Cranmer’s Late Epiphany Collects

I’ve long appreciated that the traditional Book of Common Prayer collects again and again express a radical dependence on God.  The collects of this late Epiphany season we are now in particularly have this spirit of dependence on God.  

Since Epiphany season can be very short, with as little as two Sundays, we don’t always hear the collects for the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.  But this year, with a very late Easter, we do.

The Epiphany 3 collect was not changed in the 1662 from Cranmer’s composition.  A favorite of mine, it speaks for itself:

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Acknowledging our infirmities and seeing dangers and necessities, it beautifully pleads for God’s “right hand to help and defend us.”

The Epiphany 4 collect for this week was changed in 1662 for the better I think.

O GOD, who knowest us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright; Grant to us such strength and protection, as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Cranmer’s “man’s frailness” was changed to “the frailty of our nature,” more personal wording which assists the worshiper to own his weakness. The 1662 revision also makes dependence on God more clear, direct and broad by asking for “such strength and protection, as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations” instead of “the health of body and soul that all those things which we suffer for sin, by thy help we may well pass and overcome.”

For Epiphany 5 we pray for the Church:

O LORD, we beseech thee to keep thy Church and household continually in thy true religion; that they who do lean only upon the hope of thy heavenly grace may evermore be defended by thy mighty power; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I’ll be honest – the first part sounds like something prayed by pious elderly women.  Yes, blame me for that.  But I like that clause.  And using language we would not normally use helps us to think in ways we would not normally think – a strength of traditional language methinks.

I can relate more easily to the rest of the collect.  In fact, I have energy issues as I type this, so I can certainly relate to the dependence of “they who do lean only upon the hope of thy heavenly grace” etc.

I think these three late Epiphany collects go very well together and they are favorites as mine as they well express how dependent upon God we are and should be.

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NOTE: I’m leaving out the Epiphany 6 Collect for a reason. It was a new composition for the 1662 BCP and very different than the previous three Cranmerian collects. It does fit well into the church year though, but I will leave that subject for a more apt time.  (This year after Epiphany 5, the traditional BCP has us go into the pre-Lent season.)

Revisiting When and How I Will Call Out Political Evil

From time to time I have wrestled with how much to expose evil in the political realm.  I have long been alarmed about politics, culture, and government in the West.  It is far more than my “side” winning or losing. There are neo-totalitarian ideologies gaining boldness and power.

But at the same time, I’ve not wanted to alienate people from this blog or from Anglicanism for that matter.  I’ve seen the errors of those on the Left who are injecting their politics into ACNA and how divisive that is; I do not want to commit a mirror image of the same error.

And frankly I desire a “peaceful and quiet” life. And totalitarian Leftists are not interested in peace and quiet for those who openly oppose them.

But two recent experiences have reminded me that being quiet is not an option today.  First was remembering Holocaust Remembrance Day (which I mentioned while leading Morning Prayer at my church).  As a youth, I thought surges of anti-Semitism in the West were an awful thing of the past.  But we are certainly experiencing a revival of anti-Semitism today. And there is a surge of totalitarian ideologies as well.  This is no time for the church to repeat the sin of silence or, worse yet, of complicity.

The second was reading again Ezekiel 33:1-9.  Now I certainly do not think I have been appointed a watchman as Ezekiel was appointed.  But God has allowed me an above average knowledge of history and politics and some communication skills for a reason. At the very least, those who are more aware of danger certainly have more of a responsibility to warn others.

So I am convinced that, at least for me, this is not a time to be quiet about political evil.  At the same time, I recognize, unlike many Leftists, that people want and need venues free of political combat or at least where politics are restrained. Even I need that!  I’ve already said that churches and church venues should be such a place for the sake of unity. And, yes, I will confront those who try to hijack ACNA for their political “social justice” agenda.

Although I haven’t said much about it, I’ve decided to restrain politics on this blog.  That does not mean there will be no politics here.  If a political matter is of particular interest to Anglican or other catholic Christians, it still belongs here.  But I have already been posting a number of political missives elsewhere but not here when I consider them not that relevant to Anglicanism.  For example, I recently posted sharp reflections on the Northam controversy on my WannabeHistorian blog, but not here.  (So if you don’t want to miss my observations on history and politics, you need to follow that blog.)

So this is the way I am proceeding – to do my part to expose the evil and danger of the quasi-totalitarian Lib/Left, but to take care about in what venues I do so, more care than I have in the past. Nonetheless, now is no time for silence.  People of right mind should speak up lest that freedom is removed from us.

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By the way, a few have found fault with this being an anonymous blog. But with the current toxic and dangerous political climate, which I fear may get worse, this blog will remain anonymous without apology.

