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 116:3-4 NLT:
Death wrapped its ropes around me; the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Please, Lord, save me!”
Ecclesiastes 12:14 NLT:
God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.
Petra, El Deir, Jordan
Luke 21:21 NLT:
Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. Those in Jerusalem must get out, and those out in the country should not return to the city.
Reflection/Prayer:
In AD 70 before the fall of Jerusalem there were several divisions within Judaism – Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes were the most prominent sects. Nazarene Jews (Jewish believers in Jesus) were another section of the Jewish community. But when the Roman armies approached Jerusalem to quell Israel’s rebellion, these Nazarenes fled the city, taking up residence in Petra. They thereby avoided terrible destruction and slaughter by the Roman army. The rest of the Jews distrusted them thereafter and assumed there was treachery afoot. Why did they flee? In Luke 21 and Matthew 24 Jesus predicted that Jerusalem would be surrounded by enemies. His followers were commanded, whenever they saw this beginning to occur, to ‘flee to the mountains’. They were not traitors; they were simply following their Yeshua’s teaching.
Amazingly, this date, Tisha B’av, was exactly that of the destruction of the first Temple; now 656 years later the second Temple was destroyed (and in 1492 it was on this day the decree of Expulsion of Jews from Spain took effect). This date is still marked by mourning customs
Now some people argue that, with the birth of modern Israel, mourning for the fall of Zion has become an anachronism.
But the Jewish national memory is long. It is not likely that the given date of the capture of Jerusalem and the ruin of two temples will be forgotten.
In the twelfth century the Crusades set out to free the Holy Land from Arab-Islamic control. The cry went out that it was inconsistent to seek to rid the Holy Land of infidels when there were infidel Jews within the midst of the lands of Europe. Hence Crusaders held their crosses high as they pillaged and destroyed Jewish lives and property throughout Europe on the way to the Holy Land. Many were burned alive or tortured. Bad theology easily kills – as surely as obedience to the words of Jesus brought life to the Nazarenes at Petra. There is a tendency to read Scripture in such a way that we assume all the negative words to Israel are still addressed to Israel, and that anything nice to say will be transferred to the ‘church’.
We may validly receive from Scripture a subjective answer or a word with real prophetic significance to us. What we cannot do is disregard its original intention. (‘Upper and Nether Springs’ speaks about Northumberland for us, but we are not saying that was the author’s original intention, only that God has quickened such an understanding of these passages in addition to their own factual meaning.)
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 