MAC KIRK

“A Way Forward”   Luke 4:1-13, 1 st Sunday in Lent       The way forward is not always so.   If we wish to grow spiritually in this time we should take stock.   We should inventory our household of faith , individually as well as corporately. Honesty is required.   As one preacher said, “ Lent is the season to confront reality”   ( in “ Anglican Digest”, Spring 2011 by Rev. Thomas M. Kryder-Reid) ( He also relates this….)   This reminds me of the story I heard of a certain church usher. “   One Sunday morning an elderly woman walked into a local country church.   The friendly usher greeted her at the door. ‘ Good morning, ma’am. Would you like to sit?’   ‘ The front row, please,’ she replied.   The usher said, ‘ You don’t want to do that.   We have a visiting preacher today who is really boring.’   The woman, bristling at the comment, asked, ‘ Do you know who I am?’   The usher said, ‘ No ma’ am, who are you?’   She replied, ‘ I am the preacher’s mother!’   The usher aske

“ Looking at the Bright Side”   2 Corinthians 3:16      I remember telling my mother about things that were going on, and of course I painted a very dim picture. This has to happen if that which is desired is going to happen, and of course the chances for that to happen are not good.   I could give a very bleak picture.   Then she said ,” well you could look on the bright side!”   That stopped me in my tracks!   I guess I had painted a picture of bleakness because I needed encouragement, and she gave it .      Friday morning I read about a suicide of a young fashion designer who jumped off the GW Bridge in New York last Wednesday . She was only 22 years old.   In a suicide note she listed five girls she did not want at her funeral.   She felt she was the subject of gossip. She had attempted suicide before.       In Corinth the Apostle Paul had gone to great effort to help the people there.   They were letting the greek culture infiltrate the community of faith.

Patience with God, Ourselves and Others   Luke 8:15   “Patience (or forbearing ) is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the level of endurance one can take before negativity. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast. Antonyms include hastiness and impetuousness ”   from “ Wikipedia”   “The cardinal virtues are a set of four virtues recognized in the writings of Classical Antiquity and, along with the theological virtues , also in Christian tradition. They consist of: Prudence - able to judge between actions with regard to appropriate actions at a given time Justice - the perpetual and constant will of rendering to each one his right [1] Temperance or Restraint - practic