Stand Tall
Proper 22 The Sunday closest to October 5
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to
hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire
or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy
to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus
Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire
or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy
to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus
Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
This is the Collect of the Day for Sunday, October 2. It is found among the autumn collects in the Latin language Leonine Sacramentary, which was attributed to Pope Leo I, about 450 AD and is therefore among our oldest prayers. Appearing in every Latin sacramentary since, it was in Archbishop Thomas Cranmer’s first, English language, Book of Common Prayer, 1549, and has been in our American prayer books ever since. So, it’s quite ancient in human terms and now thoroughly Anglican.
There are theological elements in the collect. One is in the address, which asserts God’s readiness to hear our prayers and God’s generosity beyond our asking. Another is in the petition, which asserts our human worthlessness. The first assertion is indeed my experience and view, that God hears us and is generous. But the second assertion seems self-abasing and medieval. We are not unworthy to approach God in prayer, not at all. We are made worthy not by our own works and merits, but through Jesus Christ:
We give thanks to you, O God, for the goodness and love
which you have made known to us in creation; in the calling
of Israel to be your people; in your Word spoken through the
prophets; and above all in the Word made flesh, Jesus, your
Son. For in these last days you sent him to be incarnate from
the Virgin Mary, to be the Savior and Redeemer of the world.
In him, you have delivered us from evil, and made us worthy
to stand before you. In him, you have brought us out of error
into truth, out of sin into righteousness, out of death into life.
which you have made known to us in creation; in the calling
of Israel to be your people; in your Word spoken through the
prophets; and above all in the Word made flesh, Jesus, your
Son. For in these last days you sent him to be incarnate from
the Virgin Mary, to be the Savior and Redeemer of the world.
In him, you have delivered us from evil, and made us worthy
to stand before you. In him, you have brought us out of error
into truth, out of sin into righteousness, out of death into life.
We are Episcopalian, Anglican. Lex orandi lex credendi -- our theology, what we believe about God is found in what we do and say and sing and pray when we worship. We are worthy. We believe -- that God has made us worthy. We say so right there in the words of our Eucharistic Prayer.
But then, that's what the collect says too: we are made worthy through the faith of Jesus Christ.
Get up, get up. In grateful humility, stand tall before God.
Ladies, keep your hats on.
But, gentlemen, Uncover, TWO.
Ladies, keep your hats on.
But, gentlemen, Uncover, TWO.
TW+