The Third Sunday
after the Epiphany.
Psalm
72. Deus, judicium.
GIVE the King thy judgments, O God, * and thy
righteousness unto the King’s son.
2 Then shall he judge thy people according unto
right, * and defend the poor.
3 The mountains also shall bring peace, * and the
little hills righteousness unto the people.
4 He shall keep the simple folk by their right, *
defend the children of the poor, and punish the wrong doer.
5 They shall fear thee, as long as the sun and moon
endureth, * from one generation to another.
6 He shall come down like the rain upon the mown
grass, * even as the drops that water the earth.
7 In his time shall the righteous flourish; * yea,
and abundance of peace, so long as the moon endureth.
8 His dominion shall be also from the one sea to
the other, * and from the River unto the world’s end.
9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall kneel
before him; * his enemies shall lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall
give presents; * the kings of Arabia and Saba shall bring gifts.
11 All kings shall fall down before him; * all
nations shall do him service.
12 For he shall deliver the poor when he crieth; *
the needy also, and him that hath no helper.
13 He shall be favourable to the simple and needy,
* and shall preserve the souls of the poor.
14 He shall deliver their souls from falsehood and
wrong; * and dear shall their blood be in his sight.
15 He shall live, and unto him shall be given of
the gold of Arabia; * prayer shall be made ever unto him, and daily shall he be
praised.
16 There shall be an heap of corn in the earth,
high upon the hills; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: * and they of
the city shall flourish like grass upon the earth.
17 His Name shall endure for ever; his Name shall
re- main under the sun among the posterities, which shall be blessed in him; *
and all the nations shall praise him.
18 Blessed be the Lord God, even the God of Israel,
* which only doeth wondrous things;
19 And blessed be the Name of his majesty for ever:
* and all the earth shall be filled with
his majesty. Amen, Amen.
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 and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all
our dangers and necessities stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Old
Testament Reading: Isaiah 41.8-10, 17-20
Psalter:
Psalm 20, 21 | 27, 29
Epistle
Reading: Romans 12.16-21
Gospel
Reading: St. Matthew 8.1-13
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The letter to my congregation this week:
Recently, it came to my attention that the Canadian
Parliament accepted Bill-4 on 8December 2021 (you
can read it here), which is an ammendment to their criminal code. It specifically
targets what is called “Conversion Therapy”. In a nutshell, conversion therapy
is an approach that is meant to help someone who claims to be somewhere in the
LGBTQ+ continuum and wants to break away. As the law reads:
“320.101 In sections 320.102 to 320.104, conversion therapy means a practice, treatment or service designed to
(a) change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual;
(b) change a person’s gender identity to cisgender;
(c) change a person’s gender expression so that it conforms to the sex assigned to the person at birth;
(d) repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour;
(e) repress a person’s non-cisgender gender identity; or
(f) repress or reduce a person’s gender expression that does not conform to the sex assigned to the person at birth.”
As happens at times, some can misuse “conversion therapy” and turn it into a harmful thing. But the concern is that the potential for abusing this law is fairly pronounced, though many Canadian congregations are continuing on with life as normal, allowing the chips to fall where they may, and rightly so. This Sunday evening we will be praying for brothers and sisters in Canada, and for the Canadian government. I am giving you that portion of our evening prayers so you can be interceding for them all week:
We ask you to be with our friends at Faith Reformed Presbyterian Church in Vancouver BC, and all of the churches in Canada. Fill their congregations with hope, peace, and joy. May they be a bright light beckoning those who are walking in the darkness; a refuge for those fleeing the storms raging in their lives and hearts. Preserve and protect them from unjust and ungodly government intrusions. Turn the heart of the Canadian Parliament to see the folly they are pursuing and to back off with haste. “Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you! Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men” (Psalm 9:19-20)! O Lord, hear our prayer.
Brothers and sisters, let us be “praying at all
times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert
with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians
6:18).
The Conversion of
Saint Paul (25 January)
The Collect
O God, who, through the preaching of the blessed Apostle Saint Paul, hast caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we beseech thee, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may shew forth our thankfulness unto thee for the same, by following the holy doctrine which he taught; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Old
Testament Reading: Jeremiah 1.4-10
Psalter:
Psalm 67
Epistle
Reading: Acts 9.1-22
Gospel Reading: *St. Matthew 19.27-30
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