Ancient Anglican

The Parable of the Sower offers us two ways of considering evangelism.

Evangelism is theocentric (originating in God) not anthropocentric (originating in the needs of humanity). It is defined, directed, energized, and accomplished through the Trinity and not through us. We have a role to play as simply the messenger or storyteller.

Evangelism is the act of simply inviting someone to participate in this story of the Risen Christ. Our problem is that we make evangelism too complicated, and like Moses, we create excuses to stay on the sidelines.

Evangelism is an invitation and a summons to switch stories and therefore to change lives.

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and of great kindness. He will not always accuse us, nor will he keep his anger for ever. As a father cares for his children.

And just as in pain (Heb: itstsabon) does the woman bear children, so also in toil (Heb: itstsabon) will the man bring food from the ground.

The man said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the treee, and I ate.”

The seed, therefore, of sin is in the suggestion, the nourishment of it in delight, its maturity in the consent.

Once the humans eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, they know that they are mortal and are not God. They know that life is precarious and they will die.

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

God’s creeation is “not good” because the person’s creation is incomplete because the person is alone.

The Lord God commanded “You may eat of every tree of the garden but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”