Morning Prayer, 24 Feb – John 10:1-10 ~ gateway to life

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences – Brigid of Kildare (c. 450-523)

May God give His blessing to the house that is here. God bless this house from roof to floor, from wall to wall, from end to end, from its foundation and in its covering.

In the strong name of the Triune God all evil be banished, all disturbance cease, captive spirits freed, God’s Spirit alone dwell within these walls.

Christ, in our coming and in our leaving, the Door and the Keeper; for me and my dear ones, this day and every day, blessing for always. Amen.

Morning readings

John 10:1-10 ESV:

“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Reflections:

the shepherd

Jesus contrasts those shepherds who enter through the gate and those who do not – the one who has legitimate business and authorization enters openly, while those without authorization use underhanded means. The one is known by the sheep, while the other is a stranger to them.

The thief acts for his own selfish ends and to the detriment of the sheep. Jesus, however, serves the sheep by providing for them the way of life,

the sheep

Each particular sheep is known by name – the shepherd knows them and they know the shepherd, trusting his voice to lead them to pasture and water.

Here is a beautiful picture of both divine sovereignty in the shepherd’s call and the human response in the hearing, knowing and following by the sheep. We also find the theme of discernment, since there are more voices calling to them than just their own shepherd’s. Following Jesus means refusing to follow others who are claiming to be shepherds.

the gate

When Jesus says he is the gate for the sheep, the picture is that of a shepherd sleeping in the entrance – not so much as a barrier for protection, but as a door or passageway through which the sheep may come in and go out freely even as the follow him. Jesus serves the sheep by providing for them the gateway of life.

life together

Those who enter through Jesus find life – we all begin on the outside and need to enter through him. We are all sheep in need of a shepherd, just as we all, like the man born blind, are in need of the light.

The life Jesus brings is personal but not merely individual: he knows each sheep by name, but salvation is membership in a community, the community that is called and guided and provided for by Christ. The flock of Christ is neither an aggregate of isolated, autonomous individuals nor a faceless corporation, but a community in which each member is taken up into the life of God to form with others a single whole. By referring to himself as the shepherd Jesus is claiming to be the leader of this new community.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

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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: A brief word of explanation – the general format for Morning Prayer is adapted from the Northumbrian Community‘s Daily Office, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer (see online resources here.) The Scripture readings are primarily from the Gospel of John, with the intent to complete the reading by Easter. Other Scriptures which illuminate the Gospel of John will be included along the way.

Reflections from various saints will be included as their memorial days occur during the calendar year.

On Sundays, I’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world.

Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.

7th Ordinary Sunday: Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18; Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13; 1 Corinthians 3:16-23; Matthew 5:38-48 ~ love your enemies

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

Opening prayer:

Heavenly Father, in Christ Jesus you challenge me to renounce violence and to forsake revenge.

Teach me to recognise as your children even my enemies and persecutors and to love them without measure or discrimination.

I ask this through my Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.

A Reading from the Old Testament: Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18 (NLT)

The Lord also said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

“Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13 (NLT)

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.

He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.

The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
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A Reading from the Letters: 1 Corinthians 3:16-23 (NLT)

Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say,

“He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.”

And again,

“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; he knows they are worthless.”

So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you — whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

A Reading from the Gospels: Matthew 5:38-48 (NLT)

“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Intercessions:

God of compassion and love, who is slow to anger and rich in mercy: hear my prayer –

+ For all Church leaders — that they may show us how to live in peace and friendship…. Lord, hear my prayer.
+ For an end to war and violence, especially in Syria and Ukraine — that hatred may give way to love…. Lord, hear my prayer.
+ For people who are at war with each other – that they may forgive and make peace…. Lord, hear my prayer.
+ For those who have hurt us, those we find it hard to love — that God may help us to end our quarrels…. Lord, hear my prayer.
+ For people who are sick or troubled — that God may bring them healing and peace…. Lord, hear my prayer.
+ For myself and those I love, particularly those who come to mind right now — that God may always be with us…. Lord, hear my prayer.

God of love and compassion, have mercy on your people and grant us your gracious help, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Visual Liturgy: Love Your Enemies

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

Morning Prayer, 22 Feb – John 9:13-41 ~ now I see

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences – Brendan the Navigator (c. 486-575)

Teach me to live with eternity in mind. Tune my spirit to the music of heaven.

