Homily for the Third Sunday after Trinity—28 June 2020
The Reverend Gene Packwood
Jesus
is the first of two words I have for you today—as in Jesus Christ our Lord—The One in whom God’s free gift of eternal life comes to us according to St Paul in today’s reading from Romans (Ro6.23). The only one through whom that gift comes, as it happens. St Peter makes it clear in Acts chapter 4—not one of our readings for today, but to the point—when he wrote
there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men and women by which we must be saved.
Acts 4.12
No other name. No one else, but Jesus only.
Well that’s not very open and inclusive someone might say—and people do. So, George Carey, three Archbishops of Canterbury ago, once wrote that
This is the scandal of particularity with which we must live. Christians cannot yield this un-negotiable element in their faith. We believe that the God of the universe longs to reveal Himself and He does in many different ways and forms, through religion, through reason, art, and human intelligence, but each and every one of these ways is limited. Only in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ can God be fully known, worshipped, and obeyed.
The Most Reverend George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury, “Archbishop’s Voice,” The Anglican Digest, Pentecost 1992, p63
Jesus only.
So—more from Archbishop Carey:
Let’s not have any truck with bland theology, that Jesus is just one option among many. Dialogue with other faiths is very important, but I can respect another faith and a believer of that faith by saying I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. Do with that truth what you may, but my job is to say that to you.
Ibid.
It’s our job, too, and just as the Archbishop wrote, Jesus, however scandalously particular, must always be the first, the most important, the defining Word on our lips and in the things we do and the places we go.
Which leads me to the second word for today. It appears six times in our Gospel reading. It’s closely associated with Jesus. The word is WELCOME. Jesus is God’s Word of welcome into the eternal life we read about in Romans this morning. Just as Archbishop Carey wrote, our job as Anglican Christians is to say, in all our words and deeds, in our relationships and consumption, in the way we live, as winsomely as we can, that we believe Jesus is the only way of salvation— welcome! Come on in. Come with us. Taste and see how good He is (Ps34.8). Welcome to the freedom and relief of a forgiven life—in Jesus (Lk1.77). Welcome to the richest, most satisfying, most challenging, fullest abundant life there is—in Jesus (John10.10).
As you live your welcoming life—welcoming Jesus into your own life and welcoming others into His—do it with absolute confidence that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere
2Cor2.14
Always. Sweet smelling. Welcoming. Even across the social distances visited upon us these days—perhaps especially across those “distances”—spreading the heady, heart-warming, heavenly fragrance of the knowledge of our unique and scandalously particular Lord and Saviour.
Two words which go together for today. Welcome, and
I’m wondering if anyone recognizes the face of this kind-eyed, elderly gentleman?
It belongs to Terry Waite, who back in 1980 was appointed by Robert Runcie to serve as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs. In 1985, Terry Waite accompanied the Archbishop of Canterbury on a visit to Canada, that included a stop here in Regina (does anybody remember?) and Edmonton, where I was able to attend a special diocesan service to mark the occasion.
In his role, Terry Waite was involved in negotiating the release of Anglican clergy and British Nationals held hostage in the Middle East. But Terry Waite was himself kidnapped in Beirut in 1987 by members of the Islamic Jihad, and spent the next four years in solitary confinement, before finally being released. Throughout those years, a member of the chapel community that I was a part of then, would constantly intercede for Terry at our weekly Eucharist. “Taken on Trust” was the title of the book Terry wrote about his experiences.
In an interview in 2013, Terry Waite was asked how he coped during all this time in isolation in a dark cell.
He said,
You have got to be able to discipline your mind, because everything is lived from within. There is no external stimulation. There is no books, no one to speak with, no one to feed your identity back to you.
I was fortunate, firstly, because through life I had been an avid reader and therefore I had built up a store of books, poetry and prose in my memory. Secondly, I’d been brought up as an Anglican—I’m an Anglican Christian—and had been brought up with the Book of Common Prayer. The language of that was very, very helpful. I had unconsciously memorised it as a choir boy. If I can just give you an example of what I mean from one of the great old collects of the prayer book:
Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night . . .
That is very, very meaningful when you’re sitting in darkness. That collect not only has meaning, but it also has poetry and rhythm. There is a relationship between identity, language and prayer; somehow they help you hold together at your centre.
