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“When society collapses, I shall rule as the Pudding King!”

Sitting around reading the fine print while you eat your frozen dinner can sometimes prove to be quite profitable.

In 1999, David Phillips was reading the fine print on his Healthy Choice frozen dinner when he came across a promotion. It seems that every ten barcodes you sent in from a Healthy Choice product would earn you 1,000 frequent flyer miles for a particular airline.

Not having much to do that morning, Mr. Phillips did a bit of math and discovered that 10 barcodes of Healthy Choice meals was far cheaper than a 1,000 miles. In particular, he discovered that 10 Healthy Choice puddings, compared to 1,000 miles was a steal, so he ran around town and bought every pudding he could lay his hands on – all 12,150 cups. To avoid suspicion, he told the store managers he was stocking up for Y2K (that now mythical end of the technological world). Hence, “When society collapses, I shall rule as the Pudding King!”

In exchange for the pudding – because, after all, who can eat 12,150 cups of pudding – he enlisted the help of the Salvation Army to help him peel off the barcode labels. They got the pudding and he got the miles, plus an $800 tax deduction for his donation.

In the end, it cost Mr. Phillips about $2,000 for 1.25 million frequent flyer miles. Depending on the carrier, that’s around 50 to 60 roundtrip tickets or about $40 a trip for reading the fine print.

Today we have one of those very curious readings from the Old Testament that makes you want to double-check that you didn’t pick up a Stephen King novel when you thought you were reading the Bible.

The Lord is making His covenant with Abram, telling Abram of the land and descendants He will give to him, but Abram asked the Lord how he was to know that this was really going to happen. The Lord said, “’Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.’ He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.” Later, after Abram had fallen into a deep sleep, “A smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.’”

What has happened? For us, this may sound quite bizarre, but for Abram, it would have been familiar. The Lord has made a blood covenant with Abram.

At that time, when a treaty was agreed to, the two parties would slaughter the animals and lay one half on either side of a trench where – sorry if this gives you a queasy stomach – but in the trench the blood from the animals would collect, then the two parties would walk through the trench, the act clearly stating, “May this – this carnage and blood – happen to me if I break my treaty with you” (for you Harry Potter fans, think of Severus Snape’s Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy).

Abram saw the fire pot and flaming torch – the Lord – passing through the trench that he had made. Abram saw God sealing the covenant in blood. Through these actions, the Lord is saying to Abram, “I will spill my own blood before I break my covenant with you. You will forever be my people and I will forever be your God.” However, for a covenant to remain intact, both parties must keep their end of the deal, which makes God’s actions even more remarkable, for God is also saying, “I will also be responsible for you. I will pay the price if you fail to keep your end of our agreement. I will shed my blood if you fail.”

On the night before he was crucified, Jesus and his disciples gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem. Jesus washed their feet and they shared a meal. “Then Jesus took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’  And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’”

By our sin it is impossible for us to keep the covenant with God; and Jesus said, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.” God fulfilled the covenant he made with Abram by the shedding of His Own Precious Blood.

In the world today, like the Pudding King, most are looking for the small print and loopholes. They look for ways to get a piece of the good deals and ways to finagle out of that bad ones. They will work the system to get what they want, and if they cant’ figure it out for themselves, they’ll hire a lawyer to work on their behalf.

Our God is not interested in loopholes or finagling, but he does have a “want,” a desire that He is willing to gain at any cost: He “desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Because of His great love for us, through Jesus, God satisfied this desire and obtained for us our salvation by fulfilling the blood covenant He made with Abram.

Some 400 years after Abram, Moses said to the people, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” He kept His covenant then and He keeps it today with us. He is our God and we are His people.

Let us pray: Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of this redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

This 85 year old couple, having been married almost 60 years, had died in a car accident. They had been in good health the last ten years mainly due to her interest in health food, and exercise. When they reached the pearly gates, St. Peter took them to their mansion which was decked out with a beautiful kitchen and master bath suite and Jacuzzi. As they “oohed and aahed” the old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost. “It’s free,” Peter replied, “this is Heaven.” Next they went out back to survey the championship golf course that the home backed up to. They would have golfing privileges everyday and each week the course changed to a new one representing the great golf courses on earth. The old man asked, “What are the green fees?” Peter’s reply, “This is heaven, you play for free.” Next they went to the club house and saw the lavish buffet lunch with the cuisines of the world laid out. “How much to eat?” asked the old man. “Don’t you understand yet? This is heaven, it is free,” Peter replied with some exasperation. “Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol tables?” the old man asked timidly. Peter lectured, “That’s the best part, you can eat as much as you like of whatever you like and you never get fat and you never get sick. This is Heaven.” With that the old man went into a fit of anger, throwing down his hat and stomping on it, and shrieking wildly. Peter and his wife both tried to calm him down, asking him what was wrong. The old man looked at his wife and said, “This is all your fault. If it weren’t for your blasted bran muffins and uncountable laps around the mall, I could have been here ten years ago!”

