First Sunday in Lent

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Rather than just comment upon the Collect, Epistle & Gospel readings for First Sunday in Lent in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, I take this opportunity to offer some insight into how and why the season of Lent came into the Christian worship cycle. Lent is one of the Church’s two seasons of penitence, the other being Advent. In the Eastern Church tradition, Lent is called “Great Lent.”

Like “Epiphany” and the “Gesima” Sundays which come immediately before the start of Lent, the name Lent is not a Scriptural term, that is, you will not find it in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Old or New Testaments. It is derived from two different sources, the Old English “Lenten” and the old High German “Lenz,” noting also that there are similar words in other European languages, including Dutch, Italian and Spanish. Lent is the preferred English title instead of the Latin “Quadragesima,” which means “Forty Days” or the Greek “Tessakoste,” or “fortieth day.” All these terms refer to a day which is forty days before Easter or to the Forty Days themselves. The number 40 appears in the Gospel reading for the First Sunday in Lent.

Numerology, or the symbolism of numbers, has always been present in Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments. In the three Synoptic Gospel accounts Christ fasted for forty days in the Wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13). Old Testament examples of forty “days” include Moses on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 24:18); Elijah’s journey on foot to Mt. Horeb (1 Kings 19:18); days (and nights) of rain while Noah guided the Ark (Genesis 7:4); and the period of repentance specified by Jonah to the residents of Nineveh (Jonah 3:4). Expressed in “Years” is the number of years of the exile of the Hebrew people in the wilderness of Sinai (Numbers 14:33).

There is no agreement among historians or Church officials as to when Lent came into the Church’s cycle of worship; however, since the season is based upon the date of Easter, it seems logical to assume that Lent came about after the Council of Nicea, 325 A.D., when a formula for determining the date of Easter was decided upon. Some historians believe that St. Ambrose of Milan (340-397 A.D.) and those who followed his example in the late 4th C. Others give some credit to Pope Leo the Great (circa 400-440 A.D.). As noted in the post for Ash Wednesday, Pope Gregory the Great (Pope from 590 to 604 A.D.) officially designated Ash Wednesday as the start of Lent in response to Eastern Church criticism that the Western Church did not have a full 40-day season of Lent. In the Roman Catholic practice, Sundays could not be fasting days, causing the dispute with the Eastern Church. Thus the season of Lent in the Western Church as 46 calendar days and 40 fasting days.

In the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, the Collect for Ash Wednesday must also be read on all Sundays in Lent until Palm Sunday (Sixth Sunday in Lent). Both Collects are shown below. The first, the Ash Wednesday Collect, was adapted by Archbishop Cranmer from the Sarum Rite service then in use in England. The second collect, for First Sunday in Lent, is an original composition for Lent by Archbishop Cranmer for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer based upon Ephesians 4:22-24.

Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou has 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.

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 honor and glory, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost,
one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle reading, 2 Corinthians 6:1-10, like many of the readings during the “Gesima” Sundays, emphasizes the Christian virtues. St. Paul emphasizes the value of patience, which is also called steadfastness, in all things. Verses 6-10 includes specific areas in which patience is important. In verse 2, he uses Isaiah 49:8, to claim that “the day of salvation” is now, meaning it is ever-present in the unknown time before Christ comes again. He emphasizes the power of God over all forms of adversity which the faithful may encounter. The secular world’s hostility to Christianity is the continuing subject of our video series, The War on Christianity, with episodes linked from the Digital Library page.

The Temptations of Christ, illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, Codex Aureus of Echternach, circa 1030-1050, Hs. 156142, folio 20v, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, Germany. Public Domain.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 4:1-11, is the evangelist’s account of the three temptations of Christ, in which Jesus calls the Devil by his given name, Satan. Satan uses Old Testament sources for imagery: Deuteronony 8:3 (stone into bread), Deuteronomy 6:13 (worship Satan instead of God) and Psalm 91:11, 12 (Guardian Angel). One of the most famous and revered hymns for Lent is Forty Day and Forty Nights (tune: Heinlein/Aus der Tier rufe Ich). My Podcast Homily for First Sunday in Lent is available using links on the Podcast Homilies page. The image above appears in a high-resolution version as Illustration No. 42 in The Gospel of Luke: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page. Another illustration of the temptations, presented in a different order, in a 17th C. Russian Orthodox icon, was used in Episode Two in our video series, Lent: the Season of Penitence. Episodes are linked from the Digital Library page.

