February 3: Anskar, Bishop and Missionary, 865

The Collect of the Day

Anskar

Keep your church from discouragement in the day of small things, O God, in the knowledge that when you have begun a good work, you will bring it to a fruitful conclusion, just as you did for your servant Anskar; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Anskar

Keep thy church from discouragement in the day of small things, O God, in the knowledge that when thou hast begun a good work, thou shalt bring it to a fruitful conclusion, just as thou didst for thy servant Anskar; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Genesis 11:1–9
Psalm 96:1–7
Mark 6:7–13

Anskar was one of those valiant Christians of whom it might be said, “These shall plant the seed, but others shall reap the harvest.” As Archbishop of Hamburg, he was papal legate for missionary work among the Scandinavians. The immediate result of his devoted and perilous labors was minimal: two churches established on the border of Denmark and one priest settled in Sweden. He also participated in the consecration of Gotbert, first bishop in Sweden. Nevertheless, it was the seed from which a fruitful mission would later grow.

Anskar was born in the Somme region of France in 801, and educated in the outstanding monastic school in nearby Corbie Abbey. His teaching skill led him to be chosen to be sent out by Corbie as master of a new monastery school in Saxon Germany. His strongest call, however, was to be a missionary.

He was stirred, his biographer Rimbert says, by a prolonged vision, in which a voice said, “Go and return to me crowned with martyrdom.” When King Harald of Denmark sought missionaries for that country in 826, Anskar was one of those selected. Rimbert notes that Anskar’s missionary purpose caused astonishment. Why should he wish to leave his brothers to deal with “unknown and barbarous folk?” Some of the brethren tried to deter him; others mocked him.

Steadfast in his resolve, Anskar established a school and mission in Denmark, working conscientiously but unsuccessfully to convert and evangelize. He was not totally discouraged. Another vision appeared, with a voice saying, “Go and declare the work of God to the nations.” Shortly afterward, about 829, he was called to Sweden and eagerly accepted the invitation. Yet meager aid both from the monastery and the emperor frustrated his efforts.

While still a young man, Anskar was consecrated as Archbishop of Hamburg in 831. He continued his work among the Scandinavians until 848, when he retired to the See of Bremen and died in 865.

The seeds of his efforts were not to bear fruit until over one hundred years later, when Viking devastation, weakness in the Frankish Church, and the lowest ebb of missionary enthusiasm came to an end. The rich harvest of conversion was three generations away. Nevertheless, Anskar is now looked upon by Scandinavians as their apostle.

Lessons and Psalm

First Lesson

Psalm

¹Sing to the Lord a new song; *sing to the Lord, all the whole earth.

²Sing to the Lord and bless his Name; *proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.

³Declare his glory among the nations *and his wonders among all peoples.

⁴For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; *he is more to be feared than all gods.

⁵As for all the gods of the nations, they are but idols; *but it is the Lord who made the heavens.

⁶Oh, the majesty and magnificence of his presence! *Oh, the power and the splendor of his sanctuary!

⁷Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples; *ascribe to the Lord honor and power.

Gospel

¹Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. ²And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. ³And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. ⁴Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” ⁵The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. ⁶And the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. ⁷Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” ⁸So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. ⁹Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.