Today (8 March) the Church celebrates the life and ministry of Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy ('Woodbine Willie').

Born in 1883, Studdert Kennedy was a young vicar in Worcester who became an army chaplain during the First World War.

His warm personality soon earned the respect of soldiers, who nicknamed him ‘Woodbine Willie’ after the brand of cigarettes he shared with them.

After the First World War, he became a writer and regular preacher, drawing large crowds, who were attracted by his combination of traditional sacramental theology with more unconventional theological views.

He worked tirelessly for the Christian Industrial Fellowship, but his frail health gave way and he died (still a young man) on this day in 1929.

Morning Prayer - Wednesday, 19 June 2019

Sundar Singh of India, Sadhu (holy man), Evangelist, Teacher of the Faith, 1929

Psalm 119.1-32
Blessed are those whose way is pure, who walk in the law of the Lord.
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies and seek him with their whole heart, Those who do no wickedness, but walk in his ways. You, O Lord, have charged that we should diligently keep your commandments.

O that my ways were made so direct that I might keep your statutes. Then should I not be put to shame, because I have regard for all your commandments. I will thank you with an unfeigned heart, when I have learned your righteous judgements. I will keep your statutes; O forsake me not utterly.

How shall young people cleanse their way to keep themselves according to your word? With my whole heart have I sought you; O let me not go astray from your commandments. Your words have I hidden within my heart, that I should not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; O teach me your statutes.

With my lips have I been telling of all the judgements of your mouth. I have taken greater delight in the way of your testimonies than in all manner of riches. I will meditate on your commandments and contemplate your ways. My delight shall be in your statutes and I will not forget your word.

O do good to your servant that I may live, and so shall I keep your word. Open my eyes, that I may see the wonders of your law. I am a stranger upon earth; hide not your commandments from me. My soul is consumed at all times with fervent longing for your judgements.

You have rebuked the arrogant; cursed are those who stray from your commandments. Turn from me shame and rebuke, for I have kept your testimonies. Rulers also sit and speak against me, but your servant meditates on your statutes. For your testimonies are my delight; they are my faithful counsellors.

My soul cleaves to the dust; O give me life according to your word. I have acknowledged my ways and you have answered me; O teach me your statutes. Make me understand the way of your commandments, and so shall I meditate on your wondrous works. My soul melts away in tears of sorrow; raise me up according to your word.

Take from me the way of falsehood; be gracious to me through your law. I have chosen the way of truth and your judgements have I laid before me. I hold fast to your testimonies; O Lord, let me not be put to shame. I will run the way of your commandments, when you have set my heart at liberty.

2 Chronicles 29.1-19
Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old; he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, just as his ancestor David had done.

In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east. He said to them, ‘Listen to me, Levites! Sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and carry out the filth from the holy place. For our ancestors have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God; they have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the dwelling of the Lord, and turned their backs. They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps, and have not offered incense or made burnt-offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. Therefore the wrath of the Lord came upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. Our fathers have fallen by the sword and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence to minister to him, and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.’

Then the Levites arose, Mahath son of Amasai, and Joel son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish son of Abdi, and Azariah son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah son of Zimmah, and Eden son of Joah; and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. They gathered their brothers, sanctified themselves, and went in as the king had commanded, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the unclean things that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord; and the Levites took them and carried them out to the Wadi Kidron. They began to sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord; then for eight days they sanctified the house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. Then they went inside to King Hezekiah and said, ‘We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt-offering and all its utensils, and the table for the rows of bread and all its utensils. All the utensils that King Ahaz repudiated during his reign when he was faithless, we have made ready and sanctified; see, they are in front of the altar of the Lord.’

Romans 5.1-11
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

The Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, you have given us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of the divine majesty to worship the Unity: keep us steadfast in this faith, that we may evermore be defended from all adversities; 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.

Morning Prayer - Monday 19 June 2017

Sundar Singh of India, Sadhu (holy man), Evangelist, Teacher of the Faith, 1929

Psalm 27
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid?

When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh,
they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not be afraid,
and though there rise up war against me, yet will I put my trust in him.

One thing have I asked of the Lord and that alone I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the fair beauty of the Lord and to seek his will in his temple. For in the day of trouble he shall hide me in his shelter; in the secret place of his dwelling shall he hide me and set me high upon a rock.

And now shall he lift up my head above my enemies round about me; Therefore will I offer in his dwelling an oblation with great gladness; I will sing and make music to the Lord. Hear my voice, O Lord, when I call; have mercy upon me and answer me. My heart tells of your word, ‘Seek my face.’ Your face, Lord, will I seek. Hide not your face from me, nor cast your servant away in displeasure. You have been my helper; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. Though my father and my mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up. Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me on a level path, because of those who lie in wait for me.

