Theodicy and the Collect

Proper 7 The Sunday closest to June 22

O Lord, we beseech thee, make us have a perpetual fear
and love of thy holy Name, for thou never failest to help and
govern those whom thou hast set upon the sure foundation
of thy loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.

This collect for Sunday, June 24th dates to the 8th century Latin Mass and has been prescribed for use in our worship ever since, including in Archbishop Thomas Cranmer’s 1549 Book of Common Prayer and right up to the present day. Being a people of Tradition, and resistant to change as in -- How many Anglicans does it take to change a lightbulb? What do you mean change? My grandfather gave that lightbulb -- there seems no question but that we will go on saying it. Regardless. The word “fear” holds on long years, centuries, after its meaning has changed in common understanding and usage, but we like quaint, and we don’t mind archaic even though we have to pause and explain every time. It’s still the prayer for this coming Sunday’s eight o’clock Rite One; but at least and at last, “fear” was updated to “reverence” for the contemporary language Rite Two settings in the 1979 prayer book:

Proper 7 The Sunday closest to June 22

O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your
holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom
you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

So much for updating language; the collect has more significant theological, experiential, existential issues, even a time warp of naivete and fear between 8th and 21st centuries. It may test what we are willing to face up to, acknowledge, admit “faithwise,” as well as to reform liturgically. Quaint and archaic may cause to stumble, any Christian who is struggling, hurting, praying, grieving, and for whom “you never fail to help” is not seen to be born out in harsh reality of life and death.

It’s a nice prayer for Sunday morning though, isn’t it, and we’ll say it anyway, won’t we. We've always done it that way.

TW+