Sts. Philip & James, Apostles

Although normally remembered on the 1st of May, this year, the Church celebrates two of the Apostles, Philip and James, today.

The Apostle Philip was one of Christ's first disciples, called soon after his Master's baptism in the Jordan. The fourth Gospel gives the following detail: “The next day Jesus was about to leave for Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him: Follow me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said to him: We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote, Jesus the Son of Joseph of Nazareth. And Nathanael said to him: Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him: Come and see.” (John 1:43-46).

Very little is known of James the Less. James Kiefer writes: “James the son of Alphaeus (Alpheus) appears on lists of the Twelve Apostles (usually in the eighth place), but is never mentioned otherwise. He is called James the Less, or James Minor, or James the Younger.”

What we do know is this: both men followed Jesus and ultimately died for their faith.

Let us pray: Almighty God, who gave to your apostles Philip and James grace and strength to bear witness to the truth: Grant that we, being mindful of their victory of faith, may glorify in life and death the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

Sunday is Mother’s Day. Remember Mom!

S.A.S.S. every Thursday starting at 6 p.m. with a pot luck dinner.

PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially the victims of the bad weather in the Southeastern United States, Liz Mack, Pat Tate, and the family of Robyn Bishop who died yesterday.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

Be A Witness

Today in this Second Week of Easter, we hear from the First Letter of John:

We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us— we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 Jn. 1-10).

This is a letter of witness. John tells us of his experience of Jesus Christ; John is a witness to Jesus Christ and His saving acts. John tells us that Jesus is the true expression of who God is — God is light, and there is no darkness at all in God. You and I are children of the light because Jesus has brought us into the light through His redemptive death and the seal of the resurrection. By our lives, you and I are to give witness to Jesus who gave His life for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus reconciled us to God.

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 Liz Mack, and the family of Robyn Bishop who died today: she is a sheep of Jesus’ flock, and a sinner of His own redeeming.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

Friday in Easter Week

On this Friday in Easter Week, we continue to hear in the Book of Acts how Peter and the Apostles proclaimed the saving acts and the Resurrection of Jesus to the world:

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came to them, much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead. So they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand.

The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, 10let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is “the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.”

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.’ (Acts 4: 1-12).

Peter, the coward who denied Jesus three times, is now proclaiming the forgiveness of sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to the very authorities that tried Jesus and wanted to put him to death. Peter had experienced the forgiveness of Jesus and finally understood what Jesus was about— reconciling us to God and to each other.

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.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR MINISTRY:

You can be a witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ by participating in: the Prayer Shawl Ministry, the Sunday Fellowship Breakfast, the History Project, SASS, Saturday Art Classes, the Community Garden, the Annual Art Show, praying for those on our Prayer List and the Altar Guild.

CALENDAR REMINDERS:

S.A.S.S. is Thursday nights starting with a pot luck dinner at 6 p.m.

Mother’s Day is 8 May. Don’t forget Mom!

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 in Easter Week

On this Thursday in Easter Week, we hear from the Acts of the Apostles. The lame man was just cured, and now everyone is astonished:

While he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s Portico, utterly astonished. When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, ‘You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.

‘And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets. Moses said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you from your own people a prophet like me. You must listen to whatever he tells you. And it will be that everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be utterly rooted out from the people.” And all the prophets, as many as have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, also predicted these days. You are the descendants of the prophets and of the covenant that God gave to your ancestors, saying to Abraham, “And in your descendants all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.’ (Acts 3: 11-26).

Peter is quick to acknowledge that the lame man was cured through the power of Jesus Christ. Peter did not cure the man; he was only the instrument. Moreover, the miracle is a means of glorifying God and an instrument of spreading the Good News of salvation. Peter immediately begins to preach the message: Jesus died for their sins and He is risen from the dead. The listeners are called to believe and to repent. You and I are called to do the same.

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.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

Wednesday in Easter Week

On this Wednesday in Easter Week, we hear in the Book of Acts how the Resurrection of Jesus empowered the Apostles who, in the name of Christ, bring healing to a lame man:

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon. And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, ‘Look at us.’ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, ‘I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.’ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. (Acts 3: 1-10).

Do you remember what Peter was like before? He had a touch of “foot in mouth disease”, and deserted Jesus when the going got tough. Look at him in Acts. He is a changed man. Peter has been transformed by the Resurrection of Jesus. When we live our lives believing in the Resurrection of Jesus, our lives are transformed as well. As Peter said, “I have no silver or gold”; he had much more, faith in the Risen Lord, a faith which changed the lives of others.

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.

CALENDAR REMINDERS:

Tonight at 6 p.m. we are feeding the medical students at William Temple.

S.A.S.S. is Thursday nights starting with a pot luck dinner at 6 p.m.

Mother’s Day is 8 May. Don’t forget Mom!

Please remember everyone on our prayer list.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

Tuesday in Easter Week

In this Tuesday in Easter Week, we hear from Paul’s first Letter to the Corinthians. We can see how Paul’s encounter with the Risen Christ transformed his life. Paul cannot help but preach the Good News of salvation in Christ, and central to that Good News is the Resurrection:

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).

Just as we cannot water down the Cross of Christ, we cannot water down the Resurrection. Through the Resurrection, God is recreating the world, and Jesus is the first fruit of that recreation. You and I share in that Resurrection because we will be raised up on that last day.

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 REMINDERS:

Wednesday, 27 April at 6 p.m. at the William Temple Episcopal Center: St. Augustine will be the medical students. Please bring a side dish. We expect about 60 people.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR MINISTRY:

You can be a witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ by participating in: the Prayer Shawl Ministry, the Sunday Fellowship Breakfast, the History Project, SASS, Saturday Art Classes, the Community Garden, the Annual Art Show, praying for those on our Prayer List, the Altar Guild and feeding the medical students at WTEC.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

Monday in Easter Week

On this Monday in Easter Week, we see how with “fear and great joy” the Apostles go out into the world to tell the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection:

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.

‘You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him, “I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover, my flesh will live in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.”

‘Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, “He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.” This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.’ (Acts 2: 14,22-32).

We are the inheritors of the Apostles’ preaching and teaching. Because of their witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we know the Good News of salvation; therefore, you and I are called to spread the Good News of the Risen Lord. So, just like the Apostles, go forth and proclaim that Christ the Lord is risen; He is risen indeed!

Let us pray: Grant, we pray, Almighty God, that we who celebrate with awe the Paschal feast may be found worthy to attain to everlasting joys; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

Wednesday, 27 April at 6 p.m. at the William Temple Episcopal Center: St. Augustine will be the medical students. Please bring a side dish. We expect about 60 people.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR MINISTRY: You can be a witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ by participating in: the Prayer Shawl Ministry, the Sunday Fellowship Breakfast, the History Project, SASS, Saturday Art Classes, the Community Garden, the Annual Art Show, praying for those on our Prayer List, Altar Guild and feeding the medical students at WTEC.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550