Patrick Comerford
Next Sunday, 29th September 2019, is the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XV).
The Continuous readings: Jeremiah 32: 1-3a, 6-15; Psalm 91: 1-6, 14-16; I Timothy 6: 6–19; Luke 16: 19-31. There is a link to the readings HERE.
The Paired readings: Amos 6: 1a, 4-7; Psalm 146; I Timothy 6: 6–19; Luke 16: 19-31. There is a link to the readings HERE.
That Sunday is also the feast of Saint Michael and All Angels. The readings for that feastday are:
Genesis 28: 10-17; Psalm 103: 19-22; Revelation 12: 7-12; John 1: 47-51.
This posting is divided into three sections:
1, Sunday 29 September 2019 as the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XV).
2, Sunday 29 September 2019 as the feast of Saint Michael and All Angels.
3, Sunday 29 September and resources for the Season of Creation.
Part 1, Sunday 29 September 2019 as the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XV).
Jeremiah 32: 1-3a, 6-15:
King Nebuchadnezzar II (‘Nebuchadrezzar’) of Babylon made King Zedekiah the puppet ruler of Judah in 597 BC, so it is now 587. Most of the preceding poems are about the restoration of Israel, but in this passage Jeremiah speaks of the future of Judah.
When the Egyptian armies arrived in 588 and lifted the siege of Jerusalem, the people thought that their deliverance had come. But when Jeremiah warned them that their optimism was without foundation, he was arrested on his way home, imprisoned and then confined to house arrest.
Once the Egyptians left, the Babylonians put Jerusalem under siege again.
Jeremiah’s cousin Hanamel visits him and asks him to buy his field in order to keep the land in the family. The deed of sale is signed, sealed and witnessed as if Judah is free. Jeremiah’s action symbolises his hope in the future and a time when people will be free once again be free to buy and sell property, to build houses, to till fields and to plant vineyards.
Psalm 91: 1-6, 14-16:
In this psalm, a priest or a prophet speaks in the Temple and depicts God is depicted as a bird protecting the young from a hunter or fowler, protecting faithful and those who trust in God: ‘He shall cover you with his wings and you shall be safe under his feathers, are protected from demonic perils’ (verse 4).
In the second section (verses 14-16), God speaks through a Temple official, confirming the teaching of the earlier verses. Knowing God’s name and understanding his ways includes seeking his help from him: he will help those who love him and know on his name.
I Timothy 6: 6-19:
This reading is the concluding part of Saint Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Having warned against those who teach anything other than the faith passed down from Christ and the Apostles, he now says that there is great spiritual gain in teaching the truth, and those who do so are content with enough to pay for necessities such as food and clothing. On the other hand, false teachers want to be rich, hold senseless and harmful desires, and lead people astray.
He addresses Timothy as a ‘man of God,’ and urges him to ‘fight the good fight of the faith,’ and to ‘keep the commandment’ until Christ returns again. As for the rich members of the community, they are not to be haughty or to put their trust in their wealth and money. All these things are God’s own gifts, to be shared with others, for generosity such as this lays the foundations for the future.
Bonifacio Veronese, Dives and Lazarus, 1540-50. Oil on canvas, Gallerie dell’Accademia, VeniceLuke 16: 19-31:
As we continue to read from Saint Luke’s Gospel, we hear a well-known parable about a rich man who feasts sumptuously and a poor man who begs at his gate each day.
The rich wears fine clothes of purple, and fine linen. Although we associate purple with the seasons of Advent and Lent and sometimes with funerals, purple is not a penitential colour, not wis it a colour of mourning at that time. It is a rich, royal imperial colour, originally derived from a very rare source. Πορφύρα (porphyra), the rare purple dye from Tyre, could command its weight in silver and was manufactured in classical antiquity from a mucus secreted by the spiny dye-murex snail. As a seller of purple, Lydia was a wealthy woman of independent means (see Acts 16). As Judith Herrin points out in her beautiful book on the powerful woman of Byzantium, Women in Purple, a child born to a reigning emperor was πορφυρογέννητος (porphyrogénitos), ‘born in the purple.’
