Hurricane Laura relief giving info and Father Riley's homily for August 30, 2020

If you would like information on how to donate thru the diocese for Hurricane Laura relief, go the Bishop Jake's BlogSpot:  https://jakeowensby.com/2020/08/28/after-the-hurricane/

or directly to:  http://www.epiwla.org/give/

Father Riley's homily:

PROPER XVII - A- 20 - JER. 15. 15-21, ROM. 12. 9-21, MATT. 16. 21-28

Why doesn’t God act the way we want Him too? Is it because we do not understand His ways? Look at Peter, does he not speak for all of us. Just last week he proclaimed Jesus as the only Son of the Living God and Christ applauded him for his confession, one that was divinely revealed through faith.

In today’s follow on passage, Jesus reveals the true nature of his messiah ship: the mystery of the Passion. It was expected that Messiah would reign forever so that the idea that Christ would die was perplexing to Peter. Peter unwilling speaks for Satan, as the devil did not want Christ to fulfill his mission and save mankind through suffering and death on the cross.

Here, Peter takes two steps backwards. He rejects the idea that Jesus must suffer and be killed. It doesn’t fit with his notion of Jesus as the Christ. Messiah was not supposed to be crucified. For his rejection of God’s plan, Jesus admonishes him and charges him with being opposed to God.

His idea of God and the ways of God are too earthly. Suddenly the divine revelation that enabled him to confess Jesus as the Son of God has left him. He is looking at it all wrong like looking through a pair of binoculars through the wrong end.

As I mentioned in last week’s homily, Peter still has much to learn. The learning curve for him just got a lot steeper. As it does for each of us as we journey through this life. None of us sets out to defy God and to identify with the world in its wickedness and sin. Peter certainly did not on the heels of his declaration of Christ as God’s only Son. But it is easy to do.

The path to conformity, to worldliness, to spiritual destruction begins with small seemingly harmless steps. Those steps away from God and can be as seemingly insignificant as assenting to something we know is not right. Or remaining silent when we know in our hearts we should speak out but yet we do not.

God has a plan for Peter, as He does for each of us.

We are the ones that get in the way of God’s plan when we have both feet firmly planted in this world. For then, our thoughts and ideas about God become skewed and we are unable to see God as He really is nor able to hear His voice above the noise and clamor of the world.

Such rationalization like that of Peter’s can close our hearts and minds to being able to hear the word of God at all. Jesus interrupts Peter to warn him that such thinking is destructive. Peter was playing into Satan’s hands. Thus, Jesus rebukes Peter and makes it clear to him that what he has just said places him opposite of God and in the camp of the enemy.

How easy it is for any of us to do the same, to excuse ourselves, for example, with the thought that we are only acting like everyone else. How easy it is for us to focus on the world around us and forget that this is not our true home. How easy it is for us to unwittingly play into the hands of the enemy when our thoughts of God are earthly and our interests are entirely selfish.

Having rebuked Peter in front of his peers, Jesus turns his attention to the others disciples with the hope that they have understood the reason why he chastised Peter. He instructs them that the way of discipleship is the way of the cross. To take up one’s cross is to live a life of self-denial for the sake of the love of God and the gospel.

The central paradox of Christian living is that in grasping for temporal things, we lose the eternal; but in sacrificing everything in this world, we gain eternal riches that are unimaginable (1 Cor. 2.9).

To follow Jesus is an all or nothing proposition. Following him will cost everything and require that we give everything. There are no half measures on this journey. One can’t follow Jesus by clinging to the font. You have to let go and take up your cross and follow Christ.

Cling to your life and you will lose it Jesus tells us. That is a hard lesson to learn. And for some the learning curve is simply too steep for them to climb. However, in every generation there are, it seems, a few people who are prepared to take Jesus seriously, at his word. Ask yourself if you are one of them. For what will it profit us to gain the whole world and lose our souls?

This morning you will come to the altar of God to receive the Blessed sacrament of Christ’ own Body and Blood.

Moreover, in that moment when you kneel and extend your hands to receive Him you will be bound into a different reality from one that dominates your daily routine and thoughts. In that moment, you will be bound into the reality of Jesus who as he predicted walked the path of obedience and met his death on the cross.

