Homily on Romans 7:15-25a Delivered to St. Christopher's Church New Carrollton - July 5, 2026

 

Wretched man that I am! 
Who will save me from this body of death?

Father, what we know not, teach us; and what we have not, give us; and what we are not make us. For the sake of your Son, Jesus in whose Name we pray.  Amen.

A very devout woman who posted comedic skits on FB to convey a clear Bible doctrine, would in a sobering post declare that she was a saved and born again Christian, and since her baptism, she was no longer a sinner. Friends, she is not the only one who has been taught this untruth. Jesus’ blood cleanses us of our sin guilt – all of the sins we have committed -  so we’re no longer guilty before Holy God. At the very nanosecond following our cleansing, God’s Holy Spirit comes into us giving us new life in Christ; He regenerates us so that we are no longer spiritually dead before God, but rather raised to new life in Christ. *So we have all of this going for us, right? You got the blood that cleanses us. We have had our sin guilt removed. And the Holy Spirit God comes to live in us to begin the work of sanctification, which is a big word that means being transformed into the image of Christ, and the Father puts Christ’s righteousness into us so when He looks on us He sees Christ. So we got all this going for us. Why do we still sin? Why do we still mess up? Before we answer that question, let's identify God's definition of sin – anybody knows that? It's a very simple answer.  God's definition of sin is breaking the law: it's as simple as that.

Let’s look to the Bible for confirmation. In James 2:1-10 the Spirit speaks about loving one’s neighbor – a law, and the different ways that law could be broken. He says that if you claimed to keep the whole law, but chose to ignore one of them, you have broken all of the law. From a practical viewpoint: So if the community ordinances say to pick up after your dog when he relieves himself and you choose not to, you have broken the law, you have sinned. If God says do not lie, and you try to work around that by painting it white to make it a “little white lie” – “it’s just a little lie”-no one needs to know right? ha! God knows - you have broken His law, you have sinned. If the speed limit says 25 and you are doing 45 because you’re late, you have broken the law and potentially placed someone else in danger because of your poor choice; you have sinned.

So the question comes again. Why do we still sin? Because we choose to. But the overarching reason is that we still retain the falleness of humanity from Adam's act of sin. Paul, in his letter in Romans 7, transparently confesses that he is of the flesh – that is, the remaining fallen humanity is still in him – still in us. Never once does he say that the devil made him do it!…This is Paul, the super apostle, telling us he was still a sinner! Like him, we cannot free ourselves from our falleness. Although we have been converted, we have not been relieved of our fallen humanity. The converted side of our being wants to honor the Lord, to obey Him, express our devotion to Him, but sin dwells still in us. We are a new creation, a new life, have new longings and new aspirations, new impulses - that are incarcerated in redeemed humanity. Working toward all that is right, good, and holy is a challenge because it has to penetrate through our fallen humanity and our humanity must war against that. Paul is in anguish; he cries out for rescue from this body of death! 

What is the body of death Paul is referring to? Some suggest it is the fallen humanity; another view is based on a judgment practice in ancient times for one who has murdered another. The murderer is forced to have the dead body – the corpse of the person murdered -- strapped to his back to die a slow death because the decaying body would infest the healthy body and eat him to death. Paul saw the presence of his fallen humanity as a corpse strapped to him – that’s why he cries out – wretched man that I am! Who will free me from this body of death!!?? Paul concludes as we all should conclude: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen? So in God’s grace we must battle continuously with the sinful fallen humanity per Philippians 2:12-13 – working out with the Holy Spirit our salvation (this is not working for our salvation, this is once we are saved working in tandem with the Holy Spirit's guidance and counsel), removing the old self and putting on the new, following the Spirit’s lead in our transformation - walking that path that He has designed for us.

So, we come back to the whole “am I still a sinner after being saved” question. 1 John 1 clearly answers that question. After affirming God’s salvation plan in Christ, John speaks to the churchgoers at verses 5 to 10 where he clarifies that we still sin after we are saved. He says if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us; we make Christ a liar and God’s word is not in us. But - in good news there is always a "But God": If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and His blood continues to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Does our sinful nature – our fallen humanity that we still carry in us and the battle we daily wage against our flesh, our fallen humanity -- does it make us weary and tired (it certainly makes me tired!), does it make us feel heavy laden? What does Jesus tell us in our Gospel lesson today? Yes, Come to Me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I willgive your rest. That rest is a place in our relationship with Jesus where we can experience His peace and His joy, His rest - even in the battle.

All of us can point to an act of sin or law breaking that we have done since our salvation – we all have whether we accept it or not. Jeremiah 17 says "The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse, so who can understand it?" (often in the Bible the reference to "heart" is not speaking about our physical hearts but, rather, the center of our desires and wills). We must repent and seek God’s forgiveness. One of the more devastating things we do in our fallen humanity is hold onto anger with a death-grip, which becomes bitterness over time to the point where it poisons our relationships with each other, and alienates us from God. It becomes an idol. We choose not to forgive others, Jesus says, then God will not forgive us. We can try to cite our reasons for being bitter – because so and so did this or that, and God just looks at us and asks us do you want me to put the shoe on the other foot? Do you want Me to remember all of your sins and choose not to forgive you?  

In His love and omniscience, God will choose the proper discipline for each of us; discipline - in this instance - being a disciple or one who is learning to live a certain way, a way that focuses on Jesus. God may allow us to feel the consequences of our wrongdoing, giving us a reckoning that we are not progressing in our thinking and doing - showing indications of a maturing faith. He trains us to confess and repent, teaches us the proper fear of the Lord so that we can be forgiven. Isn’t that good news? We are sinners who repent and God forgives us without any condemnation! That we will sin isn’t good news but God’s provision for addressing that is! One of God’s promises is to discipline us in the way He has designed for us; we mess up, commit a sin because our fallen wills and desires that stem from the mind and heart cause us to trip up. Friends:  God loves us too much to let us live in a lie. Hebrews 12:6 tells us He will discipline us; again, discipline doesn't mean beating us over the head with a 2 by 4, even though I make a joke about that sometimes. It is a training in righteousness and godliness. The Spirit uses the instrument of grace – God’s word – to train us. Disciplining may also mean that He sometimes will allow things to happen as a result of our choices influenced by our fallen hearts or wills. He will allow us to feel the consequences of that error so that we may realize we must continue to obey Him even when we don’t want to. Yes, you heard me right – even when we don’t want to. That’s called faith and trust that God’s way is the only way through this battle. And this is true for any Christian who’s born of God. And so when we choose to do it our way instead of God's way, we will suffer the consequences, but God does not condemn us because we who are saved are continually cleansed by the blood of Christ, and restored to the path of righteousness.

So I am going to cite some scriptures that urge us to seek God’s mercy, advises us how to protect ourselves from the world, the flesh, the devil – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride in riches. Part of the godliness training is our accepting & wearing our spiritual armor that God has provided us for defensive and offensive purposes. In Ephesians 6:10-18 the Spirit directs us in putting the armor on; we are fighting spiritual battles so spiritual armor is a necessity. Every day God wakes us up we must put on that armor. Every vulnerable part of our faith walk is to be protected, lest we get lured back into sin. The parts of this spiritual armor are: the breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, truth girded about our loins, feet ready to share the good news, helmet of salvation, sword of the Spirit, and praying in the Spirit – the last two items being critical to the effectiveness of the rest of the armor.  We cannot do this apart from the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. If you think that you can be transformed and protected in your walk without God’s Word and His Holy Spirit, then you have been deceived in a mortal way. Because we cannot. Peter tells us,in his first letter 5:8-9, that the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone. Who is he looking to devour? Not the people he already has in his control. He's looking to devour us. Those who have been chosen by God. Because he does not want to see us have that victory that Zechariah talks about in our first lesson where we are rejoicing in God. The devil does not want us to rejoice in God: he wants us to hate God as much as he does. As we commit to the effort of the Spirit’s work in us, we will see ourselves beginning to mature to the extent that our sin acts begin to dwindle. 

