Readings, hymns and sermon ideas for Sunday 21 February 2021, the First Sunday in Lent

The Triptych of the Baptism of Christ in the Chapel of Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Sunday next, 21 February 2021, is the First Sunday in Lent.

The readings in the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland are:

The Readings:Genesis 9: 8-17; Psalm 25: 1-9; I Peter 3: 18-22; Mark 1: 9-15.

An icon of the Baptism of Christ, worked on a cut of olive wood by Eleftheria Syrianoglou, in an exhibition in the Fortezza in Rethymnon, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Putting the readings in context:

The Gospel reading, in a style so typical of Saint Mark’s Gospel, tells four stories, one immediately after the other, in short, pithy, summarised ways, punctuated with the word καὶ (‘and’): the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan; the 40 days Christ spends in the wilderness; the arrest of Saint John the Baptist, and the beginning of Christ’s ministry in Galilee.

The theme of 40 days in the wilderness makes an obvious connection with the start of the Season of Lent. But first we should ask how the readings connect with the Gospel theme and with Lent too?

How do we put them in context?

Noah and Abraham … a window in Saint John’s Church, Wall, near Lichfield, shows Noah (left) holding the ark in his arms (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Genesis 9: 8-17

This first reading comes immediately after the Flood. During the flood, Noah has self-isolated with his family in a wooden ark for 40 days and 40 nights, while the world as they’d known it drowns in a deluge of rain and rising seas. The waters have receded, and Noah, his family and the remaining animals have set foot on dry land. Immediately before this reading (Genesis 9: 1-3), God renews the promise made at creation (Genesis 1), and again gives the commands: ‘Be fruitful and multiply.’

With this is a warning about the need to show respect for all human life: because humanity is made in the image of God, wilful bloodshed must be accounted for to God (verses 5-6).

God makes a ‘covenant’ (verse 9) with Noah, his sons and ‘every living creature’ (verse 10). Because it is from his sons that ‘the whole earth’ (verse 19) shall be ‘peopled,’ the agreement is between God and all humanity. He will never again destroy humankind (verses 11, 15, 16). This covenant is with all creatures and with ‘the earth’ (verse 13) itself, and it is an ‘everlasting covenant’ (verse 16).

Ancient people imagined a rainbow as a divine warrior’s weapon, his ‘bow’ (verse 13), and that the flashes of lighting were his arrows. But God turns this around and instead makes the bow as a visible sign of the covenant. God’s ‘bow’ is in the clouds, not on earth, showing us that God is no longer angry with humanity.

When the rains come, they will not continue ceaselessly any more but shall end with a rainbow, which is now a sign of hope. The story of the Flood teaches us that God judges the world according to human behaviour, punishes evil, and rescues the worthy.

‘Noah and the Dove’ by Simon Manby in 2006 … a sculpture in the gardens of Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 25: 1-10

The psalmist prays that God will show him his way (verses 4, 8 and 9) and his ‘paths’ (verses 4 and 10). He trusts in God (verse 2), and he hopes that God will deliver him from his personal enemies. May none who trust in God be shamed or be subject to treachery. Instead, those who follow God’s ways will be saved (verse 6).

The psalmist trusts that God will forgive his sins through his mercy and love.He prays that God may remember his present fidelity rather than his youthful deviances (verse 7). God instructs sinners (verse 8), and he leads and teaches the humble and those who respect him (verse 9).

Abel and Enoch in a window in Saint John’s Church, Wall, near Lichfield … the story of Enoch is recalled in I Peter 3: 19 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

I Peter 3: 18-22

Before this reading, the author writes: ‘Always be ready to make your defence to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you … Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame’ (verses 15-16). We are called to do more than defend ourselves: we are to respond to any request for an explanation of our ‘hope,’ engage the outsider in conversation, even though this may lead to suffering, for which Christ is the example.

Christ suffered for the sins of us all (verse 18). He is ‘the righteous,’ and he brings us to God. He really died (‘in the flesh’), but he overcame death and rose to new life.

In verses 19-20, the reader is reminded of the story that angelic beings had intercourse with women, and so broke the boundary between heaven and earth (see Genesis 6: 1-4). In late Judaism, people believed that this action provoked the Flood. In I Enoch, an apocryphal book known when this epistle was written, Enoch goes on God’s behalf to tell these beings that they are confined to prison. The story of Enoch is applied to the risen Christ in verse 19, and the ‘spirits in prison’ are these bad angels.

During the building of the ark, God waited patiently for humanity to turn to him, but no-one did (verse 20). The eight people are Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives.

