All Saints' Day (1 November) and the Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity - 2024

 

All Saints’ Day

The Collect

O almighty God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord; Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed Saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys, which thou hast prepared for them that unfeignedly love thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

At the beginning of morning prayer and for an anthem at communion:
The Lord is glorious in his saints; * O come, let us adore him 

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 26.1-21

Psalter: Psalm 116

Epistle Reading: Revelation 7.2-17

Gospel Reading: Matthew 5.1-12 

Homily 

The Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.

1 Chronicles 29.10-13

Benedictus es, Domine Deus Israel

Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, * for ever and ever.

Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: * for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine;

Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, * and thou art exalted as head above all.

Both riches and honour come of thee, * and thou reignest over all;

And in thine hand is power and might; *and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, * and praise thy glorious name.

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 GOD, our refuge and strength, who art the author of all godliness; Be ready, we beseech thee, to hear the devout prayers of thy Church; and grant that those things which we ask faithfully we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 64.1-12

Psalter: Psalm 126, 127, 128 | 140, 141

Epistle Reading: Philippians 3.17-21

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 22.15-22 

Homily 

Last week I wrote my congregation about being a garden-church. This week I wrote the second installment of that theme: A Garden-Church #2

Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity and Prayer for Courts of Justice - 2021

 

The Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.

1 Chronicles 29.10-13

Benedictus es, Domine Deus Israel

Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, * for ever and ever.

Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: * for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine;

Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, * and thou art exalted as head above all.

Both riches and honour come of thee, * and thou reignest over all;

And in thine hand is power and might; *and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, * and praise thy glorious name.

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 GOD, our refuge and strength, who art the author of all godliness; Be ready, we beseech thee, to hear the devout prayers of thy Church; and grant that those things which we ask faithfully we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 64.1-12

Psalter: Psalm 126, 127, 128 | 140, 141

Epistle Reading: Philippians 3.17-21

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 22.15-22 

Homily 

In regard to the cases our Supreme Court is hearing, I think it fitting to remember the Court all this week:

For Courts of Justice.

ALMIGHTY God, who sittest in the throne judging

right; We humbly beseech thee to bless the courts of

justice and the magistrates in all this land; and give unto

them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, that they may

discern the truth, and impartially administer the law in the

fear of thee alone; through him who shall come to be our

Judge, thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity - 2020

 

The Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.

1 Chronicles 29.10-13

Benedictus es, Domine Deus Israel

Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, * for ever and ever.

Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: * for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine;

Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, * and thou art exalted as head above all.

Both riches and honour come of thee, * and thou reignest over all;

And in thine hand is power and might; *and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, * and praise thy glorious name.

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 GOD, our refuge and strength, who art the author of all godliness; Be ready, we beseech thee, to hear the devout prayers of thy Church; and grant that those things which we ask faithfully we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 64.1-12

Psalter: Psalm 126, 127, 128 | 140, 141

Epistle Reading: Philippians 3.17-21

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 22.15-22 

Homily

 -----

Since March I have been writing a weekly letter to our congregation. The following is from this last week’s letter:

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

When there are social storms or personal problems, it is easy to lose sight of what is vastly valuable and truly treasurable. I was reminded of this while working back through Isaiah 33:5-22 for this Sunday evening. The whole chapter is full of stress and smoke and suffering, but also teeming with promises and true treasure. For the next few weeks I will be looking over one of those packets of the promising, specifically Isaiah 33:5-6:

“The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high;

he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness,

and he will be the stability of your times,

abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;

the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.”

In this letter today, let’s examine the first line and the final line. 

True: The first line is what faithful Christian ministers who know their God-given business always declare, it’s true no matter the events or environments we experience, “The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high.” For some people, there are days or weeks or years where it takes real faith to hold on to this. But it’s true no matter the occasions or conditions we encounter. It’s true whether your candidate won or lost, or whether your job holds or folds. It’s true in life, sickness, health, or death. “The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high”! And holding on to what is true aids us in recognizing our treasure. 

