A WORD FROM THE RECTOR
Greetings in the Name
of our Lord, Jesus Christ!
The December 2007 edition of The Word discussed the adoption of
the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), which we have used since I Advent. In the three year cycle of the RCL the Gospel
readings are taken from Matthew, Mark and Luke, but in Lent and Eastertide the
lessons come from John, and this allows us to contrast “Johannine”
theology with that found in the “Synoptic gospels”.
The Synoptic gospels are
so-called from the Greek synoptikon (through
the same lens). Much of Matthew and Luke
are based on Mark, and the overall structure of each of these gospels is
similar. John is completely
different. The structure in John can be
characterized as being comprised of a “Book of Signs” (1.1–12.11), a transition
(12.12 through 13) and a “Book of Glory” (chs.
14–21). John refers to Jesus’ miracles
as “signs” (Greek = semeia). Beginning with his turning of water into wine
(2.1-11) and culminating with the raising of Lazarus (11.1-44), the sevensigns point to who Jesus is and what His mission
is. Jesus’ glory is then revealed in His
discourses with His disciples and His prayer to the Father (chs.
14–17), and finally on the Cross and in His resurrection.
In parallel with the signs by
which Jesus’ identity and mission are revealed, He makes clear who He is in
seven “I AM” sayings. I AM (generally
written in our Bibles as “the Lord”
[all capitals])is the Holy Name of God, revealed to
Moses at Exodus 3.14. Jesus says:
1. “I am the bread of life”
(6.35),
2. “I am the light of the
world” (8.12 and 9.5),
3. “I am the gate” (10.7-9),
4. “I am the good shepherd”
(10.11-14),
5. “I am the resurrection and
the life” (11.25),
6. “I am the way, the truth
and the life” (14.6), and
7. “I am the vine” (15.1-5).
He also invokes the Name in telling the
Pharisees, “... before Abraham was, I am” (8.58), for which they try to stone
Him.
In Lent we call to mind how we have strayed
from God, and seek through prayer, repentance and worship to so identify
ourselves with Jesus Christ that, just as He and the Father are one (John
10.30), we may be bound in this love by the Holy Spirit. We do well to focus on who
and what Jesus tells us He is. Look back
at the I AM sayings in John, and ask yourself a series
of questions to gage your progress in pilgrimage:
1. Do you “taste and see that
the Lord is good” (that He is the bread of life) in your regular participation
in the Holy Eucharist?
2. Is Jesus the light of your world? Do you seek His guidance in prayer?
3. Do you have faith that
Jesus is the one and only “gate” by which you gain entrance to the kingdom of
heaven?
4. Is Jesus your shepherd? When He says “follow me,” do you follow?
5. Do you live in Christ,
trusting in the resurrection to life everlasting?
6. Is Jesus the one and only way, truth, and life, or
an option in your life?
7. Are you a branch grafted
into the vine by participating in Jesus Body in the fellowship of the Church?
It’s easy and tempting to
think of Jesus only in terms of His teaching, and to place a personal relationship
with Him out of the forefront of our lives.
In our Gospel lesson for the fourth Sunday in Lent (John 9.1-41) the
blind man first addresses Jesus as “Rabbi” (teacher), then recognizes that He
is a prophet, and finally addresses Him as “Lord”. The blind man is then the first person
described by John to worship Jesus.
The opening of the blind man’s eyes (his growth in faith) is a process,
a journey we are all called to. It is a
pilgrimage from seeking to finding.
We all stumble in our pilgrimage, and our answer
of “yes” to each of the above-listed questions can be at times imperfect. But we never walk alone. We walk together in fellowship, knowing that
where two or three are gathered together in the Name of our Lord, He is with us
(Matt. 18.20). Faith is something that we do together. We walk with faith that God has sent us His
Spirit to guide us into all truth (John 14.17).
