Holy God, we praise Thy name;

Above:  Clarence Alphonsus Walworth

Image in the Public Domain

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CLARENCE ALPHONSUS WALWORTH (MAY 30, 1820-SEPTEMBER 19, 1900)

U.S. Roman Catholic Priest, Poet, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator

Cofounder of the Mission Society of Saint Paul the Apostle (the Paulist Fathers)

Born as Clarence Augustus Walworth

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Lord of all, we bow before Thee.

All on earth Thy scepter claim,

All in heaven above adore Thee.

Infinite Thy vast domain,

Everlasting is Thy reign.

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Hark!  the glad celestial hymn

Angel choirs above are raising;

Cherubim and seraphim

In unceasing chorus praising.

Fill the heavens with sweet accord:

Holy, holy, holy Lord!

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Lo, the apostles’ holy train

Join Thy sacred name to hallow;

Prophets swell the glad refrain,

And the white-robed martyrs follow,

And from morn to set of sun

Through the church the song goes on.

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Holy Father, holy Son,

Holy Spirit, three we name Thee;

Though in essence only one,

Undivided God we claim Thee.

And, adoring, bend the knee

While we own the mystery.

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Thou art King of Glory, Christ;

Son of God, yet born of Mary.

For us sinners sacrificed,

As to death a Tributary,

First to break the bars of death,

Thou hast opened heaven to faith.

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From Thy high celestial home,

Judge of all, again returning,

We believe that Thou shalt come

On the dreadful Doomsday morning,

When Thy voice shall shake the earth

And the startled dead come forth.

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Spare Thy people, Lord, we pray,

By a thousand snares surrounded;

Keep us without sin today,

Never let us be confounded.

Lo, I put my trust in Thee;

Never, Lord, abandon me.

—Ignaz Franz (1719-1790), Grosser Gott, wir loben dich (circa 1774); translated by Clarence Alphonsus Walworth, 1853

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Clarence Alphonsus Walworth comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via hymnody.  He may be most famous for his translation of the German Te Deum Laudamus, a text more than one person has translated into English.  The final three stanzas seldom appear in hymnals.  In fact, I know what they are only because of the companion volume to The Lutheran Hymnal (1941).  That hymnal omits the last three stanzas, but the companion volume includes them.

Clarence Augustus Walworth, born in Plattsburgh, New York, on May 30, 1820, was originally a Presbyterian.  He was the fourth and eldest son of Maria Ketchum Averill and Reuben Hyde Walworth, the last Chancellor of the State of New York.  Our saint studied at the Albany Academy then at Union College (Class of 1838).  After graduating, he read law and became an attorney in 1841.  Walworth practiced law for a few years in Canandaigua, New York.

Yet law was not Walworth’s vocation; ordained ministry was.  Our saint commenced study for the Episcopal priesthood at The General Theological Seminary, New York, New York, in 1842.  While in seminary, Walworth came under the influence of the Oxford Movement.  He never became an Episcopal priest; Walworth left the seminary and converted to Roman Catholicism.  Holy Mother Church ordained Walworth a priest in 1845, and he became Clarence Alphonsus Walworth, as a Redemptorist, a member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Trinity.  Our saint continued his theological studies in Belgium.

Walworth, an eloquent preacher and missionary, stayed busy and productive for God.  He helped to found the Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle (the Paulist Fathers) in 1858.  Our saint composed original hymns and translated other ones.  He also wrote poems and memoirs.  His published works included:

1. The Gentle Skeptic (1863);
2. The Doctrine of Hell (1873);
3. Andiatorocté of the Eve of Lady Day (1888);
4. Reminiscences of Edgar P. Wadhams, First Bishop of Ogdensburg (1893);
5. The Oxford Movement in America (1895); and
6. The Walworths of America (1897)

Walworth, a priest at St. Mary’s Church, Albany, New York, from 1866 to 1900, was blind for the last decade of his life.

Walworth, aged 80 years, died on September 19, 1900.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 20, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SEBASTIAN CASTELLIO, PROPHET OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

THE FEAST OF CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, HYMN WRITER AND ANGLICAN BISHOP OF LINCOLN

THE FEAST OF ELLEN GATES STARR, U.S. EPISCOPALIAN THEN ROMAN CATHOLIC SOCIAL ACTIVIST AND REFORMER

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA JOSEFA SANCHO DE GUERRA, FOUNDRESS OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SERVANTS OF JESUS

THE FEAST OF SAMUEL RODIGAST, GERMAN LUTHERAN ACADEMIC AND HYMN WRITER

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Dear God of beauty,

you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to

Clarence Alphonsus Walworth and others, who have composed hymn texts.

May we, as you guide us,

find worthy hymn texts to be icons,

through which we see you.

In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15

Psalm 147

Revelation 5:11-14

Luke 2:8-20

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH

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the retreat of my nature from the burden of my labours.

