This Sunday's sermon is by The Rev. Thomas Squiers of Fort Worth. Father Squiers is an Oblate Priest of the Benedictine Order of St. Michael the Archangel and co-director of Our Lady of Guadalupe House. He is also the chaplain of Integrity Fort Worth and also serves as the Webmaster of the AOCC.
Today’s reading that I would like to focus on is the first reading, Acts 2:42-47.
Today’s reading that I would like to focus on is the first reading, Acts 2:42-47.
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.
Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
The reason why I want to focus on this reading is because of the image of the followers of Christ of the early Church that I saw also reminded me of when I entered into a new relationship with Christ at an early age.
I began my walk in the Christian Faith in a large, Protestant denomination in which seemed rather difficult for me to explore and question anything about the religion itself. Questioning the faith, questioning the pastor, questioning the Sunday School teacher meant that I had a lack of faith (in their point of view).
When I was 15, I left that denomination and entered the Episcopal Church. It was the first time that I had ever participated in liturgical worship. It was the first time that I ever participated in a worship service where both the clergy and the people in the congregation had specific roles and read the prayers and other parts of the liturgy together. It was new, it was fresh – and what’s more: I was allowed to question and explore this Faith I was born into.
This new awakening in my soul was so exciting. I loved the worship and the prayers, that I practiced my private devotions each day with my prayer book and the Scriptures. I attended the Eucharist and the Bible studies every week. It was as if I had found true salvation, even though five years earlier I walked down an aisle in a Baptist Church (as everyone else was doing that night) and was saved.
Salvation. Being Saved. Many churches use those terms and I am not sure that they know what they mean. I personally believe that it means saved from ourselves and the nabbing of this world’s vices and placed in the center of Christ with an opportunity to make Christ the very center of our lives. It is not a marketing tool to gain new members of the Christian denomination; rather, it is very much about a new beginning for the life of one who wants to pursue a deep, meaningful and personal relationship with Christ.
Personal relationship. It has always been interesting to me the number of churches who tell people that they need to have a personal relationship with Christ. What is even more baffling is that those churches often interfere with the individual’s relationship and try to introduce a formula so that each person’s relationship is the same as everyone else’s in the church. That’s not a personal relationship. Personal relationships with Christ means that you and Christ have established something that no one else can partake of nor manipulate. My relationship Christ and how I relate to Christ and my personal belief in Christ may very well be different from the Christian standing next to me. And that is okay. We are unique children of God with unique needs from one another. That is what makes Christianity special, I believe. We can even see that in how Christ related with each of the Apostles.
The people of the early Church had specific needs. They needed something new in their lives and they needed hope. They found that hope in the teachings of the Apostles and other followers of Christ. They even, as the Scriptures say, spent a lot of time in the temples celebrating the Eucharist and tithing. They were excited to be there – to worship as one.
Then, the scriptures say that the people had goodwill of all the people and were blessed by God with more numbers added to the fold. You may be asking why your ministry has not grown or why your church is so small. Perhaps the question you should be asking is what has your faith community done on an ongoing basis to reach out to EVERYONE, leaving no one out.
Today we are reminded of the evangelism of the early Church and that being part of a church is more than sitting in a pew or even taking communion. It is more than serving on the Altar Guild or the Vestry. It is more than wearing a collar around your neck or a mitre on your head. Today’s reading is a reminder that we are blessed by the goodwill we show to all of the people everywhere. It is a reminder of that excitement the new Christians had in serving the Christ and that we should remember our first time or those instances when we were excited about our praise and worship of Christ. In that memory we should revisit it often and bring it back into being time and time again. Going through the motions at church doesn’t cut it – you have to also actively participate in the Christian life by giving to others, the church and the world.
May the Lord reveal to us those who we must show goodwill to in our own paths, help us to be more diligent in our faith, and give us the abundance of His mercy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
I began my walk in the Christian Faith in a large, Protestant denomination in which seemed rather difficult for me to explore and question anything about the religion itself. Questioning the faith, questioning the pastor, questioning the Sunday School teacher meant that I had a lack of faith (in their point of view).
When I was 15, I left that denomination and entered the Episcopal Church. It was the first time that I had ever participated in liturgical worship. It was the first time that I ever participated in a worship service where both the clergy and the people in the congregation had specific roles and read the prayers and other parts of the liturgy together. It was new, it was fresh – and what’s more: I was allowed to question and explore this Faith I was born into.
This new awakening in my soul was so exciting. I loved the worship and the prayers, that I practiced my private devotions each day with my prayer book and the Scriptures. I attended the Eucharist and the Bible studies every week. It was as if I had found true salvation, even though five years earlier I walked down an aisle in a Baptist Church (as everyone else was doing that night) and was saved.
Salvation. Being Saved. Many churches use those terms and I am not sure that they know what they mean. I personally believe that it means saved from ourselves and the nabbing of this world’s vices and placed in the center of Christ with an opportunity to make Christ the very center of our lives. It is not a marketing tool to gain new members of the Christian denomination; rather, it is very much about a new beginning for the life of one who wants to pursue a deep, meaningful and personal relationship with Christ.
Personal relationship. It has always been interesting to me the number of churches who tell people that they need to have a personal relationship with Christ. What is even more baffling is that those churches often interfere with the individual’s relationship and try to introduce a formula so that each person’s relationship is the same as everyone else’s in the church. That’s not a personal relationship. Personal relationships with Christ means that you and Christ have established something that no one else can partake of nor manipulate. My relationship Christ and how I relate to Christ and my personal belief in Christ may very well be different from the Christian standing next to me. And that is okay. We are unique children of God with unique needs from one another. That is what makes Christianity special, I believe. We can even see that in how Christ related with each of the Apostles.
The people of the early Church had specific needs. They needed something new in their lives and they needed hope. They found that hope in the teachings of the Apostles and other followers of Christ. They even, as the Scriptures say, spent a lot of time in the temples celebrating the Eucharist and tithing. They were excited to be there – to worship as one.
Then, the scriptures say that the people had goodwill of all the people and were blessed by God with more numbers added to the fold. You may be asking why your ministry has not grown or why your church is so small. Perhaps the question you should be asking is what has your faith community done on an ongoing basis to reach out to EVERYONE, leaving no one out.
Today we are reminded of the evangelism of the early Church and that being part of a church is more than sitting in a pew or even taking communion. It is more than serving on the Altar Guild or the Vestry. It is more than wearing a collar around your neck or a mitre on your head. Today’s reading is a reminder that we are blessed by the goodwill we show to all of the people everywhere. It is a reminder of that excitement the new Christians had in serving the Christ and that we should remember our first time or those instances when we were excited about our praise and worship of Christ. In that memory we should revisit it often and bring it back into being time and time again. Going through the motions at church doesn’t cut it – you have to also actively participate in the Christian life by giving to others, the church and the world.
May the Lord reveal to us those who we must show goodwill to in our own paths, help us to be more diligent in our faith, and give us the abundance of His mercy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
