Daily Offfice - Aug 24

Bartholomew the Apostle

Psalm 86
Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and in misery.
Preserve my soul, for I am faithful;
save your servant, for I put my trust in you.
Be merciful to me, O Lord, for you are my God;
I call upon you all the day long.
Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
For you, Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer and listen to the voice of my supplication.
In the day of my distress I will call upon you,
for you will answer me.
Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord,
nor any works like yours.
All nations you have made shall come and worship you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
For you are great and do wonderful things;
you alone are God.
Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth;
knit my heart to you, that I may fear your name.
I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
and glorify your name for evermore;
For great is your steadfast love towards me,
for you have delivered my soul from the depths of the grave.
O God, the proud rise up against me me and a ruthless horde seek after my life;
they have not set you before their eyes.
But you, Lord, are gracious and full of compassion,
slow to anger and full of kindness and truth.
Turn to me and have mercy upon me;
give your strength to your servant
and save the child of your handmaid.
Show me a token of your favour,
that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed;
because you, O Lord, have helped and comforted me.

Psalm 117
O praise the Lord, all you nations;
praise him, all you peoples.
For great is his steadfast love towards us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Alleluia.

Genesis 28.10-17
Jacob left Beer-sheba and went towards Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!’ And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’

John 1.43-51
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

The Collect
Almighty and everlasting God,
who gave to your apostle Bartholomew grace truly to believe and to preach your word:
grant that your Church
may love that word which he believed
and may faithfully preach and receive the same;
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 - Jan 3

Psalm 127
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.
Unless the Lord keeps the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.
It is in vain that you hasten to rise up early and go so late to rest, eating the bread of toil,
for he gives his beloved sleep.

Children are a heritage from the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his gift.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.

Happy are those who have their quiver full of them:
they shall not be put to shame when they dispute with their enemies in the gate.

Psalm 128
Blessed are all those who fear the Lord, and walk in his ways.
You shall eat the fruit of the toil of your hands; it shall go well with you, and happy shall you be.
Your wife within your house shall be like a fruitful vine;
your children round your table,  like fresh olive branches.
Thus shall the one be blest who fears the Lord.
The Lord from out of Zion bless you, that you may see Jerusalem in prosperity all the days of your life.
May you see your children’s children, and may there be peace upon Israel.

Psalm 131
O Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not raised in haughty looks.
I do not occupy myself with great matters, with things that are too high for me.
But I have quieted and stilled my soul, like a weaned child on its mother’s breast;
so my soul is quieted within me.
O Israel, trust in the Lord, from this time forth for evermore.

Isaiah 60.13-end
The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
   the cypress, the plane, and the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary;
   and I will glorify where my feet rest.
The descendants of those who oppressed you
   shall come bending low to you,
and all who despised you
   shall bow down at your feet;
they shall call you the City of the Lord,
   the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
   with no one passing through,
I will make you majestic for ever,
   a joy from age to age.
You shall suck the milk of nations,
   you shall suck the breasts of kings;
and you shall know that I, the Lord, am your Saviour
   and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
   instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
   instead of stones, iron.
I will appoint Peace as your overseer
   and Righteousness as your taskmaster.
Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
   devastation or destruction within your borders;
you shall call your walls Salvation,
   and your gates Praise.
The sun shall no longer be
   your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
   give light to you by night;
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,
   and your God will be your glory.
Your sun shall no more go down,
   or your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
   and your days of mourning shall be ended.
Your people shall all be righteous;
   they shall possess the land for ever.
They are the shoot that I planted, the work of my hands,
   so that I might be glorified.
The least of them shall become a clan,
   and the smallest one a mighty nation;
I am the Lord;
   in its time I will accomplish it quickly.

