Morning Prayer
+ In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening sentences
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to secure me: against snares of devils,
against temptations of vices, against inclinations of nature,
against everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and anear, alone and in a crowd.
Revelation 12:1-6 (ESV) – to be read aloud
Benjamin West, c.1797
And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.
And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.
She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.
Reflection
THE SECOND VISION – THE SEVEN TRUMPETS (8:2-14:20)
Interlude (12:1-14:20)
Summary: The visions in chapter 12 form the theological heart of the entire book. In Christ God engaged Satan in the ultimate battle of the Holy War. The redemptive triumph of Christ is his death and resurrection was the crucial defeat of Satan and the forces of evil. Yet for a time the dragon vigorously pursues the people of God. Hence there is great suffering in the final days (which extend from Pentecost to the return of Christ). (Mounce, p.230)
The first vision is not meant to be a foretelling of history but a representation of the struggle in the spiritual world which lies behind history….It embodies a surrealistic word-picture which describes the spiritual struggle standing behind historical events. (Ladd, p.166-7)
The heavenly woman: The central feature of this heavenly woman is that she is the mother of the Messiah (vs 2). Some commentators think she represents Mary, the mother of the Lord; others Israel, the people who gave birth of Messiah. (Ladd, p.167)
It is out of faithful Israel that the Messiah will come. It should cause no trouble that within the same chapter the woman comes to signify the church (v 17). The people of God are one throughout all redemptive history…. The world may despise the true Israel and hold it in lowest esteem, but from God’s point of view she is a radiant bride (cf. Jer 2:2)…. In John’s vision the woman in travail is “the true Israel in her premessianic agony of expectation.” (Mounce, p.232)
But this heavenly woman is mother both of Messiah and of the actual church on earth (her “offspring’ vs.17). Therefore, it is easier to understand the woman in a somewhat broader sense as the ideal Zion, the heavenly representative of the people of God (Isa 54:1; 66:7-9)…. The woman is the ideal church in heaven; her children are the actual historical people of God on earth. (Ladd, p.167)
_________
__________
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: In September, we will begin reading through the Book of Revelation (ESV). Our purpose will be devotional, i.e. to discover the word of blessing that God has for us in these troubled times… to find hope and help for our daily lives.
This will not be a Bible Study per se: we will not attempt to unravel the “mysteries” of Revelation… that is far beyond our abilities and is not our interest here. However, so as not to get too far afield, we will rely on three study resources: primary – A Commentary on the Revelation of John (George Elton Ladd); supplemental Revelation (Leon Morris) and The Book of Revelation (Robert H. Mounce).
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.) On Sundays, we’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.
The Peanut Gallery 