A few preliminary notes:

This Saturday -- April 18, Men's Breakfast, 8:30 AM
Saints Study Moves from Monday to Wednesday this Wednesday
Please read Services & Events in this e-letter for more details on these 2 items plus much more.

The same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.

--- John 20:19-20, from the Gospel read last Sunday, the First Sunday After Easter.


The Odyssey tells the story of how Odysseus, king of the island of Ithaca and a veteran of ten years of combat in the Trojan War, returns to his home on Ithaca after ten more years of danger, suffering, and the loss of all of his companions. He has been aged by those hard twenty years and, moreover, the goddess Athena has disguised him as a poor beggar. Two of his old servants nevertheless recognize him by a peculiarly shaped scar high on one leg, the result of a wound he had received when hunting. He had given a boar a mortal wound with his spear, but before dying the boar had gored him with it's tusk.

The classicist Elizabeth Vandiver has pointed out that in an age before photographs and identity documents a distinctive birthmark or scar was one of the very few ways in which a person could establish his identity beyond doubt.

Jesus appears to have been transformed in some manner by His Resurrection. Mary Magdalene did not recognize the risen Christ when He first appeared to her in the garden of Getsemane, nor did the disciples who walked and talked with Him on the road to Emmaus. In the appearance quoted above Jesus ensures that the disciples in this case saw His wounds, the irrefutable proof of His identity. I believe that that is why Saint John tells us “Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.” They were certainly not glad because Jesus had been crucified, they were glad because those marks of the Crucifixion proved that the One who stood before them, incredible as it must have seemed to those who knew that He had been executed and laid in a tomb, was indeed Jesus.

The story of how Odysseus received his wound is not just a hunting story. If it were then there would have been no need for Homer to include it; the fact of a distinctive scar is enough to advance the plot of the Odyssey, but exactly how Odysseus received it is unnecessary to the narrative. There's a deeper point to it. Odysseus achieved his goal. He killed the boar and provided meat for himself and his family, but he took a risk and paid a price in blood in order to accomplish his purpose. The whole theme of the Odyssey is Odysseus' striving to achieve his goal of returning to Ithaca and his taking risks and enduring sufferings in order to do so.

Christ is like the old Greek hero in that respect. The story that the Gospels tell is of Jesus risking and finally losing His own life in order to achieve His goal of opening the way to eternal life to all who believe in Him. The wounds of His Crucifixion attest to His suffering, and the fact that He has risen attests that He has indeed overcome death for Himself and us.

In further reflecting upon Homer's epic, another parallel leapt out at me. When Odysseus returns he finds his kingdom of Ithaca in terrible shape. During his long absence a horde of churlish suitors have descended upon his faithful wife Penelope urging her to accept that Odysseus must be dead and to marry one of them to be the new king. They have abused some of his household and corrupted others and impoverished the kingdom by eating his livestock and living at Penelope's expense while refusing to leave until she agrees to marry one of them.

Odysseus' return is not a peaceful reunion with his wife and son; it is a visitation of harsh mortal judgment on those who have scorned his kingship and abused his kingdom in his absence and a time of great reward for those who have remained faithful to him. The comparison with the promised Second Coming of Christ at the end of this age is inescapable to a Christian reader.

Of course Homer is not Scripture, but I do believe that his epics contain much true and profound wisdom regarding the nature of both the sufferings and the glories of the human condition in this life. Looking back at the lessons offered by the good and wise people of the past with the perspective offered us by life in Christ can enrich and strengthen our own faith in Him.

God was certainly at work in His world before the birth of Jesus. He is even more certainly at work in the world today, and that work will, in His own time, be brought to perfection through His power. I gratefully rejoice in all those things, and hope that you can do the same.

--  Father Bragg +

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Services & Events

This Saturday, April 18, 8:30 AM, Men's Breakfast, cooked by the one and only breakfast chef extraordinaire Claude Crump, and an always inspirational Bible study and discussion with Father Bragg; good food, good fellowship, and great Bible study!

