To Save Us All From Satan’s Power

Dismay is a condition we are prone to dwell in during these dark and evil days. The world and its uncertainty would be the “usual culpret,” but more often than not, the source of our dismay is from inside the Church. It seems that entire church bodies from the Church of England, Roman Catholics, (Dis)United Methodists, and everyone else in between are tearing themselves apart over matters quite clear from the plain letter of Sacred Scriptures.

Yet those same Sacred Scriptures speak of “tidings of comfort and joy,” specifically the angelic greeting surprising the shepherds one cold Bethlehem night, heralding, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Those words alone should give us much to rejoice, despite those within the Church who wish to shackle believers to the zeitgeist of the world. The angelic proclamation comes from our Creator and the news is good. 

The news did not have to be good, for we are justly condemned.

And yet the news heard by Angels from on high is good. Good news, in other words, the Gospel, that truly turns our sadness into great joy – a joy not limited to the Jewish people but is “for all people” because the Jewish Messiah is the Savior of the world. God has entered into the world, or as C.S. Lewis once put it, the playwright has entered on stage. His entrance is not grand, but is as though He walked into the middle of a scene change and suddenly, there He is.

Why has the Lord God become one of His creatures?

To save us all from Satan’s power, when we had gone astray.

Read the rest at The North American Anglican.

Forced into the Habit – A Call for Anglicans in Prison Ministry, Part II

Imagine for a moment, a parish behind bars. It is not too crazy I assure you, because Chaplain David Noles (God rest his soul) was ahead of the curve when he planted Church of the Broken Chalice at Red Eagle Community Work Center in Montgomery, Alabama. Fr. Noles, who simply preferred to go by “Chap” was an inspiration to all who met and knew him. He shepherded not only those at Red Eagle but also served as a chaplain for Faulkner University Athletics. We need more like him and as I was reflecting upon my friendship with him, I felt compelled to write the following.

Let us begin with an often-overlooked but powerful prayer in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, is found on page 46:

O GOD, who sparest when we deserve punishment, and in thy wrath rememberest mercy; We humbly beseech thee, of thy goodness, to comfort and succour all prisoners, especially those who are condemmend to die. Give them a right understanding of themselves, and of thy promises; that, trusting wholly in thy mercy, they may not place their confidence anywhere but in thee. Relieve the distressed, protect the innocent, awaken the guilty; and forasmuch as thou alone bringest light out of darkness, and good out of evil, grant to these thy servants, that by the power of thy Holy Spirit they may be set free from the chains of sin, and may be brought to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Book of Common Prayer, Prayers and Thanksgivings, For Prisoners.

This prayer applies to all of us prisoners enslaved to sin. Each of us needs to be aware of our guilt and reminded we stand guilty before the holy God, in need of clothing in Christ’s righteousness. During the remaining moments of Advent let us pursue Christ and His sanctification through good works as we enter Christmastide. Such good works include bringing the Light of the world into the dark places, including jails and prisons. May we all be delivered free by the Holy Ghost from our chains of sin and walk confidently in the Spirit in the newness of life provided by Life Himself, Jesus Christ.

The American prayer book tradition has a mixed history of changing the 1662 tradition – both good and bad – but one innovation in the 1796 edition was the inclusion of The Visitation of Prisoners. The prayer For Prisoners from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer is a shortening of an entire office formerly included in the American prayer books. The Visitation of Prisoners is not a perfect office by any stretch of the imagination but was retained and edited in the 1892 Book of Common Prayer before being omitted as a formal office and reduced to this single prayer beginning in the 1928 edition. However, this office demonstrated a care for the incarcerated and a certain expectation that the parish cared for the prisoner and the parson was expected to visit those in prison as envisioned in Matthew 25.

‘I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, … ‘And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Matthew 25:36-40, ESV

We live in interesting times. The cost of mass-producing Scripture has made it inexpensive and more easily accessible in print or online moreso than ever before in the history of the Church. Yet the over-saturation of Scripture’s availability has not created more disciples. Instead, ironically and tragically, the Church is perhaps the least disciplined and catechized since the dawn of the Reformation.

Read the rest at The North American Anglican.

FREEDOM BEHIND BARS – A CALL FOR ANGLICANS IN PRISON MINISTRY, PART I

Why care for the prisoner? It’s a question I’ve been asked more than once by a critical inquisitor. Reflecting upon the question recently placed this small piece upon my heart and I felt compelled to share not merely my answer to the question, but the call I feel traditional Anglicans have sadly neglected far too often.

Why do I care for the prisoner? Because “if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” Galatians 6:3 (ESV). As we traditional Anglicans confess each morning and evening, “O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders.” Before I start to think I’m anything more than a redeemed captive, I need the reminder that I too am locked in bondage and require freedom from the only One who can break my chains.

The daily office’s confession provides much clarity as to who I am and who I am not. I am not innocent, you are not innocent, and the prisoner is not innocent when it comes to neglecting God and hating our neighbor. “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:22-23, ESV). The Law condemns us, one and all. We are each horrific offenders of the Lord’s commandments – and believe me, before you say to yourself “But at least I haven’t murdered or swindled someone out of their money like they have,” examine yourself. Such thinking smacks of the Pharisee who looks to heaven and side-eyes the tax collector in the temple behind him while saying “Thank you God I’m not a sinner, like him.” We are professionals when it comes to overlooking one’s own sin while obsessing over another person’s sin.

Far too often, we are not beating our chests and looking down at the ground while crying out kyrie eleison. Instead, when we reflect on our spiritual state in comparison to our fellow man, we pat ourselves on the back and dwell on the sweet-sounding poetry of the Lord’s Beatitudes. Allow me to share a word of caution, return to the Scriptures, and take a gander at how the Son of God expounds upon the true depth expounding and expanding upon the law in His Sermon on the Mount. We all love the Beatitudes but we ought to wince in pain when we hear that simply calling our brother “fool” endangers us to hellfire. The bar is low in our Lord’s eyes as to what constitutes murder – and I assure you I have called people far worse than “fool.” Do not get lost in the poetry of the Beatitudes and bypass the harsh realities revealed in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. We require His righteousness and do not merit any blessing apart from His grace.

As the saying goes, “But for the grace of God, there go I”; and precisely because of the grace of God, I there go – to the prisons, to the parishes, and to fellow priests, advocating for greater ministries to the incarcerated and the families impacted.

Read the rest at The North American Anglican