On this last day of April, we hear from the Gospel according to Matthew the Beatitudes:
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Mt. 5: 1-10).
Regarding the Beatitudes, Bishop N.T. Wright has stated that they are not mere rules of behavior or instruction so believers. Rather, according to Bishop Wright, “What Jesus is saying, rather, is, ‘Now that I’m here, God’s new world is coming to birth; and, once you realize that, you’ll see that these are the habits of heart which anticipate that new world here and now.’ These qualities of ‘purity of heart, mercy, and so on are not, so to speak, things you have to do to earn a ‘reward’ a ‘payment.’ Nor are they merely the ‘rules of conduct’laid down for new converts to follow…They are, in themselves, the signs of life, the language of life, the life of new creation, the life of new covenant,the life which Jesus came to bring.” They are signs of the Kingdom of God! Those who are part of God’s Kingdom will live into the Beatitudes.
Let us pray: Gracious God, through your Son and our Savior, you ushered in Your Kingdom. Send your Holy Spirit that we may live into your Kingdom now and into eternity. Amen
A BIG THANK YOU TO THE WORSHIP ARTS & MUSIC MINISTRY FROM MEMORIAL BAPTIST CHURCH IN SPRING, TEXAS WHO ENHANCED OUR WORSHIP YESTERDAY!
CALENDAR REMINDERS
TREE PLANTING: This Saturday at9:00 a.m. please join in planting new oak saplings to replace the ash trees that have been taken down. The saplings have been generously donated by Bob Newding.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION: Friday evening, 11 May (Wine & Art), and then Saturday, 12 May. The class will be making stepping stones.
PRAYER LIST: Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Monday, April 30, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
You Have Come to Fullness in Christ
In today’s Epistle reading we
hear from Paul’s Letter to the Colossians:
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
See to
it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according
to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not
according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and
you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.
In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off
the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with
him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of
God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave
us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal
demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and
authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.
Therefore
do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing
festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come,
but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone disqualify you,
insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed
up without cause by a human way of thinking, and not holding fast to the head,
from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and
sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.
If with
Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if
you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, ‘Do not
handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’? All these regulations refer to things that
perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. These have
indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and
severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking
self-indulgence. (Col. 1: 8-23).
In face of the threat posed by
false teachers, the Colossians are admonished to adhere to the gospel as it was
first preached to them, steeping themselves in it with grateful hearts. Paul
calls them to reject religious teachings originating in any source except the
gospel because in Christ alone will they have access to God, the deity. Christ has
so fully enlightened them that they need no other source of religious knowledge
or virtue. By their baptism their whole being has been affected by Christ by
the forgiveness of sin and resurrection to a new life in Christ, he eliminated
the law that human beings could not observe—and that could not save them. He
forgave sins against the law and exposed as false and misleading all other
powers that purport to offer salvation. Therefore, the Colossians are not to
accept judgments from such teachers on food and drink or to keep certain
religious festivals or engage in certain cultic practices for the Colossians
would thereby risk severing themselves from Christ. If, when they accepted the
gospel, they believed in Christ as their savior, they must be convinced that
their salvation cannot be achieved by appeasing ruling spirits through dietary
practices or through a wisdom gained simply by means of harsh asceticism.
Let us pray: O God, who by the glorious resurrection of
your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light:
Grant that we, who have been raised with him, may abide in his presence and
rejoice in the hope of eternal glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom,
with you and the Holy Spirit, be dominion and praise for ever and ever. Amen.
CALENDAR REMIDNERS
WAM (Worship Arts & Music
Ministry) from Memorial Baptist Church in Spring, Texas, will be joining us
this Sunday and sharing with us their talents.
Please welcome the children!
The Share Your Faith Dinner was
a wonderful time of fellowship! Thank
you to the Taylors for their wonderful hospitality.
Please remember everyone on our
Prayer List!
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Thursday, April 26, 2012
The Rev. Robert Hunt, Chaplain at the Jamestown Colony
Today, the Church remembers
Robert Hunt who was the chaplain at the colony at Jamestown. Robert Hunt (1568 - 1608), a vicar in the
Church of England, was chaplain of the expedition that founded the first
successful English colony in the New World, at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.
On April 26, 1607, after an unusually long voyage of 144 days, the 3 ships and 105 men and boys made landfall at the southern edge of the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. They named the location Cape Henry, in honor of the young Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, oldest son of the king.
Let us pray: Almighty God, we bless your Name for the life and witness of Robert Hunt, first chaplain to the Jamestown colony, whose community knew him as an honest, religious and courageous divine who, in his short life, endured great hardships without complaint. Help us, like him, to work for reconciliation and healing wherever we may be placed; through Jesus Christ your Son, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Tonight at 6:30 p.m. we will have the Sharing Our Faith dinner at the Taylors.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, and we give thanks for Mary Pearson’s successful surgery.
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
He served two parishes in
England, and then was "recruited" by Richard Bancroft, Archbishop of
Canterbury, as chaplain for the newest expedition to the New World by the
London Virginia Company.
On April 26, 1607, after an unusually long voyage of 144 days, the 3 ships and 105 men and boys made landfall at the southern edge of the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. They named the location Cape Henry, in honor of the young Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, oldest son of the king.
Within a few weeks, the
settlers chose a permanent inland site for their colony on the James River,
naming it Jamestown in honor of King James I. The location was selected as
being a strategic defensive position against possible attacks by ships of
competing European factions. However, this came at a terrible price, as
Jamestown Island combined swampy and mosquito-infested land, offering poor
hunting and little room for farming with brackish tidal river water and no
fresh water springs. While conflicts with the other Europeans never became a
problem, getting along with the Native Americans, and even more importantly,
with each other almost immediately became major issues for the ill-prepared
colonists. Despite the incredibly onerous circumstances of the Jamestown
mission's beginnings, the Rev. Hunt often mediated disputes between the camp's
various factions, smoothing "ruffled feathers" and making peace. He
was described by Edward Wingfield, the first president of the Jamestown
Governing Council, as “a man not in any way to be touched with the rebellious
humors of a popish spirit, nor blemished with the least suspicion of a factious
schismatic, whereof I had a special care”.
