Diary of a Theologian

Morning and Evening Prayer: After Scripture

I have been making the case that the “genius” of Anglicanism is in Morning and Evening Prayer in particular; that these public forms have been placed first in every Book of Common Prayer for reasons not often appreciated; and that at the heart of these forms are the Scriptures, to be read in continuity, and always in a stereo fashion of Old and New Testament. Anglicans trust that a regular hearing of God’s Word will implant it in our hearts, guide us to a Christian understanding of the world, and bring forth in us the various fruits of godly living, the first of which is prayer.

We see this in the services themselves. The first thing to follow the Scriptures is the Apostles’ Creed. This too is an Anglican distinctive. All Christians recognize the Apostles' Creed as the baptismal creed. We recite it also in daily prayer: for the Word that we have heard and that has entered our hearts makes it possible for us to profess our faith in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

And that, in turn, makes it possible for us to pray. The Lord’s Prayer follows the creed, and then some versicles and responses, and then, traditionally, three collects. The first is of the day (which would be the previous Sunday, generally). The second and third are traditionally fixed collects, the same every day (but different from Morning Prayer to Evening Prayer); in the 1979 Book there are many more options.

In the 16th century Books of 1549, 1552, and 1559, this was the end. But it seems that experience called forth an expansion of the concluding prayers. The 1662 Book had five additional prayers, and the American Books have included additional prayers also.

This fluidity of the conclusion of Morning and Evening Prayer is itself instructive. When we become people who are conformed to God’s Word, our prayers naturally multiply in many directions, differing from time to time, place to place, season to season. We will have to bring the service of Morning or Evening Prayer to an end and return to our work or our homes or our study. But our praying has not ended.

And in fact, prayer never will end. Prayer is just talking with God, and that, please God, will be something native to our lives forever.
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On the Web. This week’s post, like that of the last two, is taken from my essay in the October 4 issue of The Living Church. If you are not a subscriber, why not fix that? https://www.cambeywest.com/subscribe2/?p=LCM&f=paid
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Out & About. This Sunday I conclude a three-week online class at Incarnation in Dallas, at 10:15 a.m.: “Things God Didn’t Want but He Got Used To.” This Sunday’s topic is sacrifice. It is a startling thing to notice that sacrifice first occurs in the Bible without God asking for it. Why? You can sign up for the Zoom class on the Incarnation website: https://incarnation.org/event/1893868-2020-10-25-sunday-school-three-things-god-didnt-want-but-he-got-used-to-cities-politics-sacrifice/. Note that there are both in-person and online options, so if you are in Dallas, why not attend? We meet in Room 205, and the class falls between the in-person traditional worship at 9 a.m. and the 11:15 a.m. contemporary service.

Also this Sunday, Oct. 25: at 6 p.m., the fall theology lecture, “What’s Special about Anglicanism?” You can watch it, livestreamed, on F*book, the “IncarnationDFW” page. But in addition, there is an in-person option, for which preregistration is required. The lecture will be in the Ascension Chapel of Incarnation, Dallas; to reserve seats (which are free as long as they are available): https://incarnation.org/event/1862897-2020-10-25-whats-special-about-anglicanism-lecture/.

Bishop George Sumner will be responding to my lecture and then we’ll have some conversation and more Q&A. This is a topic about which I am increasingly excited, and I hope you join us, one way or the other.

I have not mastered bilocation, but I will nonetheless be preaching for Resurrection in Plano, Texas, this Sunday at 10:30 a.m. (The sermon will be prerecorded.) Their website is https://www.resurrectionplano.org/

As their “theological visitor,” I will be in Oklahoma City at All Souls’ Church: to preach on their feast of title, All Saints’ Day (Saturday, Oct. 31, 5:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 1, at 8 and 10 a.m.). Then Monday through Wednesday I will offer two classes. At the noon hour, “Up with Leviticus” (yes!), and at 6 p.m., on friendship. These classes will also be on their website www.allsoulsokc.com, as will their Sunday 10 a.m. Eucharist.

Morning and Evening Prayer: The Heart of it All

The center and heart of Morning and Evening Prayer is Scripture. Here are two fundamental Anglican practices. First, the Scripture readings are designed so that the books of the Bible are read in large portions that continue from day to day. If, for instance, the first lesson today is from the prophet Jeremiah, one will expect the first lesson tomorrow to pick up in Jeremiah more or less where today’s leaves off. Second, the two lessons are always from different Testaments, with the first from the Old and the second from the New.

