Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester

25 September -- Lesser Festival -- Bishop -- White

Born in 1555 in Barking, Lancelot Andrewes studied at Merchant Taylors' School and then Pembroke Hall, Cambridge. After ordination, he held several posts before accepting appointment as bishop, first of Chichester, then of Ely and finally of Winchester in 1619. Andrewes was present at the Hampton Court Conference in 1604, which furthered the reform of the Church of England, and he was also a translator of much of the Old Testament of what is known as the 'Authorised Version' of the Bible. His preaching and his writings proved highly influential and his holiness of life and gentle nature endeared him to all who met him. He died on this day in the year 1626 and his remains lie in a church which was then in his diocese of Winchester but now is the cathedral for the diocese of Southwark.

Collect

Lord God,
who gave to Lancelot Andrewes
    many gifts of your Holy Spirit,
making him a man of prayer and a pastor of your people:
perfect in us that which is lacking in your gifts,
    of faith, to increase it,
    of hope, to establish it,
    of love, to kindle it,
that we may live in the light of your grace and glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

A reading from the prophecy of Isaiah.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!"

This is the word of the Lord. Isaiah 6. 1-8

Responsorial Psalm

R	I will bless you as long as I live [and lift up my hands in your name].

O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you,
as in a barren and dry land where there is no water. R

Therefore I have gazed upon you in your holy place,
that I might behold your power and your glory.
For your loving-kindness is better than life itself;
my lips shall give you praise. R

My soul is content, as with marrow and fatness,
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the night watches. R

For you have been my helper,
and under the shadow of your wings I will rejoice.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand holds me fast. R From Psalm 63

A reading from the First Letter of Peter.

As an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it -- not for sordid gain but eagerly. Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away.

This is the word of the Lord. 1 Peter 5. 1-4

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.

Jesus said to his disciples, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

This is the gospel of Christ. Matthew 13. 44-46, 52

Post Communion

God, shepherd of your people,
whose servant Lancelot Andrewes
revealed the loving service of Christ
in his ministry as a pastor of your people:
by this eucharist in which we share
awaken within us the love of Christ
and keep us faithful to our Christian calling;
through him who laid down his life for us,
but is alive and reigns with you, now and for ever.