Lazarus on the other hand, instead of having fine dressings, needs dressings for his sores, but instead finds they are licked by the dogs on the streets.
But their fortunes in life are reversed at death: when Lazarus dies, he finds himself beside beside Abraham. During a visit to a monastery in Meteora in Greece last month, I was reminded of a patristic tradition that prior to the final judgment there were only three people we could say with certainty are in heaven: Abraham, Elijah and the penitent thief. to God’s will. But the rich man, for his part, finds himself in Hades, where he is being tormented.
When the rich man realises that the gulf or chasm between him and Lazarus cannot be bridged, he asks that his brothers be saved from the same fate. Abraham answers, telling him that if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.
Conventional wisdom has been overturned: wealth is not a sign of being blessed by God or a reward for good behaviour, nor does poverty and oppression mean that the poor and the oppressed are being punished by God or the victims of some sort of capricious divine retribution.
The story of Dives and Lazarus has inspired great artists, and composers like Vaughan WilliamsA reflection on the Gospel reading:
This popular Gospel reading, found only in Saint Luke’s Gospel, is usually known as the story of Dives and Lazarus. As a parable, it is almost as well known as the parables of the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son.
Surprisingly, God is not named in this story. But, of course, as in the Book of Esther, God is seldom named in the Gospel parables either. Instead, the parables challenge us to think who is God for us by asking us to see who is most God-like, who acts like God would act.
Apart from God, who is not named in this story?
The poor man at the gate is named, but the name Lazarus could be confusing, because this is also the name of the brother of Mary and Martha, the dead friend Christ raises to life in Bethany.
The name Lazarus, or in Hebrew Eleazar, which means ‘the Lord is my help,’ is an interesting name for those who first heard Christ tell this story, for the rich man in his castle certainly is of no help to the poor man at his gate.
Abraham is named.
And Moses is named.
Both are key figures in this story, for all the descendants of Abraham are promised that they are going to be children of the covenant with God. And it is Moses who receives that covenant in the wilderness on Mount Sinai. So just think of what that covenant must mean for people in the wilderness, people in exile. The man at the gate, who is being ignored by a leading religious figure of the day must have been made to feel hopeless, outside the scope of the covenant, abandoned, in a wilderness, impoverished, exiled outside the community.
But there are six other characters in the story – and not one of them is named.
The Rich Man, who is at the centre of the story, is sometimes called ‘Dives.’ But the name Dives is one he does not have in the Gospel story, in the parable as Christ tells it. Tradition has given him that name, we have given him the name Dives. When you read the story again, you can notice that the rich man is anonymous. He has no name. The name Dives derives simply from a misreading of an early Latin translation of the Bible.
And the rich man has five brothers – but not one of them is named.
I like to think this man is anyone who claims to be religious but who falls in love with riches. It is not his wealth that is his downfall, but his love of wealth and how he uses it.
The Apostle Paul is often misquoted as saying money is the root of all evil. But as the Epistle reading reminds us, what he actually tells Timothy is that ‘the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,’ and that, ‘in their eagerness to be rich, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.’
Of course, someone can be religious and rich at one and the same time. But if I appear to be religious, I need to be careful that my religious practices are not a contradiction of, a denial of, the way I live my life in the world, and respond to the needs of others.
God’s covenant is only meaningful when it is lived as a covenant of love. The rich man loves himself first, and, perhaps, his family, his own inner circle second. But that is as far as his religion goes. It doesn’t go beyond his own front door.
I like to think Christ is playing a little game with those who are religious and listening. In the story of the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), she is told that she is wed to five husbands but has no true marriage at all.
The five husbands could represent the first five books of the Bible – the Torah. The Samaritans would not accept any other writings as Holy Scripture, and there was a joke among Jews at the time that the Samaritans were so insistent on these five books alone that it was like being wedded to them. They were the Biblical fundamentalists of their day. She is being told that you cannot be wed to Holy Scripture and have a covenantal relationship with God without love.
