Easter Tuesday

St Matthew 28: 18 – 20

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.    Teaching.  Teaching takes a lifetime of learning to listen and  learning to  put what we have learned into action.   Before Easter,  St Matthew's  Cathedral in Brandon had a minister's estate library available for anyone to take the estate books for free.   And being good Presbyterians,  we love the word "free".   We  dived into the tables and tables of books at least three times,  each time bringing home boxes of books.      Last Wednesday we chose our last free books.  One book I picked up was all dog-eared and well loved.  The title was  "Reading and Decency".    What an odd title.   But when I opened up the book to see what it was all about,  my eyes full upon the publisher..... Society of St John the Evangelist.   This was an Anglican Society of Brothers in Bracebridge Ontario.   The Order is no longer,  but the books they used to publish are worth their weight in gold.   This book that I was holding,  "Reading and Decency" is all about the proper stances and postures for Minister's in the Anglican Church as they celebrate Communion.  What a gem!    The book was published in 1945.
As I read this new -to-us book,  I am struck that we have lost a lot of our understanding of "Reading and Decency".    We  must relearn and reteach the  foundations of our  Gospel.   Let us  go forth this day,  ready to learn and ready to teach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Prayer:  Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Let us bless the Risen Christ.  We give our thanks to God,  Alleluia!  Alleluia!  May the God of peace who raised to life His only Son,  our Lord,  make us ready to do His will each day and in each moment.  May  the God of love who raised to life the Lamb of God  strengthen our hearts so with one voice,  we can go and make disciples of all peoples.  Through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.  Now and forever.  Amen.