Friday, March 12, 2021
Friday in the Third Week of Lent
Peter Rice
The Collect of the Day
Grant us, O Lord our Strength, a true love of your holy Name; so that, trusting in your grace, we may fear no earthly evil, nor fix our hearts on earthly goods, but may rejoice in your full salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Readings: Hosea 14:1–9, Mark 12:28–34 & Psalm 81:8–14
In a request that caught me flat footed , Rob recently asked me to author a reflection on the third week of Lent. The suggested parameters for this reflection included Hosea Ch. 14 , Ver . 1 - 9 , Mark Ch. 12 , Ver. 28 - 34 and psalm 81 , Ver. 8 - 14. So here i sit in my office surrounded by two bibles , my personal Book of Common Prayer
( BCP ) and a second BCP given to St. John's by Bishop Charles Hall many years ago . It is important to note that this BCP is the Standard Book of 1928 , re certified in 1952 . It is the BCP that I prefer and that should come as no surprise to those at SJC who know me well. ( I am the temporary steward of this version but that is a story for another time. ) Finally , among other books is my copy of the Passover Haggadah , The Feast of Freedom. For over 20 years i divided my season of Lent between the latter and with a Jewish Family at their Seder table while enjoying traditional food and singing centuries old songs.
At first glances of Hosea , Mark and Psalm 81 I was challenged to interpret the meanings as they equated to Lent and the third week thereof. Arguably all who attend St.John’s are to various degrees, biblical scholars. I however , rank at the bottom , frequently struggling with the meaning of scripture . As i move forward with my reflection keep in mind.
I am reading from the pages of a king James Version of the Holy bible ; The new English Bible ; my personal BCP ; the Bishop Hall BCP and finally the Passover Haggadah. Yes, at first it was overwhelming but the more I read the more relevance the various pages had to my reflection. Frequently i found myself reading further into subsequent passages , the challenge being to stop and continue on with the task at hand .
While reading the beginning pages of the Passover Haggadah my thoughts of a reflection began to take shape . First, reference is made to Song of Songs , Ch . 2 , Ver. 8 - 13. No problem ; Open my New English to pg. 686 and read those verses . With very few exceptions both versions are identical . For purposes of my reflection I will quote from the Haggadah .
Hark ! my beloved !
Behold he comes
Leaping upon the mountains
Skipping upon the hills
My beloved is like a gazelle
or a young hart
My beloved spoke and said to me
“ Rise up my love , my fair one and come away.
For now the winter has passed ,
the rain is over and gone ; The flowers appear on the earth ;
The time off singing has come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
and the vines in blossom
give forth their fragrance .
Arise my love , my fair one ,
and come away