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April 18, 2006
Easter Greetings
"If Christ had not been raised from the dead in vain is your faith"(1Cor 15:14). St. Paul's words confirms the inevitability of the fact of the Resurrection of Jesus and how essential it is as the basis of Christian Faith and Living. All our lives would have been futile, had not the Son of God who died for our sins did not rise from the dead. Jesus' resurrection gives us all the hope that when we die we shall also be resurrected. St. Paul again admonishes us to focus our lives in terms of what is to come. This sense of the eschatology would determine the choices that we make in our lives and ensure that such choices are in terms of the 'already' and the 'not yet' aspect of our faith.
Jesus' assurance, 'Lo, I am with you to the end of ages' is a reassuring presence. As a risen Savior He is much close to us than we can think of. Jesus' post resurrection presence is one of comfort, solace, commission, strenght, direction and zeal fot the kingdom of God. May His active presence continue to be extended to others through our own, be it in the family, church, among friends, in the neighborhood or in the planet earth.
On Easter Sunday, when I was so tired, after having done the vigil service at 10:30pm and the Holy Eucharist at 10am and then the Eucharist in Spanish at 1:30pm, I thought I would crash in the bed around 5pm. Just then a call came from Jean, one of our members. Well, within 30mts I was at the Washington Regional Hospital. Regardless of how tired one is, there is so much joy in giving. The moment you see the smile on the recipient's face, your weariness disappears. This morning, one of our immediate neighbors to St.Gabriel's came back home after 3 months of hospital stay. He had several strokes and cardiac arrest. I realized that something was not right, when I saw his RV being tugged away by someone. Today I looked at Richard's house and found another man working on his lawn mower. When I approached him, I was informed of Richard's critical illness. I told him that I did not want to intrude. Richard's brother-in-law said, preachers of God's word can intrude any time". When I went in I saw him in a resigned poise: I knew that he was a pastor all his life. I told him that God is looking after him in a special way, because he worked for His kingdom. His wife wiped her tears off as she saw me out. Imagine what our presence can do. He wanted us to be the leaven in the dough. May we be His powerful presence. Jesus breathes His peace as He says, "RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT". May His peace, that the world can never give, be yours today and always.
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April 14, 2006
Good Friday
Did you have a moment today to ponder on the import of this great day. If you have not, there is still time left. Its on this day Jesus died for you and me. Take a moment to pray:
Dear Jesus, my sin has caused this excrutiating agony and death on the cross. It is for my sins that you died. Thank you Lord for redeeming me with thine precious blood.
If our churches and nations have benumbed our faith to the extent that this day was just another Friday, then we need to remind ourselves of the greatness of this day. Its sad that a nation founded on Christian principles could not declare this holy day a holiday. Elsewhere in the world, even where Christianity is a minority this day is called the GOOD FRIDAY and everyone acknowledges the death of the Son of God. Forget the political correctness. It is Good Friday and still God loves us. When the Son of God returns, will He find enough faith on this earth???
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April 13, 2006
Easter Triduum
The three days of the holy week that commemorates the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus is called the Triduum. Do not miss it for the world. Christ died once and for all. This truth is perpetuated in the commemoration of the sacred liturgy that celebrates this eternal truth, that Christ died for us all even while we were sinners. This liturgy is handed down by the apostles through the apostolic Tradition. That even though we were not there two thousand years ago when this act of redemption- the passion death and resurrection of Christ - took place in real time, the same efficacy of those salvific moments are made present in and through liturgy today and for all times.
Today, we celebrate the Maundy Thursday. According to Scripture and Tradition, it is on this day, that Jesus having loved His own to end, would use the very night of passover,(that commemorated the liberation of Israel from the bondage of Egypt, as a momentous one to give Himself as a nourishment for our body and soul. Remember the discourse of John 6:the miracle that preceded the discourse was a sign of what was to come. I am the living bread come down from heaven. Unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink of his blood, you will not have life in you.
It is on this very night, he took the bread and gave it as His body and the wine as His blood.
For in the night in which he was betrayed, (a) he took Bread; and when he had given thanks, (b) he brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat, (c) this is my Body, which is given for you; Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise, after supper, (d) he took the Cup; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this; for (e) this is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins; Do this, as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me.
Again in the Book of Common Prayer, the Prayer of Humble access recognizes this fact.
WE do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his Body, and our souls washed through his most precious Blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.
It is on this very night, that Christ instituted the command of love and set an example by washing the feet of His disciple. If the Lord of heaven and earth, the son of God, should come down to wash your feet, how we ought to wash each other's feet. Though he was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God. He emptied himself taking the form of a slave (Phil 2) As St. Paul admonishes us, we need to have the same mind as that of Jesus.
It is on this very night, he instituted priesthood, to perpetuate the sacraments, "Do this in remembrance of me". Priests and Deacons are ordinary men. They have not descended from above, but are always aiming to perfect themselves after the model of the Good Shepherd as pastors. They are consecrated men, designated to make available God' saving grace through the celebration of the sacraments. Human as they are, they are one of us and yet having been anointed by the Lord, they belong to Him and therefore they deserve our respect.
