From the Dean's stall!

The Politics of Jesus

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 17:41:51 GMT

Reflection on the Church in light of the assassination of Charlie Kirk

Since the assassination of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, I have taken time to reflect, to pray, to seek the Lord, to simply exist in the Divine Presence. The death of this commentator was an atrocious act of terrorism and political violence. Not only did one man die for his speech, but his wife and child bore witness to the entire event and the trauma of witnessing the death of their husband and father will never leave them.

Directly after his assassination, people on social media began to cheer on his death and have justified it as the right thing to do to stop his work. How evil. Anyone who rejoices at the death of Charlie Kirk because of his speech stands in direct opposition to our Constitution and to the intent of our Founding Fathers.

Nevertheless, while many who will read this letter are American citizens, we are also citizens of another nation. Upon our Baptism, we became citizens of the Kingdom of God, obedient subjects to the King of kings and Lord of lords, and ambassadors of that Holy Nation. We are ambassadors of the Kingdom and our churches, be they small, large, neo-gothic, or modern, are its established embassies. We, the Church, are not of this world and the world is not a friend to us. As Our Lord says in the Gospel of John,

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you (John 15:18,19)."

Because we are not of this world, we cannot love what the world loves, nor can we always stand behind that which the world endorses. Our mission is to preach the Gospel and to manifest that Most Peaceable Kingdom. The politics of the Christian cannot be the politics of this world, they must be the politics of Jesus, as Tertullian said in the Second Century AD, “Christ, by disarming Peter, disarmed us all.” The Way of the Cross is not the way of violence.

It is true that the Church, by having one foot in the world and the other in the Kingdom, must at times enter into the political drama in order to advocate for that which Christ commanded. When we exercise our political arm, we must be careful that we always serve the mission of Christ and not our own, and that no matter how someone’s speech enrages you, that we do not encourage violence. The politics of the Kingdom can be summed up by invoking the Sermon on the Mount, the Greatest Commandment and the one like unto it, and the Corporal Acts of Mercy to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick and imprisoned, and to bury the dead. When the Church speaks to governments, we speak in the Name of Jesus, and that is an awe-some responsibility that we carry and one which must be shouldered with prayer, wisdom, and understanding.

It must also be acknowledged that Charlie Kirk was a confessed Christian and a faithful member of his local parish. He took the Great Commission seriously and made the spreading of the Gospel part of his work. Because he was created in the image of God, because Christ died for him, and because he bent the knee to our King, we must pray for his soul that he will enter into the nearer presence of God. We must also pray for the soul of the shooter, that he may also come to know the salvation of Jesus.

Finally, as a priest, I want you to know that your politics, your views, even your thoughts about me personally, do not stop me from loving you because you were created in the image of God, and Jesus died for you, just as he died for me. God bless you, wherever and whoever you are.

~Fr. Andy+

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

stpaulepca@comcast.net (Andrew Hook) — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 16:08:53 GMT

Be Agents of Peace, Not Agents of Chaos

In 2011, I began my master’s program at Newman University in Wichita, Kansas. Newman was and still is a Roman Catholic University and my first day there I went to an opening reception. There I was, the Anglican, surrounded by Romans. Talk about a sheep in the midst of wolves.

It took some time to get comfortable with this group, but I smiled, I laughed, I made jokes, and eventually I was accepted. Even though I would often raise my hand and disagree with a point of doctrine, or I would question the interpretation of something, I was accepted.

I think what made the difference was my attitude. Though I disagreed and even though I never shrank from my convictions, I did not set out to prove them wrong or to cause a disturbance. I desired to be at peace with them, to be one of them as much as possible, and in that desire to be part of their community I found acceptance and the grace to push them in their faith and at the same time develop a deeper understanding of mine.

We often forget that Christians are to be an instrument of peace. We are to be a non-anxious presence in the world. This does not mean that we lie down and take the hits without complaint, nor does it mean that we do not make our voices heard, but it means that we should not be the instigators of strife or violence.

In our Gospel this morning, Jesus tells the Apostles to allow their peace to rest upon the homes they are going too. Saint Augustine says of this, “Since we do not know who is a son of peace, it is our part to leave no one out, to set no one aside, but to desire that all to whom we preach this peace be saved. We are not to fear that we lose our peace if he to whom we preach is not a son of peace, and we are ignorant of the fact. Our peace will return to us. That means our preaching will profit us, not him. If the peace we preach rests upon him, it will profit both him and us.” In other words, we need to bring peace and if someone does not receive that peace, too bad for them, but as for us, we must be peaceful.

