Adult Forum Fall 2006

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

Ann Boyd

“Episcopalians are people of a prayer book.” What does this mean?

The maxim, lex orandi lex credendi means the way we pray determines the way we believe. Worship and religious activity – what we do, how we do it, what we say and how we say it – reveals our belief. Episcopalians are liturgical theologians. The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and the manner in which we celebrate worship is theological in that it is “God-talk”. Theology also refers to the way we talk about God. The “outline of the faith” in the BCP spells out believes we proclaim in worship. We do not test members on their correct understanding of the Trinity or of Christology as foundational theological concepts in Christianity but we offer and prayer and praise to the Father, son, and Holy Spirit, and we believe that Jesus is the full revelation of God in human form.

Worship:

Worship implies honor and assigns worth to what is thought worthy of worship, so worship also has to do with value. Is there a fixed point of worship? So often today we hear that “all things are relative.” Relative to what? Is there nothing constant? Even Einstein’s theory of relativity included a constant: the speed of light. In the famous equation E = mc2 the speed of light is the constant, c. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder. Truth and goodness imply some constant that gives a grounding to the claim. If we cannot choose a fixed point of value, then either we do not have one or one must be given to us in some way. One primary function of religion is acknowledging the giving of an absolute value system, a fixed point that generally speaking is outside of us. Through religion, human beings seek to enshrine, remember, understand, and communicate certain moments when they believe the absolute is given and received. Moses encountered the burning bush and yet the bush was not consumed (Ex. 3:2). In the encounter, God communicates with Moses: “I am what I am.” The absolute does not depend on the observer. The revelation comes to him from beyond him. When Peter, James and John witnessed the transfiguration and saw Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah, Peter wanted to make shrines to remember the event but the voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son; Listen to him” (Mk 9:7). In John’s account of the Last Supper, Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (Jn 15:16).

The word holy expresses the impossible actuality of the overpowering presence of something beyond us. Worship is our human response to the holy God. It is our way of responding to what we perceive as absolute value, source of love, freedom, comfort, and redemption. We as Christians believe that God love is revealed in Christ. We worship corporately, in community. Worshiping God in community brings forth a sense of shared values about the worth of life, what deserves our attention, how to live together, how to shape our laws, national policies, what to do with our talents. Christian worship is both individual and corporate.

We gather together as the people of God for corporate worship. The BCP (p13) puts it this way: “The Holy Eucharist, the principal act of Christian worship on the Lord’s Day and other major feasts, and Daily Morning and Evening Prayer, as set forth in this book are the regular services appointed for public worship in this Church.” Further in the BCP p 859, in the Outline of the Faith: “…the Eucharist, the Church’s sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, is the way by which the sacrifice of Christ is made present, and in which Christ unites us to his one offering of himself…the benefits we receive are the forgiveness of our sins, the strengthening of our union with Christ and one another, and the foretaste of the banquet which is our nourishment in eternal life.”

Liturgical Life:

We have services of worship that we call liturgy. The word is a compound result of the Greek word for people (laos) and the word for work (ergon). Liturgy has to do with people and work. In the translation of the Old Testament into Greek about 250 BC the word liturgy was used to describe the worship services in the Hebrew temple. In the New Testament, liturgy was used in the same way (Luke 1:23) and in the Letter to the Hebrews in which we begin to see that Jesus is the true priest: “Christ has obtained a ministry (Greek word here is liturgy) which is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises” Heb. 8:6). In St. Paul’s corpus we find in Philippians that [Christ] “is poured as a libation upon the sacrificial offering of faith” Phil 2:17. As Christians we live in Christ and our spiritual lives are formed and shaped in his likeness.

Today the term liturgy is used to describe what we do in church or the text of what is done in church. Liturgy is rooted and grounded in God. It arises within the community of faith and expresses our faith in God. Since God is Spirit, we must worship God in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:24). We believe that Jesus is the full revelation of God: “No one has ever seen God (Jn 1:18); No one knows the Son except the Father, and non one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him (Mt 11:27); In Christ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Col 1:19).”

Our worship is a response to our encounter with God and occurs through the spirit. (See 1Cor 2:9-13, Rom 8). The initiative is God’s Spirit and our human response is faith. Worship and liturgy is an expression of faith. The faith response to the actions of God on our behalf must not be seen in purely individual terms, rather, the faith is of a community, the Church. The baptism initiation rite is in Christ, in the Church as the Body of Christ, unified in the Spirit. The unity of the church is Christ. The Church is not a social club; it is a living presence of Christ in the world.

The Sacraments of baptism and Eucharist are often called “holy mysteries” in the sense that we do not fully understand how God infuses grace into our human lives. “We thank you Father, for the water of baptism, in it we are buried with Christ in his death. By it we share in his resurrection. Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit” (BCP 306). In the Eucharist we proclaim the mystery of faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again (BCP 363).

