Our Growth in Christ through the work of God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Trinity Season
A Sonnet by George K Johnson (1920-2007) (printed with permission)
O, holiest of holies, Triune Host Of all that is, unknown and known to us. Most gracious Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Who are our faith's tripartite nucleus. We share a magic macro/micro world Of Your sublime and ongoing creation While You Incarnate have our souls unfurled With lessons how to seek love's celebration. But even more, as Father/Son combined You baptized us with Spirit all Your own That guides us unto You where we shall find Eternal joy in peace we've never known. Your comfort and support are blessèd reason For us to praise Your Trinity this season.
The seventh Sunday after our Lord rose From rock-hewn tomb to conquer mortal death, The Feast of Weeks drew his apostles close In Upper Room observance. Then a breath From God made mighty winds and tongues of flame As he bestowed on them the Paraclete, The Holy Spirit equally the same As God and Son, but their enabler mete To them to witness worldwide to Christ's gist. Our Christian church was born on Pentecost As Christ's apostles turned evangelist, Baptizing thousands who would not be lost. Thus was our Christian worship well engrossed In Triune Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
THE COLLECT FOR PENTECOST
O GOD, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of your faithful people, by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. AMEN.
THE COLLECT FOR ASCENSION DAY GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to have ascended into the heavens; so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with him continually dwell, who liveth and reigneth with theee and the Holy Ghost, on God, world without end AMEN.
ASCENSIONTIDE:
A Sonnet by George K. Johnson (1920-2007)
This festival marks the most holy day When Christ, his earthly duties fully done And 40 days more teaching them The Way, Blessed his apostles fully and was gone To join our Father. But His last request Was that they stay, awaiting God's own pledge To baptize them with Holy Ghost in quest Of witnessing for Christ to the world's edge. Our Lord did more than issue this commission To His apostles. As Christ rose above, He signaled having filled the greater mission Of earning our redemption in God's love. Christ's dearest vow: "…prepare a place for you," That, where He is, we sinners may be, too.
At Sunday's dawn they ventured to where lay Their Savior's dear remains, three days entombed. But, stone removed, they heard an angel say To them the greatest news ever presumed: "...Not here, for He is risen, as He said." Fled they the empty tomb in fear and glee And met our Lord who urged, "Be not afraid, But tell my friends I wait in Galilee." Then told the Lord His followers to most Precisely teach His laws, baptizing now In names of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. "Lo, I am with you always," rang His vow. By rising from the dead, our Lord did save Us, ransomed from the power of the grave.
The “Binding of Isaac“ by Abraham (Gen. 22) is an amazing prophecy of Our Heavenly Father’s sacrifice of His only-begotten Son for the purpose that Whosoever would believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Passiontide in the Historic Lectionary begins with Lent 5, when Jesus is finally rejected by the leaders of Israel, as read in the Gospel for that Sunday, John 8:46-59. There Jesus tells us that Abraham, acting out prophecy, “rejoiced to see my day“.
THE PASSION OF JESUS
A Sonnet by George K. Johnson (1920-2007)
Last Supper's blessing of the bread and wine Gave way to Jesus flung in prostrate prayer, Thrice pledging, "Father, not my will, but thine..." While His apostles slept. Hence His betrayer Led weaponed guards who bound Him to His trial And thus, condemned by priests and governor, To crucifixion. Then did mobs revile And mock the dying Christ. Not angered nor Self-pitying, He prayed, "Father, forgive...." Thus showed He us, in giving up the ghost, That we would know salvation if we live The two commandments He gave us as most Important: love thy God with all thy heart, And love thy neighbor as thyself a part.
Collects from the Book of Common Prayer and Inspirational Sonnets by George K. Johnson (1920-2007), member of Holy Trinity Anglican Church.
Saint Mark, the Evangelist, April 25
Collect: O ALMIGHTY God, who hast instructed thy holy Church with the heavenly doctrine of thy Evangelist Saint Mark; Give us grace that, being not like children carried away with every blast of vain doctrine, we may be established in the truth of thy holy Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen .
MARK THE EVANGELIST Mark may have been the youth who fled the scene Where scribes and elders seized our precious Lord; Whose mother's house was where Jesus had been Last supping with Apostles of His word. Nephew of Barnabas, Mark served with Paul And then as Peter's right hand man in Rome. From what he gleaned of Peter's words to all, At Rome's request, he scribed his sacred tome. "Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" Were Mark's beginning words with which he led Us clearly past all doctrine vainly trod To know God's truth in Christ as done and said. A martyr who by heathens bound and tied, Dragged praying over rocky roads, Mark died.
