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Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
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Stir Up Our Wills |
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Hebrews
13:20-21 Sunday
Next before Advent November
22, 2009 The Sunday
before Advent has often been called "Stir up Sunday" for two
reasons. First is because of
a centuries old tradition of making the Christmas Pudding on the afternoon
of this Sunday. This was a
family project, and a major part of the tradition included each member of
the family stirring the pudding. This
was accomplished by each member of the family placing his or her hand on
the spoon together and stirring in one united motion.
There was great symbolism in this act.
It symbolised the unity of the family.
It symbolised the love of each person for the other members of the
family. It also symbolised their unity in the faith of Christ, for
they were not simply making food, they were preparing for that great
celebration of the birth of Christ. So
they were making a statement of faith.
They were saying, "We are a family in Christ, and our purpose
is to show forth Christian love and acceptance in our relationships with
one another here in our home, every day of the year."
Many families said the Collect for the Sunday before Advent as they
stirred; "Stir
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." Thus, they
have emphasised even more the aspect of Christian faith as the foundation
of their home and as the glue that holds the members of the family
together, asking God to stir up godliness in their souls as they stirred
up the body of the pudding. Second, and
the real reason for calling this day "Stir up Sunday" is the
Collect itself. A beautiful
prayer, and thoroughly Biblical, it beseeches God to stir up the wills of
His people, that we may plenteously bring forth the fruit of good works,
and equally plenteously be rewarded. It is
absolutely proper and fitting that we should end Trinity Season by casting
ourselves back upon the power and grace of God.
Trinity emphasises the Christian life.
All through Trinity we are exhorted to forsake sin and seek God
more fully and completely. As
the Scriptures admonish and encourage us, the Collects beseech God that we
may have a perpetual fear and love for His name; that we may find comfort
in His mighty aid and defense; that we may be enabled to live according to
His will, run the way of His commandments, and, one of my favourites, the
Collect for the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, which asks God to make us
love what He commands. Thus, Trinity
begins and ends with prayers that acknowledge our absolute dependence upon
God for both the will and the ability to live the Christian life.
"[B]ecause, through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can
do no good thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, that in
keeping thy commandments we may please thee in will and deed; through
Jesus Christ our Lord," says the Collect for the First Sunday after
Trinity. "Stir up, we
beseech the, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they,
plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be
plenteously rewarded," concludes the Collect for the Sunday before
Advent. This is no accident.
The fact is, we cannot do anything good apart from the help of
God's Spirit, and even our wills will return to a state of spiritual
apathy unless God Himself stirs us up. Our reading
from Hebrews demonstrates this powerfully, saying; "God... make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working
in you that which is well pleasing in His sight" (Heb 13:20-21).
This is a blessing and a prayer by Paul for the Church.
May God make you perfect in every good work, he says.
May God work in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, he
prays. I truly believe that
one of the major reasons for the smallness of the faith, and the failure
of most Christians to mature in Christ and carry out the good intentions
they have on Sunday mornings is that they forget that they need the help
of God. Thus, they forget to
seek Him in prayer and to ask Him to stir up their wills and enable them
to do His will. As we come to
the end of Trinity let us truly pray, "Stir
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."
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