Month: January 2021

Let us pray:
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Todays first reading displays the affirmation of God’s willingness to provide
directions and support. We hear how God provides Moses with the direction we are expected to follow. We are promised and provided with prophets that interface and facilitate God’s hopes and words for us and His promised presence as we grow and mature in our relationship with Him.

Along with His patience we also are shown the consequences of choosing to disregard God’s words and what the chosen prophet will suffer for that effort. Our understanding of what is and is not relevant to our faith is shown in the example displayed in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Explaining the relevance of food and how it impacts faith shows the true value of intelligence versus conviction. We are prone to value our faith as it is impacted by material things. How we provide examples of what is truly important can guide others in the direction of God’s grace. If we display habits that are not grounded in our acceptance of the one true God we are failing in our conviction to aid others in accepting God’s love.

Our conviction to share the good news is absolutely reflected in the responses to Jesus in Marks. The members of the synagogue are amazed by the authority Jesus teaches with. As He is confronted by an unclean spirit and summarily sends it away as it recognizes the He is “the Holy One of God”. The very act of displaying His authority reminds us that in our daily ministries we are invited to act as well as share confidence in Christ’s example. When we deal with distractions and display actions that allow concentration on life’s events with an assurance our Savor displayed it can result in our providing others with support and grace allowing compassion and faith to grow closer in our faith.

May our hearts and thoughts always be ready to step out with confidence,
grace, hope and love displaying the covenant we warmly embrace.

3 Epiphany

     Reflect on the gospel, 
and on the Christ of the cross
    Suffering in the world
with all those who are broken

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

The people of Nineveh had suffered aggression, cruelty and exploitation, conquest and greed had made it the great city that it was. Jonah was unwilling to take on this task he was compelled to deliver God’s warning. He was totally surprised that after saying that in Fort days Nineveh would be overthrown. What he did not expect was citizens repented the crimes of their Nation had committed. The King and his citizens continued to lament their sins. Jonah had a difficult time in accepting the success.

Psalm 62:6-14

The psalm might be called the Song of Jonah. He had received his trust in God after having been delivered from the great fish. The psalmist begins with a personal experience; he affirms his trust in God and finds safety in God. The message is that God alone can we put our trust. We can have only one security “Power belongs to God, and the Lord exercise that power with steadfast love. Steadfast love is ours it is a strong and poetic affirmation of faith.

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

The passage from Paul’s First letter to the Corinthians is a prophecy in the tradition of the Hebrew Bible. Paul calls his readers to a right behavior in the face of the crisis. For Paul, he and his communities were living in an era that was ushered in by, Christ sacrifice. This comes in a series concerning marriage and other issue in the end times. Those who are married ought to behave – those who were unmarried would do well to remain so, as Paul himself did, this would keep them from being distracted form God and the glorious life God is preparing for us. 

Mark 1: 14-20

Our readings today have proclaimed … the time of the Kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe the Good News …. Paul stated this in what we heard today in the reading from 1 Corinthians. In all of today’s readings we have been urged to repent and to believe in the Good News.

Simon, Andrew, James and John react to God’s call in the opposite way from Jonah. Jonah responded by running away to sea, the four fishermen are compelled by Jesus’s charisma, and may be the allure of “Come Fish for people.” With this nucleus of a community Jesus is ready to begin teaching in the synagogues of Galilee. “God calls each one of us to the work, of God’s Kingdom, even if at the end of the journey ……indeed, the next step …. Is uncertain.”

We pray for grace, O Lord, to respond to the call of our Savior Jesus Christ. May we proclaim the Good News of his salvation to the whole world, that all may know the glory of his redeeming work. Amen

Sermon
Second Sunday after the Epiphany
Year B
January 17, 2021

First Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-10, 11-20
Psalm 139:1-5,12-17
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Gospel: John 1:43-51

Collect:

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Amen  

Follow Me

The Gospel of John 1:43-51, Jesus went to Galilee, there he found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.”

Philip in the same city of Bethsaida, where Andrew and Peter were from, Philip found Nathanael and Philip, says to him…” We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

A reference to that in Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses, references to the coming of the Messiah, 

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet.”

Nathanael, said to Philip, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Jesus see’s Nathanael coming and ‘Here is truly and Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”

A compliment, Nathanael is taken back and calls Jesus, “Rabbi you are the Son of God!

