Anglican Ascetic

Fr Matthew C. Dallman
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Homilies, teachings, and interviews from your host, Father Matthew C. Dallman, Obl.S.B., who is the leading authority on the theology of Martin Thornton, student of the Venerable S. Bede, and founder of Akenside Institute for English Spirituality. Fr Dallman is an Anglican priest: Rector of Saint Paul's, New Smyrna Beach, in Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida. anglicanascetic.akensideinstitute.org

  1. 19h ago

    In Praise of the Righteous Parents of Blessed Mary

    A Reading from a Homily by Kosmas Vestitor, a Byzantine lay preacher who lived in Constantinople and died circa 850. Today is the day that offers thanksgiving to the progenitors of the Theotokos, through whom the beginning of salvation for everyone has come about. Indeed, the festival of the parents is that of the daughter. For just as a child is glorified too in the glory of its mother, so also is a mother glorified in the blessing of a child. Today there is happiness in remembering the righteous with speeches of praise. It came to pass in times of old that there was a righteous man from the tribe of Judah named Joachim. He was a man distinguished in holiness and righteousness; a man who was notable in nobility and wealth; a man who was single-minded in his offerings of sacrifices; a man in every way well-pleasing to God; a man of the longings which come from the Spirit. For since he was childless and consumed with desire for a child, he fathered the bride of the Holy Spirit. As a man he truly achieved this, since God hearkened to his prayers and granted him the one who was “beyond all the tabernacles of Jacob,” or to put it another way, the daughter who is worthily deemed higher than all created things in heaven or on earth. And he had a pious wife, whose name was Anna, who also came from the royal tribe of Judah since she was a descendant of David. She was a woman who rejected all evil; a woman who lived faithfully before God with her husband; a woman who regularly attended the temple of God along with her own spouse, with prayers, fasts, and pleasing, bountiful gifts a woman who in unanimity of soul and bodily chastity always possessed constancy of understanding with her husband. For she was not mischievously transformed, like Eve, but was instead joined to her husband as a helper both in the living out of virtues and in daily supplications to God. For the two grew equally weary in their prayer of yearning for a child in the same way that a farmer, together with his wife, when they have worked some barren land, sow the seed and, through prayer, expect to gain a good crop of fruit. Anna lived not as Eve lived with Adam, but as one who shared in thanksgiving and worked with Joachim on spiritual good deeds; and she was truly a “better half ” who completed the union with her husband perfectly. For whereas Eve became the producer of pain for the world by means of the fruit of a tree, Joachim’s Anna represented joy for the Creator by means of the fruit of her womb. Continuing with the homily by Kosmas Vestitor It is well known to everyone that Mary the Theotokos was given the good news in the Galilee of the gentiles, in the house of Joseph the carpenter, who had been made the Virgin’s husband in order to ward off the devil’s deception. And again, it is clear that she gave birth to Christ in Bethlehem and that her native land happened to be the same city as that of her mother, just as the oration will demonstrate below. For Mary’s ancestral home was situated near the pool by the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, according to the text, where Christ who was also our God raised up and cured the man who had lain as a paralytic for thirty-eight years, since he was about to go forth from that house symbolically as the Shepherd of rational sheep. For this reason the grace of baptism is also foreshadowed by the pool of water there, for the illness of chronic deceit that has paralysed the souls of men, just as in the functioning of limbs, has been healed by purification of the Spirit through water, just as the spiritual bread of life was leavened in the figure of Bethlehem. And here Christ was revealed in the form of an angel to Abraham, and he also wrestled with Jacob in angelic shape. For he is the One who came to bring good news to those who are far away and those who are nearby; he is the Gospel of righteousness; he is the One who carried out the commandment of the God and Father by means of angels; he is the “Messenger of great counsel”, to whom the Father became Counsellor and said, “Let us make man according to our image and likeness”. He is also the Bread of true life which was predicted in advance by the name of Bethlehem; for “Bethlehem” means “house of bread,” which was baked in the ashes in Abraham’s tent, that is to say, bread which was leavened in secret, or the flesh of the Savior that was begotten from the Virgin and Theotokos, Mary. It is therefore fitting, on account of these things, to say that the Lord blessed the house of King David on account of his descendant, life-bearing Mary. He blessed the house of the righteous Joachim and Anna on account of their hallowed daughter. He blessed the house of Joseph on account of the bride, the truly pure and ever-Virgin Mother of Christ and Theotokos Mary, who had been entrusted in civil law to him alone. Hence, and on account of these things, thrice-blessed are the parents of the Mother of God, to whom the whole world is indebted! Get full access to Anglican Ascetic Podcast at anglicanascetic.akensideinstitute.org/subscribe

