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By Fr. Christopher P. Leighton, May 7, 2011 10:23 pm

Last Sunday, May 1, Janet and I celebrated the 40^th anniversary of our first date.  Not many couples do that because they don’t necessarily remember the exact date.  But I remember even at the time thinking “May Day, May Day” – a term which means the ship is going down!  I said to Janet last week, “What a way to go” … and since we’ve been together for 40 years and 40 is a number in the Bible that is significant of a generation – we have a relationship of “Biblical proportions”!

Well, all that is to say I want to honor my wife, even on this day, May 8, Mothers’ Day.  Also I wish every one of our mothers at St. Paul’s a happy Mothers’ Day!  And I wish every member and guest here today a happy and blessed Mothers’ Day.

Our God is so good.  He gave us mothers who chose to keep us and to bring us into this world.  He gave us loving moms who did their best to nurture and raise us.

Today is a day of Biblical proportions:  let us join with those who keep the Scriptures,  “Her children arise and call her blessed;  her husband also, and he praises her.  Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.  Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting;   but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  Give her the reward she has earned and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”

[Proverbs 31:28-31]

Thank you God for our Mothers!

Christopher

The Rev. Christopher P. Leighton

Rector

On the Mark May 8th

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By Jordan Easley, April 30, 2011 11:52 pm

When the first “Hallelujah’s” have stopped echoing through the rafters, when the scent of lilies has faded, when all the chocolate bunnies have been eaten – Easter is still not over. The party has only just begun. Of course, in one sense, Easter is never “over” for those who worship the risen Christ. Yet, in another sense, the fifty-day Easter season is just beginning for those who worship by the calendar of the Bible. From Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday, we will celebrate the resurrection power of our God. The party isn’t supposed to taper off; it is supposed to pick up the pace!

So why is the party just getting started? After Jesus was raised from the dead, he appeared many times to his disciples over the next forty days. Imagine how they must have felt having their once-dead-now-risen Lord eat with them, speak with them, and touch them. He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and their hearts burned within them. Then Jesus told his disciples something truly amazing. You are to be witnesses of these things. Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. Stay in Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high. Then, to their even greater amazement, Jesus was carried up into heaven.

You’d think the disciples would be disappointed that Jesus was gone. But instead of hanging their heads, they worshipped! They ran back to Jerusalem with great joy and spent the next ten days in the temple continually blessing God. Even though Jesus was gone from their sight, they knew that something awesome was about to happen.

Forty days with the resurrected Jesus. Ten days worshipping and waiting. Fifty total days, climaxing in the biggest party of all – Pentecost (literally, the fiftieth day) – the Holy Spirit party! When the Holy Spirit fell, they didn’t need wine to be drunk. The power and pleasure of God overwhelmed the disciples beyond their wildest dreams.

And THIS is my prayer hope for St. Paul’s in this fifty day season: that the risen Jesus will speak to us from His word, that we will eat with Him at His table, that He causes our hearts to burn within us. And ultimately, that He will clothe us with fresh power from on high to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth!

Jordan

The Rev. Jordan Easley
Assistant

On the Mark May 1st

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By Fr. Christopher P. Leighton, April 16, 2011 10:16 pm

It is a mystery to me that some believe in God and others do not.  Equally mysterious is the fact that some spend a part of their life not knowing God, and then knowing Him and serving Him, as has been the case with me.  Some describe this mystery as being all about God’s sovereign will, and others say it’s about the free will of human beings.  Still others stay with the mysterious by saying that belief is a mixture of free will and God’s will.  It hurts the brain to think about it!

The reality of some human beings believing and others not believing was expressed at the Cross of Jesus Christ.  Jesus was crucified between two criminals, and one of them turned to faith in Christ as the last and greatest act of his life.  The other crucified man apparently remained in unbelief.  The Cross of the Orthodox Church has a slash near where Jesus’ feet would have been.  It looks like a seesaw and it is described as representing the one thief who believed and went up to paradise and the other, who didn’t believe, going down to death without faith.

When I think about my salvation, I’d say I feel lucky but I don’t believe in luck.  It is truly a fortunate thing to be known by God and to know Him in return.  But even more, it is overwhelming to consider myself chosen and loved by God.

St. Paul writes in Ephesians 5:32:  “This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church.”

