Friday, 8 November 2024
The Saints and Martyrs of England [Lesser Festival]
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O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and for ever.
Amen.
+++
Morning
Sirach 29, 28, 2 readers
On Lending and Borrowing
29
The merciful lend to their neighbors;
by holding out a helping hand they keep the commandments.
2
Lend to your neighbor in his time of need;
repay your neighbor when a loan falls due.
3
Keep your word and be honest with him,
and on every occasion you will find what you need.
4
Many regard a loan as a windfall
and cause trouble to those who help them.
5
One kisses another’s hands until he gets a loan
and is deferential in speaking of his neighbor’s money,
but at the time for repayment he delays
and pays back with empty promises
and finds fault with the time.
6
If he can pay, his creditor[a] will hardly get back half
and will regard that as a windfall.
If he cannot pay, the borrower[b] has robbed the other of his money,
and he has needlessly made him an enemy;
he will repay him with curses and reproaches
and instead of glory will repay him with dishonor.
7
Many refuse to lend, not because of meanness,
but from fear[c] of being defrauded needlessly.
8
Nevertheless, be patient with someone in humble circumstances,
and do not keep him waiting for your alms.
9
Help the poor for the commandment’s sake,
and in their need do not send them away empty-handed.
10
Lose your silver for the sake of a brother or a friend,
and do not let it rust under a stone and be lost.
11
Lay up your treasure according to the commandments of the Most High,
and it will profit you more than gold.
12
Store up almsgiving in your treasury,
and it will rescue you from every disaster;
13
better than a stout shield and a sturdy spear,
it will fight for you against the enemy.
Second reader
On Guaranteeing Debts
14
A good person will be surety for his neighbor,
but the one who has lost all sense of shame will fail him.
15
Do not forget the kindness of your guarantor,
for he has given his life for you.
16
A sinner wastes the property of his guarantor,
17
and the ungrateful person abandons his rescuer.
18
Being surety has ruined many who were prosperous
and has tossed them about like waves of the sea;
it has driven the influential into exile,
and they have wandered among foreign nations.
19
The sinner comes to grief through surety;
his pursuit of gain involves him in lawsuits.
20
Assist your neighbor to the best of your ability,
but be careful not to fall yourself.
Home and Hospitality
21
The necessities of life are water, bread, and clothing,
and also a house to assure privacy.
22
Better is the life of the poor under their own crude roof
than sumptuous food in the house of strangers.
23
Be content with little or much,
and you will hear no reproach for being a guest.[d]
24
It is a miserable life to go from house to house;
as a guest you should not open your mouth;
25
you will play the host and provide drink without being thanked,
and besides this you will hear rude words like these:
26
“Come here, stranger, prepare the table;
let me eat what you have there.”
27
“Be off, stranger, for an honored guest is here;
my brother has come for a visit, and I need the house.”
28
It is hard for a sensible person to bear
scolding about lodging[e] and the insults of the moneylender.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen.
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Luke 24, 57, 2 readers
The Resurrection of Jesus
24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body.[a] 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5 The women[b] were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men[c] said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen.[d] 6 Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.” 8 Then they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.[e]
The Walk to Emmaus
13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[f] from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad.[g] 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19 He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth,[h] who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.[i] Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find his body there they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.” 25 Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah[j] should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
Second reader
28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us[k] while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
36 While they were talking about this, Jesus[l] himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”[m] 37 They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see, for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.[n] 41 Yet for all their joy they were still disbelieving and wondering, and he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,[o] 43 and he took it and ate in their presence.
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah[p] is[q] to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses[r] of these things. 49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension of Jesus
50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.[s] 52 And they worshiped him and[t] returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and they were continually in the temple[u] blessing God.[v]
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen.
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Psalm 38, 22
A Penitent Sufferer’s Plea for Healing
A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.
1
O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2
For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3
There is no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
4
For my iniquities have gone over my head;
they weigh like a burden too heavy for me.
5
My wounds grow foul and fester
because of my foolishness;
6
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all day long I go around mourning.
7
For my loins are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8
I am utterly spent and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
9
O Lord, all my longing is known to you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
10
My heart throbs; my strength fails me;
as for the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11
My friends and companions stand aloof from my affliction,
and my neighbors stand far off.
12
Those who seek my life lay their snares;
those who seek to hurt me speak of ruin
and meditate on treachery all day long.
13
But I am like the deaf; I do not hear;
like the mute, who cannot speak.
14
Truly, I am like one who does not hear
and in whose mouth is no retort.
15
But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16
For I pray, “Only do not let them rejoice over me,
those who boast against me when my foot slips.”
17
For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.
18
I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.
19
Those who are my foes without cause[a] are mighty,
and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20
Those who render me evil for good
are my adversaries because I follow after good.
21
Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, do not be far from me;
22
make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation.
Psalm 39, 13
Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness
To the leader: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1
I said, “I will guard my ways
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2
I was silent and still;
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse;
3
my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4
“Lord, let me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
5
You have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
6
Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up and do not know who will gather.
