Holy Communion Anglican Church
East Greenwich, RI – Standing Firm on Biblical Truth and Christian Tradition
There is no replacement for the institution of marriage. When you destroy the foundation, the whole house collapses. Christians, more than anyone else, must be bold to defend Holy Matrimony, for all its imperfections, because to lose it is to lose the foundation of human society, and a precious dispensation of God’s Grace.
“Who stands fast? Only the person whose final standard is not reason, principles, conscience, freedom, or virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all this when he is called to obedient and responsible action in faith and in exclusive allegiance to God.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)
God’s people do not have the option to “turn off” their spiritual identity. Likewise, a church that tries to blend in with the surrounding culture does not merely hide its lamp under a basket but instead smothers it out completely. If a church, then, is ashamed of its Christian identity, can it really claim to be Christian at all? The answer, of course, is a resounding “no.”
We are physically and spiritually programmed with the need for a guiding light, an over-arching narrative, a moral point of reference - even more so than a material one. Thus, the account of the Wise Men points to a reality far deeper and truer than the story itself. What we have with the Wise Men is actually a microcosm of the Christian experience. The journey of the Magi shows us a representation of our own life’s journey before Jesus Christ, the living God.
Each of us has unique situations in which we can be the most effective instruments through which the Holy Spirit presents to our friends and fellow workers the Good News of God in Jesus Christ.
Not only is Christ our hope, but He is also our comfort. In His flesh, Christ understands every difficulty and affliction we face in our daily lives. Christmas reminds us there is no problem we face that our God does not understand, nor does He let us face it alone.
What does it mean to, “taste and see that the Lord is good”? (Psalm 34:8)
This is the joy of the Christian Faith: we are free. In the Resurrection of Jesus, love has been shown to be stronger than death. Love made Christ descend, and love is also the power by which He ascended.
God has ordained a profound simplicity in the act of proper gratitude. At its core, God-centered thanksgiving focuses our attention on our eternal reward in Christ Jesus. And from that focal point, every good gift we receive this side of heaven, as well as every misfortune we face due to sin, is put into proper perspective.
To borrow from the late author Neil Postman, we are “amusing ourselves to death.” Like Huxley’s “Brave New World”, we are enslaved by our addiction to easy entertainment, and we eagerly give up our Christian liberty in exchange for instant gratification. Our eyes are drawn to worthless things far more easily than the true beauty of the Lord! We are far more likely to look to our phones than to the truth, beauty, and goodness of God’s Word. We are, quite literally, amusing ourselves until death.