On Wednesday, June 24, many Christian denominations celebrate the Nativity of John the Baptist. This event is described in Chapter 24 of Luke’s Gospel.
Zechariah, a Jewish Priest, and his wife, Elizabeth, had no children and were beyond the normal age of childbearing. While serving in the Temple in Jerusalem, the Archangel Gabriel appears to Zechariah and tells him that he and his wife will, despite their old age, give birth to a child, and he is to be given the name “John.” When Zechariah refuses to believe the Angel’s message, he becomes unable to speak until the baby’s birth, and when he is asked to name the child, he writes “John.” He then recovers his speech and then is given the gift of prophecy and foretells the ministry of Jesus in the following canticle:
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Elizabeth, as the Bible reveals, is the cousin of the Virgin Mary, and is told by the Angel Gabriel that her cousin is in her sixth month of pregnancy. Therefore, the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist is directly connected with the church’s anticipation of the coming Feast of Christmas.

This feast is kept in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Churches while often ignored or given less prominence by reformed and free churches. The color used for church paraments and vestments is while, which indicates a celebratory mood.

John the Baptist, of course, is known as one who prepared the way for the ministry of Christ by preaching and baptizing in the wilderness. It was he who announced that Christ was in the world bringing the Kingdom of God to all who were willing to repent and believe His message. As Christians, we are called upon to also proclaim the message of Jesus Christ in both word and action. It is in our imitation of Christ and our love toward others that we are called upon to announce his coming again. As St. Frances supposedly advised, “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.”

Written by Fr. Steve Sterry, Associate Priest at Anglican Church of the Epiphany

On Thursday, June 11, many of the Western Christian Churches observe the Feast of Saint Barnabas. He was an important and prominent Christian Disciple who, with the Apostle Paul, undertook missionary journeys together in their efforts to convert Gentiles (non-Jewish people) to Christianity. He and Paul funded their travels together by working at side jobs. He spent almost a year in Antioch (Turkey) with Paul building the church there.

It is also suggested that Barnabas was a cousin of Saint Mark, the Evangelist, who also traveled with Paul and him. Although his historical activities are found mainly in the Book of Acts, he is also mentioned in some of Paul’s epistles. The suggested meaning of the name Barnabas is "son of encouragement" or "son of consolation".

He is described in Acts 11:24 as “a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” The Christian author, Tertullian, attributed the Epistle to the Hebrews to Barnabas, but that authorship is highly unlikely. His activities appear in the New Testament Book of the Acts of the Apostles. At the Council of Jerusalem, both Barnabas and Paul proposed that circumcision should not be required for Gentile Christians. After his journeys with Paul, Barnabas and Mark journeyed to Cyprus.

Christian tradition suggests Barnabas was the founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church and was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus. It is suggested that some Jews there, who may have been jealous of Barnabas’ success, dragged him out of the synagogue, first torturing him and then stoning him to death. A non-canonical book called the Acts of Barnabas, on the other hand, says that he was dragged out with a rope around his neck where he was then burned to death.

The color of the church paraments and vestments for this commemoration is red, as befitting a martyred saint. Barnabas is venerated as a peacemaker, the Patron Saint of Cyprus and Antioch, and the preventer of hailstorms. He is pictured in red, with a pilgrim’s staff and olive branch, holding the Gospel of Matthew. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, and Lutheran churches as well as by the members of the Anglican Communion.

Our Christian commission tells us to go and make disciples of all nations. There may be no greater example of obedience to the Great Commission than Barnabas: prophet, disciple, apostle to Antioch and Cyprus, missionary, and martyr. May we follow his example as we bring others to Christ.

Written by Fr. Steve Sterry, Associate Priest at Anglican Church of the Epiphany

My brothers and sisters,
 
I can’t begin to describe the heartache I feel over the death of George Floyd and others who so recently have encountered the use of deadly force by police officers and other citizens. Last week, the bishops were working on a letter that would call all of us to prayer, and while doing so, the Archbishop released it. He has followed up this week with a Call to Fasting and Prayer. I am asking you to take this seriously, not because of the notoriety these events have received, but because as God’s people, we must allow the Holy Spirit to search our heart and then show us what He finds there within us.
 
While this has been framed often in political terms, I appeal to you to consider that this is a matter of the heart. The history our country has with regard to black people and white people reveals our hardness of heart toward those who are different than ourselves. People who lack compassion for others are dangerous and when they are given positions of influence and wear uniforms, their failures to demonstrate compassion are magnified. George Floyd stands in a long line of people who were not protected or served. The demonstrations that have followed have been largely peaceful, but there are people who lack the love of the Lord who have damaged property and looted honest business-owners. It is heartening to see that police officers in every police department are burdened by what happened in Minneapolis and many are effectively communicating their compassion by how they work with those in the streets. The violence and looting can easily distract us from what is going on in our hearts and when our hearts are not large enough to embrace someone who is different and demonstrate love toward that person, then we have not the heart of Jesus.
 