Today, the National Park
Service has a monument at the historic site; it replicates the outdoor chapel
conditions under which the Rev. Hunt spiritually led the men and boys, most of
whom were to die, as did Hunt himself, during the first year.
Let us pray: Almighty God, we bless your Name for the life and witness of Robert Hunt, first chaplain to the Jamestown colony, whose community knew him as an honest, religious and courageous divine who, in his short life, endured great hardships without complaint. Help us, like him, to work for reconciliation and healing wherever we may be placed; through Jesus Christ your Son, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Tonight at 6:30 p.m. we will have the Sharing Our Faith dinner at the Taylors.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, and we give thanks for Mary Pearson’s successful surgery.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The Winged Lion: St. Mark
Today the Church celebrates the
life and ministry of St. Mark the Evangelist.
James Kiefer writes:
The
book of Acts mentions a Mark, or John Mark, a kinsman of Barnabas (Col. 4:10).
The house of his mother Mary was a meeting place for Christians in Jerusalem
(Acts 12:12). When Paul and Barnabas, who had been in Antioch, came to
Jerusalem, they brought Mark back to Antioch with them (12:25), and he
accompanied them on their first missionary journey (13:5), but left them
prematurely and returned to Jerusalem (13:13). When Paul and Barnabas were
about to set out on a second missionary journey, Barnabas proposed to take
Mark, but Paul thought him unreliable, so that eventually Barnabas made one
journey taking Mark, and Paul another journey taking Silas (15:36-40). Mark is
not mentioned again in Acts. However, it appears that he became more reliable,
for Paul mentions him as a trusted assistant in Colossians 4:10 and again in 2
Timothy 4:11.
The
Apostle Peter had a co-worker whom he refers to as "my son Mark" (1
Peter 5:13). Papias, an early second century writer, in describing the origins
of the Gospels, tells us that Mark was the "interpreter" of Peter,
and that he wrote down ("but not in order") the stories that he had
heard Peter tell in his preaching about the life and teachings of Jesus.
The
Gospel of Mark, in describing the arrest of Jesus (14:51f), speaks of a young
man who followed the arresting party, wearing only a linen cloth wrapped around
his body, whom the arresting party tried to seize, but who left the cloth in
their hands and fled naked. It is speculated that this young man was the writer
himself, since the detail is hardly worth mentioning if he were not.
Tradition
has it that after the death of Peter, Mark left Rome and went to preach in
Alexandria, Egypt, where he was eventually martyred.
It is
natural to identify the John Mark of Acts with the Gospel-writer and
interpreter of Peter, and this identification is standard in liturgical
references to Mark. However, "Mark" is the commonest of Latin first
names, and they may well have been separate persons.
Mark's
symbol in art is a lion, usually winged.
Let us pray: Almighty God, who by the hand of Mark the
evangelist have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God:
We thank you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its
truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
For those who have signed up,
we will have the Share Your Faith Dinner on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the
Taylors.
Please remember everyone on our
Prayer List, especially Mary Pearson who will be undergoing open heart surgery
this morning.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo
Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas
77550
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The Church in Colassae
In this Easter Season we start
a new Epistle, Paul’s Letter to the Colossians.
Today the letter starts with Paul’s salutation to his readers:
Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the
saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you
and peace from God our Father.
In our
prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for
we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all
the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of
this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you.
Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been
bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended
the grace of God. This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant.
He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us
your love in the Spirit.
For
this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and
asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual
wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully
pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the
knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from
his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience,
while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the
inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of
darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we
have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col. 1:1-14).
The letter is addressed to a
congregation at Colossae in the Lycus Valley in Asia Minor. When Paul wrote the letter, he had not visited
there (Col 1:4; 2:1). The community had been established by Epaphras of
Colossae (Col 1:7; 4:12; Phlm 23). Problems arose because of teachers who
emphasized Christ’s relation to the universe (cosmos). Their teachings stressed
angels (Col 2:18; “principalities and powers,” Col 2:15), which were connected
with astral powers and cultic practices (see note on Col 2:16) and rules about
food and drink and ascetical disciplines (Col 2:16, 18). Paul insists that
these teachings detract from the person and work of Christ for salvation
because they are but “shadows”; Christ is “reality” (Col 2:17).
To help him with these
problems, Epaphras sought out Paul, who was then imprisoned (Col 4:10, 18) at a
place that the letter does not mention. Paul, without entering into debate over
the existence of angelic spirits or their function, simply affirms that Christ
possesses the sum total of redemptive power (Col 1:19) and that the spiritual
renewal occurs through baptism with the person of Christ, who died and rose
again (Col 2:9–14). It is unnecessary for the Christian to be concerned about
placating spirits (Col 2:15) or avoiding imagined defilement through ascetical
practices in regard to food and drink (Col 2:20–23). True Christian asceticism
consists in the conquering of personal sins (Col 3:5–10) and the practice of
love of neighbor in accordance with the standard set by Christ (Col 3:12–16).
Paul commends the community
(Col 1:3–8); which indicates that although the Colossians have been under
pressure to adopt the false doctrines, they have not given in. Paul expresses
his prayerful concern for them (Col 1:9–14). His preaching has cost him
persecution, suffering, and imprisonment, but he regards these as reflective of
the sufferings of Christ, a required discipline for the sake of the gospel. His
instructions to the Christian family, made up of slaves and masters, require a
new spirit of reflection and action. Love, obedience, and service are to be
rendered “in the Lord” (Col 3:18–4:1).
