Bulletin Insert: 5 Pentecost (C) Nativity of St. John the Baptist By Sarah Johnson | Leave a Comment | Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailShare on pinterest_shareMore Sharing Services1 [Scroll down or click here for ready-to-print PDFs.] Left panel of the “St. John Altarpiece” by Rogier van der Weyden, circa 1455 Left panel of the “St. John Altarpiece” by Rogier van der Weyden, circa 1455 The Episcopal Church celebrates the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist each year on June 24. John was a prophet at the time of Christ, who recognized Jesus, his cousin, as the Messiah, and baptized him. The Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist was first included in the 1549 edition of the Book of Common Prayer, according to Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum in “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church” (Church Publishing, 2000), and it was decided to observe the feast about six months before Christmas because Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy with John at the time of Jesus’ conception. The story of John’s birth is recorded in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, which relates that John was miraculously born to an elderly and childless couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth. When the angel Gabriel told Zechariah that Elizabeth would bear a son who would be named John, Zechariah did not believe it was possible, and was made mute. Zechariah’s speech was restored to him on the eighth day after John’s birth, when the baby was circumcised and named John. With his newly regained voice, Zechariah then proclaimed the canticle known as the Benedictus Dominus Deus: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:67-79). Collect for the Nativity of St. John the Baptist Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth’s sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen (Book of Common Prayer, p. 241). Download bulletin insert as PDF: full page, one-sided 6/23/13 half page, double-sided 6/23/13 black and white, full page, one-sided 6/23/13 black and white, half page, double-sided 6/23/13 Spanish bulletin inserts are available on the Sermones que Iluminan website.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 15:56:17 +0000
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