Worship

The three Sundays prior to Ash Wednesday are not ten days apart (that would indeed be quite miraculous), but nevertheless tradition gives these three "Gesima Sundays" the prefixes of Septua (70), Sexa (60), and Quinqua (50) as a countdown toward Lent. Quinquagesima is indeed 50 days before Easter, but Sexagesima and Septua aren't quite 60 and 70. Lent itself is that 40 day period (excluding Sundays, which traditionally are not penetential) from Ash Wendnesday to the Great Vigil on Holy Saturday.

In 2012, Septuagesima falls on the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany. In 2011, Septuagesima fell on the Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany. How can this be?

Epiphany is always on January 6, beginning immediately after the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 through January 5). We then have a period of "Sundays after Epiphany." However, the number of these Sundays after Epiphany varies because, beginning with Ash Wednesday, the church calendar switches over to its paschal cycle, which is determined not by fixed calendar dates (such as December 25, January 6 and February 2), but rather by the movable date of Easter, which the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 established as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the northern hemisphere's vernal equinox. The date of Easter can fall as early as March 22 or as late as April 25. That's quite a wide range.

Therefore, the "Sundays after the Epiphany" also have a wide range, because they have to fill the gap between the fixed date of Epiphany (January 6) through to the moveable date of Ash Wednesday (always 40 days before Easter, excluding Sundays). Sometimes there are only five Sundays after the Epiphany; sometimes there are nine. However many there are, the last three are always the gesima Sundays.

Collect:

O God, the strength of all those who put their trust in thee: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because, through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping thy commandments we may please thee both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The three Sundays prior to Ash Wednesday are not ten days apart (that would indeed be quite miraculous), but nevertheless tradition gives these three "Gesima Sundays" the prefixes of Septua (70), Sexa (60), and Quinqua (50) as a countdown toward Lent. Quinquagesima is indeed 50 days before Easter, but Sexagesima and Septua aren't quite 60 and 70. Lent itself is that 40 day period (excluding Sundays, which traditionally are not penetential) from Ash Wendnesday to the Great Vigil on Holy Saturday.

In 2012, Septuagesima falls on the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany. In 2011, Septuagesima fell on the Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany. How can this be?

Epiphany is always on January 6, beginning immediately after the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 through January 5). We then have a period of "Sundays after Epiphany." However, the number of these Sundays after Epiphany varies because, beginning with Ash Wednesday, the church calendar switches over to its paschal cycle, which is determined not by fixed calendar dates (such as December 25, January 6 and February 2), but rather by the movable date of Easter, which the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 established as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the northern hemisphere's vernal equinox. The date of Easter can fall as early as March 22 or as late as April 25. That's quite a wide range.

Therefore, the "Sundays after the Epiphany" also have a wide range, because they have to fill the gap between the fixed date of Epiphany (January 6) through to the moveable date of Ash Wednesday (always 40 days before Easter, excluding Sundays). Sometimes there are only five Sundays after the Epiphany; sometimes there are nine. However many there are, the last three are always the gesima Sundays.

Collect:

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins and give us, we beseech thee, the liberty of that abundant life which thou hast manifested to us in thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Centurion, first Gentile converted to Christianity

From Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2000:

The author of Acts considered Cornelius’ conversion very momentous for the future of Christianity. He records that it occurred as the result of divine intervention and revelation, and as a response to the preaching of Peter the chief apostle. The experience of Cornelius’ household was regarded as comparable to a new Pentecost, and it was a primary precedent for the momentous decision of the apostolic council, held in Jerusalem a few years later, to admit Gentiles to full and equal partnership with Jewish converts in the household of faith.

Collect:

O God, who by thy Spirit didst call Cornelius the Centurion to be the first Christian among the Gentiles: Grant to thy Church, we beseech thee, such a ready will to go where thou dost send and to do what thou dost command, that under thy guidance it may welcome all who turn to thee in love and faith, and proclaim the Gospel to all nations; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God, who dost govern all things in heaven and earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of thy people, and in our time grant us thy peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Collect:

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and all the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Collect:

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that thy people, illumined by thy Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Collect:

A short history of the Feast of the Holy Name, which coincides with New Year's Day, is in Lesser Feast and Fasts, as follows:

"The designation of this day as the Feast of the Holy Name is new to the 1979 revision of the Prayer Book. Previous Anglican Prayer Books called it the Feast of the Circumcision. January first is, of course, the eighth day after Christmas Day, and the Gospel according to Luke records that eight days after his birth the child was circumcised and given the name Jesus.

