Month: August 2020

30Aug

Celebration of the Word, for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost 2020

  1. Opening Acclamation: From Psalm 95:6
  2. Organ prelude: “Prelude by Orlando Gibbons” performed by David Joseph Stith at the First Presbyterian Church in Austin Texas, used in accordance with Creative Commons license.   
  3. First Reading: Jeremiah 15:15-2, King James Bible.
  4. Psalm 26:1-8, King James Version.
  5. Gloria Patri: J. S. Bach (1685-1750), from “Magnificat” BWV 243, performed by the Tudor Consort, used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
  6. Second Reading: Romans 12:9-21, World English Bible.
  7. Organ Sequence: Starling Goodwin (1711-1774), “London New, Interlude 3”, uploaded to YouTube by Chordis and Organo, used in accordance with Creative Commons license.  
  8. Gospel: Matthew 16:21-28, World English Bible.
  9. The Lord’s Prayer: from Matthew 6.
  10. Blessing: 2 Corinthians 13.
  11. Amen: J. S. Bach (1685-1750), “Amen” BWV 1083, performed by Ensemble Imero, used in accordance with Creative Commons license.

The Bible passages were recorded by Librivox, and are in the public domain. Readings correspond to the Revised Common Lectionary.

23Aug

Spurgeon Reflection on Romans 12:2

Spurgeon on Romans 12:2

The following reading is from a collection of devotions entitled Morning and Evening, Daily Readings, and have been made into a set of public domain audio files by Librivox. The texts are widely available for free; A useful searchable version is online at The Blue Letter Bible. The Revised Common Lectionary, used by many Christian groups, appoints Romans 12:1-8 as a reading for this week.

23Aug

Celebration of the Word, for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost 2020

12 Sunday after Pentecost 2020
  1. Opening Acclamation: From Psalm 118.
  2. Anthem: Jacob Handl (1550-1591), “In nomine jesu”, performed by Chór Słowiki at the church of St. John the Baptist in Szczecin, Poland. Uploaded to YouTube by “andkuba99” and used in accordance with Creative Commons license. Translation: “In the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth and every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father. Alleluia.”
  3. First Reading: Isaiah 51:1-6, King James Bible.
  4. Psalm 138, King James Version.
  5. Second Reading: Romans Romans 12:1-8, World English Bible.
  6. Hymn: “Be Still My Soul”, performed by the Thomas Cumberland Choir, from “Sunday Hymn Sing” in the Community Audio section of Archive.org.
  7. Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20, World English Bible.
  8. Lord’s Prayer: From Luke 11.  
  9. Blessing: 1 Timothy 1:17.
  10. Postlude: Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621), “Fantasia Cromatica”. Performed by Jin Kyung Limon the Fisk organ at Stanford University, Nov 2015; Used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
17Aug

“Today We Remember Our Manners”

The “Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary” or “The Falling Asleep of Mary” is kept on August 15, in some fashion, by many churches. The Roman Catholics celebrate the “Assumption of Mary”, the Orthodox communities honor the “Dormition of Mary”. Much could be said about the various ideas surrounding the departure of Mary from her earthly life. However, when Aug 15 rolls around, the primary thing that leaps to my mind is an old sermon that was delivered by the late Canon John Andrew, in his retirement from the position of rector of St. Thomas Church in New York City. The message instilled in me, a Protestant, a greater appreciation for Marian devotion.

“Today we remember our manners” He intoned. “We pay our dues. We thank God for the gift to the world of the Mother of Christ whose departure for God we celebrate.”

I recall Father Andrew urging Christians to avoid two errors. On the one hand, it is “stingy” to pay her no respect at all: “She gave Christ birth, and bore him into the world of you and me. She taught him to talk. She taught him to say his prayers. I wonder if it was she who first taught him the ‘Our Father’? There was no thought in the early Church that by honoring Mary, spite would be done to her Son and Savior. Christ would lose no iota of worship for having his Mother honored in this way and it a gross begrudging to think otherwise.”

On the other hand, “What can make you uncomfortable, and rightly so, are the sentimental flights of fancy and the sugarcoating of the enthusiasts who took her role out of all proportion to her human state of creatureliness, and tinseled her with quasi-divinity. She must shudder at the attempt.”