In addition to armor, we have an advocate in this struggle: 1 John 2 identifies our intercessor as none other than our high Priest Jesus Christ, who continually intercedes for us. Also see Romans 8:34. As we wrap up I want to refer you to a small handful of scriptures about what else God provides for us in our battle: His amazing love and mercy.  While we don’t have the time today to read them through I'll give you the cite and you can check your Bible or BibleGateway and search forgiveness of sins – long list of scriptures!     The scriptures I will share are just a glimpse of what God is doing. This instrument of grace that He gives us is powerful. But do not abuse God’s grace by sinning on purpose. You open yourself up to the devil. Jot these down: Psalm 32:1,3,5,11. Psalm 103:11-14; Isaiah 44:21-22. They all confirm to us God’s mercy and love in the act of forgiveness of our sins, blotting out our mess-ups, intentional or unintentional. Remember, though, not to take God’s grace in vain like Israel did; the Old Testament is filled with accounts of their sin which led to their utter destruction. An even closer to home example: last summer we began praying as a church for the church without a script seeking God’s face, direction, grace and mercy and His provisions. Each week I looked forward to the prayer group growing; however, each week the prayer group lost a member, until after a month of that we were down to 3, sometimes 4 people. And then, it ceased altogether. Shortly thereafter, a brick gets thrown at the upstairs kitchen window, and through the window in our sanctuary. Not too long after that, a brick is hurled at the front door and then thrown through a sanctuary window. Then the man goes around to the chapel window, kicks it in, and once inside he trashes the chapel. A coincidence – I think not. God’s ways and discipline are sometimes to allow the negative in order to produce the positive in us. Do not abuse God’s grace, but rather rejoice that He has loved you and I before we were a little twinkle in our daddy's eye - from before the beginning of time, that He has given us everything we need to fulfill our calling. That He extends us mercy and grace – things we do not deserve in the least bit. Friends - Is God good to us? Can we praise Him again for all He has done and is doing for us individually and what He desires to do for St. Christopher’s to keep our hearts open and our church doors open. Let’s end with the 1^st verse and Refrain we sang at the beginning of the service and Rejoice– Amen? Waving our scarves lifting our hands: let’s give Him praise and honor - maestro.  

ENDING – Brothers and Sisters – In all our battles, may we cling to the Rock who is Christ as we move thru battle against the world, the flesh, the devil, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of riches, so that when we are finished with this life and this body of death, our reward will be total bliss, no more tears, only complete joy to the glory of God. Amen?

Sinking Ship - A Parable

 

  Came across this story some time ago – guess it was a kind of parable…

      One Sunday, after leaving church as soon as the “Amen” dropped, three men went out sailing in Chesapeake Bay as they had done many times before. The fellow who owned the boat cherished it as a prize possession-it was lovely. He always bragged about it because it reflected his self-achievements and his self-importance. His boat had hosted many parties. This particular Sunday, as they were drinking and playing their music as loud as they could, a storm came up out of no where – one minute the sun was shining and a gentle breeze blew across the boat; the next minute the sound of thunder could be heard. In the distance was a warning horn blowing, but the guys felt they could navigate themselves out of the storm – after all, they’ve done so before. But the rain came down in buckets; visibility was increasingly poor. The boat had survived storms before – only last year the owner spent thousands of dollars to repair damage when the boat got side-swiped in another storm; had special fog lights added. The rain continued so heavily that the boat was beginning to fill up. They were sure that all they had to do was bail out water and head in the direction of the shore. But then the wind picked up and blew more water onto the boat and made navigation hard. The men were frantically bailing out the water when a motorboat comes alongside offering to carry the men safely back to shore. However, sure of themselves, they tell the person, no, we are trying to save our ship. “We’ll be fine! This is not our first rodeo!” the owner chuckled. “Plus, we have prayed.”

        Twenty minutes later, the water in the boat has risen several inches – it’s up to their shins. Another motorboat a little bit larger than the first comes alongside and its captain offers to rescue the three men. “No, we’re good” they replied. “We’re almost at the dock – should reach it in a few minutes.” The captain tells them again to come on board, saying he’s been sailing these waters for years and knows how unpredictable these storms can be. The three men insist that they know what they are doing , plus we have prayed, they said.

       Fifteen more minutes pass; the water has practically submerged the boat. The men could not dump the water out fast enough. They had chosen at the beginning of their journey to not put on their life jackets because they were too cumbersome, too hot, and now the jackets are floating in the bay. A coast guard vessel comes alongside and tells the men to abandon ship and come on board. One of the men clings onto the ladder and climbs up to safety, urging the others to follow, but the other two are expecting God to perform a miraculous rescue because they prayed.

       Several minutes later the boat capsizes and the two men eventually drown. They suddenly find themselves in the presence of Jesus. They are quick to ask and demand an answer: “Jesus! we prayed and prayed but you didn’t come!” Jesus is quiet. They angrily ask, “Jesus why didn’t you save us? We prayed over and over and cried out to you! You’re Jesus - you were supposed to save us! ” Jesus looks at them. Their faces are stern and their attitudes are filled with arrogant pride. Jesus finally says, “I heard your cries for help. I sent three boats to pull you to safety but you chose to stay on a sinking ship – chose to continue existing in the dangerous condition you were in, believing you were safe because you ‘prayed’. I read hearts – your hearts were never all mine because of your proudful stubborn will. You treated me like a wooden idol you could appease by offering me tainted worship, and your cries were yet another expression of self-preservation in your sinful ways. Your focus was on keeping your boat, which represented your status and position, demanding that I save you so that you can continue in your wicked way and brag about how you ‘prayed’ and swayed Me. Your prayers have not reached heaven because they were always earth-bound. For years I have reached out to you, but your hearts were hard; you did not listen to Me as My word was read to you in church; you rejected My Word and never truly desired it. You reasoned that because you were baptized and took communion regularly you secured your salvation. But, you chose not answer my call to serve Me, as it required sacrifice – your work and your personal time, yet expected others to serve you. You treated faith like a commodity rather than a relationship with Me. That’s why you never heard Me nor really knew me. I sent intervention after intervention, but you preferred all these years to stay in your ‘sinking ship’ rather than come to me without your personal agenda.” The two men complained, “then why didn’t you make us worship you right? Why didn’t you make us get onto the coast guard boat with our friend?” Jesus replies, “Your other friend cried tears of remorse, prayed to Me, repenting of his sins – including rejecting me - he surrendered his whole self to Me, letting go of the self-righteousness prison in which he had lived for years, the Father forgave him, and I responded to his prayer, opened his mind and heart to my presence, placed my Spirit in him. He immediately received My salvation and My provision for life with me. Even now, you believe that you could have salvation without close relationship with Me. But you - you stubbornly stayed stuck, you shut the door to relationship with Me, refusing me yet again, preferring your own version of salvation – deceiving yourself --putting trust in your own wit and logic, seeking to save the status quo and thus closing your minds and hearts to My provision of safety. And just like the many, many times I reached out to you, you rejected My call again for this - the last time, because My call meant to you that you had to let go of the love of material things and status you held so dear, that I would require you to work for My glory and not yours. Your friend began praising me in his heart and then with his lips while you two were distracted with your self-salvation. He grabbed hold of the ladder eager for new life with me; you chose to stay, never asking Me what I would have you do at that juncture because your hearts were stone. You have always wanted my blessings, my peace, my provisions, but you bore no fruit of faith, no heart for service, no interest in Me outside of what I could do for you; you rejected my words of eternal life. You sought instead the world’s and the flesh’s pleasures – false idols -- rather than obedience to and life with Me, and were comfortable not abiding in Me. You now have your reward.”

       And suddenly they found themselves groping about in the density of darkness that surrounded them.

Jesus: The Chief Cornerstone and The Way, The Truth, and The Life (Delivered May 3, 2026 at St. Christopher's Episcopal Church)

 

Response To The Word: Jesus - The Chief Cornerstone; The Way, The Truth, The Life (1 Peter 2, John 14)

Pray:Father open the eyes of our hearts so that we can understand your Word. Holy Spirit come! Amen

Would you Buy House with a bad foundation?  At some point in hopefully the next 5 years, we will be in a place to engage in the construction of new buildings on our property. We will first want to hire a geotechnical engineer who is the professional responsible for analyzing the ground, soil, and rock on a property before construction begins, and who will assess the physical and mechanical properties of the earth to determine if it can safely support a building's foundation. Before housing can be built similar analyses for any impurities in the foundation's cement that will eventually cause the cement to weaken must take place. Years ago a townhouse complex in DC began collapsing because it was on a sink hole, which was once a landfill that was now decomposing.    Thus, the critical need to determine what the building will be supported by. 

