St. Michael and All Angels (29 September) and Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity - 2024

Saint Michael and All Angels

{29 September}

Psalm 113

Laudate, pueri

PRAISE the Lord, ye servants : O praise the Name of the Lord.

2. Blessed be the Name of the Lord : from this time forth for evermore.

3. The Lord’s Name is praised : from the rising up of the sun unto the going down of the same.

4. The Lord is high above all heathen and his glory above the heavens.

5. Who is like unto the Lord our God, that hath his dwelling so high : and yet humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and earth?

6. He taketh up the simple out of the dust : and lifteth the poor out of the mire;

7. That he may set him with the princes : even with the princes of his people.

8. He maketh the barren woman to keep house : and to be a joyful mother of children. 

Collect

Everlasting God, who hast ordained and constituted the services of Angels and men in a wonderful order; Mercifully grant that, as thy holy Angels alway do thee service in heaven so by thy appointment they may succour and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Daniel 12.1-3

Psalter: Psalm 103

Epistle Reading: Revelation 12.7-12

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 18.1-10 

The Feast of St. Michael this year is the 20th anniversary of our Order: http://orderofcenturions.org/history.html 

The Feast of St. Michael is a good time to prayerfully reflect on our Vows we have taken: http://orderofcenturions.org/vow.html 

Finally, here is the Prayer of the Order: 

Almighty God, our sovereign Lord, who called Cornelius the Centurion to be the first Christian among the Gentiles, who healed the servant at Capernaum in accordance with the Centurion's great faith, and who inspired the Centurion at Calvary to glorify Jesus; strengthen us in our faith that we might follow their example to love, serve, and glorify you as faithful members of the Church Militant, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity.

Bonum est confiteri.

Psalm xcii.

IT is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, * and to sing praises unto thy Name, O Most Highest;

To tell of thy loving-kindness early in the morning, * and of thy truth in the night season;

Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the lute; * upon a loud instrument, and upon the harp.

For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy works; * and I will rejoice in giving praise for the operations of thy hands.

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.

LORD, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Amos 8.4-12

Psalter: Psalm 111, 112 | 106, 69

Epistle Reading: 1 Corinthians 1.4-9

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 22.34-46 

Homily

Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity (and Weekly Pastoral Letter) - 2024

 

The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity.

Cantate Domino.

Psalm xcviii

O SING unto the Lord a new song : for he hath done marvellous things.

With his own right hand, and with his holy arm : hath he gotten himself the victory.

The Lord declared his salvation : his righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the heathen.

He hath remembered his mercy and truth toward the house of Israel : and all the ends of the world have seen the salvation of our God.

Show yourselves joyful unto the Lord, all ye lands : sing, rejoice, and give thanks.

Praise the Lord upon the harp : sing to the harp with a psalm of thanksgiving.

With trumpets also and shawms : O shew yourselves joyful before the Lord the King.

Let the sea make a noise, and all that therein is : the round world, and that dwell therein.

Let the floods clap their hands, and let the hills be joyful together before the Lord : for he cometh to judge the earth.

With righteousness shall he judge the world : and the peoples with equity.

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.

LORD, we pray thee that thy grace may always *prevent and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

*N.B. In older use prevent meant: to act ahead of; forestall; to precede; to anticipate. 

Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 13.15-21

Psalter: Psalm 91, 92 | 105, 60

Epistle Reading: Ephesians 4.1-6

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 14.1-11 

Homily

 

This was my pastoral letter to my congregation this last week: 

I love the Old Testament prophets, and one of my favorite is Habakkuk. Many, many years ago Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the Welsh Calvinist-Methodist preacher (yes, there once was such a creature as a Calvinist-Methodist church) wrote a teeny book working through Habakkuk. The book is made up of his sermons on Habakkuk that were printed in 1953, not long after WWII, in the middle of the Korean War, and at the hieght of the Cold War. It is titled “From Fear to Faith” and you can still order it. Here’s a little taste of Lloyd-Jones as he ponders various passages in Habakkuk. 