I am an unapologetic consumer of social media. I watch a lot of videos on YouTube and TikTok from a variety of voices across the spectrum. It is important to me that I listen to commentaries and watch videos that not only bolster what I think, but also that challenge what I think. I recognize that I am not correct about everything and there are no doubt areas in my life that need some course correction. But in watching and listening to different points of view, I am always shocked at the hatred that is leveled against the devotees of conflicting opinions. I am not talking about disagreement or even spirited debate, but flat-out hatred. Christians are not allowed to hate and sadly, so much of it is based upon politics. It is based upon things that we have little control over. As I have said over and over during election season, we each have one vote and regardless of the outcome, we must work together for the good of society. I acknowledge that there is much to be in angst about in this country, there is much on our minds that quite possibly pulls us in many different directions. But through it all, we are not allowed to hate.

As Jesus tells us, we must bring peace. To be an agent of peace does not mean that you must agree with your neighbor, nor does it mean that you cannot express your opinion. But it does mean that you do not willfully antagonize your neighbor, that you go out of your way to anger them, or that you completely cut off communication because you think they are wrong. We must be agents of peace so that we can preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But what if your neighbor does not want peace? What if they antagonize? What if they are rude? What if they are filled with hatred? Then let your peace return to you and move on for God will judge them in the end. Recall Romans 12:19, “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay.” It is not our job to judge them or punish them, God will deal with them in the end, it is our job to bring peace and preach the salvation of the Cross.

And you may say, “But this issue or that issue is too big for us to remain silent.” I am not asking you to be silent, Jesus is not asking you to be silent, but He is telling us to be agents of peace. He is telling us to be people of love because love will win out in the end. I know it sounds cliché, but love will win because God is love and God always wins.

There is so much going on in our society right now that we can easily get lost in the black hole of distrust and disgust, but I implore you, as your priest, do not give in to hate-filled rhetoric. Do not become an agent of chaos. Be an Apostle of Peace.

And so as the Lord sends us out into the world as sheep in the midst of wolves, seek peace and pursue it. Do not be a doormat but do not be a bear trap. Preach the Gospel, pray for your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, and rejoice for Jesus Christ is both Lord and God for ever and ever. Amen.

Sermon for Independence Day

stpaulepca@comcast.net (Andrew Hook) — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 20:03:04 GMT

It's Complicated

If I were to use a Facebook status to describe my relationship with these United States of America, I would choose ‘It’s Complicated’. My love of America did not really begin until my Senior year of High School when I was awarded a medal and college scholarship by the American Legion. In the center of the medal is the lamp of learning resting on a book and around the perimeter are the words courage, honor, leadership, patriotism, scholarship, service. Along with the award came the honor of attending the city-wide Memorial Day Service in Greenwood Cemetery and reading the Gettysburg Address.

From high school I went off to attend four years of college in Mennonite institutions. While in school with the Mennonites, I learned about our historic pacifism which became a core belief in the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition since it’s beginning in the mid-1500s. Along with the Mennonite emphasis on pacifism there was also instilled in us the general caution and skepticism of government.

One must understand our religious and ethnic history to understand why there is so much doubt towards the government held by these particular Christians. Mennonites lived peacefully and kept to themselves in Prussia until King Frederick William I decided to force them to give up their language, to join the military, and to become Lutheran. They fled Prussia into modern-day Ukraine at the invitation of Catherine the Great. Then under Tsars Alexander II and III, Mennonites again were forced to enter military service, to give up German for Russian, and to abandon their religion. Many Mennonites, such as my ancestors, fled Russia to the Great State of Kansas and sadly, many Mennonites who either chose to stay or could not leave, were killed.

For Mennonites, the freedoms of America were welcome as we could continue to speak German and practice the Mennonite faith. But we were also taught about the two conscientious objectors in World War I who were imprisoned and beaten to death in America because they would not fight.

Fortunately, by World War II, people who refused to fight on religious grounds were able to work in non-combat jobs and during my time as a Mennonite pastor I met many men who worked in the forestry service during the war.

After college, I began to do genealogy of my family and while my mom’s side was all Mennonite, my dad’s was not and I found evidence of a long line of Hook’s getting entangled with American events. There were the Hooks who signed their names to a proclamation against King George III, the Hooks that fought for the North in the Civil War, and the Hooks who fought in both World Wars. Clearly, this filled me with a sense of pride and patriotism.

And so, I find myself a mix of patriotism and governmental skepticism. I asked ChatGPT for a name for this position, and it came up ‘principled patriot.’

Of this, ChatGPT said, a principled patriot is a type of person who loves their nation’s ideals and people, but believes that power must always be held accountable. Their patriotism is not blind loyalty, but a watchful, thoughtful allegiance rooted in values like liberty, justice, and the rule of law. They may support democratic institutions, civil liberties, and national unity, while questioning authority, opposing corruption, and challenging policies they see as unjust.

It strikes me that all Americans should adopt this attitude.