That brings us to our texts for this day. In this Eastertide we have seen Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, The Door, and we have seen Him as the Good Shepherd who protects the sheep. In today’s texts in Peter’s letter and the Gospel of John we are presented with matters related to building the Church and our relationship with Jesus. In Peter’s first letter he writes via the H.S. to those chosen or elect of God, metaphorically depicting Jesus as The Living Stone and Chief Cornerstone.  He is also portrayed in the Gospel of John as The Way, The Truth, and The Life. So we have this grand image of The Church and what relationship with Christ looks like, where Peter illustrates the building of the Church spiritually living stone by living stone: that is - us. The Church is not a physical brick and mortar structure – it is the people, those chosen of God, the communion of saints who Peter is likening to living stones being built into a spiritual house and holy priesthood – we are the living breathing organic Church whose calling is to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus. But what is the Church’s firm foundation?

Let us refer to scripture to determine the answer. If you have a Bible or a Bible app, turn with me to Ephesians 2. Paul is led to write about the relationship true followers have with Christ by being in Christ. In the latter half of verse 19, Paul writes about these Christ followers: READ THE BIBLE through 22. Ask the question: Paul also identifies Jesus as the chief cornerstone. In Him – in Jesus – the whole structure is joined together. Yet, upon what is the Church built according to verse 20? Apostles and Prophets And what does that mean? What it doesn’t mean – it does not mean that any apostle, nor any prophet, can claim to be the one upon whom the Church is built. No – the Holy Spirit through Paul is saying that the oracles God gave to the apostles and prophets by God, which they proclaimed, wrote, prayed is the foundation. What do we call those words today? 

 

Yes, the Bible, GOD’S WORD is THE sure foundation. Like a precious letter from a loved one; in it are the Triune God’s revelations of Himself, His will for us which is following Jesus as our only Way, the only Truth, and the source of all Life; Jesus prayed to God the Father in His high priestly prayer in John 17 to sanctify those who have been chosen to be in Christ with the truth, for His Word is truth. And still, as many as 50-65% of professing Christians do not believe Jesus to be The Only Way, and they reject the Bible as God’s infallible Truth.  Even now, some denominations carve out/ignore certain parts of the Bible so that what the Bible calls sin is now not sin, thus rejecting God’s standard of holiness. This is the fulfillment of the false teaching of carnal Christianity. No holiness, no moral standard, also means ignorance of who God the Savior is. They claim to be Christian, but their lifestyles and rejection of God’s Word prove to the opposite. One of the new sayings going around in church circles now is that all humans who were born were born children of God. That statement does not agree with scripture; we are called children of creation, children of nature, children of wrath. Becoming a child of God is not our decision or our birthright. In Acts 17 we read about Paul and Silas being sent away by the leaders of the church to Beroea. What do you think they did when they were out of harm's way? Did they go to the local pub and have a few snorts to 'chill'? NO! They went straight to a Jewish synagogue to worship and proclaim Christ. While doing so, some of the Beroeans who were listening took out their scrolls to fact check Paul's statements. Unfortunately, many professing Christians take things at face value - like the infamous, "God helps those who help themselves." Noooo! Dragging out the earlier metaphor, the did not check the roof and foundation to see if the house could stand up for a long while, so bought into a house with a failing foundation, where the walls are shifted off the damaged base, pulls away from the cornerstone; that house will eventually become a collapsed structure unless some very expensive repairs are done!

Go to the font where the experiment is. As I was studying this passage, I sought from God how I could make this lesson more visual – i.e., what happens when the foundation that faith or belief was built upon fails because it has impurities or other causes towards weakness, separates from the Chief Cornerstone. Let’s see. There are two structures here: one is built on "sugar sand" with sugar cubes representing what the foundation sits upon. The other is a structure that has a steel foundation, and is sitting on a rock. I am pouring water on both of the structures - let's see what happens.

Within moments the house structure on the sand begins to sink, while the structure with the foundation that sits on a rock is unmoved. Upon what kind of foundation are we individually building upon? Will it hold up? Will it connect us to the Chief Cornerstone which joins the whole structure together? Is our foundation set on stable bedrock? In Matt 7:24-25 Jesus says: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” The psalmist cries: “Truly God is my rock and my salvation, my fortress – I will never be shaken.” The Church and the ‘living stones’ that are its structure are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and set down on stable bedrock – that Rock is God. Is our faith tied to the firm foundation set on bedrock that is Christ? Bible scholars for centuries have debated that in Matthew 16, Jesus says that Peter is the Rock, the head of the Church. Unfortunately due to time constraints I would fully unpack this, but let me go to scripture again for us to briefly explain what Jesus is saying.

In Matthew 16, God reveals the truth of who Jesus is to Simon – that’s the name Peter was most commonly called. Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One who was foretold by the prophets. In His response to Simon, Jesus says “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter (Petros), and on this rock (petra) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (also see 1 Corinthians 10:4 ) The context is about identifying who Jesus truly is. Peter receives the truth of Jesus' identity from the Father - that He is the Messiah, the Anointed One. Jesus continues based on that revelation that on that rock or petra I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Peter's name "Petros" translated means a small stone - something you can pick up in your hand and toss without effort. The word "petra" when translated refers to a humongous boulder, so large that it is immovable, cannot be shaken. That was not Peter. The "rock" or petra would not be overwhelmed or overcome by the gates of Hades. Most assuredly Peter was not the rock because he died. The petra upon which the church foundation sits and clings to is an eternal rock. That was not Peter; if it was Peter, he would be almost 2,000 years old. The Roman church doctrine teaches that Peter was the first pope, which is also problematic, as Peter died around 67-69 AD; the Roman Catholic Church was formalized nearly 11 centuries later. Peter was an undershepherd, as were the other apostles, all of whom died during the first century or within less than a handful of years into the second century. The only one who could be the Rock is Jesus as the Holy Spirit identifies in 1 Corinthians 10:4.  

Here is how we can know for our own individual assessment where we stand by discussing with God: Is God’s Word a sacred treasure in my life – more precious than gold? AMEN? Is it the foundation I acknowledge and believe it to be? Is it the basis for how I learn to approach God? Does it shape my worship? Does it inform my prayers? Can I claim as Paul does in Romans 1 and as Peter says in John 6 that God’s Word—His Gospel truth, is the power of God for salvation to those who have received faith from God, and the words therein words of eternal life? Do I really study the Bible regularly – which is different from reading a devotional – but rather like the example of the psalmist David who meditated on scripture day and night seeking God’s wisdom and understanding?  Jesus says very succinctly that if we love Him, if we are in Christ – in growing union with Christ – then we will obey His commandments. And what are His commandments? The Word of God. Last Sunday, during Bible study, Mercy quoted Hosea 4:6. which tells us that people perish - which means they are eternally dead - for lack of knowledge of God and His word.We cannot duck this responsibility - while a faith leader can provide some knowledge on God and His Word, it is our singular responsibility to learn, know, ingest and digest God's word, to know Him intimately, and to live like Christ. WHY would we want to neglect so great a salvation? The Bible is God’s means of grace for our salvation and sanctification. If we are neglecting it, then any faith structure we are attempting to build will suffer damage. If we do not get it repaired, if we do not commit to Jesus as Lord and fail to reconnect to the chief cornerstone, we will disconnect ourselves. So it comes down to relationship – which is more precious and more appealing to us – an eternal relationship with the bedrock, the Rock and the Chief Cornerstone, or striving to make a way in the world’s culture and becoming honored by people, and making God and His kingdom a 'something' that we will get around to? We are commanded to "Seek first the kingdom and its righteousness"- the righteousness that God has provided through Christ and sustains by His means of grace – His Word. Friends, God is calling you to seek Him, and He is looking for those who willingly worship Him in spirit and truth! Is that how He sees us?

(The experiment concluded as it should have because of the faulty foundation and base the one structure collapsed, while the other remained unchanged and unshaken.) 

