A weekly devotional blog by the Reverend Susan Montague-Koyle
Drawing on liturgical notes and the commemorations of the saints, Rev. Susan offers teaching and inspiration for Anglicans across Algoma and beyond.
A Liturgical Note for You
Since we’re reading today about one of the early church bishops who fought against a common heresy of his time, let’s talk about that — because, as you’ll see, this topic can lead to something we all hold very dear: God’s blessings.
Slipping Into Heresy
Unfortunately, it’s easier than you may think to slide away from solid theology into heresy because, despite some people insisting to the contrary, what we encounter in the Bible can at times be difficult to understand and interpreted in more than one way.
Sometimes this is a very good thing — there are multiple layers of meaning in the Scriptures we read and study. Also, as I’ve mentioned before, there are things in the Bible that show us the struggles and missteps of God’s people as they got to know this God who was so very different from the “gods” they’d known before. These stories can be more of a “what not to do or think” rather than examples for us to follow.
If we have inaccurate thinking about God and God’s ways in our minds as we worship, then what we experience in our liturgies will be filtered through that thinking and end up reinforcing it.
Why do I bring up liturgy when I’m talking about what we think? You’d probably say that the opposite of a heretical teaching would be an orthodox teaching, right? That’s sort of true. But did you know that “orthodox” does not mean right belief or right teaching? It means “right worship.”
We are formed in our beliefs by our worship — but we can be malformed if we go into worship with some not-so-great theology in our heads.
The Prosperity Gospel
One of the most popular heresies of our modern time is known as the “prosperity gospel.”
It teaches that if you are following God’s ways, God will bless you with physical health and financial wealth. If you’re rich, God must love you very much; if you’re poor or ill, God must be angry with you about something.
There are many Gospel stories in which Jesus teaches his disciples — and the crowd — that this is not how God operates. The story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) that we heard not too long ago is a prime example of Jesus trying to counter this thinking (among other important takeaways as well).
You may believe that you don’t think this way, but have you ever said — or thought — “There but for the grace of God go I”?
That implies that you think God is favouring you but not the person in dire circumstances. You probably don’t actually believe that, so it’s good to be aware of the implication of some common sayings that roll off our tongues.
There are people around us who do believe the suffering of others is the result of God punishing them for something.
Gratitude and God’s Blessings
We constantly thank God for our many blessings, don’t we? We should, indeed, be thankful to God — all that we are and all that we have are from God and belong to God.
As we celebrate our Harvest Thanksgiving or Canadian Thanksgiving Day, we do so with thankful hearts, acknowledging that God is the source of all our abundance.
But if we, or someone else, suddenly struggle financially or end up homeless, does that mean we are no longer blessed by God?
As we give our thanks, there is something important you need to know about God’s blessings.
What is it? This is getting long, so I’ll let you know next week. 😊
For Your Devotions
Monday, October 13 – Edward the Confessor, King of England (d. 1066)
His peaceful reign was remarkable for its time, and his devotion to confession earned him the title “Confessor.”
More: BBC History – Edward the Confessor
Legend: Edward meets St. John the Evangelist
Wednesday, October 15 – Teresa of Avila, Spiritual Teacher and Reformer (d. 1582)
Reformer of the Carmelite Order and patron saint of headache sufferers.
More: Britannica – Saint Teresa of Avila
Wednesday, October 15 – John of the Cross, Mystic and Spiritual Teacher (d. 1591)
Partnered with Teresa in reform; wrote spiritual poetry during imprisonment.
More: For All the Saints – p.306
Friday, October 17 – Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (~115 AD)
Wrote letters describing early church structure and countering heresy.
More: Christianity Today – Ignatius of Antioch
Saturday, October 18 – St. Luke the Evangelist
Physician, companion of Paul, and Gospel writer.
More: Catholic.org – Saint Luke
In Christ,
Rev. Susan Montague-Koyle