Let us pray: Almighty God, by
your Holy Spirit you have made us one with your saints in heaven and on earth:
Grant that in our earthly pilgrimage we may always be supported by this
fellowship of love and prayer, and know ourselves to be surrounded by their witness
to your power and mercy. We ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, in whom all
our intercessions are acceptable through the Spirit, and who lives and reigns
for ever and ever. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
Sharing Your Faith
Dinners: For those who signed up, we
will be meeting at the Taylors at 6:30 p.m. to share our faith stories.
Please remember everyone on our
Prayer List, especially Mary Pearson, and her family as she will be undergoing
open heart surgery. Mary is Bishop Doyle’s
mother-in-law.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo
Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Monday, April 23, 2012
Those Who Lead Should Be Humble
Today’s Epistle selection is
from Peter’s first letter. It is a good
guide to those who are called to be pastors:
Galveston, Texas 77550
Now as
an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares
in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you to tend the flock of
God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but
willingly, as God would have you do it—not for sordid gain but eagerly. Do not
lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. And when the
chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away. In
the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And
all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one
another, for ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’
Humble
yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in
due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline
yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls
around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for
you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the
same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the
God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will
himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power
for ever and ever. Amen.
Through
Silvanus, whom I consider a faithful brother, I have written this short letter
to encourage you, and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast
in it. Your sister church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you
greetings; and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to
all of you who are in Christ. (1 Pet. 5: 1-14).
Those who are charged with
leading the Christian community should do so with humility, and as examples of
those in their care. What is “humility”? St. Thomas Aquinas defines “humility” in this
way: it consists in keeping oneself
within one's own bounds, not reaching out to things above one. Another way of putting is that you have to
know your strengths and limitations.
Those who are called to lead the community of faith must do so knowing
their strengths and limitations. That is
good counsel to everyone.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, Shepherd of your people, we
thank you for those whom You have called to care for your flock, that they may
by following Christ’s example and the teaching
of his holy life, we may by your grace grow into the stature of the fullness of
the Good Shepherd, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Sharing Your Faith Dinners this
Thursday, 26 April at 6 p.m.
Please remember everyone on our
Prayer List.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal
ChurchGalveston, Texas 77550
Thursday, April 19, 2012
St. Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury
Today the Church remembers a bishop who loved his people and sacrificed his life, Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury. He was born around 953, during a violent period in England; it was the second major period of Viking raids.
Alphege became a monk, then a hermit, and was made Abbot of Bath. In 984 he became Bishop of Westminster.
In 994, King Ethelred sent him to negotiate with the Danish invaders. One of the invaders, Anlaf, became a Christian and swore never to invade England again. He never did. In that same year Alphege brought the newly baptized King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway to a peaceful meeting with King Ethelred, and to his confirmation at Andover.
In 1005, Alphege became Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1011 the Danes overran much of southern England. In September, they captured Canterbury and held Alphege and other prominent persons for ransom. The others were duly paid for and released, but the price demanded for Alphege was a fantastically high. Alphege, knowing the poverty of his people, refused to pay or let anyone else pay for him. His action infuriated the Danes, and at the end of a drunken feast, brought him out and repeated their demands. When he again refused, they beat him to death. Their chief, Thorkell the Tall, tried to save him, offering all his possessions except his ship for the Archbishop's life, but to no avail.
When the Dane Cnut (Canute) became King of England in 1016, he adopted a policy of conciliation, and in 1023 he brought the body of Alphege from London to Canterbury, where he was remembered as a martyr. Although he did not die for his belief in Christ, Alphege gave his life so that his people would not have to suffer ruin. He is an example to us of one who gives his all for others.
Let us pray: O loving God, whose martyr bishop Alphege of Canterbury suffered violent death when he refused to permit a ransom to be extorted from his people: Grant that all pastors of your flock may pattern themselves on the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for the sheep; and who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially, Randy Furlong, Patricia Robinson and Peggy Tuthill.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Alphege became a monk, then a hermit, and was made Abbot of Bath. In 984 he became Bishop of Westminster.
In 994, King Ethelred sent him to negotiate with the Danish invaders. One of the invaders, Anlaf, became a Christian and swore never to invade England again. He never did. In that same year Alphege brought the newly baptized King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway to a peaceful meeting with King Ethelred, and to his confirmation at Andover.
In 1005, Alphege became Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1011 the Danes overran much of southern England. In September, they captured Canterbury and held Alphege and other prominent persons for ransom. The others were duly paid for and released, but the price demanded for Alphege was a fantastically high. Alphege, knowing the poverty of his people, refused to pay or let anyone else pay for him. His action infuriated the Danes, and at the end of a drunken feast, brought him out and repeated their demands. When he again refused, they beat him to death. Their chief, Thorkell the Tall, tried to save him, offering all his possessions except his ship for the Archbishop's life, but to no avail.
When the Dane Cnut (Canute) became King of England in 1016, he adopted a policy of conciliation, and in 1023 he brought the body of Alphege from London to Canterbury, where he was remembered as a martyr. Although he did not die for his belief in Christ, Alphege gave his life so that his people would not have to suffer ruin. He is an example to us of one who gives his all for others.
Let us pray: O loving God, whose martyr bishop Alphege of Canterbury suffered violent death when he refused to permit a ransom to be extorted from his people: Grant that all pastors of your flock may pattern themselves on the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for the sheep; and who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially, Randy Furlong, Patricia Robinson and Peggy Tuthill.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Mercy Has Been Shown to You; Show Mercy
On this Wednesday is the second week of Easter we continue with Peter’s first letter wherein he tells his readers:
Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: ‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’
To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner’, and ‘A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Pet. 2:1-10)
Peter, “the Rock”, is inviting his readers to become “living stones” in building a spiritual house that will offer sacrifice, i.e., that will sanctify. How do we as living stones make life holy, sacred? Peter gives us the answer; he tells us that we are God’s people who have received mercy. Being recipients of God’s mercy, we must show mercy to others. In doing this, we proclaim the Risen Christ.