So, how are all those New Year’s resolutions working out for you? Mine seems to be getting more difficult, because instead of losing weight, I’ve already gained an extra few pounds!

Of the top five resolutions, you will almost always find: eating healthier, quit smoking, and getting healthier. I suppose we all want to look better and live healthier, but I would also suggest to you that behind all of these efforts is one single fear. The fear of death. But I’ve got news for you, you can run a hundred miles a day, but you will not outrun death. It will catch you. (Thank you Fr. John for depressing us all this morning! Not my intent, though.)

In the opening chapters of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Mr. Brocklehurst comes to collect Jane from her aunt and uncle’s home and take her to a school for girls. Jane’s aunt, Mrs. Reed, has described Jane to Mr. Brocklehurst as a child with a “tendency for deceit.”

Mr. Brocklehurst, a rather unpleasant man says to Jane, “No sight so sad as that of a naughty child, especially a naughty little girl. Do you know where the wicked go after death?”

“They go to hell,” was Jane’s ready and orthodox answer.

“And what is hell? Can you tell me that?”

“A pit full of fire.”

“And should you like to fall into that pit, and to be burning there for ever?”

“No, sir.”

“What must you do to avoid it?”

Jane deliberated a moment: her answer, when it did come was objectionable: “I must keep in good health and not die.”

I must keep in good health and not die. Even though it is inevitable, like jane, we would like to avoid it, but what Benjamin Franklin said is true, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Therefore, somewhere in our minds, we accept the inevitability of death and then begin to console ourselves by saying things like, “Dying is just a part of living” and “Death is natural.” But what if I told you that these are just lies? What if I told you that you were not created to die?

Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” God did not create death. You were not created to die. It was through our sin that death came into the world. We say with Jane Eyre, “I must keep in good health and not die,” and then make our resolutions to lose weight, quit smoking and all the rest in an attempt to avoid death, because death is not natural. Dying is the most un-natural thing we will ever do, so we fight against it. We may accept it and be reconciled to the fact that it will happen, but every cell of our bodies will reject death’s claim over our lives. And fortunately for us, so does God. God has rejected death’s claim over you and through Christ has restored what was taken through sin.

Again, to the Romans, Paul wrote, “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

That ancient serpent holds out his sinful fruit to each of us, and just as Adam and Eve took and ate, so do we. The moment that fateful fruit touches our lips we are dead, but God in His infinite goodness extends to us the one thing that can overcome this sting of death. He extends to us His Son, and through our baptism we are united to Jesus in His death and into His resurrection. Therefore, for us, death is not an end or a destination, it is only something we pass through.

Hear again the words we read earlier that the Lord spoke through the Prophet Isaiah:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.

Jesus’ baptism shows us how we might follow him, and his death provides a way for us to pass through the waters and the fire without being overwhelmed or consumed. One of the great theologians, Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote, “The Church does not dispense the sacrament of baptism in order to acquire for herself an increase in membership but in order to consecrate a human being to God and to communicate to that person the divine gift of birth from God.”

Luke wrote in our Gospel, Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” As we rise from the waters of our own baptism, the voice of God is also heard: “You are my son, my daughter, my beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Your only real death occurs here—in the waters of baptism—but you do not remain, for through the One born in a manger, the One who was worshipped by shepherds and kings, the one who conquered death once and for all, raises you to new life, consecrating you as sons and daughters of God Most High.

Let us pray: Father in Heaven, when the Spirit came down upon Jesus at His Baptism in the Jordan, You revealed Him as Your own Beloved Son. Keep us, Your children, born of water and the Spirit, faithful to our calling. May we, who share in Your Life as Your children through Baptism, follow in Christ’s path of service to all people. Let us become one in His Sacrifice and hear His Word with faith. May we live as Your children, following the example of Jesus. Amen.

Thomas Becket and King Henry II were close friends. Even though a deacon in the church, Becket enjoyed a rather worldly life, often going out carousing with the young king. Given there close relationship, Henry believed that he could take a firm grip on the church by appointing his friend as Archbishop of Canterbury; therefore, on June, 2, 1162, Thomas was ordained a priest, in the morning on June 3 he was consecrated a bishop, and that afternoon he was installed as the Archbishop of Canterbury.

