Gesimas and beyond - Rector's Rambling for February 16, 2020

In a big change for the Kelly family, our daughter, Meg, decided that she wanted to go to school rather than continue homeschooling.  She started at Pierce Middle School in January in 8th grade in order to ease the transition to high school next year.  So far things seem to be going pretty well.

One side effect of this change is that now, if we want to take a vacation, we have to do so during school breaks, when things are more expensive and crowded!

This week I am away with Jennifer and Meg visiting family.  This morning we will be attending Mass in Tennessee with my sister-in-law’s family, and then tomorrow we continue driving south to Florida for a few days with my mother, father, and sister.  God willing we will return by next Saturday.

On this page is a wonderful graphic for last week through Holy Week.  Read it from the bottom up and then up from the left, going clockwise.  The Gesima Sundays are a base, a setup for the upcoming observance of Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday on February 26.

Included on this chart are the Ember Days (occurring four times a year), when we pray for those discerning and preparing for the ordained ministry, the Sundays in Lent, Passiontide, and Holy Week, culminating with the Sacrum Triduum (the Three Holy Days) of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.

I implore you to clear your calendars for the upcoming Sundays.  It is so important for us to ALL be active in the life of the church during Lent in order to encourage one another in our discipline and greater holiness.  Additionally, larger attendance also leads to a more inviting welcome to visitors who will be joining us for worship in the coming weeks.

Also, we will be offering special classes on Sundays at 11:45 AM (at the end of coffee hour) and on Thursday evenings.  And as Lent always includes, there will be extra devotions, such as the Stations of the Cross and Benediction on Fridays at noon, and a variety of them after the Thursday classes.  Check the Lenten Opportunities brochure for more information on the schedule of special worship and classes beginning on March 1.

My hope and prayer for this Pre-Lent and Lent is for a great increase in our devotion and participation!

Candlemas - Rector's Rambling for February 2, 2020

Today we get a chance to deviate from the regular Sunday rotation of readings, on what would be the fourth Sunday after Epiphany, because it is a Prayer Book Holy Day.

Today’s Feast Day is 40 days after the birth of Jesus Christ, which of course we celebrated on Christmas.  As it is the custom for the members of the original covenant, the Jewish people, on the 40th day of a child’s life they were presented in the Temple as a offering, in remembrance of Abraham’s willingness to offer his son Isaac at God’s command.

We remember that when Abraham offered to sacrifice his son, God instead, via an angel, stopped the sacrifice – his willingness was proof of his faithfulness – and provided a ram in his son’s place.

So as Jewish males reach their 40th day of life, they are offered to the service of God in a representative way, and by bringing with them “a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons”, offer that as a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

Also according to Jewish custom, it is on the 40th day after giving birth that the woman is re-admitted to public worship.  The issue of blood following childbirth was considered “unclean” so they were expected to not attend public worship.  This is the first public event the new mother would be expected to attend.

This prohibition sounds funny to us now, but some of us may remember when the due date was called the EDC, which stood for Expected Date of Confinement.  This was not for any sort of religious reason, but the acknowledgement of the reality that mothers should have time to recover from the physical work of birth, and have time to bond with their child.  Being “unclean” may sound harsh to us, but it was also a protection of the woman so that she can heal and be well.

Although the church has not had a period of “uncleanness”, the tradition of time away after birth is recognized in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer with the service The Thanksgiving of Women after Childbirth, commonly called the Churching of Women, found on page 305.

In my 25 years as a priest I have used this service twice.  It seems to be something that has passed on with time in our own tradition.  The theological emphasis of Simeon and Anna in the Feast are primary today, but we give thanks also for the protection and safe delivery of mothers and their children too.