Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Apostles

The Collect
Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdom: Grant that your Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by your Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Psalm
87

The Readings
Ezekiel 34:11-16     +     2 Timothy 4:1-8     +     John 21:15-19

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.

~Ezekiel 34:15-16

He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

~John 21:17


Here are two reflections for today's feast, one ancient and one new.

From St. Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 295:

This day has been made holy by the martyrdom of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul. I am not here speaking of some unknown martyrs. 'For their sound has gone out into all lands, and their message to the ends of the earth.' These martyrs say what they proclaimed . . . 

The Lord Jesus before his passion chose, as you know, certain disciples whom he called apostles. In a virtually unique way Peter represented the entire Church. In his capacity as representative of the whole Church these words were fittingly addressed to him: 'I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.' It was not one man, but the whole Church, which received these keys . . .

It was logical too for the Lord to entrust the care of his sheep to Peter after his resurrection. He was not, of course, the only disciple worthy of this responsibility. When Christ spoke to one, all were included: Peter was addressed first because he was the foremost apostle. Do not be dismayed, Peter. Answer once, twice, three times . . . Untie from love what you tied from fear. In spite of all the Lord three times entrusted his sheep to Peter.

One day is assigned for the celebration of the martyrdom of two apostles. But those two were one . . . Peter went first, Paul followed. We celebrate the feast day which is made sacred for us by the blood of these apostles. Let us love their faith, their life, their trials, their passion, their profession, and their teaching.

And here a reflection from the Grow Christians blog, on how Peter and Paul ultimately agreeing on the critical question of Gentile inclusion in the early church might inform our own thinking on racism in the church and society: Peter and Paul: Black Lives and Gentile Lives.

Closing Prayer
Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
~A prayer For the Mission of the Church, BCP p. 816

The Embrace of Peter and Paul 

Icon by Konstantinos Paleokapas in the Karakallou Monastery on Mount Athos

The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

The Collect
Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Psalm
85

The Readings

Isaiah 40:1-11     +     Acts 13:14b-26     +     Luke 1:57-80

A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD,
     make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
     and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
     and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
     and all people shall see it together,

     for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

~ Isaiah 40:3-5

The fortieth chapter of Isaiah contains some of the most familiar prophetic words in scripture (thanks in part to Handel's Messiah and the season of Advent). It's a mixture of both comfort and strong medicine, tenderness and hard words--which is  pretty true of most prophets' messages. Even verses 3-5 above, which we probably associate fondly with Christmas (and indeed they are good news), literally describe massive displacement and upheaval.

John the Baptist, in my mind, is something like the quintessential prophet--the last of the great biblical prophets, directly preceding the long-promised Messiah, wild in appearance, bold in word, meeting a bloody end like so many before him. Of his nativity, St. Augustine sermonizes: "Zechariah's tongue was loosened because a voice was born. John was a 'voice', but in the beginning the Lord was the Word. John was a voice for a time: but Christ, who in the beginning was the Word, is the Word in eternity."

A voice says, “Cry out!”
    And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All people are grass,
    their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
    when the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
    surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades;
    but the word of our God will stand for ever.

It is sometimes trendy, both within and without the church, to identify 'prophetic voices.' Certainly, there are such voices among us, and the Lord is never without messengers. But it is likely that such voices, when they cry out, will not entirely please us; will not fit easily into our narratives, but will explode our Procrustean beds; will not leave us unscathed--but also will not leave us hopeless.

See, the Lord GOD comes with might,
    and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
    he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
    and gently lead the mother sheep. 

Re-read Isaiah 40:1-11. Think and pray; how does this word of the Lord speak to you today? 

Closing Prayer

Lord God of the prophets, we praise you for sending John as the Forerunner of your promised Christ. Help us to heed his voice, and the voice of everyone who cries out to point us back to you; help us to be open to your Spirit, that our voices also may proclaim the coming of the One who is our hope, even Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Saint John the Baptist

(icon written by the Rev. Deacon Brandon James Hudson)

Saint Barnabas the Apostle

The Collect
Grant, O God, that we may follow the example of your faithful servant Barnabas, who, seeking not his own renown but the well-being of your Church, gave generously of his life and substance for the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

~BCP, p. 241

The Psalm
112

The Readings
Isaiah 42:5-12     +     Acts 11:19-30; 13:1-3     +     Matthew 10:7-16

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Acts 13:2-3

When we think of 'the holy apostles' we often think of the twelve disciples that Jesus gathered around him during his ministry, and whom he then sent out (as we heard this past Sunday) to proclaim the gospel. But the New Testament also identifies some others as apostles, a word that literally means 'one who is sent off'--in this case, sent as a messenger of the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul is the most well known apostle (indeed, Paul is traditionally referred to as 'The Apostle') who was not one of the Twelve, but Barnabas is another one of these. He appears several times in the New Testament, usually as a companion to Paul. 

