There is a difference in the gospel reading this Sunday between the Roman Catholic and the Revised Common Lectionaries.
collect/opening prayer reflection August 22 and week following [NZPB]
collect/opening prayer reflection August 22 and week following [Common Worship CofE]
BCP (TEC):
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered
together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your
power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The above collect is the 1928 new collect for Tuesday in Whitsun Week. The preamble originates from a Gregorian collect for Friday after Pentecost (# 542). The petition is new.
You can share any comments as well as any resources, ideas, sermon-starters, children’s activities, hymns, prayers, etc. in the comments section below.
My own notes preparing for Sunday’s sermon around the concept of healing on the Sabbath:
Activities prohibited on Shabbat
Sabbath mode
My refrigerator has “Sabbath Mode”
The Geek Guide to Kosher Machines
Image: Christ healing the crippled woman who was bent over (mid fourth century sarcophagus).
I have to be honest that I’m not real familiar with the liturgy way of doing things. Can you explain the structure, origination, “rules” and benefits of Lectionaries? I enjoy reading your blogs and following you on twitter. I’m always intrigued with Christianity as it has been for hundreds of years.
Steve, it’s hard to know where to begin, because you give no idea of what you are familiar with. How much have you actually looked around this site dedicated to liturgy? How much do you understand the liturgical life at the time of the scriptures? Or how much do you understand the Jewish liturgy, calendar, lectionary? What way does your church tradition systematically read the Bible together? It’s great you are here and asking the question – have you read this? Looking forward to your ongoing and fruitful presence here.
I am struck by the phrase “show forth Your power,” especially in the context of healing. It’s such a small phrase, and really a throwaway phrase. I mean, how many of us act as if we are really tapping onto the power of the Almighty when we pray? Why don’t we heal each other by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ? Do we believe its there? Or not?
In Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard writes, “On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, making up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews.”
And the first to blow was man’s creating the Sabbath in his own image.
Peace.