The liturgy involves words and ritual actions. Ritual here is symbolic. Objects, movements, gestures, words, all point to the holy. Symbols point beyond what they are physically to a broader meaning. Symbols communicate something: $ means money; + means add, - means subtract, “” means quoted, etc. Bread and wine are the symbolic body and blood of Christ because they communicate the spiritual presence of the Spirit of Christ in us. In the Eucharistic prayer we pray “Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of your Son” (Prayer A, p 363).

Jesus was the incarnation of the word of God. In each symbolic act we communicate God who is Spirit into flesh – our physical being so that we may participate in Christ.

In worship time is transformed, in that the historical life, death and resurrection of Jesus is brought into our time by the presence of the living Spirit which connects Father and Son, and us into the Body of Christ. When we worship, we “recall his death, resurrection and ascension as we offer you these gifts” (BCP 363) or “Father, we now celebrate this memorial of our redemption. Recalling Christ’s death and his descent among the dead, proclaiming his resurrection and ascension to your right hand, awaiting his coming in glory; and offering to you, from the gifts you have given us, this bread and this cup, we praise you and we bless you” (BCP 376). Christ is known in worship, in prayer, in story, in ritual, because Christ is present to us in worship by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Liturgy anticipates that worshipers will also be transformed. Common worship in Eucharist is a sign of our unity in Christ. We share one bread, we drink from one cup, we come to one table. We are what we eat – the Body of Christ. If one is not enabled to see Christ in their neighbor the whole point has been missed. Remember the Matthean Parable: “Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink?….And the King will answer, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren you did it to me” (Matt 25:37,40). The call to a common table unites us in Christ, and in Christ we are sent into the world to love and serve the Lord. Being in Christ brings with it a commitment to reconciliation. To live in love and charity with your neighbor is the essence of being in the Body of Christ.

It is obvious that each member of the church brings different gifts and talents. Since the church is the laity (the laos or people) it is the ministry of all the members that is called forth in Christ. Going into the world to love and serve the Lord, we might recall Paul’s description of the body knit together with each part working properly, working together and being built up in love (Eph. 4:16). The unity in diversity applies in liturgy as well as in ministry and mission in the world. Remember ministry is within the Church – among the people of God while mission is going out to share the good news with everyone – the whole world.

Admonished to engage in daily morning and evening prayer, individuals gather in community for weekly Eucharist. Further the whole year is a liturgical expression of the work of redemption. The first centuries of the Christian movement focused on the mystery of life in Christ, looking at various aspects of our grounding in Christ. We begin the liturgical year with Advent (four weeks prior to Christmas), move to Christmas, then Epiphany, through Lent into Holy Week and Easter, finishing with Pentecost. The first half of the year highlights the events of Jesus birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. The coming of the Holy Spirit to inaugurate the church on Pentecost opens the rest of the year in which we are working as in a laboratory learning to serve Christ in the world. Metaphorically the first half of the year prepares us to know the history and narrative of salvation and the second half sends us into the world to do the work of the Church.

The Prayer Book provides services specially designed to mark important transitions in human life – birth, weddings, sickness, death, - and for the ordering of the Christian Community – baptism, confirmation, ordination, and commissioning for ministries of the laity. All of these services are related to the central celebration of the Eucharist and are ways of bringing the specific occasions of individual and communal life together.

Liturgical Roles:

The Prayer Book not only provides services for the church as the people of God but also anticipates a full and active participation of the people. “In all services, the entire Christian assembly participates in such a way that the members of each order within the Church, lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons, fulfill the functions proper to their respective orders, as set forth in the rubrical direction for each service” (BCP, 13). The rubrics provide specific directions for participation (sitting, kneeling, standing, responses, etc.). In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul described the body as one having many different members working together in unity for the good of the whole. It is important that the priest no take the role of the laity and vise versa. The Canons are the laws of the church, which seek to establish order in the worship of the people, prescribing specific roles to each order. Priests by education, discernment, approval of committees e.g. the Diocesan Commission on Ministry, and ordination are expected to preside at the Eucharist. Lay persons are given the ministry of the word, reading the lessons, psalms, singing hymns, and leading the prayers of the people. While the priest or bishop is expected to preside over the Eucharist, there are participating parts of the Eucharist that include all the people – such as the santus, responsive lines in prayer C, the Lord’s Prayer, and post-communion prayer. Stressing the collective nature of the Eucharist, the presider cannot celebrate alone but must have at least one other person present.