Then in verse 21, we are told how baptism also involves water, but in a different way. Its role is not ritual cleansing (‘removal of dirt’); baptism saves us, putting us in a condition to be found worthy by God at the Last Day (‘appeal’), sharing as we do in Christ’s death and resurrection. Christ has gone to heaven and is in God’s place of honour (on his ‘right hand’, verse 22), and he has angelic beings (‘angels, authorities, and power’) subject to him. God saved people in the past; now he saves us through Baptism.

‘And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness’ (Mark 1: 12) (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Mark 1: 9-15

Saint John the Baptist has come, ‘proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins’ (verse 4). Many have taken the opportunity to start new lives in God. Jesus, too, is baptised by Saint John – Saint Mark does not tell us why. The opening of the heavens symbolises the start of a new mode of communication between God and humanity.

The description of the Holy Spirit ‘descending like a dove’ (verse 10) recalls the Spirit hovering over the waters of creation in Genesis 1: 2. For Saint Mark, the ‘voice ... from heaven’ (verse 11) confirms the already existing relationship between God and Christ.

Saint Matthew (Matthew 4: 1-11) and Saint Luke (Luke 4: 1-13) describe Christ’s temptation in the wilderness in detail, but Saint Mark mentions it only briefly.

All three synoptic Gospels say that Christ overcame tempting and enticement by the devil. Satan (verse 13) is the supreme demon whose kingdom is now ending. The forty days (verse 13) recalls the 40 days and nights of the flood and Israel’s 40 years in the ‘wilderness.’ But it also echoes the 40 days of testing Moses endured when the covenant was renewed after the golden calf incident (Exodus 34: 28). Elijah also spent 40 days on Mount Sinai (see I Kings 19: 8).

The wilderness was probably the Judaean desert, which was regarded as the home of demons. There too, he was in danger of being attacked by wild beasts, but angels wait on him and protect him.

The word Saint Mark uses in verse 14 for arrest also occurs in the story of Christ’s passion and death. So Saint John’s fate foreshadows the arrest and death of Christ.

Christ then returns to Galilee. His message begins with: ‘The time is fulfilled’ (verse 15). This is the time appointed by God. The decisive time for God’s action has arrived. ‘The kingdom of God has come near’ (verse 15). The final era of history is imminent, and Christ calls people to start a new life in God’s way, to ‘repent, and believe in the good news’ (verse 15). We could say the whole of Saint Mark’s Gospel builds on this verse, and is an explication of it.

Is your Lent going to be an opportunity to be part of the new creation in Christ?

Is your Lent going to be a time to take account of your own hidden temptations?

Is your Lent going to be a time to explore your own wilderness places and to be aware of them?

Is your Lent going to be a time of preparation for the acceptance of the Kingdom of God?

‘Driven by the Spirit into the Wilderness’ (1942), by Stanley Spencer (1891-1959)

An appropriate painting to illustrate our reflections on this Gospel reading as we prepare a sermon for the First Sunday in Lent is the painting Driven by the Spirit into the Wilderness (1942), by the English painter Stanley Spencer (1891-1959).

This painting is inspired by a verse in this Gospel reading: ‘And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness’ (Mark 1: 12). It is one a series of beautiful and compelling paintings, Christ in the Wilderness, produced by Spencer between 1939 and 1945, portraying the 40 days Christ spent in the wilderness.

Stanley Spencer was one of 11 children, born in in 1891 in Cookham, a small Thames-side village in Berkshire where his grandfather was the village builder. His father William was a professional musician and organist at a nearby church, with a passion for reading and discussing the Bible out loud with his family each evening.

Spencer was in the Royal Army Medical Corps in World War I with the field ambulances in Macedonia. It was an experience that had a profound effect on him as an artist, and the memories of war infiltrated his spirit.

Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if in Cookham, the village where he was born and lived much of his life. The best-known of these works must be The Resurrection, Cookham (1923-1927), which is clearly set in the village and with actual villagers portrayed taking part in Resurrection on Easter morning in the parish churchyard.

In 1938, Spencer moved to London and started working on the Christ in the Wilderness series in his bedsit in Swiss Cottage. In the 1950s, many of the paintings in the series were exhibited in Spencer’s parish church in Cookham. He died of cancer on 14 December 1959.

In this painting, Spencer shows the massive figure of Christ striding through a bleak and desolate land. Yet we can see the promise of resurrection in the figure of Christ.

He was in the wilderness for forty days (Mark 1: 13) … on Gramvousa, off the coast of Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Mark 1: 9-15 (NRSVA):

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’

12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’

The Baptism of Christ depicted in a window in Saint Brigid’s Church, Ardagh, Co Longford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Liturgical resources:

Liturgical Colour: Violet.

The canticle Gloria may be omitted in Lent.

Traditionally in Anglicanism, the doxology or Gloria at the end of Canticles and Psalms is also omitted during Lent.

