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By Jordan Easley, November 5, 2011 9:13 pm

When the Anglican Church was officially established in the 1500’s, one of its first great books was the Book of Homilies, written in 1547 and 1562.  The first generation of Anglican leaders were fully committed to preaching the Word of God, but since many of their pastors had not been trained to do this, they created this two volume book of thirty-three sermons, so that lay people could (at least) have a Bible-based sermon read to them.  The selection below is from one of these sermons, and I believe it is just as timely for Anglicans today as it was 500 years ago.

“Now come therefore dearly beloved, without delay, and cheerfully enter into God’s feasting house, and become partakers of the benefits provided and prepared for you.  But see that you come here with your holy-day garment, not like hypocrites, not for a custom and for manners sake, not with loathsomeness…come to the church on the holy-day, and come in your holy-day garment.

“That is to say, come with a cheerful and a godly mind; come to seek God’s glory and to be thankful unto him.  Come to be at one with your neighbor, and to enter in friendship and charity with him.  Consider that all your doings stink before the face of God, if you be not in charity with your neighbor.  Come with a heart sifted and cleansed from worldly and carnal affections and desires.  Shake off all vain thoughts which may hinder you from God’s true service.

“The bird, when she will flee, shakes her wings.  Shake and prepare yourself to flee higher than all the birds in the air, that after your duty duly done in this earthly temple and church, you may flee up, and be received into the glorious temple of God in heaven, through Christ Jesus our Lord.  To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all glory and honour.  Amen.”

Jordan

The Rev. Jordan Easley

Assistant

On the Mark November 6th

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By Fr. Christopher P. Leighton, October 29, 2011 10:22 pm

A long time ago we sang a song, “I heard the Lord call me name, listen close you’ll hear the same.”  Peter Marshall, the Chaplain to the US Senate a generation ago, described the call of God as being as though you were walking along a crowded busy sidewalk and from behind you are tapped upon the shoulder.  At once you turn and respond to the call of God and follow Him.

In the end (as it was in the beginning) what matters most is following Jesus.  If we follow Jesus everything falls into line.

In Isaiah 43:1-3, the prophet writes, “But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, O Jacob.  He who formed you, O Israel:  ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you;  I have called you by name;  you are mine. …When you walk through the fire you will not be burned. … For I am the Lord your God.’”

If you respond to His call and follow Him, he will always show you the way to go.

With joy in the journey,

Christopher

On the Mark October 30th

The Rev. Christopher P. Leighton

Rector

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By Jordan Easley, October 22, 2011 9:35 pm

Today is the feast day of St. James the Just.  He was one of Jesus’ younger brothers, as was Jude.  He was not one of the original twelve disciples, but after he saw Jesus risen from the dead, he believed!  For thirty years, he was the bishop of the church at Jerusalem.  During that time, he wrote the book of the Bible, the Epistle of James.

“Through his preaching, his prayers, and his example, James converted many people to Christ.  He was on his bare knees so often, worshipping God and praying for forgiveness for the sins of the people, that his knees became numb and calloused, like the knees of a camel.  This also earned him the nickname of ‘James the Just’.  He was respected by everyone, even many who opposed what he taught and believed.

“Feeling threatened by the rapid growth of the church, the chief priest, scribes, and Pharisees came up with a plan.  They would force this well known church leader to deny his faith before the multitude.  But James refused to cooperate.  From his place at the top of the temple, he preached with more boldness than ever.  Every person in the crowd below looked up as he proclaimed, ‘Jesus is the promised Messiah!  He is sitting at the right hand of God, and shall come again in the clouds of Heaven, to judge the quick and the dead!

“When the crowd below saw his courage and heard his bold words; they loudly praised God and magnified the name of Jesus. Enraged two or three of the religious leaders jumped forward and pushed James off the temple roof.  Miraculously, James was not killed by the fall;  only his legs were broken.  Then the priests, scribes, and Pharisees said, ‘Let us stone the ‘just man’ James.’  They picked up rocks to stone him to death.  James, kneeling on his broken legs, prayed, ‘Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’

One of the priests, when he heard James praying, begged the others to stop, saying ‘What are we doing?  ‘The Just’ is praying for us.  Stop the stoning!  Stop the stoning!’  While he was shouting this, another man ran up with a big, heavy stick in his hand and struck James in the head.  James died instantly from the blow, still in prayer.” [from Jesus Freaks by D.C. Talk]

Next Sunday we will have a special Family Service, celebrating the Feast of All Saints.  Those who have gone before us are celebrating in heaven around the clock.  Are you ready to party with them, as we thank God for their example?  I’m thankful for St. James the Just.  I’m thankful for every one of you.

Your brother

Jordan

The Rev. Jordan Easley

Assistant

On the Mark – October 23rd

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By Jordan Easley, October 9, 2011 9:41 pm

Lately, I’ve been thinking and praying a lot about our children at St. Paul’s.  In the midst of this, the Holy Spirit brought to mind a profound passage that I read a long time ago:

“Children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, they want things repeated and unchanged.  They always say, ‘Do it again’, and the grown-up does it again until he is nearly dead.  For grown-ups are not strong enough to exult in monotony.  But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony.  It is possible that God says every morning ‘Do it again’ to the sun;  and every evening ‘Do it again’ to the moon.  It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike;  it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them.  It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy;  for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” [G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy .]

