Hello,

Coming Up:

Online book study begins on Feb.25 and will run Wednesdays, 7pm, through Lent, into the Easter season. The book is called To Love and Serve: Anglican Beliefs and Practices.

Lenten Lunches also begin on Wednesday, Feb.25, 12-1pm at Emmaus, SSM. They will be held at the same time, in the same place each Wednesday until (and including) Wed. March 25.

A Liturgical Note For You:      No Alleluias and Lots of Purple…Why?

Our liturgical space and our liturgies are a bit different during the season of Lent. We see a lot of purple but we don’t see or hear Alleluias or the Glory to God praise hymn. Why? 

First…Why Purple? Purple is the color of royalty, which was most commonly used in the Byzantine religious icons. It is intended to show the glory of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God.  It is not surprising, then, that in our seasons of waiting for our King – and for our King to “open the kingdom of heaven to all believers” (Te Deum), the traditional colour we see is purple.  It has come to represent, therefore, waiting and preparation – especially with self-reflection and added spiritual disciplines during these times.

Now…Why no Alleluias or Glory to God? The word “Alleluia” is rooted in a Hebrew expression that means “praise the Lord”. During Lent, we consciously think of ourselves as journeying in the wilderness – with Jesus but, actually, even more so, as the Israelites did after God rescued them from Egypt. This was the time when they were learning to be God’s children and discerning what that looked like in their daily lives. When the Israelites were conquered by the Babylonians and taken into slavery, they believed it was directly linked to their failure to live as God’s children. As they lamented their absence from life in God’s kingdom, they cried, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:4). They felt unable to praise God (sing “Alleluia”) as they awaited salvation. Likewise, the Glory to God sings praise to God for the salvation accomplished for us. We eliminate the jubilant praise of accomplished salvation (a bit of a liturgical fast, you might say) as we journey toward the salvation given to us through Jesus’ death and resurrection when he “opened the kingdom of heaven for all believers” (Te Deum). 

This doesn’t mean that Lent is a mournful time, however. There is the sense of suppressed joy and anticipation throughout our Lenten journey of penitence and reflection together as we eagerly await the Easter passover from death to life, from life in this world to life in God’s kingdom. So, yes, I’m going to say it a third time…Jesus “opened the kingdom of heaven for all believers” – we choose to walk in and Lent is our time of consciously thinking of and learning how to do this.

One last note, the Lenten Ember days are this week (always the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the First Sunday in Lent). These are days set aside for special prayer and fasting – and often the ordination of clergy.

For Your Devotions:

Monday,February 23rd is the memorial of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna who was martyred in 156. I find it really exciting that Polycarp is said to have been a disciple of John the Apostle. Polycarp fought against the heresy of Gnosticism (Gnostics believed salvation was attained through secret spiritual knowledge). The Gnostics had claimed Paul as their guiding influence but Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians very importantly reclaimed Paul for the orthodox church. Unfortunately, Polycarp was a victim during a Roman persecution of the Church. The pagan Roman governor tried to burn Polycarp at the stake but witnesses say the flames only formed a vault around him, not burning him. A Roman soldier was sent in to the flames to stab him. To read more:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Polycarp  and p.86-7 of For All the Saints here:  https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/For-All-The-Saints.pdf

Tuesday, February 24th is the commemoration of Philip Lindel Tsen, Bishop of Honan, died 1954 and Paul Shinji Sasaki, Bishop of Mid-Japan and Tokyo, died 1946. Lindel Tsen was born into poverty and homeless by the age of 14. He overcame his circumstances to become educated, ordained, and the first Chinese bishop to attend a Lambeth Conference. Both men remembered today travelled to Canada to attest to the unity between their two churches (China and Japan) in spite of the war. After the war, Tsen was placed under house arrest by the communist government. Meanwhile in Japan, the government tried to force all protestant churches to join together as one. As leader of the Anglican church, Sasaki refused for several reasons but, most importantly, because the new united church did not accept the Apostles’ Creed. For his resistance, Sasaki was harassed, imprisoned, and tortured. To read more…  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindel_Tsen  and  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Shinji_Sasaki  

Thursday, February 26th is the memorial of Florence Li Tim-Oi, Priest, died 1992. Florence was a deacon for several years when, for reasons due to the war a priest could no longer travel to provide her flock with the Holy Eucharist, in January of 1944 the Bishop of Hong Kong ordained her as a priest…The first female priest in the Anglican Communion! This, of course, was controversial but her quiet grace and profound faith and dedication opened many eyes to the work of God through women in our church. Florence had offered up her priest’s licence, after the war, to quiet the controversy. This was reinstated, with much rejoicing, in Canada in 1984. To read more about this extraordinary lady, go here:  https://www.anglican.ca/faith/worship/resources/li-tim-oi/  

Friday, February 27th is the commemoration of George Herbert, Priest and Poet, died 1633.  George was Welsh but spent most of his life in England. He was born into a wealthy family and was sent off to be educated at Cambridge with the intention of becoming a priest. He was side-tracked for a number of years by a position as the university’s orator and then life at court. When King James I died, George turned his attention back to the priesthood and, after his ordination, was beloved by his parishioners for his dedication to holding daily Morning and Evening Prayer in the church, his kindness, and his generosity. He died of consumption, just seven years into his priesthood, before his 40th birthday. He wrote the words to one of my favourite hymns…King of Glory, King of Peace. For more info:  http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/110.html

In the hope of Christ,

Susan