Ignatius, who was martyred in Rome around 115, was one of the second generation of Christians. He was likely born around a.d. 30 or 35, in modern-day Turkey. He’s most known for the series of seven letters he wrote on his way to Rome to meet his death. In one of them, he includes what many scholars believe is the first written usage of the word Christianity. Ignatius's martyrdom was planned as part of the festivities in Rome celebrating a military victory. We don’t perhaps understand how watching a seventy-plus-year old man die in the amphitheater is celebratory, but much about that era puzzles us. Ignatius and others were eager to become martyrs, which was considered a great honor. In fact, Ignatius’s greatest fear was that someone in Rome would intercede for him and nullify his conviction as a Christian. In his letter to Christians in Rome, he wrote, “I fear your kindness, which may harm me. You may be able to achieve what you plan. But if you pay no heed to my request it will be very difficult for me to attain unto God….I am God’s wheat, to be ground by the teeth of beasts, so that I may be offered as pure bread of Christ.…If you remain silent about me, I shall become a word of God.” And so he did; the powers that be intended to frighten Christians, but Ignatius's bold witness had the opposite effect. Thanks be to God. Prayer: Almighty God, we praise your Name for your bishop and martyr Ignatius of Antioch, who offered himself as grain to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts that he might present to you the pure bread of sacrifice. Accept, we pray, the willing tribute of our lives and give us a share in the pure and spotless offering of your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
0 Comments
Born to Congregationalist missionaries in India in 1861, Scudder and her mother were confirmed in the Episcopal church during the 1870, by no less a person than Phillips Brooks, the noted preacher (and composer of "O Little Town of Bethlehem"). After receiving an excellent education, she founded the College Settlements Association and Denison House in Boston, while also teaching at Wellesley College, which was then an all-women's college. After a breakdown from overwork, Scudder went to Italy to recuperate. Two years later she returned to the U.S. and once again was busy with social activism. In 1911, she became a Christian Socialist; the following year, she supported the textile workers' strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. She supported the First World War, but later became a pacifist. She began writing after her retirement from teaching, and became the first woman published in the Anglican Theological Review. She died on October 10, 1954. PRAYER Most gracious God, you sent your beloved Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Raise up in your church witnesses who, after the example of your servant Vida Dutton Scudder, stand firm in proclaiming the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Photo of the basilica built in Francis' honor, taken by Alessio Patron on Unsplash Here’s the thing—Francis was never more than a friar and a deacon. He never was a priest or a martyr. He may have preached to the animals and he may have written some beautiful lyrics we occasionally sing. But he was much more than the movies about him have made him seem to be. Yes, there was that famous confrontation with his father, a wealthy merchant, after Francis sold a bale of silk to pay for repairs on the church of San Damiano. When his father publicly disowned Francis, the young man stripped and walked away to live among the poor. Within a few years others joined him to live simply, working and asking to be paid in food. In 1210 the pope authorized the order of the Friars Minor (Little Brothers), commonly called Franciscans. Francis himself was against the idea and the rapid growth of the order. Eventually, the order split into those accepting the level of poverty Francis favored and those who said property held in common would be okay. The part I didn't know: Francis in 1219 went to the Holy Land to speak with the ruling sultan and try to convert him to Christianity. Although impressed with true Christian teaching, the sultan did not convert. This was during one of the Crusades, making the journey and the idea dangerous. Francis also wanted an end to the fighting; he drew up a peace agreement. The Moslem ruler signed it, but the Christians would not. However, the Moslems agreed that Christian shrines could return to Christian control. Francis died on October 4, 1226 at the age of 44. Prayer Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant your people grace to renounce gladly the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may, for love of you, delight in your whole creation with perfectness of joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Stained glass from a window at St. Giles in Cripplegate, England Lancelot Andrewes b. 1555 d. Sept. 26, 1626 Bishop Lancelot Andrewes had the difficult task of advancing Anglican ideas during a tricky time in English church history. In 1580 he was ordained a deacon; after nine years, he began parish ministry. In 1605 he became bishop first at Chichester, then Ely, then Winchester. He had earlier refused posts as Bishop of Salisbury and Ely, because Elizabeth I wanted cooperation to reduce the power of the church. He became lord almoner from 1605-1619, which means he distributed alms to the poor and needy. He then became dean of the chapels royal and was reputed to be an excellent court preacher. He criticized both Puritan reforms and Calvinist dogmas, treading that middle way of Anglicanism. Most of his work was in opposition to the Catholic church, particularly following the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Catholics tried to blow up Parliament and the entire royal family. If you love the King James Version of the Bible, you can thank Lancelot Andrewes, who did much of the translation. Not only did he know Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, but he also knew 18 other languages. PRAYER (contemporary language) Perfect in us, Almighty God, whatever is lacking of your gifts: of faith, to increase it; of hope, to establish it; of love, to kindle it; that like your servant Lancelot Andrewes we may live in the life of your grace and glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the same Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. b. about 602 d. 690 The life of Theodore, the eighth Archbishop of Canterbury, who was from Paul's hometown in modern-day Turkey, spanned most of the seventh century. Commissioned in Rome in 669, he arrived in England several years later, when he was nearly seventy. Theodore re-staffed empty bishoprics and re-organized the dioceses under his control; many had been decimated by the effects of the plague. He also founded a school in Canterbury to teach Greek and Latin which went on to influence many, including the Venerable Bede, on whose writings we rely for a history of the English church up to his own time. In 1672 Theodore also convened the first Council of all English Churches. Church laws drawn up during his administration, as well as the structure of dioceses and parishes, managed to continue in large part, despite the upheavals of the 16th and 17th centuries, to the present day. Prayer: Almighty God, who gave your servant Theodore of Tarsus gifts of grace and wisdom to establish unity where there had been division and order where there had been chaos: Create in your church, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, such godly union and concord that it may proclaim, both by word and example, the Gospel of the Prince of Peace; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Saint of the Day September 13 b. about 200 ce in Carthage, North Africa d. September 258 in Carthage, North Africa Born into a wealthy pagan family, Cyprian was educated in and practiced law. In 246 he converted to Christianity, and became a bishop about 2 years later. The church faced persecution under the Roman emperor Decian. Christians had two options to escape martyrdom. They could get a written excuse, called a libelli, which stated that they had sacrificed to pagan gods, as required. Or they could recant completely. Cyprian went into hiding; many believers were frightened and felt abandoned. Cyprian returned when the persecution died down, but the church faced a problem: could those who had become apostate be returned to the church? and who had the right to decide this? Cyprian took heat for disappearing, but he was minded to allow members of the laity to return, though not apostate bishops. Decisions of a council of bishops he convened set precedent for a forgiving church. Carthage suffered a severe plague epidemic during Emperor Valerian’s reign. Cyprian organized a program of medical relief and nursing of the sick, available to all residents. Most people, however, believed that the epidemic resulted from the wrath of the Roman gods at the spread of Christianity. Another persecution arose, and this time Cyprian did not flee. He was arrested, tried, and finally beheaded on 14 September 258. (Because the 14th is Holy Cross Day, he is usually commemorated on a nearby open day.) Prayer Almighty God, who gave to your servant Cyprian boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 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 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. |
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.
Archives
April 2024
Categories |