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What can we say about God's love? We can say that God's love is unconditional. God does not say, "I love you, if ..." There are no ifs in God's heart. God's love for us does not depend on what we do or say, on our looks or intelligence, on our success or popularity. God's love for us existed before we were born and will exist after we have died. God's love is from eternity to eternity and is not bound to any time-related events or circumstances. Does that mean that God does not care what we do or say? No, because God's love wouldn't be real if God didn't care. To love without condition does not mean to love without concern. God desires to enter into relationship with us and wants us to love God in return. Let's dare to enter into an intimate relationship with God without fear, trusting that we will receive love and always more love.

Ordination To The Priesthood Of Rev Marc Jankowski

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HUMILITY, HOSPITALITY, and loving-kindness; simplicity and deliberation — all are God-shaped qualities of life. To have all the mind that was in Christ, however, means that these qualities flow from Christ’s holiness and righteousness in us through loving actions toward others. – Paul Wesley Chilcote

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IN THE QUIET of silent prayer I accept the gift of communion with the Holy One. I wait to receive this gift, which comes like a flower blossoming. I cannot force the flower to bloom any faster than it will. I can only express gratitude for the beauty that unfolds. My prayers of gratitude take many forms. At times I listen for the word of God. At times I speak words of praise, thanksgiving, confession, intercession, and supplication. And at times I am silent, without words, welcoming Christ and his transforming work within.

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And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And he sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter. Do you seek the Lord Jesus with expectant faith? Do you seek the Lord Jesus with expectant faith? No one who sought Jesus out was refused his help. Even the untouchables and the outcasts of Jewish society found help in him. Unlike the people of Jesus' time who fled at the sight of a leper, Jesus touched the leper who approached him and he made him whole and clean. Why was this so remarkable? Lepers were outcasts of society. They were driven from their homes and communities and left to fend for themselves. Their physical condition was terrible as they slowly lost the use of their limbs and withered away. They were not only shunned but regarded as "already dead" even by their relatives. The Jewish law forbade anyone from touching or approaching a leper, lest ritual defilement occur. This leper did something quite remarkable. He approached Jesus confidently and humbly, expecting that Jesus could and would heal him. Normally a leper would be stoned or at least warded off if he tried to come near a rabbi. Jesus not only grants the man his request, but he demonstrates the personal love, compassion, and tenderness of God in his physical touch. The medical knowledge of his day would have regarded such contact as grave risk for incurring infection. Jesus met the man's misery with compassion and tender kindness. He communicated the love and mercy of God in a sign that spoke more eloquently than words. He touched the man and made him clean - not only physically but spiritually as well. How do you approach those who are difficult to love, or who are shunned by others because they are deformed or have some defect? Do you show them kindness and offer them mercy and help as Jesus did? The Lord is always ready to show us his mercy and to free us from whatever makes us unclean, unapproachable, or unloving towards others.

Episcopal Visitation, Rt Reverend, Dr Gerhard Meyer,

Photos from Anglican Mission of St Thomas.'s post

Our chapel in Mönchengladbach, Anglican English language services every first Sunday of the month at 1530hrs. We meet for refreshments afterwards. Everyone is very welcome! Franziskaner Kirche St Barbara, Bettrather Str 79, Mönchengladbach

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O Lord, how hard it is to accept your way. You come to me as a small, powerless child born away from home. You live for me as a stranger in your own land. You die for me as a criminal outside the walls of the city, rejected by your own people, misunderstood by your friends, and feeling abandoned by your God. As I prepare to celebrate your birth, I am trying to feel loved, accepted, and at home in this world, and I am trying to overcome the feelings of alienation and separation which continue to assail me. But I wonder now if my deep sense of homelessness does not bring me closer to you than my occasional feelings of belonging. Where do I truly celebrate your birth: in a cozy home or in an unfamiliar house, among welcoming friends or among unknown strangers, with feelings of well-being or with feelings of loneliness? I do not have to run away from those experiences that are closest to yours. Just as you do not belong to this world, so I do not belong to this world. Every time I feel this way I have an occasion to be grateful and to embrace you better and taste more fully your joy and peace. Come, Lord Jesus, and be with me where I feel poorest. I trust that this is the place where you will find your manger and bring your light. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen. -Henri Nouwen, The Road to Daybreak