She realises that just as being wed but without love is no marriage, being religious without love is no religion at all.
Love is the active ingredient of true religion. And when that dawns on her, she becomes one of the greatest missionaries in the Gospels.
Similarly, Christ may be playing a game with those who are listening to this morning’s parable. If the rich man, as it appears, is a priest of the Temple, then he too is a religious figure. But the priestly caste of the day were Sadducees, not Pharisees. And so the Pharisees who were listening to this story (verse 14) would have known that the Sadducees too refused to accept as part of the Bible any books other than the first five– when it came to Holy Scripture they only admitted those five into the family of faith.
The rich man realises that being wed to the Torah without love is no covenant. But unlike, the Samaritan woman, it is too late for him when this truth dawns on him.
There is no covenant without love, and this is true for marriage and for religion.
There is no true religion without love ... not self-interest, but love for God and love for others.
One additional character in this story is not named: this is not a human character, but an animal – the dog.
The Sullivan Bluth studios in Dublin produced the 1996 movie All Dogs go to Heaven, with a voice over by Burt Reynolds. But, while we think of dogs today as faithful pets, there was a religious tradition in the time of Christ that dogs did not get into heaven.
Lazarus is hungry and covered with sores, and sits outside the gate of what must have looked like a Heavenly City inside. He is in such a condition and in a place where even the dogs come and lick his sores (verse 21). For its time, this is a description of abject living, so abhorrent that this man is totally outside normal, good clean company. He is in the wilderness, in exile, and at a point where only God can redeem him.
Dives is not a single identifiable rich man. He is each and every one of us. Who among us, on first hearing this story, as it opened, as the first part of it began to be told, would not have delighted in the lifestyle of the rich man. After all, how often do I find myself saying, quite rightly, all I want is for me and my family to have somewhere decent to live, decent clothes and decent food?
But that decency turns to indecency when these things soon become all we want in life … and want nothing for others, have no place for meeting the needs of others.
Having lost his compassion for others, especially the needy on his doorstep, Dives loses his religion, for without love their can be no true religion; and Dives loses his humanity, for I am only human in so far as I am like God and love others.
The loss of Dives’ humanity is symbolised by his loss of a personal name. I am baptised with a personal name, and so incorporated into the Body of Christ; that name is how I am known to God and to others – God calls me and you recognise me by my name. Without a name, can Dives remain in the image of God? Can he be called on by others as a fellow human being?
On the other hand, the coming of Christ turns all our skewed values upside down: those we think are most outside God’s compassion and outside the Kingdom of Heaven may well be those most likely to be signs of what the Kingdom of God is, and to be reminders of kingdom values.
Lazarus who is an outsider becomes the true insider; Lazarus who is totally poor, becomes rich in the one way that really matters; Lazarus who is at death’s door finds eternal life.
The dogs too play an important role – like the woman who mops the brow of Jesus on his way to Calvary, and the women who weep with him above the city … they do not take away his suffering, but they tell him that his suffering is shared in creation.
So, who is most like God, most like Christ, in this Gospel story?
Those who first heard this story, would initially have expected the person to be most like God to be the religious leader, the one who can cite the Bible, call out to Abraham and Moses.
And those who first heard this story would initially have expected the person to be least like God to be the beggar at the gates, the man out with the dogs.
But is that not what Christ is like? He gives up everything to identify with our humanity in his incarnation, life and death; he is rejected, suffers and dies outside the city walls.
You may not want to be like Lazarus, but Christ wants us to be like him. And we are most like him not when we hope for riches and pleasures beyond our reach, but when we love God and when we love one another. God calls each and every one of us to be like him, to love like him, and when he calls us he calls us by name.
We may marginalise others, we may exclude others, we may push others outside the gates. But God never counts me out, God never excludes you, God never closes the gates on others. We too, despite what others may think of us, are invited to the Heavenly Banquet. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast.