7
“And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.
8
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
9
I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
10
Remove your stroke from me;
I am worn down by the blows[a] of your hand.
11
“You chastise mortals
in punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah
12
“Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry;
do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
an alien, like all my forebears.
13
Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more.”
Psalm 40, 17
Thanksgiving for Deliverance and Prayer for Help
To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.
1
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2
He drew me up from the desolate pit,[a]
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.
4
Happy are those who make
the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false gods.
5
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be counted.
6
Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
but you have given me an open ear.[b]
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
7
Then I said, “Here I am;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me.[c]
8
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”
9
I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
10
I have not hidden your saving help within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.
11
Do not, O Lord, withhold
your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
keep me safe forever.
12
For evils have encompassed me
without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me
until I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.
13
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
14
Let all those be put to shame and confusion
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who desire my hurt.
15
Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
16
But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17
As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen.
+++
Let us pray.
God the Father,
have mercy upon us.
God the Son,
have mercy upon us.
God the Holy Spirit,
have mercy upon us.
Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity,
have mercy upon us.
Leader prays a short prayer
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The Collect of the day is said
God, whom the glorious company of the redeemed adore,
assembled from all times and places of your dominion:
we praise you for the saints of our own land
and for the many lamps their holiness has lit;
and we pray that we also may be numbered at last
with those who have done your will
and declared your righteousness;
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.
+++
The Lord’s Prayer is said
Rejoicing in the presence of God here among us, as our Saviour taught us, so we pray
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
+++
The Conclusion
May Christ, who has opened the kingdom of heaven,
bring us to reign with him in glory.
Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
+++
Evening
Sirach 30, 25
Concerning Children[a]
30
He who loves his son will whip him often,
so that he may rejoice at the way he turns out.
2
He who disciplines his son will profit by him
and will boast of him among acquaintances.
3
He who teaches his son will make his enemies envious
and will glory in him among his friends.
4
When the father dies, he will not seem to be dead,
for he has left behind him one like himself,
5
whom in his life he looked upon with joy
and at death, without grief.
6
He has left behind him an avenger against his enemies
and one to repay the kindness of his friends.
7
Whoever cherishes his son will bind up his wounds,
and at every cry his heart will be troubled.
8
An unbroken horse turns out stubborn,
and an unchecked son turns out headstrong.
9
Pamper a child, and he will terrorize you;
play with him, and he will grieve you.
10
Do not laugh with him, or you will have sorrow with him,
and in the end you will gnash your teeth.
11
Give him no freedom in his youth;[b]
12
beat his sides while he is young,
or else he will become stubborn and disobey you.[c]
13
Discipline your son and make his yoke heavy,[d]
so that you may not be offended by his shamelessness.
14
Better off poor, healthy, and fit
than rich and afflicted in body.
15
Health and fitness are better than any gold
and a robust body[e] than countless riches.
16
There is no wealth better than health of body
and no gladness above joy of heart.
17
Death is better than a life of misery
and eternal sleep[f] than chronic sickness.
Concerning Foods[g]
18
Good things poured out upon a mouth that is closed
are like offerings of food placed upon a grave.
19
Of what use to an idol is a sacrifice?
For it can neither eat nor smell.
So is the one punished by the Lord;
20
he sees with his eyes and groans
as a eunuch groans when embracing a young woman.[h]
21
Do not give yourself over to sorrow,
and do not distress yourself deliberately.
22
A joyful heart is life itself,
and rejoicing lengthens one’s life span.
23
Indulge yourself[i] and take comfort,
and remove sorrow far from you,
for sorrow has destroyed many,
and no advantage ever comes from it.
24
Jealousy and anger shorten life,
and anxiety brings on premature old age.
25
Those who are cheerful and merry at table
will benefit from their food.
+++
1 Thessalonians 4, 18
A Life Pleasing to God
4 Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control your own body[a] in holiness and honor, 5 not with lustful passion, like the gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9 Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, 12 so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and be dependent on no one.
The Coming of the Lord
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died,[b] so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.[c] 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died.[d] 16 For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
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Psalm 41, 13
Assurance of God’s Help and a Plea for Healing
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1
Happy are those who consider the poor;[a]
the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.
2
The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;
they are called happy in the land.
You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.
3
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;
in their illness you heal all their infirmities.[b]
4
As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
5
My enemies wonder in malice
when I will die and my name perish.
6
And when they come to see me, they utter empty words
while their hearts gather mischief;
when they go out, they tell it abroad.
7
All who hate me whisper together about me;
they imagine the worst for me.
8
They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,
that I will not rise again from where I lie.
9
Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.
10
But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them.
11
By this I know that you are pleased with me:
because my enemy has not triumphed over me.
12
But you have upheld me because of my integrity
and set me in your presence forever.
13
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
Psalm 42, 11
Longing for God and His Help in Distress
To the leader. A Maskil of the Korahites.