Penitential Kyries:

In the wilderness we find your grace:
you love us with an everlasting love.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

There is none but you to uphold our cause;
our sin cries out and our guilt is great.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Heal us, O Lord, and we shall be healed;
Restore us and we shall know your joy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Collect of the Day:

Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are, yet without sin:
Give us grace to discipline ourselves
in obedience to your Spirit;
and, as you know our weakness,
so may we know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Lenten Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and 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 receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This collect may be said after the Collect of the Day until Easter Eve.

The Collect of the Word:

Holy God,
heavenly Father,
in the waters of the flood you saved the chosen,
and in the wilderness of temptation
you protected your Son from sin.
Renew us in the gift of baptism.
May your holy angels be with us,
that the wicked foe may have no power over us,
through Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord,
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Introduction to the Peace:

Being justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5: 1, 2)

Preface:

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who was in every way tempted as we are yet did not sin;
by whose grace we are able to overcome all our temptations:

Post Communion Prayer:

Lord God,
you renew us with the living bread from heaven.
Nourish our faith,
increase our hope,
strengthen our love,
and enable us to live by every word
that proceeds from out of your mouth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing:

Christ give you grace to grow in holiness,
to deny yourselves,
and to take up your cross and follow him:

The Baptism of Christ depicted in a fifth century mosaic in the Neonian Baptistry in Ravenna (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Suggested hymns:

Genesis 9: 8-17:

592, O Love that wilt not let me go

Psalm 25: 1-9:

17, Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness
(Treoragh mé, treoragh mé a Thiarna)
652, Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
712, Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord

I Peter 3: 18-22:

218, And can it be that I should gain
260, Christ is alive! Let Christians sing
257, Christ is the world’s Redeemer
417, He gave his life in selfless love
553, Jesu, lover of my soul
431, Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendour
229, My God, I love thee; not because
102, Name of all majesty
234, O Love divine, what hast thou done?
214, O Love, how deep, how broad, how high (verses 1-3, 7)
235, O sacred head, sore wounded
177, Once in royal David’s city (verses 1, 2, 5, 6)
439, Once, only once, and once for all
200, The sinless one to Jordan came
244, There is a green hill far away

Mark 1: 9-15:

66, Before the ending of the day (verses 1, 2, 3d)
207, Forty days and forty nights
668, God is our fortress and our rock
324, God, whose almighty word
322, I bind unto myself today (verses 1, 2, 8 and 9)
652, Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
635, Lord, be my guardian and my guide
637, O for a closer walk with God
363, O Lord of heaven and earth and sea
136, On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
595, Safe in the shadow of the Lord
197, Songs of thankfulness and praise
341, Spirit divine, attend our prayers
200,The sinless one to Jordan came
204, When Jesus came to Jordan

He was in the wilderness for forty days (Mark 1: 13) … the Kourtaliotilo Gorge in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.

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 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).

He was in the wilderness for forty days (Mark 1: 13) … at the edge of Ireland on Mizen Head (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Preparing for Lent 2021: Liturgical resources, readings and preparing Lenten studies

‘The Fight Between Carnival and Lent,’ by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1559)

Patrick Comerford

In previous years, workshops on preparing for Lent and Holy Week have been organised for clergy and readers in the Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe.

This year, the current pandemic lockdown makes it difficult to plan for Lenten services or study evenings.

These resources are designed to help plan for on-line services or study groups, but are also designed to help prepare for Lenten events may be organised when the lockdown restrictions are eased or lifted.

‘The Ladder of Divine Ascent’ … an icon from Mount Sinai based on the work of Saint John Klimakos … Saint John Klimakos refers in ‘The Ladder of Divine Ascent’ to the ‘bright sadness’ of Lent

Preparing for Lent 2021

I sometimes think that the misrepresentation and misinterpretation of Lent has, in turn, deprived many of its true meaning and significance.

The Orthodox theologian Aaron Taylor wrote in the Guardian some years ago [2010] of how he hoped that the Lenten fast ‘must never become a source of pride on the one hand, or something oppressive on the other. It is a measuring stick for our individual practice … [it] is primarily about obedience, and thus humility. But it also creates a sense of need and sobriety. It teaches us to seek our consolation in things of the spirit rather than of the flesh.’

He pointed out that fasting ‘is merely a physical accompaniment to the real heart and joy of Lent: the prayer and worship that are intensified during this season …’ and he referred to the ‘joy-making mourning’ recommended by an early writer, Saint John Klimakos, in The Ladder of Divine Ascent, to the ‘bright sadness’ of Lent.

At Lent, we should remind ourselves that we have all fallen short, so that we are not the people we should be. We all too easily focus on ourselves. But true Lenten fasting allows us to experience a sense of freedom as we relinquish our self-centredness and can produce joy in our hearts – just what we pray for in the Collect of Ash Wednesday.

