St. John the Divine Anglican Church

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” From the Gospel according to St. Matthew. At the beginning of his ministry, as recorded by St. Matthew, Jesus went to Caper′na-um by the sea of Galilee. It was there that he found Andrew and Simon Peter, and the rest of the twelve apostles. He began to teach them about repentance and the

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” from the Gospel according to St. Matthew. Today we commemorate and celebrate the Baptism of Jesus by St John in the Jordan River. As we learned in the Gospel, John hesitated, because he thought himself unworthy to baptize Jesus, and instead he should be baptized by him. Jesus says, “Let it be

“And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” From the Gospel of St. Luke. Today we celebrate the Holy Name of Jesus. This was the name given to Mary by the angel at the annunciation in Luke 1:31: “And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bear a

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness–on them light has shined.” What does Christmas mean to you? Certainly for Christians, Jesus is the reason for the season, right? The Word made flesh, as St. John would put it. Any child can tell you it’s Jesus’ birthday. For many people, the reasons tend to be more worldly; giving

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: `Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” From the Gospel of St. Matthew. St. Matthew here quotes from the prophet Isaiah in Chapter 40. Verses 3 – 5 are these: A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and

Let us then lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light.” From St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. Today marks the first Sunday in Advent. The theme of the coming of the Day of the Lord, or the advent of the Lord to judge the living and the dead is a constant in our teaching of the Gospel. Jesus describes it in the context of

This is the King of the Jews, from the Gospel of St. Luke Today is what is known as Christ the King Sunday. It is also the last Sunday of the Church year, as next week Advent begins. Today we celebrate the Kingship of our Lord Jesus, who ascended into heaven and is seated on the right hand of the Father, as we say in the Nicene Creed. We Americans

Let the rivers clap their hands, * and let the hills ring out with joy before the LORD, when he comes to judge the earth. In righteousness shall he judge the world * and the peoples with equity. From Psalm 98. As we begin to wrap up the church year, the theme of our readings from Holy Scripture returns to the Last Day, or Judgement Day, as I have spoken

The city of Thessalonica was established some 300 years BC, and became an important Port city on the Aegean Sea, in the Byzantine empire. The city still thrives and is now in modern day Greece, and is called Thessoloniki. St. Paul established the church there, while spending about three months working to build it up. There were both Jews and Gentiles in the city, and many were converted by Paul’s

The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful– for he cannot deny himself. From the second letter to St. Timothy. Continuing in the second letter to St. Timothy, we read St. Paul exhorting St. Timothy to keep