John Chrysotom on the Gospel
Seventh Sunday after Trinity Home
LORD of all power and might, who art the author and giver of all good things; Graft in our hearts the love of thy Name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of thy great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Announcements for the week beginning
30 July 06
Ignatius of Loyola - July 31st
Legionaries might enjoy this rousing children's march song,
Saint James
[July 25th]
Chrysostom on Acts
GRANT, O merciful God, that, as thine holy Apostle Saint James, leaving his father and all that he had, without delay was obedient unto the calling of thy Son Jesus Christ, and followed him; so we, forsaking all worldly and carnal affections, may be evermore ready to follow thy holy commandments; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 34 Acts xi. 27 St. Matthew xx. 20
Homily
O GOD, who hast prepared for those who love thee such good things as pass man's understanding; Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Collect Source: Sacrementary of Gelasius, Bishop of Rome [ca 494AD]. Inspired by 1 Corinthians ii. 9. (from Isaiah lxiv. 4)
Isaiah lvii. 13b, Psalm 16, Romans vi. 3 & St. Matthew v. 20
Feasts, Memorials, and Fasts
Acts xvi. 23b, Psalm 23, John iii. 15
Many Bible scholars believe that the Jailor was a retired veteran Roman soldier. The city of Philippi was a major city that had been chartered as a "Roman Colonial City". Old soldiers sought retirement in these cities. The position of Jailer was most suitable for a veteran, and a fit soldier would have been the likely choice of the Roman officials. I suspect that this was not an elected position, but an appointed one. Who would have been better suited for the job, than a man who had commanded in combat and proved his ability with men and the sword in the face of Rome's enemies, and lived to tell of it?
An understanding of the Philippi will help us to understand the Jailer more. In 360 B.C. colonists from Thasos established "Krenides" The people were threatened by the Thacians in 356, and asked King Philip II for support. Philip conquered it, fortified it, and named it after himself (Philippi). It became the capital city for a while of Macedonia. The capital later moved to Pella. In 336 Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, was assassinated in at his daughter's wedding.
In 42 BC the armies of Marcus Antonious and Octavian joined to defeat the rebels who had assassinated Julius Caesar at the Battle of Philippi. Brutus and Cassius committed suicide there. The historian Appian of Alexander wrote and excellent account of the battle in second century After the battle, the two victors spent a fortune on the city and granted it the status of "Roman Colony" the ruins of which can be seen this day. This was the first European city to have accepted Christianity, and it became a metropolis of Christianity. Its location on the Via Egnatia made it important to travelers and trade.
Acts xvi. 23b
WHEN they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.
John iii. 16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
The Fifth Sunday after Trinity
GRANT, O Lord, we beseech thee, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by thy governance, that thy Church may joyfully serve thee in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sacramentary of Leo, Bishop of Rome [ca 450]. The collect asks for peace... Leo faced barbarian tribes at the gates of Rome in this period. Cranmer used "our Lord" instead of the Latin "our Redeemer"
Ecclesiastes ii. 1, Psalm 62, 1 St. Peter iii. 8 & St. Luke v. 1
Free Seminary Courses - Centurion Mike of Texas posted this site on another forum http://www.covenantseminary.edu/worldwide/default.asp where one may get free seminary courses from Covenant Seminary, the national Seminary of the Presbyterian Church of America. The PDF study files are small enough, but the MP3 Lecture files are rather large. You may use directly from the site. The text may be ordered from the Seminary. For those who wish to use offline, I would highly recommend a high-speed connection to download these files. I did so on the first ancient church history course and it took appproxmately 272 mebabites of memory. In this one class, there some 34 audio lectures and 38 pdf files that correspond to the lectures, syllabus, and annexes. The full seminary is 20 classes.
O GOD, the protector of all that trust in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy; that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal. Grant this, O heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Collect Source: Sacramentary of Bishop Gregory of Rome [ca 600AD].
Lamentations iii. 22, Psalm 91, Romans viii. 18 & St. Luke vi. 36
Christopher of Antioch -- July 10th
Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, "El Cid Campeador" - July 10th
Camillus of Lellis, Soldier, Religious - July 14th
News: our newest Cohort, Cohort Anthony of Pudua, Tanzania
United States of America Independence Day
[July 4]
O ETERNAL God, through whose mighty power our fathers won their liberties of old; Grant, we beseech thee, that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain these liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Deuteronomy x. 17 & St. Matthew v. 43
O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to hear us; and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray, may, by thy mighty aid, be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Collect Source: Sacramentary of Gregory [ca 600AD]. In a 1662 revison the last phrase was added and comforted in all dangers and adversities
Jeremiah xxxi. 1, Psalm cxlv , 1 St. Peter v. 5 & St. Luke xv. 1.
