Morning Prayer, 23 Jan – John 4:31-45 ~ come to the well

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentence – Chad of Lichfield (?-672)

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God.

On Your path, O my God, and not my own, be all my journeying. Rule this heart of mine that it be only Yours.

Morning readings

John 4:31-45 ESV:

Jesus and the Woman at the Well. German image, circa 1420 — Jesus and the Woman at the Well.
German image, circa 1420

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

After the two days he departed for Galilee. (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.

Reflections / Prayer:

Sowing and reaping

Jesus’ disciples are to reap the harvest of what others have sowed and labored over. Their ministry is dependent on that of earlier laborers – all those through whom the Father has been accomplishing his work, the work that is now coming to a perfect completion in Jesus.

This ministry of the disciples is an extension of Jesus’ own work — doing the Father’s will by the presence of the Spirit and embodying and proclaiming the eternal life available in Jesus, the one who completed the Father’s work.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

__________

The harvest

The faith of the Samaritans who went out to see Jesus goes from being based on the woman’s testimony to being based on their own experience. They had heard about Jesus, and now they needed to hear him for themselves.

The lesson: our faith also must be based on hearing Jesus for ourselves, not just on hearing about him. These Samaritans have seen no deeds of power, no signs, but have come to have faith in Jesus.

We hear about Jesus as we read the Gospels in the light of the insight the Spirit has provided to the church, but we must come to the well ourselves to meet him through the means of grace he provides.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

__________

True worshippers

The Samaritans want Jesus to stay with them for two days. The initial religious barrier that had kept the woman from Jesus has broken down… they are not put off by Jesus’ origin.

The Father is seeking worshipers from among the Jews but also from the whole world… and, in the presence of Jesus, these Samaritans come to believe that he is the Savior of the world.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

__________

Phillips Brooks (December 13, 1835 – January 23, 1893) Episcopal Church, Boston, MA

“The danger facing all of us – let me say it again, for one feels it tremendously – is not that we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that we shall feel that life has no meaning at all – not these things.

“The danger is that we may fail to perceive life’s greatest meaning, fall short of its highest good, miss its deepest and most abiding happiness, be unable to render the most needed service, be unconscious of life ablaze with the light of the Presence of God – and be content to have it so – that is the danger.

“That some day we may wake up and find that always we have been busy with the husks and trappings of life – and have really missed life itself. For life without God, to one who has known the richness and joy of life with Him, is unthinkable, impossible.

“That is what one prays one’s friends may be spared – satisfaction with a life that falls short of the best, that has in it no tingle and thrill which come from a friendship with the Father.” – Phillips Brooks

__________

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, 22 Jan – John 4:1-30 ~ well, well, well

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentence – Aidan of Lindisfarne (?-651)

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil and grant us peace in our day. In Your mercy, Lord, keep us free from sin, and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Let Your Kingdom come, Lord, in me.

Morning readings

John 4:1-30 ESV:

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Living Water Elspeth Young — Living Water
Elspeth Young

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.

Reflections / Prayer:

Water – divine appointment

[Jesus] moves because it is God’s will. He only does God’s will, and it is God’s will… that he meet this Samaritan woman….. There is no geographical necessity for going through Samaria. The necessity is due to God’s plan. The Father was sending him there to look for those who would worship him in spirit and truth.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

Living water – divine presence

Jacob gave a well that provides water, but Jesus is the giver of a greater gift, living water…. Jesus not only brings revelation of God but gives the Spirit by which this revelation is internalized in believers, giving birth to spirit.

The woman’s response seems disappointing… she is thinking about “running water” (indoor plumbing). Nevertheless, she makes a profound movement toward faith…. by asking for this marvelous private supply of running water… she has begun to believe in Jesus.

It is a source of great comfort to us to realize how patiently God works with each of us to lead us out of our misunderstanding… to come to ever deeper levels of faith, knowledge and union with God.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

Wellspring of living water – divine worship

To worship in spirit and truth means to worship as one who is spiritually alive, living in the new reality Jesus offers. Worshiping in spirit is connected to the fact that God is spirit. And worshiping in truth is connected with Jesus, the Messiah who explains everything.

Worshiping in spirit and truth is related to the very character of God and the identity of Christ. It is to worship in union with the Father, who is spirit, and according to the revelation of the Son, who is the truth. Indeed, it is to be taken into union with God through the Spirit.
(The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

__________

You call me out upon the waters / The great unknown where feet may fail / And there I find You in the mystery / In oceans deep / My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name / And keep my eyes above the waves / When oceans rise / My soul will rest in Your embrace / For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters / Your sovereign hand / Will be my guide / Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me / You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders / Let me walk upon the waters / Wherever You would call me / Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander / And my faith will be made stronger / In the presence of my Savior
__________

Leave me alone with God as much as may be. As the tide draws the waters close in upon the shore, make me an island, set apart, alone with You, God, holy to You.

