Can't make it to church - Sunday, 19 August 2018

One of the weaknesses of breaking John chapter six into four Sundays is that its is easy to miss out on the bigger picture as we take a theme for each week and focus on it. There is great value to be found in winding down the magnification and taking a look at the whole terrain rather than isolated peaks and individual places of interest. Many of us will majored on the Eucharist to the point of it becoming on a par with Vogon poetry in its repetition and cunning use of iambic pentameters, so I'm attempting to point at the features which define the whole terrain. After all, it's August, a time when we find ourselves away from church for one or more weeks in search of the sun (or whatever it is that holiday demands), and the impact of the four weeks that John six heralds gets generally lost in the noise:

After feeding five thousand with just five small loaves and a couple of fish, the people find Jesus on the other side of the lake (they know He wasn't in the boats with His disciples and wondered how He got there - but everyone expected Him to walk on water didn't they?).

The crowds haven’t followed Him because of the things He said or the miraculous stuff He'd done in feeding them all. They'd followed Him because  (and here I quote Jesus) “You ate the loaves and had your fill!” One of the big draws when it comes to following God is to do so because of what you think you can get - and these folk, having already had, wanted more of the same [hold that thought for a moment whilst we digress a little].

In discussions with a Rabbi, he has told me how he struggles with Christians and the way they are, "Always telling God what He should do and how He should give them everything they want or take away their struggles and trials." As a Jew he says that he looks at what he has or what he needs and then seeks to find the way that he live out that situation with God and,  reflecting and drawing upon his faith, live it out in the scenario before him. I mention this as a little food for thought and to provide a reflection on the folk following Jesus were they any different to those living today [theist or atheist]?

So back to the story:

What follows is a conversation on doing the work of God and of bread that does not spoil.

The work of God is: To believe the one God sent [Jesus]. This is something that Church appears to have forgotten. Harsh words but we do seem to be less and less bothered about believing Jesus and the things He taught and more concerned with attracting minorities, affirming sexual politics, seeking young ordinands, and affirming things Jesus and the written word of God appears not to as we seek to convince people that we are open-handed, inclusive and relevant to those outside the Church. We win people for Christ by making Him known as demonstrated by our faith and belief in Him and the Godhead that sent Him.

Far too often Church is seen to leaning out of the boat in an attempt to bring it level when what is needed is for it (and that means us) to stand on the word of God and the lifestyle, ministry and words of Jesus, the Christ, and rejoice as the boat rights itself! Too often we look at the world and its standards, values and methods and give them approval by calling the Church to live by them and look like the world. Take a look at the scandals and betrayal of trust that the Church has engaged in over the past fifty years and tell me where the words and example of Jesus are to be found.

We have food for the body - physical food, and spiritual food - which sustains us spiritually.

Food physically keeps us alive - spiritual food gives us life.

The manna kept the people alive on their journey to the promised land. It was sufficient for the day - after which it spoiled. It was truly 'daily bread' and needed to be gathered again the next day.

 Jesus tells them of a bread that does not spoil - one that lasts for eternity, and confers eternity, and feeds the inner spiritual being.  And He is that bread! He says to the people:  “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

Is Jesus telling us ‘to work’ for this enduring bread?

The answer is both ‘yes and no’ - I have heard many sermons on this which 'encourage or accuse' us to get out there and work for our salvation. But b
no, we do not work to gain our salvation - works do not bring salvation (other than that one salvific work of Jesus, the Christ upon the cross as a 'once and for all' act of Grace!) but the ‘work of God’ we are called to be engaged in is TO BELIEVE THE ONE HE SENT.

And this raises an important question for us: How then are we living? if we believe in Jesus then we follow Him as the Christ - we live with, and for, and because of Him. We cannot win salvation by our acts or our giving or our outward appearance. Salvation comes from God, through God and by God. ‘Good works’ do not bring salvation - God does.

Exodus 16 - (the manna) features large in the expectation of the Jews regarding the Messiah. Bread would fall from heaven as confirmation of the Messiah.  The expectation was that bread would fall just as it did in the Exodus when manna - that daily bread - fell and sustained the people. This was the sign the people called for. The Jews wanted to ‘see and believe’ (remember Thomas and 'seeing and believing' in his encounter with the risen Lord?)

