Boniface, Bishop and Missionary, 754

The Collect:

Rite I:
Pour out thy Holy Ghost, O God, upon thy church in every land, that like thy servant Boniface we might proclaim the Gospel unto all nations, that thy kingdom might be enlarged and that thy holy Name might be glorified in all the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Rite II:
Pour out your Holy Spirit, O God, upon your church in every land, that like your servant Boniface we might proclaim the Gospel to all nations, that your kingdom might be enlarged and that your holy Name might be glorified in all the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the same Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Bel and the Dragon 3–19

³Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day they provided for it twelve bushels of choice flour and forty sheep and six measures* of wine. ⁴The king revered it and went every day to worship it. But Daniel worshipped his own God.

So the king said to him, ‘Why do you not worship Bel?’ ⁵He answered, ‘Because I do not revere idols made with hands, but the living God, who created heaven and earth and has dominion over all living creatures.’

⁶The king said to him, ‘Do you not think that Bel is a living god? Do you not see how much he eats and drinks every day?’ ⁷And Daniel laughed, and said, ‘Do not be deceived, O king, for this thing is only clay inside and bronze outside, and it never ate or drank anything.’

⁸Then the king was angry and called the priests of Bel* and said to them, ‘If you do not tell me who is eating these provisions, you shall die.⁹But if you prove that Bel is eating them, Daniel shall die, because he has spoken blasphemy against Bel.’ Daniel said to the king, ‘Let it be done as you have said.’

¹⁰Now there were seventy priests of Bel, besides their wives and children. So the king went with Daniel into the temple of Bel. ¹¹The priests of Bel said, ‘See, we are now going outside; you yourself, O king, set out the food and prepare the wine, and shut the door and seal it with your signet. ¹²When you return in the morning, if you do not find that Bel has eaten it all, we will die; otherwise Daniel will, who is telling lies about us.’ ¹³They were unconcerned, for beneath the table they had made a hidden entrance, through which they used to go in regularly and consume the provisions. ¹⁴After they had gone out, the king set out the food for Bel. Then Daniel ordered his servants to bring ashes, and they scattered them throughout the whole temple in the presence of the king alone. Then they went out, shut the door and sealed it with the king’s signet, and departed. ¹⁵During the night the priests came as usual, with their wives and children, and they ate and drank everything.

¹⁶Early in the morning the king rose and came, and Daniel with him.¹⁷The king said, ‘Are the seals unbroken, Daniel?’ He answered, ‘They are unbroken, O king.’ ¹⁸As soon as the doors were opened, the king looked at the table, and shouted in a loud voice, ‘You are great, O Bel, and in you there is no deceit at all!’

¹⁹But Daniel laughed and restrained the king from going in. ‘Look at the floor’, he said, ‘and notice whose footprints these are.’

Psalm: Psalm 115:1-8

¹ Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
  but to your Name give glory; *
       because of your love and because of your faithfulness.
² Why should the heathen say, *
       “Where then is their God?”
³ Our God is in heaven; *
       whatever he wills to do he does.
⁴ Their idols are silver and gold, *
       the work of human hands.
⁵ They have mouths, but they cannot speak; *
       eyes have they, but they cannot see;
⁶ They have ears, but they cannot hear; *
       noses, but they cannot smell;
⁷ They have hands, but they cannot feel;
  feet, but they cannot walk; *
       they make no sound with their throat.
⁸ Those who make them are like them, *
       and so are all who put their trust in them.

Gospel: Mark 8:27–30

²⁷Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ ²⁸And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ ²⁹He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’* ³⁰And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

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