“All we celebrate today is Heaven’s welcome of her when her earthly life was over.”

Amen. 

(A transcript of this sermon from August 2013 is available at St Thomas’ sermon archive).

16Aug

A Celebration of the Word for the 11th Sunday After Pentecost: Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary

11th Sunday after Pentecost 2020
  1. Opening Acclamation: from Psalm 51
  2. Anthem: Pascale Colasse (1649-1709), “Beata Es Maria”, uploaded to YouTube by “L Jeanne”, used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
  3. First Reading: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8, King James Bible.
  4. Psalm 67, King James Version.
  5. Gloria Patri: Excerpted from Puer Natus Est, sung at the Abbey of St. Martin of Ligugé, uploaded to YouTube by “Musique Sacree”, used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
  6. Second Reading: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32, World English Bible.
  7. Hymn: Anthem: William Byrd (1540-1623), “Ave Virgo Sanctissima”, sung by Ars Mvsica. In the public domain, at Archive.org.  Translation: “Hail, Holy Virgin, most blessed Mother of God, bright star of the sea. Hail, ever glorious, precious pearl, lovely as the lily, beautiful and perfumed as the rose.”
  8. Gospel: Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28, World English Bible.
  9. Lord’s Prayer (latin): Sung by the Tudor Consort. Public domain.   
  10. Blessing: 2 Corinthians 13.
  11. Postlude: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) “Art of Fugue Contrapunctus 1”. Performed by Benjamin Alard on the organ of l’église d’Arques-la-Bataille; Used in accordance with Creative Commons license.

The Bible passages were recorded by Librivox, and are in the public domain. Readings correspond to the Revised Common Lectionary.

09Aug

Celebration of the Word for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost 2020

  1. Opening Acclamation: from Psalm 118
  2. Prelude: Amazing Grace, for trombone quartet by Hisashi Arayama, used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
  3. First Reading: 1 Kings 19:9-18, King James Bible.
  4. Psalm 85:8-13, King James Version.
  5. Second Reading: Romans 10:5-15, World English Bible.
  6. Hymn: “Eternal Father Strong To Save” (Navy Hymn), sung by U.S. Navy Band; Public Domain.
  7. Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33, World English Bible.
  8. Lord’s Prayer by Malotte: Sung by Kathleen Battle with harp by Nancy Allen, live for the visit of Pope Benedict to the U.S. 2009, uploated to youtube by “kinddude”, used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
  9. Praise to God: from 1 Timothy 1:17.
  10. Postlude: “Eternal Father Strong To Save” (Instrumental), by U.S. Navy Band; Public Domain.

The Bible passages were recorded by Librivox, and are in the public domain. Readings correspond to the Revised Common Lectionary. (I decided to revert to the KJV for the reading from 1 Kings, because hearing “Yahweh of Armies” in place of “Lord of Hosts” is just too jarring for me).  The two versions of the Navy Hymn can be found at The Internet Archive.

02Aug

A Celebration for the 9th Sunday After Pentecost

  1. Prelude: Heinrich Scheidemann (ca. 1595-1663): Praeambulum in G, performed on the organ of Reformierten Kirche in Uttum, uploaded to YouTube by Jens Engel, and used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
  2. Opening Acclamation: from Psalm 95:6
  3. First Reading: Isaiah 55:1-5, World English Bible.
  4. Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21, King James Version.
  5. Second Reading: Romans 9:1-5, World English Bible.
  6. Organ Sequence: Eugene Gigout (1844-1925), excerpt from “Album grègorien: Tranquilo”, uploaded to YouTube by chordis & organo, used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
  7. Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21, World English Bible.
  8. The Lord’s Prayer: Chanted by unknown congregation, uploaded to YouTube by “LabourerFaith”, and used in accordance with Creative Commons License.
  9. Blessing: The Aaronic Blessing from Numbers 6 (King James Version).
  10. Organ Postlude: Eugene Gigout : Toccata in B major, performed by Joshua Sobel at the Edenton St UMC Church, Raleigh, NC, used in accordance with Creative Commons license.

The Bible passages were recorded by Librivox, and are in the public domain. Readings correspond to the Revised Common Lectionary.

01Aug

A. W. Tozer on Unity

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”
― A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God.