Have a blessed Holy Week,

Christopher

The Rev. Christopher P. Leighton

Rector

On the Mark April 17th

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By Jordan Easley, April 9, 2011 8:13 pm

One week from today is Palm Sunday, a day when the Church celebrates Jesus’ triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem. We will literally get up out of our seats and march around the front of the church, waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna!”. Sounds a bit ridiculous, right?

It’s not ridiculous if you are desperate. Nearly 2000 years ago, the people of Israel were desperate. They were a broken, beaten, and oppressed nation. Hosanna literally means “Save now!” When the people of Jerusalem saw Jesus ride into their city on a donkey, they expected him, their Messiah, to save them from cruel oppression of the Roman Empire. They expected him to take vengeance on their enemies with a rod of iron. They were desperate.

But they did not realize that Jesus’ vengeance was not aimed so much at the enemies of Israel as it was at the enemies of all humanity: sin, the devil, and self-righteous religion. They were desperate, but Jesus was even more desperate.

So as we come to Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, are we ready to say “Hosanna”? Are you ready to say, “God, save me!” – not just from what I think I need saving, but from what I really need saving? Are we ready to let Jesus take desperate measures to save us, to search us and know us, as we follow him to the cross? Are you desperate?

Jordan
The Rev. Jordan Easley
Assistant

On the Mark April 10th

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By Fr. Christopher P. Leighton, April 3, 2011 9:06 am

Why I want you to come to Holy Week:  because it is good for you.

These are our most important days together as a parish.  They are the climax of our Lenten experience, and our preparation for Easter.  Each event is planned with you in mind, to enhance your relationship with the Lord Jesus.  Your time with the Lord and with His people during Holy Week is the most important thing you’ll be doing that week.  It is also a great time to introduce a friend to the Lord and to St. Paul’s.  Ask Him who He’d like you to bring.

So, plan accordingly.  Allow your schedule to be free for the awe of being in His presence with your brothers and sisters.  If you need a ride, call the church office.  We need and want you here.  That’s why I want you to come to Holy Week.

 Your brother in Christ

Christopher

The Rev. Christopher P. Leighton

Rector

On the Mark April 3rd

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By Jordan Easley, March 26, 2011 9:33 pm

Today is the 18^th day of Lent, so we’re nearly halfway through!  But if you are like me, there is a good chance that you have already broken your Lenten fast at least once (or more) or have fallen behind in reading the Jesus Creed .  If so, don’t be discouraged, and don’t give up!  Instead, take heart from these beautiful words from a great Christian thinker, Alexander Schmemann:

“Remember that however limited our fasting, if it is true fasting it will lead to temptation, weakness, doubt, and irritation.  In other terms, it will be a real fight and probably we shall fail many times.  But the very discovery of Christian life as fight and effort is the essential aspect of fasting.  A faith which has not overcome doubts and temptation is seldom a real faith. No progress in  Christian life is possible, alas, without the bitter experience of failures.

Too many people start fasting with enthusiasm and give up after the first failure.  I would say that it is at this first failure that the real test comes. If after having failed and surrendered to our appetites and passions we start all over again and do not give up no matter how many times we fail, sooner or later our fasting will bear its spiritual fruits.” [taken from Great Lent:  Journey to Pascha.]

This is my prayer for our St. Paul’s family in the coming days:  Come Holy Spirit and fill us with your fruits and gifts even as we fail.  Give us the strength to finish our fast no matter how often we fall, that we may bear fruit that lasts!

Jordan

The Rev. Jordan Easley

Assistant

On the Mark March 27th

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By Fr. Christopher P. Leighton, March 19, 2011 9:22 pm

Now that I’m a Christian – actually celebrating the 40^th anniversary of my conversion – I feel like everything is new.  Maybe this is because it is Lent, or because it is Spring, but there is a newness in my spirit.  Could it be the fruit of the Year of Freedom is bursting forth?

Oh praise with me the God who makes all things new!  Come to Him.  He will cast off the old and bring on the new.  Imagine with me a new heart, a new body, a new church, a new world.  The old is old, and it is passing away.

Jesus is alive and He is carrying out His new work in us and through us.  He wants to make you fresh and new, alive and well.  This is a good thought to take on at this season:  Lord, how are you making me/us new?  I say “yes” to you and your desire for my life!