Saint Philip and Saint James, Apostles, May 1
Collect: O ALMIGHTY God, whom truly to know is everlasting life; Grant us perfectly to know thy Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life; that, following the steps of thy holy Apostles, Saint Philip and Saint James, we may steadfastly walk in the way that leadeth to eternal life; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
PHILIP THE APOSTLE When Jesus said to Philip "Follow me," He joined the first our Savior did enlist. When Philip told his friend to "Come and see," He proved to be Christ's first evangelist. Philip was there when Jesus fed the crowd Five barley loaves, two fishes. At the Last Supper to Philip's query Jesus vowed Indwelling Fatherhood of God recast. In legend Philip witnessed far and wide; Purged Turkish pagans' serpents, healed their bites Yet, doomed by pagan chiefs, was crucified Inverted. Then a quake shook all with frights. As buildings crumbled, people cried for aid. For their safe rescue, dying Philip prayed.
JAMES OF ALPHEUS, APOSTLE Believed to be related to our Lord, James ranked among The Twelve summoned by Him Although the Scriptures offer not a word Of what he did or said. Nor does this dim His silent service in our Savior's ranks. Said to have sown in Syria the truth Of our Lord's blessed teachings, his phalanx Made him first bishop there. He seemed, In sooth, So faithful and obedient to his charge As Christ's evangelist that naught is known Of his own fervent preaching to enlarge Christ's message to the masses to atone. Condemned to martyrdom, this James, 'tis said, Was stoned to death and sawed apart when dead.
Saint Barnabas the Apostle, June 11
Collect: O LORD God Almighty, who didst endue thy holy Apostle Barnabas with singular gifts of the Holy Ghost; Leave us not, we beseech thee, destitute of thy manifold gifts, nor yet of grace to use them alway to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
BARNABAS, "A GOOD MAN" Luke's Acts says that of him, and with much cause. A Cypriot of Hellenistic Jews, He was an early convert from the Laws To Christ's uplifting word of the Good News. He trusted Paul's conversion to The Way, Convincing the apostles to believe him. When sent to Antioch to save the day, He called on Paul at Taurus to relieve him. Then forged this team its missionary lock On preaching to the Gentiles Asia-wide As Christians (first so called at Antioch) And, quarrels mended, to Paul's end allied. At last to Cyprus Barnabas returned. He died, 'tis said, a martyr choked and burned.
Saint John the Baptist, June 24
Collect: ALMIGHTY God, by whose providence thy servant John Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of thy Son our Saviour by preaching repentance; Make us so to follow his doctrine and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and after his example constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth’s sake; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE NATIVITY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST While yet in mother's womb, John gave a leap At Mary's visit, glad she'd bear our Lord, He knew his role: prepare His way and keep The prophecy of wise Isaiah's word. Thus did this zealous herald serve as link Of prophecy from old times to the new, A voice from wilderness that bade us think Of end times and our Savior's path to hew. He baptized sinless Jesus; saw God's dove Alight on Him, proclaimed as blessed Son. He preached repentance due our God above And truth and honor 'til our days are done. While saving souls he baptized without rest. John's "Lamb of God" praised him as mortals' best.
Saint Peter and Paul, Apostles, June 29
Collect: ALMIGHTY God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified thee by their martyrdom: Grant that thy Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by thy Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
PAUL, GREATEST OF MISSIONARIES Lowered in basket from a windowed wall Around a riled Damascus, thence to flee, Was first of many escapades that Paul Would cope with in his arduous ministry. Imprisonments and lashings, stoned near death, Three times shipwrecked, adrift a day in deep, Acutely hungered, thirsting, gasping breath, In peril from all sides, deprived of sleep, And yet Paul left a corpus vast of mind; Thirteen canonic letters bear his name That teach us greatest truths known to mankind And shape religious thinking brought aflame! Paul ran his course and kept the faith, his word, And died a martyr's death by Roman sword.
PETER, FOREMOST OF APOSTLES Unschooled, impulsive, and so often swayed, Peter was but a fisherman at heart, Yet he became the follower who stayed Most close to Jesus, always being part Of every major happening on His Way Of miracles: restoring lives anew; Feeding the throngs, transfiguration day. He thrice confirmed his love of Jesus, due Repentance for denying Him that night. He'd earlier been named by Christ his "rock," And now the risen Lord, there in plain sight, Three times directed Peter, "Feed my flock," As shepherd in His stead. Peter's last crown: A martyr's crucifixion upside down.
Saint Peter the Apostle, June 29
Collect: O ALMIGHTY God, who by thy Son Jesus Christ didst give to thy Apostle Saint Peter many excellent gifts, and commandedst him earnestly to feed thy flock; Make, we beseech thee, all Bishops and Pastors diligently to preach thy holy Word, and the people obediently to follow the same, that they may receive the crown of everlasting glory; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen .
Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
A Sonnet for Lent
by George K. Johnson (1920-2007)
Our baptized Lord was 40 days and nights In prayer and fasting, moved by Holy Ghost, To tone his moral muscle for the blights Of Satan's three temptations. His riposte, "Get thee behind me, Satan," rang out clear As he rejected Satan's proffered bribes With Scripture quotes that Satan fled in fear, A feat that Luke's fourth chapter well describes. A personal wilderness of tempting ways To yield to Satan's lures confronts us each As we negotiate our testing days And lurch toward our salvation out of reach. If stronger wish you were; less sinning bent, Then tone your moral muscle, too, this Lent.
