St. John the Divine Anglican Church

“Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” From the Letter to the Hebrews. Last Sunday we read from the Letter to the Hebrews, Chapter 11, about faith. Let me refresh your memories of the key verse in this section: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By

“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” From the letter of St. Paul to the Colossians. This short letter from St. Paul to the believers in Colossae, is full of good advice for Christian living. Colossae was in the region of Phrygia and Galatia, in Asia Minor. In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke records some details

“Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” From the Gospel according to St. Luke. Teach us to pray. That is at once a simple request, and profound statement. It seems odd to me that the disciples would ask such a question. Surely they would be familiar with prayer.

“You who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him– provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven.” From St. Paul’s Epistle

Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” From the Gospel according to St. Luke. The Law of Moses was the defining code of behavior for the Hebrews.

“For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.” from the letter of St. Paul to the Galatians. St. Paul begins this section of the letter to the Galatians informing his readers that they have been set free. Freedom, in this case, is from slavery to sin and death. He urges

“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