Christ Church

The collect for today, the commemoration of William Wilberforce (1759-1833), English MP, Social Reformer, Abolitionist (source):

Let thy continual mercy, O Lord, enkindle in thy Church the never-failing gift of charity, that, following the example of thy servant William Wilberforce, we may have grace to defend the children of the poor, and maintain the cause of those who have no helper; for the sake of him who gave his life for us, thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: Galatians 3:23-29
The Gospel: St. Matthew 25:31-40

Artwork: Statue of William Wilberforce, Wilberforce House, High Street, Hull, England.

The collect for a Martyr, in commemoration of St. Olaf (995-1030), King and Patron Saint of Norway, Martyr, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O GOD, who didst bestow upon thy Saints such marvellous virtue, that they were able to stand fast, and have the victory against the world, the flesh, and the devil: Grant that we, who now commemorate thy Martyr Olaf, may ever rejoice in their fellowship, and also be enabled by thy grace to fight the good fight of faith and lay hold upon eternal life; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Epistle: 1 St Peter 4:12-19
The Gospel: St. Matthew 16:24-27

Artwork: Statue of St. Olaf, Parish Church of St. Olave, Marygate, York, England.

Love your enemies

One of the three great untruths of our times, according to Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt in their book, The Coddling of the American Mind (2018), is “the untruth of us versus them” where life is seen as an endless conflict “between good people and evil people.” This is really “a pathological dualism,” as Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks points out (Not in God’s Name (2015)), which divides our humanity into “the unimpeachably good and the irredeemably bad” and in which “you are either one or the other.” This kind of conflict narrative is endlessly divisive and gnostic. You begin and end with division, with difference as hatred of the other. The awareness of difference leads to division which in turn leads to the demonization of the other. It is static and dogmatic. All there is is difference. Sadly such polarizations largely determine the tenor and character of our current social and political discourse.

While in evolutionary terms this may be explained away as an aspect of tribalism and of our tendencies to favour those in ‘our group,’ in a deeper sense it betrays all and every sense of our common humanity. It is ridiculously reductive and utterly destructive of our souls and of our life in community for the simple reason that we begin and end with our enmities, with our divisions as hardened into hatreds. In the face of such things, today’s Gospel is profoundly and wonderfully counter-culture and redemptive. It also connects to the rich traditions of wisdom in many of the great religions of the world.

Arjuna, a great warrior prince in the Hindu tradition, stands in the middle of the battlefield between two competing armies. They are all his relatives, sort of like the Maritimes. Why should I fight? he wonders. This is his ethical dilemma. How to transcend the enmities, the animosities, and the divisions that we encounter? It can’t be by denying that they exist because they are there. It has to be by some other way of thinking grounded upon a deeper understanding of our humanity. The Bhagavad Gita, reflecting the teachings of the Upanishads, offers a way of transcending such dilemmas. In that work, Arjuna is taught by Sri Krishna to follow his dharma, the law or duty of your being. A wonderful illustration of the meaning of dharma is found in the story of the Guru and the Scorpion. The scorpion falls into the river and the Guru rescues it from drowning only to be stung by the scorpion who falls again into the river only to be rescued again and again by the Guru who continues to be stung. Those looking on ask the Guru why he keeps rescuing the scorpion who keeps stinging him. He replies: it is the dharma of the scorpion to sting; it is the dharma of the human to save.

Read the rest of this entry »

The collect for today, the Sixth Sunday after Trinity, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O God, who hast preparest for them that love thee such good things as pass man’s understanding: Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Romans 6:3-11
The Gospel: St Luke 6:27-36

Artwork: Sebastiano Ricci, The Sermon on the Mount, 1725. Oil on canvas, Private collection.

The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary (source):

O GOD, who didst vouchsafe to bestow grace upon blessed Anne, that she might become the mother of the parent of thy Only-begotten Son: Mercifully grant that we who celebrate her festival may be partakers with her of thy heavenly grace; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lesson: 1 Samuel 2:1-8
The Gospel: St. Luke 1:26-33

Artwork: Jacques Stella, Saint Anne Leading the Virgin to the Temple, 1640. Oil on canvas, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen.