The ideals of America, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as put forth in the Declaration of Independence, and that of a more perfect Union, of Justice, of domestic Tranquility, of common defense, of general welfare, and of the Blessing of Liberty, which is stated in the preamble to the Constitution, these ideals are what we as Americans should always hold close to our hearts and strive for daily. These are the ideals that can make America all that it can be. And while we hold these truths to be self-evident, so must we always hold our leaders accountable. Accountable to we the people, and accountable to God whom one day we will all have to make an account.

Healthy patriotism is not just waving the flag, eating burgers on the 4 ^th , and knowing the difference between the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation, it is also about calling on our government to work for the good, the health, and the liberty of all Americans.

And that blessing of liberty? Blessings can only be given by God and He has blessed us with great liberty here in these United States, but not liberty to do what we want, but liberty to do what is right and just. Liberty to stand up for the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, and the foreigner. The liberty to love your neighbor as yourself. The liberty to welcome Jesus Christ into our hearts and live for Him daily so that when God returns, He may find us prepared to join Him in the Kingdom.

As Christians first and Americans second, I urge you to pray for our President, to pray for our Congress, to pray for our Supreme Court, to pray for our cities, towns, and villages, and most especially, to pray that everyone would come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Amen.

Election 2024

Sat, 02 Nov 2024 18:39:02 GMT

From the Dean

Saturday, November 3, 2024

Feast of All Souls

Dear People of God,

In a few days, Americans of every race, creed, culture, and gender will come together and cast their votes for the next president of these United States of America. The entire world will be glued to their televisions and radios awaiting the results of our decision on who will become the next leader of the free world. The ability to make our individual voices heard in the election of a president is something that many other countries do not possess, and it is something that we must never take for granted. I believe, without question, that it is the civic duty of every American to vote and to make our voices known for the future of our republic.

I recall a time when presidential elections came and went without tearing our country apart along party lines and when election night ended with a country united behind one leader. Now, the America we live in seems increasingly fractured and the once monolithic political entities of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party find themselves filled with smaller factions each with their own agendas and personalities. What was once a day that saw businesses put out flags and display bunting has now become a time when those same businesses board up their windows and erect concrete barriers. Times have changed.

Yet, in the midst of this, the Church of Jesus Christ must forbid those divisions from seeping in and distracting us from our mission to spread the Gospel. Thanks to social media and individual conversations, I know that you all feel very strongly about your candidate of choice, and I do not begrudge you for it; rather I am grateful that you are committed to a better America. Nevertheless, you have but one vote and then the die is cast and come what may, the sun will rise, and we must continue on together.

As I have written for the last two elections, so I will write again, the witness of our cathedral must remain united, and the Cross of Christ must continue to be uplifted so that everyone may come within the reach of His saving embrace. No matter the outcome, we are Christians and as Christians we are admonished by Saint Paul to pray for our leaders. Every Mass since my arrival in 2015, we have included the name of the current sitting president in the Prayers of the People; that will continue. How should we pray for them? Pray that they make our country better and stronger. What if we do not like them? Pray for their conversion. I commend to you the words of our Lord in Matthew 5:43-48.

Saints of God, never forget that our eternal citizenship is in Heaven and that we are subjects of the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is to Him that we bow and to Him that we pay homage. Make sure you exercise your right to vote and then let us come together on Tuesday, November 5 ^th , at 5:30 pm in the Name of Jesus and lift high the Cross to the glory and extension of His most peaceable kingdom. I remain

Your Servant in Christ,

The Very Reverend Andrew S. Hook, OCS

Dean of Springfield

Extremism

Sun, 14 Jul 2024 21:42:10 GMT

Different side of the same coin

On December 12, 2012, I was at a diner in Hutchinson, Kansas with a beloved friend. We were just sitting down for lunch when an alert came across my phone that a man had entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and murdered 20 children and six adults. I sat there in stunned silence. How could something this atrocious happen in America?

In the days and weeks that followed, there appeared two right-wing extremist ideas. The first was that the events on that dreadful day were staged. The shooter was not real, and the children did not die but were paid actors. The entire thing was a show put on to further the leftists agenda of gun control while disarming good citizens so that they could not stand against a tyrannical progressive government. The second was more sinister, that the massacre did happen, but it was perpetrated by the United States government as a way to force gun control on the populace and again, to disarm citizens in the face of despotism. Both ideas are monstrous. The first, because it pretends that those innocent children who died are still alive and thus denies the pain and sorrow felt by those who lost loved ones. The second, because it believes that our government would willingly sacrifice its most innocent citizens on the altar of gun control. The latter also foments revolution for even I would agree, a government like that must be denied its right to exist.

Both of these conspiracy theories, at their core, place the value of gun control above the value of human life. This is not to say that gun control is or is not the solution, but if our desire for firearms makes us believe that the murder of children is a hoax, then guns have become an idol.

Fortunately, the majority of American society also felt that these theories were monstrous. One of the main proponents of the first theory was Alex Jones, the host of a program called InfoWars. In 2018, Mr. Jones was sued by the families who were affected for defamation, and they won. Right-wing extremism was uncovered and called a dangerous sham.