As always, thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Septuagesima Sunday

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As I pointed out in my Blog posting for Septuagesima Sunday in A.D. 2024, posted on Jan. 24th, Septuagesima Sunday is now largely unique to the Anglican worship traditions. It is the first of three Sundays the names of which end in “gesima.” “Gesima” is derived from a Latin word meaning “days,” which itself is derived from Quadragesima, which means Forty Days, specifically, the Forty Days before Easter. In some Anglican usage the three days are called “Pre-Lent.” In the first millennium of Christianity in the Western Church, these forty days were known as Septuagesima Season. In all AIC Publications I call them the “Gesima” season, pronouncing it the American way (Jes-i-mah) rather than the English manner (Guess-eh-muh). The Roman Catholic Church, in a move followed by many Protestant liturgical denominations, did away with the season in the reforms begun in the late 1960s. The Church of England now calls the three Sundays the Third-, Second- and Sunday next- before Lent. In the Eastern Church tradition there is no comparable season except that the Sunday before the First Sunday in Lent is celebrated as Forgiveness Sunday. The Easter Church service includes a unique chant based on Psalm 69:18 and 19: “Turn not away thy face from thy child, for I am afflicted. Hear me speedily: Draw near unto my soul and deliver me.” (1928 B.C.P. text, based on the Septuagint translation prepared by the Blessed Alcuin of York during the reign of the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. For more on the relationship between Alcuin and Charlemagne, see my Blog posting for March 16, A.D. 2024). For a longer, more detailed and documented discussion of “Gesima” season, including its liturgical colors and the tradition of suspending singing the Gloria, watch Episode One in Gesima: the Pre-Lenten Season. Another resource is my Podcast homily for Septuagesima Sunday, which is also linked from the Podcast Homilies page.

The Collect for Septuagesima Sunday is an adaptation by Archbishop Cranmer from the Gregorian Sacramentary (10th C. based on collects attributed to, or which express doctrine interpreted by, Pope Gregory the Great (A.D. 590-604), especially the doctrines of the Holy Trinity and of Christ as our Saviour.

O LORD, we beseech thee favorably to hear the prayers of thy people;
that we, who are justly punished for our offenses, may be mercifully delivered by thy goodness,
for the glory of thy Name, through Jesus Christ our Saviour, who liveth
and reigneth, with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle reading, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, continues the teachings of St. Paul which were read in Epiphany season concerning the Christian virtues, here including diligence and temperance. As with the other Pauline epistles, the reading provided the Scriptural foundations which were later consolidated into Western Church doctrine during the 6th, 7th and 8th C. The Christian Virtues were also propounded by many theologians and writers in the Eastern Church. In the reading, St. Paul refers to the greater wisdom of the pursuit of heavenly (“imperishable”) values instead of earthly (perishable) values. The “imperishable” crown in verse 25 refers to salvation in the heavenly kingdom. Many of these ideas later formed the basis for the study discipline known as Christian Spirituality. The concept is discussed and illustrated in Christian Spirituality: An Anglican Perspective, available through my Amazon Author Central page. Full information about the volume is found on the AIC Bookstore page.

Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, center panel of three, from an illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, Codex Aureus of Echternach, produced at Echternach, then Germany, now Luxembourg, circa 1030-1050, Hs. 156142, folio 76r, Germanische Nationmuseum, Nuremberg, Germany. This image is from the version reproduced in the York Project’s DVD, 10,000 Masterworks, Public Domain.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 20:1-16, is St. Matthew’s unique account of the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, also known as the Parable of the First and the Last. Each of the men in the story agreed upon a fixed payment, a denarius, a Greek coin which is the equivalent of about $50 today. The same payment was promised by the vineyard owners no matter what time of day the person started, whether at Third Hour (or 9 A.M. in verse 3), or Sixth Hour and Ninth Hour (Noon and 3 P.M., respectively, in verse 5) or Eleventh Hour (5 P.M. in verse 6). At the end of the day, certain of those who were hired first raised the objection that those who worked only an hour got the same pay as those who started at daybreak. In verse 13, Jesus silenced the most vocal critics: “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with them [the landowners] for a denarius?” (NKJV text). In the final verse is the most important lesson is taught: “the last will be first and the first last. For many are called but few chosen.” This has been interpreted as a caution against self-righteousness. In practical terms, it teaches us that we should regard those who come late to the Church as just a valuable as lifelong members. The image above appears as Illustration No. 92 in our Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page. Details of the book are available on the AIC Bookstore page. My Podcast Homily for Septuagesima Sunday is linked from the Podcast Homilies page.

