It's Litany Time

This is the time of the year when many Anglican Churches use The Litany to start the service and omit the Prayer for the Whole State of Christ’s Church. Interestingly enough, The Litany was the first part of the church service to be translated into English; that may be a lesson in and of itself.

The word Litany means: A solemn form of supplication in the public worship of various churches, in which the clergy and congregation joins, the former leading and the latter responding in alternate sentences. It is usually of a penitential character.

Interestingly enough in colloquial English it means an endless list, usually of complaints.

In The Litany, over and over, the congregation asks God and/or Christ to “hear us”:

· We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

· Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us.

Over and Over

Perhaps we are asking our Lord God the wrong thing. For, He, who needs no reminding of the death of a sparrow, seems likely to hear us the first time. The more important thing to ask Him is for help in not only hearing Him, but actually listening to Him and following His instructions. We miss the point when we beg Him to hear us. We need to ask His help to HEAR HIM and ACT ON HIS WORD.

As my lovely wife says, “Please fill us with the Holy Ghost, even if (and probably particularly if) You have to pry open our mouths and force Him down our throats!”

Second Sunday in Lent

The Propers for today are found on Page 127-128, with the Collect first:

The Second Sunday in Lent.

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And due to the rubric, the Collect for the Day is followed by the Collect for Ash Wednesday, which is found on Page 124:

The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday.

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.

The Epistle for today came from the Fourth Chapter of Paul’s First letter to the Thessalonians beginning at the First Verse. Apparently the Corinthians were not the only church founded in a Red Light District. In this letter Paul is telling the people to refrain from random sex and get married. Paul is starting into the beginning of his New Man concept. We are called to be as God wants us to be, not as we would be without His guidance and help. God does this, not that we would miss fun, but rather that we would enjoy happiness.

WE beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

This morning’s Gospel comes from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, the Fifteenth Chapter, beginning at the Twenty-First Verse.

JESUS went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

This story surfaces again in the Book of Common Prayer in the Prayer of Humble Access, on page 82:

WE do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.

First Sunday after Lent

The Propers for today are found on Page 125-127, with the Collect first:

The First Sunday in Lent.

The Collect.

O LORD who for our sake didst fast forty days and forty nights; Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness, and true holiness, to thy honour and glory, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

And due to the rubric, the Collect for the Day is followed by the Collect for Ash Wednesday, which is found on Page 124:

The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday.

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.

The Epistle for today came from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, starting at the First Verse of the Sixth Chapter. In what at first appears to be an incomprehensible single sentence, Paul asks us to be worthy of the grace that God has given us. He tells the people when they needed him, he was there. They need to be there for those around them. They must not frustrate God’s work by showing up late, or not at all. Those around us are watching our actions in the time of testing. We have been given eternal salvation by Jesus’s sacrifice, the understanding of the Gospel by the Holy Ghost. We are at this time dying here on earth, yet progressing towards eternal life in the next world, in Jesus’ world with His help. While we may never be wealthy here on earth, our actions can make our fellow Christians wealthy in spirit beyond measure.

If you claim to be a Christian, you know what is right. If you are a Christian, you do what is right, you don’t take a vote to see what the right course of action might be. Right does not change with public opinion and we must do the right thing. It is our actions that count, in good times or bad. We are Christ’s ambassadors to this world, unfortunately we do not have diplomatic immunity.

WE then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain; (for he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation;) giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

This morning’s Gospel comes from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, starting at the First Verse of the Fourth Chapter. This portion of the Gospel tells the story of the temptation of Christ. In many respects, it shows how little the devil understands of Christ, and through Him, of us. If you understand how little the devil really offers you and how much Christ offers, the temptation is ever so much less. The devil is often referred to as the deceiver or dissimulator. His forte is deception, he seems one thing, is another. Offers what he has no intention or ability to deliver. Ignores the inevitable result of accepting his proffered help or inside track.

He clearly knows Jesus is the Son of God. There is no doubt in his mind. So, having understood that, consider what he offers Jesus in temptation.