Above:  Walter Chalmers Smith

Image in the Public Domain

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WALTER CHALMERS SMITH (DECEMBER 5, 1824-SEPTEMBER 19, 1908)

Scottish Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer

Good hymnals are excellent sources for names for projects such as A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, of which this post in an entry.

If you, O reader, do not recognize the name of Walter Chalmers Smith, you may, assuming that you are acquainted with fine English-language hymnody, recognize at least one of the hymns he wrote.  Do you know “Immortal, Invisible,” originally six stanzas then truncated to four stanzas in The English Hymnal (1906), and more recently abbreviated to three stanzas quite often?  Perhaps you also know another fine text, “One Thing I of the Lord Desire” (1887).

Smith, born in Aberdeen, Scotland, on December 5, 1824, grew up in The Church of Scotland.  He studied in Aberdeen through the Master’s degree level (Marischal College, the University of Aberdeen, 1841) then pursued theological studies at the New College, Edinburgh University, Edinburgh.  Our saint, having made his choice vis-á-vis the Disruption of 1843, became a minister in the Free Church of Scotland in 1850.  He served in the following congregations:

1. Chadwell Street Church, Islington, London, 1850-1854;
2. Orwell Free Church, Milnathort, 1854-1858;
3. Roxburgh Free Church, Deinburgh, 1858-1862;
4. Free Tron Church, Glasgow, 1862-1876; and
5. Free High Church, Edinburgh, 1876-1894.

Smith was a prominent minister in the Free Church of Scotland (extant 1843-1900; remnant extant 1900f), which merged into the United Free Church of Scotland (extant 1900-1929; remnant extant 1929f), and finally back into The Church of Scotland.

Smith was a prolific poet.  He described the act of writing poetry as

His published works included the following:

1. The Bishop’s Walk and The Bishop’s Times (1861);
2. Hymns of Christ and the Christian Life (1867);
3. The Sermon on the Mount:  Lectures Delivered (1867);
4. Olrig Grange (1872);
5. Borland Hall (1874);
6. Hilda Among the Broken Gods (1878);
7. Raban: or, Life Splinters (1881);
8. North Country Folk (1883);
9. Kildrostan:  A Dramatic Poem (1884);
10. Thoughts and Fancies for Sunday Evenings (1887);
11. A Heretic, and Other Poems (1891); and
12. The Poetical Works of Walter C. Smith, D.D., LL.D. (1902).

Smith died in Kinburk, Dunblane, Perthshire, Scotland, on September 19, 1908.  He was 83 years old.

One can still enjoy his writing, fortunately.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 20, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT ZACCHAEUS, PENITENT TAX COLLECTOR AND ROMAN COLLABORATOR

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Dear God of beauty,

you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to

Walter Chalmers Smith and others, who have composed hymn texts.

May we, as you guide us,

find worthy hymn texts to be icons,

through which we see you.

In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15

Psalm 147

Revelation 5:11-14

Luke 2:8-20

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH

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Above:  From the School, Shrewsbury, England, Between 1890 and 1900

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ppmsc-08834

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GERARD MOULTRIE (SEPTEMBER 19, 1829-APRIL 25, 1885)

Anglican Priest, Hymn Writer, and Translator of Hymns

Gerard Moultrie, so far as I knew before beginning work on this post, was the man who translated “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence,” which I have sung many times from The Hymnal 1982 (Episcopalian, 1985), from the Liturgy of Saint James in 1864.  (Aside:  Yes, the copyright date in The Hymnal 1982 is 1985.  The General Convention of 1982 approved the texts, hence the book’s name.  See also David Sumner, The Episcopal Church’s History, 1945-1985 (1987), pages 117-118).  That was the almost all of my knowledge of Gerard Moultrie.  It was accurate yet only a beginning.

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,

And with fear and trembling stand;

Ponder nothing earthly-minded,

For with blessing in His hand,

Christ our God to earth descendeth,

Our full homage to demand.

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King of kings, yet born of Mary,

As of old on earth He stood,

Lord of lords, in human vesture–

In the body and the blood–

He will give to all the faithful

His own self for heavenly food.

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Rank on rank the host of heaven

Spreads its vanguard on the way,

As the Light of light descendeth

From the realms of endless day,

That the powers of hell may vanish

As the darkness clears away.

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At His feet the six-winged seraph;

Cherubim, with sleepless eye,

Veil their faces to the presence,

As with ceaseless voice they cry,

Alleluia, Alleluia,

Alleluia, Lord Most High!

That text is obviously eucharistic.  To be precise, it occurs as the server carries the bread and wine to the high altar so the priest can bless them.  One may find the text in many contemporary hymnals and in Lyra Eucharistica (1864).

Here are other interesting details:  Gerard Moultrie was a descendant of a South Carolina Loyalist (his great-grandfather) who moved to England at the outbreak of the U.S. War for Independence.  Our saint’s great-granduncle, however, was William Moultrie (1730-1805), a General in the Continental Army then Governor of South Carolina (1785-1787 and 1792-1794). As I tell my U.S. History I students, the U.S. War for Independence was also a civil war.  