Treasure: The final line presents us with our real treasure, “the fear of the LORD is Zion's treasure.” Reverence for the Lord, veneration of the Lord, astonishment in the Lord, amazement about the Lord, is the church’s treasure, wealth, and fortune. If the LORD is exalted and dwells on high, then the investment of our faith in him holds, and holds strong. Not because of the quality of our faith, but the quality of the One in whom we have faith! 

That the fear of the LORD is our treasure is exactly what is pounded on in Proverbs. For example, “In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death… Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off” (Proverbs 14:26-27; 23:17-18). This fear of God enriches God’s people, especially when striving to do the right things when so much personal or social wrong is going on. As Paul points out, “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). Because the LORD is exalted and dwells on high, we are reminded what our real treasure is, for “the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.” 

Sandwiched between the first and final statements are four salacious morsels to nourish our hearts and beef up our hope, which we’ll take up starting next week. Until then, keep your heart focused on our true treasure. 

Brothers and sisters, rehearse the truth that “the LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high” and remember that “the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.”

Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity - 2018

The Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.

1 Chronicles 29.10-13

Benedictus es, Domine Deus Israel

Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, * for ever and ever.

Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: * for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine;

Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, * and thou art exalted as head above all.

Both riches and honour come of thee, * and thou reignest over all;

And in thine hand is power and might; *and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, * and praise thy glorious name.

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 GOD, our refuge and strength, who art the author of all godliness; Be ready, we beseech thee, to hear the devout prayers of thy Church; and grant that those things which we ask faithfully we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 64.1-12

Psalter: Psalm 126, 127, 128 | 140, 141

Epistle Reading: Philippians 3.17-21

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 22.15-22

Homily

Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity and Thanksgiving Day (USA) - 2017

{If our weekly prayer reminders, Psalter selection and Scripture reading have blessed you, take a look at our website: http://orderofcenturions.org/ . We are a fellowship of Christians who have been in the military, Law Enforcement, Firefighters, First Responders, etc. who our bound together around Jesus Christ the Lord. Consider joining our Order.}

The Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.

Psalm 124

Nisi quia Dominus

1. IF THE Lord himself had not been on our side, now may Israel say : if the Lord himself had not been on our side, when men rose up against us;

2. They had swallowed us up quick : when thy were so wrathfully displeased at us.

3. Yea, the waters had drowned us : and the stream had gone over our soul.

4. The deep waters of the proud : had gone even over our soul.

5. But praised be the Lord : who hath not given us over for a prey unto their teeth.

6. Our soul is escaped even as a bird out of the snare of the fowler : the snare is broken, and we are delivered .

7. Our help standeth in the Name of the Lord : who hath made heaven and earth.

The Collect.

O GOD, our refuge and strength, who art the author of all godliness; Be ready, we beseech thee, to hear the devout prayers of thy Church; and grant that those things which we ask faithfully we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 64.1-12

Psalter: Psalm 126, 127, 128 | 140, 141

Epistle Reading: Philippians 3.17-21

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 22.15-22

Homily: http://orderofcenturions.org/documents/trinity23_07.html

Thanksgiving Day

(USA)

¶ Instead of the Venite, the following shall be said or sung.

O PRAISE the Lord, for it is a good thing to sing praises unto our God; * yea, a joyful and pleasant thing it is to be thankful.

The Lord doth build up Jerusalem, * and gather together the outcasts of Israel.
He healeth those that are broken in heart, * and giveth medicine to heal their sickness.
O sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; * sing praises upon the harp unto our God:
Who covereth the heaven with clouds, and prepareth rain for the earth; * and maketh the grass to grow upon the mountains, and herb for the use of men;

Who giveth fodder unto the cattle, * and feedeth the young ravens that call upon him.

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; * praise thy God, O Sion.

For he hath made fast the bars of thy gates, * and hath blessed thy children within thee.

He maketh peace in thy borders, * and filleth thee with the flour of wheat.

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 MOST merciful Father, who hast blessed the labours of the husbandman in the returns of the fruits of the earth; We give thee humble and hearty thanks for this thy bounty; beseeching thee to continue thy loving-kindness to us, that our land may still yield her increase, to thy glory and our comfort; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. St. James i. 16.