Then with the turning of the tide, prepare me to carry Your presence to the busy world beyond, the world that rushes in on me, till the waves come again and fold me back to You.

Aidan of Lindisfarne (?-651)

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 Jan – John 3:22-36 ~ i must decrease

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.

God be with me in this Your day, every day and every way, with me and for me in this Your day; and the love and affection of heaven be toward me.

Morning readings

John 3:22-36 ESV:

After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized (for John had not yet been put in prison).

Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness — look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Reflections / Prayer:

Joy in Humility:

“He must become greater; I must become less.” This word “must” signifies the outworking of God’s plan. John’s joy is in fulfilling God’s will for his life — a model of Christian discipleship.

Where do we find our joy? It is easy to get distracted by the pleasurable blessings of this life. We should be thankful and receive gratefully God’s blessings, but our joy’s deepest foundation is God in himself… that He is as Jesus revealed Him to be… that He is fulfilling His purposes for our own lives… and that He fills us to overflowing with His Spirit.

(NIV International Commentary online)

All that I am, Lord, I place into Your hands.
All that I do, Lord, I place into Your hands.

Everything I work for I place into Your hands.
Everything I hope for I place into Your hands.

The troubles that weary me I place into Your hands.
The thoughts that disturb me I place into Your hands.

Each that I pray for I place into Your hands.
Each that I care for I place into Your hands.

Help me to find my happiness in my acceptance of what is Your purpose for me: in friendly eyes, in work well done, in quietness born of trust, and, most of all, in the awareness of Your presence in my spirit.

Oswald of Northumbria (605-42)

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 Jan – John 3:16-21 ~ God so loved…

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentence – Chad of Lichfield (?-672)

On Your path, O my God, and not my own, be all my journeying. Rule this heart of mine that it be only Yours.

Morning readings

John 3:16-21 ESV:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Reflections / Prayer:

The heart of John’s message… declares that the Son of Man’s coming down from heaven and being lifted on the cross is the activity of God himself, of his gracious love – the love that gives… the love that reveals the reality of heaven… the love that reveals the heart of the Father.

To believe that Jesus is the Son of Man from heaven and that his revelation of God is true gives one eternal life, that is, a share in God’s own life.

NIV International Commentary (online)

__________

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:14-19 NLT)

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.

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday: Genesis 1:26-28, 31; Psalm 139:13-16; 1 John 1:5-10; Matthew 25:34-40 ~ be a voice

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

Opening sentence:

Spread love everywhere you go: First of all in your own house… let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.

Each one of them is Jesus in disguise. (Mother Theresa)

A Reading from the Old Testament: Genesis 1:26-28, 31 (NLT)

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
__________

Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!

A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT)

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

Reflection:

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A Reading from the Letters of John: 1 John 1:5-10 (NLT)

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Reflections:

Dear friend,

I would like to personally welcome you to Rachel’s Vineyard!

If the emotional and spiritual wounds of a past abortion have been sapping faith, love and joy from your life, I can promise, that if you enter this process for healing, your life will begin to change.

A journey into Rachel’s Vineyard is a gift only you can open your heart to receive. The spiritual process of reconciliation with yourself, with God and your lost child will truly result in wholeness and freedom and a difference you will be able to feel inside your heart. This healing process will give you a deeper compassion for yourself. It’s also a journey that will give you a new appreciation of your strength and courage.

By traveling a path of healing in Rachel’s Vineyard, you will experience an end to isolation, despair and hopelessness. You will have the potential to revisit abandoned goals and dreams, and articulate your truest and deepest desires for your future.

Whatever your fears or hesitations may be, I encourage you to take the steps toward receiving the healing and peace that you deserve. Rachel’s Vineyard provides a tried and true journey that over 100,000 women and men have traveled. You can be confident that there are wonderful people in Rachel’s Vineyard who are ready and eager to accompany you.

You are not alone. A new chapter of your life awaits you. Take courage, God is calling you towards peace, love, hope, and freedom.

Dr. Theresa Burke
Founder, Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries

A Reading from the Gospels: Matthew 25:34-40 (NLT)

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”

Reflection:

At the end of our lives, We will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by ‘I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in’. Mother Theresa

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

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