Some people may find this strange, but I never engaged in what is called extemporary prayer during that time. I felt that if I did I would be begin to, sort of, go down a one-way track, reveal my own psychological vulnerability and just get into the business of saying, ‘Oh God, get me out of here’—which isn’t prayer at all. That’s just being like a child. So by falling back on that which I knew, the Prayer Book and the balance of that, I was able to keep a bit more balance in my mind and also maintain some degree of inner balance… (1)
Well, it’s been 15 weeks since we began our own “isolation” under COVID, and 15 weeks since we dusted off and started praying through The Order of Service for Morning Prayer from our own Book of Common Prayer. Some of us, perhaps, are getting a little tired of this, but then again, perhaps some of us are finding the poetry and rhythm of the prayers are working their way not only into our hearts, but our memories, giving us an anchor for the soul in these tumultuous times. As Terry Waite discovered, “ life is lived from within” and “there is a relationship between identity, language, and prayer that help you hold together at your centre…and also maintain some degree of inner balance.”
With every prayer and blessing, from “my cell” to “yours”, as together we lift up holy hands, hearts and voices in prayer and praise to the Lord,
Sermon for Trinity 2 – June 21, 2020 Beth Christianson
When I was a teenager, there was a phrase we heard a lot in youth-oriented church ministries: being “on fire for Christ.” Being on fire for Christ meant going to youth group every Friday, and showing up for Sunday School every week at 10 am. It meant going to the various youth retreat weekends on offer throughout the year, and going to Bible camp in the summers. It meant signing up for short-term missions. Being on fire for Christ meant going to the front of the church when the worship band was playing to sing and dance, raise your hands and speak in tongues. Being on fire for Christ meant going back from these mountaintop experiences to your school and telling your classmates about how cool God is, and how cool you were by association. Being on fire for Christ meant being fearless. You couldn’t care if anyone was looking at you, or talking about you. But that’s easy, right? What teenager cares about those things anyway?
St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church, Trinity 1, June 14, 2020, Matthew 9.35- 10.23. Canon Claude Schroeder
Today on this the First Sunday after Trinity where we are embarking on the long season of Trinity in our church calendar, which is the season devoted towards the long, slow, patient work of growing in our knowledge and love of God, who is “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” This as we learned last Sunday, is who God is, and who it is that we have come to love and adore.
St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church, Trinity Sunday, June 7, 2020 The Revd. Canon Claude Schroeder
In today’s Gospel lesson we come to the climactic moment in St. Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus, after His Resurrection from the dead, appears to the disciples one last time, and says to them, “ All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always unto the end of the age.” (Matthew 28. 18-20)
This is what in the Church is known as “The Great Commission”, the task Jesus has given us to draw others into a relationship of faith and obedience to Himself. How do we do this? The task of making disciples involves two things: baptism, which only ever happens once, whether as a child or as an adult, and it involves teaching, which begins hopefully in childhood and continues for the rest of our lives so that we might grow up and mature in our faith.
Alleluia! sing to Jesus! His the scepter, his the throne. Alleluia! His the triumph, his the victory alone. Hark! the songs of peaceful Zion thunder like a mighty flood. Jesus out of every nation has redeemed us by his blood.
Alleluia! not as orphans are we left in sorrow now; Alleluia! He is near us, faith believes, nor questions how; Though the cloud from sight received him when the forty days were o’er shall our hearts forget his promise, ‘I am with you evermore’?
Alleluia! bread of angels here on earth our food and stay! Alleluia! here the sinful flee to thee from day to day. Intercessor, Friend of sinners, earth’s Redeemer, hear our plea. Where the songs of all the sinless sweep across the crystal sea.
Alleluia! King eternal, Lord omnipotent we own; Alleluia! born of Mary, earth your footstool, heaven your throne. As within the veil you entered, robed in flesh, our great High Priest. Thou on earth both Priest and Victim in the Eucharistic Feast.
Sentence of Scripture.
The love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given unto us. Romans 5.5.
The Minister,
DEARLY beloved brethren, the Scripture moveth us in sundry places to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness; and that we should not dissemble nor cloke them before the face of Almighty God our heavenly Father; but confess them with an humble, lowly, penitent, and obedient heart; to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same, by his infinite goodness and mercy. And although we ought at all times humbly to acknowledge our sins before God; yet ought we most chiefly so to do, when we assemble and meet together to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at his hands, to set forth his most worthy praise, to hear his most holy Word, and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary, as well for the body as the soul.Wherefore I pray and beseech you, as many as are here present, to accompany me with a pure heart and humble voice unto the throne of the heavenly grace.
ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father, We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep, We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts, We have offended against thy holy laws, We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults. Restore thou them that are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesu our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.
For Pardon through the Cross.
ALMIGHTY Father, who of thy great love to men didst give thy dearly beloved Son to die for us; Grant that through his Cross our sins may be put away, and remembered no more against us, and that, cleansed by his Blood, and mindful of his sufferings, we may take up our cross daily, and follow him in newness of life, until we come to his everlasting kingdom; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
OUR Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.
O Lord, open thou our lips; And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.
O God, make speed to save us; O Lord, make haste to help us.
GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Praise ye the Lord;The Lord’s Name be praised.
Alleluia. God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son, O Come, let us worship. Alleluia
The Pentecost Anthems
O SING unto the LORD a new song; / for he hath done marvellous things. Psalm 98. 1.
Christ, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, / hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. Acts 2. 33.
And because ye are sons, / God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Galatians 4. 6.
We all, with open face / beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, Are changed into the same image from glory to glory, / even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3. 18.
GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, / and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, / world without end. Amen.
THE FIRST LESSON Acts 2:1-21
1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Psalm 104. 25-36
O LORD, how manifold are thy works! / in wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy creatures.
So is the great and wide sea also, / wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
There go the ships; and there is Leviathan, / whom thou hast formed to take his pastime therein.
THESE wait all upon thee, / that thou mayest give them meat in due season.
When thou givest it to them they gather it; / and when thou openest thy hand they are filled with good.
When thou hidest thy face they are troubled: / when thou takest away their breath they die, and are turned again to their dust.
When thou lettest thy breath go forth they are made; / and thou renewest the face of the earth.
LET the glorious majesty of the LORD endure for ever; / let the LORD rejoice in his works.
The earth shall tremble at the look of him; / if he do but touch the hills they shall smoke.
I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: / I will praise my God while I have my being.
And so shall my words please him: / my joy shall be in the LORD.
PRAISE thou the LORD, O MY soul. / Praise the LORD.
THE SECOND LESSON:1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
3b And no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
TE DEUM LAUDAMUS.
WE praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting. To thee all Angels cry aloud, the Heavens and all the Powers therein. To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts; Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory. The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee; The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise thee; The noble army of Martyrs praise thee; The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee, The Father, of an infinite Majesty; Thine honourable, true, and only Son; Also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.
THOU art the King of Glory, O Christ. Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father. When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin’s womb. When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father. We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge. We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. Make them to be numbered with thy Saints, in glory everlasting.
O LORD, save thy people, and bless thine heritage; Govern them, and lift them up for ever. Day by day we magnify thee; And we worship thy Name, ever world without end. Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin. O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us. O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us, as our trust is in thee. O Lord, in thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded.
THE HOLY GOSPEL: John 7.37-39. R./ Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, 38 and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.'” 39 Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified. R./ Praise be to thee, O Christ.
BENEDICTUS. ST LUKE 1:68
BLESSED be the Lord God of Israel; / for he hath visited and redeemed his people; And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us, / in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets, / which have been since the world began; That we should be saved from our enemies, / and from the hands of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers, / and to remember his holy covenant; To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham, / that he would grant us That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies / might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, / all the days of our life.
AND thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest: / for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people / for the remission of their sins; Through the tender mercy of our God; / whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us; To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, / and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, / and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, / world without end. Amen.
Then shall be said or sung the Confession of the Faith, called the Apostles’ Creed.
I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting. Amen.
And after the Creed these prayers following, the Minister first pronouncing:
The Lord be with you; And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.
OUR Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Amen.
O Lord, show thy mercy upon us; And grant us thy salvation.
O Lord, save the Queen; And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.
Endue thy Ministers with righteousness; And make thy chosen people joyful.
O Lord, save thy people; And bless thine inheritance.
Give peace in our time, O Lord; And evermore mightily defend us.
O God, make clean our hearts within us; And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
The Collect for Pentecost Sunday
O GOD, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by the sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
The Second Collect, for Peace.
O GOD, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom: Defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defence, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Third Collect, for Grace.
O LORD our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day: Defend us in the same with thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings may be ordered by thy governance, to do always that is righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer for the Clergy and People.
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift: Send down upon our Bishops and Clergy, and all Congregations committed to their charge, the healthful Spirit of thy grace; and that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.