John 1.43-end
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

The Collect
Almighty God,
who wonderfully created us in your own image and yet more wonderfully restored us
through your Son Jesus Christ:
grant that, as he came to share in our humanity,
so we may share the life of his divinity;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Daily Office - Jan 2

Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus, Bishops, Teachers of the Faith, 379 and 389
Seraphim, Monk of Sarov, Spiritual Guide, 1833
Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah, Bishop in South India, Evangelist, 1945

Psalm 18.1-30
I love you, O Lord my strength. The Lord is my crag, my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation and my stronghold.
I cried to the Lord in my anguish and I was saved from my enemies.
The cords of death entwined me and the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the Pit fastened about me and the snares of death entangled me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried out to my God for help.
He heard my voice in his temple and my cry came to his ears.
The earth trembled and quaked; the foundations of the mountains shook;
they reeled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils and a consuming fire went out of his mouth;
burning coals blazed forth from him.
He parted the heavens and came down and thick darkness was under his feet.
He rode upon the cherubim and flew; he came flying on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering round about him, dark waters and thick clouds his pavilion.
From the brightness of his presence, through the clouds burst hailstones and coals of fire.
The Lord also thundered out of heaven; the Most High uttered his voice with hailstones and coals of fire.
He sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he hurled down lightnings and put them to flight.
The springs of the ocean were seen,
and the foundations of the world uncovered at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your displeasure.
He reached down from on high and took me;
he drew me out of the mighty waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy, from foes that were too mighty for me.
They came upon me in the day of my trouble;
but the Lord was my upholder.
He brought me out into a place of liberty;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
The Lord rewarded me after my righteous dealing;
according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me,
Because I had kept the ways of the Lord and had not gone wickedly away from my God,
For I had an eye to all his laws,
and did not cast out his commandments from me.
I was also wholehearted before him and kept myself from iniquity;
Therefore the Lord rewarded me after my righteous dealing,
and according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
With the faithful you show yourself faithful;
with the true you show yourself true;
With the pure you show yourself pure,
but with the crooked you show yourself perverse.
For you will save a lowly people and bring down the high looks of the proud.
You also shall light my candle;
the Lord my God shall make my darkness to be bright.
By your help I shall run at an enemy host;
with the help of my God I can leap over a wall. R

Isaiah 60.1-12
Arise, shine; for your light has come,
   and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
   and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
   and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
   and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Lift up your eyes and look around;
   they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
   and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
   your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
   the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
   the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
   all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
   and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you,
   the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
they shall be acceptable on my altar,
   and I will glorify my glorious house.

Who are these that fly like a cloud,
   and like doves to their windows?
For the coastlands shall wait for me,
   the ships of Tarshish first,
to bring your children from far away,
   their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the Lord your God,
   and for the Holy One of Israel,
   because he has glorified you.
Foreigners shall build up your walls,
   and their kings shall minister to you;
for in my wrath I struck you down,
   but in my favour I have had mercy on you.
Your gates shall always be open;
   day and night they shall not be shut,
so that nations shall bring you their wealth,
   with their kings led in procession.
For the nation and kingdom
   that will not serve you shall perish;
   those nations shall be utterly laid waste.

John 1.35-42
The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).

The Collect
Lord God,whose servants Basil and Gregory
proclaimed the mystery of your Word made flesh,
to build up your Church in wisdom and strength:
grant that we may rejoice in his presence among us,
and so be brought with them to know the power of your unending love;
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 - Dec 31

John Wyclif, Reformer, 1384

Psalm 102
O Lord, hear my prayer and let my crying come before you.
Hide not your face from me in the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me; when I call, make haste to answer me,
For my days are consumed in smoke and my bones burn away as in a furnace.
My heart is smitten down and withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread.
From the sound of my groaning my bones cleave fast to my skin.
I am become like a vulture in the wilderness, like an owl that haunts the ruins.
I keep watch and am become like a sparrow solitary upon the housetop.
My enemies revile me all the day long, and those who rage at me have sworn together against me.
I have eaten ashes for bread and mingled my drink with weeping,
Because of your indignation and wrath, for you have taken me up and cast me down.
My days fade away like a shadow, and I am withered like grass.

But you, O Lord, shall endure for ever and your name through all generations
You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is time to have mercy upon her;
surely the time has come.
For your servants love her very stones and feel compassion for her dust.
Then shall the nations fear your name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the Lord has built up Zion and shown himself in glory;
When he has turned to the prayer of the destitute and has not despised their plea.

