Sermon
for Sunday April 21
St.
Agnes and St. Vincent
by
Barbara Cox
Choosing a new name for our parish is both
interesting and exciting. Interesting because we are asked to learn more about
the different Saints in the Anglican Communion; and exciting because we are the
ones involved in choosing the name for our parish which we hope will be with us
for a long time. Most importantly it gives us a chance to reflect on who we are
and what name best suits our mission in God’s Family.
The two Saints we are going to study today are St.
Agnes and St. Vincent the Martyr. Both saints died for their belief in Jesus.
They fearlessly stood firm in their belief, even at the risk of death.
St. Agnes was martyred at Rome around the year 304
and is said to be only 12 years old when she suffered for her confession of her
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The
traditional accounts of her martyrdom agree she was brought before a pagan
judge, and when he tried to coax her into renouncing the Christian faith, she
answered him with an assurance that was far above her years. Her boldness infuriated the judge and he
sentenced her to death some accounts say by being burned at the stake, others
say by beheading. What truly matters to
the church is not the manner of her death, but the maturity of faith displayed
in a child so young. Some eighty years
after her death Ambrose of Milan wrote: “Everyone marvelled that Agnes was so
spend thrift with her life which she had hardly tasted.
All were astounded that she should come forward as a
witness to God when she was so very young.
So she succeeded in convincing others of her testimony about God. The onlookers perceived that she had received
from God what could not come from humans; for what is beyond the power of
humans must come from its creator.”
The other saint we are going to study today is St.
Vincent the Martyr. Vincent was a
Spanish deacon who suffered for the faith he displayed in God around the year
304. He was arrested with the bishop of
Saragossa, a man named Valerius. Because
Valerius stammered he often relied on Vincent to give the homily on his behalf. When the two were brought before the Roman
governor, Vincent turned to Valerius and said, “Father, if you order me I will
speak.” The bishop responded, “Son, as I
committed you to dispense the word of God, so I now charge you to answer in the
vindication of the faith which we defend.”
Vincent spoke and held back nothing either his defence of the faith, or
his condemnation of paganism. The
governor was enraged at the effrontery. He
sentenced Valerius to exile but ordered Vincent to the horrors of the torture
chamber. For several hours Vincent
endured the worst torments that the ancient world could devise. In the end his body surrendered its life
because his spirit refused to surrender his belief in Christ. Vincent’s endurance caused the Church to
stand in awe of him--- and to recognize how he came by the strength that he
needed.
In the early 5th century Augustine of
Hippo told his flock: “If you were to consider Vincent’s martyrdom nothing more
than human endurance, his act is unbelievable.
But Vincent ceases to be a source of astonishment, once you recognize
the power to be from God.”
In the case of St. Agnes, the people at that time
were amazed that a person so young had the maturity of such faith. In my
working with children for over 30 years, it never ceased to amaze me how deeply
children can think.
Both St. John’s and St. Cuthbert’s in our parish have
Sunday Schools. Some of the information I read stated that St. Agnes was known
as the patron saint of youth. We may want to consider St. Agnes for the naming
of our parish.
In our first reading today Paul says we do not need
to be of high social standing or be powerful to be chosen as the followers of
Jesus. What we have to be is to believe
and to live out the teachings of Jesus in our lives regardless of the
consequences. This is challenging in a
world where there are many distractions.
Both St. Agnes and St. Vincent did not waver in
their faith in Jesus when they stood up against powerful people who commanded
that they die if they did not renounce their faith.
We too are faced with challenges in life. Living a Christian life is not always easy;
and sometimes there are consequences for choosing the Christian way. It may mean telling the truth at a time when
it would be to our advantage to not tell the truth. It sometimes means loving the unlovable. It means showing compassion to those less
fortunate. It means being patient and
not always getting our way. It means
listening and respecting the opinions of others. It means forgiving when we really don’t want
to forgive. It means recognizing and
appreciating the worth of one another.
Our psalm is a prayer of trust in God. We are given
the courage and strength to handle our challenges. The psalm says God is our refuge and
strength. If we listen, he will guide us and lead us. He will keep us safe from the dangers in
life. In our decision making it is
important we ask ourselves what God would have us do. Both St. Agnes and St. Vincent trusted God
and were led by their faith.
In the second reading Paul speaks to the Colossians
of proclaiming Christ’s message to everyone.
He tells us that Christ is in us and that we share in living Christ’s
message to the world. We are supplied
with that strength. Those that witnessed
Agnes’s death believed that she had received her strength from the power of God
within her. St. Vincent was tortured for
several hours before his body surrendered to death, but his spirit refused to
give up Christ. Vincent’s endurance awed
the church at that time and yet they recognized how he had the strength he
needed.
Both saints had the power of God within them. We, also, have the spirit and power of God
within each of us, and with that spirit and power together we can do
infinitely more than we can do on our own.
In our gospel today we are told to fear not our
enemies of the world. Listen to what God
is asking us to do. Have faith that we
will be given the strength to carry out whatever the task maybe. Both St. Agnes and St. Vincent are examples
of our readings today.
Of course in the 21st century we do not
physically kill people for their beliefs. However we can be frowned and scorned
upon and even ignored for what we believe; and how we live out our beliefs in
our daily lives in the community. We live in a world where there are many
pressures and distractions. It takes a lot of courage and strength while
carrying out what we are being asked to do. But we can be examples of Christ’s
teaching in our communities. We can take time out from our fear of not having
enough money to keep our church alive, and pray together. We receive our
strength from prayer. We can stand up for what we believe regardless of the
consequences. We can feel the Holy Spirit working in us in spite of pressures
and distractions.
St. Agnes and St. Vincent did all this. Their
example of faith and dedication are worthy of thought in the naming of our
parish.
Let us pray together the prayer after communion from
our Book of Alternate Services page on 214.
Glory
to God whose power working in us
can
do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.
Glory
to God from generation to generation
in
the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen
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