What does 1 Peter 5 teach about anxiety and spiritual warfare?

Peter commands the faithful to humble themselves under God's mighty hand, casting all care upon him because he cares for them. He then warns of an adversary like a roaring lion seeking to devour — and calls the Church to resist him, steadfast in faith.

What do the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin teach about God?

Both parables — the shepherd leaving ninety-nine to seek one lost sheep, and the woman sweeping her house to find one lost coin — show that heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents. The God who is sought in the Collect is the same God who actively seeks the lost.

Third Sunday after Trinity – 1928 Book of Common Prayer - Saint Paul's Anglican Church

Theological Note

The Third Sunday after Trinity presents a Collect of particular pastoral warmth and honesty: O Lord, we beseech thee mercifully to hear us; and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray, may by thy mighty aid be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities. The very desire to pray is recognised as a gift of God; the same God who puts the longing for prayer into our hearts is asked to supply the aid for which the prayer is offered. It is a petition that trusts God's consistency: what he begins, he completes.

The appointed Epistle from 1 Peter 5 speaks to the faithful in terms of humility and resistance: Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. The call to cast all anxiety on a caring God is one of the great comfort passages of the New Testament, set within a bracing account of the spiritual warfare that surrounds the Church.

The appointed Gospel from Luke 15 gives the paired parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin: the shepherd who leaves the ninety and nine to find the one that is lost, and the woman who sweeps her whole house to find the one missing coin. Both stories end in joy: Rejoice with me, for I have found that which was lost. The God who is addressed in the Collect is not waiting passively to be found; he is the one who seeks the lost — and his seeking is the ground of all our asking.

Collect

O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to hear us; and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray, may by thy mighty aid be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Epistle

1 Peter 5:5

Gospel

Luke 15:1

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Collect for the Third Sunday after Trinity ask?: It asks that those to whom God has given a hearty desire to pray may by his mighty aid be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities. The very desire to pray is acknowledged as a gift of God, and the same God who gives the desire is asked to supply the aid the prayer seeks.
What does 1 Peter 5 teach about anxiety and spiritual warfare?: Peter commands the faithful to humble themselves under God's mighty hand, casting all care upon him because he cares for them. He then warns of an adversary like a roaring lion seeking to devour — and calls the Church to resist him, steadfast in faith.
What do the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin teach about God?: Both parables — the shepherd leaving ninety-nine to seek one lost sheep, and the woman sweeping her house to find one lost coin — show that heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents. The God who is sought in the Collect is the same God who actively seeks the lost.