As always, thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

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For the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer adapted a Collect from the Gregorian Sacramentary. The Gregorian Sacramentary dates from about the 10th C. and is named in honor of Pope Gregory the Great (590-604 A.D.), one of the most influential Popes of the early Church in the Roman Catholic tradition. It is also known as the Sacramentary of Adrian I. To the many earlier petitions in the Collects for Epiphany season, Archbishop Cranmer’s Collect adds the Church Universal to the list of those for whom prayers are sought (which is the meaning of “beseech” in the opening line). The Collect also refers to certain divine attributes of God the Father incorporated into Christian doctrine, including “grace” and “power” (in other places called “might”).

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.

The Epistle reading, Colossians 3:12-17, is another from the epistles of St. Paul in which the Christian virtues are listed, in this reading adding compassion, kindness, humility, “long suffering,” forebearance, forgiveness and love (charity in the KJV text) and thankfulness for the Lord’s blessings upon mankind. In this reading, St. Paul uniquely refers to the spiritual and other benefits of “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Another prominent leader in the early Church, Athanasius of Alexandria, echoed the sentiment slightly differently in the 4th C.: “The act of singing affects harmony in the soul.” The Christian virtues, which were summarized in more or less final form by the 7th and 8th C. in both the Eastern and Western Church traditions, are discussed in the “Virtue(s)” entry in our Bookstore publication, Layman’s Lexicon: a Handbook of Scriptural, Theological and Liturgical Terms, available through my Amazon Author Central Page.

Parable of the Evil Enemy, oil on spruce panel altarpiece, Mompelgarder Altar, circa 1540, made for a Lutheran church in Mombeliard, France by Heinrich Fullmauer, based on Luther’s translation into German of the New Testament. Gemaldagalerie 870, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Public Domain.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 13:24-30, includes the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, which is also known as the Parable of the Evil Enemy in the German/Lutheran tradition. The illustration was used as Illustrati0n No. 72 in our Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, also available through my Amazon Author Central page. For full information about this volume and previously mentioned Bookstore Publications, visit the AIC Bookstore page. For more on Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, watch Episode Three in our video series, Epiphany: the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. The Podcast Homily for Fifth Sunday after Epiphany is linked from the Podcast Archive page. My Podcast Homily based on the Psalm reading for Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Psalms 112 and 113 is linked from the Podcast Homilies-Morning Prayer page.

Since Fifth Sunday after Epiphany is the final Sunday in the season in 2025 A.D., there will be no post for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany. The next Blog post will be focused on Septuagesima Sunday, the first of the three “Gesima” Sundays.

As always, thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Second Sunday after Epiphany

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For the Collect for Second Sunday after Epiphany Archbishop Thomas Cranmer adapted a Collect from the Gregorian tradition on the theme that all that is essential either in heaven or earth comes by the Grace of God the Father. One of those blessings is “peace,” that is, God’s peace. This form of peace is not and cannot be the result of any earthly tribunal or government agency. The Collect provides a basis for the Anglican belief that worship is corporate and not simply the individual prayers of those present.

O ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who dost govern all things in heaven and earth;
Mercifully hear the supplications of thy people and grant us thy peace all the days of our life. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Romans 12:6-12, is the second of four readings in Epiphany from St. Paul’s epistle to the Romans. Here St. Paul offers one of the earliest lists of what came to be called the Christian Virtures, in this case, Love, Humility, Patience, Compassion and Diligence. The concepts are further developed in the reading for Third Sunday after Epiphany. A list of the Christian virtues, and their opposites, the vices, was developed within the Church and was finalized around the 7th and 8th C. in the Western Church. These are discussed on pages 234-235 in Layman’s Lexicon: A Handbook of Scriptural, Theological and Liturgical Terms, an AIC Bookstore publication. The book is available through my Amazon Author Central page. Details are available on the AIC Bookstore page.

The Baptism of Christ. illumination in colored inks and gilt on parchment, Hilda Codex, circa 1030 A.D. Made for Hilda, Abbess of Meschede, Germany. Hs. 1640, Folio 075r, Universitats-und-Landesbibliothek Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany. CC0 license. The figure at lower right is the “spirit of the River Jordan.”

For the Gospel reading, the Archbishop chose Mark 1:1-11, the evangelist’s account of the work of John the Baptist, who is known in the Church not only as John the Forerunner but also as the “last prophet of the Old Testament,” his baptism of Jesus Christ interpreted as another manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles; and the presence at the event of God the Father (the voice from heaven) and the Holy Spirit (as the Dove). The illumination above was used as Illustration No. 18 in The Gospel of John: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page. The image depicts the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, fishes and plants in the river, the lower half of Christ’s body and the unique clothing of John the Baptist. The Hitda Codex is one of the few which were produced using purple coloration. The halo around Christ’s head features the Eastern Church style with two horizontal and two vertical bars for images of Christ. My Podcast Homily for this reading from the Gospel of Mark is also available.

