|
|
|
|
March 6, AD 2019
Ash Wednesday
|
|
FROM THE RECTOR:
Dear parishioners & friends of Saint James’,
Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, perhaps more than any other day in the church calendar reminds us that we are creatures of God, that he is our Creator, that we are under God. Ash Wednesday and Lent remind us of some things of which we would rather not be reminded. One of these things is that we—every one of us here—are mortal, that we will, one day, have to render an account of how we spent this life on earth.
Ash Wednesday reminds us that we will one day be born into a larger life—God’s life. Ash Wednesday reminds us that we will have to settle our account. Ash Wednesday reminds us that we are indeed under God.
As we will pray in at Mass, “Grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence …” (BCP, p. 265).
So, we use ashes for two reasons: First, as a sign of our own mortality. The priest, as he marks our forehead with ashes, says, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” That is to say, “Remember that this body which comes from nothing, will one day disintegrate into nothing, to dust.” Like the dust in the tombs of the ancient pharaohs, or the monarchs of long ago—powdery, insignificant, and ultimately unimportant. We do not know the hour or the day of our death—only God knows. Our time may be long, it may be short. We are not in control, God is. We are under God. So, mortality …
… and penitence. We use ashes as an outward and visible sign of our sorrow for sin. Martin Luther put it bluntly: “It is a rare and difficult thing to become a sinner.” We don’t hear much about sin anymore. For the saints, a knowledge of the root and effect of sin is the center of their self-understanding. The irony is that the greatest of saints see themselves as sinners.
We moderns, on the other hand, have come up with countless ways of excusing human behavior: “She’s obnoxious, but if you knew her mother, you’d understand.” Or, “He is painfully insecure, and that explains why he is always gossiping and criticizing others.” Translated into the realm of religion, this kind of thinking sees God as an all-affirming, all-accepting, slightly addled grandfather who blesses everything. Other people, perhaps because of their religious upbringing, see sin as a “technical foul”—breaking the arbitrary rules of a mean-spirited and fickle rule-maker.
In fact, our word “sin” is a translation of the Greek word hamartia which comes from the image of an arrow missing its mark. To sin is to miss the mark of being who we were made to be, of acting how we were meant to act. To sin is to be less than our true selves, to be diminished, to refuse to grow. Sin is more like a degenerative disease, a stifling of who we were meant to be. We are, in the words of St Augustine, “incurvatus in se,” turned in on ourselves and away from God and from one another.
T.S. Eliot—a good Anglo-catholic by the way—wrote a play called “The Cocktail Party,” about modern people like us who have to come to terms with our sinfulness. Celia, one of the characters, says,
I had always been taught to disbelieve in sin.
Oh, I don’t mean that it was ever mentioned!
But anything wrong, from our point of view,
Was either bad form, or was psychological.
But by the end, Celia comes to a new understanding of the reality of sin:
It’s not the feeling of anything I’ve ever done,
Which I might get away from, or of anything in me
I could get rid of—but of emptiness, of failure
Towards someone, or something, outside of myself;
And I feel I must … atone—is that the word?
It is a rare and difficult thing to become a sinner, or to realize that we are sinners. But oddly enough when we do, that is the first step toward living the lives for which we were made. To become a sinner is to open our eyes to the infinite love of God, the immeasurable forgiveness he offers, and to the wholeness and holiness for which we were made. The ashes we receive today remind us of how fall we have fallen short of the glory of God, how much we need to turn to him again and again.
Mortality, penitence, the fact that we are under God.
And a final word. In the Ash Wednesday Gospel, our Lord reminds us about just performing rituals, about just going through the motions without meaning them. To paraphrase: “Don’t just show off in church; do not do religious acts to impress other people. Instead, do them from your heart; do them not for others, but for God.”
There is phrase that was once said—and perhaps still is—to a postulant just before he took the habit and became a monk. It goes, “it is possible to fool other people, but it is never possible to fool God. God knows.” To him, truly, all hearts are open, all desires known, and from him no secrets are hid. However you keep Lent, remember that you do it for God—not because you feel you have to—for that is the way to hypocrisy; the “long faces and gloomy looks,” that we are warned about. These will not get us into the kingdom of heaven, because “We cannot fool God. God knows.”
Lent then is a time of changes. The colors are changed in the church, the festive trimmings are taken away, the readings and music at mass are more somber, focusing on our mortality and sinfulness, the fact that we are under God.
But I pray that the biggest change will be in you—that you will open your eyes to the infinite love of God, to the immeasurable forgiveness he offers, and to the wholeness and holiness for which you were made.
A blessed Lent to us all.
Yours with every blessing,
Rev. Douglas Anderson, Rector
|
|
|
WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES THIS WEEK
ASH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT SAINT JAMES':
Masses with imposition of ashes at 12:05pm and 6:00PM
Fr. Daly will be preaching.
