St. Aidan's Anglican Church, Kansas City - weekly talks

Bill Baldwin is a part of the teaching team at St. Aidan's. He earned his MA in theology from Westminister Seminary, California.

Icon: Ivanka Demchuk

Key Lectionary Scriptures:

Hebrews 12:18-19,22-29

You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven." This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of what is shaken — that is, created things — so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire.

Luke 13:22-30

Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few be saved?" He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us,' then in reply he will say to you, 'I do not know where you come from.' Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' But he will say, 'I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!' There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

Micah 7 and Luke 12:49f.

Luke 12:32-48

The Holy Gospel of St. Luke - 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' Then he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God."

Canon Dr. Stephen Gauthier, Canon Theologian of the Anglican Diocese of the Upper Midwest, talks about prayer based in Luke 11:1-13 and its theme throughout Luke's Gospel.

Stephen is a co-host on the popular PodCast, Word and Table. He and his wife, Barbara, live in Wheaton, IL. He oversees Gregory House, and St. Paul’s House of Formation, two Anglican ministry formation organizations in Chicagoland.

He holds a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University and has devoted a lifetime to the study of Scripture, theology, church history, liturgics, the early church fathers, canon law, and Carmelite spirituality.

Martha and Mary:

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.[e] Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-41

Deacon Aaron discusses how Christ's mediation is extended and shared through the ministries of his Church. For example, Paul's companion, Epaphras, "always wrestling in prayer" for the Colossians, and, the Samaritan, in Luke's Gospel, who stopped to be merciful. Jesus says to "go and do likewise."

Who is this companion commended by St. Paul? And, who is the Samaritan in, perhaps, one of the most familiar of Jesus' parables? Aaron sets out to answer these questions by turning to the first fifteen hundred years of interpretation.

Currently, Aaron is a doctoral candidate at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., and, in residence at St. Aidan's, serving as a Deacon and writing his dissertation on biblical exegesis, liturgy, and the renewal of poetic experience in the thought of Louis Bouyer.

Paul's Gospel is a proclamation of freedom. His letter to the churches in the region of Galatia provides us with the most concentrated example of Christ's liberation. He ends his letter, the sixth chapter, with how to maintain radical freedom in the Christian Community.

Freedom is, perhaps, one of the deepest longings of the human soul. We sing about freedom, we protest for freedom, and most political philosophies are based on certain assumptions about the freedom of the human person. What does the bible say about freedom? What does it mean to be set free in Christ? What is freedom, in this sense? To answer these questions, we reflect on Galatians 5.

Part two will consider Galatians 6 and Paul's instructions on the mutual care of freedom in the community.

Ivanka Demchek, Icon of the Exodus.

Our guest preacher is Dr. Doug Hardy, professor of spiritual formation at Nazarene Thelogical Seminary, KCMO. He works with the Gospel passage, Luke 9:18-24, on the question of Jesus' true identity. Amid the multiple messiahs of one's own making, Jesus' probing question to his disciples, "who do you say that I am?", remains the important question.

About Doug:

I understand my calling to be primarily about “coming alongside” others as a spiritual guide. I do this as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in service to the church for the sake of the world. To do this with integrity, I study and practice Christian spiritual formation and assist others to do the same, especially those preparing for ministry through formal theological education. My roles have varied across time—counselor, parish pastor, undergraduate psychology professor, spiritual director, graduate theology professor—and across contexts—Canada, the U.S., Africa, Ireland, in the classroom, on retreat, on pilgrimage, in my office or at a coffee shop.

I especially enjoy the opportunity to teach and learn with students. My classes are experientially-oriented, with a mix of lecture, discussion, and practice. Drawing on both the ancient Christian contemplative tradition and contemporary research in contemplative studies, I intentionally create time and space for silence, listening, and reflection so that learning is accompanied by a personal transformation that goes deep.

In addition to my work as an educator, I enjoy sharing life at home with my wife, drinking tea, walking and hiking outdoors, playing basketball, traveling to and exploring new places, reading fiction, and eating at my favorite Kansas City ethnic restaurants (Taj Mahal and Thai House).