Moultrie, Georgia, where I attended public school from 1986 to 1989, takes its name from General Moultrie.

Our saint was born at the rectory, Rugby, England, in 1829.  He, educated at Rugby School then at Exeter College, Oxford (B.A., 1851; M.A., 1856), took Anglican Holy Orders.  He held the following appointments:

1. Chaplain to Shrewsbury School and to the Dowager Marchioness of Londonderry (1855-1859);
2. Curate at Brinfield, Berkshire (1860-1864);
3. Chaplain to the Donative of Barrow Gurney, Bristol (1864-1869);
4. Vicar of Southleigh (1869-1885); and
5. Warden of St. James’s College, Southleigh (1873-1885).

Here is another Moultrie translation of a Christian text of antiquity:

Behold, the Bridegroom cometh in the middle of the night,

And blest is he whose loins are gift, whose lamp is burning bright;

But woe to that dull servant  whom the Master shall surprise

With lamp untrimmed, unburning, and with slumber in his eyes.

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Do thou, my soul, beware, beware lest thou in sleep sink down,

Lest thou be given o’er to death, and lose the golden crown;

But see that thou be sober, with a watchful eye, and thus

Cry, “Holy, Holy, Holy God, have mercy upon us!”

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That day, the day of fear, shall come:  my soul, slack not thy toil,

But light thy lamp, and feed it well, and make it bright with oil;

Who knowest not how soon may sound the cry at eventide,

“Behold, the Bridegroom comes!  Arise!  Go forth to meet the Bride!”

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Beware, my soul!  take then good heed lest thou in slumber lie,

And, like the five, remain without, and knock, and vainly cry;

But watch, and bear thy lamp undimmed, and Christ shall gird thee on

His own bright wedding-robe of light,–the glory of the Son.

Moultrie wrote at least thirty-eight hymns and translated others from Greek, Latin, and German.  One of his original hymns was:

Refrain:  

We march, we march to victory,

With the cross of the Lord before us,

With his loving eye looking down from the sky,

And his holy arm spread o’er us, his holy arm spread o’er us.

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We come on the might of the Lord of light,

With armor bright to meet him;

And we put to flight the armies of night,

That the sons of the day may greet him,

The sons of the day may greet him.

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Refrain

Our sword is the Spirit of God on high,

Our helmet is his salvation,

Our banner, the Cross of Calvary,

Our watchword the Incarnation,

Our watchword, the Incarnation.

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Refrain

And the choir of angels with song awaits

Our march to the golden Zion,

For our Captain has broken the brazen gates,

And burst the bars of iron,

And burst the bars of iron.

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Refrain

Then onward we march, our arms to prove,

With the banner of Christ before us,

With his eye of love looking down from above,

And his holy arm spread o’er us,

His holy arm spread o’er us.

A partial publication history of our saint follows:

1. Hymns from the Post Reformation Editions (1864);
2. The Primer Set Forth at Large for the Use of the Faithful (1864);
3. The Devout Communicant (1867);
4. Hymns and Lyrics for the Seasons and Saints’ Days of the Church (1867);
5. The Espousals of St. Dorothea and Other Verses (1870);
6. Six Years’ Work at Southleigh (1875); and
7. Cantica Sanctorum, or, Hymns for the Black Letter Saints’ Days in the English and Scottish Calendars (1880).

I have added another text, “There Came Three Kings, Ere Break of Day,” to my GATHERED PRAYERS weblog.

Gerard Moultrie was a much more interesting (in a good way) man than I used to suspect.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 8, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPHINE BAKHITA, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN

THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN OF MALTA AND FELIX OF VALOIS, FOUNDERS OF THE ORDER OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY

THE FEAST OF SAINT JEROME EMILIANI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

THE FEAST OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK, U.S. ARMY GENERAL

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Dear God of beauty,

you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to

Gerard Moultrie and others, who have composed hymn texts.

May we, as you guide us,

find worthy hymn texts to be icons,

through which we see you.

In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15

Psalm 147

Revelation 5:11-14

Luke 2:8-20

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH

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Above:  York Minster Cathedral, York, England, Between 1890 and 1910

Publisher and Copyright Claimant = Detroit Publishing Company

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-D428-878

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WILLIAM DALRYMPLE MACLAGAN (JUNE 18, 1826-SEPTEMBER 19, 1910)

Archbishop of York and Hymn Writer

William Dalrymple Maclagan came from a family of Presbyterian doctors.  The Edinburgh-born saint had a father (David) and two brothers (Philip and Sir Douglas) who were doctors.  Sir Douglas, an elder in The Church of Scotland, taught Medical Jurisprudence at the University of Edinburgh.  Philip settled at Berwick-on-Tweed, fought cholera outbreaks there, and was active in the Presbyterian Church of England.