And Aaron Taylor added: ‘If we do not to some extent attain to this joy-through-mourning, we have entirely missed the point of Lent.’

He concluded his ‘Face to Faith’ column in the Guardian by saying: ‘As long as there is evil in the world, we can be sure that some of it still lies hidden in our hearts. And as long as we are able to shed tears over our condition, there remains hope that we will one day see the glorious day of resurrection.’

The Liturgical colour in Lent is Violet (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Part 1: Liturgical resources for Lent 2021:

The Lectionary:

Ash Wednesday, 17 February 2021: Joel 2: 1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58: 1-12; Psalm 51: 1-17; II Corinthians 5: 20b to 6: 10; Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-21. These lectionary readings are common to Years A, B and C.

First Sunday in Lent, 21 February 2021: Genesis 9: 8-17; Psalm 25: 1-9; I Peter 3: 18-22; Mark 1: 9-15.

Second Sunday in Lent, 28 February 2021: Genesis 17: 1-7, 15-16; Psalm 22: 23-31; Romans 4: 13-25; Mark 8: 31-38 or Mark 9: 2-9.

Note: The second, optional Gospel reading is used when Option B has been taken on the Sunday before Lent. As this is an account of the Transfiguration, it is not used when the Sunday before Lent has been observed as Transfiguration Sunday.

Third Sunday in Lent, 7 March 2021: Exodus 21: 4-9; Psalm 19; I Corinthians 1: 18-25; John 2: 13-22.

Fourth Sunday in Lent, 14 March 2021 (Laetare Sunday): Numbers 21: 4-9; Psalm 107: 1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2: 1-10; John 3: 14-21.

or:

Mothering Sunday: Exodus 2: 1-10 or I Samuel 1: 20-28; Psalm 34: 11-20 or Psalm 127: 1-4; II Corinthians 1: 3-7 or Colossians 3: 12-17; Luke 2: 33-35 or John 19: 25-27.

[Saint Patrick’s Day, Wednesday 17 March 2021: Tobit 13: 1b-7 or Deuteronomy 32: 1-9; Psalm 145: 1-13; II Corinthians 4: 1-12; John 4: 31-38.]

[Saint Joseph’s Day, Friday 19 March 2021: II Samuel 7: 4-16; Psalm 89: 26-36; Romans 4: 13-18; Matthew 1: 54-58.]

Fifth Sunday in Lent, 21 March 2021 (Passiontide begins): Jeremiah 31: 31-34; Psalm 51: 1-13 or Psalm 119: 9-16; Hebrews 5: 5-10; John 12: 20-33.

[Thursday 25 March 2021, The Annunciation of our Lord: Isaiah 7: 10-14; Psalm 40: 5-10; Hebrews 10: 4-10; Luke 1: 26-38.]

Sixth Sunday in Lent, Palm Sunday, 28 March 2021:

Liturgy of the Palms: Mark 11: 1-11 or John 12: 12-16; Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29.

Liturgy of the Passion: Isaiah 50: 4-9a; Psalm 31: 9-16; Philippians 2: 5-11; Mark 14: 1 to 14: 47 or Mark 15: 1-39 (40-47).

Holy Week:

Monday in Holy Week, 29 March 2021: Isaiah 42: 1-9; Psalm 36: 5-11; Hebrews 9: 11-15; John 12: 1-11.

Tuesday in Holy Week, 30 March 2021: Isaiah 49: 1-7; Psalm 71: 1-14; I Corinthians 1: 18-31; John 12: 20-36.

Wednesday in Holy Week, 31 March 2021: Isaiah 50: 4-9a; Psalm 70; Hebrews 12: 1-3; John 13: 21-32.

Maundy Thursday, 1 April 2020: Exodus 12: 1-4 (5-10), 11-14; Psalm 116: 1, 10-17; I Corinthians 11: 23-26; John 13: 1-17, 31b-35.

Good Friday, 2 April 2021: Isaiah 52: 13 to 53: 12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10: 16-25 or Hebrews 4: 14-16; 5: 7-9; John 18: 1 to 19: 42. In the evening: John 19: 38-42 or Colossians 1: 18-23.

Holy Saturday or Easter Eve, 3 April 2020: Job 14: 1-14 or Lamentations 3: 1-9, 19-24; Psalm 31: 1-4, 15-16; I Peter 4: 1-8; Matthew 27: 57-66 or John 19:38-42.

Other Liturgical resources for Lent 2021:

Liturgical Colours:

The Liturgical Colour in Lent is Violet, with the following exceptions:

14 March, ‘Laetare Sunday’: Violet, but there is a traditional option of using Rose (Pink).

17 March, Saint Patrick: White.

19 March, Saint Joseph: White.

25 March, The Annunciation: White.

28 March, Palm Sunday: Red or Violet.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Holy Week: Red or Violet.

Maundy Thursday: Red or Violet, but White at the Eucharist.