Liturgical Continuity:

The New Testament gives us an example of the early Christians “day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes…partook of food with glad and generous hearts (Acts 2:46); They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). The kept the times of individual prayer learned from temple or synagogue, at the third, sixth, and ninth hours of the day (Acts 2:15; 10:9, 3:1). The “breaking of the bread’ refers most likely to the bread and wine eaten and drunk in remembrance of the Lord with prayers of thanksgiving, and a meal, modeled on the Last Supper.

Baptisms recorded in Mt 28:19 use the Trinitarian form, while Acts 2:38 uses the name of Jesus Christ. The baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 may be an early baptismal text: “Here is water? What is to prevent my being baptized? If you believe with all your heart, you may. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God” (Acts 8:36-37).

The text of the Lord’s Prayer is given one in Matthew 6:9-13 and in Luke 11:2-4. The expectation that Jesus will return to judge the world occurs in 1 Cor 16;22 and Rev 22:20. James 5:14 gives us an idea of elders who anointed the sick, how Christians prayed for one another. No description of liturgy as we have it now, nor of marriage or burial of the dead are found in the New Testament.

In 1875 a manuscript was found in Constantinople called the Didache (The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles.) Scholars believe it may be older than some books of the New Testament. In it is found the text of a prayer said over a cup and bread at the Eucharist. The prayer does not mention Jesus’ command “Do this in remembrance of me” nor explicit mention of Jesus’ death and resurrection. About 150 CE Justin Martyr described the Eucharist in a writing called the First Apology. The service is reported to be on Sunday morning, conducted by a person described as the president of the breathren. The person preached a sermon and presided at table, offering prayer of thanksgiving to God “through the name of the Son and Holy Spirit” according to his ability. Written liturgical texts had not yet been formulated so much of this was extemporaneous. During the next two centuries, written liturgical texts would be composed.

In the early years of the third century the Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus was written for Roman mass. In the mid-fourth century the sacramentary of Serapion was written in Egypt. The Apostolic Constitutions from the church in Syria emerged at the end of the fourth century. Each document contains one or more liturgical texts. In each of these texts there are collections of teaching and liturgical material expressing the practice of a church in a given place. Quality of life was as important as the manner of celebrating liturgy so there are references to ways in which Scripture informed the life of Christians. These texts were not prayer books in the way we recognize the Books of Common Prayer. None contain forms for marriage or burial, for example. The texts do recognize a need for some kind of common liturgy. The Sacramentary contains a collection of liturgical prayers written by Serapion, a friend of Athanasius who upheld the equality of the Father and Son at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE.

Before the age of the printing press, it would have not been expected that every person would have a text at all, rather that the celebrant of the sacraments would possess the text. Sometime between the sixth and ninth centuries the church in the East and the West developed the liturgical forms that we continue to use with minor revisions. In the East the older liturgy of St. Basil and in the West, the Roman rite were prominent. While there were variations in different countries it is the uniformity of the Roman rite that concerns us as the Anglican prayer books were drawn from it. The earliest text is from about 650 CE and it is a sacramentary – one of several books needed to celebrate Mass. There were also books of epistles and gospels, chants for the choir, rules and directions for putting it all together. The Missal was the collection under one cover, originating in the ninth century.

In the medieval church, Clergy were expected to say the Office, the daily hours of prayer, and so the Breviary was published, a four-volume seasonal collection containing all material needed for the practice. A parish priest needed a book for the pastoral offices, baptism, marriage, visitation of the sick, penance, and burial of the dead. Liturgies for these rites developed in the Middle Ages in what was called a Manual. A special book for bishops to perform confirmation, ordination, dedication of churches were gathered into the Pontifical.

In the late Middle Ages, services became heavily penitential. Emphasis on moral purity and loss of confidence in justification by faith led to unrelieved guilt. The Western medieval churches placed the crucifix behind the altar – symbolic of the suffering Christ, whereas the East displayed Christus Victor, a triumphant Christ reigning from his cross. Laity withdrew from the cup, took bread only at Easter for fear of greater negative consequences of taking the sacrament unworthily since one was taught only to receive communion after full confession and absolution from a priest. The individual went to church, said private prayers while the priest essentially said the Eucharist silently, consumed the elements leaving the laity devoid of the reconciliation offered in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Thus the liturgy became the duty of the priest alone.

In the early church baptism was a public liturgy on Easter Eve, but once Rome converted the barbarian invaders, essentially all adults in Europe were Christian. The only candidates were children and due to high rates of infant mortality and fear of a child dying unbaptismed, the baptism was required within 8 days of the child’s birth, held in the home or local parish and not a communal celebration. All these changes led to the reformation.