Maddy Prior’s live performance of ‘Dives and Lazarus’ at the Nettlebed Folk Club on the ‘Seven For Old England’ tour. The song is on the album of the same name ‘Seven For Old England’
Luke 16: 19-31 (NRSVA):
19 ‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. 24 He called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.” 25 But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” 27 He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house — 28 for I have five brothers — that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” 29 Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” 30 He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” 31 He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead”.’
Liturgical resources:
Liturgical colour: Green
The Collect of the Day:
God,
who in generous mercy sent the Holy Spirit
upon your Church in the burning fire of your love:
Grant that your people may be fervent
in the fellowship of the gospel;
that, always abiding in you,
they may be found steadfast in faith and active in service;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Collect of the Word:
O God,
you call us to serve you:
enable us to be faithful in minor tasks
so that we may be entrusted
with your true riches.
We ask this through your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Eternal God,
we have received these tokens of your promise.
May we who have been nourished with holy things
live as faithful heirs of your promised kingdom.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Suggested Hymns:
Jeremiah 32: 1-3a, 6-15:
No suggested hymns
Psalm 91: 1-6, 14-16:
63, All praise to thee, my God, this night
642, Amazing grace (how sweet the sound!)
66, Before the ending of the day
459, For all the saints who from their labours rest (verses 1–3)
668, God is our fortress and our rock
12, God is our strength and refuge
322, I bind unto myself today (verses 1, 6, 8, 9)
357 I’ll praise my maker while I’ve breath
553, Jesus, lover of my soul
366, Praise, my soul, the King of heaven
595, Safe in the shadow of the Lord
372, Through all the changing scenes of life
Amos 6: 1a, 4-7:
630, Blessed are the pure in heart
498, What does the Lord require in praise and offering?
Psalm 146:
4, God, who made the earth
125, Hail to the Lord’s anointed
92, How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
357, I’ll praise my maker while I’ve breath
97, Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
99, Jesus, the name high over all
535, Judge eternal, throned in splendour
363, O Lord of heaven and earth and sea
708, O praise ye the Lord! Praise him in the height
712, Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
8, The Lord is King! Lift up your voice
376, Ye holy angels bright
I Timothy 6: 6-19:
10, All my hope on God is founded
643, Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
11, Can we by searching find out God
566, Fight the good fight with all thy might
353, Give to our God immortal praise
223, Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest
6, Immortal, invisible, God only wise
275, Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious
363, O Lord of heaven and earth and sea
281, Rejoice! the Lord is King
485, Rise up and serve the Lord!
285, The head that once was crowned with thorns
8, The Lord is King! Lift up your voice
Luke 16: 19-31:
642, Amazing grace (how sweet the sound!)
630, Blessed are the pure in heart
517, Brother, sister, let me serve you
87, Christ is the world’s light, he and none other
318, Father, Lord of all creation
496, For the healing of the nations
495, Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love
589, Lord, speak to me that I may speak
712, Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
497, The Church of Christ in every age
498, What does the Lord require for praise and offering?
499, When I needed a neighbour, were you there?
Part 2, Sunday 29 September 2019 as the feast of Saint Michael and All Angels.
Readings: Genesis 28: 10-17; Psalm 103: 19-22; Revelation 12: 7-12; John 1: 47-51.
Churches dedicated to Saint Michael in the Dioceses of Limerick, Killaloe and Clonfert include Saint Michael’s, Pery Square, Limerick, Saint Michael’s Church, Killorglin, and Saint Michael and All Angels, Waterville, and the monastic settlement on the Skelligs Rocks was dedicated to Saint Michael. In the Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry, Saint Michael’s Church, Miloremoy, is in Ballina, Co Mayo.
There are few references to Saint Michael in the Bible (Daniel 10: 13, 21, 12: 1; Jude 9; Revelation 12: 7-9; see also Revelation 20: 1-3). Yet Saint Michael has inspired great works in our culture, from John Milton’s Paradise Lost to Jacob Epstein’s powerful sculpture at Coventry Cathedral and poems by Philip Larkin and John Betjeman.
