To be a living sacrifice in the true sense of the word, Anglicans were told that they must turn over everything to God -- their cares and concerns, total devotion, more of their time to be used in ministry and personal devotions, and the use of our bodies to glorify God. During his Lenten Mission address, Father Earl Hepburn, chaplain at Bishop Michael Eldon School in Grand Bahama, told Missioners that Lent and the Mission challenges them as individuals and corporately as a church to present themselves to God and be living sacrifices for him.

As they consider their call to be a living sacrifice, he encouraged them to ask themselves what in their lifestyle they could give up for God; what they could give up for someone they love; what they could give up for the benefit of the church and what they could give up to make their body a sacred vessel -- holy and acceptable to God.

"If you are going to be a living sacrifice for God, then you have to be a willing sacrifice," said Hepburn. And he told them that the sacrifice had to be made in the true sense of the word during his sermon at the St. John's College auditorium.

"Contrary to what some might believe, people were created to worship God, and to do so means that they must take time out of their daily lives to do so," said the chaplain.

"But it seems as if people are so busy that they have no time for worship or church attendance. And when they do come to church, they come with the wrong idea of what worship is about, thinking of praise and worship. True worship is much more than just praise and includes getting involved in ministry, reaching out to the sick within the community and visiting the sick or being there for others for whom life has dealt a vicious blow. Too many people are just interested in praise, and not interested in the work side of things. True worship requires people to work. And worship and work go together."

He reminded Anglicans of the Apostle Paul who seemed to literally beg and plead with Christians in Rome to use their bodies in such a way that God was glorified. To do so he told them that the apostle had to resort to an extreme measure of begging and pleading because as he looked around at his society, he realized that people were not treating their bodies as something sacred. And that it seemed as if people displayed a total disregard for the human body as a whole.

Disrespected, abused and viewed with disgust
He said the human body during Paul's day was disrespected, abused and viewed with disgust. Against that background, the apostle begged and pleaded with Christians in Rome to live their lives and use their bodies in such a way that the surrounding Roman culture could see the human body for what it really is -- sacred, something made in the image and likeness of God, and something beautiful.

He said gladiator sport was the amusement of choice and showed a total disregard for human life and the body made in the image and likeness of God, as people were killed and ripped apart by gladiators and beasts while spectators cheered and applauded the massacre of another human being as if they were animals. He said the insatiable appetite for blood as entertainment, caused people to forget that the human body was sacred and that Paul appealed to Christians living in Rome to not participate, as it was ungodly. He said people participated in loose, sexual practices, which based upon the culture of that day and time was normal to participate in. He told them that if people didn't live a loose sexual lifestyle then society thought something was wrong with the person.

"Based on that society's norms, it was accepted practice to have a lover of the same gender, engage in an orgy, for a husband to have a mistress or a wife to have a slave satisfy her sexual desires, participate in other types of lewd and crude sexual behavior such as threesomes, foursomes or just get it from anyone who wanted to give them some.

Paul begged and pleaded with fellow Christians in Rome to not let their bodies be used in that way, because God was not honored through such abominable acts," said the priest. He also said Paul begged and pleaded with Christians in Rome as some people and centers of learning promoted the idea that the human body was useless, and according to their thinking, they believed that the body was like a jail that held the spirit or soul of man captive.

In 2015, Hepburn said there are many people who when they think about all the aches, pains and other body ailments that afflict them also conclude that the mortal body is of no use, and is just a decaying shell that prevents man from being who they really ought to be. In modern times, he said begging and pleading is something people are familiar with as they might have experienced, having been begged for lunch or money, or having their doctor beg and plead with them to change their lifestyle so they could be around a little longer.

A parent's heart
He also told them about parents that have to beg and plead with their loved ones to stop doing things that break their hearts --drugs, their lifestyle and the company they keep and staying away from church.

"You beg, plead and pray for the one you love to make a change for the better. Sometimes they hear you and they change, and sometimes they hear you and do not change," he told them. "We have a culture whereby people beg and plead with us constantly, we should not be surprised that Paul the apostle begs us too. He begs us on a spiritual level to give ourselves back to the God who created us all."

The priest told Missioners that the way of God and the way of the world are totally different and are in opposition to each other.

"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out, just look around at what is happening in our world today. The world seems to be on a rampage to legalize everything -- marijuana is now legalized in many parts of the world; same sex unions are now legalized in many parts of the world; and web shops have been legalized in this country, even though our people voted against its implementation through referendum."

Of all the moral issues that have been legalized, the one the priest said he found most baffling was same sex unions.

"In thinking about this issue, one of the things I can't understand is why, when two persons of the same gender decide to engage in this form of civil union, one of the parties still dresses like a male or have to look like a woman. Maybe a psychologist can better explain this to me, but through my eyes, this I believe is a clear sign that something is seriously wrong with these unions," said Hepburn.

He told them that Paul asked Christians in Rome to seriously consider whose ways they were following because the way of the world was opposed to the way of God and how God expects his people to live their lives.

"Start thinking differently, Paul says by renewing your mind. Think differently about how you use your body, because even though you live in a world where the human body is not viewed as something sacred, your body is a precious gift given to you by God, and you should glorify God through the use of your body. If we as Christians were to conform to the ways of the world in accepting its view of the modern family, then how can we be the salt of the earth?"

Hepburn said that if the church at Rome was anything like the church at Corinth and the churches within our dioceses, then Paul is still staying to people that they need to change their way of thinking.

"We need to undergo a transformation because though we are many, we are all one body in Christ. And so Paul continues to make his appeal, he continues to beg and plead with us," he said.

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