Oh, by the way, does anyone know where our building's cornerstone is located? That is your challenge for this week! 

Let's conclude by singing the first verse again, of "How Firm A Foundation" and thanking God for His amazing grace of the Church.   

 

Born Again - Response to the Word (at St Christopher's Episcopal Church, Sunday, March 1, 2026)

 

(I ask for your grace in this delivery - it is a critical message that will exceed the recommended 15 minute time frame. The topic of being born again is essential to understanding your salvation. So here we go...)

Born Again – The Fundamental Doctrine in Salvation (John 3)

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God… Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”  

How many of us--who are not in the medical profession--have seen a child being birthed? It’s a moment of awe isn’t it? We know all about the process, but to see it happen, oh how miraculous! How emotional! Jesus uses that circumstance of a woman in labor allegorically in John 16 as he describes God’s work of salvation; remember, in the first century there was no such thing as epidurals – women gave birth in pain in vertical positions to allow gravity to assist in the birth. That is still a practice in some parts of the world.  Her pregnancy – while beautiful – is often uncomfortable when sitting or sleeping, limits a mother’s mobility and balance sometimes. Her body changes not just in shape but also in function. Every part of her body is impacted. So -- all throughout the pregnancy – from conception to full term, who physically has been doing the work of nourishing and caring for the child in the womb?

         Right – the mother! It is an act of love and sacrifice. And when her time has come to give birth, it is called labor for a reason! It is painful Mothers – AMEN? The mother groans, pushes, groans and moans, pushes, steadily and repeatedly, and the energy and effort become a difficult struggle, the pain heightens; both pregnancy and the immense strain and stress of childbirth happens and yet she cannot stop the process. She doesn’t stop. When the child finally enters the world, mom is so excited to see the precious babe that the struggle was worth it. She no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So how much effort did the baby have to put forward? Did he or she consciously say I want to get out of here – let me hurry up the process? Or just the opposite, I don’t want to leave this home, so I’m going to stay! No, the child does not control the birth process, does not aid in nor direct the process. The woman does all of the suffering, all of the anguish, all of the groaning and moaning and pushing, in order to birth her child. And then, when the child is birthed, it screams and is discombobulated, confused  because he or she is no longer in the comfortable home that was well furnished for them. All of the bright lights, the sounds, the different hands are so foreign to him or her and makes the crying sometimes more intense! But after a while, when hearing the mother’s voice and heartbeat the child begins the process of acclimating to its new life.
Similarly, Jesus, our Lord and Savior, also groaned, moaned,   list it   so that following His struggle, we too could be birthed.

Garden of Gethsemane the cup.  Jesus' sacrifice was greater than we can imagine. His horrific torture, then nailing Him to a cross was only part of the sacrifice. On that cross hung not just a person, but a bearer of EVERY SIN EVER DONE BY EVERY HUMAN AND WOULD BE DONE UNTIL THE SECOND COMING. The weight of all of those sins made Jesus grotesque to the Father. So much so that it shadowed --in Jesus' human experience--the presence of the Father. In Habakkuk 1:1-4, 13 the Spirit says that God cannot approve sin, He doesn't look upon it with approval. Perversion of justice, violence, etc. -  God is Holy, God is Righteous. The uncountable sins Jesus bore placed Him at odds with the Father; Jesus would cry out at His darkest hour, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?) No one else could effect the redemption required for our salvation. (Hebrews 9:11-15,18-22) In our Triune God’s divine plan of salvation, He alone does all of the work, He choreographs the timing and the circumstance. He determines the means of grace for our salvation: sola scriptura--Scripture alone (the Word of God with which we are sanctified and trained for eternal life); sola fide - justification, i.e., being declared righteous by God: that it is by Faith Alone that we are saved, and that is not of our own; and, sola gratia - by Grace Alone does God save us, not based on works or actions on our part.  We are incapable of adding anything to salvation. Jesus says that you are not a Christian unless you are born again, even if you choose to call yourself Christian. HARD SAYING. Not everyone who says Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, Jesus clearly says to all who profess to be a follower of Christ.

In our text, we are introduced to Nicodemus: he was an important guy. A Pharisee, and member of the authoritative Jewish body called The Sanhedrin. He doesn’t approach Jesus in the street in daylight hours, but makes his way in the dark of night to speak to Him. He gives Jesus accolades as he lets Jesus know that, "well, I am an important guy who holds you in respect and…” Jesus stops the flow of flattery; see, Jesus knew that Nicodemus wanted to know if Jesus was going to restore the kingdom at that time. He tells Nicodemus straight out: “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above” And Jesus continues: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus, who spent years ingesting the Mosaic law and the ‘add ons’ the Pharisees thought fit, was clueless. Jesus softens the delivery with an illustrative explanation - “Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’  The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” In other words, you cannot see the actual birth or regeneration, but you see the effects. 

So what does it mean to be born again? Let me tell you what it is not: it’s not being 'refreshed' as a Christian or 'revived' after a long absence from worship. Being born again is not an 'altar call'. It’s not the words/rituals by a religious leader. No. How many persons present know that they have been born again? How do you know? When I was 14, I was encouraged to get baptized – full immersion baptism. I had followed the rules of the denomination and they thought I was ready for this. But, it wasn’t until 45 years later, 45 long years – in God’s timing – that I was born again. Baptism did not effect my regeneration; no words spoken over me effected my regeneration. It was the work of God alone through His Holy Spirit that 'resurrected' me from spiritual death. It only happens once. How many times can you be born physically? 
     Following the saying that the Gospels proclaim Jesus, and the epistles explain Jesus, Paul by H.S. offers clarity in this act of regeneration or being born again.

[Read Ephesians 2 one through 10 to everyone and make comments as I do so.] If you have your Bible, turn with me so that you can make notes.  Reads vss 1-3. We were physically born spiritually dead in our trespasses and sin – King David recognized in Psalm 51 that he was a sinner in his mother’s womb – a baby, yet he like everyone before and after him born into this world he was born with the deadly sin passed on by Adam. We all were born spiritually dead,  separated from God - which was the initial consequence of Adam's and Eve's sin - spiritual death. We were born from our mother's womb spiritually dead; it wasn't discovered on any hospital equipment in the delivery room - it is a condition shared by every person born since the fall of Adam and Eve, whether we wish to acknowledge it or not – see God already has!  We had no interest in God in our spiritually dead estate, no interest in His word, no desire to know God, but rather live for ourselves – to satisfy our immoral desires. We were under the influence of the sinful world culture and power of the devil. God says that because of that we were to Him children of wrath! A few weeks ago we read in Corinthians that there were persons in that church who were spiritual, having been born again into Christ, and also those who had not been so, who were referred to as unspiritual. Yet here’s the best part of passage--verse 4. But. God. Turn to your neighbor and say But God.” Whenever you see text that says But God, you can expect God to be doing, saying or initiating something beyond our power. READ 4 ….And then we come to the clincher, verse 8. Some of you may know this verse by heart so feel free to speak it out loud. God The Holy Spirit tells us: …read 8;The Holy Spirit comes into us to make us alive spiritually and to give us the faith to accept Jesus as our Lord. We can't raise ourselves from the dead. Jesus did not say to Lazarus – could you at least open the door so that we can call you out of the tomb…Lazarus, first take off the cloths you’re wrapped in and when you’re ready say Amen.  No, no. Lazarus had no part in his resurrection. Was only when Christ brought him back to life, Lazarus was able to obey Jesus’ call to come out.  EXPLAIN SPIRITUALLY DEAD CANNOT HAVE FAITH.

