Message for the Last Sunday After the Epiphany – February 14, 2021

Readings, Written Messages

Views from the Pews,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I share with you from  “A Handbook for Anglicans” the chapter entitled “The Christian Life.”

Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.”

The abundant life, the eternal life, the divine life is the quality of life that the Christian experiences as a consequence of a relationship with Christ Jesus.  This relationship which we have in Christ Jesus is grounded in God the Father and given to us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Hence a Christian is one who believes that God is to be experienced as a Triune Being: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Our relationship with God is a dynamic one.  Its goal is that we should grow in the Holy Spirit each day.  This growth will produce certain virtues within us namely faith: our ability to trust God within each and every circumstance, hope: our ability to be confident about life no matter what the circumstance, and love: our ability to draw closer to God and each other through every circumstance.

This growing relationship with God is lived within the context that all of us who have this relationship with God through Christ Jesus, ought to see ourselves as being the children of ONE FATHER and hence brothers and sisters.  This means that the characteristics or the attributes of the Father should be seen in each of us in our relationship with each other and the world.  Therefore according to the catechism of the Church in the Province of the West Indies, Christians should:

  • Come to God in personal prayer everyday
  • Read and meditate on the Holy Scripture daily
  • Receive the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood frequently and in expectant faith and love
  • Follow the example of Jesus in daily life, guided and inspired by the Holy Spirit
  • Speak about Jesus openly, as the Lord whom you know and experience
  • Work for justice and reconciliation in society
  • Uphold Christian standards in marriage and family
  • Bring up children to love and serve the Lord
  • Give money in support of God’s work, bearing in mind the claims of tithing as an expression of gratitude for and dedication of our material possessions to God and His service
  • Give personal service to the Church and to our neighbour

As a consequence of this, we will be able to show the world that it is possible for us to enjoy a quality of life which is neither      materialistic and/or individualistic, but rather strive to be concerned about the common good and the promotion of values that are eternal.  This possibility exists because of our life in God through His Son Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore being a Christian means being a transforming agent for God in the world.