Let us pray: O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love all people, including our enemies: Lead us from prejudice to truth: deliver us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Patricia Robinson, Randy Furlong, Peggy Tuthill, and all of those who may be ill at this time.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: ‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’
To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner’, and ‘A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Pet. 2:1-10)
Peter, “the Rock”, is inviting his readers to become “living stones” in building a spiritual house that will offer sacrifice, i.e., that will sanctify. How do we as living stones make life holy, sacred? Peter gives us the answer; he tells us that we are God’s people who have received mercy. Being recipients of God’s mercy, we must show mercy to others. In doing this, we proclaim the Risen Christ.
Let us pray: O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love all people, including our enemies: Lead us from prejudice to truth: deliver us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Patricia Robinson, Randy Furlong, Peggy Tuthill, and all of those who may be ill at this time.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Do Not Be Conformed to the Desires that You Formerly Had In Ignorance.
In this second week of Easter we hear from the first letter of Peter where he writes:
Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’
If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. For ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures for ever.’ That word is the good news that was announced to you. (1 Pet. 1 -13-25).
Peter tells his readers “do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct.” Be holy yourselves in all your conduct. In this season after Easter that is what we are called to, be holy in all of our conduct.
Let us pray: Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List and especially those generous gifts bestowed upon our discretionary fund and our general fund.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’
If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. For ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures for ever.’ That word is the good news that was announced to you. (1 Pet. 1 -13-25).
Peter tells his readers “do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct.” Be holy yourselves in all your conduct. In this season after Easter that is what we are called to, be holy in all of our conduct.
Let us pray: Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List and especially those generous gifts bestowed upon our discretionary fund and our general fund.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Monday, April 16, 2012
Although You Have Not Seen Him, You Love Him
On this Monday in the Second Week of Easter, the Epistle switches to Peter’s first letter. We have the first 12 verses of the first chapter:
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood:
May grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated, when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look! (1 Pet. 1:1-12).
This is the same Peter who denied Christ in the courtyard of the high priest, the same Peter who claimed that he did not even know the man. Here he is in today’s reading proclaiming the Risen Jesus.
This letter is as fresh today as it was when it was written nearly 2000 years ago. Peter tells his readers: “Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” Just like Peter’s original audience, you and I have not seen Jesus, yet we love him and we rejoice in him. You and I are part of that tradition of faith which lives in the wake of the Risen Christ, working to love one another as Jesus has loved us.
Let us pray: Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Betty Robinson, Patricia Robinson and Cindi Clack.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood:
May grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated, when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look! (1 Pet. 1:1-12).
This is the same Peter who denied Christ in the courtyard of the high priest, the same Peter who claimed that he did not even know the man. Here he is in today’s reading proclaiming the Risen Jesus.
This letter is as fresh today as it was when it was written nearly 2000 years ago. Peter tells his readers: “Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” Just like Peter’s original audience, you and I have not seen Jesus, yet we love him and we rejoice in him. You and I are part of that tradition of faith which lives in the wake of the Risen Christ, working to love one another as Jesus has loved us.
Let us pray: Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Betty Robinson, Patricia Robinson and Cindi Clack.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Friday, April 13, 2012
And the Trumpet Will Sound!
On this Friday in Easter Week,we have a poetic passage from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians:
Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God,who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15: 51-58).
This passage has been put to music in Handel’s Messiah. Paul paints a wonderful picture which sometimes has been very misunderstood, and you may have heard of it as “the rapture” the belief of some that there will be some who will be taken by God and others left behind for a period of tribulation. This belief has been the subject of a somewhat popular series of books, The Left Behind Series.
I don't think that Paul had The Left Behind Series in mind in this passage. In the 15th chapter of his letter, Paul has been telling the Corinthians about the resurrection. Paul is looking toward the Second Coming of Christ, the first born of the new creation who has been raised to life in the resurrection. What Paul is telling the Corinthians in this portion of the letter is that death has no more power over them; death is the very thing that the majority of human beings are terrified of because of its finality and because of the unknown. Paul is telling his readers that Christ is victorious over death because he has risen, and God the Father has made him a new creation. Paul tells us that this same end awaits you and me.
Let us pray: Almighty Father, who gave your only Son to die for our sins and to rise for our justification: Give us grace so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness, that we may always serve you in pureness of living and truth; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
BISHOP’S COMMITTEE MEETING THIS SUNDAY—IT IS THE THIRD SUNDAY OF THE MONTH. We have a few things on the agenda: (1) the recurring Internet access issue (we are paying for it but do not seem to have it); (2) the Community Garden and adding a new signatory to the account; (3) some maintenance issues old and new, including a few dead trees.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST especially Cindi Clack and Betty Robinson.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God,who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15: 51-58).
This passage has been put to music in Handel’s Messiah. Paul paints a wonderful picture which sometimes has been very misunderstood, and you may have heard of it as “the rapture” the belief of some that there will be some who will be taken by God and others left behind for a period of tribulation. This belief has been the subject of a somewhat popular series of books, The Left Behind Series.
I don't think that Paul had The Left Behind Series in mind in this passage. In the 15th chapter of his letter, Paul has been telling the Corinthians about the resurrection. Paul is looking toward the Second Coming of Christ, the first born of the new creation who has been raised to life in the resurrection. What Paul is telling the Corinthians in this portion of the letter is that death has no more power over them; death is the very thing that the majority of human beings are terrified of because of its finality and because of the unknown. Paul is telling his readers that Christ is victorious over death because he has risen, and God the Father has made him a new creation. Paul tells us that this same end awaits you and me.