On July 13, 2024, I came home after a long day at the Cathedral. When I opened TikTok on my phone, the first thing to appear was the video of the assassination attempt on President Trump. I was horrified and again, I sat in stunned silence. I was not alive when President Kennedy was killed, and I was too young to remember when President Reagan was shot, which makes the events of yesterday the first time in my life (at least that I can recall) that a blatant attack on the president has occurred. Like most Americans, I was glued to my media devices as more and more information came to light.

Then today, Sunday, July 14, not even 24 hours later, I have heard people claim that the attempt on the president’s life was staged. What is worse, I am aware that a member of the clergy informed their congregation that it did not really happen, it was a fake. How dare you. So, the president’s injury was not real? The innocent bystander who was murdered, is not really dead? The two people who are in critical condition should stand, take up their gurneys, and walk? The poor, deluded, and lost man who was killed by the Secret Service for trying to tear apart a country is just faking it?

Why? Why would the former president go through the trouble of faking this event? To further the right and conservative agenda? Is Trump so evil that he would fake an assassination or maybe even conspire to have real people killed to advance his political career? Of course, there are others who lament that the bullet was not an inch and a half closer. It is shameful that there are Americans who hate this man with such passion, they would revel in his death. What does this prove? It proves that the left also has extremists, and they are just as dangerous as those on the right.

Extremism is not a respecter of progressive or conservative views. In C.S. Lewis’ work The Screwtape Letters , the demon on the front lines, Wormwood, has been assigned to an Englishman during World War I. Wormwood asks his Uncle Screwtape if he should manipulate the man into become an ultra-patriot or an ultra-pacifist. What Screwtape says is telling. He says that Satan, “our father below” does not care which side the man goes too. All he cares is that the man find himself on the extreme so that his views make him lose sight of God and vilify anyone who disagrees with him.

The Devil is neither a liberal nor a conservative, a Democrat or a Republican, the Devil is an equal opportunity offender. As long as a person is so blinded by being a Democrat that he hates Republicans because they exist and as along as a Republican hates a Democrat because he breathes, that is enough for Old Scratch. Remember the words of Our Lord in the Gospel of John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Right-wing extremism and left-wing extremism are different sides of the same coin. Do not be fooled into believing that one is better than the other for their goal is the same, to eliminate anyone who disagrees. That is fascism, that is tyranny.

So, friends, I thank God Above that President Trump is alive, and I pray for his recovery. I am deeply saddened that a man was killed only because he was exercising his civil right to support a political candidate. I pray that the people in the hospital make a full recovery. And yes, I grieve for the soul of the young man who lost his way and paid the ultimate price for his delusions.

Let us reject extremism on both sides, let us not allow the fringe voices to tear apart a country whose torch of liberty has lit the fire of freedom for so many peoples. Let us be reminded that deep down we are neither liberals nor conservatives, Republicans or Democrats, deep down, we are Americans.

My favorite PC game in 1993 was titled Shadow President and when you exited the game, the voice of President George Bush (the first) would come through the speakers and I leave you with his words that have been seared into my brain thanks to hours dedicated to that program,

“Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”

What is Lent?

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 15:58:04 GMT

On Sunday’s when I preach, my practice is to form my message

from one of the Readings for that day. Today, I have decided to

alter that practice so that we might discuss Lent, which begins this

week on ASH WEDNESDAY – February, 22. So let’s talk a bit about

Lent…… Why do we have it? How did it begin?

Why do we call this period LENT?? Lent actually gets its name

from Germanic roots meaning “lengthening.” Lent occurs in a time of

early Spring where the days are “lengthening;” “Lent” is NOT a

religious term per se.

In the first three centuries, the period of fasting in preparation for

Easter was only 2-3 days long. The first mention of a 40 - day Lent

occurs in 325. The period of a “40-days preparation of candidates for

Baptism at Easter is most likely the origins of the “40-Day Lenten Fast.”

The 40-day Fast is most likely suggested by the fasts of Moses, Elijah,

and Jesus, Himself, as reported in Scripture.

During the early centuries, the observance of the fast was very

strict with minimal food allowed. Only 1-meal was allowed, taken in

the evening. Meat, poultry and fish were not allowed. By the 9 ^th

Century on, the rituals of the fast were relaxed. By the 15 ^th Century,

the main meal was taken at noon with light food and drink allowed in

the evening. After 1966, the Roman Church completely relaxed its

rules and practices limiting fast and abstinence to Ash Wednesday

and Good Friday. The Eastern and the Orthodox Churches still maintain

a strict Lenten Fast for 40-days taking only one full meal during the day.