Good Friday and Saturday: there is no provision for a liturgical colour, and there is no celebration of Holy Communion.

‘Still Life With Bible,’ Vincent van Gogh

Part 2: Organising a Bible Study:

1, Choose your theme with care: I once decided to lead a series of Bible studies on the Book of Revelation. I had very good reasons to do so, but there were too many chapters, and eventually it petered out. Nor did I consult with other members of the group about what they wanted or needed.

If you chose one book of the Bible, you – and everyone else too – may get bored before half-way through, apart from the fact that the five or six weeks of Lent does not give the opportunity to get through your chosen book.

Think of a theme or a topic: the Prophets, Women in the Bible, Heroes and Saints, and the Parables are themes that have worked for me in the past, and allow a variety of leadership and in-put.

2, Fix a venue, day and time: go ahead even if only one person turns up. On the other hand, know when to quit.

3, Prepare. Read the passage carefully and thoughtfully yourself well in advance of the group meeting; do not leave it until the day you are meeting. Have Bibles ready for those who forget them, check whether you need to provide pens and paper. Do not plan a PowerPoint presentation unless you through the whole process yourself long enough beforehand.

4, Open with prayer: keep it short, keep it snappy, make it simple, but remind people that this is not just another social gathering. On the other hand, resist the temptation to allow this to replace the Sunday intercessions or the weekly prayer list: focus it on one topic you expect to be the focus of discussion.

5, Try to rotate the leadership: you don’t have to provide leadership all the time; every parish has more than enough people with skills of teaching and leading, and it may help and encourage new skills in the parish.

6, Encourage everyone to take part: allow discussion, but be firm and gentle at one and the same time. At times it will go off track; this may be important, but it may also frustrate those who want to learn more.

7, Encourage different opinions and questions: diversity is an integral part of Anglican identity, and needs to be encouraged and affirmed in parish life too. People like to share their experiences and their opinions, and should be encouraged to ask questions.

8, Do not pretend to have all the answers: we don’t need to know it all, and we should not pretend to know it all.

9, Finish on time: make sure people know that their commitment is respected, and that they can get home on time; make sure they know what next week’s topic, passage or theme is.

10, Make sure tea/coffee/refreshments are available at the end of the evening. Parish life should be fun, and in Lent too.

The Five Marks of Mission … this CartoonChurch.com cartoon by Dave Walker originally appeared in the Church Times

Part 3: Three examples of Lenten Study Resources:

Three examples of Lenten studies and themes may help organising a Lenten study in parishes or provide Lenten resources for Lent 2021: 1, the Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe; 2, USPG; and 3, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Study Book for 2021.

The Limerick and Killaloe chapter is offering a Lenten Study Course on Tuesdays in February and March based on the Anglican Communion’s Five Points of Mission

1, The Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe:

In the Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe, the deans and chapter members are offering a Lenten Study Course on Tuesday evening in February and March based on the Anglican Communion’s Five Points of Mission.

They are inviting parishes to join them in evening discussions of these Five Marks of Mission, which express the Anglican Communion’s common commitment to, and understanding of, God’s holistic and integral mission.

These five marks are:

1, To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
2, To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
3, To respond to human need by loving service
4, To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation
5, To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth

These Lenten study evenings at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays in Lent are:

1, Tuesday 23 February: ‘Proclaim the Kingdom’s Good News,’ the Treasurer, Canon Jane Galbraith (Roscrea)

2, Tuesday 2 March: ‘Baptise and nurture new believers,’ the Chancellor, Canon Liz Beasley (Adare)

3, Tuesday 9 March: ‘Respond to human need by loving service,’ the Archdeacon of Killaloe, the Ven Terry Mitchell (Cloughjordan)

4, Tuesday 16 March: ‘Change society’s unjust strictures,’ the Precentor, Canon Patrick Comerford (Rathkeale and Kilnaughtin Group)

5, Tuesday 23 March: ‘Safeguard the integrity of creation,’ the Prebendary of St Munchin and Tulloh, Canon Jim Stephens (Tralee)

To join any/all of the talks, please email the Dean of Limerick for a Zoom link.

‘Four Such a Time as This’ is the Lent Course for 2021 offered by USPG

2, USPG: ‘Four Such a Time as This’ – Lent 2021:

The Lent Appeal this year from the Anglican mission agency United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) has the theme For Such A Time As This. It recognises the challenges that the world is currently facing, and focuses on standing in solidarity with the younger generation in the fight against climate change. At the same time, USPG is be running a Lent study course on the theme of ecological justice, with contributions from our partner churches from across the Anglican Communion.

