St. John the Divine Anglican Church

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4,5 In our lesson from the the letter to the Ephesians today we heard more about the unity of the church. Paul is making the point that

“So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself

Ephesians 1:1-14 For the next eight weeks we will be reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Ephesus was a large city of the ancient world, and was a center of commerce and trade. The Temple to the goddess Diana was there, and it was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. One hundred twenty seven columns held up the roof. Now, there are only a few

31 And his mother and his brethren[a] came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brethren[b] are outside, asking for you.” 33 And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brethren?” 34 And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brethren! 35 Whoever does the

“Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” from the Revelation to St. John the Divine. You may recognize those words. You hear them every Sunday. In fact, we sing them every Sunday, or at least a variation of it. We sometimes use the Latin word, “Sanctus” to describe that phrase. It is inserted in our service during the Eucharistic prayer, where

If Christianity was a religion simply made up by superstitious, manipulative and conniving men, you would think the Apostles would be heroic men who were smart and strong and convincing in their testimony. Instead, the Gospels tell of ordinary men who are quite fallible, and often very weak. Take the Apostle St. Peter, or as I like to call him, Rocky. Rocky was a mess! Remember the time when the

This past Thursday was the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord. It is a Principal Feast in our calendar, which means it ranks right up there with Easter and Christmas Day. In fact there are seven Principal Feasts listed in our calendar. Can you name them? The first is Easter day, then on the 40th day of Easter is the feast of the Ascension of Our Lord, always on

Last Sunday, we heard from the Gospel of St. John, chapter 14, when Jesus said to his disciples, Jesus said to his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth,” In another translation of the Bible, the word Advocate is used. The Greek word

“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.” (1 John 3:14) St. John had a true gift for words. Last Sunday, I talked about the way Jesus used the Name of God to establish his credibility. Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd, one who will lay down his life for the sheep. That is the ultimate act of love. Today we heard