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Epiphany - January 6, 2008 - St.
Christopher’s Episcopal Church Worship and Belief That great Epiphany hymn, “We Three Kings” reflects the thoughts of many church fathers: Each gift reflects an aspect of who Jesus is: Gold proclaims Jesus King of Heaven. Frankincense reflects His role as High Priest. Myrrh foreshadows His death for our redemption. One of the most important jobs of the church throughout the ages has been to reveal those truths to the world. As Anglicans our primary way to do this is in worship. Anglicans have always held to the axiom, Lex orandi, lex credendi, or, “how we pray is how we believe.” Our Prayer Book forms us as a praying/ worshipping people, and makes that form visible to the world. Here at St. Christopher’s we offer a pew sheet to help newcomers navigate through our worship. We want you to feel comfortable worshipping with us. However, the pew sheet is but a sliver of the whole BCP. As one comes to God merely through an acceptance of the saving work of Jesus Christ, yet the fullness of the Gospel is a whole lot more, one can worship with a pew sheet, but the Book of Common Prayer is a whole lot more! The rites in this book can be roughly grouped into six sections: 1) Introductory material on the worship of the Church, 2) the Daily Offices that can be used alone, 3) Prayers of the Church, 4) Congregational Liturgies, 5) Liturgies used by the wider church, and 6) Liturgical helps. Over the next weeks we will take a look at the Daily Offices, the Congregational Liturgies, and Liturgical helps so that you can use the Prayer Book for your own prayer and spiritual nurturing, be at home in any Anglican service worldwide, and begin to grasp the radical incarnational theology that is embodied in our way of worship. Let’s take up the forms suitable for personal use. There are lots of rites offered in Rite I and Rite II styles. Rite I is more traditional language, Rite II is more contemporary. There are Rites I and II for Daily Morning Prayer and Daily Evening Prayer. These rites are often used as congregational worship but they are equally suitable for personal use, or with your family, and it is to that scenario that I offer these instructions: Some orienting rules of thumb: Small words in italics are instructions and are not read as part of the rite. The absolution can be pronounced by a lay person, using inclusive pronouns. If alone it is appropriate to read the parts for the Officiant and the People. It is customary to say a canticle between the lessons, suggested canticles are on pp. 144-145. In addition to Morning and Evening Prayer this section offers prayers at noonday, and Compline to be read before bed, and an “Order for Worship at Evening.” Even shorter forms are offered for prayer four times a day in the Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families beginning on p. 137. They offer a framework and basic prayers, Bible lessons and meditative readings and personal intercessions can be inserted where indicated. The lessons for these rites are listed in what is called the Daily Office Lectionary. It divides the readings into two years, Year 1 and Year 2. Year 1 is for odd-numbered years, this being 2008, we are now in year 2. On p. 943, you will see the lessons for this week and next. This week the lessons are dated, in future weeks they are listed by liturgical week. (You can get that title off the readings insert from Sunday—if you just take it home with you.) For tomorrow, then, the first numbers after the date are the psalm for Morning Prayer, psalm 103. The numbers after the four dots are the psalms for Evening Prayer: 114, 115. The lessons on the next line offer Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons for the day. These selections cover 95% of the Bible in two years, and all of the Psalms every 6 weeks. These lessons can be used in the shorter versions of the rites without the canticles in between, as a structured way of reading through Holy Scripture. Our Book of Common Prayer is not the Bible, but it is a highly effective tool for our spiritual formation. Its texts draw heavily from the Bible, and its message is the same: This little child, born in a stable and honored by foreign dignitaries, is the Son of God, the King of Heaven, and the Redeemer of the World. I think the testimony of those churches who use the Book of Common Prayer even though they are not part of the Episcopal Church is witness to its power to form deep, committed and well-rounded Christians, Christians God can use to proclaim His message and further His work in this world. Fr. Paul Moore+ Outline of Morning Prayer:
Outline for Evening Prayer
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