CEC Breaking News and Father Jefferson's homily from January 26, 2020

CEC Service Schedule Plans:

…Father Riley will lead us in Holy Eucharist February 2 and 16, 2020.
…Mrs. Jane Barnett will lead us in Morning Prayer February 9 and 23.


Father Lee Jefferson's homily:

Third Sunday after Epiphany, 1-26-20          Isaiah 9:1-4, Corinthians 1:10-18, Matthew 4:12-23

Darkness sometimes brings despair. It can give you a feeling of hopelessness and make it hard to see anything but the darkness. Jesus hearing that John had been arrested, withdrew to Galilee and began proclaiming “Repent, for the kingdom of God has come near!” The people of this time would know all about kingdoms and how kingdoms were overthrown. The Romans had taken over their land and had placed King Herod and later his sons to rule over the people of Israel. The coming of a kingdom couldn’t mean anything but that a revolt was in the making. Dark times were still around them
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But Jesus is talking about a different kind of Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, and this kingdom is not just for the Israelites, but for all people. The Israelites would understand and believe that there should be no king but God. The kingdom of God, the Kingdom of heaven is what they had longed for, prayed for, and were prepared to die for and now Jesus is declaring that God’s Kingdom is coming like a freight train! This kingdom meant danger as well as hope. If you weren’t living right, you had better get your act together and do it quickly or you may be in trouble. They needed to act while there was still time, and the word for that was “Repent”!

Repent is sometimes thought to mean that you need to be down on yourself and confess to do better. Jesus is saying to turn around, or stop what you are doing and go the other way. It’s not how you feel about what you are doing but what you DO about it that matters. Jesus believed that they were going in the wrong direction. Their idea of a revolution was of a military kind, or some kind of a movement. The problem with this is that they would be fighting darkness with darkness. Jesus was called to bring God’s light into the world. Isaiah spoke about people in the dark being dazzled by sudden light, a child being born, the coming Messiah through whom God would truly liberate Israel at last. Jesus could see that fighting and killing to stop fighting and killing was nonsense. Jesus is preaching that they should stop all the fighting and killing and instead go the other way towards God’s Kingdom of light and peace and healing and forgiveness for themselves and for the world.

This message is just as urgent for us today. If the light bearers insist on darkness, then darkness they will have. If the peace people insist on war, then war we will have. If the people called to bring God’s peace and love and forgiveness to the world insist on hating everyone else, then hatred and all that it brings will come crashing down around them. This is why we must repent while there is still time.
The kingdom is coming. Let us not stand in it’s way but be a light to light it’s path.
AMEN

CEC Breaking News and Father Riley's homily from January 19, 2020

CEC Breaking News:

…Jane Barnett will be out of town this Sunday and she invited The Rev. Lee Jefferson to lead us in Holy Eucharist January 26, 2020.  Please come and welcome Rev. Lee as he leads us in worship.

…Father Riley will lead us in Holy Eucharist February 2 and 16, 2020..

…Mrs. Jane Barnett will lead us in Morning Prayer February 9 and 23, 2020.

…Our annual congregational meeting was held January 19, 2020.  At the meeting the 2020 budget was presented and we elected the vestry for 2020: Tru Goldman, Sonny Clark, Cecil Evans, Brenda Funderburg, Jane Barnett, Faye Corson and Margaret Godfrey.  Faye will continue to serve as Vestry Secretary and Brenda will continue to serve as our Treasurer.  The 2020 vestry met following the annual meeting and elected Tru Goldman as Senior Warden and Sonny Clark as Junior Warden.  

 The Rev. Lee Jefferson:

(Father Riley's homily from January 19, 2020)

2 EPIPHANY - A - 20                               JOHN 1. 29-42

Last week the church celebrated the baptism of Jesus. It was the Epiphany of Christ’ divinity and the beginning of his earthly ministry.

John’s testimony of Jesus in today’s gospel as the “Son of God” is in response to God’s promise to John that he would meet and recognize messiah.  The divinity of Christ was revealed to him as he witnessed the dove descending and remaining on Jesus and hearing the voice from heaven proclaiming Jesus as God’s beloved Son.

One cannot underestimate the importance of John as the forerunner of Christ; however, he knew that he was only a voice crying in the wilderness. His role was to prepare the people to receive the long expected messiah, the one, John said, “that ranked before me, for he was before me.”

I am certain, than, that he was not surprised nor dismayed that two of his own disciples, upon hearing his declaration of Jesus as the one who would take away the sins of the world, suddenly got up, left his side, and followed Christ. Undoubtedly, John received the revelation of Jesus as the “Lamb of God” sometime after Christ’s baptism.