This shall be written for those that come after, and a people yet unborn shall praise the Lord.
For he has looked down from his holy height; from the heavens he beheld the earth,
That he might hear the sighings of the prisoner and set free those condemned to die;
That the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Zion  and his praises in Jerusalem,
When peoples are gathered together and kingdoms also, to serve the Lord.
He has brought down my strength in my journey  and has shortened my days.
I pray,
‘O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days;  your years endure throughout all generations.
‘In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,  and the heavens are the work of your hands;
‘They shall perish, but you will endure;  they all shall wear out like a garment.
‘You change them like clothing, and they shall be changed;  but you are the same, and your years will not fail.
‘The children of your servants shall continue,  and their descendants shall be established in your sight.’

Isaiah 59.15b-end
Truth is lacking,
   and whoever turns from evil is despoiled.

The Lord saw it, and it displeased him
   that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no one,
   and was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm brought him victory,
   and his righteousness upheld him.
He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
   and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
   and wrapped himself in fury as in a mantle.
According to their deeds, so will he repay;
   wrath to his adversaries, requital to his enemies;
   to the coastlands he will render requital.
So those in the west shall fear the name of the Lord,
   and those in the east, his glory;
for he will come like a pent-up stream
   that the wind of the Lord drives on.

And he will come to Zion as Redeemer,
   to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, says the Lord.
And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouths of your children, or out of the mouths of your children’s children, says the Lord, from now on and for ever.

John 1.29-34
The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’

The Collect
Almighty God,
who wonderfully created us in your own image
and yet more wonderfully restored us
through your Son Jesus Christ:
grant that, as he came to share in our humanity,
so we may share the life of his divinity;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Daily Office - Dec 29

Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1170

Psalm 19
The heavens are telling the glory of God
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

One day pours out its song to another
and one night unfolds knowledge to another.

They have neither speech nor language
and their voices are not heard,

Yet their sound has gone out into all lands
and their words to the ends of the world.

In them has he set a tabernacle for the sun,
that comes forth as a bridegroom out of his chamber
and rejoices as a champion to run his course.
It goes forth from the end of the heavens
and runs to the very end again,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure
and gives wisdom to the simple.

The statutes of the Lord are right and rejoice the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure
and gives light to the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean and endures for ever;
the judgements of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,
more than much fine gold,
sweeter also than honey,
dripping from the honeycomb.

By them also is your servant taught
and in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can tell how often they offend?
O cleanse me from my secret faults!

Keep your servant also from presumptuous sins
lest they get dominion over me;
so shall I be undefiled,
and innocent of great offence.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Psalm 20
May the Lord hear you in the day of trouble,
the name of the God of Jacob defend you;

Send you help from his sanctuary
and strengthen you out of Zion;

Remember all your offerings
and accept your burnt sacrifice;

Grant you your heart’s desire
and fulfil all your mind.

May we rejoice in your salvation
and triumph in the name of our God;
may the Lord perform all your petitions.
Now I know that the Lord will save his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven,
with the mighty strength of his right hand.

Some put their trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we will call only on the name of the Lord our God.

They are brought down and fallen,
but we are risen and stand upright.
O Lord, save the king
and answer us when we call upon you.

Isaiah 57.15-end
For thus says the high and lofty one
   who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
I dwell in the high and holy place,
   and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble,
   and to revive the heart of the contrite.
For I will not continually accuse,
   nor will I always be angry;
for then the spirits would grow faint before me,
   even the souls that I have made.
Because of their wicked covetousness I was angry;
   I struck them, I hid and was angry;
   but they kept turning back to their own ways.
I have seen their ways, but I will heal them;
   I will lead them and repay them with comfort,
   creating for their mourners the fruit of the lips.
Peace, peace, to the far and the near, says the Lord;
   and I will heal them.
But the wicked are like the tossing sea
   that cannot keep still;
   its waters toss up mire and mud.
There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.

John 1.1-18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

The Collect
Lord God,
who gave grace to your servant Thomas Becket to put aside all earthly fear and be faithful even to death:
grant that we, disregarding worldly esteem,
may fight all wrong,
uphold your rule,
and serve you to our life’s end;
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.