In all our imagery, in all our poetry, in stained glass windows throughout these islands, Saint Michael is depicted and seen as crushing or slaying Satan, often Satan as a dragon.
Culturally, today’s feast day of Saint Michael and All Angels has been an important day for the Church: the beginning of terms, the end of the harvest season, the settling of accounts.
It is the beginning of autumn, and as children in West Waterford we were told that Michaelmas Day is the last day for picking blackberries. As I grew up, I realised that this is a superstition shared across the islands, from Achill to Lichfield, from Wexford to Essex and Cambridge.
In his poem ‘Trebetherick,’ the late John Betjeman seems to link ripening blackberries and the closing in of the autumn days with old age and the approach of death:
Thick with sloe and blackberry, uneven in the light,
Lonely round the hedge, the heavy meadow was remote,
The oldest part of Cornwall was the wood as black as night,
And the pheasant and the rabbit lay torn open at the throat.
Betjeman had spent much of his childhood there, and he died in Trebetherick on 19 May 1984, at the age of 77. But the former poet laureate had a more benign view of blackberries on a visit to the Isle of Man, when he described ‘wandering down your late-September lanes when dew-hung cobwebs glisten in the gorse and blackberries shine, waiting to be picked.’
In his poem ‘At the chiming of light upon sleep,’ first drafted on Saint Michael’s Day 73 years ago [29 September 1946], the poet Philip Larkin links Michaelmas and a lost paradise with chances and opportunities he failed to take in his youth.
This is a day to allow the mind to wander back to childhood memories, and a time for contemplation and unstructured prayers, giving thanks for the beauty of creation. September is the beginning of the Church Year in the Orthodox tradition, so this too is a day to think about and to give thanks for beginnings and ends, for starting and ending, for openings and closings, for memories and even for forgetfulness.
When I worked as Foreign Desk Editor of The Irish Times, Michael Jansen was a good friend and close colleague. We shared many of her hopes and fears, values and visions while she worked in Israel and the West Bank. Later, when she moved to Cyprus and shortly before my ordination, she invited me to spend Orthodox Easter in her village on the outskirts of Nicosia.
Friends and readers alike were surprised to find Michael is a woman. Most of us presume Michael is a man’s name. Yet the name Michael (Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל, Mîkhā'ēl; Greek: Μιχαήλ, Mikhaíl; Arabic: ميخائيل, Mikhā'īl) is not gender specific. The Talmudic tradition says Michael means ‘who is like El (God)?’ It is a popular mistake to translate the name as ‘One who is like God.’ It is, however, meant as a question: ‘Who is like the Lord God?’
The name was said to have been the war-cry of the angels in the battle fought in heaven against Satan and his followers. With a name like that, is it any wonder that my friend Michael lived up to her father’s expectations, taking a strong stand against the twin evils of oppressive violence and political corruption.
The Archangel Michael is one of the principal angels in the Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions. In John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost, Michael commands the army of angels loyal to God against the rebel forces of Satan. One of the best-known sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein is Saint Michael’s Victory over the Devil at Coventry Cathedral.
Yet Michael is mentioned by name in the Bible only in the Book of Daniel, the Epistle of Jude and in the Book of Revelation.
After a period of fasting by Daniel, Michael appears as ‘one of the chief princes’ (Daniel 10: 13). Michael contends for Israel and is the ‘great prince, the protector of your (Daniel’s) people’ (Daniel 10: 21, 12: 1).
In the Epistle of Jude (verse 9), Michael contends with the Devil over the body of Moses, a story also found in the Midrash. In the Book of Revelation (Revelation 12: 7-12), we read of the war that ‘broke out in heaven’ between Michael and his angels and the dragon.