Our saint studied law at the University of Edinburgh then entered the Royal Army, achieving the rank of Lieutenant before becoming injured in the line of duty and returning to civilian life.  Next he studied at St. Peter’s College, Cambridge.  Then, in 1856, he took Holy Orders in The Church of England.  He served a series of congregations (none of which I desire to list here) before becoming the Bishop of Lichfield (1878-1891) then the Archbishop of York (1891-1908).  As the Archbishop of York Maclagan was obligated to enforce Archbishop of Canterbury Frederick Temple’s 1899 decision restricting certain ritualistic practices, such as the use of incense.  Our saint, a High Churchman, disagreed with that ruling.

Maclagan’s greatest legacy might consist of his hymns.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 12, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF EDWIN PAXTON HOOD, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, CONGREGATIONALIST, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF EMMEGAHBOWH, EPISCOPAL PRIEST

THE FEAST OF SAINT FREDERICK OF UTRECHT, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP AND MARTYR; AND SAINT ODULT OF UTRECHT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY PRIEST

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Dear God of beauty,

you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to

William Dalrymple Maclagan and others, who have composed hymn texts.

May we, as you guide us,

find worthy hymn texts to be icons,

through which we see you.

In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15

Psalm 147

Revelation 5:11-14

Luke 2:8-20

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH

Above:  Villefranche

Image Source = Library of Congress

SAINT EMILY DE RODAT (SEPTEMBER 6, 1787-SEPTEMBER 19, 1852)

Foundress of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Villefranche

Marie Guillemette Emilie de Rodat (1787-1852) was born at Rodez, France.  Yet her grandmother, who lived near Villefrance-de-Rouerge, raised the saint, who began to teach at age eighteen.  Teaching was the saint’s vocation.  More specifically, her vocation was to teach poor children, although the saint did not discern that fact immediately.  She had passed through several orders–the Ladies of Nevers, the Picpus Sisters, and the Sisters of Mercy–before discerning her vocation and how to fulfill it.

So it came to pass that, in 1815, St. Emily founded the Congregation of the Holy Family of Villefranche, an order devoted originally to teaching poor children.  She spent most of the rest of her life fending off bad health while leading the nascent order.  In so doing she added the following to the order’s mission:

• providing health care to poor children,
• providing health care to the poor in general,
• caring for the elderly,
• visiting prisoners,
• helping orphans, and
• reforming prostitutes.

She also founded cloistered convents and grew the number of foundations from one to thirty-eight.

St. Emily, venerated, 1901, beatified in 1940, and canonized in 1950, is the patron of poor children.

Although each of us bears the image of God, some of us need more help than do others in living as much as possible into the vocation to which that image leads us.  The saint’s grandmother helped her; the saint aided others.  Blessings, gifts, and talents come packaged with responsibilities toward other people.  To whom much is given, much is required.  Fulfilling these requirements and responsibilities is something each of us can do only via the combination of our efforts, God’s direct help, and God’s indirect aid via other humans.  The saint did much that was positive, but she needed help to do it.  So may you, O reader, be a helper to those to whom God will send you.  And may you receive such help from those God sends to you.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 5, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST–PROPER 13, YEAR B

THE FEAST OF COLBERT S. CARTWRIGHT, DISCIPLES OF CHRIST MINISTER AND WITNESS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS

THE FEAST OF SAINT OSWALD OF NORTHUMBRIA, KING

THE FEAST OF PAUL VI, BISHOP OF ROME

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O God, your Son came among us to serve and not to be served, and to give his life for the life of the world.

Lead us by his love to serve all those to whom the world offers no comfort and little help.

Through us give hope to the hopeless,

love to the unloved,

peace to the troubled, and

rest to the weary,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Hosea 2:18-23

Psalm 94:1-15

Romans 12:9-21

Luke 6:20-36

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 60

Above:  A Crucifix

The Real Jesus

The Sunday Closest to September 21

Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost

SEPTEMBER 19, 2021

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Note:  I have omitted Proverbs 31:10-31, which has no bearing on the other readings.–KRT

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FIRST READING AND PSALM:  OPTION #1

Wisdom of Solomon 1:16-2:1, 12-24 (New Revised Standard Version):

But the ungodly by their words and deeds summoned death;

considering him a friend, they pined away

and made a covenant with him,

because they are fit to belong to his company.

For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves,

Short and sorrowful is our life,

and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end,

and no one has been known to return from Hades….

Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,

because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;

he reproaches us for sins against the law,

and accuses of us sins against our training.

He professes to have knowledge of God,

and calls himself a child of the Lord.

He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;

the very sight of him is a burden to us,

because his manner of life is unlike that of others,

and his ways are strange.

We are considered by him as something base,

and he avoids our ways as unclean;

he calls the last end of the righteous happy,

and boasts that God is his father.