When Abraham was called by the Lord, He called Abraham to be a blessing and to bless the nations (Genesis 12:2-3), people groups that look different and express their culture with tremendous variety. When Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, entered into ministry, he told Nicodemus and through him, others who were in authority, “…unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) The birth that Jesus describes, through faith in Him gives human beings a new heart. The work of Jesus, entrusted to us by the Holy Spirit, is meant to complete what He had begun, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17) In our worship services, we recite the Summary of the Law, because we grasp the core of God’s heart when we do, so we hear over and over again, “and love others as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he writes, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” (Romans 12:9-10) If this had been the way of the police officers in Minneapolis, we would be giving glory to God today and not swept up in a national lament. Yet, when the love of God compels us, we act in faith as sons and daughters of God everywhere we are and however we go, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Gal. 3:27) The change that people want and need; the change that leads people into the streets, is a change of heart which must begin with us, and then through us, others: “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Gal. 3:29). So, my brothers and sisters, children of the Most High God, and those who bless the world in the Name of God, what breaks your heart today? For whom does your heart have room because Jesus lives in you and you live in Him?
 
Would you pray with me:

1. to love those who you do not now love the way Jesus loves you? Let the Lord deal with any indifference or ethnocentrism that lies within that hinders your compassion for others.

2. to reach for those who are from a different ethnic background nearby and start a relationship with her or him? Be intentional.

3. to advocate with our Vestry and clergy leaders to establish a commitment to serve a culturally different group than you might be, at least predominantly, in your local church.  In your serving them, listen and learn from them as you seek the voice of the Lord through them? 

 
There is always more that one or more of us can do, but whatever you do, let the Lord do it in you and through you so that others may see His goodness incarnated in your body. Beloved, we are His witnesses when we are clothed in power from on high (Acts 1:8).


Your brother and fellow servant,
+Keith

On Friday, May 1, we celebrate the Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles of Jesus Christ. I will be celebrating a house Eucharist, since this is considered one of the Anglican Red-Letter Days that, except for the COVID-19 Corona Virus, I would have observed by celebrating Communion at church. I am posting the following homily for this occasion:

Saint Phillip was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, and tradition suggests that he preached in Greece, Syria, and Phrygia. He appears in the Synoptic Gospels and is described as a disciple from the city of Bethsaida, the same town where Andrew and Peter came from. He was with Jesus when John the Baptist declared Jesus as the Lamb of God, and he introduced Nathanael, also known as Bartholomew, to Jesus. He also may have been with Jesus at the Wedding in Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle. It was Phillip who asked Jesus how He would be able to feed the 5,000.

Since “Philip” is a Greek name, it is often assumed that he was Greek and may have been known to the Greek pilgrims in Jerusalem since, in the Gospel of John, he advises Andrew that certain Greeks wished to meet with Jesus. During the Last Supper, he asks Jesus to show him the Father. Jesus replies,

“Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.”

Some people confuse Philp the Apostle with Philip the Evangelist, who was appointed with Stephen to oversee charitable distributions. It is believed that this Philip may have been beheaded or martyred in the city of Hierapolis with Bartholomew by being crucified upside down. He is commonly associated with the symbol of the Latin Cross and is the patron saint of hatters. In 2011 Turkish news reported that his tomb had been discovered near the city of Denizli.

The Apostle, James, who we also commemorate today, is one of the twelve chosen by Jesus. He is called (or, as we might say today, "tagged as") James “the Minor”, “James the Little”, “James the Lesser”, or “James the Younger” so as not to be confused with James, the son of Zebedee (also called “James the Great” or “James the Elder”). In the Western Church, this James was sometimes identified as either the brother or cousin of Jesus, although most New Testament scholars now reject this identification.It is more likely that this is the same James that was identified as James, son of Alphaeus, and whose name appears only four times in the New Testament, each time in a list of the twelve disciples. It is also possible, as indicated by Roman Catholic tradition, that this James was the son of Mary of Clopas, who, with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the disciple John, were witnesses at Jesus’ crucifixion. It is also interesting to note that Mark, in his 9th chapter mentions the publican Matthew as the son of Alphaeus. Therefore, this James may have been the brother of Matthew the Tax Collector, a disciple of Jesus.

And so, we have the dilemma of the three James. James the Greater, James the Lesser, and James, brother (or cousin) of Jesus. The church solves this dilemma by assuming that James the Lesser was, like Philip, one of the lesser disciples; he was not the same person as James the Just, a brother or cousin of Jesus; nor was he the same person as James the son of Zebedee and brother of the disciple and evangelist John. Therefore, each of the three “James” has a separate saint’s day, and today this James shares his day with the disciple Phillip.

In Christian art, this James is depicted holding a fuller’s club, a device used to clean wool. Tradition maintains that he was crucified in Lower Egypt, where he was preaching the Gospel. Since both James the Lesser and Philip were martyred, the liturgical color for today is red.

Why do we celebrate these two saints today? Jesus made it clear that, as Christians, it is our duty and obligation to proclaim the Gospel to all nations. Both of these disciples did exactly as ordered, and their lives were taken, as a result.

Without their efforts, and the efforts of so many other Christians who have lost their lives and, even today, continue to die for the Gospel of Christ, the world would not know Jesus and the sacrifices that he made for us, so that, when we believe, we may have eternal life.

Written by Fr. Steve Sterry, Associate Priest at Anglican Church of the Epiphany