Tag: martyrs

Morning Prayer: Wed, 28 Dec – 1 John 1:5–2:2; Psalm 124:2-5, 7-8; Matthew 2:13-18 ~ Jesus… atones for the sins of all the world

Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

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

Opening Sentence

O come, let us adore him!

We praise you, O God, we acclaim you as Lord; the white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
__________

Reading: 1 John 1:5–2:2 (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.

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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.

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
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Reading: Psalm 124:2-5, 7-8 (NLT)

What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us? They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger. The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us. Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives.
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We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap. The trap is broken, and we are free! Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
__________

Reading: Matthew 2:13-18 (NLT)

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After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

“A cry was heard in Ramah—weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.”
__________

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, even at your birth, you met with the hatred of men, and children were the first to suffer for your sake. We proclaim that you are at our side: we shall not fear.

+ As you were persecuted, so will be your brothers and sisters; Lord Jesus, we look to you for help.
+ You committed no sin: yet you, like us, were called to suffer. Help us to take up our cross and follow you.
+ The Holy Innocents were your silent witnesses: may we proclaim you to others by word and deed.
+ As a child you were persecuted and driven into exile; save all the children of men, in exile or under persecution.

Lord God, the Holy Innocents bore witness to you not by speaking but by dying. Grant that the faith we proclaim in words may be borne out by deeds. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
__________

“Living In The Light “ – Vineyard UK Worship


__________

Blessing

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.

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

Morning Prayer: 23 Nov – Revelation 20:4-6 ~ the millennial reign

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to secure me: against snares of devils,
against temptations of vices, against inclinations of nature,
against everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and anear, alone and in a crowd.

Revelation 20:4-6 (ESV) – to be read aloud

millennium

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Reflection

THE THIRD VISION (17:1-21:8)

The Final Victory (19:6-20:15)

The Millennium (20:1-10)

The millennial reign (20:4-6)

Overview: Sitting on thrones are “judges” before whom stand all those who have been faithful to the Lamb, even to death. Having proven their loyalty to the Lord by not worshiping the beast, they were brought to life to reign with Christ for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection. The faithful, over whom death has no power, will serve as priests to God during the millennium. After the thousand years are over, the rest of the dead will come to life. With the binding of Satan in vv 1-3 the stage is now set for the triumphal reign of the church victorious. Exactly what this reign involves and when it takes place is a question that as met with a great variety of answers in the history of NT eschatology. The interpretation that follows is essentially premillennial but with considerable hesitation on the fine points of chronology. As time merges into eternity, the standard measures of life as we know thewm prove inadequate to communicate the fulness of eschatological truth. (Mounce, p. 363-4)

The Peanut Gallery: This passage is way beyond my abilities to sort out and leaves many unanswered questions as to the fine points. For our purposes, I will highlight a few of the interesting (to me) observations made by Mounce.

Judges: All we know for sure about the occupants of the thrones is that they have been given the authority to judge…. The judgement appears to be connected in some way with the vindication of the martyrs and their right to assume the empire of the defeated powers of wickedness…. Since the text itself remains silent about the occupants of the thrones, it may be wise not to go beyond suggesting that they may be a heavenly court (as in Dan 7:26) that will assist in judgement. (Mounce, p. 364-5)

Souls: The souls of those who had been martyred for faithfulness in bearing the testimony of Jesus and the word of God… are the souls of those under the altar in 6:9 and all who are to meet a similar fate until the the of their vindication (6:11). They are called souls because at this point they are still awaiting the resurrection…. [They are] representative of all who gave their lives in faithfulness to their commitment to Christ. (Mounce, p. 365)

Interpretation: These martyrs are said to come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years, How people interpret this simple statement reveals their position on the millennial question…. The strong presumption is that “they came to life again” is to be understood as a bodily resurrection. (Mounce, p. 366)

The millennium: The millennium is not, for John, the messianic age foretold by the prophets of the OT, but a special reward for those who have paid with their lives the price of faithful opposition to the claims of the Antichrist…. The essential truth of the passage is that the martyrs’ steadfastness will win for them the highest life in union with God and Christ. (Mounce, p. 370)