However, it was soon clear that Becket’s loyalties had shifted away from Henry to the church and the relationship between the two became strained. This became most evident in an incident where a priest had been accused of murder. At the time, clergy were tried by the church, but Henry wanted such authority under the crown. When the priest was acquitted under the church, Henry was furious and changed the law. From there things deteriorated much more, leading Becket to flee to France in fear for his life.

Eventually Thomas and the king would be somewhat reconciled; however, while Thomas was in exile in France he had excommunicated two bishops in England for giving into the king’s demands, but when he returned to England he refused to lift the excommunication order, which once again infuriated the king. Henry is then reported to have said to four of his knights, “What sluggards, what cowards have I brought up in my court, who care nothing for their allegiance to their lord. Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest.”

The four took these words as a command to go and execute Thomas. They found him at Canterbury Cathedral where they confronted him at the altar of the church. A witness to the events, a monk, Edward Grim wrote, ”The murderers followed him; ‘Absolve’, they cried, ‘and restore to communion those whom you have excommunicated, and restore their powers to those whom you have suspended.’

“He answered, ‘There has been no satisfaction, and I will not absolve them.’

‘Then you shall die,’ they cried, ‘and receive what you deserve.’

‘I am ready,’ he replied, ‘to die for my Lord, that in my blood the Church may obtain liberty and peace. But in the name of Almighty God, I forbid you to hurt my people whether clerk or lay.’

“Then they lay sacrilegious hands on him, pulling and dragging him that they may kill him outside the church, or carry him away a prisoner, as they afterwards confessed. But when he could not be forced away from the pillar, one of them pressed on him and clung to him more closely. Him he pushed off calling him ‘pander’, and saying, ‘Touch me not, Reginald; you owe me fealty and subjection; you and your accomplices act like madmen.’

“The knight, fired with a terrible rage at this severe repulse, waved his sword over the sacred head. ‘No faith’, he cried, ‘nor subjection do I owe you against my fealty to my lord the King.’

And there, inside Canterbury Cathedral, they murdered Thomas. His final words, ‘For the Name of Jesus and the protection of the Church I am ready to embrace death.’

Jesus said, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Harry Potter character for you muggles) said, “There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to our friends.”

There will be times when we must make a decision between the demands of the world and the demands of God. Thomas Becket shows us how to stand even when the demands of the world are made by our friends. It will not be easy, but through Christ Jesus, we can hold to the faith that is within us and stand firm.

Boudreaux and Thibodeaux went hunting and got lost in the woods. When Boudreaux began lamenting their fate, Thibodeaux said, “You know, I heard that the best thing to do if you get lost is to fire three shots in the air.” So they did that, and waited a while. When no rescue party showed up, they fired three more shots. Finally, when there was still no response, Thibodeaux said, “Well, I guess we better fire three more shots.” “OK, if you say so,” said Boudreaux. “But somebody better come soon—we’re about out of arrows!”

One holy catholic and apostolic. We’ve reached the final and fourth mark of the church as described in the Nicene Creed: apostolic.

The apostolic mark of the Church speaks of continuity. It is not a line that goes backward like in a children’s connect the dots puzzle, but a bond, an uninterrupted progression from Jesus and the apostles to us today, made possible through the bishops and the work of all God’s people. It began at the manger in Bethlehem and continues through the witness of every Christian today. However, where one holy and catholic primarily speak about who we are, apostolic speaks mainly about what we do, our work as the Church.

Our work as the Church is summarized nicely in the form of questions that we ask in the Baptismal Covenant: Will you continue in the apostles’ teachings? Will you persevere? Will you seek and serve Christ? Will you strive for justice? As the Church, I believe we do a brilliant job of these things, both individually and corporately. However, although we can always improve, there is one area of our work that we really need to improve. You see, as Episcopalians, we have selective hearing when it comes to the question, “Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?” As Episcopalians we hear, “Will you proclaim by {mumble mumble} example the Good News in Christ?” It is good to proclaim Christ through our work, but in some cases, it is the equivalent of shooting up arrows and hoping someone will hear you.

An apostolic church is one that has continuity with the past, but it is also one that continues into the future. For that to happen, we must be like those first apostles and proclaim Christ’s message with our deeds, but there are also times when we must speak plainly about our faith.