The Law of Moses required that every male child be circumcised on the eighth day from his birth (Leviticus 12:3); and it had long been the custom to make of it a festive occasion, when family and friends came together to witness the naming of the child.

The liturgical commemoration of the Circumcision is of Gallican origin, and a Council in Tours in 567 enacted that the day was to be kept as a fast day to counteract pagan festivities connected with the beginning of the new year. In the Roman tradition, January first was observed as the octave day of Christmas, and it was specially devoted to the Virgin Mother.

The early preachers of the Gospel lay stress on the name as showing that Jesus was a man of flesh and blood, though also the Son of God, who died a human death, and whom God raised from death to be the Savior (Acts 2:32; 4:12). The name was given to Jesus, as the angel explained to Joseph, because he would 'save his people from their sins' (Matthew 1:21). (The word means 'Savior' or 'Deliverer' in Hebrew.)"

In 2006, the Feast of the Holy Name fell on a Sunday, and therfore Father Austin gave a sermon on the topic.

Collect:

Eternal Father, who didst give to thine incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation: Plant in every heart, we beseech thee, the love of him who is the Savior of the world, even our Lord Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Collect:

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

Collect:

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

Collect:

We beseech thee, Almighty God, to purify our consciences by thy daily visitation, that when thy Son our Lord cometh he may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Collect:

Stir up thy power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let thy bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be honor and glory, world without end. Amen.

Collect:

Merciful God, who sent thy messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Advent Sunday is the start of a new church year. At Saint Thomas, we celebrate Advent Sunday with a Procession at 11am and 4pm.

Advent puts the end in the present and asks you to prepare, not for a distant future (for you know not when) but as if the future is today, because it is. Christ has already won the victory, and your past is already fully known. There's no time like the present to turn to God.

As you contemplate what was, and is, and is to come, consider any of these advent sermons in the archive:

A Sermon for Advent (2011) by Fr Spurlock
Advent Waiting (2011) by Fr Daniels
Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell, and a Very Merry Christmas to You (2011) by Fr Mead
Actuarial Science for Advent (2010) by Fr Mead
Five Grace Notes for Advent (2010) by Fr Mead
Are You Ready? (2010) by Fr Spurlock
Stop the Presses (2009) by Fr Mead
Good News for a Brood of Vipers (2009) by Fr Mead
Two Stories for Advent (2009) by Fr Mead
Be the Good News (2008) by Fr Mead
The Vision Glorious (2008) by Fr Mead
Christ the Warrior (2007) by Fr Mead
Rediscovery by Way of God's Anger (2007) by Fr Austin
Pinning Down our Salvation (2006) by Fr Mead
One Last Dance (2006) by Fr Andrew
Incense and Sulfer (2006) by Fr Mead
Pursued by Amos (2006) by Fr Austin
Christ's Advent -- The World's End (2005) by Fr Mead
A Sermon for the Second Sunday of Advent (2005) by Fr Stafford
The Secrets of Our Dark Hearts to Light (2005) by Fr Austin
The Forerunner (2005) by Fr Mead
The Element of Suprise (2004) by Fr Mead
Wake Up and Live (2004) by Fr Mead
The End of the Rope (2004) by Fr Mead
In Case You Die? (2003) by Fr Mead

Collect:

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

Collect:

Fittingly, the church year ends with the Feast of Christ the King, with Jesus "seated at the right hand of God the Father, and he shall come again to judge the quick and the dead."

Fittingly, too, next week a new chuch year begins, and with it we prepare for the coming of Christ.

And so the church year ends with the beginning and begins with the end. The kingship already won by Christ is precisely what is to come.

As you think about this, consider these sermons:

Where We're Going (2011) by Fr Austin
The Kingship of Christ (2011) by Fr Fletcher
A Different Warrior King (2009) by Fr Mead
Christ the King, and the Stranger (2008) by Fr Mead
Life with Christ the King (2007) by Fr Austin
The King's Highway: Of Judgment (2006) by Fr Andrew
Christ the King, Love Almighty (2005) by Fr Mead
An Invitation to Join the Penitent Thief (2004) by Fr Mead

Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in thy well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.