Patrick Comerford
Sunday next, 26 May 2019, is the Sixth Sunday of Easter
The Readings in the Revised Common Lectionary, as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland, are:
The Readings:
Acts 16: 9-15 or Joel 2: 21-27; Psalm 67; Revelation 21: 10, 22 to 22: 5; John 14: 23-29 or John 5: 1-9.
There is a link to the readings HERE.
Next Sunday is also known as Rogation Sunday, the day on which the Church has traditionally offered prayer for God’s blessings on the fruits of the earth and the labours of those who produce our food.
The word ‘rogation’ is from the Latin rogare, meaning to ask or to beg. Historically, the Rogation Days – the three weekdays before Ascension Day – were a period of fasting and abstinence, asking for God’s blessing on the crops for a bountiful harvest. Fewer people today directly derive their livelihood from the production of food, yet it is good to be reminded of our dependence on those who do and our responsibility for the environment.
A tradition or custom on Rogation days in England was the ceremony of beating the bounds, in which a procession of parishioners, led by the priest and churchwardens, processed around the boundary of their parish and prayed for its protection in the forthcoming year. As it is no longer practical to follow exact boundaries, many services are held that focus on specific elements of creation such as livestock, fields, orchards and gardens.
Introducing the readings:
Acts 16: 9-15:
The Apostle Paul has set out on his second great missionary journey. Starting from Caesarea Philippi, he has travelled north to Antioch, then generally north-west through Asia Minor. Saint Paul and two companions, Silas and Timothy, have arrived at Troas, or Troy, a seaport on the Aegean Sea.
Here, Saint Paul has a dream that he interprets as instructions from God. Macedonia (verses 9-10) was the Roman province in northern Greece, so Saint Paul is bidden to enter Europe for the first time, to begin spreading the good news.
Samothrace is an island mid-way between Troy and Neapolis, the seaport for Philippi (Φίλιπποι), a prosperous Roman colony in east Macedonia in northern Greece, east of Thessaloniki and north of Mount Athos. Philippi is named after Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great. It was settled as a Roman colony when veterans from a battle in 42 BC were granted land there. The ancient Greek theatre in Philippi dates from 357 BC and was first restored in 1957.
In Philippi, Saint Paul visits the Jewish community first. They meet for prayer ‘outside the gate by the river,’ perhaps because there is no synagogue in the city.
Gentile women were attracted to Judaism by its ethical standards. One of them is Lydia, who already worships God and who is receptive to Saint Paul’s message. She is from Thyatira, in the province of Lydia in Asia Minor, the centre of one of the churches also addressed by Saint John the Divine in his letters from Patmos (see Revelation 2). Lydia is an independent business woman, selling purple cloth, which was a luxury fabric.
She and her household are the first people in Europe to convert to Christianity and to be baptised. Saint Paul and his companions are reluctant to accept her hospitality, but she insists and they accept.
That woman’s name is Lydia, but Lydia is also the name of the area around Thyatira. It was a centre of the cult of Apollo and Artemis, and one of the great Lydian temple to these twins was at Didyme, near the Lydian city of Sardis.
Lydia’s wealth, social standing and independence are unusual for a woman of her time. She and her household are baptised, and she provides lengthy hospitality for Paul, Silas, Luke and whoever else is travelling with them. The Orthodox Church gives her the title of ‘Equal to the Apostles.’ Her home hosts the first church on what we now call European soil.
Joel 2: 21-27:
The alternative first reading is an Old Testament reading we sometimes associate with Harvest, and so is appropriate for Rogation Sunday.
The prophet Joel has given a graphic account of a devastating plague of locusts that left no grapes for making sweet wine to celebrate a feast. Indeed, the attacking locusts are so thick that the sun is obscured – a sign of the end times. But the priests intercede, God forgives his people, fertility returns to the land and the locusts are destroyed.
Early rain now softens the earth once parched by the summer heat, and ploughing is made possible. Later rain, in April or May, provides sustenance for summer crops, and the trees again bear fruit.
Psalm 67:
This psalm can be read as thanksgiving for an abundant harvest or a prayer for a good harvest. The blessing God gave to the people is extended to all nations, for he is the universal just ruler and guide and all people everywhere may hold God in awe.
Revelation 21: 10, 22 to 22: 5
The second reading continues the vision of the New Jerusalem, the New Heaven and New Earth, that we began reading the previous Sunday.
The city lacks a physical temple, for the presence of God pervades the entire godly community, and they illuminate it. All peoples and all rulers will be guided by this light. The gates of the city are open to give everyone free access at all times, for they will live in perfect safety. People will, in entering, reflect God’s ‘glory … and honour.’
Saint John’s vision includes both the original bliss of the Garden of Eden and the restoration that the Prophet Ezekiel hoped for. In the Greek, the word tree (22: 2) is collective, so many trees will provide nourishment for the godly, for the healing of all, which is the goal and result of God’s new creation.
There will be no sin in the city, where nothing will be accursed, and the godly will see God’s face joyously. Being marked with God’s name, God will protect them, and those who worship God will reign with him for ever.
For a reflection on this reading and its illustration in the Great West Window by in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth, click HERE.
John 14: 23-29:
Christ continues to prepare his followers for his departure. Judas, son of James, who is one of the Twelve in Saint Luke’s list of disciples, has asked Jesus how he will reveal himself to them not to the world (verse 22).
Christ answers, but not directly. In the era to come, when the Father and Son come, separation between God and those who love him will no longer exist (verse 23). Loving Christ implies obeying him. The message Christ brings is ‘from the Father,’ who has sent Christ (verse 24).
