Morning Prayer, 28 Jan – John 5:25-30 ~ Life-giver and Judge

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences – Cuthbert of Northumbria (635-87)

Lord, I have heard Your voice calling at a distance.
Guide my steps to You, Lord, guide my steps to You.
Lord, I have heard Your voice calling at a distance.
Guard my way to You, Lord, guard my way.
Lord, I have heard Your voice calling at a distance.
Keep my heart for You, Lord, keep my heart for You.

Morning readings

John 5:25-30 ESV:

"Christ the Judge" Fra Angelico Chapel of San Brizio, Duomo, Orvieto, 1447 — “Christ the Judge”
Fra Angelico
Chapel of San Brizio, Duomo, Orvieto, 1447

“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”

“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

Reflections / Prayer:

Life-giver and judge

To give life and to judge are interrelated, for to have life is to escape condemnation. The great events of the last day are already taking place. The judge they were expecting has come surprisingly, before the final end of this age; the life of the age to come is already available.

All of this is accomplished, says Jesus, in the one who hears my word and believes him who sent me. Those who recognize Jesus as the unique Son receive his words as having come from God and, accordingly, believe the Father who sent him. To know God is to have eternal life. Until we receive life from the Son we are dead, under God’s wrath.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

__________

Hear and obey

We are to walk as Jesus walked, obeying his commands. The first step of spiritual life is recognizing our need, which some immoral people may do and some moral people may not. The lifestyle we are called to in the Son is one of moral purity, in constant consciousness of absolute and utter dependence on God. “Apart from me you can do nothing.”
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

__________

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

_____________________________________

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.

Morning Prayer, 27 Jan – John 5:18-24 ~ emptied himself

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentence – Cuthbert of Northumbria (635-87)

Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.

My heart says of You, ‘Seek His face!’ Your face, Lord, will I seek.

Morning readings

John 5:18-24 ESV:

"Head of Christ" Georges Rouault, France, c1939 — “Head of Christ”
Georges Rouault, France, c1939

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Reflections / Prayer:

Dependency

Dependence upon the Father expresses Jesus’ humility and obedience. He does nothing by himself – his source of being and activity is not himself but his Father. He cannot act from himself, for to do so would be to exist autonomously from God. The Son is distinct from the Father (or he would not be the Son), but he is not autonomous.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

Intimacy

Since Jesus is totally at one with the Father, he sees God differently than anyone else ever has. Jesus has a sensitivity beyond human experience to God’s voice, because his intimacy with God is unclouded by sin. This insight refers to his constant communion with his Father, and thus the actions he refers to are not some special signs done now and then to illustrate what the Father is like. Rather, Jesus’ whole life, everything he does, is reflective of what he sees the Father doing… and everything the Father does is reflected in Jesus’ life. Jesus is claiming to be the full revelation of the Father.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

Humility

Jesus himself, who is the unique Son and who alone has seen God, is nevertheless the model of true humanity in that he is thoroughly open to God, humble, doing nothing of his own. The birth from above makes us God’s children, and we share in something of the same sort of relationship with God through the Spirit as we see in the Son.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

__________

Philippians 2:3-11 (ESV)

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

__________

At the Name of Jesus / Every knee shall bow, / Every tongue confess Him Lord / King of glory now / King of glory now.

‘Tis the Father’s pleasure / We should call Him Lord / Who from the beginning / Was the mighty Word / Was the mighty Word.

O God, we adore You / O God, we bow down / We exalt and we praise You / Blessed by Your Spirit / O Holy One / O Holy One.

In your hearts enthrone Him / There let Him subdue / All that is not holy / All that is not true / All that is not true.

O God, we adore You / O God, we bow down / We exalt and we praise You / Blessed by Your Spirit / O Holy One / O Holy One.
__________

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.

Third Ordinary Sunday: Isaiah 9:1-3; Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17; Matthew 4:12-23 ~ new day dawning

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

Opening sentence and prayer:

I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.

Most powerful Holy Spirit, come down upon us and subdue us. Bathe us with the brilliance of Your light like dew from heaven, where the ordinary is made glorious, and glory seems but ordinary.

A Reading from the Old Testament: Isaiah 9:1-3 (NLT)

Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder.

A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14 (NLT)

The Lord is my light and my salvation — so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?
__________

The one thing I ask of the Lord — the thing I seek most — is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.
__________

Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
__________

Spiritual Song: One Thing – Hillsong

One thing I desire / One thing I seek / To gaze upon Your beauty / And Your Majesty / God of my salvation / Lifter of my head / Teach me how to live oh Lord / And Your righteousness / So I pray to You / So I pray to You

Lord, Your name / Is higher than the heavens / Lord, Your name / Is higher than all created things / Higher than hope / Higher than dreams / The name of the Lord

In the days of trouble / You cover me / In the secret place of refuge / Lord, I will sing / So I pray to You, I pray / So I pray to You

Lord, Your name / Is higher than the heavens / Lord, Your name / Is higher than all created things / Higher than hope / Higher than dreams / The name of the Lord

A Reading from the Letters of Paul: 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17 (NLT)

I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.”

Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!
__________

For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News — and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

A Reading from the Gospels: Matthew 4:12-23 (NLT)

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah:

“In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee where so many Gentiles live, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.”

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers — Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew — throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.

A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.

Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.

Intercessions:

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.” (Isaiah 9:2)

Heavenly Father – Let the light of Your Son, Jesus Christ, shine on us.

+ That the people of God may be like greats light shining in the darkness – announcing the Good News of Your Kingdom to every tribe and nation.

+ That the leaders of this world may turn away from the darkness of evil in all its forms – abandoning all self-interest to follow Jesus.