As always, thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Epiphany and First Sunday after Epiphany

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Epiphany is a difficult season to explain, especially to those not familiar with the Anglican worship tradition. The word itself is often corrupted in popular usage. It most decidedly does not mean a sudden understanding or revelation of reality! In the Church context, Epiphany refers to the many ways in which Christ is revealed, or manifested, to the secular world. The name Epiphany is not Scriptural, so you cannot find it in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. It comes from the Greek, Epiphaneia, which means to manifest, or more poetically, to shine forth. Another theological word, Theophany (literally, Revelation), also comes in part from this same Greek word.

In A.D. 2025, Epiphany, which always falls on January 6th, appears in the calendar on a weekday, in this case on a Monday. The length of the season of Epiphany varies, depending upon the moveable date of Easter, the calculation formula for which was established at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.. In years when Easter is early, there may be as few as one Sunday after Epiphany. In years when Easter is late, there may be as many as six Sundays after Epiphany. The Western Church tradition, the season of Epiphany as a separate feast from Christmastide (the twelve days from Christmas Day to Jan. 5th), dates to the 4th C. and is traditionally associated with the reign of Pope Leo the Great (440 and 461 A.D.). In the Western Church the first “manifestation” of Christ to the Gentiles is to the Maji, or Wise Men, recounted in Matthew 2:1-12. In the Eastern Church tradition, the Baptism of Christ is celebrated first. In some other Protestant jurisdictions, including the Lutheran, Transfiguration falls within Epiphany season.

The Magi Follow the Star/Bring Their Gifts to the Holy Family, Evangelistar von Speyer, commonly called Codex Bruchsal1, Folio 13r, Badische Landesbibliothek, Karlsruhe, Germany. Also known as the Speyer Pericopes, the Codex Bruchsal was made circa 1220 A.D. for the Roman Catholic bishop of Bruchsal Cathedral, Karlsruhe, Germany. CC by SA-NC-4.0.

The Collect for Epiphany Day was adapted by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer from the Gregorian Sacramentary in the Roman Catholic tradition. In the Anglican prayer book tradition, when Epiphany Day does not fall on a Sunday, the Collect can be transferred to the First Sunday after Epiphany, since it falls within the Octave (8 days) of Epiphany Day. Many jurisdictions use both collects for First Sunday after Epiphany. Scholar Matthew Shepherd defines Epiphany Day as the end of Christmastide.

O GOD, 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.

The Epistle reading, Ephesians 3:1-12, is a mini-homily by St. Paul on the “mystery of Christ” (verse 4, 9) that is “now revealed” (verse 5) to mankind so that “the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise by the gospel” (verse 6). St. Paul also refers to the powers of heaven, including “principalities and powers,” (verse 10), which is traditionally understood as two of the nine “ranks” or “orders” of angels (See Ninth Day of Christmas in our Twelve Days of Christmas video series or listen to the companion podcast version).

The Gospel reading, Matthew 2:1-12, is St. Matthew’s account of the visit of “wise men from the east”(verse 1). “Wise men” is derived from a Greek word magi (also spelled maji). They have come to “worship” the newborn “King of the Jews” (verse 2), whose star they had seen in the East. In verses 3-6. St. Matthew records King Herod’s fear concerning the prophecy of the coming of a “Governor” (“Ruler” in the NKJV translation), based on Micah 5:2. In verses 8 & 9, St. Matthew records Herod’s order to find the child. In verse 11, he records that the Wise Men brought three gifts symbolic of Jesus’ royalty: gold, frankincense and myrrh. In the final verse (verse 12), he records a divinely inspired dream in which the Wise Men are warned not to return and their departure back to their own country.

The history of when and how the wise men acquired a number (three) and names (Melchior, Caspar or Gaspard, and Balthazar, and the story of the construction of the Cathedral of the Three Kings at Cologne, Germany, is discussed, with illustrations, in Episode Two in the AIC Christian Education Video series, Epiphany: the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. It is also discussed and illustrated in Chapter Two of the AIC Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, available using the link to my Amazon Author Central page. Full information about the book is available on the Bookstore page.

The Collect for First Sunday after Epiphany is another adapted by Archbishop Cranmer from the Gelasian Sacramentary. The theme is mankind’s dependence upon God for His Grace. Owing to the frequent appearance of Epiphany Day on a weekday, First Sunday after Epiphany is likely heard/read more often that the Collect, Epistle and Gospel for Epiphany Day. As noted above, local clergy can move these readings to First Sunday after Epiphany when Epiphany Day falls on a weekday.

LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people who call upon thee;
and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do,
and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Romans 12:1-5, is the first of four consecutive readings from Romans 12 and 13 in Epiphany season. St. Paul’s theme is the unity of the Church as one body under Christ, an understanding made especially clearly in verses 4 and 5.

The Gospel reading, Luke 2:41-51, is St. Luke’s unique account of the only glimpse in Scripture of the childhood of Jesus Christ, commonly called Teaching the Doctors in the Temple. It is the story of how the Blessed Joseph and the Blessed Mary found 12-year old Jesus, missing from their traveling party on the way back to Nazareth, conversing with the Temple scholars in Jerusalem, described by Christ as doing “my Father’s work.” The reading is featured on the Seventh Day of Christmas (Dec. 31) on the theme of “Family” in our Christian Education video series, The Twelve Days of Christmas (or you can listen to the Podcast version).

The image of the Wise Men/Magi following the star also appears as Illustration No. 26 and a spectacular double-page spread on facing pages of Adoration of the Magi, with the Wise Men from the Pericope Book of Henry II, c. 1007-1012 (Clm 4452, Folio 17v and 18R, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich, Germany), with the Wise Men on the left and the Blessed Virgin and Holy Child on the right. The latter two are Illustrations No. 27 and 28 in The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page. A Summary of the book is found on the AIC Bookstore page. Christian hymns and carols celebrating events during Epiphany season include We Three Kings of Orient Are (John Henry Hopkins) and Song of Thankfulnesss and Praise (8 verses, Christopher Wordsworth; tune: Monkland). Other traditional hymns are discussed in Episodes One, Two and Three of the Epiphany video series mentioned above.

As always, thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

A Correction & Plans for A.D. 2025

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Sharp-eyed readers will have noticed the error in the entry for the final Sunday in Christmastide. I did not see it myself until I sat down in church on Sunday. I suspending writing on Dec. 26th. Call it a “senior moment” that when writing was resumed for the last Sunday in the season it was the Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings for First Sunday after Christmas Day that were posted instead of the later Second Sunday after Christmas Day. Apologies.

Following review of all the blog posts for 2024 A.D., for the new year 2025 A.D. I’ve decided to continue with the old style of commentary on the Collect, Epistle and Gospel (C/E/G) readings for the seasons of Epiphany, Gesima, Lent & Easter and for Whitsunday. That will take readers/site visitors to the point in which C/E/G commentaries were begun in 2024 A.D. with the start of Trinitytide.

During these cold winter days of late December and early January, I have updated the AIC image database, now totaling over 2800 entries. All the uses in this Blog have now been noted in the Excel file. Later this month I expect to start work on the two remaining videos in the War on Christianity series. These two episodes will be focused on practical solutions for Christians living in an anti-Christian world.

Thanks as always for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Epiphany Eve (First Sunday after Christmas)

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Welcome to this first issue of Fr. Ron’s Blog in A.D. 2025. This Sunday, January 5th, has multiple distinctions. It is a) the eve of Epiphany, b) the First Sunday after Christmas and c) the Twelfth Day of Christmas. All twelve episodes of our video series, The Twelve Days of Christmas, are linked from the Welcome page and the Digital Library page. Podcast versions are linked from the Podcast Archive page.

In this week’s Blog post I discuss the Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings for this final Sunday in Christmastide, reserving discussion of Epiphany season, which begins on Monday, Jan. 6th, for next week’s post. My podcast homily for First Sunday after Christmas is linked from the Podcast Homilies page.

The Collect for First Sunday after Christmas Day in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer is not one which Archbishop Cranmer adapted from a Roman Catholic sacramentary. An original composition by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, it is the same Collect printed as the first of two Collects for Christmas Day. Scholars theorize that this unusual duplicate usage was intended to increase the likelihood that it would be read at least once during the busy Christmas season. The Collect expresses many concepts which are central to Anglican theology. My choice of illustrations from Christian art is one of my personal favorites. I use it on my new Mac Book Pro in the “Start” page.

The Nativity of Our Lord, mosaic, south wall, Nave, Capella Palatina, Palermo, Sicily. The cathedral was begun under the patronage of Roger II, the first Norman King of Sicily, in 1132 A.D. and was dedicated on Palm Sunday, 1140 A.D. The mosaics were added between 1140 and 1170 A.D. The legends jn the mosaic are written in Koine Greek, commonly known as New Testament Greek. The York Project: 10,000 Masterworks. Public Domain. Image lightened in Photoshop.

ALMIGHTY GOD, who hast given us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him,
and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin; Grant that we being regenerate,
and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit;
through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit ever,
one God, world without end. Amen.