Deliver me not into the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, and those who breathe out violence.I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and he shall comfort your heart; wait patiently for the Lord.

Psalm 30
I will exalt you, O Lord, because you have raised me up and have not let my foes triumph over me. O Lord my God, I cried out to you and you have healed me. You brought me up, O Lord, from the dead; you restored me to life from among those that go down to the Pit.

Sing to the Lord, you servants of his; give thanks to his holy name. For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye, his favour for a lifetime. Heaviness may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

In my prosperity I said,
‘I shall never be moved. You, Lord, of your goodness, have made my hill so strong.’
Then you hid your face from me and I was utterly dismayed. To you, O Lord, I cried; to the Lord I made my supplication:
‘What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the Pit?
 Will the dust praise you or declare your faithfulness?
 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me; O Lord, be my helper.’

You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness; Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing; O Lord my God, I will give you thanks for ever.

Job 13
‘Look, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it.
 What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you.
 But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God.
 As for you, you whitewash with lies; all of you are worthless physicians.
 If you would only keep silent, that would be your wisdom!
 Hear now my reasoning, and listen to the pleadings of my lips.
 Will you speak falsely for God, and speak deceitfully for him?
 Will you show partiality towards him, will you plead the case for God?
 Will it be well with you when he searches you out?
 Or can you deceive him, as one person deceives another?
 He will surely rebuke you if in secret you show partiality.
 Will not his majesty terrify you, and the dread of him fall upon you?
 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes, your defences are defences of clay.

 Let me have silence, and I will speak, and let come on me what may.
 I will take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand.
 See, he will kill me; I have no hope; but I will defend my ways to his face.
 This will be my salvation, that the godless shall not come before him.
 Listen carefully to my words, and let my declaration be in your ears.
 I have indeed prepared my case; I know that I shall be vindicated.
 Who is there that will contend with me?
 For then I would be silent and die.
 Only grant two things to me, then I will not hide myself from your face:
 withdraw your hand far from me, and do not let dread of you terrify me.
 Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and you reply to me.
 How many are my iniquities and my sins?
 Make me know my transgression and my sin.
 Why do you hide your face, and count me as your enemy?
 Will you frighten a windblown leaf and pursue dry chaff?
 For you write bitter things against me, and make me reap the iniquities of my youth.
 You put my feet in the stocks, and watch all my paths;
 you set a bound to the soles of my feet.
 One wastes away like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten.

Romans 7.1-6
Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only during that person’s lifetime? Thus a married woman is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies, she is discharged from the law concerning the husband. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man, she is not an adulteress.

In the same way, my friends, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we are slaves not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.

The Collect
God of truth, help us to keep your law of love and to walk in ways of wisdom, that we may find true life in Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.

Daily Office - June 19

Sundar Singh of India, Sadhu (holy man), Evangelist, Teacher of the Faith, 1929

Psalm 77
I cry aloud to God;
I cry aloud to God and he will hear me.

In the day of my trouble I have sought the Lord;
by night my hand is stretched out and does not tire;
my soul refuses comfort.
I think upon God and I groan;
I ponder, and my spirit faints.
You will not let my eyelids close;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old;
I remember the years long past;
I commune with my heart in the night;
my spirit searches for understanding.

Will the Lord cast us off for ever?
Will he no more show us his favour?
Has his loving mercy clean gone for ever?
Has his promise come to an end for evermore?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he shut up his compassion in displeasure?
And I said, ‘My grief is this:
that the right hand of the Most High has lost its strength.’

I will remember the works of the Lord and call to mind your wonders of old time.
I will meditate on all your works and ponder your mighty deeds.

Your way, O God, is holy; who is so great a god as our God?
You are the God who worked wonders and declared your power among the peoples.
With a mighty arm you redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph.

The waters saw you, O God;
the waters saw you and were afraid;
the depths also were troubled.

The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered;
your arrows flashed on every side;
The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lit up the ground; the earth trembled and shook.
Your way was in the sea, and your paths in the great waters, but your footsteps were not known.
You led your people like sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Job 29
Job again took up his discourse and said:
‘O that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me;
when his lamp shone over my head, and by his light I walked through darkness;
when I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent;
when the Almighty was still with me, when my children were around me;
when my steps were washed with milk, and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
When I went out to the gate of the city, when I took my seat in the square,
the young men saw me and withdrew, and the aged rose up and stood;
the nobles refrained from talking, and laid their hands on their mouths;
the voices of princes were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
When the ear heard, it commended me, and when the eye saw, it approved;
because I delivered the poor who cried, and the orphan who had no helper.
The blessing of the wretched came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban.
I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame.
I was a father to the needy, and I championed the cause of the stranger.
I broke the fangs of the unrighteous, and made them drop their prey from their teeth.
Then I thought, “I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days like the phoenix;
my roots spread out to the waters, with the dew all night on my branches;
my glory was fresh with me, and my bow ever new in my hand.”