The later Christian traditions about Michael draw on Midrashic traditions and accounts in the Hebrew Apocrypha, especially the Book of Enoch, where he is the ‘viceroy of heaven,’ ‘the prince of Israel,’ and the angel of forbearance and mercy, who teaches clemency and justice, who presides over human virtue.
Rabbinic lore and the Midrash made Michael the special patron of Adam, the rescuer of Abraham, Lot and Jacob, the teacher of Moses, and the advocate of Israel; Michael tried to prevent Israel from being led into captivity, to save the Temple from destruction, and to protect Esther.
In the early Church, Michael was associated with the care of the sick, an angelic healer and heavenly physician associated with medicinal springs, streams and rivers. The Orthodox Church gave him the title Archistrategos or ‘Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts.’ Saint Basil the Great and other Greek fathers placed Michael over all the angels and so called him ‘archangel.’
In the Middle Ages, Michael became the patron saint of warriors, and later became the patron saint of police officers, soldiers, paratroopers, mariners, paramedics, grocers, the Ukraine, the German people, of many cities, including Brussels, Coventry and Kiev, and, of course, of Marks and Spencer.
There are legends associating Michael with Castel di S. Angelo in Rome, Mont-Saint-Michel in France and mountain chapels all over Germany, and with Skellig Michael off the Kerry coast, which is a World Heritage Site. Saint Michael was also popular in the early Irish monastic tradition.
More practically, Michaelmas Day became one of the regular ‘quarter days’ in England and in Ireland. It was one of the days set aside for settling rents and accounts. Traditionally, in England and Ireland, university terms and court terms began on Michaelmas.
In the modern world, where angels and archangels are often the stuff of fantasy, science fiction and new-age babble, it is worth reminding ourselves about some Biblical and traditional values associated with Saint Michael and the Angels. Angels are nothing more than – but nothing less than – the messengers of God, the bringers of good news.
Saint Michael’s virtues – standing up for God’s people and their rights, taking a clear stand against manifest evil, firmly opposing oppressive violence and political corruption, while always valuing forbearance and mercy, clemency and justice – are virtues we should always keep before us in our ministry and mission.
There is no special preface in the Book of Common Prayer for Michaelmas because in the Preface to the Eucharist, we already declare: ‘And so with all your people, with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and saying ...’
We should always be prepared, like Saint Michael and the angels to ask and to answer to the question: ‘Who is like the Lord God?’
John 1: 47-51 (NRSVA):
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ 48 Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ 49 Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ 50 Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ 51 And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’
Liturgical Resources:
Liturgical colour: White
Penitence:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Woe is me, for I am lost;
I am a person of unclean lips.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Your guilt is taken away,
And your sin is forgiven.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
The Collect:
Everlasting God,
you have ordained and constituted the ministries
of angels and mortals in a wonderful order:
Grant that as your holy angels always serve you in heaven,
so, at your command,
they may help and defend us on earth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Introduction to the Peace:
Hear again the song of angels:
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace. (Luke 2: 14)
Preface:
A Preface is not used on the festival of Saint Michael and all Angels.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Lord of heaven,
in this Eucharist you have brought us near
to an innumerable company of angels
and to the spirits of the saints made perfect.
As in this food of our earthly pilgrimage
we have shared their fellowship,
so may we come to share their joy in heaven;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Blessing:
The God of all creation
guard you by his angels,
and grant you the citizenship of heaven:
Suggested Hymns:
The hymns suggested for today in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling, include:
Genesis 28: 10-17:
561, Beneath the cross of Jesus
562, Blessèd assurance, Jesus is mine
330, God is here, As we his people
331, God reveals his presence
67, God, who made the earth and heaven
656, Nearer, my God, to thee
Psalm 103: 19-22:
682, All created things, bless the Lord
250, All hail the power of Jesus’ name
453, Come to us, creative Spirit
465, Hark, hark, my soul! angelic songs are swelling
321, Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty
708, O praise ye the Lord! Praise him in the height
366, Praise, my soul, the King of heaven
709, Praise the Lord! You heavens, adore him
376, Ye holy angels bright
Revelation 12: 7-12:
269, Hark ten thousand voices sounding
487, Soldiers of Christ, arise
112, There is a Redeemer
492, Ye servants of God, your master proclaim
John 1: 47-51:
460, For all your saints in glory, for all your saints at rest (verses 1, 2n, 3)
97, Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Other hymns that are also suitable include:
346, Angel voices ever singing
316, Bright the vision that delighted
332, Come, let us join our cheerful songs
696, God, we praise you! God, we bless you!
