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The Wondrous Gift

While visiting the Holy Land in 1865, The Rev. Phillips Brooks rode on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to assist in the Christmas Eve midnight service. That blessed moment in his life inspired him to write one of the most cherished of all Christmas carols, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv’n;
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

God in the flesh IS the “wondrous gift” that is given to those whose hearts are meek enough and trusting enough for the gift to make a difference. So, come. Together, in our hearts, let us go to Bethlehem to receive this wondrous gift so the world of need at our doorstep will become a better place when we step into it.

Have a Merry Christmas!

The Very Reverend Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

December 22, 2020
What I Am Giving God This Year ~ My Obedience

Of all the aspects of our relationship with God, perhaps obedience is the biggest issue with us.

Consider Joseph. He was upset about Mary when an angel came to him in a dream and brought him a message. Joseph heard the message and responded in obedience. "He did as the angel of the Lord commanded him" (Mt. 1:24). He was obedient to the message he received.

Consider St. Paul. His apostleship to the Gentiles was for bringing about obedience to the faith. Hearing or obeying, then, is used in the closest relationship to faith, not as two distinct acts, but as one and the same response. "Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17). Obedience of the heart leads to a right relationship with God.

So, obedience is something I'd like to give God this Christmas! That involves two things: hearing and responding.

Firstly, I need to listen to the message. It comes through scripture – read and proclaimed. It comes in the Holy Eucharist. It comes through prayer and reflection. It comes in many ways. If I never listen to the message, I am not likely to ever hear and understand enough to do something about it.

Then, I need to respond to the message. My response will affect my participation in the ministries of the Church, relationships with others, stewardship of God-given resources, and my entire approach to life.

Those moments when we become obedient can be life-changing experiences. As a youth, my parents instructed me to call home if I was going to be out later than expected. I had trouble doing that and often discovered tired, worried, unhappy parents when I finally arrived home. I'll never forget the first time I tried calling in as they had instructed me to do! They were glad to hear from me. They actually trusted me but were concerned for my safety. They had good reasons for expecting my obedience. Once I understood that, I never hesitated to call them when I was running late.

When we listen to God and live according to the divine will, we enthrone God as sovereign of our lives. This is true prayer. This is faithfulness. This is discipleship.

I’m giving God my obedience this year.

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

December 16, 2020
What I Am Giving God This Year ~ My Trust

I'm reflecting on the custom of gift-giving, which is grounded in God's greatest gift to us. We spend a lot of time selecting just the right gifts for our loved ones. And what shall I give to God? Advent provides me with the opportunity to consider that question.

Today, I'm thinking the gift of my trust is something God would value.

John the Baptizer had the task of pointing others to a greatness into which he himself did not enter. That required a great deal of trust on his part. In a Bible study course on the gospels, when we came to Matthew 11:2-11, the passage where John sends his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the Messiah, the question arose, “Was John having second thoughts? Did he have doubts that Jesus was the long-awaited anointed one?”

I don’t think John was having second thoughts about Jesus. I think John realized his particular task was just about complete. His fate was sealed. The last thing he needed to do was to send his own disciples to Jesus so that they could join in following him. It was not John but John’s disciples, therefore, who needed convincing that day. So they said to Jesus: “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And, Jesus reply was meant for them that they might believe – as eyewitnesses to his Messianic work: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And, blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”

Someone tells of how from the windows of his house every evening he used to watch the lamplighter go along the streets lighting the lamps. But the lamplighter was blind. He was bringing others light that he would never see. Like the lamplighter, John had to trust that his work had a purpose beyond what he could see with his own eyes.

Trust! That’s something I want to give God this year. But it is a costly gift.

It is so easy to fall into doubt and fear, especially during this horrible pandemic. The best way to resist doubt and fear is to practice trust; Trust God and one another to get us through. Frankly, practicing trust is harder than giving in to doubt and fear. We don't need God's grace to be afraid, do we. We need God's grace to be able to trust.

When I turn my life over to God, I give God leadership. Doing that means I will advance even though I do not know where God will lead me. It means I have to reshape my thinking to make my thoughts large enough for God to fit in! I have to let the size of my trust set the size of my aims and objectives in life so that my expectations match God’s abilities.

