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.
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.
The night’s still chill echoed an Infant’s wail. Near, bedded livestock stirred, shadows that pale Lamplight cast large on roughhewn beams and wall. A mother’s comfort murmured from a stall. So was a Child born humbly on that night A star hung low at Bethlehem, its light A silent beacon wise men’s eyes would scan That here in swaddling clothes lay God made man. Were this but fable, would it yet be told? Tales more heroic have long since grown old. What then the magic of this manger birth If not its truth of Savior’s grace on earth? That beacon star still guides our halting way. Hope’s gleam was born in us that Christmas day.
Christmas
A Sonnet by George K. Johnson (1920-2007) (2005)
How still a night it was when infant's wail First heralded the coming of our Lord. How right that angels firstly told His tale To shepherds trembling at the holy word. These caring for their flocks hastened to find This newborn Christ, the Shepherd of us all, And came upon the Lord of all mankind Swaddled in feeding trough of cattle stall. So humbly was our Savior born to us, And humbly did He live His life on earth That we might learn to humble selves and thus Be open to the blessings of His birth; Live so we honor love, peace, and good will, Thus savoring His grace Who loves us still.
Expectancy is Advent's joyous theme Four weeks that culminate in Christmas Day As we anticipate the gift supreme Of God's own Son to lead us in His way. At start of each Church year Advent brings hopes Of God's redemption from our mortal sin To each of us who for salvation gropes And would our way to heaven's rapture win. But infant Christ's first coming is not all We celebrate at Advent time each year. His second coming and His Judgment Call To all the world we pray with love and fear, For right and truth and justice will He bring When He returns to us as Christ our King.
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.
