Stir Up Sunday

I couldn’t let today go by without at least one special mention. For this last Sunday of the Church’s year used to be commonly known as “Stir Up Sunday”, from the Collect of the day in the Book of Common Prayer, a reference both to God’s power and man’s will. It was also a reminder that it was time for members of the family to take turns stirring the Christmas pudding in preparation for that feast. One particularly memorable sermon, for an All-Age service on this Sunday, had a Christmas pudding being put together and each member of the congregation taking their turn to give it a mix.

The Collect for The Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity in the BCP is:

Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Collect for The Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity
from the Book of Common Prayer

We know this is an important Collect, because Common Worship has retained it as the Post Communion prayer for this feast of Christ the King, with provision to use it in place of the Collect for the day at Morning and Evening Prayer. It reads:

Stir up, O Lord,
the wills of your faithful people;
that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works,
may by you be plenteously rewarded;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Post Communion for Christ the King
is Copyright © The Archbishops Council

As you can see, very little difference. The compilers of Common Worship have just brought the language up to date.

Thomas Cranmer, in compiling the original Book of Common Prayer in 1549, took this Collect from the Gregorian Sacramentary, dating from the 7th century.

In this prayer we are imploring God to stir up our wills, to give our wills inspiration. Once inspired, we shall “bring forth the fruit of good works”. And that “fruit” is love. It’s a love that is created by the love of God. The result of such love that creates love is “plenteous reward”.