One of the things my Father and I always did together at this time of year was to string lights on the roof of our house. At first, my help was confined to checking the bulbs. Then, later, I could stand on a ladder and hang the ones under the eves. Finally, I was allowed to get up on the roof. But that required assistance. I needed a boost getting up and help getting down. The booster and the helper was my dad. If I wanted to help put up the lights, I’d have to trust him not to drop me. Because of that experience, I knew Dad could be trusted not to drop me.

The everlasting arms of God are even more trustworthy. They undergird all of us. They boost us up and they keep us from falling. Blessed are we when we trust God above all others.

I’m giving God my trust this year.

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

December 10, 2020
What I Am Giving God This Year – A Life That Bears Delicious Fruit

I'm reflecting on the custom of gift-giving, which is grounded in God's greatest gift to us. We spend a lot of time selecting just the right gifts for our loved ones. And what shall I give to God? Advent provides me with the opportunity to consider that question.

John the Baptizer came preaching repentance, saying, “Bear fruit worthy of repentance. . . every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Mt. 3:8, 10). In other words, “Give God a life that tastes as good as it sounds!” That’s one of the things I want to give God this year, a life that bears delicious fruit. How do I do that?

I have to recognize the need for change and growth. A plant that stops changing and growing stops producing fruit. Things happen to people that cause them to stop changing and growing and their lives are not fruitful. A life that tastes as good as it sounds knows the necessity of change and growth.

I also have to learn to recognize good from evil. Have you ever bitten into a beautiful piece of fruit that has no flavor or is bitter? When dealing with fruit, it doesn’t take much more than a taste to tell the difference between good and bad. Why is it more difficult in dealing with the fruit of our lives? A life that tastes as good as it sounds recognizes the difference between good and evil. But then…

I have to make a choice. We may not be able to choose our parents or color of our skin or land of our birth. But we must choose how to respond to the people and the conditions around us. To give God a life that tastes as good as it sounds, we’ll have to change and grow, discern between good and bad, and make some responsible choices.

Our tradition includes both John the Baptizer and Jesus the Messiah! With only John, I’d know I am a snake, an unproductive bush. But with the Messiah, I know I have divine help to live a fruitful life.

Christian Baptism is not so much the dedication of a person’s life to God as it is the dedication of God’s life to a person and to a community of persons. John baptized with water for purification. But Jesus brought a baptism that included fire and the Holy Spirit. In Baptism, we are incorporated into God’s life, provided opportunities to turn to God, warned that being a faithful witness is costly, and given the Holy Spirit to help us live a fruitful life that tastes as good as it sounds.

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

December 3, 2020
What I am Giving God This Year – My Undivided Attention

“’Tis the Season!” You may wonder why I’m just getting around to saying this inasmuch as our shopping malls have been displaying Christmas merchandise since Halloween, reminding us that it is the season for gift-giving.

When we worship during Advent, we are reminded of the reason for the season. Our custom of gift-giving originated in our attempt to emulate God who gives himself to us. But, it is easy to forget to put God on our gift lists. After all, isn't the One who has given us the one necessary gift worthy to receive a response from us? So, I’m going to concentrate on what I’m giving to God this year and I especially want to give God my undivided attention.

To say that I am giving God my undivided attention doesn’t mean that I am supposed to find a hermitage somewhere and leave this life behind. It means that in the midst of everyday activities I need to be alert to the One who is looking for me through those events and guiding my response to them.

Advent is about those long centuries of waiting for the promised Messiah. Advent is about the thrill of knowing that promise has been fulfilled. Advent is about the expectation that the Messiah will come again to take us unto himself. But mainly, Advent is about watching and waiting for his appearance in the present moment.

Jesus said, "Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come" (Mk. 13:33).

A tourist stepped into the beautifully kept garden of the Castle Asconti in northern Italy. He encountered the gardener and asked when the owner was last there. “Twelve years ago,” the gardener said. The tourist then observed, “But you keep the grounds as though your master was coming back tomorrow.” The gardener quickly replied, “Today, sir. Today.”

A Christian watches and works as though the Master will return this very day because he does. He greets us in the mystery of Word and Sacrament on Sunday morning and at the intersection of the highways we travel on Wednesday afternoon. In this sense, as in the ultimate sense, his coming into our lives is something to which we should look forward. That merits my undivided attention.