He did not deny that death was coming to him. Yet in the night in which he was betrayed, he blessed bread and broke it and gave it to his followers, and to all who come after him. And when he rose from the dead, he promised that he is with us always and everywhere, to the close of the age.

Peter’s greatest fear that caused him to unwittingly oppose God’s plan for the salvation of mankind, that Jesus the Christ would be killed, was forever dashed on Easter.

We see in today’s gospel that both in the warning and in forgiving, in loving and rebuking, in living and in dying, God comes to see that we do not lose our lives but find true life in the world that is restored to us through Christ’s death on the cross.

And to our joy we discover through our faithful response to that new life, the unimaginable riches of the kingdom that surpass anything this earthly life has to offer. AMEN+

Holy Eucharist this Sunday at 10am, August 30, 2020

The Rev. Canon Gregg Riley will lead the congregation in Holy Eucharist at Christ Episcopal, Saint Joseph, Sunday, August 30, 2020 at 10am.

Father Riley's homily for August 23, 2020

PROPER XVI - A -20 - IS. 51. 1-6, ROM. 12. 1-8, MATT. 16. 13-20

One thing about Matthew’s gospel and that is he records Jesus’ travels with detailed locations. One quickly learns the geography of the region north of the land of Israel as Jesus moves from one place to the next.

You may recall that in last week’s gospel Jesus had retreated to Gentile territory in the region of Tyre and Sidon. Today’s passage has Jesus well away from the normal sphere of activity. Caesarea Philippi was outside the reach of Herod, a good two days walk from the Sea of Galilee.

It is here, Matthew tells us, that Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” That was a good question to pose at this juncture in Christ’ ministry after all they have seen and heard.

Jesus had cured many with all kind of illnesses and diseases. He had miraculously feed 5000 people with five loaves and two fish. He had walked on water and stilled the storm at sea. He saved Peter. Moreover, he had even healed a Centurion’s son and a Canaanite woman’s daughter without ever seeing them or laying hands on them.

Indeed, what were the people saying about him? Who was he? The disciples repeat the general reaction, which tells a great deal about the way Jesus was perceived by the people at large. “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

He was seen as a prophet, a mouthpiece for God against injustice and wickedness in high places. But here Jesus is more interested in what the men he has called have to say about him. They are the ones who have been following him and have witnessed what he has done and said openly and privately concerning God and the kingdom.

Within that prophetic ministry, however, there lay hidden another dimension. He was not just God’s mouthpiece. He was God’s messiah. That was the revelation that came to Peter when Christ asked “But who do you say that I am?” That is the greatest question a person can ever face, for it is the question that defines Christianity.

Peter’s correct answer to the question prevents the Christian faith from being seen as merely another philosophical system or path of spirituality, for it names Jesus as the one and only Son of the Living God. Peter’s understanding cannot be achieved by human reason, but only by divine revelation through faith.

On that confession, on that faith, Jesus builds his church, a community consisting of all those who give allegiance to Him as God’s anointed king. And this movement, this community, starts then and there, at Caesarea Philippi, with Peter’s declaration.

Referring to Peter as “rock” has nothing to do with stability of character. Peter’s personal qualifications matter little. It is not that Peter is so smart, or even that he is so faithful at this point. It is that God is gracious. Jesus’ use of the word “rock” in reference to Peter is a play on the word.

The rock refers not to Peter, per se, but to the faith of his confession. The true rock is Christ himself, and the Church itself is built on the faithful confession of Christ. Peter is made head of the Church based on his confession of faith in Jesus as the only Son of the Living God.

Faith means our life is in Christ. It’s all about identity. Our identity is bound up with God in Christ. As with Peter, our identity is not a matter of our own will, but of God’s. When it comes to identity, Peter is no different than we are. 

“Who do you say that I am?” is the greatest question any of us will ever face for our answer will determine where we shall spend eternity. To answer the question correctly, however, is not enough. Our identity with Jesus and His with us is a call to live our lives in such a way that the world will recognize who we are and to whom we ultimately belong.

Our words and our deeds should reflect our true identity and point to Him in whom we live and move and have our being, for He is the source of our Hope and our Salvation. To be a Christian, then, sets us apart from this world.

As St. Paul says, in today’s Epistle, we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, one that is holy and acceptable to God.

