Month: March 2015

Prayers and liturgy

The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The collect for today, The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canada, 1962):

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.

The Lesson: Isaiah 7:10-15
The Gospel: St. Luke 1:26-38

Rubens_Annunciation_1628Artwork: Peter Paul Rubens, Annunciation c, 1628. Oil on canvas, Rubens House, Antwerp. Photograph taken by admin, 12 October 2014.

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Sermons

Sermon for Passion Sunday

“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and consider my desire:/hearken unto me
for thy truth and righteousness’ sake”

I know. It is what we are all asking God for – less snow! Hear us, O Lord!

We live in a culture dominated by images. At their best, images can be icons of the understanding but they are really only as good as our understanding. One powerful image is the veiled cross. The cross at once present and yet not fully seen captures exactly the understanding that undergirds the pageant of the Passion.

We enter into Passiontide, into deep Lent where everything about the understanding of the Passion of Christ becomes more and more intense and more and more concentrated. As we have seen in our Lenten Programme on “Poets, Preachers and the Passion of Christ,” the Passion is a central theme throughout the whole year.

“The whole life of Christ was a continuall passion,” John Donne remarks even as Lancelot Andrewes notes that “Christ and His cross were never parted, but that all His life long was a continuous cross” This brings out an important feature of the Christian religion, though one which is often ignored or downplayed in the contemporary church. The point is this. The Christian Faith makes no sense apart from the Passion of Christ. It is altogether central. We can make no sense of Christmas without reference to the Passion. The Passion is what makes fully clear the meaning of the Incarnation. As Athanasius puts it, “he borrowed a body that he might borrow a death,” in that way having from us what to offer unto God for us.

This inevitably brings into play the theological doctrine of the atonement, a doctrine downplayed if not dismissed altogether. Even the most theologically minded of the philosophical atheists, like Slavoj Žižek, have the greatest difficulty with the idea of the atonement. And he is not alone. How does the Passion restore and make right what was wrong? What is the injustice that becomes justice in the sacrifice of Christ? “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5.21). Hymns, too, are often the conduit of theology, like our first hymn this morning, Venantius Fortunatus’ celebrated Passion Sunday Hymn, Vexilla Regis, from the 6th century which offers the same teaching. “And there, to cleanse the heart of man,/ From out his side life’s torrent ran … “The priceless treasure, freely spent,/ To pay for man’s enfranchisement.” Still the questions raise all of our uncertainties, our doubts, and even our contemporary scorn and dismissal of Christianity.

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Events, Month at a Glance

Week at a Glance, 23- 29 March

Monday, March 23rd
6:00-7:00pm Brownies/Sparks – Parish Hall

Tuesday, March 24th, Eve of the Annunciation
6:00pm ‘Prayers & Praises’ – Haliburton Place
7:00pm Holy Communion & Lenten Programme IV: “Poets, Preachers & the Passion of Christ”

Thursday, March 26th
10:30am Ecumenical Service – Dykeland Lodge
3:15pm Service at Windsor Elms
6:30-7:30pm Girl Guides – Parish Hall

Friday, March 27th
11:00am Holy Communion – Dykeland Lodge
3:30pm Holy Communion – Gladys Manning Home

Sunday, March 29th, Palm Sunday: Return to Big Church (tentative)
8:00am Holy Communion (with Palms)
10:30am Holy Communion (with Palms)
4:00pm Evening Prayer – Christ Church

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, April 14th
7:00pm Christ Church Book Club: “The Spirit of Early Christian Thought” by Robert Louis Wilkens, and “Christianity and the Transformation of the Book: Origen, Eusebius and the Library of Caesarea” by Anthony Grafton and Megan Williams

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Prayers and liturgy

The Fifth Sunday in Lent

The collect for today, the Fifth Sunday in Lent, commonly called Passion Sunday, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

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 Epistle: Hebrews 9:11-15
The Gospel: St. Matthew 20:20-28

Jerusalem Chapel, AltarpieceArtwork: Altarpiece with skulls and instruments of Christ’s passion, 15th century, Jerusalem Chapel (Jeruzalemkapel), Bruges. Photograph taken by admin, 10 October 2014.

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Prayers and liturgy

Lent Prose

Lent Prose
Attende Domine – Hear us, O Lord

Hear us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against thee.

To thee, Redeemer, on thy throne of glory:
lift we our weeping eyes in holy pleadings:
listen, O Jesu, to our supplications.

Hear us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against thee.

O thou chief cornerstone, right hand of the Father: way of salvation, gate of life celestial:
cleanse thou our sinful souls from all defilement.

Hear us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against thee.

God, we implore thee, in thy glory seated:
bow down and hearken to thy weeping children: pity and pardon all our grievous trespasses.

Hear us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against thee.

Sins oft committed, now we lay before thee:
with true contrition, now no more we veil them:
grant us, Redeemer, loving absolution.

Hear us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against thee.

Innocent captive, taken unresisting:
falsely accused, and for us sinners sentenced,
save us, we pray thee, Jesu, our Redeemer.

Hear us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against thee.

The Lent Prose as it is called in English is a plainsong responsory known in Latin by the first words, Attende Domine, ‘Hear us, O Lord’. Originally derived from the Mozarabic liturgy (Christians living under Arabic rule in Medieval Spain), it appears in the Liber Usualis and was translated into English and is found in the English Hymnal (1906) as adapted by W.J. Birkbeck. It serves to deepen our penitential adoration especially as we enter into Passiontide.

