Pastor's Corner:

During this coming year in the Pastor's Corner of our monthly newsletter, I will do portraits of the Apostles and other early followers of Jesus Christ. I will begin this year with the apostle Paul.

In II Timothy 4:5-8, the apostle Paul says this to Timothy,

"But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

The first commands that Paul gives Timothy in this passage are that he must keep his head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and discharge all the duties of his ministry. There is much happening to Paul and Timothy that could have caused them to become anxious and distraught. The first commands logically fit together because Paul is in jail and he realizes his days are numbered. We can say this with some certainty because of the language he uses in verses 6-8. He says the time for his departure is at hand. The records of the early church tell us that Paul was martyred under Nero, emperor of Rome. He was executed sometime between 64-68 AD.

On the one hand, Paul as well as all Christians should be at peace with God, whether in the prime of life or nearing death. We can have peace with God through the person and work of Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son. Because we have been reconciled with God through the cross of Christ, we can endure suffering, trials, and even death itself, knowing that God will never leave us nor cast us aside.

But having said that Christians need not fear death, there is much that can happen in the process of dying that can cause us to lose our bearings. Knowing our humanity and our fallen condition, Paul reminds Timothy to keep his head and to be faithful to the calling that has been given him not only as a baptized Christian, but the specific calling as a pastor and evangelist.

Paul and Timothy could have become anxious about the persecution that Paul was experiencing. They also could have been troubled by the presence of false teaching within the Christian Church. In II Timothy 4:1-4, Paul had charged Timothy to be faithful in accurately preaching the Christian Gospel. He also warned Timothy that the time would come when people would not put up with sound doctrine but instead go to teachers who will tickle their ears and tell them what they wanted to hear.

The presence of false teaching and ungodly lifestyles in the professing Christian Church is not new. But Paul's remedy is that we know the content of the Gospel so well we will not be fooled by a counterfeit gospel. It is for the sake of Jesus Christ and His message that Paul is imprisoned and he was willing to die a martyr's death. He tells Timothy that he has fought the good fight, he has finished the race, he has kept the faith. He has been faithful in life and now, near death's door, to the Good News that Jesus Christ is the divine Son of God and the Incarnate Lord who came down for the salvation of mankind, who lived, died on the Cross for our sins, and rose again on the third day.

It is this Jesus, the righteous Judge, who is coming again and who will vindicate not only Paul but all those who love Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Even though the Caesar of Rome would pass judgment upon Paul to be executed, Paul is reminding us that mere mortal man does not have the last word.

We are all sinners and we are in need of God to intervene and rescue from
sin, injustice, and death. Jesus Christ came for the express purpose of setting this world aright, to fix everything that had been messed up by Adam's sin.

As we begin a New Year let us remember that we don't what know what is in store for us in the coming year, but let us entrust ourselves to God who is faithful and all powerful. The Lord alone is able to keep us so that we are able to trust and obey Him as our Sovereign Lord.

I close with the Collect for Conversion of St. Paul which we commemorate on January 25th:

"O God, who through the preaching of the apostle Paul caused the light of the gospel to shine throughout the world, grant that as we remember his wonderful conversion we may show our thankfulness by following the holy doctrine which he taught, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

PASTOR'S HOURS:
Monday: At the rectory all day
Tuesday: Morning at rectory; 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM at church
Wednesday: Morning at rectory; 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM at church
Thursday: At church 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday: Morning at rectory; 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM at church

REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH PRAYER LIST
FOR JANUARY 2006

January 1
- Church of the Holy Spirit, Pepperell, MA - Rev. Irving R. Cook, Vicar
- Good Shepherd Church, Brockton, MA - Rev. Eduardo A. Andrade, Rector
- St. Mary's Church, Bronx, NY - Rev. Belgrave Pelle, Rector
- Jesus the Good Shepherd Church, Brooklyn, NY-Rev. Eugene Phipps, Vicar
- St. Luke's Chapel. East Aurora, NY-Rev. William R. Stott, Rector

January 8
- First Church, New York, NY-Rev. Matthew Harrington, Rector
- Covenant Chapel, Basking Ridge, NJ-Rev. Gregory J. Miller, Rector
- St. Augustine's Church, Elizabeth, NJ-Rev. Daniel Luca, Vicar
- St. Joseph of Arimathea Church, Fairhaven, NJ-Most Rev. Dr. Herbert Groce, SSC, Vicar
- Church of Our Redeemer, Jersey City, NJ-Rev. John Milligan, Vicar

January 15
- Providence Chapel, Mt. Laurel, NJ-Rev. Frank M. Spadafora, Rector
- St. Luke's Church, New Providence, NJ-Rev. Cedric R. Benner, Rector
- Emmanuel Church, Somerville, NJ-Rev. Christopher Pierce, Rector
- Church of St. John's-by-the-Sea, Ventnor, NJ-Rev. Ronald Bretherick, Rector
- Grace-Christ Memorial Church, Collingdale, PA-Rev. Michael D. Fitzpatrick, Rector

January 22
- St. Michael's Church, Enola, PA-Very Rev. William Sloane, Interim Rector
- St. Matthew's Church, Havertown, PA-Ven. Jon W. Abboud, Rector
- St. Paul's Church, Oreland, PA-Rev. Dr. Wayne Headman, Interim Rector
- Christ Memorial Church, Philadelphia, PA-Rev. Michael D. Fitzpatrick, Interim Rector
- Church of the Atonement, Philadelphia, PA-Rev. Mark E. Specht, Interim Vicar

January 29
- Church of the Messiah, Philadelphia, PA-Rev. Chiron P. Thompson, Vicar
- St. Luke's-Bishop Hoffman Church, Philadelphia, PA-Rev. Richard K. Walters, Rector
- Emmanuel Church, Pipersville, PA-Rev. William G. Garrison, Rector
- Church of the Redemption, Quakertown, PA-Rev. Robert N. McIntyre, Rector
- St. Mark's Church, Rydal, PA-Rev. Richard Workowski, Rector

Give me a sense of humor, Lord,
Give me the grace to see a joke,
To get some humor out of life,
And pass it on to other folk.