Morning Prayer for Tuesday, 12 December 2020

Prayer

Lord and Master of my life,

spare me from the spirit of indifference, despair, lust for power, and idle chatter.

Instead, bestow on me, your servant, the spirit of integrity, humility, patience, and love.

Yes, O Lord and King,

let me see my own sins and not judge my brothers and sisters;

for you are blessed forever and ever. Amen

(Pilgrim Prayer, 12)

♪          Qodos / Ghodos (Sanctus)

Responsive Psalm 69: 1 – 5, 30 – 36     

Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.

I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.

 

I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.

More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause;

many are those who would destroy me, my enemies who accuse me falsely.

What I did not steal must I now restore?

 

O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.

Let the oppressed see it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.

For the Lord hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds.

Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them.

For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah;

and his servants shall live there and possess it;

the children of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall live in it.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.

Scripture Reading: Acts 22: 2 – 16  

² When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then he said:

³ “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. ⁴ I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, ⁵ as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

⁶ “While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ⁸ I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Then he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth^[b] whom you are persecuting.’ ⁹ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ I asked, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.’ ¹¹ Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus.

¹² “A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there, ¹³ came to me; and standing beside me, he said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. ¹⁴ Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice; ¹⁵ for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.’

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Reflection question: Which evidence of God’s grace you find more amazing: – Saul’s ‘conversion’ encounter on the Damascus road OR Ananias’ ‘conversion’ greetings, in that knowing what he knows about this man he greets him as ‘Brother Saul’?

Prayer of Intercession

God, we remember before you today, for the churches and people of

Iran, Iraq and Syria praying:

For lasting peace in this ancient land

– from you, O Lord.

For wisdom and compassion for all in authority

– from you, O Lord.

For comfort of families separated or bereaved

– from you, O Lord.

For the release of captives

– from you, O Lord.

For safety and security for minority communities

— from you, O Lord.

For refreshment for the weary and healing for the sick

 – from you, O Lord.

For continuing faithfulness of the ancient churches of this land

– from you, O Lord.

For tenacity of spirit for small Christian groups

– from you, O Lord.

For the mutual enrichment and support of those of different Christian traditions

– from you, O Lord.

You, Lord of all, we confess;

You, Lord Jesus, we glorify;

For you are the life of our bodies

And you are the Saviour of our souls. Amen

(Pilgrim Prayer, adapted, 11 – 12)

With the words that Jesus taught us, let us now pray together in the language of our hearts –  

Our Father…

Benediction

Filled with the Holy Spirit, may our witness and work mirror the all-encompassing love of Jesus, as we seek to Father’s will each day. Amen.