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.
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