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 39:13 NLT:
Leave me alone so I can smile again before I am gone and exist no more.
Deuteronomy 7:6 NLT:
For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.
Acts 22:11-16 NLT:
“I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions. A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus. He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And that very moment I could see him!
“Then he told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him speak. For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard. What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’”
Reflection/Prayer:
An unknown poet once wrote:
How odd
of God
to choose
the Jews!
This month we will be looking at the life and calling, tradition and history of God’s very own chosen people, and seeing what we can learn.
When Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof is warned by the constable of the coming pogrom that will be a new wave of trouble for the Jewish community he turns to heaven, and says: ‘Dear God, did You have to send me news like that? It’s true we are the Chosen People. But once in a while can’t You choose someone else?’
Dave Berg (of Mad magazine) asks:
Chosen for what? Chosen to lead in the Path of Righteousness? Maybe. Chosen to be a Light to the World? Maybe. Chosen to bear witness to my Friend, Whose name is God? Maybe. Or Chosen to take all the blame from all the blame throwers for everything that goes wrong in the world… the old story tells of a wise man talking to his bigoted acquaintance and he says, ‘You’re right, all the trouble in this world is caused by the Jews – and the bicycle riders!’
The bigot asked, ‘Why the bicycle riders? ‘
The wise man says, ‘Why the Jews?’
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.
The Peanut Gallery 
The Jewish people have been gifted by God. I think it’s in the genes. I was in Israel and fell into the street. Surrounded by my fellow travelers, no one helped me up out of the street. An Israeli, Jewish, dashed across the street and helped me up.
They are a compassionate people as a rule, intelligent and industrious. Most of the doctors I’ve worked with in my 35 years in hospitals were Jewish. For the money? nah, they truly want to help.
And they NEED to know that their Massiach came to the whole world through them. Most do not know. 😦