Day: March 19, 2019

Sermons

Lenten Programme 2019: Thinking Sacramentally II

“And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me”

“This he said”, John tells, “to show by what death he was to die”; in other words, it is an allusion to the Cross. In saying this Jesus is looking back and echoing a remarkable passage from The Book of Numbers. As such it contributes to our Lenten programme about thinking sacramentally in terms of the images of the Christian sacraments in the Old Testament. The shadows of the Cross reach backwards and extend forwards, we are illumined paradoxically by its shadows.

Sin and grace are inextricably part and parcel of our sacramental thinking. The sacraments only make sense in relation to the forms of human sin and the overcoming of sin by grace conveyed sacramentally. Just consider for a moment the scene in the Book of Numbers. The people of Israel are in the wilderness journey of the Exodus. It is a journey of learning, of discipline and devotion. They are learning just what it means to be the people of Israel, the people of the Law, those who “live by the every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord”, and not by “the devices and desires of our own hearts”, of our inclinations and appetites. Such learning, as with the ancient Greeks, for instance, in Homer’s Odyssey, is learning through suffering which will contribute to a further intensification of that theme in its Christian context as learning through sacrifice.

The idea of learning through sacrifice belongs to the sacraments. Something invisible is made visible, made known to us. Like the Canaanite woman, we perceive the invisible in and through the visible. The things of the world are made the vehicles of our spiritual understanding and life, the means by which we participate in them. These words by Christ echoing Moses belong to our participation in Christ’s sacrifice. That is the whole point of the sacraments. Through the sacraments we participate in Christ’s sacrifice. It means thinking sacramentally. We are not simply passive in relation to God. His grace is given to set us in motion.

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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

Wells Cathedral, 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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Prayers and liturgy

Saint Joseph

The 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

Ponziano Loverini, Saint Joseph and the Christ ChildArtwork: Ponziano Loverini, Saint Joseph and the Christ Child, 1902. Oil on canvas, Chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo, Ponte San Pietro, Italy.

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