Christ’s words will be complemented by the actions of the Holy Spirit (verse 26), who will be the Advocate, or helper and counsellor, to believers. He will cause the disciples to remember what Christ has said, and help them to understand the true significance of Christ’s words and deeds.
Christ gives his followers peace, but it is a very different gift from worldly gifts. In loving God, we come to know him. If they really knew Christ, they would rejoice at his coming departure. The Father has sent him into the world to do his will, so in that sense ‘the Father is greater than I.’ Christ has told them this so that when they see his manner of leaving, they ‘may believe.’
John 5: 1-9:
The Pool of ‘Beth-zatha’ or Bethesda, with its five porticoes, was to the north of the Temple area. The man has been ill for 38 years has been at the pool for some time. Only those who could get into the stirred-up waters first were cured.
Now, without having to wait for the stirred waters, the man is cured at Christ’s command. We are not told whether the man becomes a believer after his healing. Saint John wishes his readers to understand that the waters of life offered by Christ are more effective than the miracle waters expected spasmodically in a pool near the Temple.
This healing takes place on the Sabbath, yet the healed man is told to take up his bed and carry it away. This healing brings a new beginning. Perhaps we might even make a connection with the waters of life in the New Jerusalem described in the reading from the Book of Revelation.
We should note that verse 4 is not in the best manuscripts, and so is not found in the lectionary reading. In the Authorised Version, this missing verse reads: ‘For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.’ This missing verse is not found in any of the earliest and most accurate manuscripts of the Gospel according to Saint John, and has been omitted from most reliable modern translations.
John 14: 23-29:
23 Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
25 ‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, “I am going away, and I am coming to you.” If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.
John 5: 1-9:
1 After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. 3 In these lay many invalids – blind, lame, and paralysed. 5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’ 7 The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.’ 8 Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’ 9 At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.
Now that day was a sabbath.
Liturgical Resources:
Liturgical Colour: White
The Greeting (from Easter Day until Pentecost):
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Penitential Kyries:
Lord God,
you raised your Son from the dead.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus,
through you we are more than conquerors.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Holy Spirit,
you help us in our weakness.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
The Collect:
God our redeemer,
you have delivered us from the power of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your Son:
Grant, that as by his death he has recalled us to life,
so by his continual presence in us he may raise us to eternal joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
A prayer for Rogation Day (Common Worship):
Almighty God,
whose will it is that the earth and sea
should bear fruit in due season:
bless the labours of those who work on land and sea,
grant us a good harvest
and the grace always to rejoice in your fatherly care;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
A prayer for Rogationtide:
Remember, Lord, your mercy and loving-kindness towards us.
Bless this good earth, and make it fruitful.
Bless our labour, and give us all things needed for our daily lives.
Bless the homes of our parish and all who live within them.
Bless our common life and our care for our neighbour.
Hear us, good Lord. Amen.
Introduction to the Peace:
The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said, Peace be with you. Then were they glad when they saw the Lord. (John 20: 19, 20).
Preface:
Above all we praise you
for the glorious resurrection of your Son
Jesus Christ our Lord,
the true paschal lamb who was sacrificed for us;
by dying he destroyed our death;
by rising he restored our life:
The Post Communion Prayer:
God our Father,
whose Son Jesus Christ gives the water of eternal life:
May we also thirst for you,
the spring of life and source of goodness,
through him who is alive and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Blessing:
The God of peace,
who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus
that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the eternal covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight:
or:
God the Father,
by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead,
raise you up to walk with him in the newness of his risen life:
Dismissal: (from Easter Day to Pentecost):
Go in the peace of the Risen Christ. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Additional resources (Rogation Days):
The Collect (Rogation Days):
Almighty God and Father,
you have so ordered our life
that we are dependent on one another:
Prosper those engaged in commerce and industry
and direct their minds and hands
that they may rightly use your gifts in the service of others;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Post-Communion Prayer (Rogation Days):
God our creator,
you give seed for us to sow and bread for us to eat.
As you have blessed the fruit of our labour in this Eucharist,
so we ask you to give all your children their daily bread,
that the world may praise you for your goodness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Suggested Hymns:
The hymns suggested for the Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year C) in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling, include:
Acts 16: 9-15:
350, For the beauty of the earth
591, O happy day that fixed my choice
343, We love the place, O God
Joel 2: 21-27:
539, Rejoice, O land, in God thy might
Psalm 67:
695, God of mercy, God of grace
Revelation 21: 10, 22 to 22: 5:
643, Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
326, Blessèd city, heavenly Salem (Christ is made the sure foundation)
12, God is our strength and refuge
670, Jerusalem the golden
672, Light’s abode, celestial Salem
589, Lord, speak to me that I may speak
677, Shall we gather at the river
528, The Church’s one foundation
681, There is a land of pure delight
376, Ye holy angels bright
John 14: 23-29:
87, Christ is the world’s light, he and none other
294, Come down, O Love divine
296, Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire
549, Dear Lord and Father of mankind
299, Holy Spirit, come, confirm us
675, Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin
505, Peace be to this congregation
507, Put peace into each other’s hands
626, ‘Set your troubled hearts at rest’
341, Spirit divine, attend our prayers
John 5: 1-9:
513, O Christ, the healer, we have come
104, O for a thousand tongues to sing
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
The hymns 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)
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
Material from Common Worship and Times and Seasons is copyright © The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England.
No comments:
Post a Comment