We do that by not conforming to this world but being transformed by the renewing of our minds so as to discern the will of God. To understand and do the will of God is the way we maintain our identity in Christ.

When divine recognition comes, it is God’s doing. When faith comes, it is God’s gift. Against this identity, death (the gates of hell) has no power, for our lives are hid in Christ. (Col.3.3)

Peter with his declaration of faith, is the starting point of the new community. He has much to learn, and many failures to overcome, including one in the very next passage. But even this is part of the process of becoming what God in Christ has called him to do.

So it is for each of us who have identified ourselves through the waters of holy baptism with the crucified and risen Lord, and who dare to call ourselves Christians. We too have much to learn, and many failures to overcome. None of us is that steadfast in our faith, and none of us has anything to commend ourselves to God.

Jesus’ new community, after all, will consist of forgiven sinners, who by God’s grace and mercy are identified with Christ, the one and only Son of the Living God. And who by their allegiance to Him as their Lord and King have been given the gift of faith to live out their identity in this life by the means of grace and with the hope of glory. AMEN+

Father Riley's homiley for August 16, 2020

Father Riley will lead Holy Eucharist at 10am at Christ Church, Saint Joseph Sunday August 16, 2020.

   PROPER XV - A - 20 - IS. 56.1,6-8, ROM 11.1-2a, 29-32, MATT. 15:21-28

Jesus has retreated to Gentile territory. Tyre and Sidon are North West of Galilee in present day Syria. Here to fore Jesus has been surrounded by crowds. He has healed them, taught them, and feed them. Following all of that, he has had an exchange with a group of faithless Pharisees who had come up from Jerusalem to challenge him.

Now he simply seeks some solace in a place where he hopes to go unnoticed. But it was not to be. A local woman, a Canaanite, whose daughter is possessed by a demon recognizes him and calls out to him to have mercy on her.

As a mother, the woman identifies clearly with her daughter’s illness “have mercy on me,” for she sees her daughter’s well being as her own and her daughter’s sufferings as her own. She goes so far as to addresses Jesus in messianic terms - “Son of David.” At first, Jesus ignores her plea.

The disciples sought to send her away for by now she had become a bother. Jesus responds by stating his mission. “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” The woman kneels before Jesus and begs for mercy.

Again, by his remark, Jesus seeks to send her away with her request unfulfilled. “It is not right,” he said, “to feed the dogs with the children’s bread.” Her faith in Jesus, however, is undaunted. “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.”

Her faith is admirable and appeals to the compassionate heart of Jesus. Compare that to the disciple’s faith up to this point which has been on and off. Remember Peter from last week’s story and the disciples who were afraid of the storm and of Jesus whom they thought at first were a ghost.

Peter was chided for his lack of faith. Yet Jesus rescued him. This foreign woman, on the other hand, recognizes in Jesus the source of her daughter’s salvation. Her faith in Christ’s ability to heal her daughter is unwavering. She is not to be denied her request for God’s mercy.

Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly. Was Jesus’ action an exception and extension of God’s grace granted on the basis of the woman’s strong and humble faith? Or was his response made to the very kind of faith he was looking for?

What Jesus has just done in granting the woman’s request was to announce that the Gentiles can now share in the riches at the table of God’s children. His mission was to Israel first. He has made that clear in the beginning. The kingdom for which God’s people had longed was beginning to appear. He was its herald, and as the disciples were starting to realize, he was himself God’s anointed king.

That is why Israel had to hear the message first. He was fulfilling God’s promise. God’s purpose was unfolding. It was now and yet not yet. However, we see in today’s story the future breaking into the present. Previously Jesus had remarked on the faith of a Gentile Centurion whom he encountered in Galilee. (8.10)

Now he comments on the equally remarkable faith of a Canaanite woman, a non-Jew living way north of the land of Israel. The woman’s faith broke through the “waiting period,” the time when Jesus would come to Jerusalem as Israel’s messiah, be killed and raised again, and then send his followers out into all the world. (28.19)

The disciples, and perhaps Jesus himself, at this point are not yet ready for Calvary. The Canaanite woman is already insisting upon Easter.

