Morning Prayer: 08 July – Psalm 122:2; Ezra 3:11-13; Luke 19:12-26 ~ on guarding the vision

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences

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.

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.

Pilgrimage

Psalm 122:2 NLT

Wailing Wall Jerusalem, Israel, 1984 — Wailing Wall
Jerusalem, Israel, 1984

And now here we are, standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem.

Ezra 3:11-13 NLT

With praise and thanks, they sang this song to the Lord: “He is so good! His faithful love for Israel endures forever!”

Then all the people gave a great shout, praising the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s Temple had been laid.

But many of the older priests, Levites, and other leaders who had seen the first Temple wept aloud when they saw the new Temple’s foundation. The others, however, were shouting for joy. The joyful shouting and weeping mingled together in a loud noise that could be heard far in the distance.

Luke 19:12-26 NLT

He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’

“After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’

“‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’

“The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’

“‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’

“But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’

“‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

“Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’

“‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’

“‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.'”

Reflections

CAIR PARAVEL

Fill this place, Lord, with Your glory! Let what happens here in our day be as great as what happened in the past. But don’t let us build monuments to the past. If the foundations were sound, we have hope to build again. We want to work, we must not die. Let Your tender mercies come unto us that we might live again.

C.S. Lewis in his book Prince Caspian has the children exploring the place they have been taken to:

‘Have none of you guessed where we are?’ said Peter.
‘Go on, go on,’ said Lucy, ‘I’ve felt for hours that there was some wonderful mystery hanging over this place.’
‘… we are in the ruins of Cair Paravel itself,’ said Peter.

The place may have a powerful significance, but it is God’s purposes that must be made visible and tangible. When we say, ‘I’m in charge of these ruins,’ it must mean we are guardians of a vision, not curators for the department of ancient monuments.

Aidan Readings – Aidan of Lindisfarne
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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: 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.) Our Scripture readings and reflections will be taken from the Aidan Daily Readings (Celtic Daily Prayer) during the month of July. 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.

Morning Prayer: 07 July – Psalm 122:1; Ezra 5:1-2; Mark 1:35-36 ~ on silent places

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences

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.

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.

Pilgrimage

Psalm 122:1 NLT

Cross on the lane to Old Bewick Church, Northumbria

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

Ezra 5:1-2 NLT

At that time the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jehozadak responded by starting again to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them and helped them.

Mark 1:35-36 NLT

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him.

Reflections

OLD BEWICK

Beside the little road from Eglingham to Chatton is a stone Celtic cross, and carved beneath it are the joyful words, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

A narrow drive leads to a tiny chapel hushed with prayer, where twice a month communion services are still held, but day by day people make their way to be alone, to be quiet.

At Easter in 1998 with adults and children we sang and processed up that little path to place a wooden cross from Heavenfield in the hut by the church gate. This hut was to be used as a poustinia, a silent place for prayer.
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Come, occupy my silent place and make Thy dwelling there. More grace is wrought in quietness than any is aware.
John Oxenham
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You do not realize it yet, but the preaching of the Gospel emanates from the poustinia, creates a unity with God, then causes a confrontation with the world.
Catherine de Hueck Doherty, Poustinia

Aidan Readings – Aidan of Lindisfarne
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Canticle:

Blessing

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

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Morning Prayer: 05 July – Psalm 121:4-7; Song of Songs 1:4, 8:14; Romans 13:9-10 ~ on following

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences

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.

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.

Pilgrimage

Psalm 121:4-7 NLT

Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.

The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.

Song of Songs 1:4; 8:14 NLT

Take me with you; come, let’s run! The king has brought me into his bedroom.

How happy we are for you, O king. We praise your love even more than wine.

How right they are to adore you.
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Come away, my love! Be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.

Romans 13:9-10 NLT

For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These — and other such commandments — are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

Reflections

LITTLE GIDDING

The Church of Saint John the Evangelist, erected in 1714 to replace an earlier church at the site.