Each time we stumble our Lord picks us up when we but turn to Him, and
so as we gather over the next weeks to continue our pilgrimage together; as we
gather to recall our Lord’s passion and resurrection from the grave, we gather
knowing that this glorious, risen Lord is the same Lord who says to us, “Peace
be with you,” that we too may say “My Lord and my God!” (John 20.26-28).
Happy Easter!
Yours in Christ Jesus,
February
Vestry Highlights
Capital Projects: The funds needed to complete existing projects
are $32,700.00. A fundraising campaign
will kick-off with a Wine Tasting on
29 March.
The parking lot paving is complete. Landscaping to follow.
Existing pavement in the back of the
church will be replaced with new walkways.
A new, fenced playground will be
installed.
A line-of-credit at BancorpSouth
will provide cash flow to complete the projects pending fundraising
Church Annex: The
interior of the old Dobson House is essentially complete. Exterior work will begin in March. This project is funded separately, by Joe and
Betty Trulove.
Web site updates:
The website needs
updated parish photos. Send your digital
photos to Melissa King. The website now
includes a Christian Education folder which includes the Lenten programs, an
Instructed Eucharist, and other materials. The Bible Study section now includes
a new link.
Parochial Report: Membership in the parish is static.
This reflects the ongoing need that all of us remember our Baptismal
Covenant promise to evangelize. Invite
your friends to worship with us!
Grace Notes
Music:
It’s always important to pay attention to the words in hymns, but this
is perhaps doubly so in Lent, for the melodies of Lenten hymns tend not to be
“upbeat” and something that you’ll hum later.
Music in Lent tends to be more solemn because our focus is on calling to
mind our own sins, repenting of them, and seeking to grow in the Lord. However, a hymn can be both solemn and
tuneful, witness no. 664, My shepherd will supply
my need, Isaac Watts’ paraphrase of Psalm 23 sung to the American folk
melody “Resignation”. A very different
tune, “In Babilone,” for Hail, thou once despisèd Jesus! (no. 495),
actually follows a similar melodic progression, but inverted.
Perhaps the most solemn hymns
we’ll encounter this season are 168, O sacred head, sore wounded, and
166, Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle. Each focuses on the price paid by our Lord
for our redemption. Hymn 168 represents
the best of hymnody from the German Reformation, with the words bespeaking a
vision beyond sorrow to find a close personal identification with Jesus, all as
set to a melody made all the more rich by harmonies developed by no less the J.
S. Bach. Hymn 166, which is sung a capella at the stripping of the altar on Maundy
Thursday, is one of the oldest hymns in the Church, written in the sixth
century by the great, great Latin poet, the monk Venantius
Honorius Fortunatus, and translated into English by
John Mason Neale, a hymnologist and hymnodist of such
stature that he is now remembered on the Church calendar ( 7
August). The melody for no. 166 is
plainsong, “Pange lingua,” from the monastic use at
Salisbury Cathedral.
Palm Sunday and Easter present
us, of course, with an embarrassment of riches in music. You’ll also note echoes of our Lenten study
of the Creed in the hymns. For example,
hymn 208, The strife is o’er, the battle done reminds us of the descent
of Jesus to hell on Holy Saturday, a theme which is transformed into the joy of
our participation in Jesus’ victory in no. 180, He is risen, he is risen!
and no. 205, Good Christians all, rejoice and sing! The Creed itself is summarized in the anthem
for Easter, Firmly, I believe, with words by John Henry Newman, from his
long poetic drama “The Dream of Gerontius”.
Holy Days: Holy days are secondary to the season in Lent
and Eastertide. The earliest that Easter
can fall is 22 March, and this year it’s on the 23rd, so a number of
notable saint’s days are either passed over or moved. St. Patrick (17 March) falls on the Monday in
Holy Week, and will thus not be observed.
Throughout Holy Week we will
pray both Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, with Holy Eucharist on Maundy
Thursday. If you follow the liturgies
and lessons from Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday, you’ll follow the events of
Jesus’ last days before His crucifixion, from His triumphal entry into