(The 1979 BCP allows variation in the number of lessons, from one to three. Nonetheless and despite this innovation, it does specify that the first lesson, if there are more than one, is always to be from the OT, and it lays out how to select the OT for the evening; see p. 934.)

In the course of a year, most (but not all) of the Bible is read. A couple of early exceptions to continuity are of interest. The 1662 Book noted that while the rest of the NT was read thrice in the year, this was not true of the book of Revelation, which was read only on certain “divers Feasts.” The 1549 Book, for another example, skips Genesis ch. 10. Unfortunately, there are many more gaps in the 1979 lectionary (starting on p. 936), some of which seem incomprehensible (for instance, skipping Genesis 38 altogether; Tamar is a foremother of David, and of Christ!). Fortunately, a rubric allows for the lengthening of any lesson if desired, and I encourage doing so to include skipped-over passages.

What is the point of this required reading, day in and day out, of what we might well call the scriptural story, the biblical narrative? It is this: Anglicans trust that the daily hearing of the Bible will be formative for a Christian people. We want to have Christian people who know the Bible story, who are familiar with its characters, its events, its themes, its problems, and so forth. Indeed, in A.D. 2020 as in A.D. 1520, we could say that a general problem that the Church has is that we don’t know the story.

The Anglican prescription for biblical illiteracy is simple: Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer.

The center of Morning and Evening Prayer is, literally, the Bible. Not a sermon — there is no sermon; not a Bible study or commentary — that could happen in a class or alone afterwards; but the written Word itself. Anglicans trust the unmediated, daily, continuous exposure to the Bible to be God’s means for shaping his people into a godly people. Anglicans trust that the Holy Spirit will work in MP and EP just as they are. Sermons can help and Bible studies can help, but the principal thing is the office itself — Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer.

But we need also to add: It is the entire Bible that Anglicans trust, both Old and New Testaments. Our tradition is for both to be read, not only one. Our tradition is never to have a single Scripture lesson, but to hear Scripture in stereo (as it were), Old and New Testaments side-by-side. A fundamental Anglican principle is that the Bible interprets the Bible: that no part of God’s written Word should be construed in a way that is repugnant to the sense of other parts of Scripture; that we are to aim as much as possible at grasping the entire Bible in a comprehending life of faithfulness.

A canticle follows each Scripture lesson. Traditionally these are the Te Deum and Benedictus at Morning Prayer and the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis at Evening, although the morning canticles have varied. The canticles are scriptural song-pieces of response to God’s action, with the Magnificat as perhaps the greatest of all: “My soul doth magnify the Lord,” Mary says with Jesus in her womb. We hear the Word of God in the Scripture lessons, and the Word takes up residence within us. This is the heart of Morning and Evening Prayer.
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    On the Web. This week’s post is taken from my essay in the October 4 issue of The Living Church. If you are not a subscriber, why not fix that? https://www.cambeywest.com/subscribe2/?p=LCM&f=paid
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    Out & About. This Sunday I continue a three-week online class at Incarnation in Dallas, at 10:20 a.m.: “Three Things God Didn’t Want but He Got Used To: cities, politics, and sacrifice.” This Sunday’s topic is politics. You can sign up for the Zoom class here. Note that there are a limited number of in-person seats available (if you’re in Dallas, it would be lovely to see you!). Last week, there was a bit of technical difficulty at the first—if you were on Zoom, you couldn’t hear me—but we fixed that about 10 minutes in, and I believe it is fixed for future classes as well.

The fall theology lecture will be Sunday, October 25: “What’s Special about Anglicanism?” This will be live-streamed on Facebook, the “IncarnationDFW” page. There will also be a limited number of in-person seats available (in the Ascension Chapel). The lecture is at 6 p.m. Bishop Sumner will engage with me in Q&A also: should be fun. I hope you join us, one way or the other.

If you are an Okie, I hope you can join me at All Souls’ Church in Oklahoma City. I will be the preacher on All Saints’ Day, Nov. 1, their patronal feast. Then Monday through Wednesday I will offer two classes. At the noon hour, “Up with Leviticus” (yes!), and at 6 p.m., on friendship. These classes will also be on their website www.allsoulsokc.com.