MAC KIRK

Christmas "The judge knew that Sgt. Joseph Serna had been through a lot. The former Special Forces soldier did four combat tours in Afghanistan over a nearly two-decades-long career with the U.S. Army. Through those years, the Fayetteville Observer reported, Serna was almost killed three times: once, by a roadside bomb, then again by a suicide bomber. During a tour in 2008, Serna and three other soldiers were driving down a narrow dirt road in Kandahar when their armored truck toppled into a canal, the Associated Press reported. As water filled the vehicle, Serna struggled to escape. It was his fellow soldier, Sgt. James Treber, who saved him. “I felt a hand come down and unfasten my seat belt and release my body armor,” Serna recalled to the AP. “Sgt. Treber picked me up and moved me to a small pocket of air. He knew there was not enough room for both of us to breathe so he went under water to find another pocket of air.” Treber died from the accident, but Serna survived....

Sunday before Christmas Day, 4th S in Advent Have you ever been frazzled? Is that a word? It certainly is a feeling of overwhelming angst and the opposite of quiet , peaceful serenity. I came across a book called, Overcoming Anxiety for Dummies and there are a lot of good ideas in there to try and settle one's emotions and thoughts down. Some people avoid anxiety for example and doing that may increase it. For example if you do not like parties, just don't go, but as the book illustrates after a while you become isolated, and being around people for any reason creates more anxiety. There are exercises which offer momentary relief such as "controlled breathing" or the " progressive muscle technique". While many of these exercises are very helpful for a short time and give us relief , I wonder if they really get to the long term solution. I liked the book but the fixes were not permanent at least for me. God offers us as His people and follow...

2nd S in Advent----the most famous Collect/Prayer in the PB " The Word of God is a two-edged sword; as for the weapons of natural reason, they are the armour of Saul, rather cumbersome about the Soldier of Christ than needful. They are not of force to do that which the Apostles of Christ did by the power of the Holy Ghost: ' My preaching', therefore saith Paul, 'hath not been has not been in the enticing speech of man's wisdom , but in plain evidence of the Spirit and of power, that your faith may not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.' ...if I believe the Gospel there needeth no reasoning about it to persuade me, if I do not believe, it must be the Spirit of God, and not the reason of man that shall convert my heart unto him." Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity , Richard Hooker, 1554-1600, Anglican theologian. The question today is about the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures , 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. The prayer for to...

Advent Insight ! Romans 13 Let me open this new Church Year with a story. I was out walking the dogs the day after Thanksgiving am Friday, and this account popped into my mind regarding the Romans text we heard read . In the early 60's when my Dad was stationed in Viet Nam, my mother, sister and I lived with my grandfather in Philadelphia for a year. It was an old interesting triple decker house in the suburbs of Philly. I had the roam of it, and it was exciting. One day though I got myself into trouble.....I was almost 8 and broke a window in the third floor bathroom trying to open it. I thought my grandfather would be very mad, but he wasn't. He said, " That is an old window anyway and it needed replacing." I felt very guilty about breaking it , and thought I deserved a good punishment. Instead he was kind, loving and grandfatherly in the best sense. This widened my thinking at that very young age! Imagine someone treating you nicely even when you did no...

Moving into Advent Next Week -Psalm 39/ John 6 Someone dialled a wrong number and got the following recording: "I am not available right now, but I thank you for caring enough to call. I am making some changes in my life. Please leave a message after the beep. If I do not return your call, you are one of the changes." - from: http://www.hotsermons.com/sermon-illustrations/sermon-illustrations- Today's Collect is about stirring up our wills so that we can change for the better in our actions and thoughts" STIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. " BCP 1928 Often our lives seem unmanageable and we desire change but can't seem to get out of the rut we are in. Didn't Jesus do that with His disciples in today's Gospel? " WHEN Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company c...

Advent is Near , the Coming of our LORD I John 3; Matthew 24 The Lesson today from ST John begins with something we would not think of for Advent--- the 2nd Coming of Christ and looking back to His birth in the stable in Bethlehem. It begins with these words, " Behold what manner of love hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God...." I Jn 3:1 This love of God is His grace toward sinners when we were not His people--- He called in love to draw us to Christ and eternal life. John Donne said it this way about God's eternal love, " I cannot name a time, when God's love began; it is eternal: I cannot imagine a time, when His mercy will end; it is perpetual." Or as someone else has said so deeply and we sometimes forget this, " There's nothing you can do to earn God's love or undo God's love for you." This love has been bestowed upon us. It is not just out there floating.... It is effectual to those who ...

All Saints Day Sunday As we observe the octave of All Saints from the 1st of November, the Epistle and the Gospel reading for this day from Rev 7 and Matthew 5 first of all remind us of the character of true Christians. The Beatitudes from the Gospel are all too familiar to us, but all Christians are to be of this character. No these qualities are not just for a select few---every Christian is to be meek, a peacemaker, pure in heart, and poor in spirit. Character is all important, is it not? Out of our character and ethical foundation flows our actions. We may call it "moral courage." " Courage is ' that quality of mind which enable one to encounter danger and tribulation with firmness ..without fear." as in Moral Courage by Kidder. John Wayne said " courage is being scared to death---and saddling up anyway." The word blessed in the beatitudes means " happy". We will find that in this life we have plenty of opportunity ...