Trinitytide – 2017

Trinitytide – 2017

The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

June 23, 2017

Ephesians 3:8

“Brethren: Unto me who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery…”

From the Rector:

All too often we are tempted to believe that proclaiming the Gospel is solely the job of Saints or Bishops or priests; and that we, as ordinary men and women, have no part to play in the spread of God’s Holy Word. But when we think in this way we forget the words of the Apostle; that we are supposed “to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery…“.

We have limited the definition of this word, “fellowship“, to mean simply “a society of people sharing mutual interests, experiences, activities”, as if Christianity were some sort of exclusive “club”.  Nothing could be further from the truth; for just as we have been given the great privilege to know God through the Mystery of His Holy Incarnation, the Mystery of His Body and Blood, and the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, so too must we proclaim that these same Mysteries have been made known to all the world. They have been made known to a new fellowship; “the fellowship of the mystery. 

This “fellowship of the mystery” is not an exclusive “club”; indeed, it cannot not be so, for such “exclusivity” flies in the face of the mission of the Church; as the Apostle says, “Unto me who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ“.  For all of his learning and obvious gifts, St. Paul did not put himself above other men; but rather he took it upon himself to humbly submit to the Will of God and proclaim the Mysteries of the Gospel, as they had been revealed to him. And he did this for one reason.

to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery…“. This should also be our mission, our commitment, our pledge for this Trinity Season; to proclaim the Gospel and to invite others to join us in “the fellowship of the mystery“. Let us invite them to know the Love of God, the Salvation of God, and the Revealed Mysteries of God. Let us call to all mankind so that they too may know “the unsearchable riches of Christ“.

 

Yours in Christ,

 

Daniel J. Jennings+

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