HOUSEKEEPING: While I am on the subject of anonymity, this blog gets a number of anonymous comments, most of which are spam.  Occasionally, I will get a comment which I cannot tell for sure is spam or not.  So my advice is, if you make an anonymous comment, be sure it clearly addresses the subject at hand or that I can tell in some other way you are not a spammer.  If I am not sure it is for real, I will not post it.

Apocalypse Illuminated by Richard K. Emmerson

A focus of my studies in Oxford this past Michaelmas Term was medieval eschatology, particularly the exegesis of the Book of Revelation in illuminated Apocalypses.  I soon discovered this area is more complex than I expected perhaps because the medieval church did not insist on much dogma in eschatology beyond the teaching of the Nicene Creed that Jesus “shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.” Thus there was space for a lot of interesting diversity in the details of eschatology.  And events such as the year 1000 and invasions from Muslims and Tartars certainly goaded speculation on the details of end times.

At the same time, the many failed predictions, especially those that involved dates, assisted more conservative eschatologies to reassert themselves from time to time.  And most of the commentary texts of medieval illuminated Apocalypses reflect more conservative interpretations even as those, too, differ.

In short, medieval eschatology and its artistic expression is a fascinating but not at all easy area of study.  This is reflected in disagreements and occasional errors in modern scholarship.  Speaking of which, I am having to unlearn a thing or two I learned in Oxford!

So I appreciate a recent (and reasonably priced) acquisition to my library, Apocalypse Illuminated, The Visual Exegesis of Revelation in Medieval Illustrated Manuscriptsby Richard K. Emmerson, published just last year.  I’ve come across a number of excellent books in my studies on the subject, but Emmerson’s stands out as the best overview. It certainly well aids and clarifies the study of a complex subject.

Emmerson goes over the similarities and differences between various illuminated Apocalypses very well and uses a multitude of illustrations well in so doing.  His speculations as to what may have motivated bursts of creation of these lavish books, which clustered around certain times such as the third quarter of the 13^thcentury, is also helpful.

And Emmerson is not at all merely derivative but advances scholarship.  One example stood out to me.  He boldly states that a number of very reputable scholars are mistaken in attributing a prediction that the end would come in 1260 to Joachim of Fiore.  He attributes that failed prediction to Joachimite followers instead and noted Joachim himself was adverse to setting dates though he was certainly bold in other respects.

Do be aware that, as Emmerson makes clear, Apocalypse Illuminated focuses on how these manuscripts interpreted the Book of Revelation and on the influences behind those interpretations. Thus, though well illustrated, this is not an art book.

I could praise Apocalypse Illuminated further.  But I will just say this: if I were to lead a seminar on medieval illuminated Apocalypses and accompanying eschatology, I would choose this book as theintroductory text.  If there is a more scholarly, more readable, and more up-to-date overview in this area, I for one am not aware of it.

Oxford and Charles, King and Martyr

I will get it out of the way that, although I venerate Edward the Confessor and Henry VI, I am not a devotee of Charles I.  I will leave it at that out of consideration for a number of my Anglo-Catholic friends and because my opinion on his worthiness is not that important anyway.

At the same time, one of the venerable charms of Oxford is its devotion to Charles I.  Statues and portraits of him are all over the University on college quads, in libraries, in dining halls, in chapels, and more.  And that although he “borrowed” most of the colleges’ silver plate to mint coins!  There is even a window in a college chapel in which the face of Jesus looks suspiciously like Charles.

It is as if Oxford, which was Charles’ de facto capital during the Civil War, never really fully recognized his defeat in said war.  It is a perpetual, very civilized rebellion of the elite, a refusal to give in to defeat along with a willingness to forgive Charles’ errors, even the silver.  As far as the University of Oxford is concerned, Charles I remains and always will be their king.

And in case one thinks I am waxing a bit much about an unwillingness to bother to take down statues and portraits no one cares about anymore, I urge such impious skeptics to repent and get thee to Pusey House tomorrow at 6:30pm for a High Mass for “Charles, King and Martyr.”  See for yourself Oxonian devotion to His Sacred Majesty, King Charles the First, of Glorious Memory.

Thoughts on Holocaust Remembrance Day

We rarely note secular observances at my church.  We do recognize mothers and fathers during Mothers and Fathers Day.  (But we do NOT allow those days to hijack our services as so many churches do.)  And that may be about it.

But during announcements yesterday while leading Morning Prayer, I could not allow Holocaust Remembrance Day to pass unnoted.  For, as I told the congregation, this is personal with me.  About half the kids I went to school with were Jewish.  And I remember as a youth watching documentaries on the Holocaust and thinking the West has learned its lesson; there will never be a revival of anti-semitism in the West again.

