Today, we as Americans remember the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The nation as a whole stops to remember the values that undergird our society, namely that all people are created equal and possess certain inalienable rights. Few nations are based on such principles. Today we stop to consider what that means.
Today’s appointed Epistle reading (for the saints of the day) is taken from the fourth chapter of the First Epistle of John who writes:
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4: 7-12).
God’s essence is life giving love. God’s created all that is out of infinite life giving love. God’s love is infinite; it knows no bounds. Since God’s love is infinite, God loves everyone equally. It makes no difference if one is rich or poor, short or tall, thin or a little plump, handsome or not so good looking, black or white, male or female, brilliant or not so smart, God loves each of us infinitely, and therefore, equally. On the day we as a nation remember the role that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. played in our nation’s history, we should keep in mind what St. John says in his letter—God loves us all equally. If God loves us all equally, how can I shun one that God loves?
Let us pray: Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery, and made them free at last: Grant that your Church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
CONFIRMATION CLASS ON SUNDAYS starting at 10:50 a.m. If you want to be Confirmed when Bishop Harrison visits us on Sunday, 5 February, you will need to participate in the Confirmation class. Please come!
SACRED PLACES TOUR: St. Augustine will be on the tour this year in February. It is a wonderful opportunity to share our faith history with others. Please plan to be a part of it.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially those who are chronically ill, the lonely, the depressed, the unemployed, the ill and those who have no one to pray for them.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” – The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Today’s appointed Epistle reading (for the saints of the day) is taken from the fourth chapter of the First Epistle of John who writes:
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4: 7-12).
God’s essence is life giving love. God’s created all that is out of infinite life giving love. God’s love is infinite; it knows no bounds. Since God’s love is infinite, God loves everyone equally. It makes no difference if one is rich or poor, short or tall, thin or a little plump, handsome or not so good looking, black or white, male or female, brilliant or not so smart, God loves each of us infinitely, and therefore, equally. On the day we as a nation remember the role that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. played in our nation’s history, we should keep in mind what St. John says in his letter—God loves us all equally. If God loves us all equally, how can I shun one that God loves?
Let us pray: Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery, and made them free at last: Grant that your Church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
CONFIRMATION CLASS ON SUNDAYS starting at 10:50 a.m. If you want to be Confirmed when Bishop Harrison visits us on Sunday, 5 February, you will need to participate in the Confirmation class. Please come!
SACRED PLACES TOUR: St. Augustine will be on the tour this year in February. It is a wonderful opportunity to share our faith history with others. Please plan to be a part of it.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially those who are chronically ill, the lonely, the depressed, the unemployed, the ill and those who have no one to pray for them.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” – The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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