Morning Prayer: 

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

You will find the Lord your God, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Morning readings

Psalm 119:136 NLT:

Rivers of tears gush from my eyes because people disobey your instructions.

Isaiah 5:1-4 NLT:

Now I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard on a rich and fertile hill. He plowed the land, cleared its stones, and planted it with the best vines. In the middle he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were bitter.

Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah, you judge between me and my vineyard. What more could I have done for my vineyard that I have not already done? When I expected sweet grapes, why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?

Luke 13:34; 19:41 NLT:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me….”

But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep.

Reflection/Prayer:

Centuries ago, Demonax the Cynic said this:

Probably all laws are useless;
for good men do not need laws at all
and bad men are made no better by them.

We can see he has a point – up to a point! But the writer of the psalms says, ‘Streams of tears flow from my eyes because Your law is not obeyed.’ For this to be our response we need to have compassion for those who do not take heed of God’s law. For this to be our response we need to be touched with the sorrow of God’s heart, and long to comfort Him. For this to be our response we need to believe that the law of God is good, and just, and given to care for and tend the people He loves.

Does it move us to tears that the law of God is abandoned, ignored, or even scorned? Does it move us to action when we realize that most people have little concept of what the laws of God are? Is our heart under Kingdom rule? or do we have divided loyalties, as if we were citizens of two kingdoms, obeying whichever rule of conduct happens to suit us at the time?

‘What more could I have done for you than I have done?’ says the Lord, ‘for I loved you!’

And Jesus wept.

Canticle

Christ, as a light… illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield… overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Peanut Gallery: The Morning Prayer readings are from the Daily Office of the Northumbrian Community as available online here… and in the book form, Celtic Daily Prayer available on Amazon.com.

The website and prayer book are rich in prayer resources and I commend them to you. For our purpose here, I will limit my selections to the Morning Prayer resources.