On the Road to Emmaus

The Word of God does not simply give us information about religious truths. Rather the Word of God is the central medium through which we come to know and experience God (cf. Lk. 24:32). It is furthermore the central agency through which God accomplishes justice on earth in and through his people (cf. Isa. 55:7-13). The Word of God is unmistakably worthy of being thoroughly and ardently heard, read, marked, learned, inwardly digested and passionately “incarnated” through our lives. The “Readings” portion of the Daily Office from the Book of Common Prayer is one way in which this can happen in the life of a believer.

I am continuing today in my series in guiding you step-by-step in how to pray the Daily Office from the Book of Common Prayer. To review, the Daily Office from the BCP has four main sections, two of which we have already covered:

1) The Opening

2) The Psalms

3) The Readings

4) The Prayers

This page should look familiar from last time. We’ve already covered the Phos Hilaron and the Psalms.

Now we turn our attention to what is listed as “The Lessons.” This means a passage from the Bible (or other Christian literature) which is read out loud in a service. If you are praying the Office by yourself, you can read it silently or aloud.

While of course, every time Scripture is read, we garner new information, it is good to remember that this is first and foremost a time of prayer. I like to think of the Readings as mostly a time to hear from God. Studying the Bible is great, but that is done at a different time. Here, we primarily allow the Spirit of God to address us and speak to us through the Scripture Reading.

We saw this page briefly during the last section on the Psalms. It is a page from the Daily Office Lectionary. A Lectionary is a list of portions of the Bible to be read at appointed times, according to the Church Calendar. The Daily Office Lectionary lists the readings for the Daily Office as there is a different lectionary for use during the Eucharist.

It is arranged according to a two year cycle. Year One begins at Advent before an odd numbered year and Year Two begins at Advent before an even numbered year. The current year (2009) is Year One and began last December. This December we will move into Year Two.

During the two year cycle most of the Old Testament is read and the entire New Testament is covered each year.

Since the Church Calendar (for the most part) does not have fixed dates, neither does the Lectionary. This necessitates that you know where we are in the Christian Year  (check here for some guidance).

Three readings are listed for each day, one from the OT, one from the NT epistles and one from the Gospels. The rubrics mention that one or two lessons are read at Morning and Evening Prayer, but all of them may be read at one office. It is intended that all three are read each day, no matter how they are split up. Additionally, the OT lesson from the alternate year may be used for an additional OT lesson, if an OT lesson is desired at each office, or if you just want more readings in one office. In a section called “Additional Directions” (p. 142), rubrics explain that a reading from “non-biblical Christian literature” may follow the Scripture readings. Traditionally, the Daily Office contained readings from Christian writers in the earliest centuries of the Church.

I personally enjoy the practice of reading from each major section of the Bible every day. Even if in my study times I am focused in one area, it keeps me grounded in in regular direct contact with the words of Jesus, the apostles and the OT narrative. It also gets me reading passages of Scripture I wouldn’t necessarily gravitate towards, or haven’t ever been on my study plans.

To make completing the Readings section of the Office easier, I’ve developed a resource with all the readings for a given day collected together to be printed out in a booklet. Click here to download them.

The rubrics here explain that silence may be kept after each Reading. I like to use this time to offer a simple spontaneous prayer in response to the passage, usually along the lines of 1) thanking God for something mentioned in the text; 2) asking him to give me deeper revelation of something mentioned in the text; or 3) asking for grace to be faithful to an exhortation in the text.

After the silence, a “Canticle” is sung or said. A Canticle is a song or song-like passage from somewhere in the Bible other than the Psalms. These are sung as prayer-responses to the readings.

The two standard canticles sung at Evening Prayer are the “Magnificat” (Song of Mary) and the “Nunc Dimittis” (Song of Simeon), both of which are taken from Luke’s Gospel. Traditionally, the Magnificat is used at every Evening Prayer and the Nunc Dimittis is used daily at Compline. If you don’t say Compline, you can pray the Nunc Dimittis nightly at Evensong.

On page 145, there is a schedule you can use to rotate the canticles. The numbered canticles are found on pp. 85-95. They are part of the order for Morning Prayer, so the publishers opted not to reprint them in Evening Prayer.

I personally find it easier just to place a marker in the canticles section and proceed in number order while doing the Magnificat as the last canticle each night. On page 85, the first canticle is #8 (1-7 are in “King James” English). So I would do #8 after the first Reading, #9 after the second Reading and then the Magnificat after the third Reading. The next day I would do #10 after the first reading, and so forth. Upon reaching the last of the Canticles, I would start over again at #8 and cycle them.

The final response to the Readings is the recitation of the Apostle’s Creed. This summary of the Christian Faith is of great antiquity, being attested to in extant writings from the 4th century. From at least that time, it was ascribed to the 12 apostles themselves (though, of course, we have no way of knowing such with any certainty).

It is likely of an origin older than the Nicene Creed, which was first written in conjunction with the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. At that time, the central heresy being confronted was Arianism – the notion that Jesus was not truly God. While the Nicene Creed thoroughly asserts the truth of Jesus’ divinity, the Apostle’s Creed seems to focus on an earlier concern – that of Gnosticism. It upholds that Jesus himself was bodily born, suffered, crucified, died, buried and was raised. It also affirms the “resurrection of the body.”

By prayerfully reciting the creed, we unite with all Christians throughout the world and throughout history in affirming the central truths of the Christian faith.

Okay – only one more part left to go and we’ll have worked our way entirely through the BCP order for Evening Prayer!

Related posts

• Readings for the Daily Office of the Book of Common Prayer (3)
• Practical Suggestions for Celebrating the Church Year (0)
• How to Pray the Daily Office from the Book of Common Prayer (Part 8) – Morning Prayer (0)
• How to Pray the Daily Office from the Book of Common Prayer (Part 7) – Making it Easy (in fact, brainless…) (1)
• How to Pray the Daily Office from the Book of Common Prayer (Part 6) – The Prayers (0)