HYMN: Come down, O Love Divine,
Come down, O love divine,
seek thou this soul of mine, and visit it with thine own ardor glowing; O Comforter, draw near, within my heart appear, and kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing.
O let it freely burn, til earthly passions turn to dust and ashes in its heat consuming; And let thy glorious light shine ever on my sight, and clothe me round, the while my path illuming.
Let holy charity mine outward vesture be, and lowliness become mine inner clothing; True lowliness of heart, which takes the humbler part, and o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.
And so the yearning strong, with which the soul will long, shall far outpass the power of human telling; For none can guess its grace, till they become the place where-in the Holy Spirit takes its dwelling.
Come, Holy Spirit, from heaven shine forth with your glorious light. Veni Sancte Spiritus
Come, Father of the poor, come, generous Spirit, come, light of our hearts. Veni Sancte Spiritus
Come from the four winds, O Spirit, come breath of God; disperse the shadows over us, renew and strengthen your people. Veni Sancte Spiritus
Most kindly warming light! Enter the inmost depths of our hearts, for we are faithful to you. Without your presence we have nothing worthy, nothing pure. Veni Sancte Spiritus
You are only comforter, Peace of the soul. In the heat you shade us; in our labour you refresh us, and in trouble you are our strength. Veni Sancte Spiritus
On all who put their trust in you and receive you in faith, shower all your gifts. Grant that they may grow in you and persevere to the end. Give them lasting joy! Veni Sancte Spiritus
Occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings
Let us pray for our Parish of St. Mary’s
O GOD the Holy Ghost, Sanctifier of the faithful: Sanctify this parish by thine abiding presence. Bless those who minister in holy things. Enlighten the minds of thy people more and more with the light of the everlasting Gospel. Bring erring souls to the knowledge of God our Saviour; and those who are walking in the way of life, keep stedfast unto the end. Give patience to the sick and afflicted, and renew them in body and soul. Guard from forgetfulness of thee those who are strong and prosperous. Increase in us thy manifold gifts of grace, and make us all to be fruitful in good works; O blessed Spirit, whom with the Father and the Son together we worship and glorify, one God, world without end. Amen.
A Prayer for all Conditions of men.
O GOD, the Creator and Preserver of all mankind, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of men; that thou wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto all nations, especially for….(particular intentions may be added here)
More especially we pray for the good estate of the Catholic Church; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life, especially for ….….(particular intentions may be added here)
Finally we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those, who are any ways afflicted or distressed in mind, body, or estate; especially for …(particular intentions may be added here)
that it may please thee to comfort and relieve them, according to their several necessities, giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen.
A General Thanksgiving,
ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, We thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks For all thy goodness and loving-kindness To us and to all men; [* particularly to those who desire now to offer up their praises and thanksgivings.] We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; But above all for thine inestimable love In the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; For the means of grace, And for the hope of glory. And we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, That our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, And that we show forth thy praise, Not only with our lips, but in our lives; By giving up ourselves to thy service, And by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, To whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
Ephesians 3. 20, 21
NOW unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14.
THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.
THE HYMN: I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say.
I Heard the voice of Jesus say “Come unto Me, and rest Lay down, thou weary one, lay down Thy head upon My breast” I came to Jesus as I was Weary and worn and sad I found in Him a resting place And He has made me glad
I heard the voice of Jesus say “Behold, I freely give The living water thirsty one Stoop down, and drink, and live” I came to Jesus, and I drank Of that life giving stream My thirst was quenched, my soul revived And now I live in Him
I heard the voice of Jesus say “I am this dark world’s Light Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise And all thy day be bright” I looked to Jesus, and I found In Him my Star, my Sun And in that Light of life I’ll walk Till trav’lling days are done.
St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church Canon Claude Schroeder
Today on this 50th day after Easter, the Church celebrates the wonderful and joyful Feast of Pentecost, although it is for us a slightly bittersweet occasion, given the fact that we are not able to physically celebrate together. That is the bitter part. What is the sweet part? The sweet part is that “God has shed His love abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit is that He has given us.” (Romans 5.5.) It is the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts that causes us to cry out to God, “Abba, Father! So that you are not longer a slave- (to sin and the fear of death), but a child, a child of God, if a child then also an heir.” (Galatians 4,6,7) And so, wherever we are this morning, in this we rejoice, and in this we celebrate.