What did John’s identifying Jesus as “Lamb of God” mean to Andrew and the other disciple? Did they understand that this Jesus was to be both Savior and victim? John’s naming Jesus as “Lamb of God” prefigured Christ’ death at the hands of the Jews at Passover. Then and there, he would be sacrificed for the sins of the world on the hardwood of the cross.

No, they had no idea where their following Jesus would one day lead them. At this point, they simply accepted his invitation to “come and see.” If it was their curiosity that led them to leave John ad follow Jesus, the day they spent with Christ listening to his teaching more than satisfied that.

I have often wondered what wonderful things Christ must have told them concerning God and the kingdom that convinced them to believe that he was indeed the one whom God had sent to redeem Israel.

Whatever it was, it moved Andrew to go and find his brother Simon and bring him to Jesus. No longer did Andrew take the Baptist’s word for whom Jesus was; now he knew for himself that this Jesus was indeed the Christ.

Isn’t that what evangelism is all about? Our going and telling others about Christ? Isn’t that what each of us is supposed to do?

However, there is a prerequisite.  None of us can help bring another to Jesus until we have come to know him for ourselves. Not just, know about him, but discover his true identity as the Son of God, and in that discovery accept him as our personal Savior and Redeemer.

Evangelism is all about going and telling but only after having the eyes of our hearts enlightened as to whom Jesus really is and who we are in relationship to Him. That is the gift of revelation.

The season of Epiphany is all about light and revelation. In John’s prologue, Jesus is identified as the “Light of the world.” In our first lesson for today, the prophet Isaiah foretold that God would send one who would be “the light to the nations” and bring salvation to all.

In Jesus Christ the light has come that enlightens every man. Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus, as is John’s witness to his disciples. God has sent his Son into the world to illumine our hearts and our minds by His word made manifest in Jesus. Sadly, some prefer darkness rather than light.

Darkness comes in many forms. Ignorance is a form of darkness. Rejection of the truth is a form of darkness. Refusal to believe in Him whom God had sent is a form of darkness. To live one’s life without Hope is to live a life of darkness.

Throughout the scriptures of the Old Testament leading up to the coming of Christ, God has made himself know through revelation - as a light in the darkness - a light that gives Hope. Revelation continues to be a gift that rekindles Hope in the hearts and minds of those who are open to receive it.

It was in the darkness that revelation came to the Jewish shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. A great joy, the angel said, had come to all men in the form of a babe born in a manger.

This revelation moved the shepherds to leave their flocks and to go and see for themselves if what the angel had told them was true concerning the Christ-child.

The Magi followed a star that lit up the darkness of the night sky hundreds of miles from where the Christ child was born.  The star revealed to these Gentile wise men that something extraordinary had occurred in the life of the world. They were open to God’s revelation of that event and to what it might possibly mean for them.

The star moved them to seek the newborn king. Its light led them on their way and revealed his whereabouts by resting over the place where the child lay. Upon finding him, they knelt and adored him laying their precious gifts before him.

Now John Baptist has revealed to those who were following him in the hopes that he might be the one to redeem Israel that he is not the one they should be following. Instead, he points to Jesus. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. By His death on the cross and by his glorious resurrection from the dead will bring Hope to all who believe in Him.

God reveals himself to those who seek him, and who are open to receive His revelation. Sometimes we are surprised by it, as were the shepherds. At other times it comes to us after having diligently searched for it as did the wise men.

The star of Bethlehem, the symbol of Epiphany, is the unequivocal sign of God’s blessing. It is the light of revelation for it reveals Him who is our vision and the Hope of our calling.

God’s revelation, then, is an invitation to “come and see,” to come and know more deeply Him whom God has sent to be the Light and Life of the world, even Jesus Christ our Lord. His presence alone dispels the darkness of sin and death and opens to us the way to eternal life.

May we who have chosen to follow this Jesus, learn to walk in His light, and by God’s grace strive to make Him known by living the new life to which we have been called to the honor and glory of His name. AMEN+

(1st reading: Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-12; 2nd reading: 1Corinthians 1:1-9; Gospel: John 1:29-42)  

Thank you from Father Riley for his Christmas gift from our congregation

Father Riley sent us his appreciation for our monetary Christmas to him for all he does for us.

CEC News and Father Riley's homily from January 5, 2020

CEC News:

… Father Riley will lead us in Holy Eucharist January 19, 2020.

…Mrs. Jane Barnett will lead us in Morning Prayer January 12 and 26.

