Today the Daily Office continues with Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, and we hear about humility; we also read one of the early liturgical hymns in the Church:
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2: 1-11)
Jesus was God, but he did not “lord it over people.” Rather than exploit his position as being the second person of the Trinity, Jesus gave totally of himself even to the point of death for you and for me. How many of us can say that we serve others with a cheerful heart? How many of us would rather be served? We should each follow Jesus’ example—he who is God was servant to all.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray you to set your passion, cross, and death between your judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living; pardon and rest to the dead; to your holy Church peace and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
PLEASE REMEMBER THOSE ON OUR PRAYER LIST: Today we especially remember Tammie Taylor’s father who will be undergoing heart surgery in the near future, and for Tammie’s mother and entire family that Jesus’ healing hand may touch the family. We pray also for Malcolm whose mother, Wanda Willis Simpson, died yesterday, may God the Father embrace him with His loving arms during this time of grief. We pray for all of those whose lives have been impacted by the wild fires blazing through Texas, especially the people of Bastrop and the congregation of Calvary Episcopal Church and their rector, the Rev. Lisa Hines.
“The Son of God did not want to be seen and found in heaven. Therefore he descended from heaven into this humility and came to us in our flesh, laid himself into the womb of his mother and into the manger and went on to the cross. This was the ladder that he placed on earth so that we might ascend to God on it. This is the way you must take.” Martin Luther, Theologian, Reformer of the Church (1483-1546)
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2: 1-11)
Jesus was God, but he did not “lord it over people.” Rather than exploit his position as being the second person of the Trinity, Jesus gave totally of himself even to the point of death for you and for me. How many of us can say that we serve others with a cheerful heart? How many of us would rather be served? We should each follow Jesus’ example—he who is God was servant to all.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray you to set your passion, cross, and death between your judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living; pardon and rest to the dead; to your holy Church peace and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
PLEASE REMEMBER THOSE ON OUR PRAYER LIST: Today we especially remember Tammie Taylor’s father who will be undergoing heart surgery in the near future, and for Tammie’s mother and entire family that Jesus’ healing hand may touch the family. We pray also for Malcolm whose mother, Wanda Willis Simpson, died yesterday, may God the Father embrace him with His loving arms during this time of grief. We pray for all of those whose lives have been impacted by the wild fires blazing through Texas, especially the people of Bastrop and the congregation of Calvary Episcopal Church and their rector, the Rev. Lisa Hines.
“The Son of God did not want to be seen and found in heaven. Therefore he descended from heaven into this humility and came to us in our flesh, laid himself into the womb of his mother and into the manger and went on to the cross. This was the ladder that he placed on earth so that we might ascend to God on it. This is the way you must take.” Martin Luther, Theologian, Reformer of the Church (1483-1546)
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
No comments:
Post a Comment