Augustin on Psalm LXXXII
Advent Two Home
BLESSED Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
Collect for the First Sunday in Advent, to be read daily
Source (1st Collect): Archbishop Thomas Cranmer [1549 AD]. The emphasis on Scripture is enunciated here. To understand Cranmer and his desire to encourage Bible reading, read the Preface to the Cranmer Bible and the Preface to the 1549 Prayer Book. [Barbee and Zahl] Cranmer proposed continuous reading of the Scriptures - "lectio continua". Archbishop John Chrysostom, among other early doctors, was an advocate and practitioner of lectio continua.
Isaiah 11, Psalms 80, 82 | 25, 26 Romans xv. 4 St. Luke xxi. 25
Homily of Augustine on Psalm 82
Defend the poor and fatherless; see that such as are in need and necessity have right.
Deliver the outcast and poor; save them from the hand of the ungodly
WEEKLY BULLETIN
quotation
"I would say, 'Yeah, I'm not going to close the hospital, you're going to arrest me, go right ahead. You'll have to drag me out, go right ahead. I'm not closing this hospital, we will not perform abortions, and you can go take a flying leap.'"
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For veterans suffering from PTSD. Especially those of the Order of Centurions, who suffer the invisible wouds of combat shock and stress -- known in modern parlarance as post-traumatic stress disorder, and also for those who care for them. Especially for an old friend: LTG James Peake, MD (Ret) who heads the Veterans Administration Healthcare System that is charged with the care and rehabilitation of our discharged warriors who suffer (General Peake knows the demands of combat from his experience as an Infantry Officer in Vietnam where he suffered combat wounds. )
commentary
Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This Sunday we consider first the collect for the day shown above that focuses our attention on Holy Scripture. It was crafted by Archbishop Cranmer of England in 1549 for the new English Prayer Book. It is one that we can salute in the Order, as one of our purposes is to read and meditate on Holy Scripture. All traditional, orthodox, and catholic churches and people have recognized the importance of Holy Scripture as a basis of Faith. The church fathers as well all supported the Church's reading and meditation on Scripture: Especially those we feature here in our homily pages: John Chyrsostom with his continuous reading and preaching on Scripture, and Augustine with his particular approach in interpretation of the Psalms.
I've selected Augustine's exhortation on Psalm 82 today for our homily, and Isaiah 11:1ff for the accompanying Old Testament lesson. The quotation from the psalm, which is also echoed in the lesson of Isaiah calls for the shepherds of God's flock to judge and rule with mercy, justice, and compassion for the poor, and with vengeance the enemies of God. O how often I fear we in our various countries have failed to follow this calling; and I recognize that by our very innate sin-nature, we will continue to do so... and yet, we may endeavor to emulate that Perfect Governance that was promised by Isaiah and the pslamist, and has been fulfilled fully in our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, who rules beside the Father on his throne and in the hearts of all his elect; and whose dominion, compassion, justice, and sovereignty extends to all people of the world.
Defend the poor and fatherless; see that such as are in need and necessity have right.
Deliver the outcast and poor; save them from the hand of the ungodly
Augustine wrote:
"How long will ye judge unrighteously, and accept the persons of the ungodly" (ver. 2); as in another place, "How long are ye heavy in heart?" Until He shall come who is the light of the heart? I have given a law, ye have resisted stubbornly: I sent Prophets, ye treated them unjustly, or slew them, or connived at those who did so. But if they are not worthy to be even spoken to, who slew the servants of God that were sent to them, ye who were silent when these things were doing, that is, ye who would imitate as if they were innocent those who then were silent, "how long will ye judge unrighteously, and accept the persons of the ungodly?" If the Heir comes even now, is He to be slain? Was He not willing for your sake to become as it were a child under guardians? Did not He for your sake hunger and thirst like one in need? Did He not cry to you, "Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly of heart"? Did He not "become poor, when He was rich, that by His poverty we might be made rich"? "Give sentence," therefore, "for the fatherless and the poor man, justify the humble and needy" (ver. 3). Not them who for their own sake are rich and proud, but Him who for your sake was humble and poor, believe ye to be righteous: proclaim Him righteous. But they will envy Him, and will not at all spare Him, saying, "This is the Heir, come, let us kill Him, and the inheritance shall be ours." "Deliver," then, "the poor man, and save the needy from the hands of the ungodly" (ver. 4)....
pax Christi
Finis