This image of the Nativity mosaic was used as Illustration No. 8 focused on “Angels in the Nativity Accounts,” in the AIC Bookstore Publication, Christmastide: The Nativity of Our Lord, available using the links to my Amazon Author Central page. It also appears in the AIC Video series, The Twelve Days of Christmas, in the episode for First Day of Christmas – Dec. 25th (linked from the Welcome and Digital Library pages).

The Epistle reading, Galatians 4:1-7, is an essay by St. Paul’s on the theological concept of sonship and adoption by grace to which Archbishop Cranmer referred in the Collect for the occasion. After alluding to the context of these events being part of God the Father’s plan (“In the fulness of time”), St. Paul wrote in verses 4b and 5: “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons.”

The Gospel lesson, Matthew 1:18-25, is St. Matthew’s account of the Nativity of Christ, one of the sources for the mosaic shown above. The account follows St. Matthew’s genealogy flowing through the mostly male line of Jewish kings and includes his account of the angelic dream in which St. Joseph was reassured concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary and emphasizes St. Matthew’s theme of the life of Christ as fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. I discuss and illustrate all three dream sequences of Matthew in Part Three, Christmas: The Nativity of Our Lord, available using the link to my Amazon Author Central page.

As always, thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things.

Second Sunday in Advent

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For Second Sunday in Advent Archbishop Thomas Cranmer created a new Collect in which he stressed themes of the new English Church, which had endorsed the effort to create a complete English language Bible. The “Great Bible of 1539,” commonly called the Coverdale Bible, printed in Europe under the authority of the Church of England, made the Old and New Testaments available in the common language of the English people. Whether the pr0ject ever achieved the stated and lofty objective of putting a copy in every Church in England is debatable. Cranmer’s new Collect begins with the only reference in the Book of Common Prayer to God the Father by the title Blessed Lord. In it the Archbishop imposes upon every Christian a duty, against all the forces allied against them, to read and study and contemplate internally the meaning of the words of the Bible and the true message of the new season of Advent. His phrase, “patience and comfort” is an adaptation of Romans 15:4, which is part of the Epistle reading for the day.

BLESSED Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning;
Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them,
that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast,
the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

God the Father and God the Son, miniature illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, Oxford Psalter, 1st Qtr., 13th C. before 1200 A.D., Ms. Royal 1 D X, f. 98, British Library, London, England. This represents an interesting way of avoiding the early Church prohibition against images of God the Father by showing them together as duplicate images of Jesus Christ (“He who has seen me has seen the Father”). John 14:9 NKJV.


The Archbishop’s selection for the Epistle, Romans 15:4-13, especially verses 5, 6 and 7 (“Now the God of patience and consolation” through “even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” was part of St. Paul’s plea to both Jewish and Gentile Christians for unity in the common faith. Bible scholars have noted that in verses 9-12 St. Paul quotes from the four “pillars” of Judaism: the Law (the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament), the Histories, the Psalms and the Prophets. This system of organizing the Old Testament into four parts is discussed and illustrated in Part One, The Writing Prophets of the Old Testament, available at my Amazon Author Central page.

Christ in Majesty, illumination in colors and gold on parchment, Codex Amiatinus, folio 796v, made at the Benedictine monastery, Wearmouth-Barrow, Northumbria, England, circa 700 A.D. for an edition of the Vulgate Bible. The Codex has been held at the Laurentian Library, Florence, Italy, since 1786. The four evangelists are depicted in the corners of the image. The central image shows Christ seated between two archangels, likely Gabriel and Michael. Christ in Majesty is rendered in Latin as Maiestas Domini 

The Gospel reading, Luke 21:25-33, includes reference to details of the promised Second Coming and the Parable of the Fig Tree. The concept of Christ coming in clouds of power and glory is the basis for the images known in the Western Church as “Christ in Majesty.” In the Byzantine/Eastern Church tradition, a related concept, expressed in art depicting Christ enthroned, is known as “Christ Pantokrator,” literally, Ruler of the Universe. Both versions often depict visual understandings of “signs” (verses 25-26) and “in a cloud” (verses 27-28). I discuss the reading in the context on my Second Sunday in Advent homily theme of “Fire of Judgment” in my Podcast Homily for Second Sunday in Advent. In the AIC Christian Education Video on Advent season, the readings are discussed in the episode for First and Second Sundays in Advent. The “fire of judgment” is a common theme in both the Old and New Testaments. The word “fire” is referred to 53 times in the New King James text. Two excellent examples are Psalm 97:3 in which “fire” goes before the Lord and Ps. 104:4 in which His ministers are called a “holy fire.”

