26th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Ezekiel 18:25-28; Psalm 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32 ~ on humble obedience

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

Opening prayer:

God’s love is displayed for us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We rejoice in this love, and celebrate the victory over sin and death won for us. Together, we praise God’s holy name.
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O God, You alone judge rightly and search the depths of the heart. Make us swift to do Your will and slow to judge our neighbour, that we may walk with those who follow the way of repentance and faith and so enter Your heavenly kingdom. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.
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A Reading from the Old testament: Ezekiel 18:25-28 (NLT)

“Yet you say, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ Listen to me, O people of Israel. Am I the one not doing what’s right, or is it you? When righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things, they will die for it. Yes, they will die because of their sinful deeds. And if wicked people turn from their wickedness, obey the law, and do what is just and right, they will save their lives. They will live because they thought it over and decided to turn from their sins. Such people will not die.”
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A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14 (NLT)

Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.
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The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way.
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The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.
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The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant.
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A Reading from the Letters: Philippians 2:1-11 (NLT)

Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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A Reading from the Gospels: Matthew 21:28-32 (NLT)

“But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.

“Which of the two obeyed his father?”

They replied, “The first.”

Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.
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Intercessions:

The Lord’s mercy never ends. Lord, hear our prayer:

+ For the leaders of Christian communities around the world – that they may live the message they preach….
Lord, hear us.
+ For Christians around the world – that we may answer God’s call to love our neighbors….
Lord, hear us.
+ For those living on the margins of society – that their needs may be remembered, even as we attend to our own….
Lord, hear us.
+ For people who feel they are beyond divine mercy – that they may know the Father’s warm embrace….
Lord, hear us.
+ For men, women, and children who are exploited – that justice and deliverance from evil may prevail….
Lord, hear us.
+ For all who suffer the ravages of war, especially in the Middle East – that the church may provide protection, provision, and comfort….
Lord, hear us.
+ For those who endure sickness in mind or body – that Your healing care may sustain them….
Lord, hear us.
+ For those among us who have recently died – that they may be raised to life through Jesus’ resurrection….
Lord, hear us.
+ For all those who weigh heavy on our hearts today – that they may know Your grace, mercy and peace….
Lord, hear us.

O God of endless goodness, Your love and mercy have no end: hear the prayers of Your people, we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen
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Benediction:

Now may the God of peace — who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood — may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

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

Morning Prayer, 17 Apr – John 18:33-40 ~ are you a king

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences — Puritan Prayers

Sovereign God, Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart, and I appeal to thee with greatest freedom to set up thy kingdom in every place where Satan reigns; Glorify thyself and I shall rejoice, for to bring honour to thy name is my sole desire….

Lord, use me as thou wilt, do with me what thou wilt; but, O, promote thy cause, let thy kingdom come, let thy blessed interest be advanced in this world! O do thou bring in great numbers to Jesus! Let me see that glorious day…. It is thy cause and kingdom I long for, not my own.

O, answer thou my request!

Morning reading

John 18:33-40 ESV

"Christ before Pilate" Jacek Malczewski, 1910 Lviv State Picture Gallery, Lviv, Ukraine — “Christ before Pilate”
Jacek Malczewski, 1910
Lviv State Picture Gallery, Lviv, Ukraine

Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

“What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.

Reflections:

Jesus’ kingdom

Jesus’ kingdom is otherworldly because he himself is not of this world and neither are his followers. He and his disciples have their source in God and reflect God’s own life and character. “Jesus’ kingdom is based on something other than . . . power or protection. It is based on his self-surrender, on his offering of himself for the sin of the world” (Ridderbos).

Jesus is working on a different level, one not of this world. His kingdom is quite distinct from other kingdoms, but he does indeed have a kingdom. Jesus’ explanation reveals that he is king in a sense that transcends all other kings: for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world. If Pilate thought about what Jesus said at all, he would probably hear it only on a human level, that Jesus was claiming to be like any other child who was born a prince, in line to become king. But Pilate may not have gotten that far in his thinking, for Jesus says that he came into the world not to be king of the Jews, but to testify to the truth.

revealer of truth

“He is the king of Truth, and He manifests His royal power not by force, but by the witness He bears to the Truth” (Hoskyn). The truth he refers to is the truth of God.

Pilate thinks of Jesus as a defendant, but Jesus is taking the part of a witness, who “has come to testify against the rule of the lie and for `the truth,’ that is, for God and for God’s claim on the world” (Ridderbos). So Jesus is asking for Pilate to pass judgment not on him as king of the Jews, but on him as the revealer of truth. And he puts pressure on Pilate, for if he does not decide in favor of Jesus, he will judge himself as not being on the side of truth – more literally, “of the truth”; it refers to one’s inner disposition as tuned to the truth, able to hear the voice of truth. “Absolute truth is a very uncomfortable thing when we come in contact with it” (Ward).