If there is one theme that runs throughout the readings for today it is that of the Mercy of God. The prophet Isaiah implies God’s mercy will be given to all those who join themselves to the Lord…who love the name of the Lord and wish to be his servants. And he adds “I will gather yet others besides those already gathered.”

The Psalm is explicit as it pleads for God’s mercy and blessing. St. Paul, in today’s Epistle, speaks to a Gentile audience who has already received God’s mercy becoming children of God, as well as Israel and does so by reminding them that God’s mercy extends to all.

Where would we be the Canaanite woman have been without the mercy of God breaking into the present? Did Jesus grant her request simply based on her persistence? Where would we be without God’s mercy?

The issue Jesus faced in today’s story was whether or not to bestow God’s mercy on a Gentile. His ministry before His Passion was first to the Jews. Christ’s refusal to respond to her in the beginning was not only because she was a Gentile, but also to reveal to the disciples her profound faith and love.

What then are the issues we face today that we pray God will respond to post haste? One of the greatest moral and cultural issues of the last hundred years has been racial identity.

The world was horrified to learn that the Nazis had killed six million people whose only crime was to be Jews. The world today, including our own nation, still makes racial distinction between people of different races.

The challenge is on, and recent events have only served to magnify the issue of the widespread belief that all humans are created equal, irrespective of race and color.

How do we make that work within actual societies, where people of different backgrounds can live together in peace and harmony? There is still much prejudice, much hatred and much suspicion to be overcome.

So, we read today’s gospel story in our own setting. Which promises of God, then, have we imagined might be fulfilled in the distant future, but ought to be claimed in the present with a prayer and faith, like that of the Canaanite woman which refuses to be put off?

Could it be perhaps the promise of God in today’s first lesson, which the prophet Isaiah who speaks for God relates to those who have ears to hear? “Thus says the Lord: Keep justice, and do righteousness, for my salvation will soon come, and my deliverance be revealed.”

To keep justice and to do righteousness without distinguishing between race, culture, or religion and to do it with a merciful and a compassionate heart following the example of Jesus, is an offering and in some cases a sacrifice that is well pleasing and acceptable to God. AMEN+

 

Father Riley's homily for August 9, 2020

PROPER XIV - A - 20 - 1 KGS 19. 9-18, ROM. 10. 5-15, MT. 14. 22-33

Following the feeding of the 5000, Jesus sends his disciples away by boat across the sea. He then dismisses the crowd. Finally, he is able to be alone and ascends the top of the mountain to pray.

The disciples, on the other hand are struggling to make headway against a strong wind. Their struggle extended throughout the night. It was almost dawn when they saw Jesus walking on the water. They thought him to be a ghost and cried out for they were afraid.

Jesus tries to silence their fear by identifying himself. However, that does not satisfy Peter. He wants to be certain that it is the Christ. He asks Jesus to command him to come to him. Jesus says, “Come.” Peter steps out of the boat and starts toward Jesus.

He quickly becomes distracted by the wind and the waves and suddenly realizing where he is, he takes his eyes off Jesus, and immediately begins to sink. He cries out “Lord save me.” Jesus reaches out his hand, takes hold of Peter, and raises him up out of the water.

Together they enter the boat and the wind ceases. The disciple’s fear is dispelled when Jesus in finally in their midst. They respond by worshipping him and declaring for the first time, that he is the Son of God. It is another one of those familiar stories but how many pictures of today’s scene have you ever witnessed?

Curiously, only one great picture of this scene has ever been painted and that by Conrad Witz in 1444. Perhaps devout artists avoided it because it seemed to show up Peter in a bad light. However, it rings ever true to the Christian experience, my own, and that of many others.

If the previous story of the feeding of the 5000 can be read as a picture of Christian vocation, this story can be read as a picture of the life of faith, one mixed with fear and doubt, which is the typical state of so many Christians as it was with the disciples. 

At times, we keep our eyes on Jesus, but then we get distracted and let our eyes drop for a moment to the “waves."

In today’s first lesson, the prophet Elijah has hidden himself away in a cave. He is afraid. His adversaries have threatened his life. God finds him and asks him why he is hiding? He responds because he has been faithful and all the faithful except him have are being destroyed.