The collect for today, the Feast of St. James the Apostle, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

GRANT, O merciful God, that as thine holy Apostle Saint James, leaving his father and all that he had, without delay was obedient unto the calling of thy Son Jesus Christ, and followed him; so we, forsaking all worldly and carnal affections, may be evermore ready to follow thy holy commandments; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lesson: Acts 11:27-12:3a
The Gospel: St. Mark 10:32-40

Artwork: Jean Fouquet, The Martyrdom of St. James the Great, 1452-60. Illumination, Musée Condé, Chantilly.

The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O ALMIGHTY God, whose blessed Son did sanctify Mary Magdalene, and call her to be a witness to his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by thy grace we may be healed of all our infirmities, and always serve thee in the power of his endless life; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Lesson: Acts 13:27-31
The Gospel: St John 20:11-18

Artwork: Lodovico Pogliaghi, Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene, 1894-1908. Central Bronze door, Milan Cathedral. Photograph taken by admin, 2 May 2010.

“Nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net.”

In the face of the nihilisms of our contemporary culture, this is a welcoming word that signals an openness to God and to his will and way for our humanity. It should and is meant to complement the opening line of the Epistle reading, “be ye all of one mind,” but it doesn’t, at least not now in our situation as a church. We aren’t of one mind on many matters of great importance. We are a church divided, and a community and culture of souls divided. This is, sadly, nothing new. I have offered a brief statement of reflection about the current state of disarray, disaffection, and division with respect to the issue of same-sex marriage. The institutional church remains caught in the controversies of identity in our contemporary culture. We live in a divided church but prayerfully and, I hope, charitably with respect to these divisions and with an openness to the rediscovery of the principles that provide a more complete understanding of our humanity.

Today’s Gospel grounds our lives not on self-assertion but upon God’s word. Ambrose, in his commentary on this passage, indicates that in the figure of Peter especially, we have the figure of the Church. Peter is the rock upon which Christ builds the Church but only “at thy word.” It is a powerful idea and concept. There is the constant struggle to understand what it means to act in accord with God’s Word but, at the very least, it acts as a check upon human presumption. Simon Peter expresses very clearly the nature of the human predicament. “We have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing.” This complements wonderfully Mary’s statement to Jesus at the wedding feast at Cana of Galilee that “they” – we – “have no wine.” The awareness of our limitations, of our mortality, of our insufficiency, of our confusion, is a profound truth about our humanity. In our current distresses, it suggests at the very least uncertainties about ourselves and about the claims of the autonomous self. To put it in another way, what these Gospel stories indicate is that God knows us better than we know ourselves, on the one hand, and that God seeks for us to know what he seeks for us, on the other hand. “We see in a glass darkly,” not least of all about ourselves. “Now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known,” as Paul says, known in Christ. Hence the significance of the nature of God’s engagement with our humanity in Jesus Christ. Divine love transforms and perfects our human loves in all our confusions and illusions but only “at thy word.”

Read the rest of this entry »

The collect for today, The Fifth Sunday after Trinity, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

GRANT, O Lord, we beseech thee, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by thy governance, that thy Church may joyfully serve thee in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: 1 St. Peter 3:8-15a
The Gospel: St. Luke 5:1-11

Artwork: Edward Armitage, Christ Calling the Apostles, 1869. Oil on canvas, Sheffield Galleries and Museums.

The collect for a Virgin or Matron, on the Feast of Saint Margaret of Antioch (289-304), Virgin and Martyr, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O GOD Most High, the creator of all mankind, we bless thy holy Name for the virtue and grace which thou hast given unto holy women in all ages, especially thy servant Margaret of Antioch; and we pray that the example of her faith and purity, and courage unto death, may inspire many souls in this generation to look unto thee, and to follow thy blessed Son Jesus Christ our Saviour; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Lesson: Acts 9:36-42
The Gospel: St. Luke 10:38-42

Artwork: Titian, St. Margaret and the Dragon, c. 1559. Oil on canvas, Prado, Madrid.