At the Grow Christians blog, Benjamin Gildas reflects on Barnabas, and what his ministry speaks to us about being people of encouragement and support today.

When we think about the incredible ministry of the Apostle Paul and the legacy he left behind of planting churches around the Mediterranean and leaving us his letters in the New Testament, we must also remember “the other guy,” or better yet, the Son of Encouragement that had Paul’s back throughout his ministry.

Sometimes being “the other guy” is the most important role we can play. Sometimes, being a child of encouragement, providing support, love, and care for someone else’s ministry is the gift God is calling us to give. Sometimes, standing up for someone else is dangerous, and the bravest thing that we can do.

Read the rest here.

Closing Prayer
O God, you manifest in your servants the signs of your presence: Send forth upon us the Spirit of love, that in companionship with one another your abounding grace may increase among us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
~ BCP, p. 125

The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(transferred from May 31)

The Collect
Father in heaven, by your grace the virgin mother of your incarnate Son was blessed in bearing him, but still more blessed in keeping your word: Grant us who honor the exaltation of her lowliness to follow the example of her devotion to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
~BCP, p. 240

The Psalm
113

The Readings

I Samuel 2:1-10     +     Romans 12:9-16b     +     Luke 1:39-57

And Mary said,

My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior . . .

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,

and sent the rich away empty.

~Luke 1:46-47, 52-53

'Mary's Song,' the Magnificat, has long been a central part of Christian prayer and witness. In the Prayer Book it is the canticle appointed to be sung at Daily Evening Prayer. Through centuries of repetition and musical setting, its words have become familiar to many of us. Yet how powerful and unsettling those words can be. The Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was later executed by the Nazis, called Mary's song "at once the most passionate, the wildest, one might even say the most revolutionary Advent hymn ever sung . . . a hard, strong, inexorable song about the power of God and the powerlessness of humankind." At various times its use has been discouraged or limited by regimes who feared its implications (e.g. in British-ruled India, and in Latin America during times of revolution). And Mary's song is not an outlier--as we see today, it clearly echoes Hannah's song in I Samuel, which itself draws from Psalm 113. These themes--reversal, liberation, care for the downtrodden, upending of oppression--are woven throughout scripture, most forcefully in the prophets of Israel. As I've reflected on before, that many of us can so often forget or even be oblivious to this fact is an indication of the extent to which we have lives of relative comfort and privilege. It takes intentional and imaginative effort for us really to hear what these scriptures are saying.

It takes intentional effort also to hear the cries and grievances of those suffering today. It takes intentional effort not to dismiss their cries or to focus on some other deflecting issue. It takes intentional effort, and a willingness to enter into pain, to do as St. Paul instructs and "weep with those who weep" (Rom. 12:15). At this time in our nation, with grief, anger, and frustration literally exploding onto the streets of our cities, we do well to listen to Bishop Michael Curry's reminder that violence is not the instrument of the path of love to which we are called. But, as he further states, and as Mary's song reminds us, the path of love is also not silence in the face of injustice, or a desire "more for tranquility than for justice." It is not to heal brokenness superficially, saying 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace (Jer. 6:14). The gospel which Mary's song at her visitation anticipates and proclaims is indeed good news--but it is news that will always be unsettling to a world of established inequities whose systems are founded on fear and self-preservation. If the church is to proclaim such a gospel, it must first (and continually) listen deeply in order to understand it. And then, counting the cost, move into the world embracing the scandal and reproach of that message--like Mary, the young, unwed mother who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.

Closing Prayer

O God, give to us, and to all your church, an increase of the gifts of your Spirit for these days, that we may grow in wisdom and understanding, in counsel and strength, in knowledge and the fear of the Lord; that in our own lives we may magnify your holy Name. Amen. 

The Visitation by Janet McKenzie