Let us pray: Almighty Father, who gave your only Son to die for our sins and to rise for our justification: Give us grace so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness, that we may always serve you in pureness of living and truth; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
BISHOP’S COMMITTEE MEETING THIS SUNDAY—IT IS THE THIRD SUNDAY OF THE MONTH. We have a few things on the agenda: (1) the recurring Internet access issue (we are paying for it but do not seem to have it); (2) the Community Garden and adding a new signatory to the account; (3) some maintenance issues old and new, including a few dead trees.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST especially Cindi Clack and Betty Robinson.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Go and Baptize All Nations
On this Thursday in Easter Week, we hear the end of the Gospel according to Matthew:
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ (Mt. 28: 16-20).
Matthew just tells it like it is. Even though they see the Risen Christ, “some doubted”. There are skeptics in every age; they were even standing in front of the very Jesus who rose from the dead.
This passage contains the Great Commission, that is, Jesus’ command to go and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. This Trinitarian formula is used at baptisms all around the world; we even used it on Easter Sunday when we baptized Toni, and it stems from the time of the Early Church. In the baptismal liturgy, both the spoken word and the sign of poured water are outward signs of what God is accomplishing internally in conveying grace. Not only do our liturgies reflect our beliefs, but they also convey God acting in our lives in profound ways. Baptism, which is Greek for “to dip” or “to dunk”, is one of the rites of Christian initiation wherein God makes us members of the Body of Christ. In baptism you and I are baptized into the death of Christ so that we may share in the resurrection thereby reconciling us to God through the forgiveness of sins.
Let us pray: Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION THIS WEEKEND: Join the tour of the historical Galveston cemetery this Saturday.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially Betty Robinson who is recovering from surgery.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ (Mt. 28: 16-20).
Matthew just tells it like it is. Even though they see the Risen Christ, “some doubted”. There are skeptics in every age; they were even standing in front of the very Jesus who rose from the dead.
This passage contains the Great Commission, that is, Jesus’ command to go and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. This Trinitarian formula is used at baptisms all around the world; we even used it on Easter Sunday when we baptized Toni, and it stems from the time of the Early Church. In the baptismal liturgy, both the spoken word and the sign of poured water are outward signs of what God is accomplishing internally in conveying grace. Not only do our liturgies reflect our beliefs, but they also convey God acting in our lives in profound ways. Baptism, which is Greek for “to dip” or “to dunk”, is one of the rites of Christian initiation wherein God makes us members of the Body of Christ. In baptism you and I are baptized into the death of Christ so that we may share in the resurrection thereby reconciling us to God through the forgiveness of sins.
Let us pray: Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION THIS WEEKEND: Join the tour of the historical Galveston cemetery this Saturday.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially Betty Robinson who is recovering from surgery.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Ordinary People
On this Wednesday in Easter Week, we hear from the Gospel according to Matthew. This is his account of the resurrection:
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’
While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, ‘You must say, “His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.” If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story is still told among the Jews to this day.
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. (Mt. 28: 1-16).
To be sure, there are many discrepancies in the New Testament Gospel accounts; however, the accounts of the aftermath of the crucifixion are consistent: (1) the tomb was empty; (2) Jesus rose from the dead; (3) “do not be afraid”; and (4) go and tell the others, that is, proclaim the resurrection.
The Gospel accounts are all consistent in this: Jesus' followers, the disciples, were ordinary people. The New Testament reveals the disciples, warts and all. The Gospel writers tell of the disciples’ cowardice when Jesus is crucified and how they made a hasty retreat. They tell how when the disciples encounter the empty tomb, they experience fear, not joy. Nevertheless, they overcome their fears and proclaim the Risen Christ to the world. They were ordinary people, just like like you and me. In short, there is hope for us all.
Let us pray: O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List and especially Betty Robinson who is recovering from surgery.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’
While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, ‘You must say, “His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.” If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story is still told among the Jews to this day.
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. (Mt. 28: 1-16).
To be sure, there are many discrepancies in the New Testament Gospel accounts; however, the accounts of the aftermath of the crucifixion are consistent: (1) the tomb was empty; (2) Jesus rose from the dead; (3) “do not be afraid”; and (4) go and tell the others, that is, proclaim the resurrection.
The Gospel accounts are all consistent in this: Jesus' followers, the disciples, were ordinary people. The New Testament reveals the disciples, warts and all. The Gospel writers tell of the disciples’ cowardice when Jesus is crucified and how they made a hasty retreat. They tell how when the disciples encounter the empty tomb, they experience fear, not joy. Nevertheless, they overcome their fears and proclaim the Risen Christ to the world. They were ordinary people, just like like you and me. In short, there is hope for us all.
Let us pray: O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List and especially Betty Robinson who is recovering from surgery.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Paul & the Resurrection
I recently heard the dean of the Yale Divinity School say that St. Paul did not believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus. Unfortunately, he must have missed the Epistle selection for this Tuesday in Easter Week, the continuation of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians:
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘All things are put in subjection’, it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Cor. 15:12-28).
Despite what the dean of the Yale Divinity School said about Paul, we know that Paul devoted his life to proclaiming the Risen Christ and what the resurrection accomplished for the entire world. You and I are evidence of Paul’s work. I’ll rejoice in that!
Let us pray: O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light: Grant that we, who have been raised with him, may abide in his presence and rejoice in the hope of eternal glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be dominion and praise for ever and ever. Amen.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List and especially Betty Robinson who is recovering from today’s surgery; she is doing well and is recovering.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘All things are put in subjection’, it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Cor. 15:12-28).
Despite what the dean of the Yale Divinity School said about Paul, we know that Paul devoted his life to proclaiming the Risen Christ and what the resurrection accomplished for the entire world. You and I are evidence of Paul’s work. I’ll rejoice in that!