The Church of England, after the Reformation, continued in the

observance of Lent by continuing the Roman traditions. The Episcopal

Church has no formal policy for Lenten fasts leaving the decision to the

individual member. That said, I ask you to review the Book of Common

Prayer beginning on Page 264 to see the significance the Church places

on Lenten traditions and prayers. I would also ask that during Lent you

might read through the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Page 446, to see

the means Jesus provides for the forgiveness of our sins – IF we are

willing to act.

Every day, throughout the world, we see the effects of hatred

between people. It takes place on city streets, whenever violence breaks

out. It happens in so many senseless ways when people full of hatred

decide to lash out at whatever person happens to be crossing their path

at that moment. We also see the devastating effects of violence and hatred

in so many places in our world that are at war. Where once there were

people raising their families and making livelihoods for themselves, there

is nothing but the ashes and rubble of destroyed homes and businesses.

We humans can become so full of rage that we don’t care who we destroy.

All the destruction that takes place in this world has one source –

the sin that is lurking in every human heart. We might want to point the

finger at others. We might blame governments or other institutions for

all the world’s misery. But ultimately, hate and violence spring from the

human heart which rejects God and His love.

Lent is a blessed time when we stop what we are doing to observe

a tragedy, the tragedy of sin. Our history as a human race is scarred

by endless conflicts as a result of sin. Sin has brought nothing but death

and destruction like the many wars that continue to be

fought all over the world. Most sin however, wreaks its

havoc in small ways in our personal lives. There is no one who has not

been marked by the effects of sin.

When terrorists attack, OR senseless shootings in schools and malls

take place OR any other act of insane violence occurs…… we’re not

always sure what to do about it or how to prevent it from happening

again. However, we do know what to do about our personal sin. God

tells us through the Prophet Joel in the Old Testament. “Even now

says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting and

weeping and mourning.” Once we realize the damage that sin has done to

us, we have no choice but to turn to God and show our regret in a

dramatic way. THIS IS WHAT LENT IS ALL ABOUT!! It is about

returning to God and asking God to change us and make us new again.

On Ash Wednesday, we will mark our foreheads with ashes. It is

a symbol that we are guilty of the destruction which sin has brought to

our world. It is a sign that we take responsibility for the choices we’ve

made to reject God’s love and all the damage we’ve caused as a

result. It is also an acknowledgment that our evil choices have disfigured

us, so we are not the pure and innocent people God calls us to be. By

accepting ashes on our foreheads, we are also acknowledging that we

are ashes and dust. We are not God, but merely one of His creatures.

We do not have the power to determine what is right and what is wrong.

Only God has that power! All we can do is obey Him out of humility,

the humility of creatures who did not create themselves but who were

brought into being by a Loving, All-Poweful God.

As we approach the altar next Wednesday to receive the ashes,

let us receive them as a sign of our repentance and a sign that we mean

to change. The ashes provide another symbol for us - a symbol of Hope.

For God who created us of the dust, can also re-create us. No matter

how badly we have sustained ourselves through our own choices, we can

be made clean. Again the prophet Joel reminds us, “For gracious and

merciful is God, slow to anger, rich in kindness, relenting in punishment.”

Our belief in a God who desires to forgive us is what gives us the

courage to stand up and publicly profess that we are sinners AND that

ONLY GOD can save us.

At the same time the ashes represent our hope in a God who promises

to make all things new. NOT only us, but the world! Sin has left a mark

on us individually, on society as a whole and on our environment. BUT

there is nothing sin has done that God cannot undo. There is no evil

that takes place in our world from which God cannot bring about a

greater good. So we accept the ashes on our foreheads with belief and

hope that our sorrow will one day give way to Easter Joy!

Sin and death are not the final chapter in human history. THERE

IS A HAPPY ENDING FOR US ALL! For as tragically as sin has

disfigured our lives, just so mercifully has God saved us in Jesus Christ.

Adam and Eve could never have imagined what evils their disobedience

would unleash upon the world. Neither could they have imagined that

God would take on our humanity and die to bring the new life of the

Resurrection.

During Lent as we are abstaining from meat, fasting and praying,

we do these things to show God that we intend to change. The God who

knows our hearts, sees how serious we are. We can never know how deeply

our sins has offended God, nor how far our bad choices have gone-out to

hurt others. Nonetheless, we can know how completely we are forgiven.

We can live these next 40-days leading up to Easter with a new commitment

to turn things around in our lives with the strength that God provides.

With God’s help, may these 40 days of prayer, fasting, and charitable giving

be the beginning of a real transformation in each of us, in our homes, in

this Church, and in the World! AMEN!

What is today? (Yesterday) Saint Valentine's Day

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 16:13:18 GMT

Did you feel it yesterday? Love was in the air. Flowers were purchased en masse, balloons were filled, and enough chocolate was bought to give the Incredible Hulk diabetes. Yes, friends, it was St. Valentine’s Day. The day for love, for expressions of romance, for beheading. Wait, what?