  2. 1d ago

    On Christ Known Through Preachers

    A life of constantly reflecting on the fact of our Baptism means that everywhere and in all places Christ can be found, Christ can be heard, Christ can be spoken to, His divine majesty adored; and His mercy asked for and received. As Saint Paul writes in Galatians 3.27: “For as man of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Even as Moses writes: “The Word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart”: the Word being Christ, the Eternal Word of the Father. Recognizing this fact—recognizing this unsearchable gift—unveils for us the mystery of our existence in Christ, and His existence in us. And what happens to people when mystery is unveiled? What happens is that they are transfigured, and the eyes of their heart see in a new way—with the eyes of Noah after he leaves the ark and beholds a beautiful world, cleansed of evil and full of grace. This is what the upcoming Feast of the Transfiguration celebrates: that knowledge of the truth of Christ, fully God and fully man, opens the eyes of our hearts to see the uncreated light of heaven shine through Him. And this mystery of transfiguration matters quite a bit for our lives in the Church, as we will see shortly. I am going to bring Paul’s teaching today together with that of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. From Paul we have him exhorting and encouraging us to live according to the Spirit. To live according to the Holy Spirit. He says, “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” And then Paul adds, “All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” That word “sons” can trip people up, so let me say firstly that “son” means sharing in the activity of something. It means sharing the nature of it. So “sons of God” means sharing and participating in God’s activity, indeed participating in Him Who shares Himself with us eucharistically as our Daily Bread. Mary Magdalene was participating in Christ’s glory on Easter morning in a manner which was eucharistic–for she was partaking of Him Who is the Eternal Bread of Heaven. Peter, James, and John participated in Christ’s glory at the Transfiguration, and their participation was eucharistic in the same way. To reflect upon Paul’s teaching that “All who are led by the Spirit of God are participating in God’s activity” is to perceive that Paul is teaching about the eucharistic life. Life led by the Spirit of God reveals Christ Whom we receive as heavenly bread. What hinders such life and impedes participation in this life is, according to S. Paul, living according to the flesh, according to self-centeredness, concupiscence, measuring one’s life by worldly values rather than holy values. To be led by the Holy Spirit requires the putting off of self-centered, worldly living, and instead thinking, living, and acting according to Christ’s sacred humanity. To be led by the Holy Spirit means we continue in that holy fellowship, and do all such good works as God has prepared for us to walk in. What we hear from our Saviour Jesus Christ in Saint Matthew’s Gospel is that we must beware of false prophets—that is, false teachers—and recognize good teachers, that is good Priests who preach the true Faith of Christ Crucified and Resurrected. Such people are, by definition, those who are led by the Spirit of God, participating in the redemptive stream of Christ’s living water. These people are not living according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. And Jesus says, “You will recognize them by their fruits.” By the fruits, then, we recognize holy Preachers of the Word of God. What are the fruits by which we recognize holy Preachers of God’s Word? This is another mystery of God—the mystery of Him being known through preaching, through His chosen Preachers, those chosen and ordained to proclaim the faith of the Church through preaching. How do we recognize them? What fruits are we looking for? What we are looking for are preachers who have been transfigured by the Gospel, transfigured by the uncreated light of Jesus Christ, preachers fully led by the Holy Spirit. And the specific way to recognize holy preachers is that in them we see what are called the Fruits of the Spirit. There are nine Fruits of the Spirit, and these nine come from Paul’s teaching to us in Galatians 5:22-23. There is revealed to us that the Fruits of the Spirit are: Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering (patience), Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness (sometimes just faith), Gentleness (that is, meekness), and Self-Control (or temperance). These are qualities that people living according to the Holy Spirit show in their life, illustrate in their actions, their words, and exhibit as part of their personality. These are what we are to look for in Preachers, that we can separate and distinguish between true preachers and false preachers, between good and bad, between ones we should listen to, and ones we should not. Every healthy, godly tree bears good fruit that we must use to recognize the holiness of the tree. We look for in Preachers the qualities of Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control. By these, the mercy, love, and presence of Christ is revealed through the Preacher, through any truly Christian person. Holy preachers are those who themselves are transfigured. The nine fruits of the Spirit are the proof that the preachers have been transfigured by Christ and are being led by the Holy Spirit. And we therefore can have full trust in such preachers, that the Holy Spirit has filled that person, and that we can not only listen to them, but be led by them, for it is the Holy Spirit who leads us and guides us into all truth. We can not only listen to them, and be led by them, but in fact be fed by them, because what they preach is Christ crucified and resurrected; what they preach is Christ Who is the eternal Bread come down from heaven; what they preach is He Who is known by the opening of Scripture and breaking of Bread. Holy preachers preach only the Truth–Truth Who is Jesus Christ Himself, Who lives and reigns with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. Get full access to Anglican Ascetic Podcast at anglicanascetic.akensideinstitute.org/subscribe

