consider
this is a current word, it just has a use you may not have been aware of and
now you are! What a bonus for this week!
Have a great week ahead. It can be done, all you need to do is take God's hand.
Godspeed,
Hap
Church of the Faithful Centurion
Descanso, CA
