This 1913 engraving is of Christian, the protagonist of Pilgrim's Progress, burdened as he leaves his town behind, seeking redemption. Today we celebrate writer and preacher John Bunyan. For more on his life and work, tune in to the service of Noonday Prayer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnU0TDstCws&t=3s
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Today’s saint is William Porcher DuBose, an Episcopal priest, author, and teacher. Born in South Carolina in 1836, he went to what’s now called The Citadel in Charleston, then went on to University of Virginia in Charlottesville. During the Civil War, he fought and later was a chaplain in the Confederate Army.
After the war, he was a parish priest until 1871, when he began as a professor of theology at University of the South, Sewanee. Some consider him the best theologian the Episcopal Church ever had. He served as Dean of the School of Theology from 1894 until 1908, dying ten years later. A writer as well as a teacher, he used his knowledge of the Early Church Fathers and of Greek philosophy to pen such books as The Gospel in the Gospels and The Soteriology of the New Testament. (Soteriology is a 50-cent word for the doctrine of salvation.) Here’s an interesting sidelight: DuBose, whose family had been slave owners, was also a defender of slavery and of the early Ku Klux Klan. In 1902 he wrote to honor a Confederate general who had died. “Liable to many abuses and evils, it [slavery] could also be the nurse of many great and beautiful virtues.” He died in 1918, apparently without changing his mind about that. The Episcopal Church, in now coming to terms with ideas of reparation and systemic racism, is considering removing him from the list of saints honored in Lesser Feasts and Fasts. (Meaning he’s not as big a deal as, say, Saint Paul or Saint Mary Magdalene.) There is no precedent, though there is a procedure, for removing a saint from the calendar. Next year, there will be a vote, the second required one, to remove him as a saint. Also of interest to me is that he wasn't a saint until 1971; the Church requires a waiting period of 50 years after a person's death before they can achieve official sainthood. the thought of removing DuBose speaks to how the Church has changed in my lifetime. Prayer: Almighty God, you gave to your servant William Porcher DuBose special gifts of grace to understand the Scriptures and to teach the truth as it is in Christ Jesus: Grant that by this teaching we may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. The painting in a church in Venice is by Titian, entitled the Martyrdom of St. Lawrence. deacon and martyr d. 258 Lawrence (also spelled Laurence), who was one of seven deacons in Rome, was martyred during one of the persecutions of Christians in the third century. Knowing his death was near, he gave away the wealth of the church where he worked. His death caused many to embrace the new faith. He was likely beheaded, but the legend grew that he was roasted on a gridiron, as the painting shows. He is supposed to have shown great bravery and even humor, telling the Roman soldiers that he was done on that side and could be turned over. Thus, in the Church’s logic, he became the patron saint not only of the poor, but also of cooks. The Basilica of San Lorenzo in Rome is built over his supposed burial place. Prayer: Almighty God, by whose grace and power your servant Laurence triumphed over suffering and despised death: Grant that we may be steadfast in service to the poor and outcast, and may share with him in the joys of your everlasting kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Resurrection of Christ and Women at the Tomb by Fra Angelico, at Church of San Marco This is an interesting week for saints of the church, all of whom are connected with the crucifixion, about whom we have little of the usual information such as birth and death dates. August 1 is the day we commemorate Joseph of Arimathea, who was a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin, He went to Pilate to gain permission to take Jesus’ body and bury it before the Sabbath, and he put the body in his own tomb. On August 3, we have the three women who carried spices to the tomb. Mark names them Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. Luke adds Joanna, whom he mentions earlier as the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza (which helps us not at all). We can’t know for sure who these women are (is this the same Salome who danced for Herod?). We do know, however, that all four Gospel writers indicate that women were at the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. This was customarily a woman’s role in both Jewish and Greek cultures—it was women who brought bodies into the world and women who saw those bodies were properly washed and anointed at death. Learn more in the segment from Noonday Prayer at Christ Church, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtlKulkq65k&t=9s |
Saints Alive!
I have been privileged to offer Noonday Prayer at my church, usually on Thursdays, which doesn’t matter because it’s on Youtube forever. [It’s amazing what can be done with a smartphone and a smart, helpful parish administrator!] The service is brief, with a place for a meditation. We usually look at the Episcopal calendar of saints, who are nearly always honored on their death dates, not their birth dates. Here is a hymn by medieval saint Hildegard of Bingen to set the mood.
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