Indeed, Valentine’s Day is so named after a saint in the Christian Church. Saint Valentine. His story goes like this. In the late 3 ^rd Century, when Christianity was still illegal in the Roman Empire, a bishop named Valentine or perhaps Valentinus was arrested for evangelization. While being tried by a judge, the judge, whose daughter was blind, decided to put Valentine to the test. He said that if Valentine could heal his daughter, he would do whatever was asked of him.

Valentine agreed and the blind daughter was brought to him. Valentine, through a miracle of God, healed the young woman. True to his word, the judge asked what he should do. Valentine told him to destroy the household gods, fast for 3 days, and have the entire household baptized. He did so and released the saint.

Later on, Valentine was arrested again and this time was brought before Emperor Claudius II. Claudius asked for Valentine to recant his faith in Jesus and when he refused, he was beaten with clubs and beheaded. His skull can be found in the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome. Nothing says love like getting your head chopped off!

The conversion of St. Valentine’s Day as a religious holiday to a romantic one took several centuries and involved the amalgamation of a Roman love fest and the work of renowned English author Chaucer.

The modern-day festival of Valentine’s Day bears little to no resemble to the earlier church festival of a martyr for the cause of Christ but at least you now know its origins. Maybe next year instead of giving flowers we should give heads of lettuce?

What Day is It? The Feast of the Presentation

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 20:01:58 GMT

When Jesus sees His shadow...

The Church calendar, often spelled Kalendar, is filled with feasts and memorials of the life of Jesus and the Saints. These feasts days were often also called holy days and were days of rest, church going, and celebrating. In fact, it is from the words holy day that we get holiday. Almost every day on the calendar has a Saint attached to it and most of those days pass the secular world without much acknowledgement. There are a few, however, which make the news.

Probably the biggest contender is Christmas. The birth of Jesus Christ and the gift of salvation has made way for Santa Claus and his toys. Easter inexplicably became a day where an anthropomorphic bunny lays brightly colored eggs that children are supposed to find. St. Patrick's Day is about drinking while St. Valentine's Day is about giving flowers to your sweetheart. Never mind that it actually commemorates St. Valentine whose head was cut off because he would not betray his belief in Christ.

Today is also a big day in the Church and the secular world has managed to interfere again and take the attention away from the Church and focus it on a rodent. February 2nd in the secular world is Groundhog's Day. February 2nd as Rodent Weatherman Day began with the Pennsylvania Dutch who came to America. They thought that if the groundhog came out of its hole today and saw its shadow than that meant 6 more weeks of winter.

Americans being the quirky people we are have kept with this tradition and one day a year place all our hopes on Puxatawney Phil and his weather wise visage. Well, that's nice, but that is not the earlier tradition of the day. In the Church, today is the Feast of the Presentation, or the Feast of the Purification of the BVM, or Candlemas.

In the Old Testament, Leviticus 12 to be precise, God commands that when a woman gives birth she will be ritually unclean for 33 days if she has a son and 66 if she has a daughter. Because she is unclean she will not be allowed to participate in the worship and social events of the community. That sound harsh, but consider that you have 33 or 66 days where you have to stay home and recover from giving birth, where you spend time with your new child, where you give glory to God for this miracle. It's not all bad.

After the days were up, the woman was expected to travel to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and offer to God a lamb without blemish as an offering. If she could not afford a lamb, she could offer a pair of birds. Once the priest made the sacrifice she would be ritually clean and could re-join the community.

Today, February 2nd, marks 33 days since December 25th, the birth of Jesus. Luke 2:22-40 chronicles the event when the Blessed Mother along with her Holy Spouse Joseph and the Child Jesus go to Jerusalem from Bethlehem so that Mary can undergo the ritual of purification.

In Judaism at the time, this is nothing remarkable. However, what sets this event apart is Simeon and Anna. Two prophets who knew as soon as the Child entered the courtyard that He was the Messiah. St. Simeon gives us this beautiful poem we call the 'nunc dimittis' which talks about God fulfilling His promise to Simeon the he would not die until he saw the Messiah.

Perhaps the most heart-wrenching part of this passage is that Simeon, after he glorifies the LORD for HIs faithfulness, warns the Blessed Virgin that a sword will pierce her heart. At the very beginning of the life of Jesus, His death is foreshadowed and, perhaps even worse, Mary will be alive to witness the death of her Son.

This is the event we celebrate/remember today on February 2nd. There is also a tradition in the Church where the new candles for the year are blessed. Because the Mass of the day involved a lot of candles, the day became known as Candlemas. For some, this is the tail end of the Christmas Season so if you still have your decorations up, take them down!