Let us see if his words are true,

and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;

for if the righteous man is God’s child, he will help him,

and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.

Let us test him with insult and torture,

so that we may find out how gentle he is,

and make trial of his forbearance.

Let us condemn him to a shameful death,

for, according to to what he says, he will be protected.

Thus they reasoned , but they were led astray,

for their wickedness blinded them,

and they did not know the secret purposes of God,

nor hoped for the wages of holiness,

nor discerned the prize for blameless souls;

for God created us for incorruption,

and made us in the image of his own eternity,

but through the devil’s envy death entered the world,

and those who belong to his company experience it.

Psalm 91 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,

abides under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 He shall say to the LORD,

“You are my refuge and my stronghold,

my God in whom I put my trust.”

3 He shall deliver you from the snare of the hunter,

and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He shall cover you with his pinions,

and you shall find refuge under his wings.

5 You shall not be afraid of any terror by night,

nor of the arrow that flies by day;

6 Of the plague that stalks in the darkness,

nor of the sickness that lays waste at mid-day.

7  A thousand shall fall at your side

and ten thousand at your right hand,

but it shall not come near you.

8  Your eyes have only to behold

to see the reward of the wicked.

9  Because you have made the LORD your refuge,

and the Most High your habitation,

10  There shall no evil happen to you,

neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.

11  For he shall give his angels charge over you,

to keep you in all your ways.

12  They shall bear you in their hands,

lest you dash your foot against a stone.

13  You shall tread upon the lion and adder;

you shall trample the young lion and the serpent under your feet.

14 Because he is bound to me in love,

therefore I will deliver him;

I will protect him, because he knows my name.

15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him;

I am with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and bring him to honor.

16 With long life will I satisfy him,

and show him my salvation.

FIRST READING AND PSALM:  OPTION #2

Jeremiah 11:18-20 (New Revised Standard Version):

It was the LORD who made it made known to me, and I knew;

then you showed me their evil deeds.

But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter.

And I did not know it was against me that they devised schemes, saying,

Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,

let us cut him off from the land of the living,

so that his name will no longer be remembered!

But you, O LORD of hosts, who judge righteously,

who try the heart and the mind,

let me see your retribution upon them,

for to you I have committed my cause.

Psalm 54 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Save me, O God, by your Name;

in your might, defend my cause.

2 Hear my prayer, O God;

give ear to the words of my mouth.

3 For the arrogant have risen up against me,

and the ruthless have sought my life,

those who have no regard for life.

4 Behold, God is my helper;

it is the Lord who sustains my life.

5 Render evil to those who spy on me;

in your faithfulness, destroy them.

6 I will offer you a freewill sacrifice

and praise your Name, O LORD, for it is good.

7 For you have rescued me from every trouble,

and my eye has seen the ruin of my foes.

SECOND READING

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a (Revised English Bible):

Which of you is wise or learned? Let him give practical proof of it by his right conduct, with the modesty that comes of wisdom.  But if you are harbouring bitter jealousy or the spirit of rivalry in your hearts, stop making false claims in defiance of the truth.  This is not the wisdom that comes from above; it is earth-bound, sensual, demonic.  For with jealousy and rivalry come disorder and the practice of every kind of evil.  But the wisdom from above is in the first place pure; and then peace-loving, considerate and sincere, rich in compassion and in deeds of kindness that are its fruit.  Peace is the seed-bed of righteousness, and the peacemakers will reap its harvest.

What causes fighting and quarrels among you?  Is not their origin the appetites that war in your bodies?  You want what you cannot have, so you murder; you are envious, and cannot attain your ambition, so you quarrel and fight.  You do not get what you want, because you pray from the wrong motives, in order to squander what you get on your pleasures.

…

Submit then to God.  Stand up to the devil, and he will turn and run.  Come close to God, and he will draw close to you

GOSPEL READING

Mark 9:30-37 (Revised English Bible):

They left that district and made their way through Galilee.  Jesus did not want anyone to know, because he was teaching his disciples, and telling them,

The Son of Man is now to be handed over into the power of men, and they will kill him; and three days after being killed he will rise again.

But they did not understand what he said, and were afraid to ask.

So they came to Capernaum; and when he had gone indoors, he asked them,

What were you arguing about on the way?

They were silent, because on the way they had been discussing which one of them was the greatest.  So he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,

If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself the last of all and servant of all.

Then he took a child, set him in front of them, and put his arm round him.

Whoever receives a child like this in my name,

he said,

receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.

