Author: Anglican Internet Church

For this coming Sunday the Podcast Homily focuses on explaining the traditional Church understanding and teaching concerning the Holy Spirit, based upon the first of the two Collect-Epistle-Gospel combinations in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Listen to the Podcast Homily

For most of the AIC Podcast Homilies (each linked from the Podcast Homilies page at the AIC web site (www.AnglicanInternetChurch.net)), the homilies explain the actual Epistle and Gospel readings (in this case Acts 2:1-11 and John 14:15-31).   Continue reading “Whitsunday-Pentecost A.D. 2015” →

Greetings.   Corkie and I took several days off last week, making a mid-week visit to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where it was hot one day, warm one day (with wind off the land side bringing flies), and downright cold one day (with a roaring wind off the ocean).  We enjoyed visits to some of our favorite dining spots:  Sam & Omie’s (great for breakfast), Ortega’Z (the Cubano sandwich for lunch), the Rundown Cafe (a Caribbean term that does not describe the state of the place) for a late afternoon lunch/dinner), and Tortuga’s Lie (another Caribbean term meaning a place and not a falsehood) for a late night dinner.  The Volvo XC90 AWD did very well going up and down all those perfectly flat roads.  We got back in time to help grandson Jaoob celebrate his 10th birthday.

I have posted a Podcast Homily for Sunday After Ascension, focusing on the two readings, 1 Peter 4:7-11. which is more New Testament wisdom, and John 15:26 to 16:4, part of the final discourses with the Disciples on Maundy Thursday in which the compassionate Christ warns the Disciples the fate that awaits them because they followed Him.   Listen to the Podcast Homily.

If your local parish did not offer a service for Ascension Day (Thursday), you can find the complete Ascension Day service I read at my former parish, including the text and music for A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing, the Venerable Bede’s written description of what the Apostles saw from Acts 1 at my Amazon author page in the AIC Bookstore publication, Occasional Services for Anglican Worship:   Visit the Amazon page.

The 16th Century Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox icon for Ascension displays the amazed Apostles watching Jesus rise in a blue aura, with an angel on each side.  The background is rich, bright gold with a darker gold border.  Note the legends above the angels which contain traditional symbols of Christ.

In the 8th Century, the Venerable Bede, the distinguished first historian of the Church in England which gives us our only view of the Church as it existed at that time, wrote A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing which remains the model for Ascension Day music, especially in the Anglican and Lutheran traditions.  Sung to the German tune, Lasst Uns Erfreuen. the hymn has seven verses with seven alleluias (a double halleluia at the end of the first stanza of each verses and a five-part Alleluia chorus following each verse.

Verses 1 and 5:

A hymn of glory let us sing;
New songs thro’out the world shall ring;
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Christ by a road before untrod,
Ascendeth to the throne of God.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

O risen Christ, ascended Lord,
All praise to Thee let earth accord,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Who art, while endless ages run,
With Father and with Spirit One.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Have a glorious Sunday After Ascension celebrating Christ’s return to the Father from Whom He descended at His Nativity.

The weather in the Richmond area has been wonderful, with cool nights and warm days, modest amounts of rainfall and not much wind.  I’ve been busy removing snake strawberries and wild violets out of my back yard with a hand tool (since all the chemicals which will get rid of both will also kill the abundant growth of clover which keeps the yard looking green!

In the last 24 hours, I have posted a Podcast Homily for Fifth Sunday After Easter (Rogation Sunday) and completed, uploaded, and linked Episode Forty-four in the Bible Study series on the AIC You Tube channel.   The Podcast homily includes discussion of more New Testament wisdom from James 1:22-27 and more from the Gospel of St. John (16:23-33), which contains Jesus’ promise not to speak in parables and His promise concerning whatever we ask of the Father in His Name.  Listen to the Podcast Homily

The Bible Study episode continues the discussion of the words Jesus’ uses to express concepts of time, on this occasion the Greek mikron, or “in a little while,” the meaning of which was very confusing to the Disciples, and hora, in this case translated as “time.”  Other topics includes two final Unique “Small” Details:  Jesus’ explanation to Pilate on the location of His Kingdom and His assignment of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the care of the “beloved Disciple” John; and the first of Five Unique Events:  the Visit of Nicodemus.  The video includes a picture of the House of Mary at Ephesus.  Watch Episode 44     Listen to the Podcast version

