Today we heard a parable about the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was fond of using parables to communicate with his disciples. Some listened and understood what he was getting at, but most of his hearers must have thought he was a little kooky. This is one of those that made no sense to those with a mind for business. The land owner was hiring laborers all day long to work
September 13th, 2020
No Forgiveness, No Peace
These readings about forgiveness resonated with me today. So many stories I read have something to do with anger and the lack forgiveness. Why is it so hard to forgive? I understand that there are some resentments that have piled up over generations of people. People with power have abused the powerless. This is nothing new of course. Since Cain killed Abel there have been those who have abused others
September 6th, 2020
Never Flag in Zeal, be Aglow with the Spirit, Serve the Lord
We are living in a time of great conflict, which of course is no news to you, but it affects all of us. I don’t know about you, but I hate conflict. I go out of my way to avoid it. I know that is not always a good thing. Sometimes you have to confront things head on for the good of all concerned. The scripture readings today give us
September 4th, 2020
Requiem Mass – Nolan Bell
It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of a long time member of St. John the Divine Anglican Church, Nolan Bell. A Requiem Mass will be held on September 11 @ 1PM at St. John the Divine Anglican Church. The family will be accepting visitors Thursday evening at 6PM – 8PM at Owens & Brumley, Burkburnett, Texas. The family asks in lieu of flowers you make a
August 30th, 2020
For the Son of Man is to Come with his Angels
“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.” If you will recall from last week, Bishop Reed talked about St. Peter, or Rocky, as my NT professor liked to call him. Some like to put him on a pedestal, but it is obvious from our studies of the Bible that
August 23rd, 2020
Bishop Reed visited the Catholic Church of St. John the Divine
On the 12th Sunday after Pentecost, Bishop Ryan S. Reed, of the Diocese of Fort Worth, visited The Catholic Church of St. John the Divine here in Burkburnett. Pictured with the Bishop are Fr. John Munson, vicar, Zac Leonard holding his daughter Emmy, who was received into our branch of the Catholic Church, Laurie Munson and Jill Penney who reaffirmed their faith before the Bishop, and Fr. Randy Rogers, assisting
August 21st, 2020
Reaching out and reaching up, by Bishop Ryan S. Reed
There are two lessons from the pandemic that I have learned over the last six months that I would like to share with the whole Diocese. The first is the need for the saints of God to reach out. Probably at no other time since the Spanish flu has this need for Christians to reach out to others been so urgent. My neighbor is a nurse in the Covid ICU at
August 16th, 2020
May God be merciful to us and bless us
“May God be merciful to us and bless us,” from Psalm 67 A common thread of the readings today is the mercy of God. The reading from the prophet Isaiah does not mention the word itself, but the message is that the LORD will be merciful to all who will join him and hold fast his covenant. All who keep sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast the
August 9th, 2020
The Lord shall give strength to his people
10th Sunday after Pentecost August 9, 2020 Fr. Randy Rogers St. John’s Burkburnett Tx The Lord shall give strength to his people; the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace. Today’s readings beg the whole question of the disposition of the Jewish people, as well as other populations of non-Christians. In today’s world of political correctness one might even wonder if we can evangelize with the gospel of
August 3rd, 2020
The Democracy of the dead still prevails
Fr. Randy Rogers The Democracy of the dead still prevails. It prevails, because they are not actually dead, like in having no state of existence. People in general are scared to death about death. To my knowledge we are the only species in creation that is well aware of the reality of our own passing long before it comes. We know we are finite creatures of a given life span;
