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
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