The Collect:

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

Proper 20, Year A:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/proper-20-year-a/

Proper 20, Year B:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/proper-20-year-b/

Wisdom of Solomon 1-2:

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/twenty-seventh-day-of-lent/

Jeremiah 11:

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/twenty-eighth-day-of-lent/

James 3-4:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/week-of-7-epiphany-tuesday-year-2/

Mark 9:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/week-of-7-epiphany-tuesday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/13/week-of-proper-2-tuesday-year-1/

Matthew 17-18 (Parallel to Mark 9):

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/week-of-proper-14-monday-year-1/

Luke 9 (Parallel to Mark 9):

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/week-of-proper-20-saturday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/week-of-proper-21-monday-year-1/

A Prayer for Those Who Have Harmed Us:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/a-prayer-for-those-who-have-harmed-us/

O Young and Fearless Prophet:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/o-young-and-fearless-prophet/

For Our Enemies:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/for-our-enemies/

Ah, Holy Jesus, How Hast Thou Offended:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/ah-holy-jesus-how-hast-thou-offended/

A Prayer for Grace to Forgive:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/a-prayer-for-grace-to-forgive/

For the Cross:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/for-the-cross/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You want something and cannot have it; so you commit murder.

–James 4:20, New Revised Standard Version

Jesus was a great man–and far more than that.  He, as a historical figure, obviously proved sufficiently threatening to the authorities of his time and place that the Roman Empire executed him via crucifixion, a method reserved for the allegedly worst of the worst.  This was execution as a means of making an example of someone; “Do not do what he did,” the Empire said by killing a man in this fashion in public.  Jeremiah also faced threats to his life due to his obedience to God; the prophet died in exile.  Jesus and Jeremiah were, in the words of the unrighteous in the Wisdom of Solomon, “inconvenient.”

I have little to write this time, for much commentary on the texts, which speak clearly for themselves, is superfluous.  I do have this to add, however:  The Jesus of my childhood Sunday School classes was a nice, smiling man whom animals depicted in posters and theChildren’s Living Bible adored.  But being nice did not lead to his crucifixion.  I grew up with an inadequate, safe, domesticated, and acceptable Jesus–a Jesus who bore little resemblance to the actual figure.  The real Jesus was a dangerous man who associated with social outcasts, notorious sinners, and Roman collaborators.  He challenged the religious establishment and disturbed the peace.  He still challenges our comfort zones.  As a cliche tells us, the Gospel comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.

Certain people in authority decided that Jesus had to die for the common good for for the sake of convenience–mostly for the latter.  So he became a scapegoat.  These men wanted the status quo ante, and Jesus not only rocked the boat but sank it.  So they killed him through a perversion of law.  It was judicial execution.

May we who claim the label “Christian” realize whom we follow.  Then may we, informed by our Lord’s example, rededicate ourselves to our spiritual vocations.

KRT

Published originally in a nearly identical form at ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on October 24, 2011

Forget-Me-Nots

Image Source = Wilder Kaiser

1 (Dionysius Exiguus, Roman Catholic Monk and Reformer of the Calendar)

• David Pendleton Oakerhater, Cheyenne Warrior, Chief, and Holy Man, and Episcopal Deacon and Missionary in Oklahoma
• Fiacre, Roman Catholic Hermit
• François Mauriac, French Roman Catholic Novelist, Christian Humanist, and Social Critic

2 (Martyrs of New Guinea, 1942 and 1943)

• David Charles, Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Minister and Hymn Writer
• Dianna Ortiz, U.S. Roman Catholic Nun and Anti-Torture Activist
• William of Roskilde, English-Danish Roman Catholic Bishop

3 (Jedediah Weiss, U.S. Moravian Craftsman, Merchant, and Musician)

• Arthur Carl Lichtenberger, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, and Witness for Civil Rights
• F. Crawford Burkitt, Anglican Scholar, Theologian, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• James Bolan Lawrence, Episcopal Priest and Missionary in Southwestern Georgia, U.S.A.
• Sundar Singh, Indian Christian Evangelist

4 (Paul Jones, Episcopal Bishop of Utah, and Peace Activist; and his colleague, John Nevin Sayre, Episcopal Priest and Peace Activist)

• Birinus of Dorchester, Roman Catholic Bishop of Dorchester, and the “Apostle of Wessex”
• E. F. Schumacher, German-British Economist and Social Critic
• Gorazd of Prague, Orthodox Bishop of Moravia and Silesia, Metropolitan of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, Hierarch of the Orthodox Church in Czechoslovakia, and Martyr, 1942
• William McKane, Scottish Presbyterian Minister and Biblical Scholar

5 (Carl Johannes Sodergren, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Theologian; and his colleague, Claus August Wendell, Swedish-American Lutheran Minister and Theologian)

• Athol Hill, Australian Baptist Biblical Scholar and Social Prophet
• Teresa of Calcutta, Founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity
• William F. Albright and G. Ernest Wright, U.S. Biblical Scholars and Archaeologists
• William Morton Reynolds, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Episcopal Priest, Educator, and Hymn Translator

6 (Charles Fox, Anglican Missionary in Melanesia)

• Aaron Robarts Wolfe, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer
• Allen Crite, Artist
• Joseph Gomer and Mary Gomer, U.S. United Brethren Missionaries in Sierra Leone

