Jay Sidebotham, in his weekly reflection in Monday Matters, speaks of what truly has become one of the major weaknesses of the church today, catechesis, and religious instruction. This can take place in many ways. Reading and studying the bible is certainly one part of religious instruction, for as we pray in our collect for the middle of November: “Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” Now I have held for a long time that for those who attend the Episcopal Church on a regular basis, we hear more scripture read than in many other churches, for with rare exceptions, we have two readings from the Hebrew Scriptures, yes, I include the psalms also, a reading from the New Testament, and a Gospel reading, not to mention that many of our prayers in the Book of Common Prayer are based on portions of scripture. The question is do we truly hear them, do we read them, do we mark them, do we learn from them, and lastly, do we inwardly digest them? We pray that we may embrace and hold fast to the blessed hope of everlasting life, but do we put as much effort into knowing scripture as we did for that final exam in school?
This coming Sunday we will hear some very harsh words from Jesus about what it costs to be one of his disciples; “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Christianity is growing around so much of the world, but mainly in those places where being a Christian is not easy, where there is a cost to discipleship. A major part of that cost is knowing what we as a church and as individuals believe. Beginning on September 11th., I invite you to spend forty-five minutes learning about the faith the Church professes. Starting in October at 11:30, please plan to gather the first and second Sunday each month as together we delve deeper into what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
Peace,
Bryant+