Let us pray: O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light: Grant that we, who have been raised with him, may abide in his presence and rejoice in the hope of eternal glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be dominion and praise for ever and ever. Amen.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List and especially Betty Robinson who is recovering from today’s surgery; she is doing well and is recovering.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Monday, April 9, 2012
Proclaiming the Risen Christ In Our Lives
Today is Monday in Easter Week and we hear from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians:
Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe. (1 Cor. 15: 1-11).
Today’s Epistle reading picks up on something that we talked about yesterday, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell the others.” That’s exactly what Paul does—he proclaimed the Risen Christ to the Corinthians.
Are we all called to proclaim the Risen Christ as Paul did? Someone yesterday mentioned to me that there are many others ways to proclaim the Risen Christ, most importantly by the way we live our lives! St. Paul would definitely agree with that, after all Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) Indeed, that is the best way to proclaim the Risen Christ in our daily lives!
Let us pray: Almighty God, whose dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other that the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION
The Cemetery Lady, historian Linda McBee will be our guide on April 14th for the art rubbings class. Lee will provide simple brown bag lunches and bottled water. Mrs. McBee will focus on the Episcopal part of the old cemetery and her tour lasts about an hour and a half. The cost for her services would be $9 per person provided we can have a group of ten or more. The Church will cover the cost for those who want to attend but cannot pay the fee.
If you wish to attend, Lee will also to provide paper and charcoal for rubbings. You are free to bring any other special papers, other rubbing materials you wish. Lee will also talk with her about a possible rain date if the weather is bad that day. Please call Lee at 409-539-4632 so we can book this time. Saturday April 14th from 10 am -12:30 p.m. we will meet at the old city cemetery on Broadway by the Church. Wear a hat and some sunscreen!
SHARING OUR FAITH DINNERS: 26 April 2012.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List especially Betty Robinson and Cindi Clack.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe. (1 Cor. 15: 1-11).
Today’s Epistle reading picks up on something that we talked about yesterday, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell the others.” That’s exactly what Paul does—he proclaimed the Risen Christ to the Corinthians.
Are we all called to proclaim the Risen Christ as Paul did? Someone yesterday mentioned to me that there are many others ways to proclaim the Risen Christ, most importantly by the way we live our lives! St. Paul would definitely agree with that, after all Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) Indeed, that is the best way to proclaim the Risen Christ in our daily lives!
Let us pray: Almighty God, whose dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other that the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION
The Cemetery Lady, historian Linda McBee will be our guide on April 14th for the art rubbings class. Lee will provide simple brown bag lunches and bottled water. Mrs. McBee will focus on the Episcopal part of the old cemetery and her tour lasts about an hour and a half. The cost for her services would be $9 per person provided we can have a group of ten or more. The Church will cover the cost for those who want to attend but cannot pay the fee.
If you wish to attend, Lee will also to provide paper and charcoal for rubbings. You are free to bring any other special papers, other rubbing materials you wish. Lee will also talk with her about a possible rain date if the weather is bad that day. Please call Lee at 409-539-4632 so we can book this time. Saturday April 14th from 10 am -12:30 p.m. we will meet at the old city cemetery on Broadway by the Church. Wear a hat and some sunscreen!
SHARING OUR FAITH DINNERS: 26 April 2012.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List especially Betty Robinson and Cindi Clack.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Friday, April 6, 2012
Why Is Today Called "Good Friday"?
Today is the second day of the Triduum, Good Friday. Why do we call the day that Christ died “Good Friday”? Some think that the name evolved from “God’s Friday.” (For example, “goodbye” evolved from “God be with ye”). Germans refer to this day as “Karfreitag”, that is, “Sorrowful” or “Suffering Friday” in German.
By calling it Good Friday, we are witnessing to the Christian hope that no tragedy, not even death itself, can overwhelm God’s love and grace. This Friday is indeed good because Christ took upon himself the sins of the world, the worst evil could do, and God’s love and grace claimed the true victory.
Let us pray: Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION
The Cemetery Lady, historian Linda McBee will be our guide on April 14th for the art rubbings class. Lee will provide simple brown bag lunches and bottled water. Mrs. McBee will focus on the Episcopal part of the old cemetery and her tour lasts about an hour and a half. The cost for her services would be $9 per person provided we can have a group of ten or more. The Church will cover the cost for those who want to attend but cannot pay the fee.
If you wish to attend, Lee will also to provide paper and charcoal for rubbings. You are free to bring any other special papers, other rubbing materials you wish. Lee will also talk with her about a possible rain date if the weather is bad that day. Please call Lee at 409-539-4632 so we can book this time. Saturday April 14th from 10 am -12:30pm we will meet at the old city cemetery on Broadway by the Church. Wear a hat and some sunscreen!
HOLY WEEK CALENDAR
Good Friday: 3 p.m.
Easter Eucharist at 9 a.m. and an Easter egg hunt for the children after the service with our annual covered dish lunch.
SHARING OUR FAITH DINNERS: 26 April 2012.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List especially Cindi Clack, and the people of North Texas who are victims of the bad weather.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
By calling it Good Friday, we are witnessing to the Christian hope that no tragedy, not even death itself, can overwhelm God’s love and grace. This Friday is indeed good because Christ took upon himself the sins of the world, the worst evil could do, and God’s love and grace claimed the true victory.
Let us pray: Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION
The Cemetery Lady, historian Linda McBee will be our guide on April 14th for the art rubbings class. Lee will provide simple brown bag lunches and bottled water. Mrs. McBee will focus on the Episcopal part of the old cemetery and her tour lasts about an hour and a half. The cost for her services would be $9 per person provided we can have a group of ten or more. The Church will cover the cost for those who want to attend but cannot pay the fee.