“Now that I’m a Christian” means “now that I am new! 

Behold, I make all things new! [Revelation 21:5]

Your brother in Christ,

Christopher

 The Rev. Christopher P. Leighton

Rector

On the Mark March 20th

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By Jordan Easley, March 12, 2011 11:24 pm

This coming Thursday is St. Patrick’s Day, one of the few saints’ feasts that seems to be even more celebrated outside church walls than inside.  Almost every department store, grocery store, and shop window is covered in shamrock green.  In Boston, the celebration is so massive that the Catholic archbishop gives Irish citizens (and anyone who wants to be Irish for the day) special permission to break their Lenten fast so they can eat and drink to their heart’s content.  I sometimes have to remind myself that March 17 is, in fact, a church holy day and not just a secular holiday. 

God’s people really do have more reason to celebrate Patrick’s life than those who are looking for an excuse to party.  St. Patrick was father to a great missionary movement that brought the true party of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all over Europe.  Western civilization, much less Christianity, would literally not exist if it were not for the Celtic monks and missionaries who sacrificed their lives to spread the Gospel across the world.  St. Patrick truly understood the meaning of “to know Christ and to make Him known”.  He also understood the power of our Three-in-One God.  Below is part of St. Patrick’s Breastplate, which is attributed to him:

I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity,

By invocation of the same:  the Three in One and One in Three.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger.

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

 May these words always be in our hearts and lips as we go out into the world as missionaries of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Jordan

The Rev. Jordan Easley

Assistant

On the Mark March 13th

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By Fr. Christopher P. Leighton, March 6, 2011 12:02 am

This coming Thursday, March 10, at 10:00 a.m., I will be meeting with the Episcopal Bishop of Connecticut, Ian Douglas, at his request, at the Diocesan offices.

 St. Paul’s has been given a deadline to report what we have discerned to be our relationship to the diocese and the Episcopal Church.  Over the past years, we have struggled on this very issue as the Episcopal Church, the diocese and the Bishop have departed from the catholic faith.  We continue to uphold our commitment to Jesus as Lord and the Head of the Church.  We continue to insist on the teaching of the Bible and the ancient tradition of the church as being clear and forthright about morality, including sexual ethics.  [It is interesting that Rowan Williams, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, has declared unequivocally this week that although the United Kingdom has provided for the legality of same sex unions, there will be no such ceremonies taking place in any Anglican church].

 Please keep this meeting in prayer.  Please pray for the lay and clergy leadership of St. Paul’s.  We depend on you to hold us up – we are united and we will obey what the Lord declares.  Thank you.

 Your brother in Christ,

Christopher

 The Rev. Christopher P. Leighton

Rector

On the Mark March 6th

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By Jordan Easley, February 27, 2011 7:00 am

Today the global Anglican Church celebrates George Herbert, a pastor of souls, a poet, and priest in God’s temple.  Herbert was no stranger to sacrifice, so it is fitting to remember his life as we approach the season of Lent.  Herbert was born into a wealthy and artistic family, and he received a good education which led to a prominent position as orator of Cambridge University. He even served two years in Parliament – all by the age of 35.

 Yet Herbert abandoned his sky-rocketing political career to become the rector of an obscure little parish in rural England.  He was noted for providing unfailing care for his parishioners, bringing the sacraments to them when they were ill, and giving food and clothing to those in need.  Meanwhile, he composed some of the most beautiful poetry in the English language.  Take a moment to consider a few fragments from one such poem:

A broken ALTAR, Lord, thy servant rears,

Made of a heart, and cemented with tears…

A HEART alone

Is such a stone,

As nothing but

Thy power can cut…

O let thy blessed SACRIFICE be mine,

 And sanctify this ALTAR to be thine

This Lenten season our St. Paul’s family will be learning how to conform the altar of our hearts to an even more beautiful statement:  “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.  AND you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  As we learn to shape our lives in the words of the Jesus Creed, ask yourself not just how you should sacrifice (“What should I give up for Lent?”).  But also ask yourself how you can be an altar (“What should I take up for Lent?”).

 God is moving at St. Paul’s, and I’m excited to see what He does in this next season as we move together with Him. 

Jordan 

The Rev. Jordan Easley

Assistant

On the MArk February 27th