Husband, father, and Anglican priest living in the North Georgia Mountains. Sermons, reflections, and articles promoting the "Ancient Faith for Modern Times". Subscribe below to get the latest posts in your inbox.
The Christian can love America with an open hand because even the best earthly country is not the city with foundations. We may seek the good of this nation with all the energy our vocations require while confessing with Abraham that we are looking for something better.
The fisherman who denied was restored, commissioned, and martyred. The persecutor who was stopped was called, sent, and martyred. … The Church they served is still here, still bearing the apostolic Gospel, still living beneath the same question: do you love me?
The Church receives their teaching, learns from their example, prays for unity in the Spirit, and stands upon “the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord.” Peter is not the Gospel, and Paul is not the Gospel. Their differences remain and their callings are distinct.
Proper 8. The cross-bearing of verses 37–39 is our calling as little ones. A cup of water given because a person belongs to Christ will by no means lose its reward. A double negative in the Greek: absolutely not, under any circumstances. No act of faithful service is forgotten.
John is born as the days begin to shorten; Jesus is born as the days begin to lengthen. The old preachers loved to quote John’s own words over that arrangement: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Even the sun preaches John’s sermon.
June 24: the Nativity of John the Baptist. One of only two births celebrated in the Anglican calendar, the other being Christmas. The Church does not observe birthdays generally. That it has kept June 24 since the fourth century says everything about John’s place in salvation history.