…Our annual congregational meeting will be January 19, 2020, following the 10am service.  At the meeting the 2020 budget will be presented and we will be electing the vestry for 2020.  All members in good standing are encouraged to run for a vestry position and serve our congregation.  If you wish to run for a vestry position, please contact Faye Corson, Vestry Secretary, by January 15, 2020, so she may place your name on the ballot.

Our new creche, provided by Mrs. Allein Watson in memory of husband, Phillip Watson, Jr., will serve our congregation for many years to come. 

Father Riley's homily:

CHRISTMAS II - A - 20                   MATTHEW 2. 1-12

Today’s gospel passage is unique to Matthew. The Gentile Magi or wise men as they are most often referred to came to worship the Christ-child sometime after his birth. They were a learned class in ancient Persia. They followed the star in the East in their search for the newborn king.

The star of Bethlehem, the symbol of Epiphany, is an unequivocal sign of God’s blessing. Its light is the revelation of Christ to the Magi, as Christmas was Christ’ revelation to the shepherds.

The ancient world never forgot the night sky. Many people, particularly in the countries East of Palestine, had developed the study of the stars and the planets to a fine art. They gave each one a very particular meaning.

These students of the sky believed that the whole world was of one piece, that is, everything was interconnected, and when something important was happening on earth you could expect to see it reflected in the heavens.

Likewise, a remarkable event among the stars and planets must seem, they thought, to refer to a remarkable event on earth. Christ being born under this star fulfills the prophecy of Numbers 24.17 and Psalm 109.3 The Jewish world had been looking for such a sign that would signify messiah’s coming.

It would appear, however, that in Jerusalem, at least, the chief priests and scribes did not recognize it. They were taken by surprise, as was King Herod, when the wise men arrived in Jerusalem seeking the newborn king whose star had led them there.

Herod had to summon the Jewish leaders because he knew little about the Jewish messiah and he feared losing his throne to this newborn king. The chief priests were the political and religious leaders of the Jews, and the scribes were high cabinet officers.

They knew where messiah was to be born, but in spite of all the signs being in place, they had no idea that he had come. There was no note of joy among them after having heard the news; on the contrary, Herod was troubled by it.  Once Herod was informed of where the child was to be born, he privately called the wise men and sent them on a mission with a false premise. “Go and search carefully for the young Christ and when you have found him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship him also.”

After leaving their private audience with King Herod, the wise men once again focused their attention on the star, “which they had seen in the East.” The unity of creation and God’s plan for our redemption dwelt in its light.  When the wise men saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

The star went before them till it came and stood over where the young Christ was. When the wise men entered the house, they saw the child and his mother Mary and they fell down, worshipped him, and offered their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn king.

On the 12^th day of Christmas, St Augustine wrote, East and West are joined together. The lowly and the well born, the Jewish and the Gentile worlds are one in Him who came to be the Savior of all mankind.

Epiphany is a challenge to the way things are. What was Herod troubled about it if it was not that the coming of Christ was a challenge to his way of life? The very idea of a newborn king intimidated him. To the chief priests and scribes messiah’s coming meant the status quo would be turned up side down. What, then, would the future hold for them?

What challenge does Epiphany pose for us? Is the star still our hope for the future? For many in the world today Christ’s coming is seen as a threat to their way of life. His coming has turned the world upside down and inside out for God’s purposes run cross current to the worlds.

For others, Christ’s coming is a non-event. They simply do not recognize it. Consider our position: we are not outsiders like the Magi, but members of the faithful people who have come to believe. We know where the Christ is to be found. Have we stopped looking for him?

As St. Paul prayed for the young Christians at Ephesus that the God of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, might continue to give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation, so may we, by God’s grace, continue to receive those gifts as we come to know him and strive to make Him known.

So that with the eyes of our hearts enlightened, we may never lose sight of the hope to which we have been called, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.

God has made known to us the mystery of Christ and by it; we have been given the role of steward of this mystery for the world’s good. Like the shepherds who were the first to receive the good news of the Savior’s birth, we have inherited their role of joyfully sharing it with the world.

The sign of the star is eternal. The star of Bethlehem is the light of revelation. The star is the revelation of God’s appearing in our midst. It is the nativity of the child-king, the birth of the holy one, the coming of the Lord who makes us holy.

Not the code, not the law, not our deeds, but the Christ into whose death, we are baptized and at whose altar we are feed by the sacrament of His Body and Blood as members of one family - the Church - for in Him there is no East or West.

He alone gives us access to the God the Father. He is the Word made flesh, the vision we live by, the Hope of our calling, that one day we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share in our humanity, even Jesus Christ our Lord. “O, come let us adore him,” kneel, and lay the gift of our hearts before him. AMEN+