MAC KIRK

  Easter   Witnesses to the Resurrection” On this Easter Day we are vividly reminded of the people who saw the empty tomb and the Lord Himself raised from the dead. The evidence of the resurrection is seen in the people who saw Jesus and told about it. If we can demonstrate this through the witnesses , then we are giving weighty evidence to those who are struggling with unbelief, doubt and despair. These are myths some say. They are not able to be proved. Today people want others to share with them what has happened and the reality of what Jesus did, is and who He proves to be is seen in the witnesses to the resurrection. We do not live in an age that enjoys the printed page so much…. People communicate thru phones, texts, and tweets , and movies, dvds and videos. People speaking to people is more powerful to our culture than a manuscript in today’s thinking at least…..  After 6 pm on Saturday, Mary Magdalene ( from Magdala—Luke tells us she ministered out of her ...

  Easter looking at it through the eyes of Mary Magdalene   Easter    John 20/Mark 16        “ Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, Not with old leaven , neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness;   but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him…   Christ is risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” Morning Prayer BCP , 1928       “ The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.   The she runneth…”   Mary was the last to leave the tomb and the first to see Jesus on that Resurrection morning.   Her life was changed from the day Jesus met her according to Luke. 8:2   “ and certain women (were with him along with the 12) wh...

  Darkness and Light Together Darkness and Light Together Matthew 27 As I sat in a local restaurant the other day I wondered how many of the people there who were drinking, yes, even smoking, were actually aware in their own lives of the needs of others. What would have happened in their lives if that moment in time could have been frozen and they had to say, " this is what my life means and meant to others." In some ways the Gospel for today is a moment frozen in time, with its results that are eternal in the lives of all people. They were gathered at the Cross, the Soldiers, the women who had followed Jesus, yes, even His blessed mother, Mary, and it all came down to the Cross. It seems as though it is only a moment of darkness when Jesus was nailed to the Cross and He was dying, and then gave up the ghost. We too have very dark periods in our lives. They are moments when the light does not shine in any place we can see. Very depressed people know this trial. Unfortunately ...

 Hebrews tells us about an eternal priest and a better covenant Hebrews tells us about the way Christ went for our Salvation I do not know how one can read the New Testament and especially the Book of Hebrews without coming away with a deep sense of gratitude and awe and what Christ did for us. Some wish to write another Gospel than this, but if one is at all interested in what the Bible is saying , Hebrews is definitely a place to begin and stay for it mines the deep riches of the sacrifice of Jesus , His life and Blood for our eternal salvation. With some people this is not a very popular idea. In fact there is a whole theology that rejects it ,and especially the Book of Leviticus which is the background for Hebrews. ( much of the modern rationalist liberal theology does just that for example and some of us have heard messages that reflect this kind of thinking) If we are to be Biblically faithful , we must take it very seriously and understand the message of Hebrews for us . Fir...

  Rose Sunday Mid Lent First Reading Exodus 16:4-15   Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt: And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord; for that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord: and what are we, that ye murmur against us? And Moses said, This shall be, when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord....

  Third Sunday in Lent The Gospel St. Luke xi. 14. JESUS was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his...