Easter Day, Etc. - 2013

Easter-Day.

{At Morning Prayer, instead of the Psalm, O come, let us sing, &c. these Anthems shall be sung or said.}

CHRIST our passover is sacrificed for us : therefore let us keep the feast; Not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness : but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Cor. v. 7

Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more : death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once : but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin : but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. vi. 9

Christ is risen from the dead : and become the first-fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death : by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die : even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Cor. xv. 20.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen.

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee, that as by thy special grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 25.1-9

Psalter: Psalm 2, 57, 111 | 113, 116, 117

Epistle Reading: Colossians 3.1-7

Gospel Reading: St. John 20.1-10

Monday in Easter-Week.

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY God, who through thy only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee, that, as by thy special grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

For the Epistle: Acts 10.34-43

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 24.13-35

Tuesday in Easter-Week.

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee, that as by thy special grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

For the Epistle: Acts 13.26-41

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 24.36-48

The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary-2013

WE beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts; that, as we have known the incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ by the message of an angel, so by his cross and passion we may be brought unto the glory of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 7.10-14
Gospel Reading: St. Luke 1.26-38

Sunday before Easter and Holy Week 2013

The Sunday next before Easter.

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility; Mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

{The Collect from the First Day of Lent is to be read every day in Lent after the Collect appointed for the Day.}

Old Testament Reading: Zechariah 9.9-13

Psalter: Psalm 97, 110 | 22, 23

Epistle Reading: Philippians 2.5-11

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 27.1-54

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Monday before Easter

{ALMIGHTY God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified; Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 1928 BCP}

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 63.1-19

Gospel Reading: St. Mark 14.1-72

Tuesday before Easter

{O LORD God, whose blessed Son, our Saviour, gave his back to the smiters and hid not his face from shame; Grant us grace to take joyfully the sufferings of the present time, in full assurance of the glory that shall be revealed; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 1928 BCP}

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 50.5-11

Gospel Reading: St. Mark 15.1-39

Wednesday before Easter

{ASSIST us mercifully with thy help, O Lord God of our salvation; that we may enter with joy upon the meditation of those mighty acts, whereby thou hast given unto us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 1928 BCP}

Epistle Reading: Hebrews 9.16-28

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 22.1-71

Thursday before Easter

{ALMIGHTY Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, did institute the Sacrament of his Body and Blood; Mercifully grant that we may thankfully receive the same in remembrance of him, who in these holy mysteries giveth us a pledge of life eternal; the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen. 1928 BCP}

Epistle Reading: 1 Corinthians 11.17-34

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 23.1-49

Good Friday.

The Collects.

ALMIGHTY God, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given up into the hands of wicked men, and to suffer death upon the cross, who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified; Receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before thee for all estates of men in thy holy Church, that every member of the same, in his vocation and ministry may truly and godly serve thee; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

O MERCIFUL God, who hast made all men, and hatest nothing that thou hast made, nor wouldest the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live; Have mercy upon all Jews, Turks, Infidels, and Hereticks, and take from them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word; and so fetch them home, blessed Lord, to thy flock, that they may be saved among the remnant of the true Israelites, and be made one fold under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

{The Collect from the First Day of Lent is to be read every day in Lent after the Collect appointed for the Day.}

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 22.1-18

Psalter: Psalm 22

Epistle Reading: Hebrews 10.1-15

Gospel Reading: St. John 19.1-37

Easter-Even.

The Collect.

GRANT, O Lord, that as we are baptized into the death of thy blessed Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, so by continual mortifying our corrupt affections we may be buried with him : and that through the grave, and gate of death, we may pass to our joyful resurrection ; for his merits, who died, and was buried, and rose again for us, thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

{The Collect from the First Day of Lent is to be read every day in Lent after the Collect appointed for the Day.}

Old Testament Reading: Job 14.1-14

Psalter: Psalm 16

Epistle Reading: 1 Peter 3.17-22

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 27.57-66

Passion Sunday (Fifth Sunday of Lent) - 2013

The Fifth Sunday in Lent.

The Collect.