Collects from the Book of Common Prayer and Inspirational Sonnets by George K. Johnson (1920-2007), member of Holy Trinity Anglican Church.
The Purification of Saint Mary the Virgin, Feb 2
PURIFICATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY His fortieth day our infant Christ was shown At temple for his mother’s cleansing rite. Though really needing none, Mary was known To adhere to the Law e'en it seem trite. And waiting there, guided by Holy Ghost, Simeon saw the Babe, held Him and blessed God for at last revealing to him Host Of man’s salvation, thus to take his rest. The prophet first to say that Christ had come, He saw a suffering although gloried Lord; "This Child will fall and rise again," his sum, As Mary and hers marveled at his word. Their offerings were doves of modest price, But God had sent His Lamb as sacrifice.
Collect: ALMIGHTY and everliving God, we humbly beseech thy Majesty, that, as thy only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in substance of our flesh, so we may be presented unto thee with pure and clean hearts, by the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Matthias the Apostle, Feb 24
MATTHIAS, ELECTED APOSTLE Known only from first chapter of Luke’s Acts, Matthias earned his choice in Judas’ stead As twelfth Apostle, Peter said, by facts: He closely followed Christ where ere He led. Meeting in their secluded Upper Room, Apostles and disciples joined in prayer For our Lord’s guidance indicating whom To choose. Christ’s mother, too, was there; Heard them confirm in prayer her Son divine (Her last appearance in our Holy Book). By lots they chose Matthias to assign As twelfth who with them Pentecost partook. ‘Tis said he preached among most savage men; Was martyred, but we know not where or when.
Collect: O ALMIGHTY God, who into the place of the traitor Judas didst choose thy faithful servant Matthias to be of the number of the twelve Apostles; Grant that thy Church, being alway preserved from false Apostles, may be ordered and guided by faithful and true pastors; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Annunciation of The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mar 25
ANNUNCIATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY God sent his trusted angel Gabriel To Nazareth in Galilee one morn And to a startled virgin to foretell Of her the Son of God was to be born. As Jesus (Yahweh saves) would He be called, The throne of David would He sure ascend To rule the House of Jacob e’er installed, “And of His Kingdom there will be no end.” This maiden Mary, troubled at the news, Told Gabriel that she had never wed, But when assured a caring God would use The Holy Ghost to come to her, she pled, Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; So let it be according to your word.”
Collect: WE beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts; that, as we have known the incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ by the message of an angel, so by his cross and passion we may be brought unto the glory of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen .
Pre-Lent is the first step in a 3-fold intensification to prepare for the highest of all Feast Day on the Christian calendar, the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pre-Lent leads to Lent, also known as the Quadragesima (40 days before Easter) and finally to Passion Sunday through Holy Week, the last and most intense stage in this preparation sequence.
Pre-Lent is a turning from the joy of the Epiphany Season, when Christ is manifested in a series of “Epiphanies” to the world, to the journey toward Jerusalem to witness Christ’s redemptive work. The (revised) Common Lectionary, used by main line churches, regrettably has discarded Pre-Lent as a step in the preparation for Our Lord’s Resurrection.
In the Historic Lectionary, the theme for Pre-Lent is a call on the Church to greater fruitfulness and a clear vision for the work that Christ has prepared for His Church. Such fruitfulness is essential to the Lenten journey that lies ahead. The appointed Gospel for the Sunday Septuagesima (~70 days before Easter) is about the fruitfulness the Lord’s work in the parable of the householder who sends worker into the vineyard (Matt 20:1-15). This is the fruitfulness of Divine Grace. A woodcut from an unknown master in the Protestant Reformation era, published in 1547, illustrates the parable.
The Gospel for Sexagesima (~60 days before Easter) is the parable of the sower, the fruitfulness of God’s Word, taken from Luke 8:4-15. The picture below is entitled “The Sower” by Sir John Everett Millais (1829-1896), published in 1864. Finally, the last Sunday in Pre-Lent, Quinquagesima (~50 days before Easter) is about the fruitfulness of “true love and spiritual understanding” with the Gospel from Luke 18:31-43, Jesus healing the blind of Jericho, shown in an oil painting by Nicolas Poussin from 1650.
ALMIGHTY FATHER, whose blessed Son restored sight to the blind man who sought His Mercy : Clear away, we beseech Thee, the blindness of our hearts, and enlighten our minds with Thy heavenly truth, that we may enter upon the approaching season of Lent with true love and spiritual understanding; through the same our Saviour Jesus Christ. AMEN.
On camels trekked the Magi bearing gifts Of costly myrrh and frankincense and gold To lay before a child whose coming lifts Their hearts in reverence so long foretold. Epiphany we call it. Jesus shown As Savior to the Gentiles; God made man, For which the Wise Men journeyed far alone With but a star to guide their caravan. The world endeavors yet to find that star, For sin and selfishness have dimmed its glow. It hangs there still for wise men, but thus far Our tracking pace is perilously slow In following that gleam that yet can be The Magi's gift of our Epiphany.