+ That the people of God may bring rays of hope into the lives of those who suffer – giving justice to the oppressed, human dignity to every person, and aid and comfort to those who cannot help themselves.

+ That those who search and grope in life may discover Christ as the answer to their quest for love, goodness and truth – experiencing for themselves Your healing mercies.

+ That the people of God may become one in You – bringing peace and unity into our homes, our communities, our nation.

+ That the world-wide community of faith may live together in harmony in the house of the Lord all the days of our lives… delighting in Your beauty and dwelling in Your presence.

Most powerful Holy Spirit, come down upon us and subdue us. Bathe us with the brilliance of Your light like dew from heaven, where the ordinary is made glorious, and glory seems but ordinary. I ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “Until The Whole World Hears” – Casting Crowns

Lord, I want to feel your heart / And see the world through your eyes / I want to be your hands and feet / I want to live a life that leads / Ready yourselves, ready yourselves / Let us shine the light of Jesus in the darkest night / Ready yourselves, ready yourselves / May the powers of darkness tremble as our praises rise

Until the whole world hears, Lord, we are calling out / Lifting up your name for all to hear the sound / Like voices in the wilderness, we’re crying out / And as the day draws near / We’ll sing until the whole world hears

Lord, let your sleeping giant rise / Catch the demons by surprise / Holy nation sanctified / Let this be our battle cry

Ready yourselves, ready yourselves / Let us shine the light of Jesus in the darkest night / Ready yourselves, ready yourselves / May the powers of darkness tremble as our praises rise

We’ll sing until the whole world hears / We’ll sing until the whole world hears

I want to be your hands and feet / I want live a life that leads / To see you set the captive free / Until the whole world hears / And I pray that they will see / More of you and less of me / Lord, I want my life to be / The song You sing

Until the whole world hears, Lord, we are calling out / Lifting your name up for all to hear the sound / Like voices in the wilderness, we’re crying out / And as the day draws near / We’ll sing until the whole world hears…

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

Morning Prayer, 25 Jan – John 5:1-18 ~ do you want to be healed

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentence – Oswald of Northumbria (605-42)

This day is Your gift to me; I take it, Lord, from Your hand and thank You for the wonder of it.

Lord, hasten the day when those who fear You in every nnation will come from the east and west, from north and south, and sit at table in Your Kingdom. And, Lord, let Your glory be seen in our land.

Morning readings

John 5:1-18 ESV:

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids — blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

Reflections / Prayer:

Exercise in futility

The man is there with no one to help him. So here is an unpredictable source of healing that can affect only a few people, and this man has no hope of getting healed anyway because he cannot get to the pool. In other words, this is a situation of utter hopelessness and futility.

But while the man cannot get to the pool, Jesus can get to him. The man is met by the one who is the stable, constant source not just of healing but of life itself, indeed, of eternal life.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

__________

Revealing question

What would we say to Jesus if he asked us whether we wanted to be healed of our own illnesses, physical or otherwise? Do we want to be rid of our addictions and other sins? Ten minutes hard thought on this question could lead us to new depths of repentance.

God finds each of us as helpless as this man. The good news is that he desires to grant each of us life, not necessarily mere healing in this life, but eternal life beginning now.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

__________

Conversion of St Paul (This feast is celebrated in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches and concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.)

I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. For some… have told me about your quarrels….

Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! …For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News — and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

1 Corinthians 1:1-17 NLT

__________

Christian Unity

Together we proclaim anew the good news prophesied in Isaiah, fulfilled in our Lord Jesus, preached by the Apostle Paul, and received by the Church. Facing honestly the differences we have and the labels of denomination we embrace, may we never lose sight of the common mandate we have in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul is sent “to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power” (1 Cor 1:17). The path to unity is to be found in the power of the cross.

The Gospel we proclaim is made tangible and relevant to us as we bear witness to the work of Jesus Christ in our own lives and the life of the Christian community.
__________

__________

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, 24 Jan – John 4:46-54 ~ the Giver of Life

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentence – Oswald of Northumbria (605-42)

This day is Your gift to me; I take it, Lord, from Your hand and thank You for the wonder of it.

May I feel Your presence at the heart of my desire, and so know it for Your desire for me. Thus shall I prosper, thus see that my purpose is from You, thus have the power to do the good which endures.

Morning readings

John 4:46-54 ESV:

So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.

So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.

As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

Reflections / Prayer:

A father’s faith

Faith is belief that God is who and what Jesus reveals him to be, the loving Father, and it is trust in this God. This official seems to have something of this faith.

This faith is confirmed and deepened when he learns of his son’s recovery. His faith in Jesus as one who is willing and able to heal the son of a Herodian official progressed to faith in Jesus’ bare word.

Now at the end of the story it is simply said that he believed, with no other qualifiers. Jesus is the giver of life.(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

__________

The signs of glory

Twice now Jesus has moved into Galilee, and both times he has performed signs that have pointed to God’s gratuitous generosity: the first one, at the wedding, and the second one involving healing.

These two signs in Galilee stand in contrast to the many signs he did in Jerusalem, for each of them are received in faith by someone, whereas the signs in Jerusalem were not.

Now Jesus will go to Jerusalem again, and this time he will perform a provocative, revelatory act that is grasped by the Jewish opponents… but received with hostility.(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

__________

St Francis de Sales (21 August 1567 – 28 December 1622) Roman Catholic Church

“The greatest defect we have in our prayers and in all that happens to us, particularly in that which concerns tribulations, is our lack of confidence … Faith is great or little according to the measure of our confidence.” ― St. Francis de Sales

__________

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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