The world is in crisis; Creation is groaning. People and the Earth have been crying out for many years. But for too long, many people – particularly those in the global North – have chosen not to listen, instead remaining complicit in destruction and continuing to increase inequalities. In such a time as this, what have Christians got to offer?

USPG invites parishes and study groups to dscover more in the 2021 Lent Course.

USPG will be facilitating a group that will gather on zoom with contributors to the course and other global partners, to study this course together on the six Mondays during Lent, on:

STUDY 1: For such a time. With the Asian Theological Academy.
Monday 22 February 10 am GMT/UTC

STUDY 2: Creation. With the Episcopal Church in the Philippines.
Monday 1 March. 10am GMT/UTC

STUDY 3: The Fall. With the Diocese of Belize, Province of the West Indies.
Monday 8 March. 2.30pm GMT/UTC

STUDY 4: Salvation. With the Diocese of Lebombo, Mozambique.
Monday 15 March. 2.30pm GMT/UTC

STUDY 5: Restoration. With the Green Schools, Church of South India.
Monday 22 March. 10am GMT/UTC

STUDY 6: ReCreation. With the Asian Rural Institute, Japan.
Monday 29 March. 10am BST

All prayers used in the study course are from the USPG book ‘Praying with the World Church,’ and may be found at www.uspg.org.uk/pray

To be a part of this online group please email Gwen Mtambirwa at gwenm@uspg.org.uk for booking details.

Further details of the course are available HERE.

‘Living His Story’ … the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Study Book for 2021

3, The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Study Book 2021:

In the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Study Book for 2021, Living His Story (London: SPCK, 2020), Hannah Steele uncovers liberating and practical ways of sharing the Gospel story afresh. With warmth and encouragement, she shows how we can live Jesus’s story in our lives simply by being the people God made us and allowing people to be drawn to him through our natural gifts.

Living His Story, which was published last November, is a Lent devotional that promises to change the way we think about evangelism, show how ideally suited it is for the world we live in and fill is with confidence in sharing God’s love with the people around us.

Set out in six sessions to take us through Lent, each chapter of this book can be used as a single study for individuals or small groups to prepare for Easter. It will help you find space to see evangelism from a new practical perspective..

The Revd Dr Hannah Steele is Director of Saint Mellitus College, London. As well as Living His Story, she is the author of New World, New Church? (SCM Press, 2017). Alongside her academic work, she has spent time engaged in mission and evangelism among students in central London as a staff worker with UCCF.

A window ledge in the chapel in Dr Miley’s Hospital, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Part 4: Additional Resources for Lent:

Ash Wednesday

Ideas for Ash Wednesday include a parish quiet day, an away day or a retreat.

The ‘Service for Ash Wednesday, the Beginning of Lent’ in the Book of Common Prayer (pp 338-343), is the only service in the book which is to be used on a specific day in the Christian Year.

It dates back to the Commination Service in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, which was altered in the Church of Ireland in 1926 with the Penitential Service.

The present service is derived from one approved by the House of Bishops in 1990, which drew on earlier services and on material in the Church of England book, Lent, Holy Week, Easter (1996).

Bishop Harold Miller points out in The Desire of Our Soul that ‘one of the quirky things about this service, in the context of the wider church throughout the world, is that it is an Ash Wednesday service without ashes! That is faintly ridiculous …’

He goes on to point out that ‘in parts of the church, over recent years, the use of ashes has proven to be a highly effective symbol both of our mortality and of our penitence, with words such as:

You are dust, and to dust you will return.
Turn from your sins and follow Christ.

A rubric allows for local customs to be observed, which Bishop Miller points out ‘could include, for example, the imposition of ashes’.

The traditional Ash Wednesday invitation or exhortation in the Book of Common Prayer begins:

‘Brothers and sisters in Christ: since early days Christians have observed with great devotion the time of our Lord's passion and resurrection. It became the custom of the Church to prepare for this by a season of penitence and fasting.

‘At first this season of Lent was observed by those who were preparing for baptism at Easter and by those who were to be restored to the Church’s fellowship from which they had been separated through sin. In course of time the Church came to recognize that, by a careful keeping of these days, all Christians might take to heart the call to repentance and the assurance of forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel, and so grow in faith and in devotion to our Lord.

‘I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Lord to observe a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy word.’

Silence may be kept.

Then the priest says:

Let us pray for grace to keep Lent faithfully.

Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and 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 receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This collect may be said after the Collect of the Day until Easter Eve.

Post Communion Prayer:

Almighty God,
you have given your only Son to be for us
both a sacrifice for sin and also an example of godly life:
Give us grace
that we may always most thankfully receive
these his inestimable gifts,
and also daily endeavour ourselves
to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Last Supper … a fading work once seen on Quonian’s Lane in Lichfield but now missing (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Holy Week

A valuable, recent resource book is Week of All Weeks by Bishop Harold Miller, a prayer book for Holy Week and Easter (Dublin: Church of Ireland Publishing, 2015).