7 (Beyers Naudé, South African Dutch Reformed Minister and Anti-Apartheid Activist)

• Elie Naud, Huguenot Witness to the Faith
• Hannah More, Anglican Poet, Playwright, Religious Writer, and Philanthropist
• Jane Laurie Borthwick and Sarah Borthwick Findlater, Scottish Presbyterian Translators of Hymns
• John Duckett and Ralph Corby, Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs in England, 1644
• Kassiani the Hymnographer, Byzantine Abbess, Poet, Composer, Hymn Writer, and Defender of Icons

8 (Nikolai Grundtvig, Danish Lutheran Minister, Bishop, Historian, Philosopher, Poet, Educator, and Hymn Writer)

• Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer, German Lutheran Attorney and Hymn Writer; and Frances Elizabeth Cox, English Hymn Writer and Translator
• Shepherd Knapp, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• Søren Kierkegaard, Danish Philosopher and Theologian, and Father of Existentialism
• Wladyslaw Bladzinski, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1944

9 (Martyrs of Memphis, Tennessee, 1878)

• Francis Borgia, “Second Founder of the Society of Jesus;” Peter Faber, Apostle of Germany, and Co-Founder of the Society of Jesus; Alphonsus Rodriguez, Spanish Jesuit Lay Brother; and Peter Claver, “Apostle to the Negroes”
• Lucy Jane Rider Meyer, Novelist, Hymn Writer, Medical Doctor, and Founder of the Deaconess Movement in the Methodist Episcopal Church
• Sarah Mapps Douglass, U.S. African-American Quaker Abolitionist, Writer, Painter, and Lecturer
• William Chatterton Dix, English Hymn Writer and Hymn Translator

10 (Alexander Crummell, U.S. African-American Episcopal Priest, Missionary, and Moral Philosopher)

• Lynn Harold Hough, U.S. Methodist Minister, Theologian, and Biblical Scholar
• Mordecai Johnson, Educator
• Nemesian of Sigum and His Companions, Roman Catholic Bishops and Martyrs, 257
• Salvius of Albi, Roman Catholic Bishop

11 (Paphnutius the Great, Roman Catholic Bishop of Upper Thebaid)

• Anne Houlditch Shepherd, Anglican Novelist and Hymn Writer
• Jean-Gabriel Perboyre, French Roman Catholic Priest, Missionary, and Martyr in China, 1840
• John Stainer and Walter Galpin Alcock, Anglican Church Organists and Composers
• Patiens of Lyons, Roman Catholic Archbishop

12 (Kaspar Bienemann, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer)

• Ernest Edwin Ryder, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Hymn Writer, Hymn Translator, and Hymnal Editor
• Franciscus Ch’oe Kyong-Hwan, Korean Roman Catholic Catechist and Martyr, 1839; Lawrence Mary Joseph Imbert, Pierre Philibert Maubant, and Jacques Honoré Chastán, French Roman Catholic Priests, Missionaries to Korea, and Martyrs, 1839; Paul Chong Hasang, Korean Roman Catholic Seminarian and Martyr, 1839; and Cecilia Yu Sosa and Jung Hye, Korean Roman Catholic Martyrs, 1839
• William Josiah Irons, Anglican Priest, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator; and his daughter, Genevieve Mary Irons, Roman Catholic Hymn Writer

13 (Peter of Chelcic, Bohemian Hussite Reformer; and Gregory the Patriarch, Founder of the Moravian Church)

• Frederick J. Murphy, U.S. Roman Catholic Biblical Scholar
• Godfrey Thring, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Jane Crewdson, English Quaker Poet and Hymn Writer
• Narayan Seshadri of Jalna, Indian Presbyterian Evangelist and “Apostle to the Mangs”
• Robert Guy McCutchan, U.S. Methodist Hymnal Editor and Hymn Tune Composer

14 (HOLY CROSS)

15 (Martyrs of Birmingham, Alabama, September 15, 1963)

• Charles Edward Oakley, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• George Henry Trabert, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Missionary, and Hymn Translator and Author
• James Chisholm, Episcopal Priest
• Philibert and Aicardus of Jumieges, Roman Catholic Abbots

16 (Cyprian of Carthage, Bishop and Martyr, 258; and Cornelius, Lucius I, and Stephen I, Bishops of Rome)

• James Francis Carney, U.S.-Honduran Roman Catholic Priest, Missionary, Revolutionary, and Martyr, 1983
• Martin Behm, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer

17 (Jutta of Disibodenberg, Roman Catholic Abbess; and her student, Hildegard of Bingen, Roman Catholic Abbess and Composer)

• Zygmunt Szcesny Felinski, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Warsaw, Titutlar Bishop of Tarsus, and Founder of Recovery for the Poor and the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary
• Zygmunt Sajna, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1940

18 (Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-General of the United Nations)