Sunday Services,  9:00 AM and 11:15 AM Services, for online participation go to https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland

Nursery during both services

Sunday School, 10:30 AM, Rectory, Lower level

Wednesday at Noon – Holy Communion and anointing for healing

*** NEW DAY: Wednesday, 7:30 PM, undercroft, Discussion on the Saints, with Fr. Bragg, all are invited even if you have not been to prior discussions. Fr. Bragg’s class takes a chronological approach to the study of the saints, placing them in the context of their times and places in church history.  For online participation go to https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland

Monday, April 27, 7:30 p.m. Vestry Meeting, undercroft

Thursday, April 30, 7:30 PM, undercroft,  Inquirers class (everyone invited): Since Bishop Johnson will visit the Parish on Sunday, June 14 to offer the rites of Confirmation and Reception. Father Chris will be offering an Inquirers’ Class leading up to the Bishop's visit. This class will introduce and explore the life, faith, and practice of the Anglican tradition using Archbishop Haverland's primer, Anglican Catholic Faith and Practice. Together we will look at the foundations of the Christian faith, the meaning of the sacraments, the structure of the Church, and the distinctive spirituality of Anglican worship shaped by the Book of Common Prayer. It is also an opportunity to ask questions, reflect on one’s own faith journey, and grow in understanding of what it means to live the Christian life within our Church. While the class will prepare those who wish to be confirmed and received into the Anglican Catholic Church, anyone who wants to learn more about Anglican faith and practice is warmly invited. If you are new to the parish, exploring Anglicanism for the first time, or attending for years and like a deeper understanding of the Church’s life and teaching, this class is for you. Please let Fr. Chris ( scotlandsaints@gmail.com ) know if you would like to attend.
 
**** Great summer camp for your children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews: 

Anglican Youth Summer Camp
June 21-27, 2026
Camp Hanover - 3163 Parsleys Mill Road Mechanicsville, VA 23111 
Cost - $625 for 1 week overnight all meals and lodging included
Ages 8-15 as of June 1, 2026
more details and registration at: www.dmas-acc.org

 
MaRiH Crisis Pregnancy Center: Updated
Critical Needs & More
Instead of presenting the whole list of needs, we are emphasizing the critical needs that MaRiH Center has and listing some other needs. The critical needs list below has just been updated:
Diapers, sizes 5 and 6
Spring/Simmer clothing (Boys & Girls), size 0-3 months, size 2T 
Baby Wipes
Baby Blankets
Baby formula: Similac Advance Formula
Bibs: toddler
Other needs:
Diapers, newborn, 1, 2, 3, 4
Spring/Summer Clothing, 3-6 month, 9-12 month, 18-24 month, 
Bibs, infant
Maternity clothes (Spring/Summer)
Wash cloths
Hooded towels
Diaper rash ointment
There are two options for helping the Center with these needs:
Option 1 
Amazon has all the specific items needed. You can order the specific item(s) and have them delivered directly to the Center.  

The MaRiH Center
3230B Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-4521
703-370-4774

Option 2 
Go to your local store, purchase the items requested and drop them off at church on Sunday. We will deliver them to the MaRIH Center.
 
 
Food Bank Needs
 
The food bank continues to need our assistance to feed the hungry. Please help this month with a food donation if you are able. Those we help feed are very thankful for the food we provide to them each month. Please also buy low sugar cereals (and not the kid's types that have lots of sugar). Also lower sodium products are better and more healthy.

Current needs include the following:
canned meats (chicken, corned beef, spam)
peanut butter
jelly
tuna
canned vegetables (corn, green beans - (regular and low sodium)
individual fruit cups (low sugar)
canned fruit (low sugar)
canola or vegetable oil (48 oz)
boxed cereal (low sugar) and instant or old fashioned oatmeal (18 oz or 42 oz)
pasta (regular and gluten-free):
instant potatoes
single serving fruit juice
macaroni & cheese
soups: Chunky or Progresso,noodle soup; chicken broth, cream of mushroom
coffee, cooking oil, flour, sugar
 
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Our mailing address is:
St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland
1607 Dewitt Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22301-1625