In 1620 Nicholas Ferrar, his mother, brother and brother-in-law with their families restored a derelict village church at Little Gidding. There they said the daily office of prayer. They were Church of England, and tried to combine the monastic values with normal family life.
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For many people the name ‘Little Gidding‘ is at first familiar because of the poem of the same name by T.S. Eliot published as one of his ‘Four Quartets.’ He seems in these verses to capture something of the nature of pilgrimage – the precise directions to somewhere awkward to find; and you’re not sure quite why you came or what it was you’re looking for. If you find it, or it finds you, words cannot easily convey what has happened but it becomes part of the journey that continues.
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Not waiting for You, climbing up the hill, I slip and stumble. Still, Your hand upon my shoulder is so strong; and every boulder sings a song of love while, high above, Your laughter draws me on and on; and ever since that morning there has been no right or wrong, but love. (From Hillclimbing for Beginners)
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Wherever He may guide me, no want shall turn me back; My Shepherd is beside me, and nothing can I lack. His wisdom ever waketh, His sight is never dim, He knows the way He taketh, and I will walk with Him.

Aidan Readings – Aidan of Lindisfarne
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Canticle:

Blessing

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

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Morning Prayer: 04 July – Psalm 121:1-3; Habakkuk 3:16-19; John 10:14-26 ~ on treading upon the heights

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences

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.

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.

Pilgrimage

Psalm 121:1-3 NLT

Rocky Mountain Goats—B.C. Michael Coleman (1989) National Museum of Wildlife Art Collection — Rocky Mountain Goats—B.C.
Michael Coleman (1989)
National Museum of Wildlife Art Collection

I look up to the mountains — does my help come from there?

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.

Habakkuk 3:16-19 NLT

I trembled inside when I heard this; my lips quivered with fear. My legs gave way beneath me, and I shook in terror. I will wait quietly for the coming day when disaster will strike the people who invade us.

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.

John 10:14-26 NLT

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

“The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Colonnade. The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep.”

Reflections

THE HIGH PLACES

The life of the praying person is a journey farther up and farther in, to places God Himself has spoken about to the attentive heart. On one such occasion the Shepherd said to Much-Afraid,

When you continue your journey there may be much mist and cloud. Perhaps it may even seem as though everything you have seen here of the high places was just a dream, or the work of your imagination… But you have seen reality, and the mist which seems to swallow it up is an illusion. Believe steadfastly in what you have seen. Even if the way up to the high places appears to be obscured and you are led to doubt whether you are following the right path, remember the promise, ‘Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand and when ye turn to the left.’ Always go forward along the path of obedience as far as you know it until I intervene, even if it seems to be leading you where you fear I could never mean you to go.

Hannah Hurnard, Hind’s Feet on High Places

Aidan Readings – Aidan of Lindisfarne
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Canticle:

Blessing

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

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Morning Prayer: 03 July – Psalm 120:5-7; Zechariah 8:3-5; Luke 15:13-20 ~ on returning home

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences

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.

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.

Pilgrimage

Psalm 120:5-7 NLT

How I suffer in far-off Meshech. It pains me to live in distant Kedar. I am tired of living among people who hate peace. I search for peace; but when I speak of peace, they want war!

Zechariah 8:3-5 NLT

“And now the Lord says: I am returning to Mount Zion, and I will live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be called the Holy Mountain.

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem’s streets with their canes and will sit together in the city squares. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play.”

Luke 15:13-20 NLT

The Return of the Prodigal Son (1773) by Pompeo Batoni — The Return of the Prodigal Son (1773)
by Pompeo Batoni

“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.”

Reflections

DERRY

One sort of pilgrimage is to go back to a place full of memories, of joy, of childhood. Many things will have changed, not least ourselves, and it is a bitter-sweet experience.

A popular and famous song talks of one man’s return to Derry:

But when I returned how my eyes were burned to see how that town had been broought to its knees by the armoured cars and the bombed-out bars and the gas that hangs on every tree.
Now the army’s installed by the old gas-yard wall and the damned barbed wire gets higher and higher.
With their tanks and their guns, oh my God, what have they done to the town that I loved so well?

T.S. Eliot writes:

You are not here to verify, instruct yourself, or inform your curiosity or carry report. You are here to kneel where prayer has been valid. And prayer is more than an order of words, the conscious occupation of the praying mind, or the sound of the voice praying.

Aidan Readings – Aidan of Lindisfarne
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