Tuesday, March 11, 2014

A New Direction



The appointed Gospel reading for the Daily Office (the Daily Prayer of the Church) is taken from Mark:

 

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’

 

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

 

They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.  (Mk. 1:14-28).

 

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”  “Repent”, or in the Greek, μετανοετε, “turn around 180 degrees; to think differently”—make an about face, stop going in the wrong direction.  That is how Jesus begins his public ministry in Mark, with Good News and a call for us to change course, to go in a new direction, God’s direction.

 

Lent is a time for you and for me to make a course change and to stop heading in the wrong direction and to start heading in God’s direction.  That course change may not be easy.  In fact, it can be painful.  In your heart of hearts, you know what wrong direction you are going in.  Use this time of Lent to go in God’s direction.

 

Let us pray:  Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

CALENDAR REMINDERS

 

An excellent resource for your Daily Lenten Discipline is to pray the Daily Office (Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer).  As I said yesterday, I use my computer to do it.  Here is the website that has everything you need to pray the Daily Office of the Church (music, readings and all): http://www.missionstclare.com/english/

 

Wednesday at 6 PM, the 1st in the Lenten Series Nick @ Night with Bishop Fisher at St. Augustine’s starting with Stations, Eucharist, light dinner and program.  Don’t miss it!

 

Seaside Seniors on Thursday, 20 March at 11 AM with a St. Patrick’s Day theme.

 

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Karen, Lee, Pat, Patricia and Evelyn.

 

Your servant in Christ,

 

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church

Galveston, Texas 77550

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