Blessed and holy: Those who participate in the first resurrection are… blessed threefold: they are not subject to the second death, they will be priests of God and Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years The second death is defined in 20:14 and 21:8 as being cast into the lake of fire. It is to share the eternal fate of the devil, the beast and the false prophet, which is to e tormented day and night forever and ever. While the first resurrection is “selective” and the second absolutely universal, the first death is virtually universal (some will be alive at the parousia) and the second is selective. At Sinai God promised the Israelites that if they would obey his voice and keep his commandments they would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6). The faithful, by remaining true to Christ in the final trial by Antichrist, are thus priests of God and Christ. As a royal priesthood (cf. 1 Pet 2:5, 9; Rev 1:6; 5:10) they reign with him a thousand years. (Mounce, p. 370-1)
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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
_____________________________________

Peanut Gallery: In September, we will begin reading through the Book of Revelation (ESV). Our purpose will be devotional, i.e. to discover the word of blessing that God has for us in these troubled times… to find hope and help for our daily lives.

This will not be a Bible Study per se: we will not attempt to unravel the “mysteries” of Revelation… that is far beyond our abilities and is not our interest here. However, so as not to get too far afield, we will rely on three study resources: primary – A Commentary on the Revelation of John (George Elton Ladd); supplemental Revelation (Leon Morris) and  The Book of Revelation (Robert H. Mounce).

The general format for Morning Prayer is adapted from the Northumbrian Community‘s Daily Office, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer (see online resources here.) On Sundays, we’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world. Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.

Morning Prayer: 18 Sept – Revelation 6:12-17 ~ expect cosmic catastrophe

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to secure me: against snares of devils,
against temptations of vices, against inclinations of nature,
against everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and anear, alone and in a crowd.

Revelation 6:12-17 (ESV) – to be read aloud

When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

6th Seal: A Global Earthquake (The Trinity Apocalypse) c.1260AD
6th Seal: A Global Earthquake (The Trinity Apocalypse) c.1260AD

Reflection

Overview: The opening of the sixth seal answers the martyr’s question, “How long?” The answer is not given in terms of “when,” but conveys the certainty that their deaths will be vindicated. Great cosmic disturbances will come to pass and secular society, responsible for the lives of believers, will come to understand that God has already set into motion that chain of events by which his wrath will be fully carried out. (Mounce, p.150)

THE SECOND VISION – THE SEVEN SEALS

The Sixth Seal (6:12-17)

There is a profound theology underlying this language of cosmic catastrophe at the end of the age. It illustrates the transcendence of God and the dependence of his creation upon its creator…. It is the Bible’s picturesque way of describing the divine judgement falling on the world…. However, the language is not merely poetical or symbolic of spiritual realities but describes a real cosmic catastrophe whose character we cannot conceive. Out of the ruins of judgement will emerge a new redeemed order which John calls new heavens and a new earth (Rev.21:1)….

Those who experienced this catastrophe recognized it as the end of the world… and hid themselves (Isa 2:19)…. The expression “the day of the Lord” is an inclusive term, which can encompass the entire period that will end this age and inaugurate the age to come. It will be a day of judgement for the wicked – a day of wrath – but a day of redemption for the righteous…. The cosmic catastrophe convinces men that the day has come and the Lord is about to appear.

The sixth seal brings us to the threshold of the end; and then John stands back, as it were, to tell the story of the end in greater detail. The breaking of the seventh seal opens the book and begins the story of the events of the end time; this is the substance of the remainder of the Revelation. (Ladd, p.107-109)
__________

__________

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: In September, we will begin reading through the Book of Revelation (ESV). Our purpose will be devotional, i.e. to discover the word of blessing that God has for us in these troubled times… to find hope and help for our daily lives.

