powered by FreeFind

Christ Came To Cleanse The first thing Christ did after His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem was to go to the Temple. There our Lord found the holy Temple being desecrated by money changers and sellers of sacrificial animals. His instinctive reaction was to drive them out; to cleanse the Temple. In this Christ was doing a purifying work in two ways. First, He sought to purify our concept of the nature of God. Secondly, Christ sought to purify our worship of the true God. Many people have a mental picture of God which is little more than the product of their own fertile imaginations. There god is a god recreated in the image of man; an extension of themselves. This god may be the projection of their childhood fears, their human father, or just plain wishful thinking. There are two characteristics about God that we need to know and which are readily seen in Jesus Christ the Son of God. First, there is the anger and wrath of God. Jesus, much to the surprise of many, violently drove out the money changers and those selling animals. He used a whip on them and kicked over their tables. On another occasion we read of Christ, “And He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart….” (St. Mark 3:5) The psalmist wrote, “God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psalm 7:11) This side of God is perfectly balanced with another side of God, i.e., His love and compassion. Not everyone was driven out of the Temple that day. We read, “And the blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple, and He healed them.” (St. Matthew 21:14) These people were drawn to Christ because they recognized that He had cleansed the Temple for them. They were drawn to His love. Jesus repels some people and He attracts others depending on what is in our own hearts. We will all receive either God’s wrath or His love. Christ had a second purpose in cleansing the Temple and that was to purify our concept of worship. To understand this we must visualize the Temple structure and what was taking place there. There were several courts surrounding the Temple proper, the outermost being the Court of the Gentiles. The part of the Temple cleansed by Christ was the Court of the Gentiles, which was the only place in the Temple where Gentile converts to Judaism could gather for worship. Obviously all of the money changing and selling of animals was very disruptive to worship. There was also the fact that the money changers were charging outrageous rates so people would get the proper coins for the Temple tax and the sacrificial animals were being sold at greatly inflated prices. Christ’s actions affirmed that God’s house was to be a house of prayer for all nations. Worship is central to our faith. Ritual, even correct ritual, is not necessarily worship. Worship must come from the heart. Worship is also an act of love; love for God and love for other people. Christ’s actions affirmed that God’s house is to be a house of prayer, a house of worship. Anything that impedes worship is contrary to the will of our Lord. by Rev. F. M. Levi   Annual Parish Meeting Our Annual Parish Meeting was held after church on Sunday, March 11, 2007. The meeting was preceded by a luncheon, which all enjoyed. Reports by committee chairmen and department heads and treasurers were read and discussed and elections for the year were held. The following were elected to the Vestry: Senior Warden – Franklin Sellers, Jr. Junior Warden – George Yapp Vestry 2005 – 2008 Carl Spencer Nancy Toomey Vestry 2006 – 2009 Derrick Hassert Vestry 2007 – 2010 Henry Leenstra Elaine Spencer Edwina Greco Beth Garrison Missionary of The Month Rev. & Mrs. William Jerdan (Diane), Montpellier, France. Thank You We thank those who prepared soup, bread and salads for the Wednesday evening suppers during Lent. Good Friday – April 5, 2007 Service in the chapel at 7:30 p.m. Continental Breakfast Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. in the Parish Hall. Easter Sunday April 8, 2007. The service of Holy Communion begins at 10:30 a.m. We hope that all of you will be with us as we celebrate our Lord’s RESURRECTION! Mother/Daughter Salad Supper Saturday, May 19, 2007. Rummage Sale Saturday, June 9, 2007, 9:00am – 1:00pm. Please save items to donate to the sale. In Memory Elizabeth Ramshaw, age 87, passed away Feb. 27, 2007. She is survived by her son Greg, his wife Mary and their two daughters. Our prayers are with the family. VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.andrewrec.org       Happy Birthday! April 3 – Rev. John Baird April 3 – Beth Garrison April 6 – Cheryl Novak April 7 – Amelia Sellers April 10 – Danny Rago April 18 – Kim Woodard April 21 – Mark Levi April 28 – Logan Sellers   In The Garden Of Gethsemane by Helen Steiner Rice Before the dawn of Easter There came Gethsemane … Before the Resurrection There were hours of agony … For there can be no crown of stars Without a cross to bear, And there is no salvation Without Faith and Love and Prayer, And when we take our needs to God Let us pray as did His Son That dark night in Gethsemane … “Thy Will, Not Mine, Be done.”