Feed me, and, somehow, make my obedience count for You.

Morning readings

John 9:13-41 ESV:

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

Reflections:

division

The Pharisees face a dilemma for Jesus’ sabbath breaking suggests he is not of God whereas his extraordinary power to heal suggests he is of God. Jesus’ disregard for their sabbath regulations is so blatant the opponents cannot accept the idea that God would honor such lawlessness. So to reconcile what has happened to their presuppositions, they assume that the man must not have been blind.

Not only do they reject the man’s evaluation of Jesus as a prophet, they don’t even accept his testimony about his own former condition!

intimidation

The man’s parents are not allowed to give thanks to God for the great thing he has done for their son. They must have agonized over his blindness and the begging he was forced into. Now he has been miraculously healed, and they must put aside the overwhelming parental joy and knuckle under to the goons from the committee for the investigation of un-Jewish activity, as it were. Their fear stems from the threat that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.

Jesus’ healing would have far-reaching implications concerning God’s gracious acceptance of sinful humanity. Not only was their son released from the bondage of his blindness and its related life of begging, but they and their son would see themselves in a new relation to God. Yet they had to stifle all of these feelings of joy and gratitude when they were called in by the authorities for questioning.

witness

The man has told them the truth, but they don’t really want the truth, they want their own answer. They are demanding that he give glory to God by confessing his sin, but the man has given glory to God by bearing witness to Jesus. He points to the one certain fact of the case — he was blind and now he sees.

In asking if the authorities want to become disciples themselves, the man is doing the work of an evangelist – offering God’s grace to those most deeply opposed to Jesus and alienated from God. It is remarkable that those who know God and his ways so well would not be able to recognize one who is able to do what is unheard of — open the eyes of a man who had been blind from birth. Nevertheless, their response is to throw the man out of the synagogue.

faith

Belief is not merely an intellectual assent to a proposition, but an attachment of trust to an individual as the one who comes from God. Such an expression of a “longing and inquiring soul” does not go unanswered. Jesus has cured him and found him, but he now reveals something of his identity to the man.

The man responds with faith which leads to worship. He has been progressing from knowledge of Jesus’ name, to confession of him as a prophet, to bearing witness that Jesus is one come from God and finally to accepting his claim to be the Son of Man. Even if he does not understand the full significance of his confession and homage to Jesus, he is accepting Jesus on Jesus’ own terms and thus placing himself in the position to receive further revelation and grow in his understanding of Jesus and his relationship with him.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

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Prayer

Heavenly Father:
+ Help me to realize my own utter poverty, blindness and need apart from Your Son, Jesus Christ;
+ Give me His eyes to see the desperate condition of all who live in darkness, apart from the Light of the world;
+ Fill me with Your Spirit that I might not reject the evidence of my own experience because of a faulty understanding of You and Your ways.

Holy Spirit:
+ Clarify my thinking against the objective truth of Your Word as manifested in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and revealed in Scripture as guided and understood by the church.

Lord Jesus: Be my center of reference so that I may be stable, secure and bold no matter what hassles come to me due to my relationship with You – for, in You, I have experienced the goodness and mercy of God.
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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.

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

Blessing

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

_____________________________________

Reflections from various saints will be included as their memorial days occur during the calendar year.

On Sundays, I’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world.

Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.

Morning Prayer, 21 Feb – John 9:1-12 ~ healer

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences – Brendan the Navigator (c. 486-575)

Focus my mind and my heart upon You, my attention always on You without alteration.

Strengthen me with Your blessing and appoint me to the task.