We do not have the power. God does not send us a calendar appointment that says on March 3 be ready to be born again. You can’t get ready, YOU ARE SPIRITUALLY D-E-D – you don’t know when it will happen. And this is a very critical point because there are denominations that do not teach this important Bible doctrine, rooted in scripture, that comes directly from Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And it's really important to understand that by grace you have been saved through faith that wasn't your own doing, because you did not have faith= you were dead. God had to put His Holy Spirit in us to make us alive to Him. ADAM AND EVE WHAT GOD SAID TO THEM. If you eat of this fruit….. and from the instant that they rebelled against God they became spiritually dead. They realized it, felt ashamed and hid from God. From that point in time until Jesus comes again, all people born are physically born spiritually dead. (Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit - He was the only fully human, fully God individual who was born spiritually alive!!) If we were not born again we’d still be children of Wrath deserving eternal death.  There was nothing we could do or say that would take us from spiritual death to spiritual life. Verse 10 says that in His act of regeneration, He has given us purpose - we’re created in Jesus for good works – that is, we have received special gifts—spiritual gifts and talents, so that we can be Jesus in this world, to tell out the gospel to others, to make disciples. Isn't it really important to understand Bible doctrine if we are going to make disciples of people? Amen?

And then we come to the next hard saying of Jesus to Nicodemus and to us all: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” For years, even centuries, theologians have shared varying interpretations of what the water could be.  3 prominent ones: Some say that it represents the water of baptism. BCP, Pastor Prince, me and others I’m sure, says that (1) baptism is an outward sign of the inward grace of God - it is a symbol of the internal work of regeneration and a public declaration that the person has received Christ as Lord.

(2) the amniotic fluid of the physical birth of a human. Premise—we’re born humans and based on that, we can be born again. (that may not hold since mammals with four legs also have wombs with babies in amniotic fluid)
(3) the water of God's Word. Next week our Gospel read is from John chapter 4, where we see Jesus seeking out Samaritan woman.Meets up with her at Jacob’s well, and He says – Give me a drink. She’s astounded -- you're a Jew, you're not supposed to be talking to me. And Jesus said, If you knew who was asking you, He would give you living water, and you will never thirst again. Jesus associates Himself with Living Water. Also in Eph 5, Paul is led by Spirit to write to the church about the spiritual life of the family. He describes the children, the wife, and then he talks about the husband. Husbands are to love their wives just as Christ loves His bride, the Church, that He laid down His life for her & who He sanctifies by cleansing her with the water of the word. Husband is to imitate that in his own family. Cleansed by the water of the word. Jesus, of course, is the word, and His words are backed with Holy Spirit and Divine power . Rom. 1:16 gospel of Christ power of salvation. He is the Way The Truth and the Life. Thus differing interpretations;

But the important take away here, brothers and sisters, is that regeneration is not an act of our own. It is impossible for us to achieve. These are hard sayings, one of the reasons being that different denominations have differing views on salvation, yet the clear truth can be found in scripture and if that truth is not taught then as someone told me recently, I’ve got so many other options to choose from to guess what it means!

After the instantaneous miracle of regeneration we enter into a new life in Christ, in union with Christ. Psalm 23, Matthew 7:14—paths of righteousness, narrow road. God provides what we need to live this new life. Like the baby who gets acclimated to his/her new life outside the womb and grows, gaining knowledge and skills, the Holy Spirit guides us, trains us in godliness, and nurtures us with scriptures in our spiritual growth. 

The born again experience is different for everyone: There may initially be joy. May be frustration at times - metaphorically it's like living in a certain house and certain neighborhood for years and suddenly finding yourself in a different kind of house and different kind of neigborhood. As time goes by, something inside you begins changing. You start wanting to know God. You start desiring to be in His word. You start the struggle of sanctification, about which Jesus prayed for us on his last night in his human journey that we would be sanctified by the truth. When we are born again, we become joined with Christ, that is, in union with Him.

As noted previously, it was 45 years between my baptism and my being born again. God never left me nor forsook me, even tho I was not the sterling character calendar girl for the cover of Spiritual Living Magazine. Because I wasn’t – I was still spiritually dead. yet He never left me nor forsook me, even when I was living in my trespasses and sins. And I am so grateful. It took me almost a year afterwards to begin to get grounded in the word and it was sometimes a confusing time because I had to shake off the false teaching that had been drilled into me.  And it may be true of others –a period of adjustment under the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we begin to engage in spiritual disciplines – God’s means of grace that He uses as instruments in our new life in Christ:  Bible study, (the Holy Spirit will help you understand those things that didn’t make sense before you were regenerated), the prayer relationship with the Father, and the Holy Spirit himself indwelling us. How many of us know this: that we serve a Triune God, and according to Jesus’ words in John 14, that the Father Son H.S. will come to us and live inside of us who are born again. And we will bear fruit worthy of the gift of new life in Christ.

       Friends, this is our Blessed Assurance. We are heirs of salvation because we have been made alive, regenerated, born again by the Holy Spirit, who even at this very moment is working a work in us!

 

Thank you for your gracious patience. This was not an easy topic that one skimps through, but it is a vital one. So thank you. Let us pray.

The Hits Just Keep on Comin' - Inching Closer to Implosion

 

After watching today's compilation of bad and sad news: the encroaching takeover of what a country, which has journeyed through crucibles that at one time, now long ago, resulted in a reckoning - and in some instances a raw awakening - of what it meant to be a nation, under God, indivisible, with justice, truth and liberty as its Constitutional aspirations, a scene from one of my favorite movies, "Now Voyager", came to mind. The movie centers around the transformation of its key character from a severe psychological and emotional breakdown - a mental state that grew more intense over dozens of years into an independent, confident woman who rescues another young girl from a similar fate. When the mental health doctor first encounters the key character in her home that is ruled by an emotionless dictator mother, he is confronted by the dictatorial matron. Her heartlessness, devoid of any motherly love, is a force to be reckoned with; she shaped her child based on her own devaluing, restrictive societal upbringing, infusing her own dysfunction and harm onto and into her daughter's psyche. She decries her daughter's situation and accounts it as the conduct of a disobedient and stubborn child; the mother is oblivious to her daughter's repeated humiliation by her and others which has chipped away at her self-worth and value most of her life. The daughter abruptly leaves the scene sobbing uncontrollably. The dictator mother proudly states that her upper crust family has never had anyone suffer what the doctor was calling a nervous breakdown. The doctor replied soberly, "Well, you are witnessing one right now."

Watching the news is an activity that I have had to sharply curb because of the visual and audio reports relating in detail the systematic breakdown of this nation which we are witnessing right now - it is happening right before our own eyes. It is an unnerving breakdown, shaped by a dictatorial group of leaders whose mission seems to be make the white and wealthy great again. Like the dictatorial matron in the movie, these callous leaders are clawing away at the core of our dignity - the U.S. Constitution, and replacing it with a magna carta called Project 2025. They are draining the government and the country of any talent that would offset their scheme of MWWGA, abusing power bestowed upon them when they vowed before the world to protect the welfare and freedoms of all citizens of this country. The movement has euthanized moral sensibilities; justifying its incomprehensible 'strategies' that further demoralize humanity, robbing taxpaying citizens of government supported healthcare options and adding mandates severely reducing the option and availability of preventative measures that save lives. That characterizes persons (taxpaying adults and children) who do not speak English as a native language, and even some who do, as evil criminals - even those in preschool, primary grades, in church pews on their knees, in eateries cleaning and prepping, serving patrons, in hospitals and healthcare centers that perform janitorial and maintenance services so that medical workers can focus on patient care, surrounding and invading residences where non-English speaking or ESL persons reside, placing them in detention centers and/or deporting them to countries for imprisonment or worse, which makes our incarceration and relegation of Japanese Americans in WWII look like royal treatment, invoking terror, hatred and vitriol from the growing conscience-seared population that has lost the capacity to differentiate between good and evil - I could go on and on and on... but the 'gear' of this movement continues stuck in reverse, and those that get in its way will be rolled over just like the tanks which in a few days will parade down the streets of Washington D.C., breaking up the asphalt and concrete as millions upon millions of dollars of taxpayer money disappear in this display of authoritarianism. For the military forces to display its armory in a supposed time of peace is unsettling, and recalls the tactics of dictators and would-be dictators of the 20th and 21st centuries.

In the movie, the key character spends several weeks in a pastoral setting, far enough away from the humanity-eroding dictatorial mother, where she is re-shaped with help from a caring doctor and who discovers the value of her own humanity and subsequently over time, recovers from the damage done from decades of having her humanity erased from words and actions imposed by her mother. The nervous breakdown heals, and like any major harm to body and mind, she retains the scars reminding her of the ashes from which she arose.

