Tag: Kingdom

Jesus Reigns – Mary Hails

Posted on by Julia Smead

Quintessential Quinciensis VIII
By The Rt. Rev.  Keith L. Ackerman, SSC

One of my greatest privileges is being a Guardian at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsinghamcrown in England (near Norwich).  One year I was greatly honored to be the Preacher at the National Pilgrimage (Bank holiday – in late May).  As we prepared for the Procession from the Shrine Church to the Abbey, it began to rain, one of the Sisters from one of the Religious Orders at the Shrine, after having made certain that I was appropriately vested, was concerned that the rain would be a problem for me (and for the silk vestments) and placed a large umbrella over me as we processed. As the rain continued I said, “Sister, does this remind you of the hymn, “Jesus shall reign?” Without missing a beat, she said, “Yes, Bishop, but remember ‘Mary Hails.'” This was not the first time that I was trumped by a Nun!

All too often we have forgotten the Kingdom of Christ. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray for that Kingdom, and in His Passion, Jesus reminds us that His Kingdom is not of this world. Sadly, we forget that we are not only subjects but also children of the King. By virtue of our Baptism we are heirs of His Kingdom, but as members of the Church Militant (here on earth) we are also His subjects – bound, by faith, to follow Him.

Unfortunately, we often have acceded to the bondage of this world, which offers no hope, while ignoring the fact that we are, in fact, part of a Kingdom that offers us more hope than we can imagine.

I can still, in my mind’s eye, hear the voice of the Sister as we processed to the grounds at the Walsingham Abbey, and it was as if I could hear the voices of the numerous pilgrims who had walked the “Walsingham Way” for centuries before. I often think that Americans are far more intrigued with Royalty than the English are, but my prayer has been and will continue to be that Americans will become more enamored with the Kingship of Jesus, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Jesus Reigns – Mary hails.

Kingdom Thinking

Kingdom Thinking

Posted on by Julia Smead

By Bp. Paul Hewett

After the savage and tragic attacks of Islamic terrorists in Paris, the Church, as the Sacrament of the Kingdom, continues her mission to bring all men to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Christ is for every-man, Jew and Greek, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and agnostic. Muslims cannot conquer a people whose God is the Lord, who worship Him every Lord’s Day, and who, every day, work and pray and give for the spread of His Kingdom. A people which turns its back on God is an easy target for Muslim take over, and God may well use the Muslims as agents of judgement for those who reject His Son.

Our enemies in spiritual warfare are the world, the flesh and the devil. The Church teaches her children to keep up the attack on these three enemies, however they manifest themselves. The devil was certainly active in Paris on November 13, and heads of state must work out their escalation of the war against Islamic terrorism. Spiritually, we are to remain always on the offensive. There is no record in the Book of Acts of the apostles ever fighting defensive rear-guard actions. They were always seizing the initiative for Christ, to change a stubborn world for Him. After careful training, always strike hard. “Be strong and of good courage,” for God is with you (Joshua 1). God wants us in a ministry that drives us to our knees in prayer and fasting. Father George Rutler used to say that we are to “launch a revival so impossible that it is doomed to failure without God.”

We are to extend the Kingdom, and cure souls. Bring them in, and set them on the path to spiritual maturity in Christ. To do this we do not need to manufacture strategies. Our vocation is to produce saints first, then strategies. Saints are the ones who accept God´s challenge to grow spiritually and to grow in break-through thinking. Breakthrough thinking is to accomplish seemingly impossible goals through new and creative approaches, and to let go of entrenched patterns of thought, behavior and organizational structure that bind us to the mundane and keep us from reaching our goal, to present every man mature in Christ. Orthodox Christians are the branches connected with Jesus, the true Vine, with roots secured in heaven, drawing all resources from the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, risen and victorious. Orthodox Christians are therefore the strongest, the freest, and the most creative agents in breakthrough thinking. Mother Teresa of Calcutta is a perfect example of this. With her deep roots in Christ, thoroughly soaked in prayer and the sacraments and in the Tradition of holy Mother Church, she, penniless, did what no social worker could ever do among the poorest of the poor. She is regarded by multitudes today, Christian, Hindu, Muslim and agnostic, as the Mother of India. Malcolm Muggeridge, the famous BBC journalist, was converted to Christ by being with Mother Teresa for a film shoot.

We can also recall the example of St. Francis of Assisi. His breakthrough thinking was to go on one of the Crusades, and visit a Muslim sultan and spent some time with him. This sultan said that “if all the crusaders were like you, I would have to join you and become a Christian.” The witness of the saints to wholeness of life in Christ is so engaging that Muslims, and others, are left with no choice but to become Christians, or make martyrs of the saints. The Rev. Canon Andrew White, the Anglican vicar of St. George’s in Baghdad, has a large congregation full of Muslim converts. Many of them disappear every week, to be executed, but their ranks are quickly filled by new converts. Canon White’s nickname is “The Vicar of Baghdad.”

The Isis terrorists and their 7th century predecessors, the Muslims who took nearly the entire Mediterranean world by terror and bloodshed, are really the dupes of the barbarian gods, the demons, who demand human sacrifice and human blood. In stark contrast to this, the Son of God, the Father Almighty, gives His Body and sheds His Blood for us, for the life of the world. Bishop Charles Grafton, the Patron Saint of the Episcopal Church, counseled his priests in Wisconsin a hundred years ago: “Let us be inebriated with the Blood of the Holy Sacrifice, and on fire with the Holy Spirit.”

Let us pray the prayer for Missions in the Prayer Book on page 38: “O God, who hast made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the whole earth, and didst send thy blessed Son to preach peace to them that are far off and to them that are nigh; Grant that all men everywhere may seek after thee and find thee. Bring the nations into thy fold, pour out thy Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten thy kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”