In addition to these seasonal Blog posts I have been working on improvements to several parts of this site. My objective is to improve site navigation by providing internal links. The changes start at the bottom of the Home/Welcome page in the LEARN YOUR WAY section. In addition to these adjustments I call your attention to additional upcoming seasonal videos. For the final seven days of Advent (Dec. 18th to Dec. 24th) we will provide Home page links to The Great “O” Antiphons series and Lessons and Carols for Christmas Eve. Just before Christmas Day I will provide active links to our Christmas season series (3 episodes) and the Twelve Days of Christmas series for Dec. 25th through Jan. 5th.

As always, thank you for your interest and support. We do appreciate those of you who have become followers/subscribers to Fr. Ron’s Blog. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

First Sunday in Advent

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In the Anglican worship tradition, First Sunday in Advent marks the start of a new Church Year, unrelated to the traditional Western calendar and the Roman Catholic tradition in which years begin on January 1. For the occasion Archbishop Thomas Cranmer composed a new Collect into which he incorporated the details based on the theology of the Pauline epistles (Romans 13:12; Ephesians 6:10-20) and the Evangelists John and Luke (John 1:1-5; Luke 2:1-20). In this new Collect, the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury emphasized the dual themes of Advent season: Preparation – not just for one event, the birth of Christ our Saviour – but also for His promised coming again. In the AIC Bookstore Publication, Christian Spirituality: an Anglican Perspective, I offered several examples of St. Paul’s unique understanding of “spiritual warfare” using martial terms, such as “armor of light.” The Archbishop also chose to emphasize the humble manner in which the Son of God entered the human world. The book, like all the AIC Bookstore Publications, is available through my Amazon Author Central page. Note that in the English tradition, “quick,” a word no longer in common usage, refers to those currently alive and thus applies no matter the timing of the Second Coming.

ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness
and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life,
in which thy son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility;
that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal,
through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost,
now and ever. Amen.

Instead of focusing on the appointed readings (Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 21:1-13) or engaging in the timeless and pointless debate over the decision of the Prayer Books authors to use the Gospel account of the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on First Sunday in Advent instead of Palm Sunday, the focus here is on possible homily themes for First Sunday in Advent plus details and music common in Anglican celebrations of the season of Advent.

My Podcast Homily for First Sunday in Advent is The Coming of the Light, the first of four themed Homilies for Advent Season. In other AIC rescources, the AIC Christian Education Video series on Advent, the First and Second Sunday in Advent are discussed and illustrated in Episode One.

Chi Rho and Wreath, bas relief on a lidless sarcophagus, circa 360 A.D. (excavated circa 1817-1821), Museo Pio Christiano (Vatican Museum), Rome, Italy. Public domain.

Advent is not Christmas, nor an abbreviated version of Christmas. In traditional Anglican parishes, the season is celebrated first by what is commonly known and the “greening” of the altar. This refers not only to the addition of seasonal greenery but also the avoidance of commercial products. In the most traditional parishes, the “greening” is accomplished either directly by parishioners. To avoid violating the tradition of not using Christmas decorations before Christmas Eve, many parishes use chrismons, which are symbols of Christian themes. In the illustration above one can see the Chi Rho symbol, in this case placed inside a wreath. Traditionally, Christmas-based hymns and carols are not used until Christmas Eve, when the Lessons and Carols for Christmas Eve office is read and sung This service will be discussed in association with the blog post for Fourth Sunday in Advent. The liturgical color for Advent season is the same penitential purple also used during Lent.

In the post for the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity, I explained that Advent is fixed feast which always begins on the Sunday closest to the Feast Day of St. Andrew, Nov. 30. This means that the earlier possible date for First Sunday in Advent is Nov. 27th and the latest possible date is Dec. 3rd. During Advent season it is traditional for Anglican parishes to display an Advent Wreath, which features five candles, four around the outer ring and a larger central candle. Three of the four in the ring are purple, with the fourth, reserved for the Fourth Sunday in Advent, is white. The late Archdeacon of the United Episcopal Church of North America, the Rev. George McClellan, composed an Advent Wreath Ceremony with themed readings and prayers for each of the four Sunday in Advent. In Fr. George’s memory, I used his text in the AIC Bookstore Publication, Occasional Services for Anglican Worship. In another AIC Bookstore Publication, The St. Chrysostom Hymnal, I included several traditional hymns suitable of use during Advent. Hymn 3 is Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates (George Weisel, 1642 A.D.), Hymn 4 is The Advent of Our King (Charles Coffin, 1786 A.D.) and Hymn 8 is O Word That Goest Forth on High (Latin hymn, 7th C.). Both books are also available through my Amazon Author Central page.