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Prayers and liturgy

Benedict, Abbott

The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-550), Abbot of Monte Cassino, Father of Western Monasticism (source):

St. Giles' Church, St. BenedictO eternal God,
who made Benedict a wise master
in the school of thy service,
and a guide to many called into the common life
to follow the rule of Christ:
grant that we may put thy love above all things,
and seek with joy the way of thy commandments;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Lesson: Proverbs 2:1-9
The Gospel: St. Luke 14:27-33

Artwork: Saint Benedict, stained glass, St. Giles’ Church, Bruges. Photograph taken by admin, 10 October 2014.

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Prayers and liturgy

Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop and Martyr

The collect for today, the commemoration of Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556), Archbishop of Canterbury, Reformation Martyr (source):

Hensley Chapel, Cranmer WindowFather of all mercies,
who through the work of thy servant Thomas Cranmer
didst renew the worship of thy Church
and through his death
didst reveal thy strength in human weakness:
strengthen us by thy grace so to worship thee in spirit and in truth
that we may come to the joys of thine everlasting kingdom;
through Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Advocate,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 3:9-14
The Gospel: St. John 15:20-16:1

Artwork: Thomas Cranmer, stained glass, Hensley Memorial Chapel, King’s-Edgehill School, Windsor, N.S.

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Prayers and liturgy

Cuthbert, Missionary and Bishop

Cuthbert window, St. Philip's VancouverThe collect for today, the Feast of Saint Cuthbert (c. 634-87), Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary (source):

Almighty God,
who didst call thy servant Cuthbert from following the flock
to follow thy Son and to be a shepherd of thy people:
in thy mercy, grant that we may so follow his example
that we may bring those who are lost home to thy fold;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: 2 Corinthians 6:1-10
The Gospel: St. Matthew 6:24-33

Artwork: St. Cuthbert, stained glass, St. Philip’s Anglican Church, Vancouver.

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Prayers and liturgy

Saint Joseph

van Geel, St. JosephThe collect for today, the Feast of Saint Joseph of Nazareth, Guardian of Our Lord, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patron Saint of Canada, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O GOD Most High, who from the family of thy servant David didst raise up Joseph the carpenter to be protector of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Lord: Grant that we may so labour in our earthly vocations, that they may become labours of love and service offered unto thee, our Father; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Epistle: Galatians 4:1-7
The Gospel: St. Matthew 1:18-25

Artwork: Jan Frans van Geel, Saint Joseph, 1818. Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp. Photograph taken by admin, 13 October 2014.

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Prayers and liturgy

Thomas Ken, Bishop and Poet

The collect for today, the commemoration of Thomas Ken (1637-1711), Bishop of Bath and Wells, Non-Juror, Hymn Writer (source):

O God, from whom all blessings flow,
by whose providence we are kept
and by whose grace we are directed:
assist us, through the example of thy servant Thomas Ken,
faithfully to keep thy word,
humbly to accept adversity
and steadfastly to worship thee;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

With the Epistle and Gospel for a Bishop, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962)
The Epistle: 1 Timothy 6:11-16
The Gospel: St. Luke 12:37-44

Bishop Ken windowOrdained an Anglican priest in 1662, Thomas Ken served as rector in several parishes before becoming chaplain to members of the royal family and, in 1685, Bishop of Bath and Wells. A man of principle and strong conviction, he was one of seven bishops imprisoned for refusing to sign King James II’s “Declaration of Indulgence”, the purpose of which was to allow Catholics to resume positions of political power in England. After strong expressions of popular support by the people of London, Bishop Ken was quickly tried and acquitted.

King James II was forced to flee the country when King William and Queen Mary were invited to become co-monarchs of England. William and Mary demanded oaths of allegiance from all persons holding public positions, including the bishops. Thomas Ken and others (known as the Non-Jurors; the older meaning of “juror” is “one who takes an oath”, hence “perjurer” as “one who swears falsely”) refused to take the oath on the grounds that they had sworn allegiance to James and could not during his lifetime swear allegiance to another monarch without making such oaths a mockery. Bishop Ken took this stand as a matter of principle despite his strong disagreement with much that James had done. In 1690, he and the other surviving non-jurors were deposed.

(Most of the bishops of Scotland also refused the oath; William and Mary retaliated by disestablishing the Episcopal Church in Scotland and making the Presbyterian Kirk the established state church there instead.)

Bishop Ken was also a poet and hymn-writer. He wrote the text for the well-loved doxology “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow“, which is actually the last verse of his longer hymn, “Awake My Soul, and with the sun“.

A prayer of Thomas Ken:

God, our heavenly father, make, we pray, the door of this Cathedral Church wide enough to welcome all who need human love and fellowship and a Father’s care; but narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride, and lack of love. Here may the temped find help, the sorrowing receive comfort, the careless be awakened to repentance, and the penitent be assured of your mercy; and here may all your children renew their strength and go on their way in hope and joy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Artwork: Thomas Ken window, Wells Cathedral, installed in 1885 to celebrate the bicentenary of his consecration as Bishop of Bath and Wells.

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