Wednesday, July 28, 2010

You and I Are Living in the Acts of the Apostles

Today the Daily Office switches from Paul’s Letter to the Romans and begins the Acts of the Apostles. You may recall that the Acts of the Apostles is a sequel to the Gospel according to Luke. Luke starts Acts this way:

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’

So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers. (Acts 1: 1-14).


In the Gospel according to Luke, he wrote about Jesus’ saving work, his death on the cross and Resurrection. In the Acts of the Apostles, we see a transition. After the Resurrection, Jesus returns to the Father and the Apostles are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to do the work of building the Kingdom of God and spreading the Good News of Jesus. We are living in the time for the Holy Spirit who breathes life into the Church. This is the time after Pentecost. You are I are a living part of the Acts of the Apostles.

CALENDAR REMINDERS:

UBE Youth at St. Augustine on Saturday morning, 31 July for Morning Prayer, to learn their history and the place of this Church in the Diocese of Texas. Then they are off to do mission work at St. Vincent's House.

Kitchen Shower: First weekend in August. As part of the celebration, Dick McGonagle has offered to break in the new smoker and make ribs and corn for everyone to enjoy after the Eucharist on Sunday, 1 August. Throw some potato salad in the mix, and we’ll have a feast to celebrate the new kitchen.

Blessing of the Backpacks, Sunday, 8 August 2010: Come and have your backpack blessed for the new school year. We will also have some book bags available if you don’t have one.

The Feast Day of St. Augustine & Blessing of the New Facilities:
Dinner celebration on Saturday, 28 August 2010
Eucharist, Sunday, 29 August 2010

The Second Annual St. Augustine Art Show: It will be at the end of September. Stay tuned for details.

PLEASE REMEMBER ALL THOSE ON OUR PRAYER LIST and especially:

Baby Alexa and her grandparents
Russ Viska who had a double bypass
Sue and Sean Coleman as Sue recovers from brain surgery
Roylene Lemons’ continued recovery from cancer surgery
Cindi Clack
For all those who are traveling

Let us pray for all of those serving in the Armed Forces, especially:
Lewis Lemons
Lt. Cmdr. Brian Taylor

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

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