On this Monday in the first week of Lent, we hear from Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth:
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you should be in agreement and that there should be no divisions among you, but that you should be united in the same mind and the same purpose. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, ‘I belong to Paul’, or ‘I belong to Apollos’, or ‘I belong to Cephas’, or ‘I belong to Christ.’ Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’ (1 Cor. 1:1-19).
You and I are all one in Christ. It is Jesus that we follow. We do not follow the Pope, or the Archbishop of Canterbury, or the Presiding Bishop of the United States, of Martin Luther, or John Wesley, or a particular pastor, or insert whatever name you’d like. Our focus is on God alone, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Let us pray: Almighty God, give us the strength this Lent to put our entire focus on you. Let us remember what Jesus told us in yesterday’s Gospel reading: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” 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/
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 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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