476, Ye watchers and ye holy ones
Part 3, Sunday 29 September and resources for the Season of Creation, 2019.
The Season of Creation is celebrated throughout the Christian world from 1 September, the feast of Creation, to 4 October, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi.
This year, the Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican Churches and the World Council of Churches have united in celebrating this special time.
Resources for Sunday and weekday services throughout the Season of Creation were posted on this site on 21 August 2019 HERE.
Each week during this season, these pages are also offering resources and reflections on the Sunday Gospel reading related to the theme of the Season of Creation, which have been circulated by the Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe, the Right Revd Kenneth Kearon.
Penitential Service for the Season of Creation 2019:
Introduction:
O Gracious God, Creator Spirit, you have given order, light and life to the world and you have expressed delight in your creation. You commanded us to till and care for the garden. And yet, we have trampled on the beauty of your creation and neglected to keep your Word.
And so:
We confess that the way we live today is changing the climate of our earth, polluting oceans and rivers with plastics, and interfering with the balances of the life-systems of mother earth, and hurting the poor.
Lord, have mercy.
We have been exploiting the resources of our common home, stealing the birth right of future generations, and neglecting to care for creation as a gift from God to be cultivated.
Christ, have mercy.
We acknowledge that we have neglected to protect the biodiversity of our planet, poisoned the atmosphere with toxic gases, and failed to share the resources of the earth equitably and justly.
Lord, have mercy.
May Almighty God have mercy on us, pardon us for our sins against the integrity of creation, and inspire us to work towards a new heaven and a new earth, Amen.
Homily or Gospel Reflection by Jane Mellett:
The Rich Man and Lazarus is a powerful story reminding us that to ignore poverty and injustice brings consequences. We are called to live our faith in our daily lives through generosity towards the poor and in working towards justice in our world. We do this in a variety of ways and we can see the goodness around us in those who are living examples of this Christian message. We are now called to listen urgently to the cry of the earth and to reflect on the injustices caused by the climate crisis. Climate breakdown may not be fully experienced on our own doorstep yet, but the fact remains that millions of people are suffering worldwide because of this crisis through drought, sea level rise and a breakdown of the earth’s ecological systems.
Joanna Sustento lives in Tacloban city, Philippines. On 8 November 2013, she lost her parents, her brother, her sister-in-law and three-year-old nephew in the storm surge of Typhoon Haiyan. This storm was the largest ever to make landfall in recorded history with wind speeds of over 300 km per hour. 10,000 people perished in two hours. Joanna’s story is one of thousands. The strength of Typhoon Haiyan is attributed to climate change. It is an injustice that those who have done the least to cause this problem are on the frontline. The governments of the world must act. They will only do so if the public demand it. We have a responsibility to ensure they do so. We are at a crossroads as a global community and we have the solutions. Let us go forward together to a more sustainable future and listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
Christians need an ‘an ecological conversion, whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them. Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.’ (Laudato Si’, 217)
In a few days, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Francis (4 October), patron saint of ecology. Perhaps by hosting a blessing for animals, organise a local clean up, trying to go plastic free we can mark this special time in some way and embrace our role as stewards of creation.
‘God of love, show us our place in this world as channels of your love for all the creatures of this earth, for not one of them is forgotten in your sight. Enlighten those who possess power and money that they may avoid the sin of indifference, that they may love the common good, advance the weak, and care for this world in which we live. The poor and the earth are crying out.’ (Laudato Si’, 246).
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
The hymn suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000).
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