An unbelieving people seek signs. It was true in the people around Jesus, true in those Moses gazed upon, it is true today. But a faith based upon signs is a faith that can be conned and causes us to build on sand rather than the rock of assured and steadfast faith. We build by doing the work of God which is TO BELIEVE THE ONE HE SENT

The bread which God sent from heaven in Ex 16 was the manna. But God had, in the presence of those gathered in the countryside with Jesus, indeed sent bread from heaven - but this bread is the living bread that is Jesus. Those who feed in Him will not die as those who ate manna died but will live for ever. Bread sustains physical life but the living bread gives life, life in abundance, for all eternity!

Seven times Jesus speaks of "coming down from heaven". A nod to those who expected the bread to do that as did the manna in the wilderness - made explicit in the words: “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” And yet the people didn’t join the dots using the words they heard Jesus speak.

Seven times Jesus uses the term I AM - what’s that about? The answer is simple for just as God revealed Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:  “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

Jesus uses the I AM - to give I AM the living bread the final seal of authenticity and authority.
Jesus, God made man, is Jehovah - YHWH - the true and living, triune God! What more is there to say?

Of course the people around Him, on the whole, cannot make sense of what is before them It's not what they expected and so even when it is explicitly proclaimed, they miss it all. There we expecting someone taller - or more powerful - or perhaps riding a charger with armour and cohorts of armed men. They expected something that reflected power in the way Alexander did, or perhaps the Caesar (man made lower-case god).

Isn't this why Church is struggling for we have bought in to the consumer society and the politics of power and the (ab)use of might rather than right!

So how do we as Church make real the kingdom of God in the lives of those who surround us?

It all comes down to one simple reality: Do not work for food that sustains the body yet perishes but work for that food that sustains our spiritual bodies - and that work is what? - TO BELIEVE THE ONE GOD SENT

Remember that Manna- the bread which came down from heaven sustained life - but was there for a day then perished as (eventually) did those who ate it.

Preach the reality of Jesus  - the living bread - who came down from heaven and sustains the spiritual body for all for eternity (an eternity which is the reality of those who look to Him and the Cross).

When Jesus uses I AM He is claiming to be God.

So bottom line:
Do not work for food which perishes.
Do not look for signs which can deceive and lead us astray
But look to do the work of God, which is:
TO BELIEVE THE ONE GOD SENT - AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN

This is quick 'splurge' and there's more than a fair chance the edits and the typos will have conspired to make the words a little more challenging than they might be - my apologies. I just needed to dialogue with what was in my head and scribbling helps this happen.

Pax

John 6.25 - 59
When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered.  “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.

I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Morning Prayer - Saturday, 18 August 2018

Psalm 96
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord and bless his name; tell out his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations and his wonders among all peoples.
For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; he is more to be feared than all gods. For all the gods of the nations are but idols; it is the Lord who made the heavens.
Honour and majesty are before him; power and splendour are in his sanctuary.

Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples; ascribe to the Lord honour and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the honour due to his name; bring offerings and come into his courts.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him.
Tell it out among the nations that the Lord is king.
He has made the world so firm that it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.

Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad; let the sea thunder and all that is in it;
Let the fields be joyful and all that is in them; let all the trees of the wood shout for joy before the Lord.
For he comes, he comes to judge the earth; with righteousness he will judge the world and the peoples with his truth.

Psalm 97
The Lord is king: let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of the isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire goes before him and burns up his enemies on every side.
His lightnings lit up the world; the earth saw it and trembled.
The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
The heavens declared his righteousness and all the peoples have seen his glory.
Confounded be all who worship carved image and delight in mere idols. Bow down before him, all you gods.

Zion heard and was glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoiced, because of your judgements, O Lord. For you, Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

The Lord loves those who hate evil; he preserves the lives of his faithful and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Light has sprung up for the righteous and joy for the true of heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name.

Psalm 100
O be joyful in the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song.

Know that the Lord is God; it is he that has made us and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and bless his name.

For the Lord is gracious; his steadfast love is everlasting, and his faithfulness endures from generation to generation.

