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Saturday, January 13, 2007

The Collect - Epiphany II

The Prayer
Almighty and everlasting God, who dost govern all things in heaven and earth; mercufully hear the supplications of thy people, and grant us thy peace all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Commentary:
Cranmer simply translated the Latin Collect for this day (still found in the Roman Missal of 1962), and his translation continues in later English Prayer Books, and in others, including USA1928. Like many of the collects for the 'green seasons', its content is rather general.

Meditation
It is the eternal God who made all things, upholds them by the word of His power, and governs heaven and earth by His divine will.

Yet, in His mercy, He listens to hear the prayers of His people. He hears, and He responds. What a counterintuitive and miraculous thing that is!

And what better request than peace? ("The peace of God that passeth all human understanding," in words of Scripture repeated at the end of the Prayer Book Mass) Peace, in Hebrew "shalom", meaning not only absence of strife, but also health, wholeness, rightness with God, and harmony of body, mind, and spirit.

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