Frederick Howden, Jr., Priest and Chaplain of the Armed Forces, 1942

The Collect:

Rite I:
Almighty God, our sure defense: We give thee thanks for thy servant[s] Frederick Howden, [N.,] and all military chaplains who provided comfort and inspiration in time of battle; and, following the example of Jesus the Good Shepherd, laid down their lives in the service of others. Inspire and strengthen us, also, for the duties of life still before us, that we may be faithful to the end; through the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Rite II:
Almighty God, our sure defense: We give you thanks for your servant[s] Frederick Howden, [N.,] and all military chaplains who provided comfort and inspiration in time of battle; and, following the example of Jesus the Good Shepherd, laid down their lives in the service of others. Inspire and strengthen us, also, for the duties of life still before us, that we may be faithful to the end; through the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

First Lesson: Jeremiah 17:14-17 

¹⁴ Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
    save me, and I shall be saved;
    for you are my praise.
¹⁵ See how they say to me,
    ‘Where is the word of the Lord?
    Let it come!’
¹⁶ But I have not run away from being a shepherd in your service,
    nor have I desired the fatal day.
You know what came from my lips;
    it was before your face.
¹⁷ Do not become a terror to me;
    you are my refuge on the day of disaster;

Psalm: Psalm 18:1-6, 18-20

¹ I love you, O Lord my strength, *
O Lord my stronghold, my crag, and my haven.
² My God, my rock in whom I put my trust, *
my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge;
you are worthy of praise.
³ I will call upon the Lord, *
and so shall I be saved from my enemies.
⁴ The breakers of death rolled over me, *
and the torrents of oblivion made me afraid.
⁵ The cords of hell entangled me, *
and the snares of death were set for me.
⁶ I called upon the Lord in my distress *
and cried out to my God for help.

¹⁸ He delivered me from my strong enemies
and from those who hated me; *
for they were too mighty for me.
¹⁹ They confronted me in the day of my disaster; *
but the Lord was my support.
²⁰ He brought me out into an open place; *
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 15:12-22 

¹² Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; ¹⁴ and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. ¹⁵ We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. ¹⁷ If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. ²¹ For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; ²² for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.

Gospel: John 10:11-18

¹¹“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.¹⁶I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

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