Jesus, tells Nathanael, “You will see grater things than these.” And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” 

In Gen. 28:12 Jacob’s vision is of a “ladder” joining heaven and earth. Though he has received the good blessing from his father, he is homeless and his life is endangered. The Lord’s gracious visit thus assures Jacob that Isaac’s words have not been spoken in vain. He is indeed the recipient of the promises of salvation made to his father and grandfather.

Tomorrow marks two different days I want to call our attention too. 

Martin Luther King Jr. day, January 18^th.

Dr. King was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. Dr. King is best known for advancing civil rights through…nonviolence and civil disobedience, inspired by his Christian beliefs and nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi. 

Over eleven years from 1957 to 1968 he travelled over six million miles, gave over two and a half thousand speeches, and addressed a quarter of a million people in his ‘I have a dream’ speech.

Also, tomorrow

The Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle. 

Luke 9:18-20 Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say I am?” They answered, ‘John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen. He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.”     

Conclusion

God’s greatest prophet Moses, who brought down the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai, laying the foundation for the Jewish faith. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Moses is considered one of the most important prophets to have ever live.

The disciples met Jesus with mystical wonder and awe, they didn’t hesitate in giving up their current lives to follow Jesus and later to baptize and spread the Gospel. Reminding us that between heaven and earth, we have a relationship with God. 

Good News

Like Philip, Jesus calls us to “come and see” …what great things will happen. He has called old prophets, Moses, Samuel, John the Baptist. 

He called disciples to follow him, like the Apostle Peter and Nathaniel.

And in present day, He called Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

Jesus calls on us too!  He offers us a chance to follow him and see the greater things that will happen when we except him and follow him.

Picture in your mind, Jacobs ladder, and the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man. It is our sign that following Jesus is a way to our salvation.

We have the promise of joy and hope in helping others, here at St. Martin’s, in the midst of a pandemic and online services we still have a worship life, as small as we are, it can still enrich and strengthens those who come.

We want to give people a sense of belonging and a feeling of a community that loves one another, just as God loved us. 

“Come and See” and “Follow me”

The Reverend Lola Culbreath

1 Epiphany2021

With all who are in darkness and weariness
Stand among us in your risen power.
With all who are in doubt and despair
Stand among us in your risen power.
With all who are in trouble and fearfulness
Stand among us in your risen power.
With all who are frail and at the point of death
Stand among us in your risen power.

Genesis 1:1-5

“In the beginning” there was a formless chaos, this was God’s first step in the creation of ordered universe. Then God” breathed” upon the chaos, “God’s” breath (wind) brought order to the formless chaos. Then God’s Spirit brought light to the creation “Let there be light, and there was light, and God said that the light was good. God’s breath hovers and God’s word speaks light and matter into being. In the beginning, the Father, the Spirit, and Word cooperate to create the world in wisdom, and it was good.

Psalm 29

Psalm 29 proclaims the Lord’s glory; it is a song of praise. In the beginning God’s people are called to acknowledge God’s glory and strength. The voice of our Lord is an earthquake, and fire, but the Lord blesses, us, the people. The strength and peace that we are granted are amazing privileges, by worshipping the Lord in the beauty of holiness. We the church be come the sign of His beautiful and sanctifying presence to the world.

Acts 19: 1-7

John the Baptist sought seekers from many places where Jesus’s people lived. Ephesus was a city which Christian missionaries would find their way. When Paul arrived, he looked for people who manifested a desire for God. Paul found 12 men who claimed to have received baptism. Paul asked about what their baptism involved, and had they received the Holy Spirit? They had received John’s baptism and had learned that there would be more. They were ready to be received, and Paul conferred the Christian Baptism and laid hands upon them. The Holy Spirit makes a dramatic appearance when it “comes upon” the disciples and they can speak in tongues and prophesy.

On the First Sunday after the Epiphany, we always read of Jesus’ baptism by John. In the light-filled season of the church year, as we celebrate the revelation of God in Christ, we focus our attention on a nearly incomprehensible Event: God in heaven acknowledging God-in flesh (-H. King Oehmig)

Mark 1:4-11

This Sunday is the first Sunday after Epiphany, the Baptism of our Lord. This is one of several principal days the church designates for the celebration of baptism. We will renew the vows of our own baptism. 

The scene of Jesus’ baptism in the river of Jordan draws our attention back to the Holy Scripture, when God, his spirit and in His word were present upon the beginning of creation.  Jesus arises from the water, the heavens are “torn open” so we might see what lies beyond the veil. The Spirit descending like a dove upon him, and the voice of the Father stating his approval in His beloved Son. Baptism is fundamentally an act of stepping out with Crist for a life for others. Our baptisms immerse us in the affairs of our neighborhood, our nation, and the world.  

