Daily Office - Feb 1

Brigid, Abbess of Kildare, c. 525

Psalm 61
Hear my crying, O God, and listen to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I call to you with fainting heart;
O set me on the rock that is higher than I.
For you are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
Let me dwell in your tent for ever and take refuge under the cover of your wings.
For you, O God, will hear my vows; you will grant the request of those who fear your name.
You will add length of days to the life of the king, that his years may endure throughout all generations.
May he sit enthroned before God for ever; may steadfast love and truth watch over him.
So will I always sing praise to your name, and day by day fulfil my vows.

Psalm 65
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion; to you that answer prayer shall vows be paid.
To you shall all flesh come to confess their sins;
when our misdeeds prevail against us, you will purge them away.
Happy are they whom you choose and draw to your courts to dwell there.
We shall be satisfied with the blessings of your house, even of your holy temple.
With wonders you will answer us in your righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
O hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
In your strength you set fast the mountains and are girded about with might.
You still the raging of the seas, the roaring of their waves and the clamour of the peoples.
Those who dwell at the ends of the earth tremble at your marvels;
the gates of the morning and evening sing your praise.
You visit the earth and water it; you make it very plenteous.
The river of God is full of water;
you prepare grain for your people, for so you provide for the earth.
You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges;
you soften the ground with showers and bless its increase.
You crown the year with your goodness, and your paths overflow with plenty.
May the pastures of the wilderness flow with goodness and the hills be girded with joy.
May the meadows be clothed with flocks of sheep and the valleys stand so thick with corn that they shall laugh and sing.

Hosea 6.7-7.2
But at Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.
Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood.
As robbers lie in wait for someone, so the priests are banded together;
they murder on the road to Shechem, they commit a monstrous crime.
In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim’s whoredom is there, Israel is defiled.

For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.

When I would restore the fortunes of my people, when I would heal Israel,
the corruption of Ephraim is revealed, and the wicked deeds of Samaria;
for they deal falsely, the thief breaks in, and the bandits raid outside.
But they do not consider that I remember all their wickedness.
Now their deeds surround them, they are before my face.

1 Corinthians 11.17-end
Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and to some extent I believe it. Indeed, there have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you are genuine.
When you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s supper.
For when the time comes to eat, each of you goes ahead with your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk.

What!

Do you not have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I commend you? In this matter I do not commend you!

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgement against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If you are hungry, eat at home, so that when you come together, it will not be for your condemnation. About the other things I will give instructions when I come.

The Collect
Almighty God,
whose Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence:
renew your people with your heavenly grace,
and in all our weakness sustain us by your mighty power;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.