  3. 5d ago

    On Saint Mary Magdalene Adoring Christ

    O God, who didst vouchsafe to call blessed Mary Magdalene, by the voice of thine only-begotten Son, from the multitude of her sins unto the grace of repentance and the dignity of thy service: mercifully grant unto us; that, by her intercession and example, we may be delivered from the bonds of our sins, and may attain unto the glory of everlasting felicity. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Get full access to Anglican Ascetic Podcast at anglicanascetic.akensideinstitute.org/subscribe

  4. 6d ago

    Evenings with Bede: S3, Ep. 13: On the the Miraculous Bread of Christ

    In the audio provided, both lessons are read, and then followed by a homily by yours truly. A Lesson from the Gospel according to S. Mark, 6.35 And when it grew late, the disciples of Jesus came to Him and said, “This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late; send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat.” But He answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” And He said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Then He commanded them all to sit down by companies upon the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish He looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and He divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. A Lesson of Commentary by the Ven. S. Bede Jesus said to them: “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they knew, they said: “Five, and two fish.” By the five loaves of the Apostles, and two fish, the whole scripture of the Old Testament is signified. By the five loaves, namely the five books of the Mosaic law, by which the knowledge of divine eternity, the creation of the world, the course of the passing age, and the true religion of serving God became known to mankind. By the two fish, the Psalms and the Prophets are represented, which fed the people educated in the law of God with the new sweetness of grace from the promise of the Lord’s incarnation. By this threefold distinction of sacred Scripture, we are taught by the Lord’s authority that the entire series of the old instrument is comprehended. For appearing to the disciples after the resurrection, the Lord Himself said that “it was necessary that all things that were written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms concerning Me should be fulfilled” (Luke 24). And when He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and to hand them over, spiritually understood, to the faithful listeners, as though blessing the apostolic loaves and the fish, and multiplying them with the gift of internal sweetness, He ordered them to be distributed to the crowds. Well, according to the Gospel of John, the loaves, which signify the law, are reported to have been barley loaves, which is mainly the food of animals and mostly of rustic servants, because to those just beginning and not yet perfect listeners, harsher and more coarse precepts must be entrusted. For the natural man does not receive the things that are of the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2). And therefore the Lord, giving gifts according to each one’s strength and always provoking toward more perfect things, first feeds five thousand with five loaves, second four thousand men with seven loaves, third entrusts the mystery of His flesh and blood to the disciples: at last He grants the great gift to the elect, that they may eat and drink at His table in His kingdom. If you find this edifying, please consider (if you haven’t already) becoming a paid subscriber. Your support goes directly to supporting the ministry of Akenside Institute for English Spirituality, a project I started 13 years ago to help to rebuild the Anglican tradition. Get full access to Anglican Ascetic Podcast at anglicanascetic.akensideinstitute.org/subscribe