• Amos Niven Wilder, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Poet, Literary Critic, and Biblical Scholar
• Edward Bouverie Pusey, Anglican Priest
• Henry Lascelles Jenner, Anglican Bishop of Dunedin, New Zealand
• Henry Wellington Greatorex, Anglican and Episcopal Organist, Choirmaster, and Hymnodist
• John Campbell Shairp, Scottish Poet and Educator

19 (Gerard Moultrie, Anglican Priest, Hymn Writer, and Translator of Hymns)

• Clarence Alphonsus Walworth, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest, Poet, Hymn Translator, and Hymn Writer; Co-Founder of the Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle (the Paulist Fathers)
• Emily de Rodat, Founder of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Villefranche

• Walter Chalmers Smith, Scottish Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer
• William Dalrymple Maclagan, Archbishop of York and Hymn Writer

20 (Henri Nouwen, Dutch Roman Catholic Priest and Spiritual Writer)

• Elizabeth Kenny, Australian Nurse and Medical Pioneer
• John Coleridge Patteson, Anglican Bishop of Melanesia, and His Companions, Martyrs, 1871
• Marie Therese of Saint Joseph, Founder of the Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus
• Nelson Wesley Trout, First African-American U.S. Lutheran Bishop

21 (MATTHEW THE EVANGELIST, APOSTLE AND MARTYR)

22 (Philander Chase, Episcopal Bishop of Ohio, and of Illinois; and Presiding Bishop)

• C. H. Dodd, Welsh Congregationalist Minister, Theologian, and Biblical Scholar
• Charlotte Elliott, Julia Anne Elliott, and Emily Elliott, Anglican Hymn Writers
• Justus Falckner, Lutheran Pastor and Hymn Writer
• Stephen G. Cary, U.S. Quaker Humanitarian and Antiwar Activist

23 (Francisco de Paula Victor, Brazilian Roman Catholic Priest)

• Churchill Julius, Anglican Bishop of Christchurch, and Primate and Archbishop of New Zealand
• Émelie Tavernier Gamelin, Founder of the Sisters of Providence
• Jozef Stanek, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1944

24 (Anna Ellison Butler Alexander, African-American Episcopal Deaconess in Georgia, and Educator)

• Henry Hart Milman, Anglican Dean, Translator, Historian, Theologian, and Hymn Writer
• Juvenal of Alaska, Russian Orthodox Martyr in Alaska, and First Orthodox Martyr in the Americas, 1796
• Peter the Aleut, Russian Orthodox Martyr in San Francisco, 1815
• Silouan of Mount Athos, Eastern Orthodox Monk and Poet

25 (Sarah Louise “Sadie” Delany, African-American Educator; her sister, Annie Elizabeth “Bessie” Delany, African-American Dentist; and their brother, Hubert Thomas Delany, African-American Attorney, Judge, and Civil Rights Activist)

• Bernhard W. Anderson, U.S. United Methodist Minister and Biblical Scholar
• Euphrosyne and her father, Paphnutius of Alexandria, Monks
• Herman of Reichenau, Roman Catholic Monk, Liturgist, Poet, and Scholar
• Judith Lomax, Episcopal Mystic and Poet
• Sergius of Radonezh, Abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, Sergiyev Posad, Russia

26 (Paul VI, Bishop of Rome)

• Frederick William Faber, English Roman Catholic Hymn Writer
• John Bright, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Biblical Scholar
• John Byrom, Anglican then Quaker Poet and Hymn Writer
• Joseph A. Sittler, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Theologian, and Ecumenist
• Lancelot Andrewes, Anglican Bishop of Chichester then of Ely then of Winchester

27 (Francis de Sales, Roman Catholic Bishop of Geneva; Vincent de Paul, “The Apostle of Charity;’ Louise de Marillac, Co-Founder of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul; and Charles Fuge Lowder, Founder of the Society of the Holy Cross)

• Edward McGlynn, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest, Social Reformer, and Alleged Heretic
• Eliza Scudder, U.S. Unitarian then Episcopalian Hymn Writer
• Joanna P. Moore, U.S. Baptist Missionary and Educator
• Martyrs of Melanesia, 1864-2003
• Thomas Traherne, Anglican Priest, Poet, and Spiritual Writer

28 (Jehu Jones, Jr., African-American Lutheran Minister)

• Francis Turner Palgrave, Anglican Poet, Art Critic, and Hymn Writer
• Joseph Hoskins, English Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• Lorenzo Ruiz and His Companions, Roman Catholic Missionaries and Martyrs in Japan, 1637

29 (MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS)

30 (Honorius, Archbishop of Canterbury)

• Mary Ramabai, Prophetic Witness and Evangelist in India
• Richard Challoner, English Roman Catholic Scholar, Religious Writer, Translator, Controversialist, Priest, and Titular Bishop of Doberus

Floating

• Labor Day

 

Lowercase boldface on a date with two or more commemorations indicates a primary feast.