Today’s Epistle reading comes from the letter of James. James gives good counsel to us:
Do not be deceived, my beloved. Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.
If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1: 16-27).
James' advice to you and me is to be a doer of the word and not just a hearer of the word. In other words, “don’t just talk the talk, but walk the walk.” Talk is cheap, living out the Gospel is costly. We are advised to live it out. How do we do that? The letter of James gives us direction: “to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” That is how we become doers of the word and not just hearers.
Let us pray: Almighty God, you sent the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, to show us how to live. Give us the strength to be doers of Your Word and not just hearers. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
We will need to have a brief meeting of the Bishop’s Committee to discuss approval of Pay Pal for the BBQ fundraiser. Pat Tate was kind enough to set it up and Neil set up a Facebook page for the event as well with the Pay Pal link.
This Sunday for Adult Christian Formation, we will begin a short series on Sundays until Advent at 11:00 a.m. in Sutton Hall—Stump the Vicar. Bring your questions whatever they may be, about Scripture, the Episcopal Church, the liturgy, you name it, bring it! There will be a prize for anyone who stumps the Vicar.
Art classes begin Saturday, 13 November at 10:00 a.m. in the art room in Bright-Davies Hall. Please join Lee Runion. The class is free. Lee’s phone number is 409-392 4171.
Rather than have a service the morning of Thanksgiving, this year we will celebrate a Thanksgiving liturgy on Sunday, 21 November, so that everyone can attend. After the Eucharist, we will have our Thanksgiving luncheon. Please invite your friends and family to offer thanks for all of God’s blessings. Please remember to sign up to bring a dish to share.
Big Mista BBQ fundraiser for the Community Garden, Saturday, 11 December. Melva Pope has tickets, so please pick some up for friends and family.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially Pat Williams, the trumpeter who played at Second Sunday Jazz, who is in ICU.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Do not be deceived, my beloved. Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.
If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1: 16-27).
James' advice to you and me is to be a doer of the word and not just a hearer of the word. In other words, “don’t just talk the talk, but walk the walk.” Talk is cheap, living out the Gospel is costly. We are advised to live it out. How do we do that? The letter of James gives us direction: “to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” That is how we become doers of the word and not just hearers.
Let us pray: Almighty God, you sent the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, to show us how to live. Give us the strength to be doers of Your Word and not just hearers. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
We will need to have a brief meeting of the Bishop’s Committee to discuss approval of Pay Pal for the BBQ fundraiser. Pat Tate was kind enough to set it up and Neil set up a Facebook page for the event as well with the Pay Pal link.
This Sunday for Adult Christian Formation, we will begin a short series on Sundays until Advent at 11:00 a.m. in Sutton Hall—Stump the Vicar. Bring your questions whatever they may be, about Scripture, the Episcopal Church, the liturgy, you name it, bring it! There will be a prize for anyone who stumps the Vicar.
Art classes begin Saturday, 13 November at 10:00 a.m. in the art room in Bright-Davies Hall. Please join Lee Runion. The class is free. Lee’s phone number is 409-392 4171.
Rather than have a service the morning of Thanksgiving, this year we will celebrate a Thanksgiving liturgy on Sunday, 21 November, so that everyone can attend. After the Eucharist, we will have our Thanksgiving luncheon. Please invite your friends and family to offer thanks for all of God’s blessings. Please remember to sign up to bring a dish to share.
Big Mista BBQ fundraiser for the Community Garden, Saturday, 11 December. Melva Pope has tickets, so please pick some up for friends and family.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially Pat Williams, the trumpeter who played at Second Sunday Jazz, who is in ICU.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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