On June 9, 1549, Whitsunday (Pentecost) the first Book of Common Prayer was introduced into the parishes of the Church of England (then Roman) by an act of Parliament. All Books of Common Prayer must be understood in relation to this 1549 edition. Anyone who is familiar with the 1928 or 1979 American book would feel at home in the 1549 book. There is morning and evening prayers, Holy Communion, collects, epistles, gospels for Sunday’s, provisions for critical moments in a persons’ life: baptism, confirmation, marriage, burial of the dead. The Psalter and forms for ordaining deacons, priests and bishops was not in the 1549 book but were published soon afterwards. The book pulled together all the material needed for parish worship and ministry and the language (English) was the common language of the people (as opposed to Latin). Furthermore, the book was available to laity and clergy.

Archbishop Cranmer wrote in the preface to the 1549 book:…”the number and hardness of the Rules called the Pie, and the manifold changings of the service, was the cause, that to turn the Book only, was so hard and intricate a batter, that many times, there was more business to find out what should be read, than to read it when it was found out” (BCP 866) The offices became morning and evening prayer, the provision for reading the bible was integrated into the lectionary, laity were instructed to receive bread and wine, and priests were required to celebrate with at least one other person present. Baptism was to be a communal event, celebrated on Sunday and private baptism was an emergency procedure. Seeking to provide common ground for the unification of all Christians in England, who would worship in one common book, it pleased no one and under pressure was withdrawn in 1552. Perhaps the most serious failure of the 1549 BCP was that it did not correct the deeply ingrained clericalism of the Middle Ages and the focus on penitential mood of medieval worship. The central theme of the 1549 as it remains today was the celebration and thankful response Christians have to the good news of the Gospel- the death and resurrection of Christ is the redemption of the world born of grace. In the Eucharist, baptism, matrimony, and burial offices from 1549 through the 1989 books, the Paschal Mystery is the focal point of the Good News in Christ.

The 1549 was unpopular because it changed too much for conservatives, while radicals asserted that it changed too little. Riots and protests broke out – the conservatives calling for the Latin Mass, reformers protesting the retention of crosses, ornaments, and statues in churches. Mobs tore out images and altars from a number of London churches in 1550-1551. In 1552 the government withdrew the prayer book and replaced it with the 1552 version which had the Psalter added and the Ordinal services. “Mass” is replaced with “Order for the Administration of the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion.” Communion is done at the table (no mention of an altar). Priests were to wear only surplice, while albs, vestments e.g. chasubles and copes were forbidden. There was no “offering” to counter the perception that offering mass on behalf of a departed person could shorten the stay in purgatory (middle ages lore). The words of our service, “We…do celebrate and make here before thy Divine Majesty, with these thy holy gifts, which we now offer unto thee,” were not present, leaving the sense that God acts and we receive and respond. Later versions of the Prayer Books have tried to moderate between the two extremes to recover an offering of praise to God in response for God’s spiritual gifts of grace to us. We do not earn favor by offering to God, rather we offer in thanksgiving and we offer ourselves to be filled with the presence of Christ. Being baptized in Christ we are already recipients of grace, forgiven, redeemed, and made new members of the Body of Christ. We have received God’s favor and we offer in Eucharist our thanksgiving to God.

When King Edward died and Mary of Scots became Queen of England, the Prayer Book was banned, and the Latin Roman Mass restored. When Mary died and Elizabeth I ascended to the throne, the book of 1559 was a settlement, a peacemaking book. The 1559 permitted use of albs, chasubles and copes but more importantly, it combined the words of administration. In 1549 the words “The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life” and in 1552, the sentences were: “Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, and feed on him in thy heart, by faith with thanksgiving.” In 1559 the two were combined. With Elizabeth’s death, James I took the throne and with him the 1604 BCP. This edition added a catechism. When Charles II restored the monarchy after the Cromwellian revolt, the 1662 BCP was published with modern language, rubrics, including instruction to Offer Bread and Wine from which we have the custom of setting the table during the offertory. The 1662 book was the first after the King James Version of the Bible was published but the Psalms remained in the Coverdale translation of the Great Bible because of the rhythmic cadences and vivid imagery. Since 1662 the Prayer Book has simply been reprinted with each new monarch in England. A revision was made in 1928 but failed to gain Parliament’s approval but it is printed and widely used. Parliament passed measures to allow revised liturgies form the General Synod available and the Alternative Service Book was authorized in 1980.

Arriving on the shores of the “new world,” English citizens would have carried in hand the 1662 BCP. Following the American Revolution, and the Declaration of Independence, the first General Convention was held in Philadelphia in 1785. The Convention authorized William White, of PA and William Smith of Maryland to work on a revised BCP for the American Church. Samuel Seabury was consecrated bishop of Connecticut by Scottish bishops but Seabury refused to attend the 1785 convention because he did not think a proper place for bishops had been made in the American Church. By 1786 England had given permission to consecrate American bishops and did so for White of Pennsylvania, Provoost of New York. These three were consecrated in England in 1787. Griffith of Virginia was elected but never consecrated, as he did not make the trip to England.