A Funeral Fit For a Pope

stpaulepca@comcast.net (Andrew Hook) — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 01:41:55 GMT

If you were awake at 1 am like I was, you might have tuned in to see the Requiem Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Saint Peter’s Square was filled with mourners and the curious while the areas leading up to the dais were filled with cardinals and dignitaries. Laying in the center of the white ramp were the earthly remains of the German pope who resigned from office to lead a life of prayer for the Church.

What struck me during the Mass was that, even if you did not know Italian or Latin, if you knew the Mass you knew what was going on. You knew when the Gospel was being proclaimed, you knew when the sermon was being given, you knew when the Elements were being Consecrated. Even if you were not Roman Catholic, you could follow along, and that is what was impressive.

This funeral was for a pope and according to Roman theology, he was the Bishop of Rome, the Vicar of Christ, the human representative of Jesus Christ on this earth. He was for a time, like or not, the most important Christian in the world. Yet even so, Benedict received the same funeral Mass as your grandma. Sure, because he was a pope there was more pomp and circumstance. Diplomats, Swiss Guard, processions, etc., but the liturgy was the same. This can also be said in the Episcopal Church.

We have, in our Book of Common Prayer, two burial rites. Rite I and Rite II. A person who dies in the Episcopal Church will receive one of those rites. It doesn’t matter if you were President, Prime Minister, Postman, Priest, or Pauper, you get the same liturgy out of the prayer book.

This uniformity sends an important message. We are all sinners before the Lord. None of us is better than the other, no one has a leg up on righteousness, all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Because of this reality, we all receive the same funeral Mass.

Again, like the pope, depending on the person being buried the service might be more or less elaborate but the liturgy is the same for everyone.

All of us need Jesus. All of us need the salvation of the Cross. All of us, regardless of our position, need saving by the Lord Most High and our funeral rites reflect this. It is a powerful reflection of our faith to believe that all of us are equal in death and all of us need Jesus for life.

Christmas Day Sermon

stpaulepca@comcast.net (Andrew Hook) — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 16:47:07 GMT

What is Christmas? I know that seems like a silly question. After all, today is Christmas and the signs of it are all around us. The lights, the trees, the Nativity set, etc. ad nauseum. But all of that is surface stuff, all of that is peripheral. Pushing past the obvious, what is Christmas?

Christmas, or more historically, Christ’s Mass, is the day when everything changed. I remember watching the events of 9/11 when I was in college and I knew everything had changed. And it had. The entire world has changed because of those cowardly events. But that was the world. On Christmas Day, the entire universe changed.

In the beginning, after God created Adam and Eve, He commanded that they not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God warned them that if they ate from that tree, they would die. Life would be cut off from them and not just physical life but eternal life. Up until that moment, Adam and Eve were destined to exist with God for all eternity because nothing stood as a barrier between them and God, the Source of All Life. However, to the dismay of creation, Adam and Eve were duped by the serpent and fell into temptation. They disobeyed God and their eating of the fruit caused a barrier to exist, a barrier which cut them off from the eternal life given by God. This was not God’s doing, it was ours.

But, cut off as we were by Sin, God became present to us through the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, through the Prophets, and the Priests of Israel. Like a master chess player, God spent millennia setting up the board in the exact right configuration until He made His move.

And in a move no one expected, God became one of us. In the literary world there is a device called self-insertion and that is where the author writes his or herself into the story. God is the author of our lives and on Christmas Day, He wrote Himself into the story.

God was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the city of Bethlehem and was named Jesus which means, God is our salvation. Jesus’ birth was heralded by a multitude of angels and by the birth of a new star. Shepherds bowed down before Him as did wise men from the east. God had begun something all together new on that Christmas Day.

The birth of Jesus signaled a metamorphosis of the cosmos and that divine change reached its fruition on a Friday when that Holy Child, now 33 years old, was nailed to a Cross. The death of Christ paid a debt that we could not pay and the barrier erected by Adam and Eve was destroyed. Through the death of Jesus we are given forgiveness of sins and reunion with God for eternity.

That could have been the end of the story, but God does nothing half-way and three days after His death, God walked out of that tomb of His own accord, risen from the dead, in glory and power.

In the secular world, after today the tree will come down, the lights will be turned off, and the memory of another Christmas will be filed away on phones and scrapbooks. But for the Christian, Christmas Day is the beginning. It is the beginning of the new thing which God did 2,000 years ago and the best part is that the salvation of Jesus Christ which was begun at the manger is still ongoing. Everyday, we exist in the reality of Christmas Day and of Easter Morning. For the Christian, those two are not mutually exclusive but are united in one symphony of salvation.

Adam and Eve took the gift that God had given them and threw it back into His Face and God would have had every right to abandon us to our own Sin but in His exquisite love and mercy, the Almighty became one of us and gifted us with salvation by His Crucifixion and Resurrection. That gift is now offered to us every day and we must choose if we are to take the gift of salvation and live into it or to reject it, much like our first parents.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, the path of salvation is laid before us once again. It is a journey that begins in the creche ends on the Cross. Let us not spurn the forgiveness given us by God. Rather, let us accept the yearly celebration of the birth of Our Lord and recommit ourselves to walk the path of righteousness and redemption. And let us rejoice, for Christ is born. Amen.