The Visit of Nicodemus is illustrated using the stained glass window by Franz Mayer of Munich at St. Joseph’s Villa Chapel, Richmond, VA, from the AIC Bookstore publication, Paintings on Light: the Stained Glass Windows of St. Joseph’s Villa Chapel.  The Mayer artist include such details as the dark blue sky with stars to suggest the evening visit described by St. John.  Jesus stands over a seated Nicodemus, whose robes are embellished with elaborate borders.  The raised right hand/arm suggests Jesus is granting a Blessing on the Pharisee who became a defender of Jesus and who brought aloe and scented herbs for His burial.

Episode Forty-four is the next-to-last episode on the Gospel of St. John before I resume production of the revised series, Revelation: an Idealist Interpretation.  The final four Unique Events are the Restoration of the Adulterous Woman; the Foot Washing of the Disciples; Jesus’ institution of the Sacrament of Confession/Penance; and His post-Resurrection meal with the remaining eleven.

The Podcast Homily includes my adaptation of a liturgical prayer of Thanksgiving from the tradition of the Maronite Catholic Church in Lebanon.   St. John Maron lived in the late 7th and early 8th Century.  The Church named in his honor uses an Eastern Rite liturgy but accepts the primacy of the Bishop of Rome in ecclesiastical matters.  It is a sign of our secular-dominated times that Christians no longer pray in this highly-respectful, reverential tone that grants to God sovereignty in all things:

GRANT US, O Lord God, that as we assemble here today, our minds released from worldly thoughts and our attention turned to Thee; we may stand in Thy presence with tranquility, offering ceaseless praise and uninterrupted thanksgiving and acknowledging the loving-kindness through which our lives are directed, ruled and protected and our souls saved; to Thee we offer praise and thanksgiving; now and ever and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.

As always, thanks for your interest in the Internet-based ministry of the Anglican Internet Church.

Yesterday I uploaded Episode Forty-three in the New Testament: Gospels and Epistles series on our You Tube channel, continuing the study of unique content in the Gospel of St. John.  The focus this time is on John’s report of Jesus’ encounter with the Sanhedrin Council and His withdrawal into the wilderness; the two announcements of the New Commandment and exposition of the meaning of Love (agapao); the lack of any commentary on the “agony in the Garden” reported in the Synoptics and the many topics discussed instead in Chapters 14-17; .  I start the discussion of Jesus’ use of words which involve concepts of Time, starting in this episode with “Hour” (from the Greek hora), using His commentary on being “lifted up” and references ot the “ruler of this world.”   Next time I will continue with other uses of words which can be translated as time with “in a little while” (Greek micron) and “time” (also from the Greek hora).   Watch the video on You Tube    Listen to the Podcast version

I am hopeful that I can finish discussion of St. John’s Gospel with Episode Forty-four.  If so, I will begin work on the next installment in the You Tube version of Revelation: An Idealist Interpretation.   I had produced it program as a live feed video on the UStream system a few years ago, but, owing to the extremely poor quality of the images I deleted the whole set when I stopped using UStream at the time the parish of St. Chrysostom closed down.   The new versions are based upon the old text, but include the much-broader catalogue of images which can be inserted into the iMovie format I now use.  I hope to get started during the month of May.  In order to stay within a 20-25 minute per episode format, there will have to be many more episodes with the iMovie format.

I also uploaded to the Podcast Homilies page at the AIC Web Site, the homily for Fourth Sunday After Easter, which includes a reading from the Epistle of James and more from the Gospel of St. John, Chapter 16.  For reasons which are not clear, the Gospel reading from John is the verses which come before the verses used for the Third Sunday After Easter.  I think treating them in order would have been better, but the BCP rules.    Listen to the Podcast Homily.

Thanks so much for supporting the AIC online ministry.  Pls consider sending links to our various Web pages (web site; You Tube channel; this Blog site; and the AIC Bookstore at amazon.com/Author/Ronald-E-Shibley.   100% of all book royalities are donated to the AIC.

My Podcast Homily for Third Sunday After Easter was uploaded yesterday.   Listen to the Podcast Homily.