I was wrong.  There is a revival of anti-semitism today.  

Although I avoided getting into politics in a church setting, and although I freely admit no political party is immune to anti-semitism, in the U. S. it is the Democrat Party that is enabling a revival of anti-semitism. Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s appointment of the anti-semitic Congresswoman from Somalia, Ilhan Omar, to the House Foreign Affairs Committee where she will be privy to sensitive intelligence is particularly alarming and outrageous.

As I told the congregation, we should pray as to how to combat anti-semitism.  The best way I can think of is to call it out.  The exposure of the anti-Jewish bigotry of the leaders of the Woman’s March took a while to be effective.  Nonetheless that organization has now lost much of its power and credibility as several prominent Lib/Left women have disassociated themselves, to their credit.

I think similarly we should be unceasing in calling out those who embrace Louis Farrakhan and refuse to disavow him.  I’m talking about you, James Clyburn.

There is more that must be done.  But prayer and calling out anti-semitism among political and religious leaders is a good start.

Again, it is sad that we in the West have come to this yet again.

The Astonishing Kingdom of God – a sermon for Epiphany 3

Morning Prayer Epiphany 3

Psalm 16

Ezekiel 2:1 – 3:11

Mark 10: 13-27

Last week, we saw that an important theme in St. Mark’s Gospel is that the kingdom of God is at hand.  Indeed, the first words of Jesus in that Gospel are:

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.

This week we will look further into the Gospel of Mark, and we’ll see that the kingdom of God and entry into it is a bit different than people expected.

In our reading this morning from Mark, chapter 10, we heard the famous episode of Jesus with the little children.  The disciples were rebuking parents who were bringing their children to be touched by Jesus.  They thought the Messiah had more important business than blessing children.  And it is certainly understandable that they thought that.

But Jesus’ priorities were different than they expected, so different that He was indignant that the disciples were trying to herd the children away.  He not only told the disciples to let the children come to him, but in addition told them that “to such belongs the kingdom of God.”  And, as if that wasn’t radical enough, He said, “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

And the disciples said, “What??”  No, that’s not in scripture.  But one can imagine they were startled by Jesus’ statement as we might be.  If you don’t receive the kingdom of God as a child, you don’t enter it at all? What could Jesus mean?

We will get back to that question, but first let’s look at another time when Jesus startled his followers.

When the rich young man asked Jesus what to do to inherit eternal life, Jesus disoriented him by answering, “Go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.” Then what He said after the man walked away disoriented and “amazed” his disciples.  And “amazed” is St. Mark’s word, not mine.  Jesus said, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.”

Then, seeing how amazed his disciples were, he did not soften or water down His words but instead doubled down and said, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

The passage continues, “And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’”  They were floored by what Jesus had just told them about entry into the kingdom of God.  As St. Mark put it, “They were exceedingly astonished.”  Why?

There was a common misconception at the time that connected wealth to righteousness.  There are a number of passages in the Old Testament that state that one of the ways God may reward righteousness is with wealth.  And that is true.  But people in Jesus’ day commonly misinterpreted this to mean that if a wealthy man was not an obvious crook, cheat, or sinner, then probably he is wealthy because he is righteous.

Now before we think these people foolish, remember that today the heresy of Prosperity Theology is all too popular.  The Prosperity Theology heretics – yes, I said it – these heretics would have you believe that if you have enough faith, you will be rich.  And, of course, some of them connect faith to you making them rich with your contributions. We can laugh, but sadly people are defrauded by these heretics.

The common error of Jesus’ day was not as awful.  But it was a common error to connect faith, righteousness and wealth entirely too much.

So Jesus’ famous saying -- that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” -- that saying flipped their misconceptions and “exceedingly astonished” them indeed so that they asked, “Then who can be saved?”

Jesus’ answer to that question helps us make an important connection between what he said about children, what he said to the rich young man, and what he then said to his disciples.  Jesus’ answer to the question “Then who can be saved?” was:

With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.

“With man, it is impossible.”  Man cannot save himself.  Man cannot somehow merit or earn or buy or steal entry into the Kingdom of God.

“With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”  God is the one who saves.  God is the only one who saves, who can bring us into his kingdom.  Salvation is the work of God, not of man.

Now, of course, that does not mean we are to be passive.  St. Paul describes salvation as a gift from God.  And as is the case with most gifts, for that gift to become ours, we must trust the giver and receive his gift.  But even so, the lavish, gracious gift of salvation is God’s doing, not ours.