Collect for the First Sunday of Advent

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

November 24, 2020
A Lesson About Change From a Tree

The leaves on the Maple Tree outside our bedroom window are turning red. Other trees across our area are also changing colors. This is not a rare or disturbing phenomenon. The trees are not dying. What is happening is the predictable effect of photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugar. The word means “put together with light.” Chlorophyll gives plants their green color and helps make photosynthesis happen. As summer ends and autumn arrives, days become shorter and there is not enough light for photosynthesis. So, during autumn and winter, the trees stop producing food. They rest and live off the food they stored during the summer. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves and other colors are visible.

Soon, the leaves will fall to the ground and add nutrients to the soil that will benefit the tree when spring and a new era of growth arrives. This annual process of change is necessary in order for the tree to thrive.

Human life also involves change. Sometimes, as with a pandemic, change is thrust upon us. But we do not have to regard ourselves as “victims” of change. Unlike trees, which do not have the privilege of deciding how to manage change, humans have choices. We have options! The greatest options involve intangibles such as attitude, inspiration, perspective, and spirit. After all, the inner life of a child of God is different from that of a tree. The kind of light we “put together” with the elements of our lives is a different kind of light, one we can seek in any season. Enlightenment is the human equivalent of photosynthesis.

We regard our Creator as changeless. Creation, on the other hand, is made alive by change. Of all God’s creatures, humans have the most options for managing change in purposeful ways that impact the unfolding story of creation. When we are able to work with changes that impact our lives, they are more likely to become springboards that propel us into the next stage of growth.

Learning to live creatively with change allows us not just to survive but to thrive. Businesses, institutions, communities, and individuals are reporting discoveries and new ways of operating while trying to cope with the challenges of COVID-19. Some of those changes will be permanent and will be beneficial for years to come.

So, in the light God gives, let us relish opportunities to explore changes that are thrust upon us and to purposefully initiate changes that will promote life and growth. In learning from change we expand our lives and become more fully human. By exercising our faith in God to guide and protect us through transitions, “we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this life” will find rest and refreshment in God’s eternal changelessness.

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

November 19, 2020
Something More Precious Than a Precious Stone

I have a great old roll top desk in my study. I'm sitting at it now as I compose this reflection. There are a number of treasures on my desk, including a small stone. This stone was given to me by a dear friend and colleague, The Rev'd Jim Nelson. He gave me the stone to remind me of a parable he tells.

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But, a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. "I've been thinking," he said. "I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this stone." Sometimes it's not the wealth you have but what's inside you that others need…A Precious Gift inside you.

As we move slowly through this time of COVID, so much of our attention seems to be focused on our own little worlds at a distance from others. In order to combat feelings of isolation and self-centeredness, we need to cultivate the spirit of generosity. I believe that the wise woman in this parable had the inner gift of generosity and I pray to receive it every single day when I see the stone my friend Fr. Jim gave me. It is something that is more precious than a precious stone,

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

November 12, 2020
The Feast of St. Martin of Tours

The Patron Saint of our church is Martin of Tours (330-397). His feast day is November 11. It has long been the custom in this parish to observe his feast day on the Sunday nearest to November 11. So, this year’s patronal feast day is November 8.

As a young man, Martin was a soldier in the Roman army and stationed in Gaul, which is modern-day France. One day as he was approaching the gates of the city of Amiens, he met a scantily clad beggar. He impulsively cut his military cloak in half to share with the man. That night, Martin dreamed of Jesus wearing the half-cloak he had given away. He heard Jesus say to the angels: "Martin, who is still but a catechumen, clothed me with this robe." (Sulpicius, ch 2). Soon thereafter, he was Baptized. Martin was ordained, started a monastery, became a Bishop, and was a great leader of the Church. But that act of compassion and the vision that followed became the most-repeated story about his life.

For fifty years, that story has inspired the people of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church to reach out to those in need. One way we do that is with our annual Coat Drive, organized by the Outreach Commission, which begins on the day of our patronal feast.

November 8 – 28, we are collecting new and gently used coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and other cold weather clothing for homeless neighbors served by Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County.

You can drop off your coats and other items on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. in the bin at the church red doors, or hand your donations to an usher during Drive-In Worship on Sundays. If you aren't able to drop off during those times, please call the church office at 817-431-2396 or email stmartin@stmartininthefields.org to arrange a time.