WE beseech thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon thy people; that by thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

{The Collect from the First Day of Lent is to be read every day in Lent after the Collect appointed for the Day.}

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 1.10-20

Psalter: Psalm 42, 43 | 119.145-176

Epistle Reading: Hebrews 9.11-15

Gospel Reading: St. John 8.46-59

Barbee and Zahl: “The Collect is from the Gregorian Sacramentary. The original Latin “familia” is here rendered “people” (“household”). ( . . . ) Why do we need to be governed? Because we need to be preserved. Such is the reasoning of the Collect. The thought process is as follows: Without some restraint or order, the human situation moves irresistibly towards chaos: party out of bounds! God’s government of the world, and God’s government of the self, is parallel. Sin, the even distribution of human nature, erupts chronically and constantly. Sin needs to be kept in bounds. Only with sin restrained, will the self, let alone the plural selves that make up society, find itself preserved. The world descends to chaos, goes this argument, when the evil impulse is not checked. The argument is unavoidably true. It is empirically verified. The question now becomes, How is sin checked? How is human nature governed? Is it governed by external restraint imposed, or is it governed by internal restraint engendered? ( . . . ) The Prayer Book answers the question decisively. We are ruled “by thy great goodness.” ( . . . ) The root of sin’s abeyance is the goodness of God. We become better from the effects of mercy, not from the effects of judgment” (42-3).

Mike

Primus Pilus II

The Fourth Sunday of Lent-2013

The Fourth Sunday in Lent.

The Collect.

GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

{The Collect from the First Day of Lent is to be read every day in Lent after the Collect appointed for the Day.}

Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 39.21-29

Psalter: Psalm 142, 143 | 119.105-144

Epistle Reading: Galatians 4.21-31

Gospel Reading: St. John 6.1-14

Barbee and Zahl: “…Another title for this mid-Lent Sunday is “mothering Sunday,” a reference to the Epistle (“But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all,” Galatians 4:26) and to the custom of visiting the mother church of the diocese on this day. ( . . . ) This is surely one of the least “modern” collects to be found among those included by Cranmer in the 1549 Book. It is one of the least modern prayers, in fact, that we could possibly pray, anywhere or anytime. It posits an untenable situation: “that we . . . do worthily deserve to be punished.” It posits the wrath of God. The situation is both unbearable and at the same time strangely liberating. It is unbearable because “If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss, O Lord, who may abide it?” (Psalm 130:3). This is a scalpel to the “normal” human posture of self-deception, self-promotion, and self-involvement. ( . . . ) There is something freeing about an accurate diagnosis. Terminal patients will sometimes say that they can live with the truth. What they cannot live with is uncertainty and equivocation. Can you connect with the insight here, that for our sins we deserve to be punished? Moreover, that the grace, or unmerited love of God, can so provide forgiveness that the “discomfort” of being pinned down like a butterfly can be relieved? This is the good news of guilt brought to light and guilt forgiven: in other words, news of lasting comfort” (40-1).

Personal reflection (MWP): The other name for this 4^th Sunday in Lent is “Refreshment Sunday” based on the Gospel reading. When looking over the Collect, the refreshment portion is clearly hinted at in the statement, “by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved.” But this is not that refreshing or satisfying, unless one owns the reality of the first portion of the Collect (see Barbee and Zahl above). Mercy doesn't fell much like mercy unless it is desperately needed. Grace does not shock and surprise and rouse us much, unless we come to recognize that we were,

“…dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Ephesians 2.1-3). 

And it’s here, at the deepest, at the darkest, and the damnedest, that grace refreshes and resurrects us; “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)” (Ephesians 2.4-5).

It’s only here, when we recognize we are the people of the first part of the Collect, that the Gospel refreshingly sounds like the good news it really is:

“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.  He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7.18-19). 

Mike

Primus Pilus II

The Third Sunday of Lent-2013

The Third Sunday in Lent.

The Collect.

WE beseech thee, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of thy humble servants, and stretch forth the right hand of thy Majesty, to be our defence against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

{The Collect from the First Day of Lent is to be read every day in Lent after the Collect appointed for the Day.}

Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 6

Psalter: Psalm 56, 58 | 119.73-104

Epistle Reading: Ephesians 5.1-14

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 11.14-28

Barbee and Zahl: “The governing phrase here is “the hearty desires of thy humble servants,” in particular the word “hearty.” ( . . . ) We are not praying to a god in order to achieve our particular desires or conceits. We are not asking a dreamed divinity to do our own bidding. We are praying from the vantage of a “broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17). This is the meaning that stands behind Cranmer’s “hearty.” Our heart is looking for consolation and trust, the restoration of hope. We petition the Lord from the desire that He will restore our hearts to aspire to what is good, not perform for us what is specific to our grandiose wishes for self-enhancement” (39).

Mike

Primus Pilus II