Christ washing the disciples’ feet … a fresco in Saint John’s Monastery, Tolleshunt Knights (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Maundy Thursday:

The liturgical colour changes on this day from the Violet of Lent or the Red of Passiontide to White, and the Eucharist or Holy Communion is to be ‘celebrated in every cathedral and in each parish church or in a church within a parochial union or group of parishes.’

It is traditional in the dioceses too to have a celebration of the Chrism Eucharist in a cathedral or church in the diocese, when the bishops, priest, deacons and readers renew their vows.

Other possible resources for Maundy Thursday include foot-washing, which I have used in past years in Castletown Church, Kilcornan (Pallaskenry). There are full resources for this in Bishop Miller’s Week of All Weeks.

Good Friday:

There is no provision for a liturgical colour, and there is no celebration of Holy Communion on Good Friday or on the Saturday.

You may never even contemplate going as far as some of the Good Friday processions I have seen in Spain, Italy, Greece and Cyprus. But planning a Procession of the Cross, or ecumenical Stations of the Cross, on the streets in a parish can be a powerful public witness.

Other creative options include a service based on the Seven Last Words (see Bishop Miller’s Week of All Weeks, pp 51-57), an adaptation of the traditional Stations of the Cross, and a service with Tenebrae (see Bishop Miller’s Week of All Weeks, pp 58-61).

The Seven Last Words, traditionally, are:

1, Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing

2, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise

3, Here is you son … here is your mother

4, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

5, I am thirsty

6, It is finished

7, Father, into your hands I commend my spirit

Each passage here has a link to a reflection from a service in All Saints’ Church, Grangegorman, Dublin, on Good Friday 2015.

In the past, I have also led a series of Good Friday meditations in Askeaon themed on the traditional 14 Stations of the Cross, without introducing actual images of the stations into the church.

These reflections from Good Friday 2018, with appropriate prayers, suggested readings and illustrations, are available in three parts for downloading and adaption at these links:

Part 1, Stations 1 to 5;

Part 2, Stations 6 to 10;

Part 3, Stations 11 to 14

Preparing for the Easter Vigil at Castletown Church, Kilcornan, Co Limerick

Beginning the Easter celebrations:

The celebration of Easter may begin after sundown with the Easter Vigil or the Midnight Eucharist on what is liturgically Easter Sunday, although it is still Saturday evening in calendar.

Traditionally, the Easter Vigil consists of four parts:

● The Service of Light

● The Liturgy of the Word

● The Liturgy of Baptism, which may include the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation for new members of the Church and the renewal of Baptismal Promises by the rest of the congregation

● The Eucharist

The Liturgy begins after sundown as the crowd gathers inside the unlit church, in the darkness, often in a side chapel of the church building, but preferably outside the church. A new fire, kindled and blessed by the priest, symbolises the light of salvation and hope that God brought into the world through the Resurrection of Christ, dispelling the darkness of sin and death.

The Paschal Candle, symbolising the Light of Christ, is lit from this fire. This tall candle is placed on the altar, and on its side five grains of incense are embedded, representing the five wounds of Christ and the burial spices with which his body was anointed. When these are fixed in it and the candle is lit, it is placed on the Gospel side of the altar and remains there until Ascension Day.

This Paschal candle will be used throughout the season of Easter, remaining in the sanctuary of the Church or near the lectern. Throughout the coming year at baptisms and funerals, it reminds all that that Christ is ‘light and life.’

All baptised people present – those who have received the Light of Christ – are given candles that are lit from the Paschal candle. As this symbolic Light of Christ spreads throughout those gathered, the darkness diminishes and dies out.

A deacon or a priest carries the Paschal Candle at the head of the entrance procession and, at three points, stops and chants the proclamation ‘Light of Christ’ or ‘Christ our Light,’ to which the people respond: ‘Thanks be to God.’

When the procession ends, the deacon or a cantor chants the Exultet, or Easter Proclamation, said to have been written by Saint Ambrose of Milan. The church is now lit only by the people’s candles and the Paschal candle, and the people take their seats for the Liturgy of the Word.

The Liturgy of the Word consists of between two and seven readings from the Old Testament. The account of the Exodus is given particular attention as it is the Old Testament antetype of Christian salvation.

Each reading is followed by a psalm and a prayer relating what has been read in the Old Testament to the Mystery of Christ.

After these readings, the Gloria is sung, and during an outburst of musical jubilation the people’s candles are extinguished, the church lights are turned on, and the bells rung. The altar frontals, the reredos, the lectern hangings, the processional banners, the statues and the paintings, which were stripped or covered during Holy Week or at the end of the Maundy Thursday Eucharist, are now ceremonially replaced and unveiled, and flowers are placed on the altar.