The General Convention of 1789 adopted the first American Book of Common Prayer, with much of the 1662 format and theology. Features of the Scottish communion service was integrated including the introduction of Jesus’ summary of the Law after the Ten Commandments and the addition to the Prayer of Consecration of the Oblation and of an explicit invocation of the Holy Spirit. In the 1928 book these paragraphs are marked Oblation and Invocation and are retained in Rite I of 1979 (p335).

In every edition, revision, of the Book of Common Prayer we can find continuity with the past. The BCP of 1789 was the first on the shores of the colonies of the new world and in the preface we find these words: “…this Church is far from intending to depart from the Church of England in any essential point of doctrine, discipline, or worship,” (BCP, 11). The preface continues to be present in every subsequent revision of the prayer book, including our current edition, 1989.

Revisions occurred in 1892, again in 1928, and the current version 1989. In each case the pluralism of American religious life encourages more flexibility and enrichment. Recognizing that change reflects the worship of the people a continuing liturgical commission was established at General Convention of 1928. The 1979 book contains Liturgical texts used by a number of English-speaking denominations provided by the International Consultation on English Texts: the Lord’s Prayer, the creeds, the hymns of the Eucharist including the Kyrie, Gloria in excelsis, Santus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei. The main service lectionary provides lessons to be read on Sundays and holy days, reflects ecumenical sensitivity: Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, and United Church of Christ consensus. The second major change is to increase lay participation to enhance the ideal of the liturgy of the people. The third change is to put greater emphasis on the proclamation of the Gospel: three lessons each Sunday and by reading the Sunday and Daily Office two year cycle, cover most of the Bible. Eucharist is the primary Sunday liturgy and sermons are expected as a part of the celebration. Proper Liturgies for special days: Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Great Vigil of Easter provide a dramatic and consistent theme of the Paschal mystery, the death and resurrection of Christ.

Where needed for pastoral concerns, material of a previous hymnal or prayer book is permitted. The variety of choices in the 1989 book provide for some continuity, e.g. traditional language in rite one is very similar to 1928 BCP; likewise burial service one retains the KJV of Ps.23 and some members raised in the 1928 book may find the familiar language comforting. It is likewise the case that those who have known nothing but the 1989 book may find the older language distracting and discomforting. Thus sensitivity to time and place, pastoral concern for individuals in their context, provide some flexibility for services.

The Calendar and Seasons of the Liturgical Cycle:

Calendar –BCP pp 15-33

Collects – BCP pp 159-261

Proper Liturgies for Special Days – BCP pp 264-295

Tables and Lectionaries –BCP pp 881-1001

The liturgical cycle seeks to help us meditate on all the phases, events, in the life and death of our Lord using a system of readings and prayers to cause us to go more deeply into the meaning of the Word of God. The mystery of the incarnation and the significance of the resurrection cannot be fully appreciated by coming only to Christmas and Easter services. The formation of Christians is a continuous process of education, reflection, prayer, service, fellowship, and sacrament. The Great Vigil of Easter with the lighting of the Paschal Candle proclaims, “This is the night” making the point that we are not merely commemorating a past event but participating in the event being celebrated. The Holy Spirit descended on the first disciples at Pentecost but that same Holy Spirit descends on every person in Baptism, in healing prayers, in sacramental participation and at every yearly celebration of Pentecost.

The Lord’s Day: “All Sundays of the year are feasts of our Lord Jesus Christ” (BCP 16). Sunday is the weekly remembrance of the resurrection, the day of worship that is intended to inform the coming week. Acts 2 describes Sunday as the day on which the Holy Spirit was given: “For by water and the Holy Spirit you have made us a new people in Jesus Christ our Lord, to show forth your glory in the world” (BCP 378). It is not too much to say that the celebration of the Lord’s Day in Eucharist (meaning to give thanks) is an expectation of the church and an important part of being made into the likeness of Christ.

Two other days are important as well, Friday and Saturday. In early tradition, as recorded in the Didache written in the second century, Friday was a fast day because it remembers the crucifixion of Jesus. The collect for Friday Morning Prayer refers to the crucifixion (BCP 99), as well as the prayers in Evening Prayer (BCP 123). The Prayer Book identifies all Fridays with Good Friday and with the remembrance of the Lord’s death. The act of abstinence traditionally taught Christians to engage in some act of discipline or self-denial as a practice of self-gift in keeping with the gift given for us on the cross.