2 Samuel 9
David asked, ‘Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’ Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, ‘Are you Ziba?’ And he said, ‘At your service!’ The king said, ‘Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?’ Ziba said to the king, ‘There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.’ The king said to him, ‘Where is he?’ Ziba said to the king, ‘He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.’ Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, ‘Mephibosheth!’ He answered, ‘I am your servant.’ David said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.’ He did obeisance and said, ‘What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I am?’

Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba, and said to him, ‘All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. You and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him, and shall bring in the produce, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat; but your master’s grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table.’ Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, ‘According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.’ Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.

Acts 8.4-25
Now those who were scattered went from place to place, proclaiming the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. The crowds with one accord listened eagerly to what was said by Philip, hearing and seeing the signs that he did, for unclean spirits, crying with loud shrieks, came out of many who were possessed; and many others who were paralysed or lame were cured. So there was great joy in that city.

Now a certain man named Simon had previously practised magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he was someone great. All of them, from the least to the greatest, listened to him eagerly, saying, ‘This man is the power of God that is called Great.’ And they listened eagerly to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed Philip, who was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed. After being baptized, he stayed constantly with Philip and was amazed when he saw the signs and great miracles that took place.

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money! You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness.’ Simon answered, ‘Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may happen to me.’

Now after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many villages of the Samaritans.

The Collect
God of glory, the end of our searching, help us to lay aside all that prevents us from seeking your kingdom, and to give all that we have to gain the pearl beyond all price, through our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Visiting other churches - Part the second (Summer 2018)

As is our usual practice during the time away from the normal daily existence that is the Summer holidays we found ourselves being Church in a different place to home - Sad to say this is not always a blessing or a joy.

This year we found ourselves visiting a couple of churches in the Weston Super Mare area - the second church visited was a Service of the Word' in a smaller, pretty central, rural church. This is what we experienced.

EVENING
It was rather nice to find ourselves lazying around and being beckoned by church bells to a service near to the camp site. We'd already checked the times and the fact that the services alternated between mornings on week and evenings the next meant that if we were to to, it would be the evening service.

So up we got and down the road we trotted. It was a lovely little rural church and we were greeted at the door with the relevant paperwork (hymn book, order of service and a copy of the Psalm) and then engaged with a bit more by another of the members of the congregation. The service was that strange evening service fusion which saw traditional and modern collide and being a bit of BCP (Book of Common Prayer) groupie I find I struggle with the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis ending with 'Holy Spirit' rather than 'Holy Ghost' as the latter is my default position.

But that said we had an organist (how I hate Wesley and all the other substitutes for an organ that are increasingly plaguing the church) and twenty-two souls made a creditable fist of the singing. It was gentle and apart from the odd glitches with the sound system (batteries might be included but not always changed) all was well.

The sermon was a gentle affair and resonated with the words of the morning service we'd attended (good to see God being consistent in the message when the reading differed). All in all it was exactly what it promised on the packet and provided a nice rounding off of the day.

A few liturgical moments for me as the Gospel was announced and people stood but in fact it was merely, in that context, a second reading (no acclamation and a 'Thanks be to God' at the end). Not a big issue and thankfully there was no Paschal candle lit to cause me pain (why do so many of the churches I visit persist in lighting the Paschal candle for every service - it's just lazy liturgy!!).

But as with the morning, we were welcomed, blessed and touched by God - so another big thumbs up. Seems that the Weston Super Mare area has some competent and Spirit-led churches. I recommend a visit just because it's nice to see the rural communities doing church - how I'd love for the same percentage of the local population to be found in the urban churches.

I wonder how many other clergy and regular church-goers visit local churches when away - be nice to hear more stories.

Visiting other churches - Part the first (Summer 2018)

As is our usual practice during the time away from the normal daily existence that is the Summer holidays we found ourselves being Church in a different place to home - Sad to say this is not always a blessing or a joy.

This year we found ourselves visiting a couple of churches in the Weston Super Mare area. The first was for a main Sunday morning Communion service in an evangelical setting and the second was a 'Service of the Word' in a smaller, pretty central, rural church.

MORNING
As we walked in we were pointed towards the tea and coffee that was on offer. Passing up on the offer (you can only drink so much tea in the morning and breakfast had only recently finished) we made our way like good Anglicans to a seat near the back of the church. we were engaged with by regulars and the conversations continued even after they realised we were just passing through (been to more than one place where the locals realising you weren't going to sign up moved on to canvass other strangers).