This will not be a Bible Study per se: we will not attempt to unravel the “mysteries” of Revelation… that is far beyond our abilities and is not our interest here. However, so as not to get too far afield, we will rely on three study resources: primary – A Commentary on the Revelation of John (George Elton Ladd); supplemental Revelation (Leon Morris) and  The Book of Revelation (Robert H. Mounce).

The general format for Morning Prayer is adapted from the Northumbrian Community‘s Daily Office, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer (see online resources here.) On Sundays, we’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world. Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.

Morning Prayer: 17 Sept – Revelation 6:9-11 ~ the martyrs’ cry

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to secure me: against snares of devils,
against temptations of vices, against inclinations of nature,
against everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and anear, alone and in a crowd.

Revelation 6:9-11 (ESV) – to be read aloud

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

Reflection

Overview: The opening of the fifth seal reveals an altar in heaven under which are the souls of the faithful martyrs. If the first four seals portrayed the troubled times of the approaching consummation, the fifth supplies an interpretation of Christian martyrdom. The martyrs ask the crucial question, “How long…?” The clear answer is that it will get worse before it gets better. (Mounce, p.146)

"The Martyrdom of St Andrew" Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1675-82) Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain.
“The Martyrdom of St Andrew”
Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1675-82)
Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain.

THE SECOND VISION – THE SEVEN SEALS

The Fifth Seal (6:9-11)

The souls of martyrs are seen under the altar as though they had been sacrificed upon the altar and their blood poured out at its base. Christian thought often employs the language of sacrificial death (II Tim 4:6; Phil 2:17). Thus Christian martyrs are viewed as sacrifices offered to God. In fact, they were slain on earth and their blood wet the ground; but in Christian faith, the sacrifice was really made in heaven where their souls were offered at the heavenly altar. (Ladd, p.103)

When Jesus taught that a man to be his disciple must deny himself and take up his cross… he was not speaking of self-denial or the bearing of heavy burdens; he was speaking of willingness to suffer martyrdom. The cross is nothing else than an instrument of death. Every disciple of Jesus is in essence a martyr; and John has in view all believers who have so suffered. (Ladd, p.104)

The souls of these martyrs which rest under the altar lift a cry for vindication…. They pray that the divine vindication on wicked men who have slain the righteous, which is certain because God is the holy and true one, may also be speedy…. The souls of the martyrs are seen as still resting beneath the altar; they have not yet entered into the enjoyment of the full presence of God. The martyrs must rest a little longer until the consummation of their blessedness; but in the meantime, they are in a state of rest. (Ladd, p.106)
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On the Martyrdom of St Andrew (Wikipedia)

St Andrew the Apostle Russian Icon
St Andrew the Apostle
Russian Icon

Andrew is said to have been martyred by crucifixion at the city of Patras in Achaea, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese. Early texts, such as the Acts of Andrew known to Gregory of Tours, describe Andrew as bound, not nailed, to a Latin cross of the kind on which Jesus is said to have been crucified; yet a tradition developed that Andrew had been crucified on a cross of the form called Crux decussata (X-shaped cross), now commonly known as a “Saint Andrew’s Cross” — supposedly at his own request, as he deemed himself unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross as Jesus had been. “The familiar iconography of his martyrdom, showing the apostle bound to an X-shaped cross, does not seem to have been standardized before the later Middle Ages,” Judith Calvert concluded after re-examining the materials studied by Louis Réau.
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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
_____________________________________

Peanut Gallery: In September, we will begin reading through the Book of Revelation (ESV). Our purpose will be devotional, i.e. to discover the word of blessing that God has for us in these troubled times… to find hope and help for our daily lives.

This will not be a Bible Study per se: we will not attempt to unravel the “mysteries” of Revelation… that is far beyond our abilities and is not our interest here. However, so as not to get too far afield, we will rely on three study resources: primary – A Commentary on the Revelation of John (George Elton Ladd); supplemental Revelation (Leon Morris) and  The Book of Revelation (Robert H. Mounce).

The general format for Morning Prayer is adapted from the Northumbrian Community‘s Daily Office, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer (see online resources here.) On Sundays, we’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world. Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.