During this Advent season, we hear God’s word as it speaks about the first and second coming of Jesus. Some will remember our minor prophet’s study when we discussed Joel and how he talked about “the day of the Lord.” Speaking of this day, the Lord said, “I will show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.  The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.” Yet in the midst of that message of judgment, there was the message of hope, for the Lord adds, “Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

It is the Apostle Paul who quoted this line in his letter to the Romans, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Paul then adds, “But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?  And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” And, following his resurrection, Jesus said to his apostles, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

In the movie Gravity, Sandra Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone who is aboard the space shuttle when it encounters catastrophic failures (hopefully, I won’t spoil it too much for you if you haven’t seen it). Towards the end, she finds herself alone, with limited oxygen and no way home. She is unable to communicate with mission control on earth, but as she turns the dial, she picks up through the static the voice of a man, Aningang. He can’t hear her, but through her tears she speaks to him: “I’m going to die, Aningang. I mean, we’re all going to die. Everyone knows that. But I’m going to die today… Funny that. To know. And you know what Aningang… I don’t care. I don’t care if I die. I don’t have anything… not anymore. But the thing is… I’m still scared. I’m really scared… No one will mourn me. No one will pray for my soul. Will you mourn me, Aningang? Is it too late to say a prayer? I’d say one for myself, but I have never prayed in my life… no one ever taught me how… No one ever taught me how.”

How would it be to die and to not know how to pray? How would it be to die and not know that there is a God of infinite love? How would it be to die and not know that the God of infinite love, loves you?

Our new Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, recalls the words of the angel at the empty tomb of Jesus, “This Jesus of Nazareth whom you seek, he is not here, he has been raised as he said he would be and he has now gone ahead of you to Galilee.  There you will see him.  It is in Galilee that the Risen Lord will be found and seen for he has gone ahead of us.”

Bishop Curry goes on to say,

“Galilee.  Which is a way of talking about the world.

Galilee.

In the streets of the city.

Galilee.

In our rural communities.

Galilee in our hospitals.

Galilee in our office places.

Galilee where God’s children live and dwell there.

In Galilee you will meet the living Christ for He has already gone ahead of you.

The church can no longer wait for its congregation to come to it, the church must go where the congregation is.

Now is our time to go.  To go into the world to share the good news of God and Jesus Christ.  To go into the world and help to be agents and instruments of God’s reconciliation.  To go into the world, let the world know that there is a God who loves us, a God who will not let us go, and that that love can set us all free.

Bishop Curry concludes, “This is the Jesus Movement, and we are The Episcopal Church, the Episcopal branch of Jesus’ movement in this world.”

We are one holy catholic and apostolic church. As the Church, we stand at the foot of the cross, made complete in one flesh with Jesus, bound together in love, and made holy by means of grace, and our continuing mission has been firmly established.

Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” He sends us all to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ. You are the Episcopal branch of Jesus’ movement in Enid. Go! Go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that Jesus has commanded us. And remember, He is with us always, to the very end of the age.

Let us pray—Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Follow this link to see Bishop Curry’s full message.

A medieval astrologer prophesied to a king that his favorite mistress would soon die. Sure enough, the woman died a short time later. The king was outraged at the astrologer, certain that his prophecy had brought about the woman’s death.

He summoned the astrologer and commanded him: “Prophecy, tell me when you will die!”

The astrologer realized that the king was planning to kill him immediately, no matter what answer he gave. “I do not know when I will die,” he answered finally. “I only know that whenever I die, the king will die three days later.”

Henry Randall said that Henry VIII was a “lying, greedy and idiotic king, an beetle and a pile of dung, the spawn of a snake, a chicken, a lying toad mixed all together by Satan’s spawn.” He may have said it, but I would wager a lifetimes salary that he would never have said it to Henry’s face. Whether king or queen, history tells us that the monarchs have always gotten what they wanted. Disappointing the monarch could cost you everything. Angering the monarch could cost you your life.

Jesus is correct when he says, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.”

The monarchs of this earth – with a few exceptions – have mostly proven to be scoundrels and if it were not for their bloodlines that allowed them to ascend the throne – or dare I say, their ability to win an election – we would likely want nothing to do with them.

Today, however, we celebrate our King. His titles are numerous: King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega, The Light of the World, The Word of God, The Bright Morning Star, The Great I Am. The list goes on, but simply, our King is the Messiah, the Christ – Jesus, and today we celebrate his Reign and Kingship.

In our Gospel, “Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.’” Jesus confirms that he is a King, but also states, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Following this exchange, Pilate finds no basis for a charge against Jesus and seeks to release him, but as we know, Jesus will eventually be turned over to be crucified.

So we have Jesus confirming the fact that he is a King and in our hearts, by following him, we confirm that he is our King, our Lord and Master. As his followers, we declare ourselves his disciples, but to be a disciple of Jesus is more than a declaration – “I will follow you!” – anyone can do that. It is also more than just learning what He teaches, because even the devil has accomplished that. To declare ourselves disciples of Jesus, we must be like him every respect. We must have his Spirit within us, we must have his flesh as our flesh, guiding our every step and thought. That might seem easy at first glance. He’s a king and it is good to be king. Yet, as the Lord spoke through the Prophet Isaiah:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

And Jesus confirms this, for as he states, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them… But… but you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.”

