Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins,
and give us the liberty of that abundant life
which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
(BCP 216)
Historical introduction
This Collect, composed for our 1979 BCP by the Rev. Dr. Massey H. Shepherd, Jr., alludes to “Galatians 4:3-5, Romans 8:15, Romans 8:19-21, John 10:10, and Luke 4:16-21”.[1] Given the diversity within the themes of the Gospel readings for this Sunday (Matthew 5:13-20, Mark 1:29-39, and Luke 5:1-11 for Years A, B, and C respectively), it appears that this Collect may be one of the few Collects for the Season after the Epiphany that does not focus on a common theme found in all three of the Gospel texts.
This Collect is streamlined, having only the required Preamble, Petition, and Pleading sections.
The Preamble
The Preamble, “O God” doesn’t tell us much about the one to whom we are praying.
The Petition
The Petition, “Set us free, … , from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ.” The biblical passages listed above provide the source for the Petition. In Galatians 4:3-5 and Romans 8:15, we read that Jesus was born in the fullness of time to free humanity from the spirits of this world that enslaved us and caused fear. Through the Son of God, we were not only freed from those forces that separate us from the love of God, but also were adopted as children of God.
In Romans 8:19-21 we read that the systemic sin that is in view in the Galatians passage and the earlier verse in Romans 8 not only prevents us from having the abundant life that is referenced in John 10:10, but also prevents all of creation from sharing in this abundant life. That is, all of creation is groaning under the bondage to decay, waiting for the fullness of our liberty in Christ to be realized.
In Luke 4:16-21, the outward signs of this systemic sin include poverty, captivity, blindness (particularly spiritual blindness), and oppression, any of which can destroy both body and soul. The beginnings of the abundant life are freedom from captivity and oppression, the gift of vision, and—as God’s own children—being caught up in and revealing the glory of the God.
The Pleading
The Pleading, “your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen,” while formulaic, places on our lips the remembrance that our glorious liberty in Christ and the abundant life that he has made known, are the work of all three persons of our one God.
For your consideration:
While life can suddenly change in unexpected ways, God continues to offer us abundant life in Christ. How have we, as a parish, experienced abundant life in Christ in the past? What new ways of experiencing this abundant life do you see being worked into our parish? What new ways of experiencing this abundant life do you see being worked into our diocese and our denomination?
Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins,
and give us the liberty of that abundant life
which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
[1] Marion J. Hatchett, Commentary on the American Prayer Book, (New York: Harper Collins, 1995), 172.
© 2021 and 2023 Donna Hawk-Reinhard, edited by Kate McCormick
Want to know more about the Collect format or the underlying spiritual formation goal of this series of meditations? You can find that information here.