Thoughts on the Sixth Sunday after Trinity

Tomorrow's 1928 BCP Gospel, from the fifth chapter of Matthew, beginning with verse 20, speaks of righteousness, forgiveness, and 'giving over' to your adversary. In the reading, Jesus speaks of a person being angry with a (his) brother without a cause being in danger of the same judgement to be meted out for murder.

There are many sermon topics in the lesson for the day, but I would like to dwell on one of them that is often misunderstood, or even omitted from exposition.

Jesus speaks of reconciling with a wronged (or wronging) brother...before coming to the altar to worship with our gifts, with our alms and oblations, with our selves, our souls and bodies, that reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice that He demands of us.

Those who yet remain in the Episcopal Church can, if they really try, see themselves in the latter verses of this lesson setting...'Agree with thine adversary quickly...lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the magistrate (officer), and thou be cast into prison'. We can apply that teaching to the discussion, debate, and litigiousness that is overtaking the congregations of the Episcopal Church in dioceses after diocese, as bishops and standing committees, chancellors and diocesan and provincial administrators are bringing suit against faithful Anglican congregations who have, in most cases, paid for their properties, paid for all improvements, paid all utility bills, salaries, assessments and askings...all without help from diocesan or general funds (of course that does not apply to DioSD, since over half of the diocesan budget is underwritten by the general church offices and coffers). These suits are to 'reclaim' the properties that the dioceses and the general church contend are 'rightfully theirs' through the so-called Denis Canon and the hierarchical structure of the Episcopal Church in the United States.

Of course, when there is a 'new thing' that some parish priest wishes to experiment with, at the cost of the faith and practice of the parish or mission, the general church morphs instantly into a congregational structure, similar to the Baptists, so the reappraising clergy can implement their insidious changes without fear of sanction from the diocese or general convention, or even reprisals from the Anglican Communion at large directed towards TEC for their 'innovative stance' on sin, among other things; but when it comes to property and endowments, the Episcopal Church is locked up tighter than Dick's hatband in an hierarchical mode, one that would put the magisterium of Rome to shame..

In the latest rounds of debates, the TEC leadership have stressed their 'freedom' from the accepted practices and doctrinal stands of the greater Anglican Communion, and gone on and did it their way, blithely ignoring the pleas of the Primates of the Communion to stop their innovative changes to the faith once delivered.

All of that to say this...There are 'hard times' coming for the faithful. The House of Bishops and the House of Deputies, and the chancellors and standing committees of several dioceses, of the Episcopal Church are moving at flank speed to wrest away the hard earned and hard fought for properties of faithful local congregations. And they will win! Except the Lord change their hearts and minds; civil courts are beginning to turn from their previous judgements and side with the bishops and standing committees in property disputes.

What Jesus is telling His Church in tomorrow's Gospel, is to leave...leave it all behind and start afresh. Yes, it hurts to leave the 'place' where you have raised your families, buried your dead, baptized and married your children...but it is just a place, and no place is worth losing your soul over. God's children cannot, must not, allow the adversary to steal their joy in the Lord, their victory over sin, so hard fought for in the past...just over a pile of bricks (or in our part of the world, sandstone). God is still God, whether we worship in a cathedral or a shack, in a lovely Gothic building or a rented school auditorium, in a brick Georgian or in a garage. God is still God, and His presence is with His children.

The closing line in the Gospel may be prophetic,

'Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing'.

If that is the case, Child of God, come out from among them with rejoicing, that your names are written down in His book, rather than the annals of the adversary.

O God, who hast prepared for those who love thee such good things as pass man's understanding; pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Collect for the Day, 1928 BCP

Recovery...Begins At Last!

Things are almost back to normal in Fall River County South Dakota; the Alabaugh Canyon fire is 100% contained, the Type 2 Wildfire crews will leave town tomorrow, people are getting back to their business, foundations are being cleared and houses planned. Many of the burned out victims have moved back on their properties in campers while they clean up, and begin to rebuild, not only their homes, but their lives.

There were something over 500 persons at David Beeman's memorial services yesterday, Morris Nelson, UMC pastor of the United Churches, preached a good salvation message, the Masonic committal services were impressive (even though I have been a funeral director in a major Masonic area years ago, I had NEVER seen the Masonic ritual, the Masons in the funeral homes always sent us 'gentiles' on other calls).

Total containment costs will run over $2.6 million, thirty three homes were destroyed, one civilian death, and three hospital injuries sustained by firefighters. One of the benefits of the Alabaugh was the level of cooperation and compassion shown by the residents of the greater Hot Springs area, as they banded together, served meals, assisted in the shelter, arranged for child care, clothing and household goods...and animal care for pets and livestock, some volunteers got fireline passes to go in and feed and water stock while the fire crews were occupied fighting hot spots.

As I drove through the fire ground Tuesday after the roadblocks had been lifted, I was taken by the nature of this fire...extremely intense in one spot, and adjacent to a hard burn, a stand of pines, still in full needle, grass without a mark. One house down to the foundations, with nothing visible of the house that once was, and the attached carport standing with an unharmed vehicle within.

One man reported to me yesterday of going home on Saturday night after the fire had started to really take off, looked around his trailer, saw no sign of any fire at all, took off his boots and sat in his living room, heard a loud 'whoomp' from his bedroom, went back and saw a large flaming mass eat its way through the floor after coming through his roof. Another 'whoomp' from the front, and his trailer was afire. He left...quickly.

As I saw his trailer on Tuesday, it was surrounded by untouched dry, cured buffalo grass...totally destroyed, melted into an unrecognizable mass of aluminum, with a three step set of stairs rising from the ground in front of it.

The Alabaugh Canyon Fire, as horrifying as it was, may serve to teach us better wildland practices and policies, particularly relating to the former practice of knocking down every wild woods and grass fire as it starts. If the Alabaugh Canyon area had been allowed to burn in a prescribed manner years ago, as some of the residents had asked, there would not have been the copious amounts of tinder dry fuel available, combined with our seven years of drought and a very active thunderstorm on Saturday afternoon, to let it become the most intense fire ever in South Dakota. Fire and forestry officials have taken that under consideration, and a change in fire management and prevention policy for all government woodlands and grasslands may be the outcome. If so, the Alabaugh Fire was, in a way, worth it.

I spoke to a firefighter friend, whose wife is still on the scene with their rural volunteer department, within whose territory the Alabaugh Canyon fire started, and who were the first responders Saturday night, who has been released from duty, and is now driving through the burn zone, matching people with the resources they need to begin putting it all back together. In his words, "I have to heal myself, I am full of 'crap', and this is the only way I can work that out of my system".

All in all, as we get back to our lives, we in Hot Springs and Fall River County are grateful to all who gave of themselves for us; those who prayed for a moderation of the weather and the fire behavior; those who worked unceasingly for our benefit.

To God be the Glory, great things He has done! We are grateful to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for those who grown closer to Him through this ordeal by fire, and we expect to see great signs of His blessing in the lives of those in our commuity, and in the life of our community. We have grown closer, more tolerant of others and their foibles, more mindful of their needs and desires.

May the God of all mercy attend to the needs of His children here and eleswhere as we all seek to serve Him. Amen.

We Have Been a Bit Occupied

We apologize for failing to post lately, but if you will click on the link of the title, you will see that we have been a trifle busy this week.

We were privileged and humbled to serve as Incident Chaplain for the Alabaugh Canyon Wildfire Containment effort, working through the American Red Cross at the shelter and information center; but also, on the lines with the almost 500 firefighters from across the eastern Rocky Mountain region, as they fought the worst and hottest wildfire in South Dakota history, with over 10,000 acres consumed, and cantainment at only 40% at present, and some active fire still in the canyon country only three miles southwest of Hot Springs.

There was only one fatality, David Beeman, a friend of ours and son of a brother and sister in the Lord, Billy and Marilyn Beeman, who were also from St. Luke's Hot Springs; several fire crew injuries, as the fires danced and acted plumb 'squirelly' at times; over thirty homes destroyed or severely damaged; yet, miraculously, many homes and lives spared, even though they were under an immediate evacuation order, issued at 2-4 am Sunday morning.

We boarded some of the evacuees animals in our kennel, and worked from Sunday morning through today with the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, and several private crisis counseling organisations to provide grief counseling and an ear to listen.

I will be back in blogland by next week, following the final community meeting tonite, funeral tomorrow, and a bit of rest before Sunday starts it all over again.

Thank God for the effectual fervent prayers of many of you whom we have contacted through comments on some of your blogs...you have meant so much to us, and we love you all.