On the evenings of the Celebration Week, through the spoken word and through movement, we were given a deeper teaching than we have time for in the homily at Sunday Mass. Each morning, a different member of the Mission Team shared the story of how they came to faith. How do we “sit at the feet of Jesus” to understand his teachings better?ĭuring our Parish Mission, we had daily opportunities to explore our faith. How, then, can we keep calm and follow Jesus? Another word for a follower is a “disciple”, which comes from the Latin word for “learner”. The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy offered similar advice in an even more pithy form: the words “Don’t Panic!” – written in big friendly letters on the front cover. It’s not only the Bible which urges us to avoid worry and fear. In Jesus’ own time, in the face of a changing world, the Lord said: “Do not be frightened. St Paul warned the busybodies in Thessalonica not to get over-excited about what other Christian believers were doing but, well, to keep calm and carry on! The prophet Malachi speaks of a Day of Judgment coming as a burning fire – but for those who love God, it will be a healing light. Have you noticed how most of the things we give energy to worrying about, never actually happen?Įach of today’s readings is an invitation, in its own way, to keep calm and follow Jesus. The words of wisdom? “Keep Calm and Carry On.” Now, with the safety of half a century between us and the danger, those posters have seen the light of day, and been reproduced on everything from T-shirts to mugs. What if Britain suffered a heavy Nazi bombardment? A series of advisory posters was prepared, but never used. Sixty years ago, during the Second World War, British civil servants had to prepare for the worst. That war was won, but more conflict followed. On this weekend of Remembrance, we recall that 100 years ago, Britain was at war with Germany and her allies. By a small majority, the UK voted to leave the European Union, but no-one quite knows how that’s going to work out.Īmerica has just elected Donald Trump as its president and that too will lead to a time of change. It’s almost impossible to quantify the potency of simple faith and obedience, but let’s just say that it was that sort of thing that has brought more than one godless culture to its knees.Homily at St Philip Evans, for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time. ![]() The crying need of the hour is for millions of Christians to realize that their primary contribution in the culture war may be reading bedtime stories to their children, dating their spouse, and looking for opportunities to cheerfully, sacrificially, and practically love their neighbors. The burden of managing my household well does. But the burden of running the cosmos does not fall on my shoulders. In short, it’s easy to try and usurp Christ’s place as the reigning King who is subduing his enemies under his feet (and ours). Too often, my concern for the advancement of the gospel in the world turns into an attempt to coordinate heavenly troop movements, to treat the culture war like it’s a game of Risk and I’m perched on a balcony on one of Saturn’s moons. The centrality of faithfulness in little cannot be overstated. When confronted with the depravity and brokenness that is endemic and multiplying in God’s world, the main question that you should ask is this: What is God requiring of me now? What is right in front of my face that God is calling me to do? ![]() Instead God is calling us to be faithful at our post, to be faithful where God has planted us. In all of this, we must remember that our responsibility, whether at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission or in our churches, is not to singlehandedly change the culture. Which means we are free to gladly and cheerfully sacrifice our time, treasure, and reputations (and some day soon, perhaps, more than that) for the good of fellow believers and for the salvation of the lost and perishing in the world. ![]() Instead, when we take stock of the present situation and see all of those slopes getting slipped, we remember that we are standing on a mountain that the prophet Daniel says will grow until it fills the whole earth. Fighting from fear and anxiety, besides being tacky, is ineffective. But we must always endeavor to winsomely wage culture war, to fight as those whose feet are firmly planted on a Rock that is unshaken by Gallup polls, HHS mandates, or Supreme Court decisions.
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