God then asked him to come out of his hiding and to stand at the mouth of the cave. When he does, a strong wind arises and begins to breaks the rocks around him into pieces. The wind is followed by an earthquake that shakes the very ground he is standing on.

The earthquake is followed by a raging fire whose flames reach toward him, yet he remains unscathed. The wind, the earthquake and the fire having subsided, total silence follows. As hard as Elijah sought to find God, God was not in any of the above.

In the silence, Elijah hears God speak. His focus is on the still small voice. Hearing God, Elijah’s fear is quelled. God sends him on a mission to anoint the very ones God has chosen to redeem his people from the hands of those who have threatened to destroy not only Elijah but also them.

Jesus’ question to Peter is similar to God’s question to Elijah and is his question to each of us. “Where is your faith? Why doubt?” Why do we sometimes hid our faith?

Often we do suffer from too little faith. However, the matter is not remedied by sitting down and resolving to have more faith. Usually that is a futile enterprise designed only to make matters worse.

For when we do, we focus more and more upon ourselves, and less and less upon God as did Peter and the prophet Elijah. The gospel calls us to look outward, not inward and there to behold the glory of God, who is our help.

The Eucharist is the most outward and tangible expression of God’s love, goodness and mercy. There is no better place on this earth to experience the grace of God than at the altar. The sacrament is not something we earn the right to receive by being a people filled with faith.

No, the sacrament announces to us the faithful and powerful love of God in the midst of our doubt and fear. It is God’s gift to us until we are no longer of those of “little faith,” given freely until we are able to be those who see the glory of God and give Thanks.

Today’s first lesson combined with the familiar story from Matthew are evidence of our need to grow in faith. Growth comes from concentrating on the goodness, mercy and power of God. Faith is the response to the faithful-ness of God.

We do not produce faith by deciding to have more of it. But as we witness and identify God’s love again and again, faith springs forth within us and flourishes.

That is what it is like for each of us in Christian discipleship. There are many times when God asks us to do what seems impossible. How can we ever begin to do the tasks he has called us to do?

Elijah hid himself in a cave because he was afraid. But God had a plan for him. His faith and trust in God enabled him to overcome his fear once he heard God speak and focused on his voice rather than the confusion that preceded it.

Peter asked to come to Jesus in the midst of a storm and as long as he kept his eyes on Christ, he was able to walk on water made solid by Christ. However, once he looked down and saw the waves he began to sink.

To look at the “waves” whatever they may be, is to take our eyes off Jesus and to conclude that what God is asking us is impossible. What we are called to do is so basic and obvious, but so hard to put into practice, to keep our eyes on Jesus and our ears open to his words of encouragement.

Like Elijah, we cannot hear God speak if we are focused on the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire that confronts and challenges our faith. Moreover, we cannot do what God in Christ asks us to do if we are distracted by the “waves” and allow them to overcome our faith by doubt and fear. 

The storms of life come and go. Fire and earthquakes devastate. Through it all God remains God. It is up to us to listen for that still small voice in the midst of it all, that voice which encourages to us to step out of our “caves” and out of our “boats” with the faith we have, and to keep our eyes focused on Jesus, the crucified and risen Lord and to walk towards Him. AMEN+

Father Riley's homily for August 2, 2020

PROPER XIII - A - 20 - IS. 55. 1-5, ROM 9. 1-5, MATT. 14. 13-21

Today’s gospel story is a familiar one that appears in all four of the gospels. It is Matthew’s version of the feeding of the 5000. It begins on a sad note. Jesus has just learned that his cousin, John Baptist, has been beheaded by King Herod.

Jesus seeks solace. “He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by himself.” Jesus wanted to be alone, to get away from people for a while. John’s death was a blow to him, and as we shall see, as we read through the gospels, a turning point in his ministry.

He needed time to grieve and to think. Surely, he thought if they have killed John, they will kill me also. However, his time away from the crowds was not to be. Someone leaked his whereabouts and the people pursued him on foot.

The crowds gathered before him and presented their sick and he healed them. Jesus translates his sorrow over John to compassion for the crowds. He translates his own feelings into love for those in need. In healing them, he himself was healed of his grief.

The day being spent, it was time to disburse the crowds and send them on their way to fend for themselves. Thus, the disciples expressed their thoughts. It was time to eat. The disciples were hungry and surely, the people were as well.