Sadly, in our nonfiction circumstance that worsens daily, it will take much more than a few weeks in a pastoral setting to right the wrongs that may eventually implode the nation if not halted. There is no guarantee that this country will be able to come back from this in our generation or the next. Our literally fearless leaders - leaders wearing blinders and dark glasses that only allow them to see a horizon of a certain ubiquitous future MWWA-Garden of Eden plan built on fear, greed, murder and hatred, oblivious to the destruction of the foundation upon which this country has tried to evolve. Can we come back from a mortal blow to that foundation? If the attack is left unchecked by those who are supposed to be the guardians, who seemingly have left the building or are hiding in the crevices behind closed doors so that they hear no evil or see no evil, how can a country come back from that? What permanent damage can happen?

The perpetrators/leaders actually believe that they do not have to answer to the highest authority for anything they do - despite their 'vows' made to God and the American people; the same is true of those who aid and abet this egregious scheme. But they will have to answer - we all will. There will be no place to hide. They will be removed from their fake Garden and will face the consequences of their actions in ways they could not have imagined in their imagined dreams. Those actions will leave many of us high and dry, without recourse. Some of us will die in the midst of the evil schemes that have already impacted this country, is putting some out of business because of the insanity of hiking the tariffs that 100% place a huge financial burden on manufacturing, industrial firms, and the like. We will need to change all of our political anthems; a runner up to fill that gap is the song by Ray Charles (a man of color and blind=DEIx2). "Them That Got"?

"Sirs, What Must I Do To Be Saved?"

 [This talk was delivered by me June 1, 2025 at St. Christopher's New Carrollton; based on Acts 16:22-34, John 17:20-26; Revelation 22]

The jailer falls down before Paul and Silas and asks:
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Some Christian groups maintain that baptism is required before a person can be saved; some say that only those baptized in their denomination or in a certain way will be saved. Some say that you have to be well-schooled in a catechism prescribed by their denomination before you can be considered a candidate for salvation. And some denominations teach that once you are saved, you can be lost.

But how did Paul respond? Any body?

"Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." Let everyone say it together!

He did not say: Well, first, you have to sign up with our church and commit to tithe or otherwise your membership will be declined. Then you must complete 20 hours of doctrinal learning and pass the test at the end. If you cannot pass the test, you may need to repeat part or all of the class. And then, perhaps, we can talk about baptizing you so that you can be saved.|| Nor did Paul say – oh, well, you weren’t born into the –name the particular Christian denomination – I mean, you worshiped idols! We’re going to have to take this under advisement to figure out if you are even a candidate for salvation. And neither did Paul say – oh, your lifestyle does not sync up with Christian values; you have to change your lifestyle before we can even continue the discussion about how to be saved.

No - none of that was said nor implied. Why? Because the Holy Spirit had already positioned the jailer for salvation. You see, it was not a coincidence that Paul and Silas wound up in this particular jailer’s prison. Let’s see what God’s Word says about this. If you have your Bible or a Bible app on your phone, go to Ephesians 2. We are going to look at verses 1-10. Ask for a reader. Now as we read this passage let’s allow the Holy Spirit to teach us.

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Grace and faith. Paul writes that twice in case we didn’t get it the first time. The Grace gives us the ability to believe, the faith gives us the ability to act. We humans can presume and tell ourselves that “someday I’ll get around to ‘formalizing’ or settling into my salvation – right now I need to focus on my career/my university education/sowing my oats before I can take that next step” – as if salvation is something to be attained on a checklist of things to-do.

Believing here means committing our life to Christ. We are willing to sacrifice our perceived ‘lordship’ to make Christ our Lord and Sovereign. So the question that is begged to be asked is “what are we being saved from?” What do we think we are being saved from? Let’s look again at verses 1-3. Ask for a reader.

The same Holy Spirit moved Paul to write in Romans 6:20-23, that we are all born spiritually dead because of Adam’s sin DNA we carry. We are born slaves to sin. But by grace through the faith we receive, we are saved by the blood of Christ, and given new life (called regeneration or being born again as Jesus spoke about in John 3) – you see God is the author of our faith and of our salvation, so that no one can boast about how she or he won God over. Say Amen if you believe because what God has done in you?

In our Gospel lesson in John 17, Jesus tells us that in addition to His praying for us – yes He sits at the Father’s right hand and intercedes for us (Rom 8:34) who have been chosen and saved by the Father, Jesus put His Spirit in us – not for ornamental value or to lord over someone, but rather to humble us so that we may be one and love one another as He loves us. In the preceding verses of John 17, Jesus indicates what He is praying to the Father for us: protection in Jesus’ name and protection from the evil one; to have Jesus’ joy in us; and that the Holy Spirit would sanctify us by the truth of God’s word and the transformative work the Spirit would do in us, and that we may be with Him and see His glory.

I’d like to share a story with you that I came across. There was a man who had been convicted rightly of murder, and subsequently found guilty and sentenced to death. He was put on death row in prison. He admitted his guilt and knew that the state’s response was life for life. As his appointment to his execution grew nearer, something began stirring within him. Most of his life was a fight against the goads, and he had hurt or harmed others just as others had done to him. But one day, a noise-cancelling quiet came over his cell. When you are on death row, quietness is a luxury that you did not have, yet at that point in time, all the surrounding noise was silenced. He hears a voice that asks him why is he here? The voice not so much audibly as internally speaks his name and asks again, why are you here, and tells him that he had fought against Him much of his life. The voice begins to sound like thunder, and the cell vibrates; no one else heard it or felt it but the man. For the first time in his life the man experienced a fear that he could not fight against. It must be a dream he reasoned. Then a strange bright light engulfs the cell and the Voice says: I Am Jesus whom you have been fighting against. Now, in this place, I have chosen you to serve me and teach my word to those fellow prisoners here who are lost and to whom I will direct you, so that they may experience the release from the real prison – the prison of sin and death. I declare you righteous and have freed you and I am sending you to others in this place so that the Holy Spirit will be in you and will guide you to bring back to me those men who have been in a life-long prison like you. In this place I will use you to plant my church. Very soon you will hear footsteps that are coming to your cell to tell you that your execution has been permanently stayed and that you will be relocated to another area where I will show you all you will need to accomplish the work I have for you. Long story short, the light fades and the man hear the footsteps. Still in awe and a fear inexplicable, he watches the warden open the cell door, and tells him the news about the execution pardon. What had once been a pathway to hell, was now a mission field for God. The man asks for a good study Bible and is mentored by another prisoner who also became born again in the prison, and together they establish a prison ministry that was both challenging and rewarding.

Like Paul and the man in the story, we have all been at war with God at some time in our lives. Some of us are still kicking against the goads. These last 7 weeks have been a repeated opportunity from God, a repeated summons from the Holy Spirit God and the Bride of Christ – His Church – to Come. To come into real relationship with Jesus, to be one in Him and in the Father, and desire, thirst for Him. To Come, and drink in the water of Jesus’ truth for sanctification as His saints or people separated unto Him to be remade in His image. To be blessed with the healing tree of life that Adam and Eve forfeited. To respond to the voice who has been asking you, why are you here, still stuck in your unrighteousness? Jesus says He is coming soon, and His reward is with Him to repay according to everyone’s work. Jesus – whose very name means salvation – and in whose Name by God’s will we too will know the awe and inexplicable joy of His salvation.

In the mustard seed of faith given us by God we ask: Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And Jesus tells us, COME BELIEVE ON ME, YOUR LORD JESUS. LET ANYONE WHO IS THIRSTY COME. LET ANYONE WHO SEEKS ME COME AND TAKE THE LIVING WATER FREE–it is already paid for! AMEN! HALLELUJAH!

 We’ve come this far by faith…

Warden's Address at the St. Christopher's New Carrollton January 26, 2025 Annual Meeting

This address was abridged orally on the date of the Annual Meeting due to time constraints. When originally composed, there was no awareness that the several pages of a Rector's report would be offered orally in its entirety'. Thus, my time to fully deliver this was preempted. 

Warden’s Address

Good afternoon, brothers and sisters. You will hear from me in part your typical address, as well as a non-typical part. So first, the TYPICAL part.