Christians often speak of “child-like faith”.  But what about “child-like monotony”?  What a profound thought:  our heavenly Father is somehow younger than we are, that he never tires of “do it again”!  Perhaps this is why Jesus said, “Unless you become like a little child, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven”. [Matthew 18:3]  Perhaps this is why Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE!”

Now that Sunday School is underway, now that we have started our “Supernatural Children’s Curriculum” I hope that you keep on praying LIKE A CHILD for our children.  Pray AGAIN and AGAIN that the Holy Spirit (who dwells within the hearts of those who so naturally say AGAIN and AGAIN) will come with power on the children of St. Paul’s.  Pray that He will fill us (adults) not just with the youth of a child, but with the youth of God Himself.

Your brother,

Jordan

The Rev. Jordan Easley

Assistant

On the Mark October 9th

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By Fr. Christopher P. Leighton, October 2, 2011 7:59 pm

The key was left there for us.  At least that is what I thought.  But when Janet, the children and I arrived, the house was locked.  We had traveled two hours at night to a place set aside for us to enjoy a couple of nights of rest and recreation.  But the ice cream we had purchased locally was melting, and there was just no way for us to get in.

The caretaker in the house down the lane was gone, and all lights there were off.  What were we to do?  We decided to pray.  I had learned to be as concrete and simple as possible when I prayed with young children.  That year in Vacation Bible School we prayed for the rain to stop so we could go outside, and voilà! At the “amen”, it had stopped.  So I led a prayer in our dark car that God would bring the key to us right NOW.  It was risky, and it could have disturbing consequences if we didn’t get the answer we hoped for, but I figured God could handle all consequences that are a result of faith.

At the “amen” of the prayer, headlights came up the lane, and the caretaker came to open the door!  As we ate the ice cream, Susannah said, “This is something I’ll never forget.  I’m going to tell my grandchildren!”

What still strikes me about this incident was that we “prayed in” the key, and it has become a metaphor for my faith:  that prayer is the key.

As we embark on this adventure in training our children in the supernatural, let us remember that all God expects of us is that we pray with faith – no matter how small – in a God who is great!

He loves us!  Prayer is the key.

Christopher

The Rev. Christopher P. Leighton

On the Mark October 2nd

Rector

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By Jordan Easley, September 25, 2011 8:42 pm

Since I’ve been at St. Paul’s, I have been hearing stories like this:  “I strained my back the other day and when my daughter saw my pain, she asked, ‘Mommy, can I pray for you?’  And without hesitation she put her hand on my back, prayed for me, and I was fine!”  Now I don’t know about you, but for me this wasn’t a normal experience of my childhood.  However this ought to be a normal experience for all our children.  Healing, prophecy, miracles – few people have the faith for these like children.  So, we’re creating a safe and structured space where it can happen.

Today, St. Paul’s is launching a new Sunday School called the Children’s Supernatural Curriculum and the name says it all.  We will start with the basics – the Gospel, communion, baptism, covenant, etc.  By January the children launch into a full month (not just one Sunday, but four weeks apiece) in prayer, worship, healing and prophecy.  They will learn what the Bible teaches in these areas and, more importantly, they will have the opportunity to practice it!

Will you commit to pray for our children as they begin this exciting journey.  This is my prayer:  that the Holy Spirit of God will so empower our children that they never doubt His love and presence for the rest of their lives, that our children – emboldened by the power of God – will lead the way in revival, and that their boldness of faith will draw us adults into fresh encounters with Jesus.

Your brother,

Jordan

The Rev. Jordan Easley

Assistant

On the Mark September 25th

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By Jordan Easley, September 11, 2011 8:40 pm

It’s hard to believe that ten years have passed since 9/11.  The image of fire and smoke billowing from the World Trade Center will be forever seared in my mind.  The terrorist attack left more than wreckage on ground zero, it left wreckage in our souls.  I’ve heard the stories from folks at St. Paul’s who lost friends, family, and loved ones on that day.  Even though the rubble is long cleared away, and we are rebuilding, I know that, for some of us, the pain at this anniversary is still very real.

In the painful wake of such radical hate stands an even more radical answer: the cross of Christ.  If anyone has the right to linger over violent injustice that was dealt him, it is our Lord.  From the moment he was born, we attacked him, yet Jesus came and lived among us.  Though he could strike back with legions of angels, he allowed us to mock him.  Even today, as people around the world – many calling themselves Christians – defame his name, Jesus stands at the throne of God and holds out nail-scarred hands.  He too has been wounded.

What would compel him to do this?  Love!  A more radical and amazing love than we could ever understand.  It is humanly impossible to extend real forgiveness and love those who hurt you.  Just try it if you don’t believe me!  Yet Jesus who was both human AND God, did that exact miracle on the cross.  Because of his divine death, what was naturally impossible for us is now supernaturally possible.

