Almighty and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to love that which thou dost command; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Galatians 5:16-24
The Gospel: St Luke 17:11-19

Almighty and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service; Grant, we beseech thee, that we may so faithfully serve thee in this life, that we fail not finally to attain thy heavenly promises; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Galatians 3:16-22
The Gospel: St Luke 10:23-37

Artwork: Rembrandt, The Good Samaritan, 1630. Oil panel, Wallace Collection, London.

At least three Christians have died and several others have been injured in attacks with machetes and other weapons since June, clergymen said. They said the attacks began after the death in May of Dr. Ali Olukade, head of a local group of Islamists called Tibliq, possibly patterned after the worldwide Tablighi Jamaat missionary movement.

The followers of Dr Olukade blame his accident on prayers of Christians upset after Muslim protests disrupted a 2004 evangelistic campaign.

When the local Tibliq leader was injured in the car crash in 2006, Rev. [Cornelius] Fawenu [secretary of the Kwara chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria] said, “The members of his Muslim sect went on rampage, demonstrating against America and the state of Israel, over claims that it was the prayers of Christians over the aborting of the gospel event of 2004 that caused their leader to be involved in an auto crash. Dr. Olukade, the Muslim sect’s leader, died in May 2008, and since then Muslim fanatics have embarked in serial killings and attacks on Christians in the city.”

The dead Christians were attacked as they went to or returned from evening worship services.

Ironically, the Kwara State Government website carries the slogan “The Place of Harmony”.  They need to do more work on that, apparently.

Previous related posts:

• Muslims riot after Christian woman rejects Muslim suitor
• Muslims riot in northern Nigeria over alleged blasphemy

Last April, supporters of Mohammad Abdul Sattar, Muslim candidate in Punjab province, Pakistan, opened fire on a group of Christians who had refused to vote for him, killing Javed Masih.  Local Christians claim the candidate was among the shooters.

Four months later, widow Zenat Javed still awaits justice.  Police have still not arrested anyone.

"Abdul Sattar came to Christian Village on April 10th, 2008, with his gang and opened fire on Christians who didn’t vote for him in the Joint Election System," under which Muslims support Christians and Christians back Muslim politicians, said rights group Christian Youth Fellowship-Pakistan CYF.

"Javed Masih died on spot by firing, while [fellow Christian] Irshaad Masih was seriously injured,” the group said in a statement to BosNewsLife.

Candidate Sattar ran under the banner of the Pakistan Peoples Party, which promises protections for the country’s Christian minority.  For this candidate, apparently, the promise applies only if they vote the right way.

Previous related posts:

• Pakistani Christian fired after Muslims threaten employer
• Benazir Bhutto calls for protection of Christians

Almighty and everlasting God, thou art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than we desire, or deserve; Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, thy Son, Our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: 2 Corinthians 3:4-9
The Gospel: St Mark 7:31-37

O God, who on the holy mount didst reveal to chosen witnesses thy well-beloved Son wonderfully transfigured: Mercifully grant unto us such a vision of his divine majesty, that we, being purified and strengthened by thy grace, may be transformed into his likeness from glory to glory; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: 2 St Peter 1:16-21
The Gospel: St Matthew 17:1-9

Artwork: Transfiguration, Mosaic, Franciscan Basilica of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor, Israel.

O Lord God almighty,
who didst so kindle the faith of thy servant King Oswald with thy Spirit
that he set up the sign of the cross in his kingdom
and turned his people to the light of Christ:
grant that we, being fired by the same Spirit,
may ever bear our cross before the world
and be found faithful servants of the gospel;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

At the Battle of Heavenfield, AD 635, the army of Prince Oswald defeated the forces of pagan king Cadwalla of Gwynedd (north Wales).  Oswald was a Christian and nephew of King Edwin, the man Cadwalla had defeated a few years earlier to conquer the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria.  Heavenfield proved to be a key battle in English history for it marked the end of paganism as a religious and political force in England.

Knowing that the fate of his kingdom would be decided on the following day, Oswald had a wooden cross erected beside which he and his men knelt and prayed to the Lord for victory.  The badly outnumbered Christian soldiers defeated their apparently over-confident adversaries, and Oswald became King of Northumbria.

