Sunday next before Advent

This Sunday is the last Sunday of the liturgical year, and there have been various ways of dealing with it. Sometimes it has not been given special attention; some modern calendars have added new observances such as the feast of Christ the King. The 1928 Book of Common Prayer went back to the Sarum tradition for the name of the day and for the collect and lessons. A popular medieval English name was "Stir up Sunday." This nickname comes from the opening words of the collect which says:

Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We see a similar theme in the liturgical epistle which is actually a selection from the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah 23:5 looks to the day when the Lord God will raise up a new king to lead His people in justice and righteousness. Thus, both the collect and epistle point to the need for a new beginning.

As long as this world endures, human beings will always need new beginnings. Because of our fallen and sinful condition, we need for God to stir us up. We need to look to Christ our King to lead us into greater righteousness. We need His grace to renew in us those good works which are the fruits of faith.

Transfiguration of Christ- 6 August- Luke 9:28-36

The feast of the Transfiguration of Christ commemorates an important and mysterious event from the Gospels (e.g., St. Luke 9:28-36). Strangely enough, however, the feast of the Transfiguration has not always received very much emphasis. In the Eastern church, the observance goes back to the fourth century, but it did not spread in the Western church before the ninth century. It did not become a universal feast of the Latin church until 1457. In the English Church, the feast was removed in 1549 and was restored as a "Black Letter Day" in 1561. In the American Book of Common Prayer, the Transfiguration was restored with liturgical propers in 1892.

In the Gospels, our Lord takes Peter, John, and James up onto a mountain where He has a shining appearance during prayer. Moses and Elijah appear and converse with Jesus, and a divine voice proclaims, "This is my beloved Son, hear him."

This event says three things about Jesus: 1) the Law and the Prophets witness to Him as He continues their work, 2) His work involves dying at Jerusalem and 3) He is the unique, glorious, and beloved Son of the heavenly Father.

First Sunday in Lent

The traditional Epistle and Gospel for the First Sunday in Lent are very different in approach, but both point us to a great irony of the human condition: whenever we try to become closer to God and try to improve our spiritual and moral lives, the greatest temptations arise. The Gospel from St. Matthew 4:1-11 recounts the story of Christ's temptations. He was in the desert fasting, praying and communing with the heavenly Father. He was preparing for His great public ministry. Then the Tempter came and offered the things that turn most people aside: material comfort in the form of food, human praise for impressive deeds and worldly power over other people. Our Lord was strong enough to resist those temptations, but on our own, we are not that strong. Only by depending on God's grace can we even make a good beginning. And even when we do make a good beginning, we are frail creatures who often fall and have to return to His grace for renewal.

The Epistle from II Corinthians 6:1-10 also refers to temptations. St. Paul appeals to the Corinthian Christians "receive not the grace of God in vain"(6:1). Any moment of a believer's life can be a moment of decision and dedication: "behold, now is the day of salvation" (6:2). Addressing Christians who have lost some of their initial enthusiasm for doing good, the Apostle points to various earthly trials and temptations. He stresses the irony that even in the midst of suffering, trials and weakness, Christians can rejoice and be rich in spiritual matters.

Lent is a time of preparation when we dedicate ourselves anew to follow Christ. Hopefully, we begin this season with enthusiasm and a strong sense of purpose. We intend to be more devoted in a variety of ways. As we do this, however, we must also beware of temptation. The more we try to draw near to God in Christ, the more the tempter tries to dissuade us. Little and big temptations keep coming up in our lives. On our own, we are not even strong enough to have six good spiritual weeks in Lent. We are always dependent upon Christ who has already triumphed over temptation for us. So let us turn to Him in loving faith again and again while striving to be more disciplined in our pursuit of goodness.

Epiphany V- Tares

The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany does not occur every year in the traditional western calendar. (In fact, the propers for this Sunday are as likely to be used near the end of the Trinity season.) This part of the church year depends upon the date of Easter which not only determines the dates of Lent but also of the Pre-Lenten season. This year, Easter is late, and there are six Sundays after Epiphany before Pre-Lent (the "Gesimas").

The Gospel for today (St. Matthew 13:24-30) is the familiar parable of the tares or weeds. One theme of Epiphany is the spread of goodness and light, but this story then reminds us that the spread of goodness is not always upward and onward. There are also problems. As goodness is growing, there is also evil growing beside it. The church in the world is God's field, but all is not as it should be. God's spiritual enemy has scattered bad seed in the field. By the parable of the tares, our Lord reminds us that life in the world, including life in the earthly church, is a mixture. Of course, there is a need for individual and community discipline. There are times when certain obvious sinners should be excluded from the church. Yet, although we may long for perfection, it is not attainable in this world. Until the final harvest, there will be weeds growing beside the good grain in God's field. We should recognize that reality, and then we should accept divine grace to grow in goodness ourselves and to encourage its growth around us.

Epiphany

A blessed Epiphany to all! 

The Collect:        O GOD, who by the leading of a star didst manifest thy only-begotten Son to the Gentiles; Mercifully grant that we, who know thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of thy glorious Godhead; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

(According to the 1928 American BCP rubrics, "this Collect is to be said daily throughout the Octave." )