The
Sunday next before Advent
The Collect.
S
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TIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the
wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit
of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
6 Wherefore
I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee
by the putting on of my hands. 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of
fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8 Be not thou
therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be
thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9 Who
hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works,
but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began (2 Tim 1:6-9)
A strong counsel for the Christian of any time of persecution, and of those who
live, as we do, in a world of watered-down faith and easy-believism. Regardless
the number of Sundays in Trinity Season, this COLLECT must always be the
COLLECT of choice on the Sunday next before Advent Season. (See rubric
following the Gospel for 24th Sunday after Trinity in 1928
BoCP, or following the Gospel for 25th
Sunday in the 1662 English BoCP). The title referenced above was not used by
Cranmer but was restored to its ancient title by the 1892 American Prayer Book
(from the Sarum Missal). The Collect was famous for its beginning words –
"Stir up" – so much so that the Sunday of its use was
popularly labeled, "Stir Up Sunday"!
The words, "Stir up," summarizes the fullness of the Gospel preached
in its entirety. It relates to that most powerful aspect of the human
nature – the WILL! If it is the will of a man or woman to become
rich in the material riches of this world, it is very likely that he or she
shall surely become wealthy if that will is strong enough – even to the
detriment of character and virtue! The WILL is that overt and compelling
manifestation of what is hidden in the heart. The heart that belongs to Christ
may, indeed, become wealthy in giving and caring, but wealth is never the
superseding goal of such a heart. The problem with the rich young ruler was not
his wealth, but that he allowed his wealth to blind his eyes to his duty to
God. (see Mark 10 & Luke 18) When we take all virtue, all godliness, all
compassion, all love, et all., that we have been granted in Christ, we need to
`stir-up' these qualities and devotions from time to time in order to bring
them back up from the depths of forgetfulness and revive them to a fresh and
lively currency.
The will of the sinner, while free of the godly restraints of righteousness, is
a completely free will. However, when a heart is given over to Christ as Lord
and Savior, it is that Mind and Will of Christ that takes possession of that
former will of the world and transforms the heart to godliness. Do not preach
to me of Calvin or Arminius – but only of Christ and His Word. Both these men
were stellar scholars. Each `got it right' at some point, but those moments of
correct interpretation only followed learning of truth gained from Holy
Scripture. So why not, instead of quoting some good man, go to the Fountain of
Truth Itself rather than drinking downstream?
You may ask: "How do we `stir up' our Godly wills of faithfulness to
God?" We do not, but God DOES! He does so through the
preaching and hearing of the Word! So then faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17) But wait! Suppose you have
already heard the glorious Gospel and yet sleep? One of my favorite means to
allow God to `stir up' my faith is through the singing of hymns – whether alone
of with family, or friends. Nothing touches my soul more than
scripturally-based classical hymns. (You may keep your Gospel songs filled with
pabulum, thank you!) But suppose my heart is closed to every means of being
stirred up by conscious rebellion? How will God elect to `stir up' my faith? But
I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth,
and their words unto the ends of the world. But I say, Did not Israel
know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no
people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. (Romans 10:18-19) I
personally prefer the more gentle stirring of love and remembrance than to be
stirred up by jealousy and anger. But God will use whatever mechanism He deems
useful to stir us up.
Though God may use the wills of evil nations in bringing judgment, He only stirs
up the wills of faithful people in service to Him. With what result
does God stir up our hearts? With the results that our faith again becomes
foremost in our daily living, and our fruits of righteousness and good works
are multiplied over and over again. Such fruits are not ours, but belong to the
Sower who sowed the Seed in our hearts at the beginning. When we are a useful
vessel to God, He will use us more and more as a favored vessel in His Hand just
as a loving mother may have an old iron skillet or stone bowl that she
treasures above even more expensive and beautiful vessels in her kitchen. If
we, as Christians, are able to hold our `heat of the Spirit' as the heavy iron
skillet holds its heat from the oven, God will be more disposed to use such a
proven and useful vessel. Moreover, He will reward such a vessel by placing it
is a favored place in the cabinet of Heaven. He will often clean and polish it
even more for future use. Personally, I would rather be an old, blackened iron
skillet than a beautiful, French porcelain vase on the mantle. If God will use
me to prepare food for His Children, how much greater honor can I have?
We have a mere four more Sundays before the blessed observance of Christmas.
The Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as a precious baby at Bethlehem stirred the
hearts of kings, rulers, wise men, and shepherds. Christ always stirs our
hearts!
When God stirs up the wills of His faithful people, such a stirring can only
result in greater production of fruit somewhat as life-giving rain on a parched
field planted with wholesome seed. If we produce plentifully in good works,
this gives the Father the opportunity to reward us with even more Rain of
Blessing. Is there a smell of rain in your heart today, dear Reader?