After his victory, Oswald invited monks to come from Iona and establish a monastery at Lindisfarne, the Holy Island.  This was to become one of England’s most important centres of Christian scholarship and evangelism.

King Oswald was killed in battle in 642 defending his land and people against the pagan king Penda of Mercia.

More on St Oswald here.

Artwork: Ford Madox Brown, St Oswald Receiving St Aidan, 1864. Oil on canvas, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Liverpool.

How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
in a believer's ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
and drives away his fear.

It makes the wounded spirit whole,
and calms the troubled breast;
'tis manna to the hungry soul,
and to the weary, rest.

Dear Name, the rock on which I build,
my shield and hiding-place,
my never-failing treasury, filled
with boundless stores of grace!

Jesus! my Shepherd, Brother, Friend,
my Prophet, Priest and King,
my Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,
accept the praise I bring.

Weak is the effort of my heart,
and cold my warmest thought;
but when I see thee as thou art,
I'll praise thee as I ought.

Till then I would thy love proclaim
with every fleeting breath;
and may the music of thy Name
refresh my soul in death!

Words: John Newton (1725-1807), 1779
Music: St. Peter, Alexander Robert Reinagle, 1799-1877

That hymn lifted my spirits this morning.  I needed to hear its message.

When I was told that retiring and moving are two of the most stressful experiences that can happen in one’s life, I was sceptical.  I’d moved before and survived, and what’s so stressful about not going to work?  After what’s been happening in the past few months, however, I am sceptical no more.  Winding up personal and work-related affairs and getting ready for a big move across the country can take up a lot of time.

I apologise for infrequent blogging here for the past month, but I find I have neither time nor energy.  Most days I am unable to keep up with blogs that I used to read regularly.

So, here is the news from this corner of Canada’s frozen North: My final day at work is to be this Thursday, 7 August.  After some anxious waiting and many prayers, our house finally sold.  The movers come to take our stuff away on 21 August, the new owners take possession on 22 August, and we travel south on 25 August.  We will visit Calgary for about a week and then fly on to Halifax.  Our new house, now being built in Falmouth, Nova Scotia, is on schedule, we are told, and will be ready for occupancy in early September.

We are looking forward to our big adventure, but it will be nice to be all moved in and settled.

O God, who declarest thy almighty power most chiefly in shewing mercy and pity; Mercifully grant unto us such a measure of thy grace, that we, running the way of thy commandments, may obtain thy gracious promises, and be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
The Gospel: St Luke 18:9-14

O God our deliverer,
who didst send thy Son Jesus Christ
to set thy people free from the slavery of sin:
grant that, as thy servant William Wilberforce
toiled against the sin of slavery,
so we may bring compassion to all,
and work for the liberty of all the children of God;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: Galatians 3:23-29
The Gospel: St Matthew 25:31-40

Photo of William Wilberforce statue, St John's College, Cambridge, taken 18 July 2004.

Previous related posts:

• Amazing Grace film on DVD tomorrow
• Wilberforce honoured at York Minster service
• Monday morning prayer

Let thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of thy humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions make them to ask such things as shall please thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
The Gospel: St Luke 19:41-47a

Artwork: Jacopo Bassano, The Purification of the Temple, c. 1580, Oil on canvas, National Gallery, London.

Grant, O merciful God, that as thine holy Apostle Saint James, leaving his father and all that he had, without delay was obedient unto the calling of thy Son Jesus Christ, and followed him; so we, forsaking all worldly and carnal affections, may be evermore ready to follow thy holy commandments; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Epistle: Acts 11:27-12:3a
The Gospel: St Matthew 20:20-28

Artwork: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, St James the Greater Conquering the Moors, 1749. Oil on canvas, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.

The painting shows St James as the slayer of Moors (Santiago Matamoros) and a defender of Christianity in Spain.  The saint is said to have appeared on a white horse at the Battle of Clavijo in 844, while the Christians were in retreat before the onslaught of the Arab and Berber invaders.  Thanks to James’s miraculous appearance, the Moors were defeated.