So give it a try!  Are you tired of pain?  Are you weary with old wounds?  Are you beyond your own power to forgive?  Then, I implore you, go to the cross of Christ today!  Ask Jesus for the divine ability to forgive those who have hurt you, be they Arab terrorists or next door neighbors.  Better yet, ask him to give you love for your enemies.  This is not normal.  It is radical.  But I promise you, in him it is possible.

Your brother,

Jordan

The Rev. Jordan Easley

Assistant

On the Mark September 11th

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By Jordan Easley, September 3, 2011 10:32 pm

Has anyone ever told you that your faith was a fairy tale?  Most who would say this mean it as an insult, but there is at least one Christian writer who doesn’t.  His name is Frederick Buechner.  Recently I have been reading an excellent book that he wrote called Telling the Truth:  The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale, and it seems like each line has fresh insight into the reality of our faith in Jesus.  This bit sticks out to me in particular:

“The Gospel is bad news before it is good news.  It is the news that man is a sinner, to use the old word, that he is evil in the imagination of his heart, that when he looks in the mirror all in a lather what he sees is at least eight parts chicken, phony, and slob.  That is the tragedy.  But it is also the news that he is loved anyway, cherished, forgiven.  That is comedy.  And yet, so what?

“So what if even in his sin, the slob is loved and forgiven when the very mar and substance of his sin and of his slobbery is that he keeps turning down the love and forgiveness because he either doesn’t believe them or doesn’t’ want them or just doesn’t care? In answer, the news of the Gospel is that extraordinary things happen…Zaccheus climbs up a sycamore tree a crook and climbs down a saint.  Paul sets out a hatchet man for the Pharisees and comes back a fool for Christ.  It is impossible for anybody to leave behind the darkness of the world he carries on his back like a snail, but for God all things are possible.  That is fairy tale.  All together they are the truth.”

May the God of fairy tales meet you wherever you sit today, in tragedy, in comedy, or somewhere in between.  May you trust him to work the impossible in your life.  May his grace and peace and love wash over you like you’ve never felt before.

Your brother,

Jordan

The Rev. Jordan Easley

Assistant

On the Mark September 4th

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By Jordan Easley, August 28, 2011 10:26 pm

Today is the feast day of St. Augustine, who is arguably the most influential Christian thinker (next to Jesus and St. Paul).  Augustine was a brilliant teacher and writer long before he converted to Christianity in his early thirties.  As he famously put it, “My heart, O Lord, was restless, till it rested with you.” After he turned to Christ, he had keen sight into his own soul.

One of Augustine’s most penetrating thoughts on human nature comes from an episode in his life as a teenager:  “There was a pear tree close to our own vineyard, heavily laden with fruit, which was not tempting either for its color or for its flavor.  Late one night – having prolonged our games in the streets until then, as our bad habit was – a group of young scoundrels, and I among them, went to shake and rob this tree.  We carried off a huge load of pears, not to eat ourselves, but to dump out to the hogs, after barely tasting some of them ourselves.  Doing this pleased us all the more because it was forbidden.  Such was my heart, O God, such was my heart – which You pities even in that bottomless pit.  Behold, now let my heart confess what it was seeking there, when I was being gratuitously wanton, having no inducement to evil but the evil itself.  It was foul, and I loved it.  I loved my own undoing.  I loved my error – not that for which I erred, but the error itself.  A depraved soul, falling away from security in thee to destruction in itself, seeking nothing from the shameful deed but shame itself.”

Some have argued that August was being neurotic to chide himself so harshly for a boyhood prank.  But I believe that he has put his finger on the heart of the human condition.  Without God, not only do people do evil things, but also we desire those evil things for themselves. Augustine understood St. Paul’s bitter cry, “retched person that I am, who will save me from this body of death!” [Romans 8:24] But he also understood St. Paul’s victory cry:  “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” [Romans 8:25].  Today I am profoundly grateful for this St. Augustine, who shows us what a Savior we have in the depths that he stoops to save us!

Your brother,

Jordan

The Rev. Jordan Easley

Rector

On the Mark August 28th

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By Fr. Christopher P. Leighton, August 20, 2011 11:04 pm

Again, I’m thinking of being on my grandfather’s farm.  My sister and I would be “dropped off” and the fun would begin.  The fruit would be RIPE for the picking:  cherries, plums, pears, peaches, and especially apples (hundreds of thousands!)  One time a photo opportunity was arranged.  My sister and I stood in the middle of a lane surrounded by apple-laden trees that had as much red as green in the picture.  It made for a colorful magazine cover!

At the peak of the harvest my grandfather and uncle paid workers who would come and stay in barracks they had specially built.  The men would sing hymns while they picked the ripe fruit.  I heard heaven and earth singing to God for the harvest.

In John 4:35, Jesus says to his disciples “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields!  They are ripe for the harvest.” Many people were ready to come into the kingdom of heaven, even “hated” Samaritan villagers!  It was as though the disciples were not aware of it and they had to wake up to the fact that the fruit was ripe for the picking.

I believe we face a similar situation.  Look around.  Ask Jesus to help you see those who are ready for Him.  They are ripe for the picking!

Christopher

The Rev. Christopher P. Leighton

Rector

On the Mark August 21st