Saturday is the day of preparation, the biblical Sabbath, the day of rest in creation. In Morning Prayer the collect for Saturday refers to Sabbath rest: “…Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary” (BCP 99). It is not just a reminder to rest but an expression of the eschatological understanding of Sabbath rest found in Hebrews 3-4. The collect for Saturday evening speaks only of the preparation for Sunday worship (BCP 123).

The Liturgical Year:

The oldest Christian festival was the Pascha, a celebration of the death and rising of Christ. In early Christian practice, Pascha was celebrated at the time of the Jewish Passover, also the time reported in the Gospels when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. The Pascha forms the basis of the cycle of the liturgical year. Since the date of Easter Day is movable, the seasons and dates of the seasons vary accordingly. The date of Easter is movable in our calendar because it is dependent on the date of the Jewish Passover, which is the 15^th of the lunar month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar. Our Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar and lunar dates vary over a 19-year cycle. These years are identified in the prayer book calendar by the Golden Numbers. Easter is “the Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox on March 21” (BCP 880) and thus the date of Easter falls between March 22 and April 25. In short, the date of Easter reflects the date of Passover.

The fifty-days of Easter is an extension of the celebration of the resurrection. It corresponds to the seven-week period in the Jewish calendar, which separates the festivals of Passover and the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost or Shavuot).

Holy Week separates the events of the Pasha into separate celebrations of the historical events surrounding the passion and resurrection of the Lord: the triumphal entry, the last supper, the crucifixion, the burial, and the resurrection. The early church began Easter celebration with a two-day Paschal fast, in preparation for Easter baptism. The triumphal entry took the Sunday at the beginning of Holy Week with a procession into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, the crucifixion on Friday at the site of Golgotha, and the resurrection early on Easter morning at the Anastasis, the shrine surrounding the empty tomb. Pilgrims came from many places to be part of the Holy Week celebration. In our Prayer Book the calendar of Holy Week is an eight-day week, beginning and ending with a Sunday – Palm Sunday through Easter Day.

Palm Sunday begins with the blessing of the palms “let these branches be for us signs of his victory, and grant that we who bear them in his name may ever hail him as our King, and follow him in the way that leads to eternal life” (BCP 271). The reading appointed is the passion account from one of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, or Luke). The “sacramental” understanding speaks of Jesus as King, our proper role as disciples of Christ, and of the victory of his passion.

Maundy Thursday celebrates the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper (1 Cor. 11:26) and the example of Jesus (John 13:1-15). Included in the service is a ceremony for washing of feet, the command to love one another is the theological context of this service. Maundy is derived from the Latin word, mandatum, which means “commandment.” We imitate the action of Christ in order to share in the love of which it was an outward and visible sign.

Good Friday is a Liturgy of the Word with reading the Passion according to John, Solemn Collects, anthems in honor of the cross, and distribution of reserve sacraments of bread and wine. Commemorating the crucifixion we do not “celebrate or consecrate elements because these acts reflect the resurrection. The service does integrate the unity and totality of the Paschal Mystery however. “We glory in your cross, O Lord, and praise and glorify your holy resurrection; for by virtue of your cross joy has come to the whole world.” (BCP 281)

Holy Saturday is an empty day as the Church prepares for the celebration of the Great Vigil. The 1979 BCP restores the Great Vigil to the pride of place it had in earlier tradition. In the service, baptism is expected, and when there is no candidate for baptism, the renewal of baptismal vows is substituted. The service contains selected readings from old and new testaments to recall the history of salvation, and ends with the first Eucharist of Easter. Moving from the darkness with only the light of the Paschal Candle, reading the history of our redemption, initiation of new members in baptism, and the victorious celebration of resurrection in the Eucharist, the service captures the whole fabric of our faith and is without doubt for me the highlight of the Christian year.

Easter Day focuses on the resurrection and celebrates our anticipated reunion with God in word and sacrament. In the midst of celebration, songs, and triumphant, the background of the cross remains relevant. One does not get to the resurrection except through the cross. Death and resurrection are one seamless act of redemption in Christian theology. To isolate or divorce the two fails to appreciate the revelation of God in Christ Jesus. Being followers of Jesus includes a willingness to take up our cross and bear one another’s burdens as well as expecting an eternal home in the embrace of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday as a season of devotion, preparation for the Paschal Mystery. The Prayer Book exhorts us to observe a “holy lent by self-examination and repentance, by prayer, fasting, and self-denial, and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word” (BCP 265). The Litany of Penitence which is part of the Ash Wednesday service (BCP 267-8) sets the focus of Lent as a preparation for the joy of Easter: “You bid your faithful people cleanse their hearts, and prepare with joy for the Paschal feast; that, fervent in prayer and in works of mercy, and renewed by your Word and Sacraments, they may come to the fullness of grace which you have prepared for those who love you” (BCP 378). The Liturgy for Ash Wednesday (BCP 264-9) includes the imposition of ashes and the words recalling our mortality: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The service reminds us that we stand before God as sinners doomed to die and that it is only through God’s gift that we can hope for anything else. Lent is not only a season of introspection and penitence but it is also a season to prepare with joy for the Paschal Feast (BCP 379). Our penitence is not as if we have no hope of forgiveness but as people redeemed by the dying and rising of Jesus our Lord.