If you wish to attend, Lee will also to provide paper and charcoal for rubbings. You are free to bring any other special papers, other rubbing materials you wish. Lee will also talk with her about a possible rain date if the weather is bad that day. Please call Lee at 409-539-4632 so we can book this time. Saturday April 14th from 10 am -12:30pm we will meet at the old city cemetery on Broadway by the Church. Wear a hat and some sunscreen!
HOLY WEEK CALENDAR
Good Friday: 3 p.m.
Easter Eucharist at 9 a.m. and an Easter egg hunt for the children after the service with our annual covered dish lunch.
SHARING OUR FAITH DINNERS: 26 April 2012.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List especially Cindi Clack, and the people of North Texas who are victims of the bad weather.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Love One Another As I Have Loved You
Today is the start of the Triduum, the three days, and today is Maundy Thursday. It is taken from the Latin word “mandatum”, meaning “command”. Today Jesus celebrates the old Passover on the eve of the New Covenant, and he gives us, his disciples, a new command, to love one another as he has loved us. That is a daunting command given what happens on Good Friday—no person has a greater love than to give their life for another.
Let us pray: The Lord Jesus, after he had supped with his disciples and had washed their feet, said to them, "Do you know what I, your Lord and Master, have done to you? I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done." I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. By this shall the world know that you are my disciples: That you have love for one another. Lord Jesus, help us to live out your new commandment. Amen.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION
The Cemetery Lady, historian Linda McBee will be our guide on April 14th for the art rubbings class. Lee will provide simple brown bag lunches and bottled water. Mrs. McBee will focus on the Episcopal part of the old cemetery and her tour lasts about an hour and a half. The cost for her services would be $9 per person provided we can have a group of ten or more. The Church will cover the cost for those who want to attend but cannot pay the fee.
If you wish to attend, Lee will also to provide paper and charcoal for rubbings. You are free to bring any other special papers, other rubbing materials you wish. Lee will also talk with her about a possible rain date if the weather is bad that day. Please call Lee at 409-539-4632 so we can book this time. Saturday April 14th from 10 am -12:30 pm we will meet at the old city cemetery on Broadway by the Church. Wear a hat and some sunscreen!
HOLY WEEK CALENDAR
Maundy Thursday: Traditional Maundy Thursday service with foot washing and striping of the altar: 7 p.m.
Good Friday: 3 p.m.
Easter Eucharist at 9 a.m. and an Easter egg hunt for the children after the service with our annual covered dish lunch.
SHARING OUR FAITH DINNERS: 26 April 2012.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List especially Cindi Clack, and the people of North Texas who are victims of the bad weather.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Let us pray: The Lord Jesus, after he had supped with his disciples and had washed their feet, said to them, "Do you know what I, your Lord and Master, have done to you? I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done." I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. By this shall the world know that you are my disciples: That you have love for one another. Lord Jesus, help us to live out your new commandment. Amen.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION
The Cemetery Lady, historian Linda McBee will be our guide on April 14th for the art rubbings class. Lee will provide simple brown bag lunches and bottled water. Mrs. McBee will focus on the Episcopal part of the old cemetery and her tour lasts about an hour and a half. The cost for her services would be $9 per person provided we can have a group of ten or more. The Church will cover the cost for those who want to attend but cannot pay the fee.
If you wish to attend, Lee will also to provide paper and charcoal for rubbings. You are free to bring any other special papers, other rubbing materials you wish. Lee will also talk with her about a possible rain date if the weather is bad that day. Please call Lee at 409-539-4632 so we can book this time. Saturday April 14th from 10 am -12:30 pm we will meet at the old city cemetery on Broadway by the Church. Wear a hat and some sunscreen!
HOLY WEEK CALENDAR
Maundy Thursday: Traditional Maundy Thursday service with foot washing and striping of the altar: 7 p.m.
Good Friday: 3 p.m.
Easter Eucharist at 9 a.m. and an Easter egg hunt for the children after the service with our annual covered dish lunch.
SHARING OUR FAITH DINNERS: 26 April 2012.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List especially Cindi Clack, and the people of North Texas who are victims of the bad weather.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Rejecting the Cornerstone
On this Wednesday in Holy Week, we hear from the Gospel according to Mark:
Then he began to speak to them in parables. ‘A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watch-tower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But those tenants said to one another, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes”?’ (Mk. 12: 1-11).
Jesus knew what the future had in store for him; the leaders of the Jewish people were at odds with Jesus from the start of Jesus’ public ministry. Jesus challenged their view and way or life and what they held dear. The Sadducees and the Pharisees did not want to give it up. They were blind to what Jesus was about. They rejected Jesus and his message. How are we like the Sadducees and the Pharisees? What do we hold so dear that we cannot hear what Jesus is saying to us?
Let us pray: Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION
The Cemetery Lady, historian Linda McBee will be our guide on April 14th for the art rubbings class. Lee will provide simple brown bag lunches and bottled water. Mrs. McBee will focus on the Episcopal part of the old cemetery and her tour lasts about an hour and a half. The cost for her services would be $9 per person provided we can have a group of ten or more. The Church will cover the cost for those who want to attend but cannot pay the fee.
If you wish to attend, Lee will also to provide paper and charcoal for rubbings. You are free to bring any other special papers, other rubbing materials you wish. Lee will also talk with her about a possible rain date if the weather is bad that day. Please call Lee at 409-539-4632 so we can book this time. Saturday April 14th from 10 am -12:30 pm we will meet at the old city cemetery on Broadway by the Church. Wear a hat and some sunscreen!
HOLY WEEK CALENDAR
Wednesday: final gathering for the Lenten Series at St. Augustine’s at 6 p.m.
Maundy Thursday: Traditional Maundy Thursday service with foot washing and striping of the altar: 7 p.m.
Good Friday: 3 p.m.
