Contents:

• A liturgical note
• Propers – Collect and Lessons for the Second Sunday after Trinity
• YouTube link to our livestream of the 10:30 Sunday service
• Announcements for the week of Sunday, June 18th, 2023
• Rector’s Ramblings: Who is Antony Esolen?

Liturgical Note: As described in the Announcements for last Sunday, while there had been some concern about making the service over-long, as by adding an abbreviated form of Morning Prayer to the Sunday service, there remains a strong sentiment to include selections from the Old Testament and Psalter to our Sunday worship.

We discussed the issue at our monthly Vestry meeting (Saturday, June 10th), and after looking at several options, the consensus reached was to add the Old Testament Lesson and Psalm appointed in the Prayer Book lectionary for Sunday Morning Prayer to our service of Holy Communion, immediately prior to the Epistle. Accordingly, that is what we will be doing beginning this Sunday, the Second Sunday after Trinity (June 18th), and continuing as a trial usage through Trinitytide. We will re-evaluate prior to the beginning of the new liturgical year this coming Advent.

Further note: the Old Testament lesson is found in your pew Bibles; both the Scripture citation and the page number are indicated in the bulletin. The Psalm is found in your Prayer Book; again, both the number of the Psalm and the page number in the BCP are found in your bulletins. However, both are given in full in the “Collect and Lessons,” below:

The Collect and Lessons for the
Second Sunday after Trinity.
The Book of Common Prayer 1928.

The Collect.

O LORD, who never failest to help and govern those whom thou dost bring up in thy stedfast fear and love; Keep us, we beseech thee, under the protection of thy good providence, and make us to have a perpetual fear and love of thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The Old Testament. Deuteronomy 20:1-9

WHEN thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it. And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her. And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart. And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people. 

The One Hundred Twenty Fifth Psalm.

THEY that put their trust in the LORD shall be even as the mount Sion, * which may not be removed, but standeth fast for ever.
2 The hills stand about Jerusalem; * even so standeth the LORD round about his people, from this time forth for evermore.
3 For the sceptre of the ungodly shall not abide upon the lot of the righteous; * lest the righteous put their hand unto wickedness.
4 Do well, O LORD, * unto those that are good and true of heart.
5 As for such as turn back unto their own wickedness, * the LORD shall lead them forth with the evil doers; but peace shall be upon Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 

The Epistle. 1 St. John iii. 13.

MARVEL not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. 

The Gospel. St. Luke xiv. 16.

 A CERTAIN man made a great supper, and bade many: and sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you that none of those men which were bidden shall. taste of my supper.

Hymns:

Processional          393       Faith of our Fathers

Sermon                   433(ii)  Lead us, O Father

Recessional            143       God of our fathers, whose almighty hand

Link to the YouTube Live-stream of our Sunday service – 10:30 a.m.:

https://youtube.com/live/DYuB9IK8THA

Click here to access our YouTube channel where you can always view past live-streams or check for any scheduled upcoming live-streams.

For information and tips on getting the best sound and picture from the live-stream, click here.

If you have any questions or issues, please contact our media team at video.christchurchanglican@gmail.com.

Announcements for Sunday, June 18th, 2023

If you are visiting us – Welcome to Christ Church Anglican, Southern Pines! Thank you for being with us. We are very pleased to have you, and we hope that your worship here is a blessing to you. Please sign the guest book on the table in the narthex, and provide appropriate contact information. Include your email address in order to be placed on our parish email list: you won’t be bombarded with mail, but it’s a good way to keep in touch. And may God bless you!

Let there be light! And lo, there was light – Our electrician came out this week, and changed out two breakers, one of which had failed and the other of which was failing. As a result, the lights in the “kitchen” / sacristy area and the back utility room are working again, and we also should not be experiencing the flickering we have been seeing in the narthex and social hall. Gratitude to Keith Paller of Tin Whistles Electric LLC for doing the work, and to Chris Gerry, our Senior Warden, for his persistence in making sure it happened!

Holy Days for the Week of June 18th:

Monday, June 19: St. Ephrem, Deacon (373)
Thursday, June 22nd: St. Alban, Protomartyr of Britain  (304)
Saturday, June 24th: The Nativity of St. John the Baptist   

Rector’s Ramblings: Who is Tony Esolen?

I will be mentioning & referencing two nonbiblical authors in my sermon on Sunday: the first, C.S. Lewis, hardly needs introduction. Widely hailed as one of the greatest writers, thinkers, and Christian apologists of the 20th century, he is well known for his fiction – especially The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters – as well as non-fiction works such as Mere Christianity, The Abolition of Man, the essay collection God in the Dock, and the autobiographical Surprised by Joy, among others.

He was a fellow-member with J.R.R. Tolkien – a close friend and intellectual sparring-partner, and one of those who led Lewis back to Christianity from his youthful atheism – of the literary society known as the Inklings, and even had a radio broadcast during WW II, but his “day job” was as an academic: first as a Fellow and tutor of English literature at Magdalen College, Oxford; he later accepted the newly founded chair in Mediaeval and Renaissance Literature at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he finished his career.

Anthony Esolen is less well-known, at least at present; but that is likely a function of the information overload of our present age: it can be hard to separate the wheat from the chaff, when there’s this much chaff swirling about! Particularly following the passing of the late Sir Roger Scruton, Tony Esolen may be one of the best writers, thinkers, and cultural critics / commentators of the 21st century. His writing is less overtly apologetic (in the technical sense of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse) than that of Lewis, but it is no less lucid, cogent, creative, and on-point – and no less informed by a solidly Christian, as well as classical, worldview.

A professor of English and Humanities and writer-in-residence at Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts in Warner, New Hampshire, his Amazon bio notes that Esolen is the author of some 30 books and over 1000 articles (!) in both scholarly and general interest journals. A senior editor of Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity, Esolen is known for his elegant essays on the faith and for his clear social commentaries. His articles appear regularly in Touchstone, Crisis, First Things, Public Discourse, The Catholic Thing, Chronicles, and Magnificat. As the above may indicate, his thought and writing is strongly informed by his devout Catholic faith, but he is not a sectarian writer. Like Lewis, he writes for all Christians, and indeed for all people of good will, who are troubled by the way the world is trending.

Esolen is known for his widely acclaimed three-volume verse translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy. An accomplished poet in his own right, Esolen is the author of The Hundredfold: Songs for the Lord, a book length sacred poem centered on the life of Christ. His Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child has been described as “a worthy successor to C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man,” and its sequel, Life Under Compulsion: Ten Ways to Destroy the Humanity of Your Child, has been called “essential reading for parents, educators, and anyone who is concerned to rescue children from the tedious and vacuous thing childhood has become.”

His recent books – of which the most recent is the one I shall be citing in my sermon ­– include Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture, and its sequel, Nostalgia: Going Home in a Homeless World. Both of which I have read, and found excellent! I cannot say that I know him, personally; but I do have the pleasure and privilege of being “Facebook friends” with his wife Debra, who assured me that the whole family was praying for me when I was being considered for this position. And in fact, had been for some time previously to this opportunity coming up. They are great folks!

I most emphatically commend the works of both Lewis and Esolen to your attention. They will nourish your faith, hone your mind, and provide encouragement in these dark and troubled times.

May the Lord bless you, and grant you a good, safe, healthy, and fruitful week!

Faithfully yours in Christ,

Fr. Tom Harbold