Lent, Holy Week, and Easter then comprise the first cycle – the Paschal cycle of the Church year (BCP 15). The Second cycle is the Incarnational cycle, centering around the “Feast of our Lord’s Nativity or Christmas Day.” The Incarnational cycle developed later than the Paschal cycle. Advent prepared for the celebration of baptism in Epiphany which begins with the celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord. The Prayer Book places this feast on the First Sunday after Epiphany.

Christmas is more than a celebration of the birthday of Jesus. It is our participation in the mystery of salvation seen in the Incarnation. Jesus is manifested as the Son of God by the voice of the Father, and the Holy Spirit is seen as the dove descending from the heavens. The event is a “Theophany” in which God is made known in the person of Jesus Christ.

Incarnation theologically grounds all of our worship and discipleship. Being members of the Body of Christ, the church means that we are commissioned and enabled to be coworkers in bringing God’s kingdom in our time and place. Incarnation also reflects the way the divine essence entered into human flesh to take human life into the divinity. If Christ were not fully divine and fully human (of two natures) the redemption of humanity in his death and resurrection could not be understood. Being in Christ means that our lives participate in the divine life of the Incarnate One. It is this participation that is the essence of the Incarnational cycle.

Connecting the Paschal cycle and Incarnational cycle are the “Green Sundays” of “ordinary time.” The “Green Season” is important in the life of the church because in it we practice our discipleship, read and study about Jesus life of service, seek to understand what it means to be disciples in our own time. The post-Pentecost Sundays lead to the celebration of the second coming (Parousia) on the first Sunday of Advent, which begins another Liturgical Year. We live in the period between the first and final coming, thus, in a sense the organization of the liturgical cycle helps us participate here and now in all that is final and ultimate.

Paschal Mystery:

The Passover of Christ from death to life in the resurrection and our participation in it is the meaning of the Paschal Mystery. Mystery in this context means sacred ritual active with grace. Theologically the Paschal Mystery incorporates us into Christ’s saving acts. In the Easter Vigil the Exsultet focuses on the Paschal Mystery: “Jesus Christ the Paschal Lamb, who at the feast of the Passover paid for us the debt of Adam’s sin, and by his blood delivered God’s faithful people” (BCP 287). The Passover in Jewish tradition recognizes the saving effect of the Exodus. In similar fashion the New Testament saw the saving act of God in the resurrection of Christ.

The baptism portion of the Vigil recalls the regeneration from sin to life in Christ (John 3:3-8 and Titus 3:5-6). The catechism teaches that “union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God’s family the Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit” is the grace enacted in the sacrament of Baptism (BCP 858). If a candidate is not presented for baptism, the Great Vigil offers the opportunity for every member of the Body of Christ to renew his or her own baptismal vows, recommitting us to living the new life in Christ. The resurrection makes all things new.

The Easter Vigil concludes with the celebration of the first Eucharist of Easter. Theologically the collect, prayers and shape of the service reflects the victory of Christ over death, a victory theory of atonement (Gustav Aulen). Being integrated into the Body of Christ we too must recognize that being in Christ we too must die to sin and be born anew to God in Christ (Romans 6:3-11). The resurrection account from the Gospel of Matthew (28:1-10) ends with the commissioning of the disciples: God and Tell…

Festivals of Saints:

Lesser Feasts and Fasts is a separate book that provides for major feasts “Red letter days” and lesser feasts “black letter days” throughout the year. The Prayer Book does not give us a reason for the inclusion of the festivals of the saints but the rubric is given in Lesser Feasts and Fasts: “Since the triumphs of the saints are a continuation and manifestation of the Paschal victor of Christ, the celebration of saints’ days is particularly appropriate” (during Eastertide) (LFF, 56).

The account of the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 6-7) is presented in a fascinating parallel with the Lukan narrative of the Passion. The collect for All Saints’ Day refers to the saints as “knit together … in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son” and petitions God that we have grace to follow in the same way (BCP 245). We do not ask for the prayers of the saints but we do believe that the saints are united in Christ in the eternal embrace of God even as we are held in the present love of God while continuing to live on earth. The 1928 American Prayer Book invokes the image from Hebrews 12 of the “cloud of witnesses” cheering us on as we run our earthly race (BCP 198). The festivals of the saints encourage us in our participation in the mystical body of Christ.

