The Middle Way

  Psalm 93, 132 Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 John 18:33-37 Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all  things in thy well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of  lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided  and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together  under his most gracious rule; who liveth and reigneth with  thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.  The results are in and without a better way to phrase it the people have spoken.  While campaigning is over the dust is not settled and won't be till Christ returns. Wherever we are in the world we are given with what we're dealt and for us who believe in the Lord Christ, St. Paul exhorts us to "live as we are called," and that for us in the United States of America, as the situation stands post-election results, means that if the candidate you voted for won do not gloat with arrogance or pride; and if the candidate you voted for lost do not let despair and

Psalm 146 Deuteronomy 10:12-21 Matthew 5:43-48  Jesus gives what would be to the Jewish people of his time a scandalous teaching to love your enemies, and it still is in our era. We like to talk and preach about how important love is and how love always wins, but when we actually put it to real-world practical use it is a shock to most people and chalked up as eccentricity. Love is easy when it is toward our own  as we perceive, and treat others as outsiders and lepers, even those within the Church. The times of our day are polarizing more so than any point in history and it grievously divides us. We praise those who think the same way we do and belittle and shun the ones who don't toe-the-line of our standards, creating out of them tribes, cliques, and factions to the hurt and anguish of our brothers and sisters in the Lord, further marring the witness of the Church of God.  The passage from St. Matthew's Gospel occurs during the famous Sermon on the Mount. Jesus teaches in hi

  Psalms 111, 112 2 Esdras 2:42-47 Hebrews 11:32-12:2  The passage from Hebrews would probably seem less than encouraging to begin with, especially for us living in the comforts of the "developed world." We see throughout scripture most notably in the New Testament, and all through history of those who laid down their lives for their faith in Christ. We see this continuing even today im our own time of our brothers and sisters mostly in the Middle East, Central and Eastern Asia, China, North Korea, and even in parts of South America being killed. In France just this week (as I deliver this reflection) in Nice and Lyon Christians were martyred in their parishes. Sadly too many of us cower from the mildest forms. We may be ridiculed to the point of keeping our faith merely a private devotion or even walk away altogether for what ever the reason may be.  We get attached to the tings of this world; things immediate to us and things for which  we aspire. Love and excitement for th