 I am going to highlight some of the reports for you; you have the reports of ministries that have taken place in the last year in your booklet. I strongly urge you to read them, I strongly urge you to read them, all in their entirety and contemplate what you are reading. [speak to Rector’s final words to congregation; Altar Guild; Bible Study; Christian Care; DOK; Pledge/Treasurer Report; Warden’s Report].

Does anybody know what is the MOST IMPORTANT part of worship, i.e., what is actually the essence of worship?

God called out and created a nation called Israel; He liberated them from Egyptian bondage so that they may go into the wilderness to serve and worship Him.  Ex. 19:5 God says to His people, “if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples…”1/  Jesus tells us in John 9:31 that God does not listen to willful sinners – persons who rebel against Him and His word but, instead, listens to those who worship Him and obeys His will. And Paul writes in Romans 6 that those who obey God walk in the path of righteousness, that is, they are doing what is right in God’s eyes. He is the final judge. The Bible is replete with examples of what happens when we rebel against God and what happens when we obey Him. He says in Amos to those who disobeyed His commandments on a day-to-day basis, that He hated what they called worship because they had chosen to worship their way while living lives of disobedience. He would not accept their worship, He would not hear their praises, because they rang hollow to Him. Jesus would also say in that final night, to those who were closest to Him: if you really love me and the Father, then obey my commandments. When we are intentionally living lives that are contrary to what God’s will is – you know, that will we pray about in the Lord’s prayer – we are not walking in the light of Christ. It is challenging to serve God and walk in His will if we reject His word and choose not to let it dwell richly in us in such a way as to transform us [it is downright impossible]. Many people claim to believe in God, but Jesus says their fruit is what really identifies them. 

Here's the thing – this is what an Annual Meeting must be about – identifying who we have been over the past year, what have we done, how have we been Christ’s disciples -- light in the darkness? This harmonizes with the command at 2 Corinthians13:5 to examine ourselves to see if we are continuing in the faith.

What is keeping us from obeying Jesus’ command to be servants in His Church? In John 13 we find the account of Jesus – Creator of all things seen and unseen, the second Person of the Trinity – God, yes God, we see him take off His outer robe to take the role of a house slave, and quietly with a basin of water and a towel, proceeds to wash the disciples’ feet. Stinky, dirty, filthy feet. The disciples are stunned, and Peter rejects Jesus’ offer out of pride and a bit of chiding of Jesus, whom he addresses as Lord – that a true Lord and Master is not a slave nor should he act like one is what he was implying. When Jesus responded, if you don’t you can have no part with me, Peter says wash my feet, my hands and my head Lord! When Jesus finished, does anyone remember what He says: “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. ¹⁶ Very truly, I tell you, slaves are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. ¹⁷ If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”

Have you ever really heard these words (re-read v.16-17) If you are being led by God to serve, talk to me or any one of the ministry leaders on the Vestry or to those who provided the reports, and sincerely pray to God and ask Him where He wants you to be active, and then obey Him. Do not let pride keep you from a blessing; if God calls you to serve in an area – notice, I did not say, if you call yourself to serve somewhere -- He is able to provide you with what you need to accomplish the task, as indicated in Exodus 36:2.
                    

Okay, so take a breath... Now here comes the non-typical part. So I’m going to do something a little different. I will ask for those who have been a part of the church of St. Christoper’s for 30 or more years to either stand or raise their hands. If you can keep standing or hands raised, I will ask the same thing of those who have been a part of St. C’s for at least 20 or more years. Okay, and now I will ask those who have been a part of St. Christopher’s for at least 10 or more years to also stand or raise their hands. I invite the remaining members to turn around and look. These persons have been not just a part of the church, but have been the church, servant leaders in the church involved in ministries both internally and externally serving God and His people. Each of those members have actively served in ministry through the years and has provided compelling models of service for us to consider. So: Praise God for you! Thank you for your service and fellowship these many years!!  And now I would like to ask the members of the Vestry who are present here – including our newly elected members to stand. Each and everyone of these members have a history with St. Christopher’s that involve ministries and outreach. For example, Joe B. for YEARS in capital letters has served as a musician and choir director in our church back in the day when he shared leadership with Ms. Ivy. It isn’t just about coming in for a couple of hours on a Sunday and playing the piano or organ – it is about a dedication to practice, to prayer and discernment of what music fits what service and so much more. We have Mercy who has been a member of the Vestry twice now, was on the Vestry that called Pastor Melana, and who has worked internally in ministries, and externally in another house of worship to minister to that church. There’s Justin – I remember when he was in youth group and acolyting and he came to me, to my chagrin, as I had not discerned this about him: he asked if he could do more in the acolyte ministry! After I got over being embarrassed, I was over-joyed and we found together the “more.” And look, he is still serving the church as part of the AV Team and the Vestry, and wherever else help is needed. We have Pius, who came to us through the Ezinne family thank you Ezinnes, and especially Chika, right? Together they have a growing family that he shepherds. He has volunteered to help at events, clean-ups, and is an active, valued member of the Vestry as all of our members are. Ginny, who for 37 years has worshiped with St. Christopher’s; she is also not a first-timer on the Vestry; she has served as a Sunday school teacher, has been involved in numerous activities internally in church and externally within the New Carrollton community as her bio shows. She has years of service experience and wisdom!  Eze – stand up please, I also have had the privilege to watch him grow and mature; he, too, was an Acolyte, who showed new acolytes how to serve, who is a lector, usher, and happy to help wherever needed, and is now a new member of the Vestry. Enefazu has a history that shows a demonstration of service – he serves as Usher, Lector, he is our Emcee for church events like Harvest Thanksgiving, and he leads the AV Team and is a Vestry Member. Olivia: for 34 years she has worshiped at the 8am and 10am services. She has served or assisted in ministries during those times either directly or indirectly – for example, serving on the search committee that called Father Jonathan – back in those days the work of the search committee could last for a couple of years or more – a long commitment; most recently, she was part of the planning and doing for the recent yard sale. Ms. Lara rotated off the Vestry after serving 4 years – 1 year more than is customary. She is also currently out of the country and when she returns plans to rejoin the counters group and learn the ropes so to speak. And Milton Gbonda, also rotates off Vestry this year: he has been involved in at least two confirmation classes teaching and sharing his love of God with the youth; he also serves as lector and Sunday school teacher, and is more than willing to help wherever he can, in addition to being a member of the Vestry. Thank you to all who stood or raised their hands when called.
Did anyone catch what is the running theme here? Yes! These are persons who have acted on God’s inward call to serve Him and His people. Servant leaders Thank you again, everyone, for your service and modeling Christ’s love for God and His people.

     I need to tell you four stories about four women. Jesus said as recorded in Matthew 10:34-39 that His coming to earth and proclaiming the Truth would result in some families and communities being divided over His words, that believers would be shunned by their families and communities because they chose to accept the truth Jesus proclaimed. He is the Truth, right? And Jesus prophetic statement in that Matthew passage would be fulfilled thousands upon thousands of times if not more in these past 2000 years. Some of us have seen or experienced this personally.

I personally know a someone who, as a young woman, experienced such a traumatic season: the loving family she grew up in and the only community she knew and grew up in would come to shun her because she could no longer accept the hypocrisy and false teaching of that religious organization. God, in His providence, would allow the young woman to be an outcast, would lead her in the wilderness where she was exposed to quote – unquote beasts and dangers. Yet it would be in this wilderness experience that she would come to a saving knowledge of the truth. God would send a vision, would bestow on her spiritual gifts that would take her some time to discover in this journey. As she drew closer to God, became immersed in His Word with great passion, He would direct her to a place where she could experience what the psalmist experienced in Psalm 27 that though mother, father, would leave her that God would never leave nor forsake her. *It was God’s forgiveness, the fact that God would save her, foreordaining her before the foundation of the world, His mercy and His grace that would change her life and give her new purpose. Yes, she bore the ‘scars’ of that wilderness but she was so beholden to God and what He had done in her, for her and with her, she could never see herself the same lost way again. She would pray for her family to be released from the bondage and influence of that false religion, and with a fervor teach others the truth, being moved through the Holy Spirit to be like Christ to others –

And she discovered in scripture a mirror in the lives of three women who would come to follow Jesus and they were all named Mary: Mary of Nazareth, Mary of Magdala, and Mary of Bethany.