The Daily Office:

Daily Morning and Evening Prayer are “regular services appointed for public worship in this church” (BCP 13) and are assumed to be a part of the fabric of daily Christian living. The appointed scriptures to be read for the Daily Office are found in the Lectionary (BCP 933-1001) in a two-year cycle. The Prayer Book also offers Noonday Prayer and Compline as “Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families” (BCP 136-40).

The Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer are heavily influenced by the tradition of the monasteries where these Offices developed and thrived. The 1549 Prayer Book developed by Cranmer provided for the reading of the Bible and monthly reading of all 150 psalms. Subsequent revisions moved away from Cranmer’s structure and provide psalms and lessons for daily prayer and devotions.

Rite One and Rite Two: Morning and Evening Prayer is presented in both traditional language (Rite One) and more contemporary language (Rite Two). There is no theologically significant difference in the two versions. I trust God understands 16^th and 20^th century English as well as all other languages. The objective since 1549 has been to present worship and prayer in a language and order easy to understand, for reader and hearer.

Lay persons may lead Morning, Noon, Evening Prayer and Compline. Some parishes provide a rotation of laity who come to the sanctuary and say morning prayer daily. The structure of Morning Prayer begins with penitence and rises to praise. Opening with confession and absolution, or with a call to worship using the Gloria Patri and Alleluia, the praise of our Triune God is set forth. The Invitatory Psalms, Ps 95 commonly called the Venite and Ps 100, the Jubilate is preceded and followed by antiphons which point to the meaning of the psalm. The Venite (BCP 82) praises God for creation while the Jubilate celebrates the coming of the Lord (BCP 83). Passages from the Old and New Testament are assigned to each day. A sermon may be preached after the readings reinforcing the Office as a Liturgy of the Word. The Canticles are intended to be sung with different settings given (BCP 144-5). The canticles are hymns of praise e.g. Canticle 10 and 14 are penitential prescribed for Lent and Fridays. Canticle 12 is a song of creation, while Canticle 13 is a song of praise, and Canticle 16 the Song of Zechariah (the Benedictus) forms a climax of praise “In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace” (BCP 93). With the singing of the Canticle after the final reading and the recitation of the Apostles’ Creed, Morning Prayer moves from praise to “common prayer”. The use of the Apostles’ Creed as the baptismal creed reflects the renewal of our covenant as Christians. The Lord’s Prayer stands first among the common prayers of the Daily Office (Matthew 6, Luke 11). The suffrages follow the Lord’s Prayer and precede the collects. Alternative sets are offered that invite prayers for ministry, peace, justice, the nation, the world, the poor and needy, and spiritual renewal. The Collect of the Day or one of seven offered for Morning Prayer may be used. Intercessions and thanksgivings follow e3xpressing the specific concerns of the individual or group. A hymn or anthem may be sung. Morning Prayer concludes with The General Thanksgiving or Prayer of St. Chrysostom (taken by Cranmer from a Latin translation of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, but not actually written by the 4^th century bishop, expresses the theology of common prayer: “when two or three are gathered together in Christ’s name, he will be in the midst of them.” The Prayer asks that our petitions may be fulfilled “as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of God’s truth and in the age to come life everlasting).

Morning and Evening Prayer are identical in structure but differ in content. While Morning prayer transitions from penitence to praise, Evening prayer descends with thanksgiving for the day and prayer for forgiveness for our sins and failures. The Invitatory “O Gracious Light” (BCP118) is attributed to St. Basil the Great in the 4^th century. The hymn is associated with the lighting of the evening lamps, and the “vesper light” is symbolically identified with Jesus. Using a one to three lessons, Evening Prayer intends the singing of the Magnificat or Nunc dimittis (both from Luke) both of which speak of a sense of completion and fulfillment in God’s plan of creation and redemption. Suffrages A (BCP 121-2) are very similar to those used in Morning Prayer but Suffrages B are based in the Byzantine evening litany (BCP122). Pardon, peace, protection during the coming night, eternal salvation, and unity in Christ are reflected in the evening prayers. A Collect for the Presence of Christ reflects the Emmaus story (Luke 24:13-35) and asks for the presence of Christ when “evening is at hand” to kindle our hearts, awaken our hope and make himself known “in Scripture and the breaking of bread.” The theme that Jesus Christ is the light of the world (John 1:4-5, 8-9) is expounded in the entire order of Evening Prayer.

Noonday Prayer (BCP 103-107) and Compline (BCP 127-135) have their origin in the early Christian custom of praying at the third, sixth and ninth hours and at bedtime. In monasteries the 3^rd hour was the Hour of Terce, the sixth was the Hour of Sext and the ninth hour was the Hour of None, and were the traditional breaks in the workday.