The service is presented to the congregation by monitors mounted on the pillars around the church building (three on each side) and a couple of larger bits of kit on the stage area.  Good viewing angles and the songs, readings and service were easily visible (I didn't ask about large-print sheets, but assume that a church who had got the  first bit right would also cater for hose who would struggle with a paperless church.

A nice touch was the countdown to the service start and as the seconds ticked away the sound level got progressively louder until at 00:00, having reached a crescendo, it stopped and the Vicar welcomed those present and prayed. It was good to see the Vicar playing tag with a younger person - and as they shared that part of the service we were blessed to see a positive and creative way of encouraging all-member and all-age ministry.

We sang a couple of what seemed to be 'child friendly' songs and then the children disappeared off for their thing and we sang some more, had an update from a former member who was working 'up North', had the readings, a sermon and as the time for the Communion approached, we stopped and chatted to the people around us.

Unlike many of the places we've visited, this was a pause with a purpose as during this the parents were encouraged to collect their children and to help them make sense of the Communion that was to follow. Even more unlike many of the services in churches like the one we were in, the congregation were asked to stand during the Eucharistic prayer ('D' for those who like to know those things) and we we invited at the end to visit one of the four stations in the building (non-alcoholic and gluten-free as suited the communicant). What a joy as we did things 'properly' with respect and decorum a forethought for all to often we get a mumbled prayer and nothing that even approaches consecration of the Anglican kind.

There was a news bulletin on the screens before the sermon and this spoke of what was on offer, the ministry and vision of the church and made more sense that the usual 'mostly inaccurate' piece of paper we normally get posing as information. A great use of the video screens around the place and a cool way of keeping people in the loop and belonging.

There was a word from the front before it all came to an end and prayer ministry was offered for those who had been touched by the service, moved by the Spirit of God or brought their problems in at the beginning and wanted them prayed over. There was even a proper blessing!!

The whole experience was positive and the journey through it was gentle and (in the proper sense of the word) ''Intentional'. It felt like there everything was done with a purpose and that there was a direction and a sense of God in everything that happened throughout. The Vicar seemed to gently stroll through the whole thing ready to catch things should they fall but also moving sensitively to God's prompting throughout.

The only (slight but obvious) niggle for me was the fact that the screens didn't always keep up with the things going on (essential when you don't know the songs). As a former PA/Sound and Video person I know the problems of keeping the person on the desk and the poor soul doing AV focussed on the task before them as the slightest distraction has the potential to render the techies naked and vulnerable. But it's Summer and perhaps they were covering the role or had a chatty guy riding the sliders (guilty as charged :-) ).

But I have to say that should you visit Weston Super Mare, St Paul's is most definitely worth a visit on a number of levels. Ticked all the boxes and saw me leave feeling blessed and that I'd been in the presence of God with family.

Thank you Andrew and the team.

Morning Prayer - Friday, 17 August 2018

Psalm 88
O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before you. Let my prayer come into your presence; incline your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of troubles; my life draws near to the land of death.

I am counted as one gone down to the Pit; I am like one that has no strength, Lost among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand.

You have laid me in the lowest pit, in a place of darkness in the abyss. Your anger lies heavy upon me, and you have afflicted me with all your waves. You have put my friends far from me and made me to be abhorred by them. I am so fast in prison that I cannot get free; my eyes fail from all my trouble.

Lord, I have called daily upon you; I have stretched out my hands to you.
Do you work wonders for the dead?
Will the shades stand up and praise you?
Shall your loving-kindness be declared in the grave, your faithfulness in the land of destruction?
Shall your wonders be known in the dark or your righteous deeds in the land where all is forgotten?
But as for me, O Lord, I will cry to you; early in the morning my prayer shall come before you.

Lord, why have you rejected my soul?
Why have you hidden your face from me?
I have been wretched and at the point of death from my youth; I suffer your terrors and am no more seen. Your wrath sweeps over me; your horrors are come to destroy me; All day long they come about me like water; they close me in on every side. Lover and friend have you put far from me and hid my companions out of my sight.