On the ordering of the Deacons, the collect thus reads:
THEN the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, breth-ren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
On the ordering of the priests, the collect thus reads:
ALMIGHTY God, giver of all good things, who by thy Holy Spirit hast appointed divers Orders of Ministers in thy Church; Mercifully behold these thy servants now called to the Office of Priesthood; and so replenish them with the truth of thy Doctrine, and adorn them with inno-cency of life, that, both by word and good example, they may faithfully serve thee in this Office, to the glory of thy Name, and the edification of thy Church; through the merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen.
On the ordering of the bishops,the collect reads thus:
ALMIGHTY God, and heavenly Father, who, of thine infinite love and goodness towards us, hast given to us thy only and most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ, to be our Redeemer, and the Author of everlasting life; who, after he had made perfect our redemption by his death, and was ascended into heaven, sent abroad into the world his Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Doctors, and Pastors; by whose labour and ministry he gathered together a great flock in all the parts of the world, to set forth the eternal praise of thy holy Name: For these so great benefits of thy eternal goodness, and for that thou hast vouchsafed to call these thy servants here present to the same Office and Ministry, appointed for the salvation of mankind, we render unto thee most hearty thanks, we praise and worship thee; and we humbly beseech thee, by the same thy blessed Son, to grant unto all, which either here or elsewhere call upon thy holy Name, that we may continue to show ourselves thankful unto thee for these and all thy other benefits; and that we may daily increase and go forwards in the know-ledge and faith of thee and thy Son, by the Holy Spirit. So that as well by these thy Ministers, as by them over whom they shall be appointed thy Ministers, thy holy Name may be for ever glorified, and thy blessed kingdom enlarged; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen.
Come and celebrate these great events of our redemption, where Jesus renewed the covenant on our behalf with the Father in the Lord's Supper, taught us how to love in the Washing of feet and left us His eternal presence in a special manner in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and wanted this to be perpetuated through the institution of the sacraments of the Holy Orders ~ to make available the plenitude of God's richest mercies for all times.
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April 12, 2006
From cowboy to Shepherd
God's ways are mysterious. And my life is a proof of His amazing ways of Providential Love and Care. April 8,2006 was a momentous day in my life when I was consecrated Bishop in the United Episcopal Church of North America.
The Almighty has done marvelous things for me and holy is His name. Oh how shall thank the Lord for His goodness to me.
I’m humbled and honored by His choice; that he chose this lowly servant to be His instrument of peace, love, compassion and kindness. I wish to express my deep sentiments of gratitude to Almighty God, to my parents Joseph and Thecla Michael, to my wife Holly; but for whom I would not be here, to Archbishop Stephen Reber and Judy Reber, to the UECNA, its clergy and members, and my beloved vestry and members of St. Gabriel’s who have been open to God’s holy will, and to all my friends who are present here whose continued support in the past has seen me through tough times and has brought me to this day. In a short time through their understanding and accommodation we have been able to realize many things and I am sure we will be realizing more. Though my family could not be present, my mother is in unison with our celebration through her prayers. She is 83 and does not miss her daily Mass even up to this day. I would be ungrateful if I do not recognize the Society of Don Bosco and St. John Bosco, a great dreamer and accomplisher of God’s mission for the youth: Give me souls, take away the rest: To the Greater Glory of God and Salvation of Souls.
To those who look at my life and say what a lucky fellow, here is a Chinese story that would best reflect my sentiments. This was my first homily after my ordination to the priesthood. And this pretty much has become the attitude of my life:
There is a Chinese story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer's neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?"
Then, when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?"
Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck?
Who knows?
Everything that seems on the surface to be an evil may be a good in disguise. And everything that seems good on the surface may really be an evil. So we are wise when we leave it to God to decide what is good fortune and what misfortune, and thank him that all things turn out for good with those who love him.
Romans 8:28 beautifully concludes,
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose". Now I am convinced of this: Good Luck or Bad Luck, God Knows and He will take care of you for He is faithful
God has been richly blessing the UECNA and we have a mission to fulfill and a commission to accomplish, namely serving the Lord and looking after His flock after the heart of the Good Shepherd until His second coming. UECNA is a haven for all those who are seeking orthodoxy, tradition and sacramental liturgy. UECNA does not own any property but its sole mission is the care of souls. My sincere thanks to Dr. Dick Johanson, whose experiences as an advisor to many bishops during his professional life, whose wisdom and guidance I count on, who has practically taken the place of my late dad. God bless him and his family for being faithful stewards of his kingdom. We thank the Lord for the numerous dedicated men of God who are serving in the UECNA and we hope someday we will have the possibility of a spirituality center, a seminary in this very Emma Avenue, where God continues to care for His people.
My heartfelt thanks to God Almighty, my parents Joseph and Thakela Michael, Holly my wife,who is the strength and support in the ministry, the Most Reverend Stephen C.Reber, the Presiding Bishop, to the vestry and clergy of St.Gabriel's Episcopal Church, Springdale AR, who are all part of this Miracle on Emma Avenue. Our thanks to the co-consecrators, Rt. Rev. David Hustwick, Rt. Rev.Steve Murrell, Rt. Rev. James McNaley and the visiting Bishops Rt. Rev. Preley Hutchens, Rt. Rev. Rommie Starks and Rt. Rev. Bryan Iverach. Thanks to all those who graced this occasion and all those who couldn't make it. May God bless us all.
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