But Jesus said to them. “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” I can only begin to imagine the disciple’s reaction. Can’t you just see the expression on their faces? Impossible they must have thought.

“We have here only five loaves and two fish.” Jesus said, “Bring them to me.” The crowd was still standing around him so he commanded them to take a seat. “He took the five loaves and the two fish and blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the crowd.”

They all ate and were satisfied. And when the meal had ended, to the astonishment of the disciples, there were yet twelve baskets full of leftovers.

The people longing for the presence of Jesus followed him out into the wilderness. Single-mindedly they continued to focus their attention on him, forgetting about their practical and physical needs. Seeing their longing and attentiveness, divine love over-flowed in the sacred heart of Jesus.

As Matthew said, “He had compassion on them.” He healed them and he feed them in a communal meal. They were satisfied to the very core of their being.

The church fathers see in this story an image of the Eucharist as the four actions of the Eucharist are manifested: he took, blessed, broke and gave. We celebrate that same reality in our weekly Eucharist. The satisfaction that can only come from God is given fully in the Eucharistic feast.

It is in the Eucharist Jesus brings diverse people into one worshipping community and feeds then with the sacrament of his own body and blood. The Real Presence of Jesus is manifested in the bread and wine.

Only God can unite total intimacy, radical diversity and oneness into a single action. When we do not experience it with such depth, the lack is not in the Eucharist, but in our capacity at that moment to experience it fully.

It wasn’t a desperate situation the disciples were suddenly faced with, but a challenge of faith. Five loaves and two fish seemed to be a pitiful offering. The odds of that being able to feed 5000 persons were literally impossible. However, with God, all things are possible.

Have you ever been asked by God to do something your deemed impossible? Did you do it? The disciples were on the right track in thinking of the people. Jesus uses that to teach them how to care for others. If you really care, do something for them.

That is a typical note of vocation. Our small ideas of how to care for people is bounced back at us with what seems a huge and impossible proposal. We protest, I can’t do it! I haven’t got the time. I don’t have the energy or the recourses. All I have is…

That’s when God steps in. If you are prepared to give what little you have God will bless it and somehow, miraculously speaking, it becomes enough, more than enough. The disciples learned that lesson when they took up 12 baskets full of leftovers.

In discipleship, one has to put care (compassion) into every gesture, and word and action, great and small, day in and day out. For us as Christians the astonishing fact is that even though in and of themselves our gestures, words and actions are so often woefully small and inadequate, they can never the less be the vehicle for the over flowing compassion of God.

Just as Jesus fed the crowds with the five loaves and two fish, which the disciples regarded as impossibility little for so many, so God can feed many with our small and hesitantly offering of our gifts and talents.

To live the gospel is to accept the challenge that comes with it. We blunder into the kingdom with our own ideas. We offer, uncomprehending, what little we have. Jesus takes ideas, loaves and fishes, money, a sense of humor, time, energy, talents, love, and skill with words, whatever we have to offer.

He holds them before the Father, and blesses them. And like a chem-light he breaks them and gives them back to us to give to those in need bringing light into their darkness.

It is part of genuine Christian service, at whatever level, that we look on in amazement to see what God has done with the bits and pieces we dug out of our meager resources to offer to him. For God has blessed each and everyone of us with certain gifts and talents. Collectively, the Church has everything it needs to carry out the work we have been given to do.

Jesus performed the miracle, not the disciples. They were told to feed the crowd. They hesitated thinking what they had to offer was insufficient. They brought what they had to Jesus and it blessed it and gave it back to them to distribute to the people. It was enough, more than enough.

Jesus said to the disciples, “You give them something to eat.” To everyone who would be his disciple, in whatever time or place, he speaks: “Let me be present to the people, let me feed them through you.”

There is a warning implied in today’s passage. Jesus warns all Christian disciples against two equally debilitating attitudes: thinking that they can satisfy the world’s needs by employment of their own human powers alone, and thinking that they have nothing to contribute to anyone’s satisfaction since God alone can accomplish it.

The lesson today is in our understanding that our true vocation as Christians is to follow Jesus, to share his compassion. To give to Him what we have so that it can be used in His service in meeting the needs of others and for the glory of God the Father. AMEN+