Ancient Anglican

Last Sunday was Trinity Sunday. The word “Trinity” doesn’t appear in Scripture, although there are hints particularly in the Great Commission (Matt 28:19) and Paul’s farewell in Second Corinthians (2 Cor. 13:13). The word itself first appears in the late second-century writing by Tertullian called Against Praxeas. There are different ways of approaching the Trinity. …

This Sunday is the Feast of Pentecost. For today, please read the story of Pentecost in Acts 2. “Pentecost” means fiftieth in Greek. It is the Jewish festival of Shavout, and takes place fifty days after the Passover. The festival’s origins were to celebrate the grain harvest (Deut. 16:9-11). Jewish tradition dating back …

This Thursday is Ascension Day, which occurs 40 days after Easter. Only Luke, in both his gospel and in Acts, tells about the Ascension. (Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:6-11). For tonight, please read and meditate on the longer passage from Acts. For me, Ascension Day is the most neglected of all Feast Days on the Church’s …

For this evening, please read through the story of the Resurrection as told to us by John in John 20-21. Before reading this account, re-read the prologue to John’s gospel found in John 1:1-18. This prologue finds its fulfillment in John’s Resurrection account. In John’s account, we also have one of the great …

For tonight, please read the Resurrection account as given to us in Luke 24. Please read chapter 16 of N. T. Wright’s review of Luke’s account from his book The Resurrection of the Son of God. THE TOMB: Luke’s account of the Resurrection begins the same way as in Mark and Matthew – the three …

This evening, please read the Resurrection narrative given to us in Matthew 28. I have attached the excerpt concerning the gospel of Matthew from N. T. Wright’s The Resurrection of the Son of God if you wish to dive deeper into the text. Although 97% of Mark’s gospel text is found in Matthew, Matthew will rework Mark …

For this week please read and contemplate the Resurrection narrative given to us in Mark 16. Like his gospel in general, Mark’s story of the Resurrection is short. Depending upon your lung capacity, you may be able to read the entirety of the story in one breath. Please read chapter 14 from N. …

During Eastertide this year, we will be walking through the biblical accounts of the Resurrection appearances of Jesus. The apostles witnessed and experienced something extraordinary on the Sunday after the Crucifixion and in the weeks that followed. What we have in the Scriptural accounts is their attempts to articulate what occurred. …

The final chapter of Archbishop Rowan William’s book Being Disciples: Essentials of the Christian Life is about “Life in the Spirit.” This is the end goal of Christian discipleship – to live by the Spirit. Too often when we speak of a “life in the spirit” we envision a monk dedicating himself to prayer …

This week’s reading is Chapter 5 – Faith in Society – of Archbishop Rowan Williams’s book Being Disciples: Essentials of the Christian Life. The question that Dr. Williams explores is “What place does Christian discipleship have in a modern democratic society?” Historically, there were different answers to the question of a Christian’s …

This week we are discussing chapter 4 – Holiness – of Archbishop Rowan Williams’ book: Being Disciples: Essentials of the Christian Life. The word “holy” in Hebrew – qodesh – means to be sacred or set apart. The Sabbath is holy because it is set apart from other days. The Aaronite priesthood is holy because …

Tonight we will be gathering to discuss chapter 3 – Forgiveness – of Archbishop Rowan Williams’ book: Being Disciples: Essentials of the Christian Life.  Please read over this chapter slowly in preparation for this evening. A blog that I read often is Glory to God for All Things. It is written by Fr. Stephen Freeman …