Reformed Evangelical Synod of America

Archive for the ‘Feasts and Commemorations’ Category

Four of the many believers who were martyred throughout New Guinea during the Second World War.

Almost immediately there were arrests. Eight clergymen and two laymen were executed by the Japanese Army “as an example” on September 2, 1942. In the next few years 333 church workers of various denominations were killed, while many native Papuan Christians (of all Churches) risked their own lives to care for the wounded.

COLLECT
Almighty God, we remember before you this day the blessed martyrs of New Guinea, who, following the example of their Savior, laid down their lives for their friends; and we pray that we who honor their memory may imitate their loyalty and faith. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

The Gospel first came to the northern English in 627, but it was soon suppressed by a resurgence of Paganism. In 633, Oswald became the king of Northumbria, and proceeded at once to restore the Christian mission. Because he had been exiled in a monastery at Iona, he selected an Ioniana, Corman, to preach to the people of his kingdom. Corman returned, having had no success, but a fellow monk, Aidan, responded by telling Corman, “Perhaps you were too harsh with them, and they might have responded better to a gentler approach.” At this, Aidan found himself appointed to lead a second expedition. He centered his work, not at York, but in imitation of his home monastery, on Lindisfarne, an island off the northeast coast of England.

With his fellow monks and the English youths whom he trained, Aidan restored Christianity in Northumbria, King Oswald often serving as his interpreter, and extended the mission through the midlands as far south as London.

Aidan died at the royal town of Bamborough on August 31, 651. The historian Bede said of him: “He neither sought nor loved anything of this world, but delighted in distributing immediately to the poor whatever was given him by kings or rich men of the world. He traversed both town and country on foot, never on horseback, unless compelled by some urgent necessity. Wherever on his way he saw any, either rich or poor, he invited them, if pagans, to embrace the mystery of the faith; or if they were believers, he sought to strengthen them in their faith and stir them up by words and actions to alms and good works.”

COLLECT
Loving God, you called your servant Aidan from the peace of a cloister to re-establish the Christian mission in northern England, and endowed him with gentleness, simplicity, and strength. Grant that we, following his example, may use what you have given us for the relief of human need, and may persevere in commending the saving Gospel of our Redeemer. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

The drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance and the hateful heart of a queen combined to bring about the martyrdom of John the Baptist. The greatest of prophets suffered the fate of so many Old Testament prophets before him: rejection and martyrdom.

This great religious reformer was sent by God to prepare the people for the Messiah. His vocation was one of selfless giving. The only power that he claimed was the Spirit of Yahweh. “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”. Scripture tells us that many people followed John looking to him for hope, perhaps in anticipation of some great messianic power. John never allowed himself the false honor of receiving these people for his own glory. He knew his calling was one of preparation. When the time came, he led his disciples to Jesus. John’s life and death were a giving over of self for God and others. His simple style of life was one of complete detachment from earthly possessions. His heart was centered on God and his voice speaking to his heart. Confident of God’s grace, he had the courage to speak words of condemnation, repentance, and salvation.

COLLECT
Almighty God, you called your servant John the Baptist to be the forerunner of your Son in birth and death. Strengthen us with your grace that, as he suffered for the truth, so we may boldly resist corruption and vice
and receive with him the unfading crown of glory. We ask this through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

READINGS
Revelation 6: 9-11
Psalm 11 or 71
Romans 6: 1-5
Matthew 14: 1-12 or Mark 6: 14-29

Augustine is one of the most celebrated theologians and leaders of the Western Church. Born in North Africa in 364, his mother tried unsuccessfully to raise her son in the faith. As a young adult, Augustine moved to Carthage where he lived with a woman and fathered a son. In 384, he travelled to Milan in Italy, having accepted an appointment as a teacher of philosophy. There, the prayers of his mother were answered, and after dialoging with the city’s bishop, Ambrose, he was baptized in the year 387. In the year 391, while visiting the city of Hippo, he was asked to serve as the pastor of the local Christian community. He remained there for the rest of his life, living in community with the clergy under a strict rule. His monastic rule has been adopted by numerous religious orders over the years.

COLLECT
Lord God, you are the light of the minds that know you, the life of the souls that love you, and the strength of the hearts that serve you. Help us, following the example of your servant Augustine of Hippo, so to know you that we may truly love you, and so to love you that we may fully serve you, whom to serve is perfect freedom. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

We know about Monnica almost entirely from the autobiography of her son Augustine. Monnica was born in North Africa, near Carthage, in what is now Tunisia, perhaps around 331, of Christian parents, and was a Christian throughout her life. As a girl, she was fond of wine, but on one occasion was taunted by a slave girl for drunkenness, and resolved not to drink thereafter. She was married to a pagan husband, Patricius, a man of hot temper, who was often unfaithful to her, but never insulted or struck her. It was her happiness to see both him and his mother ultimately receive the Gospel.

Monnica’s son was another matter. He was an intelligent young man, and a natural leader. She had high ambitions for Augustine, but over time her ambition for his secular advancement became a deep passion for his conversion to the faith as her spiritual life became more and more deeply rooted in prayer. No matter how much he rebuffed her attempts to share the faith with him, she continued in prayer for him constantly. Eventually, Monnica’s prayers were answered, and Augustine was baptized by Ambrose in Milan at the Great Vigil of Pascha in the year 387.

After his baptism, Augustine planned to return to Africa with Monnica (and his younger brother), but in Monnica fell ill before leaving Italy. She told her son, “You will bury your mother here. All I ask of you is that, wherever you may be, you should remember me at the altar of the Lord. Do not fret because I am buried far from our home in Africa. Nothing is far from God, and I have no fear that he will not know where to find me, when he comes to raise me to life at the end of the world.”

COLLECT
O Lord, through spiritual discipline you strengthened your servant Monnica to persevere in offering her love, prayers, and tears for the conversion of her husband and of Augustine their son. Deepen our devotion, we pray, and use us in accordance with your will to bring others, even our own kindred, to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Savior and Lord; he who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.