  5. Jul 19

    On Christ in Us

    I will begin this morning by again quoting from Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey, among the most important Anglican voices of the 20th century. He said: “The life of a mature Christian is continually responding to the fact of our Baptism.” For him, Baptism means a new life of listening, reflecting, and discerning—a whole life of repentance and humility that the eyes of our heart which were blinded by sin and ignorance can be opened to see what was previously hidden, and to be fed and nourished by what was previously invisible and unknown to us. By Baptism we see and think differently. One of the mysteries the Baptism begins to unveil is the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which we receive only after we are baptized, thus the Eucharist, a profound mystery itself, is also one of the aspects of the mystery of Baptism and of baptized life in Jesus Christ. And we cannot help but be reminded of the Eucharist hearing of the feeding miracle in Mark 8, the feeding of the 4,000 which was itself not the Eucharist, but was remembered by the apostles proclaiming the Gospel as a preview of the Eucharist and Christ’s ability to endlessly feed us with Himself. In considering the Eucharist, the mystery of Holy Communion, it is helpful to bring to mind the traditional attitude of Anglicans toward the Eucharist, which is also the attitude of the undivided Church of the first one thousand years. Why do we believe that the bread and wine become Christ’s precious Body and Blood? Because Jesus said so. Simple as that. He said so, and He is the Son of God, through Whom all things are made: so what He says and does is true. This attitude is captured by the 17th century Bishop Jeremy Taylor. In his book, The Rules for Holy Living, he wrote: “Dispute not concerning the secret of this mystery, and the precision of the manner of Christ’s presence in it: it is enough for you that Christ shall be present to your soul, as an instrument of grace.” Anglican theology and practice has always accepted the doctrine of Christ’s real and actual presence in the Eucharist, that the Eucharist conveys to those who receive it in faith real and objective grace. We hear all of that in Jeremy Taylor’s teaching. But we also hear a strong caution to not dispute concerning the mystery of the Eucharist, nor struggle to understand how the bread and wine become Christ’s precious Body and Blood. Accept it is what Jesus said it is: His Body and Blood, and therefore accept the Eucharist as an objective means of grace, because He is presence and He always gives grace and mercy to those who seek it. The mystery of the Eucharist is really the mystery of Christ we receive in and through the Eucharist. We hear from Paul a variety of teachings about the mystery of God. As Saint Paul writes in Ephesians 3:5: “When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” In Colossians 2:2-3: Paul tells us that he taught that we “may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” And earlier in Colossians: “this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” So to speak of the mystery of God, in such a way as to not provide easy answers to every question, is how Saint Paul himself taught. Paul sought to make us progressively aware of a mystery, which means becoming progressively aware of Jesus Christ: Him as God, Him as Man; Him begotten before all worlds; Him taking upon Himself our human nature; Him Crucified, Him Resurrected; Him Who died for our sins, Him Who is always alive. Paul taught profoundly about the mystery of Eucharist. These teaching most obviously is found in 1 Corinthians 11, and these words: “I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. In this first written teaching about the Eucharist that we find in the Church, we find Paul reiterating our Lord’s instruction: to receive the Eucharist for the remembrance of Him – that the remembrance of Christ is the purpose of receiving the Eucharist. And here it helpful to know that the word in Greek which is translated as “in remembrance” in English is anamnesis. There is no simple and elegant translation of anamnesis into English. Anamnesis in clunky English means something like “the making actually present again.” Thus “do this in remembrance of Me” becomes” “Do this—for the making actually present again—of Me.” The common English “in remembrance” might be the best choice of sub-optimal options, but it might make Christians think that the Eucharist is for simply remembering Christ, like we might remember our grandmother, or that one thing we did once when we were younger. It does not mean that. Jesus instructed us, and Paul reiterated for the apostolic Church, that in receiving the Eucharist we receive into our bodies His actual presence, the same presence as if He were standing among us and walking with us. Indeed the same presence of Christ that Saint Mary Magdalene experienced when she heard Christ call her name. My brothers and sisters, this is a mystery and we need not seek easy answers to the question of how it all works. Let our trust in Jesus Christ, fully God and fully Man, suffice for us. Jesus told us to eat and drink His precious Body and Blood which the Holy Spirit gives us through His transformation of bread and wine. So let us eat and drink and know His precious Body and Blood as His gift to us! Why is the bread and wine His Body and Blood? Because Jesus said so. In receiving the Eucharist, we are saying “I believe you, Jesus.” In receiving the Eucharist, we are saying, “I believe you are alive and resurrected in Your Church, of which You are the head.” In receiving the Eucharist, we are saying, “Thank you, Jesus. I believe you are alive and resurrected in me—in me, a member of Your Body the Church.” In receiving the Eucharist, we are saying, “Thank you Jesus, we love you, and we know that You love us also”—You, Who live and reign with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. Get full access to Anglican Ascetic Podcast at anglicanascetic.akensideinstitute.org/subscribe

