Morning Prayer, 26 Feb – John 10:22-42 ~ Son of God

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)

Come to a warm place in this house, come in the name of Christ. My heart and I agree, welcome in the name of the Lord.

There is a fiery power in the gentle heart of the Spirit. Our hearts are agreed as we kneel by the hearth, and call on the Sacred Three to save, shield and surround us and our kin, this house, this home, this day, this night, and every night, each single night.

Morning readings

John 10:22-42 ESV:

At that time the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.

Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”

The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came — and Scripture cannot be broken — do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” And many believed in him there.

Reflections:

my sheep

[Those who belong to Jesus] hear his voice, are known by him, follow him and have eternal life. And, because the Father has given them to Jesus, are safe and secure.

This passage of infinite comfort touches once again upon the mysteries of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. We have both the call of God and the response of faith on the part of the sheep. If man falls at any stage in his spiritual life, it is not from want of divine grace, nor from the overwhelming power of adversaries, but from his neglect to the means of grace available to him. We cannot be protected against ourselves in spite of ourselves.

The sense of the divine protection is at any moment sufficient to inspire confidence, but not to render effort (abiding, remaining, following) unnecessary.

Oneness

“I and the Father are one.” What is this oneness? The Father not only gave Jesus life, as he has done for believers, but has made him the giver of life, a divine attribute illustrated in what Jesus says about the bread and the water and which will be climactically demonstrated in the raising of Lazarus. It implies a oneness in essence since “infinite power is an essential attribute of God; and it is impossible to suppose that two beings distinct in essence could be equal in power” – it is a powerful claim to deity.

Son of God

What Jesus means by the title Son of God goes beyond anything they had thought before, but it is not a denial of the truths of Scripture. Nevertheless, as with all other arguments, it only makes sense if the listener is open to entertaining the truth of who Jesus is.

Jesus’ deeds are like the deeds of God, both in power and in graciousness – they are not only powerful or awesome or supernatural, they are also in keeping with God’s own character — they manifest his gracious love (“The Father is in me and I am in the Father”).

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.

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.

Morning Prayer, 19 Feb – John 8:39-47 ~ who’s your daddy

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 choose to live beyond regret and let You recreate my life. I believe You will make a way for me and provide for me, if only I trust You and obey.

Morning readings

John 8:39-47 ESV:

"The Temptation and Fall of Eve" William Blake (1808) Illustrations to John Milton - Paradise Lost — “The Temptation and Fall of Eve”
William Blake (1808)
Illustrations to John Milton – Paradise Lost

[The Jews] answered him, “Abraham is our father.”

Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.”

They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father — even God.”

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

Reflections:

paternity

Jesus is one with God the Father, expressed here once again in terms of his origin and obedience. It follows that anyone who rejects him is rejecting God the Father who sent him and to whom he is obedient. Their inability to hear his word indicates that something is radically wrong with them – they have the wrong father — they are of their father, the devil.

opposites

John portrays the devil as exactly the opposite of Jesus – Jesus is life and gives life; the devil is a murderer… Jesus is truth and speaks truth; the devil is a liar and the father of lies, to his very core there is no truth in him, but rather lies. This contrast between Jesus’ dependence on the Father and the devil’s independence from the Father is the crucial distinction between them.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

__________

Praise to the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ / Our God and our King, to Him we will sing / In His great mercy, He has given us life / Now we can be called the children of God

Great is the Love that the Father has given us / He has delivered us / He has delivered us

Children of God, sing your song and rejoice / For the love that He has given us all / Children of God, by the blood of His Son / We have been redeemed and we can be called / Children of God / Children of God

A mystery is revealed to the universe / The Father above has proven His love / Now we are free from the judgment that we deserve / And so we are called the children of God
We are the saints / We are the children / We’ve been redeemed / We’ve been forgiven / We are the sons and daughters of our 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, 15 Feb – John 8:12-20 ~ the light of the world

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences – 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 8:12-20 ESV:

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.”

Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”

They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?”

Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

Reflections:

background

A lamp-lighting ceremony took place in the temple every evening of the feast, during which large lamps were set up in the Court of Women. The lamps’ light, it was said, filled every courtyard in the city. In the light of these lamps there was great singing and dancing all evening in celebration of God’s salvation, especially his deliverance at the exodus as he lead his people with his presence in a pillar of fire by night. In the sight of these great lamps in the Court of Women, perhaps even in the evening while they blazed, Jesus proclaims himself to be the light of the world.

In this setting, which celebrates the Israelites’ deliverance, Jesus is claiming to be the divine presence that saves God’s people from their bondage. He is the saving presence for the whole world, not just for the Jews.

light and life

Here is a promise of salvation much greater than the salvation Israel experienced, for it is deliverance not just from a national enemy, but from the forces of rebellion against God that lie behind every form of evil in the world. And this deliverance is not just a rescue from darkness and a glimpse of the light, but an ongoing life apart from darkness through possession of the light of life – “the light which both springs from life and issues in life; of which life is the essential principle and the necessary result.”

The world lies in darkness and death because it has rebelled against God and thus broken contact with the one source of light and life. Jesus is the light that brings light and life back to the world and sets it free from its bondage to sin.

judgement

The Pharisees judge by human standards – by “mere appearances.” By contrast, Jesus passes judgment in keeping with reality, because he does so in oneness with the Father. He judges simply by revealing the truth and pointing out one’s distance from that truth. That is why he says he will not judge but his words will judge.

These distinctions regarding judgment are important within the church. Jesus says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Mt 7:1). Clearly this does not mean we should not distinguish good from evil or truth from error, for Jesus calls us to do just that a few verses later in his teaching on false prophets (Mt 7:15-20). But it is one thing to recognize evil and error and quite another to conclude that an individual is totally lost to God. The final state of a person’s soul is known only to God. Therefore we should write off no one, yet all the while we should discern the teaching and behavior to see whether it is of God. Such discernment can only come from Christ through the Spirit, for our judgments, like Jesus’ (Jn 8:16), can only be right if they are in union with the Father.

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.

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, 10 Feb – John 7:14-24 ~ beneath the surface

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)

Softly as the dew-fall of heaven, may the Holy Spirit come upon me to aid me and to raise me, to bind my prayer firmly at the throne of the King of life.

God’s will would I do, my own will bridle; God’s due would I give, my own due yield; God’s path would I travel, my own path refuse.

All whom I love, into Your safe keeping; all that I am, into Your tender care; all that will be, into Your perfect will. Amen.

Morning readings

John 7:14-24 ESV:

Cross of Jesus underwater in the Petoskey Bay, MI

Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked.

So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies. Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”

The crowd replied, “You’re demon possessed! Who’s trying to kill you?”

Jesus replied, “I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed. But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.) For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath? Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”

Reflections:

credentials

How did this man get such learning without having studied? Jesus says, My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. Jesus’ teaching comes directly from God.

Since God is the one who has sent Jesus, the opponents’ alienation from God is again made clear. Their struggle is with God himself.

validation

How is such a claim to be assessed? Jesus points to our internal disposition… to our hearts. If our hearts are God-centered rather than self-centered, then we will be able to recognize God’s voice in a teacher come from God.

To choose to do God’s will is not just a matter of moral purity as such; it is a hungering and thirsting after righteousness, a seeking first the kingdom. Such a heart is open to God, committed to him and his ways and willing to act on what is revealed.

right judgement

The opponents are observing the letter of the law, but do not understand what the law is really about – its witness to Jesus… and its goal of expressing God’s own love and mercy in the life of God’s people. Making a right judgment is dependent on seeking God’s will and not one’s own. They have no depth in themselves and thus cannot recognize God at work among them.

To will God’s will is to have a purity of heart and a clarity of vision that come through death to self. Until we have found our own heart (which lies deeper than our emotions and imagination) and made contact with God there, we too will be in danger of judging by appearances instead of with right judgment.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

__________

Lower my vengeance, my anger and my hatred, and banish my wicked thoughts from me; send down a drop from heaven of Your holy Spirit to vanquish this heart of rock of mine. Amen.

Cuthbert of Northumbria (635-87)
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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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