• Remember, Jesus has fasted 40 days OF HIS OWN CHOICE; turn the stone into bread. This to the Son of He who delivered manna daily to the Jews in the wilderness for 40 years.

• Cast thyself down and let angels catch thee; this to He who walked on water.

• Up to the mountain lookout – Here is it all yours if you worship me. This to He who as it says in Psalm 95:

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.

The devil promised Jesus nothing that was his to give, nothing that would help Jesus in the real world beyond the Shadowlands. He never does. The devil is all about shortcuts. Remember, if the shortcut was the best way, it would not be a shortcut

Like the temptation of Jesus, the devil never delivers what we need, only what we may want short term. Remember as little as the devil understands of Christ, no he understands little of us. He will never offer you real help. Remember that and the temptation is ever so much less.

THEN was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

The Prodigal Son and Lesson you may not have learned

First, the Fifteenth Chapter of the Gospel according to Saint Luke beginning at the Tenth Verse:

10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:

12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.

26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.

29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.

32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

The Prodigal Son and Lesson you may not have learned

When we read the story of the Prodigal Son, it seems we almost always concentrate on the lesson to be learned from the son’s return home. That lesson is pretty clear; God is there for us, all we have to do is repent and return. He is there with open arms, He always has been and He always will be. He does not scold on seeing us coming from afar, but holds His arms out in joyous greeting. When He welcomes us back, we are complete and full members of His family, as if we never left. We return to our status as full heirs of His Kingdom.

But, there is another lesson, oft missed, that of the older son. We easily see ourselves as the younger son, climbing back from the brink of the pit to the Father’s welcome arms.

What of the older son? The older son who has kept his father’s strict rules; worked hard; sweat and bled for his family. He is understandably upset when he finds his younger formerly dissolute brother has returned and been welcomed with open arms and a seemingly wide open pocket book, when he himself had not been given even a kid to throw a party with! One can see his vision of yet another portion of his family’s inheritance going down the drain. As Yogi Berra once said, “Its like Déjà vu all over again!” His feelings are understandable; yet are they the feelings of Christ? Should he not, too, be joyous in his brother’s return? The answer we know is a simple yes.

We miss this because it is too close to our own hearts. We see those who have not followed Christ trying to repent and somehow in our hearts we worry, like those workers in the vineyard, they will get the same deal we got. We are not being shortchanged by God because He is gracious to them. He is gracious to all. As Paul pointed out, “All fall short.” All includes each of us. Each, not some, not most or even almost all. Each of us!

So, back to the older brother. The older brother has a problem. Not only is he hurt because his father loves his brother (a dissolute sloth) as much as he loves him (who he perceives as good, though in reality every bit the rogue), he will now be sharing the family’s wealth with the returning brother.

For us, there is good news. We are not perfect, yet our Father loves us as much as He loves those less imperfect than us. And, unlike the father in the parable, our Father has unlimited resources of unimaginable goodness. So, in this case ¼ of an unlimited inheritance is every bit as much as ½ of an unlimited inheritance. We have nothing to worry about.

Let us open our hearts to all of God’s family. Be joyous, not begrudging of those whose return from that “far country.”

Think about Psalm 100:

O BE joyful in the Lord, all ye lands: * serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with a song.

Be ye sure that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; * we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; * be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name.

For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting; * and his truth endureth from generation to generation.

Be particularly joyful that all who come to Him get the same deal, no matter when.

Holy Communion – Frequency and Intent

The issue of how often to hold Holy Communion is an interesting one. You will often find those in the ministerial role who desire to be addressed as Father calling for Holy Communion any time they can gather two or three together. They insist the only real service is Holy Communion, to which they oft refer to as Mass.

If you look back in history, you find the early reformed church through the late 1800s often had Morning or Evening Prayer as the primary service, with Holy Communion once or twice a month. That could have been because that was how often a minister was available or it could be a recognition of the value of each service.

For those who pray every day, evening and night, some form of the prayer service, however abbreviated, Holy Communion every Sunday represents only about 14 percent of the services. For those who only pray at church, it would then represent 100 percent of the services.

