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A Minor Saint: Alfred the Great

The Prayer Book tradition has always included “black letter days”, that is, commemorations listed in a calendar of various saints of old.  They are distinct from the Major Feast Days: those each have their own Collect and Lessons in the Prayer Book, at least one special reading in the Daily Office, and are expected to be observed by all.  The commemorations in the calendar, variously called “lesser feasts” or “minor saints days”, however, are optional.  The early Prayer Books didn’t even contain resources by which these days could be observed in the liturgy, they were simply points of reference and remembrance.

As time has passed, standard resources for the observance of these lesser feasts have come together.  Typically, the idea is to have a small selection of Collects and Lessons for different types or categories of saints (one for Bishops, one for Martyrs, one for Monastics, etc.).  Over time, however, more and more of the minor saints received unique sets of Collects and Lessons.  The Episcopal Church, USA, ended up with many of these in its volume, Lesser Feasts and Fasts.  So far, it seems that the ACNA is moving back toward the simpler approach by providing 9 thematic Collects and Lessons for these minor saints days.

Let’s say you want to observe today’s commemoration, King Alfred the Great, at a Friday Eucharist service.  He is known for his work in fixing up the church in his realm, and renewing Anglo-Saxon society, so the categories Reformer of the Church and Renewer of Society both fit, as well as the generic “Of Any Commemoration” options.  The Collects are the end of this document, and the Lessons at the end of this.

As an aside, if you want the new Prayer Book to print the Collects and Lessons together to cut down on unnecessary page-flipping, please join my cause and send them an email! liturgytaskforce@anglicanchurch.net

Or, if you want to make use of what the Episcopalians came up with a little over ten years ago:

O Sovereign Lord, you brought your servant Alfred to a troubled throne that he might establish peace in a ravaged land and revive learning and the arts among the people: Awake in us also a keen desire to increase our understanding while we are in this world, and an eager longing to reach that endless life where all will be made clear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Wisdom 6:1–3,9–12,24–25 (wisdom literature about wise kings and rulers)

Psalm 21:1–7 (a king who trusts in God) or 112:1–9 (the blessedness of the righteous)

Luke 6:43–49 (good and evil fruit; wise and foolish builders)

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Which James do we celebrate tomorrow?

Tomorrow, October 23rd, is the major feast day commemorating Saint James of Jerusalem.  This is a “new feast”, in that it was introduced in the mid- or late-20th century, not being found in the classical prayer books.  The reason for this is, in part, a shift in scholarly understanding of who is who in the New Testament.

Saint James of Jerusalem, or “James the Just”, is the man we read about in Acts 15 who presided over a council concerning the status of the Gentiles in the Christian Church – a landmark event both in the confirmation of the Gospel being for everyone, and in the practical working life of Church leadership.  James functioned essentially as the diocesan bishop in Jerusalem, other apostles and elders were gathered, they heard arguments and agreed upon a final ruling – it’s literally the first Synod in Church history.

Many scholars today identify this James also as the author of the New Testament Epistle of James, who self-identifies as “brother of the Lord.”  In the Protestant world this goes with the assumption that this James is one of Jesus’ brothers, though the force of historical interpretation of Scripture would suggest that this James is at most simply a relative of Jesus, perhaps a cousin or a half-brother.  In the past, though, James the Just (or, of Jerusalem) has sometimes been identified as one of the twelve apostles, especially James the Less, whom we commemorate with St. Philip on May 1st.  Wikipedia has a handy list with references.

So, as you begin his commemoration tonight at Evening Prayer with his Collect of the Day, keep the James of Acts 15 in mind.

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Extra readings for St. Luke

Happy Saint Luke’s Day!
If you’re following the current ACNA liturgy, the Morning Prayer readings include Luke 1:1-4, which is a break from the usual pattern of lessons inserted to celebrate the holy day.  There, you’ll be introduced to Luke’s intention as a writer of Scripture.  If you attend Holy Communion today you’ll hear other readings pertaining to the feast day.

Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 38:1-14 is a passage of Jewish wisdom literature extolling the virtues of the role of a physician in society.  It addresses both the worldly function of healing and wellness as well as the spiritual aspects of prayer for healing and care for the soul.  Luke, being known as a physician as well as an Evangelist, is an excellent embodiment of this wisdom text.

2 Timothy 4:1-13 serves a dual purpose on this feast day.  On the more basic level, it mentions Luke toward the end of the reading.  We learn that Luke was among St. Paul’s final companions during his incarceration in Rome.  But the larger part of the reading is a sort of “last charge” to Paul’s son-in-the-faith, Timothy, who himself was at that point a local bishop elsewhere.  The instructions to preach and teach the faith without wavering, for the benefit of his hearers’ souls, are not unlike the role of a spiritual physician, tending to the spiritual health of the flock.  The Collect of the Day is largely informed by this dynamic:

Almighty God, you called Luke the physician to be an evangelist and physician of the soul: We pray that we, by the wholesome medicine of the doctrine which he taught, may have all the diseases of our souls be healed; through Jesus Christ our Lord…

Finally, Luke 4:14-21 brings this back to Jesus.  In these verses, Jesus reads an Old Testament prophecy concerning himself: that he would minister to the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed.  Those who need healing will find their health in him.  Saint Luke was a great physician of body and soul, but Jesus is the great physician, through whom all who come to him find wholeness and strength.

But if you want to sit with this holy day in greater depth and search the scriptures further, here are some other passages you could read on your own time (or perhaps at Midday Prayer or Compline).