Psalm 95
O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us heartily rejoice in the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving and be glad in him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands have moulded the dry land.

Come, let us worship and bow down and kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is our God; we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice:
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, on that day at Massah in the wilderness,
‘When your forebears tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my works.
‘Forty years long I detested that generation and said,
  “This people are wayward in their hearts; they do not know my ways.”
‘So I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter into my rest.” ’

2 Samuel 7.18-end
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, ‘Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people, and to make a name for himself, doing great and awesome things for them, by driving out before his people nations and their gods? And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people for ever; and you, O Lord, became their God. And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it for ever; do as you have promised. Thus your name will be magnified for ever in the saying, “The Lord of hosts is God over Israel”; and the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, “I will build you a house”; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant; now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue for ever before you; for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed for ever.’

Acts 7.54-8.3
When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died.

And Saul approved of their killing him.
That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison.

The Collect
O God, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; 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 - Thursday, 16 August 2018

Morning Prayer - Thursday, 16 August 2018

Psalm 90
Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to another. Before the mountains were brought forth, or the earth and the world were formed, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You turn us back to dust and say: ‘Turn back, O children of earth.’ For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday, which passes like a watch in the night. You sweep them away like a dream; they fade away suddenly like the grass.

In the morning it is green and flourishes; in the evening it is dried up and withered. For we consume away in your displeasure; we are afraid at your wrathful indignation. You have set our misdeeds before you and our secret sins in the light of your countenance. When you are angry, all our days are gone; our years come to an end like a sigh. The days of our life are three score years and ten, or if our strength endures, even four score; yet the sum of them is but labour and sorrow, for they soon pass away and we are gone.

Who regards the power of your wrath and your indignation like those who fear you? So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.

Turn again, O Lord; how long will you delay? Have compassion on your servants. Satisfy us with your loving-kindness in the morning; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Give us gladness for the days you have afflicted us, and for the years in which we have seen adversity. Show your servants your works, and let your glory be over their children.

May the gracious favour of the Lord our God be upon us; prosper our handiwork; O prosper the work of our hands.

Psalm 92
It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to tell of your love early in the morning and of your faithfulness in the night-time, upon the ten-stringed instrument, upon the harp, and to the melody of the lyre. For you, Lord, have made me glad by your acts, and I sing aloud at the works of your hands.

O Lord, how glorious are your works! Your thoughts are very deep. The senseless do not know, nor do fools understand, that though the wicked sprout like grass and all the workers of iniquity flourish, it is only to be destroyed for ever; but you, O Lord, shall be exalted for evermore.

For lo, your enemies, O Lord, lo, your enemies shall perish, and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. But my horn you have exalted like the horns of wild oxen; I am anointed with fresh oil. My eyes will look down on my foes; my ears shall hear the ruin of the evildoers who rise up against me.

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, and shall spread abroad like a cedar of Lebanon. Such as are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be vigorous and in full leaf; that they may show that the Lord is true; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

2 Samuel 7.1-17
Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, ‘See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.’ Nathan said to the king, ‘Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.’

But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your

Acts 7.44-53
‘Our ancestors had the tent of testimony in the wilderness, as God directed when he spoke to Moses, ordering him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. Our ancestors in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors. And it was there until the time of David, who found favour with God and asked that he might find a dwelling-place for the house of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says,

“Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.
 What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?
 Did not my hand make all these things?”

‘You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are for ever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do.

Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?
They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.’

The Collect
God of glory, the end of our searching, help us to lay aside all that prevents us from seeking your kingdom, and to give all that we have to gain the pearl beyond all price, through our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Morning Prayer - Wednesday, 15 August 2018

The Blessed Virgin Mary

Psalm 98
Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things. His own right hand and his holy arm have won for him the victory.

The Lord has made known his salvation; his deliverance has he openly shown in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his mercy and faithfulness towards the house of Israel, and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Sound praises to the Lord, all the earth; break into singing and make music. Make music to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the voice of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn sound praises before the Lord, the King.

Let the sea thunder and all that fills it, the world and all that dwell upon it. Let the rivers clap their hands and let the hills ring out together before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.

In righteousness shall he judge the world and the peoples with equity.

Psalm 138
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods will I sing praise to you.

