DIOCESE OF FLORIDA BISHOP SEARCH MEET AND GREET QUESTIONS. Holy Comforter.
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DIOCESE OF FLORIDA, BISHOP SEARCH, MEET AND GREET QUESTIONS, St. Marks, Palatka.
Strategic Opportunities for Growth?
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MEET AND GREET AT THE CATHEDRAL
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DIOCESE OF FLORIDA BISHOP SEARCH, MEET AND GREET
Fr. Miguel at Holy Comforter
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DIOCESE OF FLORIDA BISHOP SEARCH MEET AND GREET QUESTIONS - St. John.s Cathedral
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Llego el día y mi mama empezó su labor con mucho entusiasmo. Pero, al mezclar los ingredientes, se dio cuenta que le faltaban algunos y otros que no conocía, así que decidió substituirlos.
Al llegar a las zanahorias, las hayo un poco duras y difíciles de pelar así que le echo boniato amarillo al biscocho. Ya lo tenía, se parecía el color, era más blando y fácil de pelar.
Algo así pasa al sabor de nuestras vidas cuando substituimos
nuestras propias preferencias, e ideas de la cultura que nos rodea, por los
ingredientes que nos ofrece la Palabra de Dios! Se cambia un poquito allí, se quita un poquito
de allí y al final nada queda igual.
¡Practica la simplicidad en tu fe! Lee tu Biblia con sencillez, como el niño buscando alimento, pidiendo a Dios que te ensene e ilumine!
¿Puedes recordar algún momento en que la lectura de la Biblia te ha
sido de bendición o aliento?
Bendiciones
Serafin
Christian marriage is first and foremost defined by the words of the Lord Christ as we find them recorded in the gospels and the later teaching of his apostles
Matthew 19: 3-6, Mark 10:6-9:
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and, ‘For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh"
The apostle Paul makes the same reference in his discussion about marriage in Ephesians 5:28-32
Here are the
pertinent verses in Genesis:
Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God. male and female He created them. Then God blessed them"
Genesis 2:23-24 "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."
It is from these simple verses, the creation story, Christ’s
explicit reference to it, and the Apostle’s teaching in the New Testament, that we begin the
conversation about what Christian marriage means! We must begin with what marriage
meant to Christ!
In congruency with these words the Book of Common Prayer reads; …
Here are some simple ideas as to the purposes of marriage found in Scripture:
Marriage is for companionship: Genesis 2:18 "And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."
Marriage is for children: Genesis1:27-28 "God created man in His own image; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply"
Marriage is for Sex: 1 Corinthians 7:14-15 "...Each man should have sexual relations with his own wife and each woman with her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband...."
Marriage is for Holiness: 1 Peter 3:7 " Husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.", Ephesians 5:21 "Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ."
Marriage is for life: Matthew 19:4-6 "...They are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."
In the same year, following the US Supreme Court decision. the Episcopal Church's General Convention approved the trial-use liturgies for marriage that made it possible for same-sex couples to wed in the Episcopal Church, and in 2018 made it possible for any couple civilly able to marry to do so in any diocese of TEC.
Christ spoke of marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman, a husband and a wife!
There is of course the rejoicing that our LGBTQIA siblings are able to legally recognize their relationships in civil society and have access to the sacraments and blessing of the church in their committed unions! Yet there are the clear words of Christ that define the particular relationship we call marriage in the church!
Perhaps we lack the language, or the theology, and lump human relationships into one neat box considering only common elements, over their uniqueness! Same-gender and opposite-gender relationships have love as a common element but have demarcated differences some of which are biologically based.
Perhaps there is an implicit bias in the way we look at human relationships, a push to heteronormativity, where relationships have to fit into a particular mold in order for us to think of them as blessed…so it has to be marriage or bust!
Can we as Christians and Episcopalians live and minister in the same Church while holding diverging convictions about the sacrament of marriage?
Our polity urges us to, but whether we can do so and mutually flourish, only time will tell!
Blessings
Seraph
QUESTION FROM THE DIOCESE OF FLORIDA MEET AND GREET
The word gospel, Evangelio, itself means good telling, good news!
This was said by the angels when they announced the birth of Christ to
bewildered shepherds;" I bring you good news of great joy!" In Luke 4:18, the words
of the prophet Isaiah that Jesus applied to himself at the synagogue in
Nazareth…"The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to
proclaim the good news, the description of his mission, and his charge to the
disciples…" This
gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all
nations, and then the end will come."
There is a very interesting IPSOS poll, "Jesus in America" which was commissioned by our very own Episcopal church which is informative!
Ask a Christian to describe other Christians and the answers likely will be “giving,” “compassionate,” “loving” and “respectful.”Ask a non-Christian, on the other hand, and the more likely descriptors you’ll get for Christians are “hypocritical,” “judgmental” and “self-righteous.” Non-Christians are also far more likely to say Christians do not represent the teachings of Jesus.
The challenge for each of us is going to be whether our proclamation of the Good News goes beyond our lips to transform our lives, our families, parishes, and the church. Jesus did pray for his disciple’s proclamation to be more than just words, he prayed that they may be one…so that the world might believe.
In the pages of the New Testament, we see a community worshipping God where, by the power of the Spirit, languages are no barrier, where all, no matter the ethnicity social status, or condition, are baptized to be part of one body, where gender, nationality, tribal identity and other things that were sources of division in society are said not to matter because we are one in Christ.
The question for me is; Can we model that? Can we be, to a divided world, an example of Beloved Community, where despite disagreements, and differences we are one family, the family of God?…Can we model that in this small part of the Church?
The gospel will be seen as good news in our divided society, to the extent that we Christians can be living examples of what it means to be transformed by the resurrection of Christ and how his sovereignty and kingship are lived among those who
proclaim his message.
Blessings
Seraph