A reading from the Epistle to the Romans is proclaimed, and the Alleluia is sung for the first time since the beginning of Lent. The Gospel of the Resurrection then follows, along with a homily.

After the Liturgy of the Word, the water of the baptismal font is blessed, and any catechumens or candidates for full communion are initiated. After these celebrations, all present renew their baptismal vows and are sprinkled with baptismal water. The general intercessions follow.

The Easter Vigil then concludes with the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This is the first Eucharist of Easter Day. During the Eucharist, the newly baptised receive Holy Communion for the first time, and, according to the rubrics, the Eucharist should finish before dawn.

A poster seen in the front window of a house on Beacon Street, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Collects, Canticles and other Liturgical resources:

The Lenten Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and 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 receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This collect may be said after the Collect of the day until Easter Eve.

Collects and Post-Communion Prayers are provided for each day in Holy Week (see pp 264-271), except Good Friday, when there is a Collect but no Post-Communion Prayer (see p 270).

The Book of Common Prayer recommends the Commandments should be read at the Penitence during Lent.

This canticle Gloria may be omitted in Lent.

Traditionally in Anglicanism, the doxology or Gloria at the end of Canticles and Psalms is also omitted during Lent.

Penitential Kyries:

In the wilderness we find your grace:
you love us with an everlasting love.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

There is none but you to uphold our cause;
our sin cries out and our guilt is great.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Heal us, O Lord, and we shall be healed;
Restore us and we shall know your joy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Introduction to the Peace:

Being justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5: 1, 2)

Preface:

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who was in every way tempted as we are yet did not sin;
by whose grace we are able to overcome all our temptations:

Blessing:

Christ give you grace to grow in holiness,
to deny yourselves,
and to take up your cross and follow him:

Passiontide and Holy Week:

Penitential Kyries:

Lord God,
you sent your Son to reconcile us to yourself and to one another.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Lord Jesus,
you heal the wounds of sin and division.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Holy Spirit,
through you we put to death the sins of the body – and live.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Introduction to the Peace:

Now in union with Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of Christ's blood; for he is our peace. (Ephesians 2: 17)

Preface:

Through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
who, for the redemption of the world,
humbled himself to death on the cross;
that, being lifted up from the earth,
he might draw all people to himself:

Blessing:

Christ draw you to himself
and grant that you find in his cross a sure ground for faith,
a firm support for hope,
and the assurance of sins forgiven:

Processing the Crucified Christ though the streets of La Carihuela, near Torremolinos in Spain (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Hymns for Lent

Three sections in the Hymnal are designed for use during Lent and at Easter:

1, 205-214: Christ’s Life and Ministry, including Lent.
2, 215-249: Christ’s Suffering and Cross, including Passion Sunday, Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Good Friday.

3, Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension.

Lenten Disciplines:

In the Church of Ireland, each day in Lent is marked as a ‘Day of Discipline and Self-Denial.’ Note that this does not include any of the Sundays in Lent.

Ash Wednesday, the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week, and Easter Eve are ‘Days of Special Observance.’

The Fifth Sunday in Lent marks the beginning of Passiontide.

The Book of Common Prayer says: ‘No celebration of a festival takes place during Holy Week.’

This is difficult in those few years when Saint Patrick’s Day falls in Holy Week. When the Feast of the Annunciation is transferred from 25 March it creates problems for some plans for the Mothers’ Union in some parishes, and for some parishes named Saint Mary’s that mark this day.

Some additional resources:

Sacred Space for Lent 2021 is a daily prayer experience from the Irish Jesuits and Sacred Space, the internationally known online prayer guide.

This resource, published two months ago [17 December 2020], is designed for use throughout Lent. Each day includes a Scripture reading and points of reflection, as well as a weekly topic enhanced by six steps of prayer and meditation.

Readers are invited to develop a closer relationship with God during this season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Throughout the Lenten season, each day includes a Scripture reading and points of reflection, as well as a weekly topic enhanced by six steps of prayer and meditation. With its small size and meaningful message, Sacred Space for Lent is a simple way to build a richer relationship with God and embrace the Lenten season as a sacred space.

Lent, Holy Week, Easter: Services and Prayers (London: Church House Publishing; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; London: SPCK, 1986 edition)

Harold Miller, Week of All Weeks, A prayer book for Holy Week and Easter Day (Dublin: Church of Ireland Publishing, 2015).

Time to Pray (London: Church House Publishing, 2006) – includes Daily Prayer for Lent, Passiontide and Easter.

Stations of the Cross in the Franciscan graveyard in Gormanston, Co Meath (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)