The Boundaries of the Parish

Rogationtide rolls over us. An ancient call and reminder for us “to ask” (rogare in Latin, from which we drive the word, “Rogation”). Or as our Lord tells us, “Ask and it shall be given you.” (Matthew 7:7, KJV). Our Lord’s words should remind us to ask and ask in faith, as the Apostle James encourages. (“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” James 1:6, ESV). We moderns are commonly cast about the waves of our desires, worries, and worldly fads. When we do ask, it is not in faith, not with prayer, and rarely with fasting, so we end up demanding from God instead of asking Him with the faith of a child. 

The Rogation Days are long forgotten in today’s barren wasteland posing as Christianity. Many of Christ’s followers believe Easter is “over” – as though Eastertide could ever end this side of Christ’s resurrection! Other Anglicans, Lutherans, Reformed, and Roman Catholics aimlessly drift from Easter to Ascension without any thought about what is happening this week during the transition. We are without excuse, we are inheritors of the old ways. Too many ignore our inheritance and deceive ourselves while patting ourselves on the back for “walking the ancient way,” yet all the while disregarding the old landmarks of our forefathers in the faith. In other words, we claim the ancient Western Christian path whilst ignoring the Rogation Days and disregarding the faith of our fathers.

Our ignorance can be corrected by returning to the prayer book. Ironically, for Anglicans, it is not the queen of the classic prayerbooks that has provided us the deepest resource to remind us about Rogation Days. The 1662 Book of Common Prayer mentions the days in the Kalendar without further context.  The American 1928 edition, on the other hand, provides a single collect, epistle, and gospel to cover all the Rogation Days, in addition to unique lessons for Morning and Evening Prayer for each of the three Rogation Days. The 2019 Anglican Church in North America’s Book of Common Prayer begs us to mark the Rogation Days by providing two collects and sets of readings (again to be spread across the three Rogation Days). Alas, but will we keep them? Or will we allow the world to move the ancient landmarks and yield ever more of our lives and our hearts to the distractions of the flesh?

Read the rest at The North American Anglican: https://northamanglican.com/the-boundaries-of-the-parish/