  6. Jul 15

    On Selling Our Possessions

    When Jesus was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. (Saint Mark 10:17-22) Get full access to Anglican Ascetic Podcast at anglicanascetic.akensideinstitute.org/subscribe

  7. Jul 12

    On Mystery and Sacrament

    “It is not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every question, but to make us progressively aware of a mystery.” These words of a 20th century British theologian (Kallistos Ware) speak directly to the theme of these Sundays after Trinity, which is the “Eucharistic Life.” What that theologian teaches is that by the Christian life, we are made more aware of a mystery. In the Church, we find many things that are characterized as “mystery.” And that is because in the Church, the word “mystery” connects with revelation. To say that Christianity is mystery is to say that Christianity is a revealed religion. In our Christian life, we are made more conscious of the truth which is only revealed in Jesus Christ through the workings of the Holy Ghost. When the Church speaks of “mystery,” it does not mean puzzle or conundrum. People read mystery novels, like Sherlock Holmes; people watch television programs and movies that are under the category of “murder-mysteries.” But “mystery” in the Church does not mean either of those. Mystery in the Church means truth that is only revealed to the people of God when it is God’s plan to do so. The life of a Christian, being a continual initiation into the reality of Pentecost, is the life whereby through the Liturgy and Sacraments, through repentance and humility, we are made more and more aware of truth that is revealed; of truth that is hidden; of truth that defies the constraints of human language. There is perhaps no better illustration that Christianity involves profound mystery than the Sacrament of Baptism. As the Baptismal Liturgy expresses: in the water of Baptism we are buried with Christ in His Death; by the water of baptism we share in His Resurrection; and through the water of Baptism we are reborn by the Holy Ghost. The Sacrament of Baptism means being born again, to continue for ever in the risen life of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Our sin is forgiven, we are given an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and love God, and the gift of joy and wonder in all our works. In Baptism, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own for ever. In Baptism, we are made one with Christ, a member of His Body the Church, and members one with each other in Christ, Who is our Head. In Baptism the Saints of old become our friends, our colleagues, our family, our fellow war-farers. We are able to recognize plainly the fact of Christ in them. Saints of the Church are both Christ’s (with an apostrophe s; that is, belonging to Christ), and they are christs (plural, as in little christs). Like the Saints, through Baptism are able to walk in the newness of life, united with Christ in His resurrected and glorified Body. And when we are baptized, we are able to feed on Christ: feed on him through faith in Holy Communion, and through Him revealed in Scripture: Christ is the Bread of Life, He is our daily Bread, and through baptism, we eat He Who is our life, our health, and our salvation. We eat Him that we might fully become Him Who we eat. In Christianity, there is a close connection between the words “mystery” and “sacrament.” The Greek word mysterion means a hidden truth or secret that God has now revealed—especially His plan to save us through Jesus. The early Church used this word for the special church rituals like Baptism and Eucharist, seeing Baptism and Eucharist as visible signs that make God’s invisible grace real to us. When the Church in the West began using Latin, they translated mysterion as sacramentum, which became the word “sacrament.” The Church of the East continues today to call these rites “the Mysteries,” while the Church of the West calls them “Sacraments.” Both words basically mean the same thing: holy actions that hide and reveal God’s presence and power at the same time. They not only reflect the Gospel, but Baptism and Eucharist are the Gospel: the good news of being joined to the Body of Christ, and the good news of being fed by Christ so as to more become Christ. In our selves, Christ wants us to see the mystery of Himself. He wants us to become aware of the mystery, the sacrament, of Christ in us. The mystery of Baptism led the greatest Archbishop of Canterbury of the 20th century, blessed Michael Ramsey (who died in 1988), to write: “The life of a mature Christian is continually responding to the fact of our Baptism.” Only a mystery enveloped in hiddenness demands a whole life of response, a whole life of listening, reflecting, discerning, and doing. The fact of baptism demands, in the words of Saint Paul, that we must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. As Paul teaches, our old self has been crucified with Christ in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin, indeed that we are set free from sin. Set free and enabled to love everyone without condition; free and enabled to bless those who abuse us, strike us, or take from us; free and enabled to love our enemies, do good, lend, and expect nothing in return. We are enabled to live eucharistically: everywhere and in all places giving thanks to God. We are enabled say with the Prophet Job: “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though this body be destroyed, yet shall I see God; Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger.” To live within the revealed mystery of Christ is to live sacramentally; it is to live baptismally, and it is to live eucharistically, which means a life of thankfulness to God. in the words of another 20th century British theologian (Alexander Schmemann): “All that exists is God’s gift to man, and it all exists to make God known to man, to make man’s life communion with God. It is divine love made food, made life for man. God blesses everything He creates, and, in biblical Language, this means He makes all creation the sign and means of His presence and wisdom, love and revelation: ‘O taste and see that the Lord is good.’ Man is a hungry being. But he is hungry for God. Behind all the hunger of our life is God. All desire is finally a desire for Him.” Indeed a desire for Jesus Christ Himself, Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. Get full access to Anglican Ascetic Podcast at anglicanascetic.akensideinstitute.org/subscribe