Our Father in heaven, who at Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan River called him your Beloved Son and anointed him in the Spirit, give to all of us who are baptized in his name a ministry in the world, as we boldly profess his message and power. Amen

Epiphany Sunday
The Second Sunday after Christmas
Year B

January 3, 2021
First Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-14
Psalm: 84
Second Reading: Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-19a
Gospel: Matthew 2: 2-12

Collect

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Today Epiphany Sunday, The Sunday between January 2 and January 8, on which the Christian church celebrates the Feast of Epiphany is January 6^th.

It recognizes the revelation of Jesus Christ to the entire world, as represented by the coming of the Magi to worship the Christ child.   

Story:

Dad being a “trapper” would be gone for sometimes weeks, alone in the wilderness. He was a baptized Christian, but didn’t attend church that much. He told us he found God in nature.

We children, would go with dad camping and hunting. This was in the White Mountains of Arizona, very tall pine trees and white aspen, being with him, I always wondered how he knew where he was going? He never got lost and always found his way back.

He would sleep out many times in just his bedroll and he watched the stars and studied them. My father, who had a second-grade education, knew the bigger picture about God way before I did. 

Which brings us to the story of the Gospel of Matthew.

The Gifts of The Magi 

A year or more after Jesus’ birth, three kings arrived to worship Him. Their lavish gifts symbolized Christ’s identity and mission; gold for a king, incense for God, and myrrh to anoint the dead.

The mysterious Magi, or three Kings, are mention only in the Gospel of Matthew. Few details are given, and our ideas about them mostly come from tradition and speculation.

Scripture doesn’t say how many wise men there were; it is generally assumed three, since they brought three gifts.  

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

King Herod was not happy, as a matter of fact he is worried and so are the people of Jerusalem. 

He calls all the chief priest and scribes of the people, he questions them!!! where was this child, the one they call the Messiah? Where was he born? 

“They told him, In Bethlehem of Judea; because it had been written by prophets. 

‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.” 

Herod has worked hard in gaining his kingdoms and he is not about to let someone take it from him.

The king secretly summons the wise men and learned from them, the exact time when the star had appeared.  

The Christmas message was first given to the shepherds, considered to be lower class people of Israel. And now it was given to the wise men from the East, they were not Jewish, but Gentiles.

Remember the message from the angels to the shepherds! 

There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Luke 2: 8-11

Maybe the glory of the Lord that shone around the shepherds was the same star…the same light of Jesus. 

The light was the light of Jesus Christ in the world. John 1:5-8 “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not absorb the light. It was too bright; it was the light that would lead the shepherds to Jesus and later it was the same light that would lead the wise men to him.

Jesus was going to be the true light for everyone, Jews and Gentiles.

“The king sends them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay homage.”

It’s reported that they could have traveled anywhere from 500 to 1500 miles to find the child and some historians and scholars say, it took a year or two before they found him.

They set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 

On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. 

Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The Magi had to be very prominent in their regions to bring such lavish gifts. And they were certainly men of great learning.

Today, we would call them astronomers and would have followed the patterns of the stars religiously. Most likely, they would have been rich and held high in their own society by people who were from their region.

Conclusion:

The three gifts had spiritual meaning; 

• Gold as a symbol of kingship on earth. 
• Frankincense (Incense) as a symbol of deity. 
• Myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death. 

Why did God choose first the shepherd’s and then the Magi? They were from different back grounds! 

The shepherds were the poor lower class of Israel and perhaps! the poor shall be first.

The Magi were wealthy, but from other regions. They were Gentiles!

The Good news:

Jesus came into the world for all people, for All Jews, Gentiles, Muslims “all people”.  

It sounds pretty fitting to me. God manifest himself through his son Jesus Christ, he comes here not as a King, but as one of us. 

His Kingdom is not of this world, but of the spiritual world. 

On this Epiphany Sunday, where Christians celebrate the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ, we have been given the greatest gift of all, the gift of Jesus Christ. 

The Christmas season begins with incarnation and ends with manifestation.

We are reminded that he brings us Hope, Joy, Love and the promise of our Salvation.

Just imagine the Magi, when they first laid their “tired” eyes on the incarnate Son, and how overwhelmed with Joy they were! 

“They saw the child with Mary his mother; overwhelmed with joy, that they knelt down and paid him homage”.

As I leave you today, a reminder that we are called to follow the bright light of Christ Jesus, rejoicing in the same way, with overwhelming joy!

Amen
The Reverend Lola Culbreath