Morning readings

John 9:1-12 ESV:

"Healing of the Blind Man" by Brian Jekel — “Healing of the Blind Man”
by Brian Jekel

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

Reflections:

suffering

Scripture describes five types of suffering viewed in terms of causes or purposes:
1. suffering as a proving or testing of our faith (Gen 22; Deut 8:2; Job);
2. suffering meant for improvement, for our edification (Heb 12:5-8);
3. suffering as punishment for sin (Deut 32:15-25; Jer 30:15; Jn 5:14);
4. suffering that shows forth God’s glory, as here in our story (Jn 9:3; Jn 11:4).
5. suffering that which comes from bearing witness to Christ (Jn 9:34).

sin

If our suffering is indeed a punishment for sin, then it becomes an occasion for repentance and thus the manifestation of God’s grace as we are restored to fellowship with God. If our suffering is not a direct punishment for sin, then it is something God allows to happen in our lives, usually for reasons beyond our knowing, which nevertheless can help us die to self and find our true life in God. God does not allow anything to enter our lives that is not able to glorify him by drawing us into deeper intimacy with him and revealing his glory.

This is not to say that misfortune and evil are God’s will in general, but they are part of what it takes to live with him and unto him in this mess we have made through our rebellion against him and his rule over us. Our rebellion has brought disorder to every aspect of our existence, and the way back to the beauty and peace and order of his kingdom leads through suffering, as the cross makes clear. So we should not deny or avoid the reality of our suffering, but we should ask God to use it to further his purposes in us and through us.

healing

The man’s healing is a work of God made possible because Jesus, the light of the world, is present. Jesus’ identity is revealed by the very act of healing a blind man, for a sign of the messianic age was the healing of blindness, both physical blindness and spiritual blindness. Jesus’ healing of the blind stands out as a major sign of his identity and the significance of his coming.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

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“We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

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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.

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

Blessing

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

_____________________________________

Reflections from various saints will be included as their memorial days occur during the calendar year.

On Sundays, I’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world.

Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.

Morning Prayer, 20 Feb – John 8:48-59 ~ “I AM” has left the building

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences – Brendan the Navigator (c. 486-575)

Lord, I will trust You, help me to journey beyond the familiar and into the unknown.

I will trust You in the darkness and know that my times are still in Your hand. I will believe You for my future, chapter by chapter, until all the story is written.

Morning readings

John 8:48-59 ESV:

The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?”

Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Reflections:

never see death

The idea of abiding or remaining in Jesus’ teaching is now complemented by the motif of keeping it. This refers to remaining watchful, attentive and focused so as not to disregard it but rather to continue to obey it. It takes work to keep in touch with Jesus’ teaching. The disciple must expend energy to remain true to his teaching.

The promise that the faithful disciple will not die does not mean the disciple will not physically die; it means that he or she will not enter that state of “selfish isolation which is the negation of life”. The very fact that the disciple remains in contact with Jesus, the source of life, suggests such communion, with its death to self and life to God.

straight talk

1. Jesus speaks plainly about the Father – he refuses to glorify himself but says his Father will do so.
2. Jesus speaks plainly about his opponents ignorance of God – they are “liars.”
3. Jesus speaks plainly aboout his relationship to God – “I . . . keep his word.”
4. Jesus speaks plainly about his own divine identity – “before Abraham was born, I am!”

re-formation

The main points of chapters 7 & 8 have been Jesus divine identity, his role as the bringer of God’s salvation as water and light and the opponents’ utter alienation from God. This alienation has been stated explicitly, depicted dramatically in their questions and behavior and is now expressed symbolically in Jesus’ leaving in hiddenness.

Jesus has claimed to be I AM, the divine presence. So when he leaves the temple it is nothing less than “the departure of the Divine Presence from the old `Holy Space’.” He will not return again to the temple; he will come only to its outer precincts. His formation of a community apart from the temple will now become more apparent.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

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I want to be close, close to Your side / So Heaven is real and death is a lie / I want to hear voices of angels above / Singing as one

Hallelujah, holy, holy / God Almighty, the great I AM / Who is worthy, none beside Thee / God Almighty, the great I AM

I want to be near, near to Your heart / Loving the world and hating the dark / I want to see dry bones living again / Singing as one

Hallelujah, holy, holy / God Almighty, the great I AM / Who is worthy, none beside Thee / God Almighty, the great I AM

The mountains shake before You the demons run and flee / At the mention of the name King of Majesty / There is no power in hell / Or any who can stand / Before the power and the presence of the great I AM

The great I AM / the great I AM / The great I AM / The great I AM / The great I AM

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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.

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

Blessing

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

_____________________________________

Reflections from various saints will be included as their memorial days occur during the calendar year.

On Sundays, I’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world.

Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.

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