  8. Jul 6

    Evenings with Bede: S3, Ep. 12: On S. Peter as Fisher of Men

    In the audio provided, both lessons are read, and then followed by a homily by yours truly. A Lesson from the Gospel According to S. Luke, 5.1 While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear the word of God, Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” A Lesson of Commentary by the Ven. S. Bede The Lake of Gennesaret is called by the Greek word, “Gennesar, (meaning) its water is not spread out flat like a pool, but is stirred by frequent breezes, sweet to taste, and good for drinking. This lake or sea signifies the present age, the Lord standing by the sea, when, after overcoming the mortality of fleeting life in that flesh in which He suffered, He entered upon the stability of eternal rest. The assemblage of crowds is an allegorical figure of the nations rushing together to Him in faith, as Isaiah says, And all nations shall flow to it, and many people shall go, and say: Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord (Is 2:2-3). The two ships placed by the lake symbolize circumcision and lack of circumcision. Jesus is well said to have seen them, because among both people the Lord knows who are His, and he conveys their heart from the billows of this age to the calm of future life, by seeing them as it were coming towards the firmness of the shore, that is, by seeing them with the mercy of His heart. The fishermen are the preachers of the Church, who convey us are caught in the net of faith, and brought up from the deep to the light, like fish to the shore, and so to the land of the living. For like the nets of the fishermen, certain sayings of the preachers are complex in order not to lose those whom they have caught in faith. When Peter says, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets,” we see that unless the Lord illuminates the heart of the pupils [disciples], the teachers labours [useless] in the night. Unless the tools of disputation are let down at the word of divine grace, the preacher hurls the javelin of his word in vain, because the faith of the people springs not from the wisdom of logical terminology, but from the gift of a divine calling. When Our Lord says, “from now on you will be catching men,” the Lord explains that just as now he catches fish with nets, so in the future he will catch men with words. And the Lord also explains that the whole order of this action shows what is done daily in the Church. If you find this edifying, please consider (if you haven’t already) becoming a paid subscriber. Your support goes directly to supporting the ministry of Akenside Institute for English Spirituality, a project I started 12 years ago to help to rebuild the Anglican tradition. Get full access to Anglican Ascetic Podcast at anglicanascetic.akensideinstitute.org/subscribe

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Homilies, teachings, and interviews from your host, Father Matthew C. Dallman, Obl.S.B., who is the leading authority on the theology of Martin Thornton, student of the Venerable S. Bede, and founder of Akenside Institute for English Spirituality. Fr Dallman is an Anglican priest: Rector of Saint Paul's, New Smyrna Beach, in Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida. anglicanascetic.akensideinstitute.org

Information

  • Creator
    Fr Matthew C. Dallman
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    260
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Fr Matthew C Dallman
  • Show Website
    Anglican Ascetic

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