The passage “one who serves” is from the Greek διάκονος, where we get the word “deacon.” We often think of “one who serves” as one who waits on another person, but a broader understanding is to say, “one who ministers.” One who attends to the needs of others, and the “need” that Jesus was attending to by serving us was the need for the salvation of our souls. That serving, as we know, led to the cross on Calvary and our Kings’ death. And as His true disciples, we are to be like him every respect.

The life and death Jesus calls us to is not for weaklings. It’s not just about the exterior – “I didn’t kill anyone today, so I must be in good shape.” It is not about a list of do’s and don’ts. It is not just about looking the part, for anyone can do that.

A priest tells the story of the time during the 70’s that he was living in a monastery in New York. It seems that while living there he had numerous millionaire friends who enjoyed his company and would invite him out. He recalls on one occasion being invited to a swank restaurant and a Broadway play. During the intermission, he and his friends went out for some fresh air and engaged in a rather highbrow conversation regarding the play.

As he was going about trying to impress his friends with his intellectual savvy he noticed someone walking toward him who was “not one of the beautiful people.” Her clothes were a bit tattered, her shoes worn, and her nylons had holes. As she approached he also noticed that she was peddling the Variety magazine for $0.75, so in a gesture of extreme generosity he handed her a dollar and casually waved her away, eager to wow his friends a bit more.

And then she said, “Father?” The priest writes, “In those days, I knew I couldn’t distinguish myself by my virtues, so I distinguished myself by my clothing; I always wore the collar, ‘Father, could I talk to you a minute?’ I snapped, ‘What? Can’t you see I’m busy? Do you make a habit of interrupting people in the middle of a conversation? Wait over there and I’ll speak to you when I’m done.’ She whispered, ‘Jesus wouldn’t talk to Mary Magdalene like that.’ And then she was gone.”

Later, he wondered what this young woman would have thought if she had wandered into his church the following Sunday to hear him preach on the love of God. He asked, “How could she believe in the love of a God she can’t see when she couldn’t find even a trace of love in the eyes of a brother wearing a clerical collar whom she could see?” He noted, “A shriveled humanity has a shrunken capacity for receiving the rays of God’s love.” (From The Furious Longing of God, Brennan Manning)

There are many who come up to us everyday and ask, “Could I talk to you a minute?” They ask it verbally and nonverbally. They ask it with their lips and they ask it with their tears. And when they ask, they are not asking us to tell them to do this and to not do that. When they ask, they are asking us to see them as one made in God’s image, and perhaps for only a few moments, to love them.

As his disciples, Jesus calls us to serve as he served and to minister as he ministered. It is a call to live the life of a king. The King of Kings. St. Josemaría Escrivá writes, “How little a life is to offer to God!” Offer your life to the King and enter his courts, for the words the Psalmist spoke of the Lord are true:

A day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than live in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
happy is everyone who trusts in you.

Serve the King as the King served you, and walk in His eternal courts.

“To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

THE LONGINGS OF OUR HEARTS MUST BE EXAMINED AND MODERATED –

THE VOICE OF CHRIST

MY CHILD, it is necessary for you to learn many things which you have not yet learned well.

THE DISCIPLE

What are they, Lord?

THE VOICE OF CHRIST

That you conform your desires entirely according to My good pleasure, and be not a lover of self but an earnest doer of My will. Desires very often inflame you and drive you madly on, but consider whether you act for My honor, or for your own advantage. If I am the cause, you will be well content with whatever I ordain. If, on the other hand, any self-seeking lurk in you, it troubles you and weighs you down. Take care, then, that you do not rely too much on preconceived desire that has no reference to Me, lest you repent later on and be displeased with what at first pleased you and which you desired as being for the best. Not every desire which seems good should be followed immediately, nor, on the other hand, should every contrary affection be at once rejected.

It is sometimes well to use a little restraint even in good desires and inclinations, lest through too much eagerness you bring upon yourself distraction of mind; lest through your lack of discipline you create scandal for others; or lest you be suddenly upset and fall because of resistance from others. Sometimes, however, you must use violence and resist your sensual appetite bravely. You must pay no attention to what the flesh does or does not desire, taking pains that it be subjected, even by force, to the spirit. And it should be chastised and forced to remain in subjection until it is prepared for anything and is taught to be satisfied with little, to take pleasure in simple things, and not to murmur against inconveniences.