Collect for the thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

Latin Collect
Omnipotens et misericors Deus, de cuius munere venit, ut tibi a fidelibus tuis digne et laudabiliter serviatur: tribue, quaesumus, nobis; ut ad promissiones tuas sine offensione curramus.

[My Translation: Almighty and Merciful God, from whose gift it cometh that thou mayest be served worthily and laudibly by thy faithful people: grant us, we beseech thee, that we may run toward thy promises without stumbling. Through Jesus Christ.]

Prayer book of 1549
ALMYGHTIE and mercyfull God, of whose onely gifte it cometh that thy faythfull people doe unto thee true and laudable service; graunte we beseche thee, that we may so runne to thy heavenly promises, that we faile not finally to attayne the same; through Jesus Christe our Lorde.

Reflection
St Paul reminds us that we run a race. We know where we are running from, and we know where we are running too. We also know that, as far as competition goes, we should try and out do each other in showing love. The prize is open to everyone.and sharing that prize does not diminish it, for the prize is God Himself.

The race we run is on a path cut out for us by the death of Our Lord.  It is the hole in the wall of our prison, the loosing of our chains and the drugging of the guards to our captivity to sin. The one, true and pervading sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the gift of freedom whereby in serving God we may indeed be truly free. Yet we must be aware that it is possible for us to fall over and stumble over the obstacles put in our way by the Malicious Malcontents who delight in watching those fleeing into the light fall over in the hope that they may be enticed back into captivity by the arduous nature of the race. After all, running is so much effort, why not sit in one's prison for Eternity rather than waste the energy.

We have the gift of God. It is light, life, sustenance, hope, comfort, and challenge all rolled into one. It takes effort in being Christian. It will be hard; it will be discouraging; it will be horrible, oppressive, and filled with hypocrisy, but these are the very stumbling blocks put in our way. If we fall, we fall, that's no problem for God for the pathway always remains open. We can only go back to where we were by our own desire. The enticements away from the Light are many but, by running in that Light, we wil see those stumbling blocks for what they are. We may get to Heaven with scraped knees and twisted ankles, but so what? We get to Heaven!