Allow me to make this point [Here I bring out a humorous pointer.] using a gift I got for this past Christmas.  Gabriel gave me this wonderful and very useful pointer for Christmas.  Now after I opened this gift, I did not think, “Aren’t I wonderful!  I must have really deserved this gift!” Nor did I think myself clever and wise for receiving this gift.

No, instead, I was thankful for Gabriel and for his gift.  For the credit for the gift belongs to him, not me.

The same can be said for God’s gift of salvation.  Can we earn it? Well, we have sinned.  And you know what “the wages of sin” are!  “The wages of sin” is certainly not salvation!

Instead Jesus earned salvation for us by His perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection.  And then he offers that salvation to us as a gift as Romans 6:23 continues:

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Even our having faith to trust God and to receive his gift of salvation – even that faith is a gift.  As St. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it isthe gift of God…”

So salvation is something God does.  When anyone enters the kingdom of God, all the credit and the glory belongs to God.  When we look at the great worship scenes in the Book of Revelation, the saints are not patting themselves or each other on the back.  Instead, they give all the glory to God.  One such scene is at the end of Revelation 5 when the multitude is singing to Jesus the Lamb of God:

…for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

                  from every tribe and language and people and nation,

          and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

                  and they shall reign on the earth.”

Note the emphasis: salvation is brought about by Jesus the Lamb of God.  The worship in Heaven continues:

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, 

         “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,

         to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might

         and honor and glory and blessing!”

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

         “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

         be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

All the glory belongs to God and to the Lamb of God.  All the credit for our salvation belongs to Him; for salvation is something He does by his love, by His power, and by His Precious Blood.

And thank God for that!  For, again, as Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

This is an important reason Jesus said that we must receive the kingdom of God like a child.  For if salvation and entry into His kingdom is not something we can do for ourselves but is something only God can do for us, then we need to trust Him and, in trust and faith, to receive that gift of salvation from Him.  And what is more trusting than a small child?

Sometimes they are too trusting!  Ever hold a child, and they are wriggling and moving around all over the place, and yet they are still trusting you to hold on to them? Little kids trust in you with their lives!  I’ve had that experience with two or more kids in this congregation . . . and, thankfully, they are still with us.

But the trust of children is amazing and beautiful.  That is how we should trust Jesus.

And I think trust was also an issue in the encounter with the Rich Young Man.  Jesus perceived that the man was trusting in his riches too much and in God too little.  So Jesus invited him to the radical trust of leaving aside his riches to follow Him.

We are to trust not in riches and not in ourselves.  Like little children, we are to trust in Jesus with our lives.  

That is so much more than intellectual consent.  The story is told of a man on a tightrope across Niagara Falls.  He was doing all sorts of stunts on the tightrope and just delighting the crowd who was cheering for him.  Finally he got out a wheelbarrow, and he was going to take that wheelbarrow across Niagara Falls on the tightrope!

But as he was about to do so, he asked the crowd, “Do you think I can take this wheelbarrow across Niagara Falls?”

And they cheered and shouted, “Yes! Go for it! You’re great! We believe in you!”

Then he asked them, “Then who wants to get in the wheelbarrow?”

It’s one thing to think Jesus is great.  Most of the crowd out there thinks that.  It is another thing to trust Jesus with your life. But receiving the kingdom of God involves trust like that. It involves trusting Jesus like a child.  Perhaps that is what is most astonishing about the kingdom of God.

We are called to trust in Jesus with our lives.  We are called to be like little children and trust in Jesus with our lives.

Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Roman Catholic “Bishop” Attacks Covington Students … for Wearing MAGA Hats

One would think after videos have clearly shown that the Covington High School students were the victims of aggressive bigotry, not the perpetrators, that LibChurchers would engage in the penitential discipline of apology and then shutting the **** up. And one would think Roman Catholic hierarchy would come to those students’ defense and surely not heap more smears on them.

But not so with the Roman Catholic Bishop of Lexington, John Stowe.

Instead, in an op-ed in the Lexington Herald-Leader for all to see, he wrote, “I am ashamed that the actions of Kentucky Catholic high school students have become a contradiction of the very reverence for human life that the march is supposed to manifest.” And he is particularly upset that they . . . wore MAGA hats.

That is not satire.  He took the students to task for wearing MAGA hats to a political demonstration.  It appears merely wearing support for Trump and for “making America great again” even in a political demonstration is now a mortal sin in the Church of Rome.

I will let you read this and the rest of his smear for yourself if you wish.  I refuse to dignify it further.

And, again, these are pro-life Catholic High School students he is smearing.  Hasn’t the Roman Catholic Church victimized youth enough already?

But this is the sort of LibChurch leadership that is typical under Pope Francis.