Easter Eucharist at 9 a.m. and an Easter egg hunt for the children after the service with our annual covered dish lunch.
SHARING OUR FAITH DINNERS: 26 April 2012.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List especially Cindi Clack, and the people of North Texas who are victims of the bad weather.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr.Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Then he began to speak to them in parables. ‘A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watch-tower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But those tenants said to one another, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes”?’ (Mk. 12: 1-11).
Jesus knew what the future had in store for him; the leaders of the Jewish people were at odds with Jesus from the start of Jesus’ public ministry. Jesus challenged their view and way or life and what they held dear. The Sadducees and the Pharisees did not want to give it up. They were blind to what Jesus was about. They rejected Jesus and his message. How are we like the Sadducees and the Pharisees? What do we hold so dear that we cannot hear what Jesus is saying to us?
Let us pray: Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION
The Cemetery Lady, historian Linda McBee will be our guide on April 14th for the art rubbings class. Lee will provide simple brown bag lunches and bottled water. Mrs. McBee will focus on the Episcopal part of the old cemetery and her tour lasts about an hour and a half. The cost for her services would be $9 per person provided we can have a group of ten or more. The Church will cover the cost for those who want to attend but cannot pay the fee.
If you wish to attend, Lee will also to provide paper and charcoal for rubbings. You are free to bring any other special papers, other rubbing materials you wish. Lee will also talk with her about a possible rain date if the weather is bad that day. Please call Lee at 409-539-4632 so we can book this time. Saturday April 14th from 10 am -12:30 pm we will meet at the old city cemetery on Broadway by the Church. Wear a hat and some sunscreen!
HOLY WEEK CALENDAR
Wednesday: final gathering for the Lenten Series at St. Augustine’s at 6 p.m.
Maundy Thursday: Traditional Maundy Thursday service with foot washing and striping of the altar: 7 p.m.
Good Friday: 3 p.m.
Easter Eucharist at 9 a.m. and an Easter egg hunt for the children after the service with our annual covered dish lunch.
SHARING OUR FAITH DINNERS: 26 April 2012.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List especially Cindi Clack, and the people of North Texas who are victims of the bad weather.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr.Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Monday, April 2, 2012
God Suffers With Us
This Monday in Holy Week the Epistle selection is the start of Paul’s Second Letter to the Church in Corinth. Paul writes:
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God that is in Corinth, including all the saints throughout Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering. Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation. (2 Cor. 1: 1-7).
The theme of the Epistle this morning is one that we talked about yesterday, that is, by virtue of the cross, Christ shares on our sufferings. God in His immense love for us suffers the death of Jesus His Son, in the power of His love, there you and I also find the power to remain in love despite pain and death not succumbing to bitterness. In the cross of Christ, we can live with the terrors of our lives and of human history and despite them remain in the love of God who suffers with us and live in hope as Paul did.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION
The Cemetery Lady, historian Linda McBee will be our guide on April 14th for the art rubbings class. Lee will provide simple brown bag lunches and bottled water. Mrs. McBee will focus on the Episcopal part of the old cemetery and her tour lasts about an hour and a half. The cost for her services would be $9 per person provided we can have a group of ten or more. The Church will cover the cost for those who want to attend but cannot pay the fee.
If you wish to attend, Lee will also to provide paper and charcoal for rubbings. You are free to bring any other special papers, other rubbing materials you wish. Lee will also talk with her about a possible rain date if the weather is bad that day. Please call Lee at 409-539-4632 so we can book this time. Saturday April 14th from 10 am - 12:30 pm we will meet at the old city cemetery on Broadway by the Church. Wear a hat and some sunscreen!
HOLY WEEK CALENDAR
Wednesday: final gathering for the Lenten Series at St. Augustine’s at 6 p.m.
Maundy Thursday: Traditional Maundy Thursday service with foot washing and striping of the altar: 7 p.m.
Good Friday: 3 p.m.
Easter Eucharist at 9 a.m. and an Easter egg hunt for the children after the service with our annual covered dish lunch.
SHARING OUR FAITH DINNERS: 26 April 2012.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List especially Cindi Clack.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God that is in Corinth, including all the saints throughout Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering. Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation. (2 Cor. 1: 1-7).
The theme of the Epistle this morning is one that we talked about yesterday, that is, by virtue of the cross, Christ shares on our sufferings. God in His immense love for us suffers the death of Jesus His Son, in the power of His love, there you and I also find the power to remain in love despite pain and death not succumbing to bitterness. In the cross of Christ, we can live with the terrors of our lives and of human history and despite them remain in the love of God who suffers with us and live in hope as Paul did.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION
The Cemetery Lady, historian Linda McBee will be our guide on April 14th for the art rubbings class. Lee will provide simple brown bag lunches and bottled water. Mrs. McBee will focus on the Episcopal part of the old cemetery and her tour lasts about an hour and a half. The cost for her services would be $9 per person provided we can have a group of ten or more. The Church will cover the cost for those who want to attend but cannot pay the fee.
If you wish to attend, Lee will also to provide paper and charcoal for rubbings. You are free to bring any other special papers, other rubbing materials you wish. Lee will also talk with her about a possible rain date if the weather is bad that day. Please call Lee at 409-539-4632 so we can book this time. Saturday April 14th from 10 am - 12:30 pm we will meet at the old city cemetery on Broadway by the Church. Wear a hat and some sunscreen!
HOLY WEEK CALENDAR
Wednesday: final gathering for the Lenten Series at St. Augustine’s at 6 p.m.
Maundy Thursday: Traditional Maundy Thursday service with foot washing and striping of the altar: 7 p.m.
Good Friday: 3 p.m.
Easter Eucharist at 9 a.m. and an Easter egg hunt for the children after the service with our annual covered dish lunch.
SHARING OUR FAITH DINNERS: 26 April 2012.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List especially Cindi Clack.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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