DO not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

The Gospel. St. Matthew vi. 25.

JESUS said, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? And why are ye anxious for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? There-fore be not anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Ss. Simon and Jude, Apostles (28 October) and Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity - 2016

28 October

Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles

Psalm 68.1-11

Exurgat Deus

LET God arise, and let his enemies be scattered : let them also that hate him flee before him.

2. Like as the smoke vanisheth, so shalt thou drive them away : and like as wax melteth at the fire, so let the ungodly perish at the presence of God.

3. But let the righteous be glad and rejoice before God : let them also be merry and joyful.

4. O sing unto God, and sing praises unto his Name : magnify him that rideth upon the heavens, as it were upon an horse; praise him in his Name JAH, and rejoice before him.

5. He is a father of the fatherless, and defendeth the cause of the widows : even God in his holy habitation.

6. He is the God that maketh men to be of one mind in an house, and bringeth the prisoners out of captivity : but letteth the runagates continue in scarceness.

7. O God, when thou wentest forth before the people : when thou wentest through the wilderness;

8. The earth shook, and the heavens dropped at the presence of God : even as Sinai also was moved at the presence of God, who is the God of Israel.

9. Thou, O God, sentest a gracious rain upon thine inheritance : and refreshedst it when it was weary.

10. Thy congregation shall dwell therein : for thou, O God, hast of thy goodness prepared for the poor.

11. The Lord gave the word : great was the company of the preachers.

The Collect

O ALMIGHTY God, who hast built thy Church upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the head cornerstone; Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their doctrine, that we may be made an holy temple acceptable unto thee; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 28.9-16

Psalter: Psalm 118

Epistle Reading: Ephesians 2.17-22

Gospel Reading: St. John 15.17-27

Homily: http://orderofcenturions.org/documents/simon_jude.html#homily

The Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.

Psalm 124

Nisi quia Dominus

1. IF THE Lord himself had not been on our side, now may Israel say : if the Lord himself had not been on our side, when men rose up against us;

2. They had swallowed us up quick : when thy were so wrathfully displeased at us.

3. Yea, the waters had drowned us : and the stream had gone over our soul.

4. The deep waters of the proud : had gone even over our soul.

5. But praised be the Lord : who hath not given us over for a prey unto their teeth.

6. Our soul is escaped even as a bird out of the snare of the fowler : the snare is broken, and we are delivered .

7. Our help standeth in the Name of the Lord : who hath made heaven and earth.

The Collect.

O GOD, our refuge and strength, who art the author of all godliness; Be ready, we beseech thee, to hear the devout prayers of thy Church; and grant that those things which we ask faithfully we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 64.1-12

Psalter: Psalm 126, 127, 128 | 140, 141

Epistle Reading: Philippians 3.17-21

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 22.15-22

Homily: http://orderofcenturions.org/documents/trinity23_chrysostom_philipians.html

The Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity - 2015

The Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.

Psalm 124

Nisi quia Dominus

1. IF THE Lord himself had not been on our side, now may Israel say : if the Lord himself had not been on our side, when men rose up against us;

2. They had swallowed us up quick : when thy were so wrathfully displeased at us.

3. Yea, the waters had drowned us : and the stream had gone over our soul.

4. The deep waters of the proud : had gone even over our soul.

5. But praised be the Lord : who hath not given us over for a prey unto their teeth.

6. Our soul is escaped even as a bird out of the snare of the fowler : the snare is broken, and we are delivered .

7. Our help standeth in the Name of the Lord : who hath made heaven and earth.

The Collect.

O GOD, our refuge and strength, who art the author of all godliness; Be ready, we beseech thee, to hear the devout prayers of thy Church; and grant that those things which we ask faithfully we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 64.1-12

Psalter: Psalm 126, 127, 128 | 140, 141

Epistle Reading: Philippians 3.17-21

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 22.15-22

Homily: http://orderofcenturions.org/documents/trinity23.html#homily