18th of November--Father Nissen's sermon

The text for today comes from the reading from the Second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians, chapter 3, verses 6 through 13.

St. Paul talks about the value of work. He mentions that some believers in Thessalonica were lazy. They did not have the right balance between work and worship. A thought in all of this: we, too, must balance our work and our family lives. We as Americans work hard; the average American has only 13 days of holidays or paid vacation each year. We still need to take care of ourselves. Some people have taken Paul's injunction to work to degenerate into a duty to work all the time. We must first live faith-filled lives, and then we will have the insight to work even better. We must be open to change to to technology, because God is the God of the future and change.

Father Nissen's sermon, November 4

The gospel text for today is Luke 19 : 1 - 10.

This is the story of the tax collector Zacchaeus, who was saved and came to faith in Jesus. Tax collectors in Jesus' day were not respected or liked b y the Jewish people because they took money to help the Roman government occupation and often took more money for themselves. He was an outcast.

Jesus associated with the outcasts--he went to Zacchaeus' home for dinner--and so should we. Why? Outcasts already know they are lost and need God. The challenge for the community of God's people is to accept the outcast into our church. Also, people who are rejected have a strong need to belong, especially when they are rejected from their communities and families. Many times they have their needs met by unhealthy situations that bring them a little acceptance: abusive relationships, drugs, alcohol.

May we also welcome these people in the church. May we always recognize the value of the soul that God has created, whether in a person cast out by society or in our own selves. May we welcome these outcasts.

All Souls Day

The following text was taken from a book written by Saint Ambrose, bishop, on the death of his brother Satyrus.

It was by the death of one man that the world was redeemed. Christ did not need to die if he did not want to, but did not look on death as something to be despised, something to be avoided, and he could have found no better means to save us than by dying. Thus his death is life for all. We are sealed with the sign of his death; when we pray we preach his death; when we offer sacrifice we proclaim his death. His death is victory; his death is a sacred sign; each year his death is celebrated with solemnity by the whole world.

What more should we say about his death since we use this divine example to prove that it was death alone that won freedom from death, and death itself was its own redeemer? Death is then no cause for mourning, for it is the cause of mankind's salvation. Death is not something to be avoided, for the Son of God did not think it beneath his dignity, nor did he seek to escape it.

Death was not part of nature; it became part of nature. God did not decree death from the beginning; he prescribed it as a remedy. Human life was condemned because of sin to unremitting labor and unbearable sorrow and so began to experience the burden of wretchedness. There had to be a limit to its evils; death had to restore what life had forfeited. Without the assistance of grace, immortality is more of a burden than a blessing.

When we consider our sister in Christ, Wauneta, who is passing from this earthly life to His heavenly kingdom, let us rejoice and sing praises. Remember David's most ardent wish: One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I shall pray for; to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, and to see how gracious is the Lord.