  • Isaiah 55 (various pictures of life and healing that God offers)
  • Isaiah 61:1-6 (the text Jesus quoted from, with more context)
  • Colossians 4:7-end (a “greetings” passage that identifies Luke as a physician)
  • 2 Timothy 3:10-end (more of St. Paul’s “last charge”, leading up to the epistle lesson at Holy Communion)
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Get ready for St. Luke!

Tomorrow is October 18th, Saint Luke’s Day.
So don’t forget all the usual stuff: his feast day’s Collect is to be read at Evening Prayer tonight, watch out for the different reading in the Daily Office tomorrow (in the ACNA daily lectionary, or two different readings if you’re using a different modern one), and if your church offers a Thursday Eucharist service check today if you can make it tomorrow and celebrate Saint Luke the Evangelist!

But there’s more you can do on your own to observe a holy day such as St. Luke’s.  The Eve of a major feast day is set forth in the 1662 Prayer Book as a day of discipline, for fasting and abstinence.  Look at the ordinary pattern of your daily life – what can you deny yourself today, and how can you celebrate tomorrow?  Perhaps you can deny desserts today and celebrate tomorrow with a nice single malt.  Perhaps you can pray the Great Litany today (if you weren’t going to already on the account of it being a Wednesday) and spruce up tomorrow’s worship with an extra psalm, hymn, or song of praise.  Perhaps you can skip dinner this evening, replace it with a time of extended reading or study about St. Luke and his New Testament books (Luke and Acts), and then celebrate with a big healthy and yummy break-fast in the morning!

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A Special Pastoral-Liturgical Opportunity

A month from today is 11/11 – Veteran’s Day in the USA, Remembrance Day in several other countries; originally Armistice Day, commemorating the end of the Great War (WW1) in 1918.  This year is the centenary of the Armistice and the institution of this multi-national state holiday.  And it falls on a Sunday!

Normally state holidays like this do not take precedence over the regular Sunday Propers (Collect & Lessons), though in England, I believe Remembrance Day is big enough to observe on Sunday.  Given the special timing of this particular November 11th, however, it struck this small-church Vicar as an opportune moment to break the usual rules of precedence in our Calendar and plan to celebrate Armistice Day on Sunday 11/11.  And yes, I got my Bishop’s permission to do this!

If you have veterans in your congregation, as I do, this could be a very special opportunity to honor and minister to them.  That’s why this article is entitled a “special pastoral-liturgical opportunity.”  How can you implement this in your church?  Let us count the ways:

  1. Go all-out and use the Collect & Lessons for Remembrance/Veteran’s/Memorial Day (copied below).
  2. Reference poetry contemporary with the War such as Dulce et Decorum est or For the fallen.
  3. Reference the origin of Veteran’s Day in the USA.
  4. Include hymns such as the second stanza of I vow to thee my country, or Faith of our fathers! or God bless our native land or In Christ there is no East or West or O God of earth and altar or even Silent Night (referencing the Christmas Day Armistice of 1914, and providing a haunting double meaning to the phrase “sleep in heavenly peace”).
  5. Browse the Church of England’s vast collection of resources surrounding their observance of this day for other bits and bobs you might incorporate locally.

There are so many directions this observance can go: the noble call of patriotic service to one’s country, the devastating idolatry of nationalism run wild, commemorating the departed (not unlike All Soul’s Day back on November 2nd), praying for our current service-men and -women and veterans.  For sure, do what makes sense for your congregation!  But it strikes me as a very special opportunity to seize.

Collect and Lessons in Texts for Common Prayer

O King and Judge of the nations: We remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our armed forces, who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy; grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, now and forever.  Amen.

Wisdom 3:1-9, Psalm 121, Revelation 7:9-17, John 11:21-27 or 15:12-17

NOTE: the reading from Revelation is also an option for All Saints’ Day, so if you go for this commemoration be aware that you might end up with the same Epistle lesson twice in a row unless you plan carefully.

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Looking Ahead: Sts. Simon & Jude

While you’re out flinging holy water at your friends’ animals for a Saint Francis Day blessing, let’s take a moment to look ahead towards the end of this month. Specifically, let’s look at October 28th.

The last Sunday of this month, the 28th, is Saints Simon and Jude Day. Chances are you’ve already got a sermon topic in mind by now, but give this some consideration…

The Prayer Books before 1979 had a different approach to Major Feast Days: whenever one landed on a Sunday, it was celebrated on that Sunday in place of the regular Collect and Lessons. Advent, Lent, Eastertide, Ascensiontide, Pentecost and Trinity Sunday were exempt from this, but that leaves Epiphanytide, Trinitytide, and Christmastide fair game for the celebration of Major Saints’ Days on Sundays. Only in the ’79 book, with the introduction of a completely new Sunday lectionary and radically revised calendar system, did this rule get relegated to the status of “rare exception.” Today, many Anglicans are completely unfamiliar with the idea of celebrating Major Feast Days on Sundays.

Although the Calendar and Sunday lectionary of our up-and-coming Prayer Book remains in the modernist form akin to that of 1979, the rubrics have changed, allowing for this piece of the Anglican tradition to make a return. Specifically, the Calendar of the Christian Year says:

Any of these feasts that fall on a Sunday, other than in Advent, Lent and Easter, may be observed on that Sunday or transferred to the nearest following weekday.

Here two choices are given: observe it on Sunday or on the next free weekday (usually Monday). One can understand this rubric either to be posing both options as equal recommendations or the first option as primary and the second option as secondary. The Saint Aelfric Customary opts for the traditional choice – if it isn’t too late for your worship planning, consider giving Saints Simon and Jude a try that Sunday!