By coincidence, the subject of Episodes 43 and 44 in the AIC Bible Study series on YouTube includes extensive discussion of Jesus use of words in reference to concepts concerning time, including hour, in a little while, and time, include the Third Sunday After Easter reading from the Gospel of St. John (John 16:11-22).  Owing to technical issues (there being only 24 hours in a day) I was not able to complete production and uploading of either episode.  Both should be available during the week of April 27th.

A day or so late I produced and uploaded a Podcast Homily for Second Sunday After Easter and also uploaded Episode 42 in the New Testament: Gospels and Epistles series.  Second Sunday After Easter is popularly known as Good Shepherd Sunday, since both readings feature the concept of Jesus as our Shepherd.  Listen to the Podcast Homily

In my former parish I mounted the Greek Orthodox icon of Christ the Good Shepherd in the Narthex.   In Greek the name is O Poimen, O Kalos.  At the parish at St. Joseph’s Villa Chapel, Richmond, Va, we had a stained glass window depicting Christ the Good Shepherd surrounded by lambs, with a lamb over His shoulder.  At right is the central detail of the window.  This and other stained glass windows at the Chapel are pictured in the AIC Bookstore publication, Paintings on Light: the Stained Glass Windows of St. Joseph’s Villa Chapel, which is available from my Author Central page at Amazon:  https://www.Amazon.com/Author/Ronald-E-Shibley.

In the research for the Bible Study series, I found a very fine 19th Century stained glass depiction of Jesus, which is mounted at an Anglican Church in Nova Scotia, Canada.  The original church was built in 1749.  The vendor did not identify the artist.

The Bible Study series continues with, as noted, the uploading of Episode 42, which continues my discussion of the Gospel of St. John with John’s unique treatment of Peter, Judas, Nicodemus and Mary Madgalene.

I’m wrapping up the final two episodes on St. John and will then turn to completing the You Tube video version of my verse-by-verse discussion of Revelation.

Watch Episode 42

Thanks so much for your support and interest.  This internet ministry is entirely supported by public contributions and book sales.  100% of the royalty for all books is contributed to the AIC checking account.

Christ is risen from the grave!
Response:  Indeed, He has risen from the grave!

These are the opening words spoken by a Deacon in the Eastern celebration of Easter, often called the Feast of Feasts, being the most important day on the Church Calendar.  For this occasion I have published a 13-minute Podcast homily on the AIC Web Site, in which I elaborate on the history of the Eastern celebration of Easter at Antioch, the meaning of Ranson and Propitiation, and, in modern life, the choice facing all Christians of being either Esau or Jacob.   Listen to the Podcast Homily.

In the Homily I refer to one of the most remarkable icons of the Eastern Church tradition, The Harrowing of Hades.  In this single icon are many theological messages of great importance to an understanding of traditional Christian teaching.  Since the Homily is sound-only, I have included for this Blog.

Jesus stands, surrounded by the blue aura, signifying the Glory of the Lord, with the golden disk behind His head in the traditional Eastern Church manner including the Greek equivalent letters for I AM  (Exodus 3:14, 15).  He stands upon the coffin lids symbolic of the gates of Hades, which by His Resurrection He has broken open.  With His right hand (left side of the icon) He lifts Adam, dressed in white, from Sheol (the Pit).  With His left hand (right side of the icon), He lifts Eve, dressed in Red.

In the Pit beneath the destroyed gates of Hades are the keys which are referred to in Revelation:  I hold the keys to Hades and Death.   Also in the Pit is a bound figure who is not raised from the dead, symbolic of those unrighteous who will not enjoy everlasting life in the Kingdom of the Father.

The figure at the left background (to the right of Jesus Christ) is John the Baptist, called the Last Prophet of the Old Testament, symbolizing the transition from the Old Testament to the New.

At my former parish of St. John Chrysostom, I always hung this icon on the front of the pulpit throughout Easter season, where the people could easily see it.  The same icon was held aloft in the Eastern Morning processional around the outside of St. Joseph’s Villa Chapel, Richmond, VA.  The full text of the Easter Morning service, based on a Syrian Orthodox Church model, is available in paperback and Kindle versions in the AIC Bookstore publication. Occasional Services for Anglican Worship at my author page at Amazon.com.   (www.Amazon.com/author/ronald-e-shibley).