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21 December, feast of St Thomas the Apostle. St. Thomas the Apostle is remembered primarily for two things: that he was the one who did not believe in the Resurrection, and that he brought Christianity to India. Doubting Thomas is a bit of an unfair reputation. So far as we know, none of the Apostles believed before seeing Jesus except St. John who saw the empty tomb and believed. It is simply that his doubts are recorded in such a powerful fashion as we read today. He immediately believed. He experienced many hardships and went to a faraway land to preach the Gospel. There he was killed for the faith. He was not a lifelong doubter once he saw the evidence with his own eyes, but it cannot be said simply that Thomas believed because he saw. Many people might have seen the same thing and still doubted. St. Thomas received his faith not by investigation. St. Thomas received his faith from the Father. Faith is not a human accomplishment. Faith is a gift. Faith is not gritting our teeth and insisting that we will believe. Faith is a gift. Faith is not something we should be proud of as if we were better people than those who do not believe. Faith is something we ought to be grateful for because it is a gift. Faith is something that we ought to ask God for every day. And if we begin to doubt, there are two mistakes we can make: trying to fight the doubts on our own or accepting the doubts as wisdom. If we begin to doubt, we must turn to God and ask for more faith. We receive knowledge from our parents and the Church. We know about Christianity because of them and the books we read. But faith is something different. If the whole world abandoned Christianity, and it was just you alone with no support, if they all told you that it was pretend, that it was just another story like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, is there something within you that would still believe? Is there something within you right now that believes in God without consideration of any argument or reason? That is faith. It does not seem strong because if we test it ourselves, it will fall apart quickly. The test of our faith comes from the outside: persecution, suffering, martyrdom. That is when we find out how strong faith really is.

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THE GOOD NEWS of Jesus’ birth comes first to the shepherds, humble and hardworking people, tending to their flock by night. God knew these men could not bring gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, as the wise men who would arrive later. Emmanuel, “God with us,” came among us in a manger where all could come and kneel to worship him. There were no barriers of dress code, entrance fees, or guards at the door. From his first breath, God was available to all.

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It's that time of year again when secularist skeptics strain and stretch to tell everyone who will listen that Mary was not a virgin at her conception, that God did not become incarnate, and that Christianity is all a big hoax. Of course when you ask the skeptic to produce evidence...there is silence. That is for the simple reason that there is none. The evidence, the only evidence that we possess from the era in which the events took place, clearly records Mary's virginity at the time when Jesus was conceived. So, lacking contrary evidence, the skeptic will resort to something like: "Mary was not a virgin because virgins do not have babies." A circular argument. To which the Christian should respond: "precisely the point. That's why it was such a big deal when Mary, as a virgin, conceived and gave birth." And then the Christian simply assures the skeptic that as soon as he or she can produce actual historical evidence countering the biblical accounts, he/she might be taken seriously. Until then the skeptic is simply constructing myths and fairy tales. We stick with the evidence.

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Seid freundlich, demütig und geduldig im Umgang miteinander. Ertragt einander voller Liebe. – Epheser 4:2 »Verurteilt niemand, damit auch ihr nicht verurteilt werdet. Denn so, wie ihr über andere urteilt, werdet ihr selbst beurteilt werden, und mit dem Maß, das ihr bei anderen anlegt, werdet ihr selbst gemessen werden. – Jesus, Matthäus 7:1-2 Wann immer unser Gewissen uns anklagt, dürfen wir wissen: Gott ist größer als unser eigenes Herz, Er kennt uns ganz genau und ihm ist nichts verborgen. Wenn unser Gewissen uns also nicht länger verurteilt, dann, ihr Lieben, können wir uns voller Freude und Zuversicht an Gott wenden, und was wir bitten, werden wir von Ihm empfangen; denn wir befolgen seine Gebote und tun das, was ihm gefällt. Und das ist sein Gebot: dass wir an Jesus Christus als den Sohn Gottes glauben, und einander lieben, wie Jesus es uns aufgetragen hat. –1 Johannes 3:20-23 *