I will bow down towards your holy temple and praise your name, because of your love and faithfulness; for you have glorified your name and your word above all things.

In the day that I called to you, you answered me; you put new strength in my soul.

All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord, for they have heard the words of your mouth. They shall sing of the ways of the Lord, that great is the glory of the Lord.

Though the Lord be high, he watches over the lowly; as for the proud, he regards them from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you will preserve me; you will stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies; your right hand will save me.

The Lord shall make good his purpose for me; your loving-kindness, O Lord, endures for ever; forsake not the work of your hands.

Psalm 147.1-12
Alleluia.
How good it is to make music for our God, how joyful to honour him with praise.

The Lord builds up Jerusalem and gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up all their wounds. He counts the number of the stars and calls them all by their names.

Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his wisdom is beyond all telling. The Lord lifts up the poor, but casts down the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make music to our God upon the lyre; who covers the heavens with clouds and prepares rain for the earth; who makes grass to grow upon the mountains and green plants to serve our needs.

He gives the beasts their food and the young ravens when they cry. He takes no pleasure in the power of a horse, no delight in human strength; but the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their trust in his steadfast love.

Isaiah 7.10-15
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.

Luke 11.27,28
While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!’ But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!’

The Collect
Almighty God, who looked upon the lowliness of the Blessed Virgin Mary and chose her to be the mother of your only Son: grant that we who are redeemed by his blood may share with her in the glory of your eternal kingdom; 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 - Tuesday, 14 August 2018

Maximilian Kolbe, Friar, Martyr, 1941

Psalm 87
His foundation is on the holy mountains.
The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken of you, Zion, city of our God.

I record Egypt and Babylon as those who know me; behold Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia: in Zion were they born. And of Zion it shall be said, ‘Each one was born in her, and the Most High himself has established her.’

The Lord will record as he writes up the peoples, ‘This one also was born there.’
And as they dance they shall sing, ‘All my fresh springs are in you.’

Psalm 89.1-18
My song shall be always of the loving-kindness of the Lord: with my mouth will I proclaim your faithfulness throughout all generations. I will declare that your love is established for ever; you have set your faithfulness as firm as the heavens. For you said: ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn an oath to David my servant: “Your seed will I establish for ever and build up your throne for all generations.” ’

The heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, and your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones; for who among the clouds can be compared to the Lord?

Who is like the Lord among the host of heaven?
A God feared in the council of the holy ones, great and terrible above all those round about him.

Who is like you, Lord God of hosts?
Mighty Lord, your faithfulness is all around you.

You rule the raging of the sea; you still its waves when they arise.
You crushed Rahab with a deadly wound and scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
Yours are the heavens; the earth also is yours; you established the world and all that fills it.
You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name.
You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand and high is your right hand.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before your face.
Happy are the people who know the shout of triumph: they walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance.
In your name they rejoice all the day long and are exalted in your righteousness.
For you are the glory of their strength, and in your favour you lift up our heads.
Truly the Lord is our shield; the Holy One of Israel is our king.

2 Samuel 5.1-12
Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, ‘Look, we are your bone and flesh. For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The Lord said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel.’ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for forty years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.

The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, ‘You will not come in here, even the blind and the lame will turn you back’—thinking, ‘David cannot come in here.’ Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of David. David had said on that day, ‘Whoever wishes to strike down the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, those whom David hates.’ Therefore it is said, ‘The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.’ David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inwards. And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.

King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar trees, and carpenters and masons who built David a house. David then perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

Acts 7.1-16
Then the high priest asked him, ‘Are these things so?’ And Stephen replied:

‘Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, “Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.” Then he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God had him move from there to this country in which you are now living. He did not give him any of it as a heritage, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as his possession and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child. And God spoke in these terms, that his descendants would be resident aliens in a country belonging to others, who would enslave them and maltreat them for four hundred years. “But I will judge the nation that they serve,” said God, “and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.” Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

‘The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him, and rescued him from all his afflictions, and enabled him to win favour and to show wisdom when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. Now there came a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan, and great suffering, and our ancestors could find no food. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there on their first visit. On the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five in all; so Jacob went down to Egypt. He himself died there as well as our ancestors, and their bodies were brought back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

The Collect
O God, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; 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.