“The key to the history of the world is the kingdom of God…And ultimately history today is relevant only as it bears upon the history of the Christian Church…The problems of today are to be understood only in its light. What God is permitting in the Church and in the world today is related to His great purpose for His own Church and kingdom” (p.21-2). 

“There are, in our time, grave dangers confronting the Church and, unless she is careful, like Israel of old she may enter into political alliances to try to stave off the very thing which God has directed. It is essential that the Church should not view things with a political eye, but learn to interpret events spiritually and to understand them in light of God’s instructions to her” (p.23). 

“If we desire to be at peace within, in spite of what is happening in the world around and about us, the only way to do so is to understand this biblical philosophy of history which explains what is happening in the secular world and its bearing on the Church of God. The essential principle is that history can be understood only in terms of God’s kingdom – that is, the rule of God in the world as a whole and including the Church. All history is being directed by God in order to bring His own purpose with respect to the kingdom to pass” (p.45-6). 

“Turning to the positive aspect of this truth (2:14) we read, ‘For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea’. It is not for anyone to attempt to predict what is going to happen in detail, but we can be certain of one great fact, namely, the ultimate triumph of God” (p.53). 

“In the light of all this, what, then, is our final conclusion? … God forbid that we should trust, or commit ourselves to, any power other than God Himself, to any idols man may set up, even though they be the British Commonwealth or the United Nations! … Put your trust in nothing of man, but in God alone! ‘But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him’ (2:20)” (p.54). 

Brothers and sisters, I hope you will find a copy of this book and read it. No matter what is happening here at home, in Europe, Bangladesh, the Middle East, or anywhere else, our God is overseeing it all, and steering it all in the right direction. And when that reality has gotten hold of us, then truly “the righteous shall live” and he shall live “by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4b). 

Pastor Mike

Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, Ember Days and St. Matthew (21 September) - 2024

 

The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity.

Magnificat.

St. Luke I.

MY soul doth magnify the Lord : and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For he hath regarded : the lowliness of his handmaiden.

For behold, from henceforth : all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath magnified me : and holy is his Name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him : throughout all generations.

He hath showed strength with his arm : he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat : and hath exalted the humble and meek.

He hath filled the hungry with good things : and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel : as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed, for ever.

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.

O LORD, we beseech thee, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without thy succour, preserve it evermore by thy help and goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 12

Psalter: Psalm 98, 99 | 89, 59

Epistle Reading: Ephesians 3.8-21

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 7.11-17 

Homily 

Here are my short reflections on Philippians 1:24-26, especially as we consider a “Rest-of-my-life” direction for us as Christians: Remaining and Continuing. 

Autumn Ember Days

http://orderofcenturions.org/documents/ember.html 

Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist 
[September 21] 

O ALMIGHTY God, who by thy blessed Son didst call Matthew from the receipt of custom to be an Apostle and Evangelist; Grant us grace to forsake all covetous desires, and inordinate love of riches, and to follow the same thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Proverbs 3.1-6

Psalter: Psalm 119.1-16

New Testament Reading: 2 Corinthians 4.1-6

Gospel Reading: Matthew 9.9-17

Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity - 2024

 

The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.

Venite, exultemus Domino.

O COME, let us sing unto the Lord; * let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; * and show ourselves glad in him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God; * and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are all the corners of the earth; * and the strength of the hills is his also.

The sea is his, and he made it; * and his hands prepared the dry land.

O come, let us worship and fall down, * and kneel before the LORD our Maker.

For he is the Lord our God; * and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; * let the whole earth stand in awe of him.

For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth; * and with righteousness to judge the world, and the peoples with his truth.

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.

KEEP, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy: and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 7.6-13

Psalter: Psalm 97, 98 | 79, 80

Epistle Reading: Galatians 6.11-18

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 6.24-34 

Homily 

Here is a reflection on being neighborly drawing from something that happened this week.