The Lessons Appointed for Use on the Feast of
Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky
Bishop of Shanghai, 1906 October 14

2 Corinthians 4:11-18
Luke 24:44-48
Psalm 84:1-6 or
Psalm 116:10-17

Preface of Pentecost

O God, in your providence you called Joseph Schereschewsky from his home in Eastern Europe to the ministry of this Church, and sent him as a missionary to China, upholding him in his infirmity, that he might translate the Holy Scriptures into languages of that land. Lead us, we pray, to commit our lives and talents to you, in the confidence that when you give your servants any work to do, you also supply the strength to do it; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2 Corinthians 4:11-18

For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture-- "I believed, and so I spoke" -- we also believe, and so we speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

Psalm 84:1-6 Page 707, BCP

Quam dilecta!

1

How dear to me is your dwelling, O LORD of hosts! *
My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.

2

The sparrow has found her a house
and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; *
by the side of your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.

3

Happy are they who dwell in your house! *
they will always be praising you.

4

Happy are the people whose strength is in you! *
whose hearts are set on the pilgrims' way.

5

Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs, *
for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.

6

They will climb from height to height, *
and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.

or

Psalm 116:10-17 Page 759, BCP

Dilexi, quoniam

10

How shall I repay the LORD *
for all the good things he has done for me?

11

I will lift up the cup of salvation *
and call upon the Name of the LORD.

12

I will fulfill my vows to the LORD *
in the presence of all his people.

13

Precious in the sight of the LORD *
is the death of his servants.

14

O LORD, I am your servant; *
I am your servant and the child of your handmaid;
you have freed me from my bonds.

15

I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving *
and call upon the Name of the LORD.

16

I will fulfill my vows to the LORD *
in the presence of all his people,

17

In the courts of the LORD'S house, *
in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!

Luke 24:44-48

Jesus said to his disciples, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.

The Collects, Psalms and Canticles are from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.

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