Holy Communion Anglican Church
East Greenwich, RI – Standing Firm on Biblical Truth and Christian Tradition
The Apostle Paul tactfully used the technology of his day to preach the Gospel all over the world, even as the Romans transformed the world around him. Yet he did so fearlessly because of his confidence that nothing could separate him from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. For ministry in our modern age, digital media represents the new Roman roads.
Beloved, let the Christmas tree stand as a reminder for us that the Nativity cradle cannot be separated from the Cross. For that humble, innocent baby lying in a manger would one day bear our sins in his body on a tree, that first Christmas tree which stood on Calvary’s hill.
We may not be able to see all which God is doing to redeem our present difficulties, but we can see His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, standing before us, ready to sustain us, and asking, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” My dear brothers and sisters, we have seen Him; He is here, and He is able to keep us from falling and bring us to his glorious presence, without fault and with great joy. May we respond like the man born blind, saying, “Lord, I believe.”
From morning to night, we are saturated with news. We look at our phones first thing in the morning to find out what went on while we were sleeping (just in case we missed something big!), and we conclude the day with scrolling through our phone just before going to bed (just in case we missed something even bigger!). We are, as a nation, massive consumers of so-called “news.”
“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)