No meal or class this week.
THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT:
10 March AD 2019
Low Mass at 8am.
Christian education classes are in recess for March Break.
Sung Mass at 10am.
Nursery provided from 10:00 am onwards.
Coffee hour is in recess for March Break. Resumes on March 17th.
|
|
|
|
ITEMS OF PARTICULAR NOTE
LENTEN ALTAR SERVER WORKSHOPS—at 9am in the church.
- Sunday, March 17th Crucifers
- Sunday, March 24th Altar servers
- Sunday, March 31st Torches
- Sunday, April 7th Thurifers
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN AN EVENING CHAPTER OF THE D.O.K.? If so, please speak to Lova Wile or the Rector. You can fill out a brief questionnaire here: https://goo.gl/forms/gcuHhCiqjs8sBV8A2
|
|
|
|
UPCOMING CALENDAR ITEMS
- Thursday, March 14th: ATLANTA VESTRY MEETS at 5:30pm.
- Friday, March 15th: STATIONS OF THE CROSS at 12:05pm. A light lunch follows.
- Monday, March 18th: RANDY SAMS’ BOARD MEETING at Noon.
- Monday, March 18th: ST JAMES’ VESTRY MEETS at 5:30pm.
- Wednesday, March 20th: WENDESDAY NIGHTS RESUME
- Friday, March 22nd: CORNERSTONE MASS at 10:30am (note change of date).
- Friday, March 22nd: STATIONS OF THE CROSS at 12:05pm. A light lunch follows.
- Friday, March 29th: LENTEN FISH FRY for 20s-30s-40s at 6:30pm. Details forthcoming.
- Sunday, March 31st: ATLANTA MASS at 11am
|
|
|
PARISH NOTICES
CELEBRATING BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK:
Benjamin Soyars (6), Chad Trammell (7), Dot Williford (8), Phillip Jordan (9).
CELEBRATING ANNIVERSARIES:
Robert & Wendy Dowd (4), Wade & Kim Fowler (8).
WEEKLY HOUSEHOLD PRAYERS:
Sandy Wentz
REST ETERNAL.
Rest Eternal grant unto them, O Lord; and let light perpetual shine upon them.
Anniversaries of death falling this week:
Janet Pierce, 2006; Bettye Young, 2014.
|
|
|
Did you know that you can now pay your pledge or make a gift to Saint James' Church through our secure online payment system?
See http://saintjamestxk.org/giving/ for details.
|
|
|
|
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION NOTICES
Christian Education is in recess in the coming week for Spring Break.
|
|
|
|
LAY SERVER SCHEDULE
| THOSE WHO SERVE |
March 10th
Lent I: Quadragesima |
| Reader 8am |
Lauren Hehmeyer |
| C.B. 8am |
Joe Doss Phillips |
| C.B. 10:00am |
Clint Kyles
Shari Keller |
Acolytes
10:00am |
Davis Miller
Emma Burks
Maddie Anderson
t.b.a.
Rosie Jordan |
| Reader 10am |
Michelle Purtle |
| POP 10am |
David Rodgers |
| Sunday School Teachers |
In recess |
| Children’s LOTW |
In recess |
| S.S. Snacks |
In recess |
Ushers 10am |
John Delk
Steve Douglas
Chuck Firmin
Bill Griffin |
| Altar Guild |
Team 2 |
| Household Week |
Nina White |
Vestry
Lock Up |
Shari Keller
Brian Purtle |
BY WAY OF REMINDER: It is our custom to send out reminders to those serving the following Sunday on three occasions: Tuesdays (by email), Wednesdays (via the Knee Mail), then then again on Thursdays (by email, with the Bulletin). It helps the Office to know of any conflicts sooner rather than later!
|
|
|
|
PARISH GROUPS AND ACTIVITIES
THE FLOWER DONOR CHART is in the Narthex (porch) to sign-up to give flowers in memory or in thanksgiving of a loved one, or you may call or e-mail Martha Bean at 903-547-6911 – e-mail wpmvb@windstream.net . The cost is still just $35 per donor, per Sunday. What a great way to honor or remember those who are important in our lives!
You can also now make your flower dedication through the Parish Website by visiting the form here.
THE ROSARY GROUP meets on Tuesdays at 10am to pray the “Bible on a String.” Come join us. For more information, contact Lova at lova@cableone.net
THE DAUGHTERS OF THE KING is an Order for Episcopal women founded in 1885. We are a prayer and service group who meets once a month. We regularly take part in worship, study, and aid our Clergy as asked. If you are interested in more about us, please call or e-mail Lova Wile (903-832-2533 lova@cableone.net ), Tammy Cowdery (903-277-2148 cowdery@txkusa.org ), or Gail Crisp (903-838-0942 gjcrisp@cableone.net )
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