As always, thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Twentieth Sunday after Trinity

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For Twentieth Sunday after Trinity the Collect is another of Archbishop Cranmer’s adaptations from the Gelasian Sacramentary (Paris, c. 750 A.D.). In this case the original Cranmer collect has been modified twice, first for the 1662 Book of Common Prayer in which the Latin phrase “being propitiated” was replaced with “of thy bountiful goodness,” and, in 1789 A.D., in the first American Book of Common Prayer, the collect getting a new ending (“which thou commandest”). The word “cheerfully,” which replaced “with free hearts,” means willingly. For this change and more on the many changes made in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, consult Massey Shepherd, Jr.’s landmark volume, The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary, available online for download in pdf format. Shepherd comments upon the history and other details of each Collect, Epistle and Gospel reading.

O ALMIGHTY and most merciful God, of thy bountiful goodness keep us, we beseech thee,
from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready both in body and soul,
may cheerfully accomplish those things which thou commandest; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Ephesians 5:15-21, is from the next chapter in the canonical order of the Pauline epistles, once again to the congregation at Ephesus which the “Apostle to the Gentiles” established on his Second Missionary Journey. These seven verses offer St. Paul’s advice to Christians to let themselves be “filled with the Holy Spirit,” rather than being “drunk with wine” and include one his most memorable phrases describing the joy of the Christian faith: “speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” In the same vein, one of the greatest saints of the early Church, Athanasius of Alexandria, wrote in the 4th C. that “the art of singing effects harmony in the soul.” Many Anglican organizations include an appointed Psalm reading and Old Testament lesson placed just before the Epistle reading in Holy Communion. The participatory, that is, verse and response, reading of the Psalm should be part of every Anglican service and not just the Morning and Evening Prayer services.

St. Matthew, illumination in colors and gold on parchment, produced in Ireland or England, circa 800 A.D., The Book of Kells, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. The image reflects the traditional interpretation of the vision in Ezekiel 1:4-12, with Matthew shown as Man/Angel. The volume is one of the finest examples of Christian art in the Western Church tradition.
Parable of the Great Supper, etching/engraving, Jan Luyken, Bowyer Bible, published 1840, Bolton Library, Bolton, England. This image depicting verses 11-13, with image by Phillip Medhurst and text by Harry Kossuth, is from a 2018 digital edition of their Early Scenes in the Life of Christ.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 22:1-14, records another event in the week before the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Christ, being St. Matthew’s record of the Parable of the Wedding Feast, also known as the Parable of the Great Supper. The event, also recorded in Luke 14:15-24 took place just two days before Maundy Thursday. This is the sixth of eight readings from St. Matthew’s Gospel in the Whitsunday/Trinitytide cycle. There have been many explanations of the meaning of the phrases “highways,” which are searched for those who are worthy. Jesus provided an explanation in the final verse. Perhaps lost in the modern world is the tradition that the host provided the Wedding Garment which the guest in question was not wearing. The guest was confronted by the “king,” who pronounced “Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and gnashing of teeth.” Jesus closed the address with a warning, putting these words into the mouth of the offended king: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (verse 14). The image of St. Matthew from the Book of Kells was used in Episode Eight in the AIC Christian Education Video series, Trinitytide: the Teaching Season. Another image by Jan Luyken from the Bowyer Bible, illustrating the opening verses in the Gospel reading, appeared as Illustration No. 80 in the AIC Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of Luke: Annotated & Illustrated. The book is available in paperback at my Amazon Author Central page.

As noted many times in earlier posts, the AIC web site offers teaching materials in all three categories as part of our WATCH | LISTEN | READ initiative. Curiously, the subject of individual learning preferences, that is, whether one prefers the written or spoken word or a visual version came up during a conversation with a nurse during my doctor’s visit this month. The offering of all three media is made possible by donations and by the book royalties for AIC Bookstore Publications which are contributed to the AIC. To enhance ease of use, all three media are linked from tabs at the top and bottom of all pages on this site. Please note that, depending upon the subject matter, videos are linked from either the Digital Library page (for the seasonal and topical videos) and the Bible Study/New Testament pages (for the Gospel and Revelation series).

One final note. Be of good cheer and do not let the bias of the corporate world and the media affect your confidence in, and reliance upon, traditional Church teachings. Your best defense against their c0mbined assault on Christianity — remembering that the Church has been under attack since the 1st C.– is to attend a local church where you can, receive Holy Communion regularly, and, when neither is possible, read Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer or the daily “Hours” offices (First, Third, Sixth, Ninth hours plus Vespers and Compline), available in our publication, Hear Us, O Lord: Daily Prayers for the Laity.

As always, thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!