St. Martin shared his cloak with a poor man who was cold. Do you have a few spare cold weather clothes you can share with our neighbors to help keep them warm this winter? "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40 NRSV).

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

November 5, 2020
Only God Can Make a Saint

On Sunday, we’ll observe the Feast of All Saints. Normally, on this feast day, we help God make some saints when we administer the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Due to our COVID protocols, we won’t be able to do that this year. But we will renew our own Baptismal vows. We will recall that by water and the Holy Spirit, we are sanctified through Baptism. Through Baptism, we become “holy ones of the Most High” who “receive the kingdom.” We have been Baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and marked as Christ’s own for ever. Throughout our lives, we are formed as saints of God who live in communion with all the rest of the saints.

Whatever else we may be called during the course of our lives, in God’s eyes we are saints – blessed, sanctified, made holy, not by our own will but by the will of God. We are saints of God by grace and adoption. Above every other reason, when we return week by week, whether in person or virtually, to worship with other saints, we return to be reminded who we are and to give thanks – to offer Eucharist – for the divine gift of and vocation to sainthood. For we were created by God to bear the divine image, to be shaped and formed by the will of our Creator, to be filled with the fullness that only God can give.

We become members of the Church through Baptism. The Church is a unique institution in God’s eternal purpose, where the saints live in unity with God, one another, and those who have gone before us. We sometimes speak of the Church’s message, but if you read the New Testament carefully, you will see that it is the other way around. It’s not so much that the Church has a Message as that the Message has a Church. The saints, who are the Church, are the delivery system for the Message. That is our inheritance; our gift from God.

A colleague of mine enjoys telling of a time when a little boy was visiting his grandfather, whose church had beautiful stained glass windows. The little boy asked his grandfather who the people in the windows were. His grandfather told him, “Those are saints.” And the boy exclaimed, “Oh, I get it! Saints are people that the light shines through.”

Saints of God, you and I are people through whom God’s light shines. Throughout our lives, as our wills are transformed and we grow less resistant to God’s grace at work in us, the light of Christ shines more brilliantly through us.

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

October 29, 2020
The Greatest Benchmark

Not far from wherever you are is a benchmark. You may have never seen it. If you have seen it, you may have paid it little attention. It is a round metal plate, about four inches in diameter, embedded in concrete or rock or in the ground so that it cannot move even a fraction of an inch. Benchmarks are essential to civil engineers as reliable reference points for their surveying instruments. They can go back to the benchmarks again and again to check all their work.

I find it helpful to think of the commandments, ordinances, and precepts of Scripture as the benchmarks of our faith, rather than merely orders from on high. Our Creator has provided them to help us align our lives with God’s divine intentions for our own well being and to help us live abundantly. To ignore them or forget them is to construct an inadequate or incomplete life, just as an engineer or contractor builds poorly when neglecting the benchmark. We can return to the divine benchmarks again and again to check the alignment of our lives.

A Pharisee asked Jesus, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).

Jesus, is the embodiment of the Great Commandment. Jesus was Love Incarnate, Love-in-the-Flesh. To look at Jesus is to look at the fullest expression of Love Divine. To look like Jesus is to live life to the fullest, as God desires. To trust Jesus is to persistently turn to him and align one’s life to him. All of the Law and the Prophets are fulfilled in him. A favorite saying of our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, is “If it’s not about love, it’s not about Jesus.”

Turning to Jesus Christ week by week for Word and Sacrament is our communal act of aligning our lives with his life, the benchmark of the Way of Love. It is difficult in this age of COVID and we’ve had to find extraordinary means in these extraordinary times. No matter what life throws at us, we persist in the practice of seeking the grace to be the ordinary and normal way God’s love is expressed in the world around us.

Bishop Curry’s latest book, “Love Is the Way,” was released on Sept. 22, and like his 2018 book, “The Power of Love,” it emphasizes Christian teachings, particularly Jesus’ command to love one’s neighbor, as a powerful force for unity and healing in a hurting world. We will be reading the book and having virtual conversations about it during the Season of Advent. Watch for details for signing up.

In the meantime, let us be reminded that our Creator has provided us with a benchmark for abundant living to which we can return week by week, day by day, hour by hour.

Blessings,

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

October 22, 2020