Pilate does not listen to Jesus, so, according to what Jesus has just said, he is not of the truth. The judge has been judged and found self-condemned through his response to Jesus. The Jewish opponents had come to this same place during the course of Jesus’ ministry. So now both Jew and Gentile have been given a chance to respond to the one come from God, and they have rejected him.

liberation choice

There is a stark contrast between Barabbas, a violent man concerned with this world’s politics, albeit religious politics, and Jesus, whose kingdom is not of this world, though it is active in this world. There is also irony in the name Barabbas itself, since it means “son of Abba” — the word Abba, “father,” was used as a proper name (Brown), but, especially in John’s Gospel, Jesus is known as the Son of the Father. The crowd was choosing between two different approaches to liberation as represented by two men identified, in different ways, as “son of Abba.”

Here is the deceptiveness of sin that has been evident since the Garden of Eden. There is a path that looks right and seems to be of God, yet it is actually against him and his ways. The people choose their own path of liberation rather than God’s, and they therefore choose “not the Savior, but the murderer; not the Giver of life, but the destroyer” (Augustine). Every time we choose sin we do the same, whether the sin is blatant or deceptive.

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, 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

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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

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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, 18 Feb – John 8:31-38 ~ freedom

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)

Christ of the mysteries, can I trust You to be stronger than each storm in me? Do I still yearn for Your glory to lighten on me?

I will show others the care You’ve given me. I determine amidst all uncertainty always to trust.

Morning readings

John 8:31-38 ESV:

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

Reflections:

trust

Jesus tests his disciples by giving them further revelation that stretches them and requires them to put their trust in him, rather than in their understanding of all he is saying and doing. They need to understand him well enough to recognize that he is from God, but the very fact that he is from God means he is going to speak and act in ways that are not in keeping with this world.

truth

To know Jesus is to be liberated from all error and evil, for it is to know God himself, who is truth and purity and life. In Jesus’ teaching and in the teaching of Judaism obedience to God is true freedom. This truth is quite different from the thinking of most people today, for it takes God, rather than our own personal feelings and ambitions, as the one good. The freedom in view is not a freedom to do whatever we wish according to the dictates of our own fallen selves, but a freedom from our fallen selves and the power and guidance to act in accordance with God himself, the source of all goodness and life.

freedom

Jesus is speaking of inner spiritual freedom – freedom from sin, and sin, at its heart, is an alienation from God. This alienation is caused by sin in the sense of both error and evil. The antidote, faith, corresponds to both of these aspects since it is the appropriation of knowledge of God (which replaces the error) and of forgiveness for our rebellion against God (which overcomes the evil). Jesus is offering a restored relationship of intimacy with God, which brings life in place of death.

union

The freedom Jesus is offering is union with the Father, the source of all true life. The way to receive this life, with its freedom from sin’s alienation and death, is to remain in his teaching. This involves an actual remaining in the Son himself, which includes remaining in his commands. In order to receive the power to become children of God we must receive the Son of God and share in the Son’s own relationship with 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.

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: Psalm 119:153-160; Jonah 2:5-7; Romans 8:11 ~ revival

Morning Prayer:

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

Opening sentence

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

You will find the Lord your God, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Morning readings

Psalm 119:153-160 NLT:

Look upon my suffering and rescue me, for I have not forgotten your instructions. Argue my case; take my side! Protect my life as you promised. The wicked are far from rescue, for they do not bother with your decrees.

Lord, how great is your mercy; let me be revived by following your regulations. Many persecute and trouble me, yet I have not swerved from your laws. Seeing these traitors makes me sick at heart, because they care nothing for your word.

See how I love your commandments, Lord. Give back my life because of your unfailing love. The very essence of your words is truth; all your just regulations will stand forever.

Jonah 2:5-7 NLT:

I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever.

But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple.

Romans 8:11 NLT:

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Reflection/Prayer:

Your word was true from the beginning. Every one of Your righteous judgements endures for ever. Quicken me. Restore me to life. Lord, I believe.

Hal Lindsey is the author of The Late Great Planet Earth which (for a short time!) enjoyed immense popularity amongst Christian readers some years ago. The following incident is from a subsequent book, The Terminal Generation.

A nurse came up to me after I’d just spoken and said, ‘Hal, will you please come and meet a soldier I brought over from the veterans’ hospital? He accepted Christ as his Saviour and Lord as a result of my reading your book to him. It really took courage for him to come here tonight – he’s in great pain because both arms and legs have been amputated. He lost them in Vietnam. ‘ When I walked up to the wheeled stretcher on which he was lying, the young man looked up with a radiant face and said, ‘Tell me, Hal,will my new body have arms and legs?’ While choking back tears I turned to Philippians 3:20 and read:

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so they will be like His glorious body.

‘Jim,’ I said, ‘your body will be like Jesus Christ’s glorious body. We know that His resurrection body is perfect, so we know that yours will be too.’

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
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Peanut Gallery: The Morning Prayer readings are from the Daily Office of the Northumbrian Community as available online here… and in the book form, Celtic Daily Prayer available on Amazon.com.8

The website and prayer book are rich in prayer resources and I commend them to you. For our purpose here, I will limit my selections to the Morning Prayer resources.

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