Mary of Nazareth. She grew up in a typical Jewish family that was strong on what would become the mix of the Mosaic Law and the oral law and tradition which would become known as the Mishnah and Talmud. She grew up in a village called Nazareth located in Galilee, which was several days’ journey from Jerusalem on most days. It was small, poor, and isolated because of where it was located between hills and not very accessible. It was a place where elements of meanness, obscurity and evil doing were characteristic of it. It was a small Jewish village surrounded by Gentiles or non-Jews; there may have been a Roman garrison somewhere in the nearby locale, whose personnel would join in the revelry and immorality. The village was often looked down upon by Judean Jews and even those in other parts of Galilee. It was like Nathanael said to Philip after Philip had met Jesus – son of Joseph from Nazareth per John 1:45-46: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Even though considered as less, the community of Nazareth was very tight. Yet, God would send His angel Gabriel to this seemingly God-forsaken place with news and blessings to be bestowed on a teenage girl named Mary. God had chosen her to be the first person who would be a bearer of Christ; she would fulfill that role both physically and spiritually. She was part of God’s salvific plan for the world, as she relates in her song found in Luke 1. Her parents accepted the intentions of a man named Joseph who wanted to marry their daughter, and per the customs of the time, Mary was not a part of the conversation but was the subject of it. She would become betrothed and go away to visit with an older cousin Elizabeth upon whom God’s favor rested, for she who had been barren for such a long time was now pregnant in her old age – she, too, was part of God’s salvific plan. After 3 months Mary would return home, visibly pregnant. While it is so very common today to see a pregnant teen, in those days such an out of wedlock situation would result in Mary being shunned and/or looked down upon by community –  a HUGE embarrassment to her family who would come just a minute short of disowning her, and as a woman betrothed and found to be pregnant before the actual wedding, the man would be justified in having her stoned to death or otherwise punished under the law. We still see that in some cultures today. Yet, God’s providence to take Mary through that wilderness experience, and who would see to the safety of Mary and Joseph, see to the safe birth and growing up of the Son who came into the world to save it, despite the low esteem of and shunning by the villagers. We know how that story winds up, right?

Then there is Mary of Magdala. The Bible does not go into depth as to how she came to be in the predicament of having seven demons in her doing only God knows what with her and in her as recorded in Mark 16:9 and Luke 8:2. As such, she was considered an anathema – cursed by God, and was shunned by her community, despised. But what the Bible does tell us is that she has the foreordained encounter with Jesus who exorcises the demons. She is liberated from the domain of darkness by the Light of the World, and she followed that Light! That forgiveness and liberation would bring her some time later to a tomb in a garden where Jesus was laid, and finding it empty, she is beside herself! She asks “the gardener”, where have you laid my Master? And the man answers, “Mary!” She immediately recognizes the voice of her beloved Savior and falls and worships at His feet.

And we come to Mary of Bethany. This is the same Mary who was the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and at whose home Jesus would visit and stay on occasion. It is clear enough that Jesus had a strong affection for the small family per John 11. Again, the Bible is silent on Mary’s past, do encounter her in Luke 7 and John 12 in a different setting. Note that according to the passages, Mary of Bethany was recognized by those in her community as a sinful woman. We are not told of her sin, but somewhere along the way, she acquired a jar of very expensive and exotic perfumed oil. It was Jesus’ visit to Bethany to dine at the home of Simon the leper and pharisee where we see her enter into Christ’s presence. Some scholars think that she and her siblings were servants or slaves of Simon who lived on his property. Whatever the case, while Jesus and His disciples were seated at Simon’s table, Mary comes in silently, bringing her jar of perfumed ointment with her. In God’s salvific plan, this Mary also is liberated, delivered from a dark past and forgiven forever, and it is that deep down gratitude within her, stirred by the Holy Spirit, that Mary anoints Christ by pouring out the anointing oil on Him, and washing his feet with her tears and hair.

So what do these stories show us – we who are as broken and sinful as the four women but whom God would use in a powerful way in His providence? All of these women were forgiven profoundly by God, and lived, walked, and breathed that forgiveness so that it became faith in action. They could not sit still, so to speak, and bask in the forgiveness as if they were getting a suntan. No! And that is the message we see throughout scripture – and especially in the New Testament writings of those who have been saved and who are baptized by the Holy Spirit recognize that this call is not something to take lightly. That this forgiveness by Christ has changed them because they understand what that forgiveness cost– that they are liberated, delivered out of a past of deep darkness. They are no longer the person of little value, of shame or shunning, but are instead made children of God and in that bright awareness of who they are, this new identity, they cannot keep still but are compelled by that act of forgiveness and salvation to serve God and His people in ways that they could never have imagined.

So, church at St. Christopher’s, what does our identity look like? Are we motivated by what Jesus has done for us and to us so that serving Him and obeying Him are our deepest desire? Do we exult in what He has done by serving others in His name? As I read to you Matthew 25:14-30, think on this question – with whom do I identify in this passage? –READS—….well done trustworthy slave, you have been faithful with little, so I’m going to appoint you in charge over many things. By your fruits…

The writers of the Gospels and epistles as led by the Holy Spirit all point to the same thing: by our fruits we would be known, not only as a church but individually as members of the church. Have we been called inwardly by God, forgiven of our sins, and so unabashedly grateful to Him that we answer His call to serve with joy in whatever capacity He asks us to serve? – Exodus 36:2 again! A joy that goes far beyond a glandular response? That we find the most joy in serving God and those around us? Do we love our neighbor as Jesus does?  Are we are overwhelmed by Jesus’ forgiveness of and liberation/deliverance from our sins that we give ourselves fully to Him like the four women whose stories I have shared did, or do we stingily hold back? Consider who Christ is. He left His place in heaven, was born into a world that hated Him. The Creator who in His earthly journey, became a slave, an outcast, would bow down on His knees to wash His disciples stinky, dirty feet. Yet, He loved the people of the world so much that He went through unimaginable torture – the One who created those persons who killed Him, suffering an extremely harsh death on a cross to REDEEM US, you and me. Consider that Jesus. Then ask ourselves, am I better than Jesus?

Friends, that is our challenge here, our challenge for 2025, this is the challenge that scripture poses: that we submit to Christ as our Master, that we obey Him and His commands to have hearts full of and trained by God’s Word, that we serve each other in love, that we respect and steward those things God has gifted us with – including His church. Look around you – while we may call this our church and our lives, we do not own them. Psalm 24:1 tells us that God owns all things. 1Corinthians 6 tells us we are not our own – we cannot claim lordship over our lives because we were bought with the blood of Christ.

So not your typical address, yet a critical one. Who are we? What are we doing or not doing? As we go through this clergy transition, God has given us the pause and responsibility of clarifying these things for ourselves. As we go into development stage it will become even more important. So here’s what I am asking us to do: Write down 3 things briefly – like a bullet point or sentence or two about your identity/ who you are, and 3 things about St. Christopher’s identity and who it is. Also, read the ministry reports all the way through.

Can you do that? Can you bring your thoughts next week – don’t have to put your name on it, and we will put them all in a basket, and share these thoughts with one another. Will you do that?

 1/ I would receive a blistering response to the Biblical doctrine of obedience. I was told that this is not something I should say out loud because people with traumatic backgrounds of clergy abuse would be turned off and, worse, would be subjected to relive that trauma. I did not apologize for sharing that scripture and doctrine, but was sympathetic to the person's cry. The person was still living in that bitterness in such a way that psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually, that they have found it hard to forgive God for the pain and trauma. I empathized with the person about their experience, but pray for God to "open the eyes of their heart" to know Him. That all throughout mankind's history there have been evil people who have cast aspersions onto the character of God through so-called religious acts and acts of wickedness in the name of God. The Bible is replete with such examples not only to make us aware that these evil acts are of the devil, and that such evil lies in every heart; God sees and He condemns those unrepentant sinners who dishonor the Name. (Genesis 6:5; Psalm 28:3;  Ecclesiastes 9:3; Zechariah 8:17; Proverbs 6:16-19; Matthew 15:19; Hebrews 3:8-12; Revelation 2:18-29.