‘They listened to me, and waited, and kept silence for my counsel.
After I spoke they did not speak again, and my word dropped upon them like dew.
They waited for me as for the rain; they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.
I smiled on them when they had no confidence; and the light of my countenance they did not extinguish.
I chose their way, and sat as chief, and I lived like a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.

Romans 12.9-end
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The Collect
Almighty God,
you have broken the tyranny of sin
and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts
whereby we call you Father:
give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service,
that we and all creation may be brought
to the glorious liberty of the children of God;
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.

Daily Office - Mar 8

Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, 1910
Felix, Bishop, Apostle to the East Angles, 647
Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, Priest, Poet, 1929

Psalm 22
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,
and are so far from my salvation,
from the words of my distress?
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer;
by night also, but I find no rest.
Yet you are the Holy One, enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Our forebears trusted in you;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
They cried out to you and were delivered;
they put their trust in you and were not confounded.
But as for me, I am a worm and no man, scorned by all and despised by the people.
All who see me laugh me to scorn;
they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,

‘He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him deliver him, if he delights in him.’

But it is you that took me out of the womb and laid me safe upon my mother’s breast.
On you was I cast ever since I was born;
you are my God even from my mother’s womb.
Be not far from me, for trouble is near at handmand there is none to help.
Mighty oxen come around me;
fat bulls of Bashan close me in on every side.
They gape upon me with their mouths, as it were a ramping and a roaring lion.
I am poured out like water;
all my bones are out of joint;
my heart has become like wax melting in the depths of my body.
My mouth is dried up like a potsherd;
my tongue cleaves to my gums;
you have laid me in the dust of death.
For the hounds are all about me;
the pack of evildoers close in on me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones;
they stand staring and looking upon me.
They divide my garments among them;
they cast lots for my clothing.
Be not far from me, O Lord;
you are my strength; hasten to help me.
Deliver my soul from the sword, my poor life from the power of the dog.
Save me from the lion’s mouth, from the horns of wild oxen.
You have answered me!
I will tell of your name to my people;
in the midst of the congregation will I praise you.
Praise the Lord, you that fear him;
O seed of Jacob, glorify him;
stand in awe of him, O seed of Israel.
For he has not despised nor abhorred the suffering of the poor;
neither has he hidden his face from them;
but when they cried to him he heard them.
From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
I will perform my vows in the presence of those that fear you.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord shall praise him;
their hearts shall live for ever.
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.
For the kingdom is the Lord’s and he rules over the nations.
How can those who sleep in the earth bow down in worship,
or those who go down to the dust kneel before him?
He has saved my life for himself;
my descendants shall serve him;
this shall be told of the Lord for generations to come.
They shall come and make known his salvation,
to a people yet unborn, declaring that he, the Lord, has done it.

Jeremiah 15.10-end
Woe is me, my mother, that you ever bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land!
I have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all of them curse me.

The Lord said:
Surely I have intervened in your life for good, surely I have imposed enemies on you in a time of trouble and in a time of distress. Can iron and bronze break iron from the north?
Your wealth and your treasures I will give as plunder, without price, for all your sins, throughout all your territory. I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn for ever.

O Lord, you know;
   remember me and visit me, and bring down retribution for me on my persecutors.
In your forbearance do not take me away;
   know that on your account I suffer insult.
Your words were found, and I ate them,
   and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart;
for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.
I did not sit in the company of merrymakers, nor did I rejoice;
under the weight of your hand I sat alone,
   for you had filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain unceasing,
   my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook,
   like waters that fail.

Therefore, thus says the Lord:
If you turn back, I will take you back, and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
   you shall serve as my mouth.
It is they who will turn to you, not you who will turn to them.
And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you to save you and deliver you,
says the Lord.

I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.

John 8.48-end
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 honour my Father, and you dishonour me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the judge. Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.’

The Jews said to him,
‘Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?’

Jesus answered,
‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, “He is our God”, though you do not know him. But 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 ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.’

Then the Jews said to him,
‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’

Jesus said to them,
‘Very truly, I tell 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.

The Collect
God of peace,
who gave such grace to your servant Edward King
that whomever he met he drew to Christ:
fill us, we pray, with tender sympathy and joyful faith,
that we also may win others to know the love that passes knowledge;
through him who is the shepherd and guardian of our souls,
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.