Sermon for Advent 2

stpaulepca@comcast.net (Andrew Hook) — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 18:35:17 GMT

The Four Phases of Time

One of the many things I found fascinating when studying to become an Episcopalian was the thought of time. Wikipedia says that “Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future.” For most of us in the West, we would say that time is linear. It begins at a certain place and ends at a certain place.

But does it? Did time begin? Was there a time when time was not? Furthermore, will there ever be a time when time is no more? If time only exists because humans insist on measuring the days, then perhaps time will cease to exist when humans cease to exist.

If this is the case than time is a human construct and is rather useless to the rest of the universe. However, what if time were not a human construct but rather a creation of God? What if time was created by God and was used as a medium to draw us towards Himself?

This is when things get interesting. Though the West may see time as linear, the Church sees time, in the liturgical sense, as flowing and overlapping. For the Christian, time is not fixed to a secular calendar but is connected to the celebrations of the Church.

A prime example is First Sunday of Advent. For the world it is just another Sunday but for Christians it is the beginning of a new year. Within our litugrical calendar and within our Sunday liturgy, time exists in four phases.

The first phase of time is linear. Mass begins and Mass ends. You come to church and you go home. 8 am turns into 9 am which turns into 10 am and so on and so forth. Linear time.

The second phase of time is Christocentric, it revolves around the life of Jesus Christ. Every year we celebrate the full life, death, and life of Jesus and we celebrate it vividly. The color of Advent is blue, the color of the Blessed Virgin, and Advent is about the prophecies of the Messiah’s birth. The Christmas Season is white, for purity, and it is about the birth of Jesus. The next season is Epiphany which can be either white or green, and focuses on the revelation of Jesus to the Gentiles. Then comes Lent and purple for penitence. Lent sees us walking with Jesus towards Golgotha and the salvation of the world. The purple turns to black as we mourn our Lord at His Crucifixion. But black is fleeting and soon white returns as Jesus is risen from the dead and ascends into Heaven. Jesus then sends the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and we go to red for the fire of the Spirit. Then we go to green and grow in the Lord while reading of His teachings and parables. All until we coem to the last Sunday of the litrugical year, Christ the King, where we celebrate the return of Jesus in great triumph. The year is Christocentric.

The third phase of time is a pilgrimage. It is no mistake that our traditional churches are built the way there are. At the entrance to the church is the baptismal font for the way to begin the Christian journey is to be baptized. We recall John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress when some robbers climb over the wall and fail to enter the King’s Highway by the gate. Those men do not last long on the way. Baptism is the entrance rite of the Church and that it why the font is the first thing you come too. After the font is the Nave, a place to sit, relax, and worship the Lord. But the time of the Nave does not last forever and soon you are up and coming towards the front for the Eucharist.

You will notice that the aisle takes the form of a cross and for you to come up front to the Altar you must walk the Way of the Cross. And up at the front is the goal. If the font is the beginning then the Altar is the end. The Altar is Heaven, the Great Eucharistic Feast, and it is our desire to be there. Your pilgrimage from the font to the Altar every Sunday is also emblematic of our lives which, we hope and pray, will one day end in the grace of God and we will stand before the Lord in Heaven. One might say that every Sunday is a rehearsal for our deaths as we prepare to meet the Lord in glory and splendor.

The fourth phase of time is eucharistic. It is in fact not the progression of time but rather the suspension of time and it occurs in that small space behind the Altar Rail. It is there, on that stone altar, where God makes Himself manifest in the Bread and the Wine. God Himself becomes present and thus Heaven and Earth are joined and, in that union, time bows in obedience to Christ.

When you go up to the rail and kneel, I know that it may seem mundane, but the reality of what is happening is far from ordinary. In that moment when your knees hit the pads you have entered into the Shekinah glory of God Most High and are transported.

You are there at the Last Supper seated with the Apostles receiving the Bread and Wine from Jesus Himself. You are at the Garden of Gethsemane where Our Lord seeks the Will of God and not His own. You are at the foot of the Cross where our Lord pardons the penitent thief. You are at the Empyt Tomb rejoicing with Mary Magdalene that Christ is risen. In the Eucharist you are at all these places at one and, to the greater glory of God, you are at the banquet table of eternity and you are sharing the holy meal with the saints of the past, present, and future. In Holy Communion, the Lord has returned and the salvation of the world has been accomplished.

And then, we return to our linear lives forever changed, forever knowing that there is something greater than the clock betrays.

Time is linear, it is Christocentric, it is a pilgrimage, and it is eucharistic. Time is the purview of God and as Christians, lets have the time of our lives. Amen.