When I pray the Lord’s Prayer, I try to read it rather than say it. I do so because it helps me concentrate on the meaning, rather than the saying. If I cannot read it, I say it concentrating on the very meaning to avoid making it another incantation.

It has been my personal experience that congregations who alternate services, Morning / Evening Prayer one week, Holy Communion the next, or once a month, if you like, get more out of the services than those who only have Holy Communion.

I believe strongly that we are here to spread The Word and minister to our congregations’ needs. It is not about my needs, but those of the congregation. That meets God’s needs, thus mine.

Of course, I am the guy in the black polo shirt.

Tell me about Lent, please.

Lent started out as a three day preparation for Easter, the Resurrection of Christ. The Forty Day Lent originated in the fourth century of the church. The season of Lent spans 40 weekdays beginning on Ash Wednesday and climaxing during Holy Week with Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday), Good Friday, and concluding Saturday before Easter. Originally, Lent was the time of preparation for those who were to be baptized, a time of concentrated study and prayer before their baptism at the Easter Vigil, the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord early on Easter Sunday. But since these new members were to be received into a living community of Faith, the entire community was called to preparation. Also, this was the time when those who had been separated from the Church would prepare to rejoin the community.

Today, Lent is marked by a time of prayer and preparation to celebrate Easter. Since Sundays celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the six Sundays that occur during Lent are not counted as part of the 40 days of Lent, and are referred to as the Sundays in Lent. The number 40 is connected with many biblical events, but especially with the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness preparing for His ministry by facing the temptations that could lead him to abandon his mission and calling. Christians today use this period of time for introspection, self examination, and repentance. This season of the year is equal only to the Season of Advent in importance in the Christian year, and is part of the second major grouping of Christian festivals and sacred time that includes Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost.

Lent has traditionally been marked by penitential prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Some churches today still observe a rigid schedule of fasting on certain days during Lent, especially the giving up of meat, alcohol, sweets, and other types of food. Other traditions do not place as great an emphasis on fasting, but focus on charitable deeds, especially helping those in physical need with food and clothing, or simply the giving of money to charities. Most Christian churches that observe Lent at all focus on it as a time of prayer, especially penance, repenting for failures and sin as a way to focus on the need for God’s grace. It is really a preparation to celebrate God’s marvelous redemption at Easter, and the resurrected life that we live, and hope for, as Christians.

Many people think of Lent as a time for self-improvement, self-denial, self-education, self-this and self-that. They miss the point. Lent is about reassessment of your aim point. It is about adjusting your targeting to keep your self out of things and put God in them. It is about you being better as a consequence of doing what God has asked you, not about you being better so God will like you. It is not just about asking God what you should do, but about listening and then doing what He tells you. It is about God, not you or me. There is no I, me, you or even U in God.

Tell me about Quinquagesima, please

Quinquagesima, or, in full, Quinquagesima Sunday, is the name for the Sunday next before Ash Wednesday in the Catholic (Universal or Whole) Church Calendar.

The name Quinquagesima originates from Latin quinquagesimus (fiftieth), referring to the fifty days before Easter Sunday using inclusive counting, which counts both Sundays (normal counting would count only one of these).

Since the forty days of the Lenten fast included only weekdays, the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday, succeeds Quinquagesima Sunday by only three days. The earliest Quinquagesima Sunday can occur is February 1 and the latest is March 7. The Roman Church no longer observes much of the Christian Year, including Quinquagesima and the two immediately before it — Sexagesima and Septuagesima Sundays.

The contemporary service books of many Anglican provinces do not use the term but it remains in the Book of Common Prayer.

The 17-day period beginning on Septuagesima Sunday spanning Sexuagesima and Quinquagesima Sundays was intended to be observed as a preparation for the season of Lent, which is itself a period of spiritual preparation (for Easter). In many countries, however, Septuagesima Sunday marks the start of the carnival season, culminating on Shrove Tuesday, more commonly known as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday.