St. Aidan's Anglican Church, Kansas City - Weekly Talks

The Feast of Pentecost, the sending of the Holy Spirit, inaugurates a new creation in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, old things have pasted, all things have become new. As the Holy Spirit hovered over the waters of old creation, the waters of baptism become a sacramental entry into the new life of God ... the forgiveness of sins and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the one who gives the divine life. The Collect: Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. The Eucharist Preface to Pentecost - Through Jesus Christ our Lord: In fulfillment of his true promise, the Holy Spirit came down from heaven, lighting upon the disciples, to teach them and to lead them into all truth;

Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Sunday after Ascension Day O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Dean Greer is the National Coordinator for Living Waters, USA. Having been involved in healing ministry for over 25 years, Dean has trained leaders around the world to incorporate the healing programs of Desert Stream Ministries within the local church community. Dean has experienced first-hand how God is able to restore life and bring wholeness to a generation without hope. A native of San Francisco, Dean now lives in Kansas City, MO with his wife Chrystal and their son Jeremiah. Fr. Michael has known Dean and Chrystal for over twenty-eight years, first as singles who eventually came together in Holy Matrimony. They are visible icons of how healing and restoration takes root in the broken self through participation in the death and resurrection of Christ. A powerful quote from Dean's message is "no creature has the authority to give personal identity. Only the Creator has the right and power to do that." This is a sure message of Truth, hope and peace, in Christ, for every human being, struggling with

Fifth Sunday of Easter Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Acts 8:26-40 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it." So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" He replied,

This homily is for the blessing of the marriage of Eric and Joanna Rainwater. The liturgy of blessing follows the homily. The Gospel text is from Mark 10 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

The risen Lord points to the Scriptures and their fulfillment as the basis of his redemptive mission, the Word made flesh, living among us, gathering a flock, equipped and headed towards Jerusalem where he would be crucified and raised on the third day as the first fruits among the dead. The Scriptures (OT is what's being addressed in Luke 24), point to and speak of Christ. And as the source of inspiration, they contain Christ. "If Christ is genuinely present in the Old Testament, then believers--who are "in Christ" -- are as well. Because believers are "in Christ," when they locate his real presence in the Old Testament, they also find their own lives and realities reflected there" p. XV, Hans Boersma's Scripture as Real Presence: Sacramental Exegesis in the Early Church. It is He who causes our hearts to burn and opens our minds to understand, to feed, to inwardly digest the Holy Scriptures.

John 20:19f describes an unannounced appearance of the risen Lord behind closed doors. Jesus appears to announce Shalom with evidence from his victory over Satan, Sin and Death, his battle scars. The men in the room turn from deep fear and failure to joy at the presence of Jesus. He breaths new creation life, his breath, upon them and send them out to forgive and retain sins. Thomas is also given a special appearance and resolves his doubts in his amazing confession, "My Lord and My God."

An amazing Vigil with ten baptisms ... Deacon Joey Odell reads the Easter Homily of St. John Chrysostom, our annual tradition at the Vigil. Deacon Joey's unbaptized children were all baptized, representing the beauty of household baptism. Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Undoing Of Death - Good Friday 2018 - Fr. Michael Flowers by St. Aidan's Anglican Church, KC

In disrobing and taking the place of a servant, in the washing of feet, Jesus illustrates his divine descent, as the Divine Logos taking on human flesh. The washing speaks of the cleansing work of redemption through the work of the God-Man who became a servant to redeem the cosmos. As he puts on his outer garments and takes his place, Jesus illustrates his great glorification in the resurrection and ascension. Afterwards, he asks the question, "Do you know what I have done TO you?" The Holy Triduum is the seamless sequence of our whole redemption. Let us contemplate the mystery of the washing of the water of the Word.

Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Preface of Holy Week: Through Jesus Christ our Lord. For our sins he was lifted high upon the cross, that he might draw the whole world to himself; and, by his suffering and death, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who put their trust in him.

The Collect of the Day: Fifth Sunday in Lent Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. The Gospel John 12:20-33 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this

John chapter six tells the story of the feeding of the five thousand which runs into Jesus walking upon the Sea after which he teaches his most shocking words on the Holy Eucharist - unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you. This chapter reframes the movement of the ancient Passover, the Exodus, the passing from death to life, through the waters of the sea. He takes us and blesses us and breaks us open to give for the life of the world. He calls us to share the real bread that comes down from heaven, Jesus Christ, the Lord of Creation. Contemplate the way of the Lord: Take, Bless, Break and Give.

On the Third Sunday of Lent, we received 45 new members into St. Aidan's. The homily describes the various levels of congregational relationship based on the three different means of unity ... Baptismal, Eucharistic and Episcopal. Our aim is to bring new comers from baptismal and eucharistic unity into Episcopal unity under the oversight and care of our Bishop, through the Sacrament of Confirmation, and to worship in the Great Tradition of the Church, rooted in the Church’s historic liturgy, the holy Scriptures proclaimed, and the Sacraments faithfully administered, so that we may be ever renewed by the truth of the Apostolic Faith.

Every first Sunday of Lent, we follow Christ from Baptism into the Wilderness, a time of testing to overcome Satan, for us and for our salvation. As we enter this season of Lent, may we appropriate the grace of our own baptism, aligning our hearts and minds with the voice of the Father's love, the Spirit's anointing and an open heaven to overcome the sins that so easily beset us. Following the homily, we celebrate the baptism of two beloved daughters of Christ. They, too, enter into the Lent in the same manner Christ entered the wilderness, as co-heirs with Jesus, anointed with the Holy Spirit. In preparation for the Great Easter season, may the Holy Spirit lead us all into a time of renewal and overcoming, through the grace of Jesus. Blessings, Fr. Michael

The last Sunday of the Epiphany contemplates the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. We consider the unfolding mystery of our salvation as disfigured ones, transformed, from glory to glory. We catch a glimpse of Christ in us, the hope of glory. We hear the Father's voice to listen to the Son ... as he continues to speak and transform our lives, from strength to strength.

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany: Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. The Gospel Mark 1:29-39 As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon

The ministry of Jesus introduced a collision of kingdoms, of light displacing darkness, exposing and destroying the works of the devil. He accomplished this out of the authority of his being ... Ex-Ouisa (Gk. word for authority). God's eternal and ultimate authority had come in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus spent over three years recruiting, training, deploying, monitoring and nurturing his apostles, the ones chosen to begin building his Church. He delegated this authority, out of the divine being, to His Holy Church to disciple all nations, displacing darkness by the advancing of his Kingdom, preaching the Gospel that Jesus is Lord, calling multitudes out of darkness into his glorious light. Today we carry on this authoritative word of sending, "go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Triune name and teaching them to follow Jesus ... an advance of His Word and Sacrament, based on the promise of his real presence ... I will be with you even until the

Third Sunday after the Epiphany Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen The three elements of this homily are about the stages of conversion: 1. To Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior 2. To the Church, his Body - committed to a local community of faith 3. To Ministry - everyone sharing their grace and gifts to serve the mission of Jesus. Jeremiah 3:21-4:2 A voice on the bare heights is heard, the plaintive weeping of Israel's children, because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten the LORD their God: Return, O faithless children, I will heal your faithlessness. "Here we come to you; for you are the LORD our God. Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. Truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. "But from our youth

Second Sunday after the Epiphany Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen. John 1:43-51 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you under