1
As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
2
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
3
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me continually,
“Where is your God?”
4
These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng[a]
and led them in procession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
a multitude keeping festival.
5
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise him,
my help
6
and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
7
Deep calls to deep
at the thunder of your torrents;
all your waves and your billows
have gone over me.
8
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9
I say to God, my rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?”
10
As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
“Where is your God?”
11
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
Psalm 43, 5
Prayer to God in Time of Trouble
1
Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly people;
from those who are deceitful and unjust,
deliver me!
2
For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you cast me off?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because of the oppression of the enemy?
3
O send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling.
4
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.
5
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
The Saints and Martyrs of England [Lesser Festival]
+++
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and for ever.
Amen.
+++
Morning
Sirach 29, 28, 2 readers
On Lending and Borrowing
29
The merciful lend to their neighbors;
by holding out a helping hand they keep the commandments.
2
Lend to your neighbor in his time of need;
repay your neighbor when a loan falls due.
3
Keep your word and be honest with him,
and on every occasion you will find what you need.
4
Many regard a loan as a windfall
and cause trouble to those who help them.
5
One kisses another’s hands until he gets a loan
and is deferential in speaking of his neighbor’s money,
but at the time for repayment he delays
and pays back with empty promises
and finds fault with the time.
6
If he can pay, his creditor[a] will hardly get back half
and will regard that as a windfall.
If he cannot pay, the borrower[b] has robbed the other of his money,
and he has needlessly made him an enemy;
he will repay him with curses and reproaches
and instead of glory will repay him with dishonor.
7
Many refuse to lend, not because of meanness,
but from fear[c] of being defrauded needlessly.
8
Nevertheless, be patient with someone in humble circumstances,
and do not keep him waiting for your alms.
9
Help the poor for the commandment’s sake,
and in their need do not send them away empty-handed.
10
Lose your silver for the sake of a brother or a friend,
and do not let it rust under a stone and be lost.
11
Lay up your treasure according to the commandments of the Most High,
and it will profit you more than gold.
12
Store up almsgiving in your treasury,
and it will rescue you from every disaster;
13
better than a stout shield and a sturdy spear,
it will fight for you against the enemy.
Second reader
On Guaranteeing Debts
14
A good person will be surety for his neighbor,
but the one who has lost all sense of shame will fail him.
15
Do not forget the kindness of your guarantor,
for he has given his life for you.
16
A sinner wastes the property of his guarantor,
17
and the ungrateful person abandons his rescuer.
18
Being surety has ruined many who were prosperous
and has tossed them about like waves of the sea;
it has driven the influential into exile,
and they have wandered among foreign nations.
19
The sinner comes to grief through surety;
his pursuit of gain involves him in lawsuits.
20
Assist your neighbor to the best of your ability,
but be careful not to fall yourself.
Home and Hospitality
21
The necessities of life are water, bread, and clothing,
and also a house to assure privacy.
22
Better is the life of the poor under their own crude roof
than sumptuous food in the house of strangers.
23
Be content with little or much,
and you will hear no reproach for being a guest.[d]
24
It is a miserable life to go from house to house;
as a guest you should not open your mouth;
25
you will play the host and provide drink without being thanked,
and besides this you will hear rude words like these:
26
“Come here, stranger, prepare the table;
let me eat what you have there.”
27
“Be off, stranger, for an honored guest is here;
my brother has come for a visit, and I need the house.”
28
It is hard for a sensible person to bear
scolding about lodging[e] and the insults of the moneylender.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen.
+++
Luke 24, 57, 2 readers
The Resurrection of Jesus
24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body.[a] 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5 The women[b] were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men[c] said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen.[d] 6 Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.” 8 Then they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.[e]
The Walk to Emmaus
13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[f] from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad.[g] 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19 He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth,[h] who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.[i] Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find his body there they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.” 25 Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah[j] should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
Second reader
28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us[k] while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
36 While they were talking about this, Jesus[l] himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”[m] 37 They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see, for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.[n] 41 Yet for all their joy they were still disbelieving and wondering, and he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,[o] 43 and he took it and ate in their presence.
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah[p] is[q] to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses[r] of these things. 49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension of Jesus
50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.[s] 52 And they worshiped him and[t] returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and they were continually in the temple[u] blessing God.[v]
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen.
+++
Psalm 38, 22
A Penitent Sufferer’s Plea for Healing
A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.
1
O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2
For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3
There is no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
4
For my iniquities have gone over my head;
they weigh like a burden too heavy for me.
5
My wounds grow foul and fester
because of my foolishness;
6
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all day long I go around mourning.
7
For my loins are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8
I am utterly spent and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
9
O Lord, all my longing is known to you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
10
My heart throbs; my strength fails me;
as for the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11
My friends and companions stand aloof from my affliction,
and my neighbors stand far off.
12
Those who seek my life lay their snares;
those who seek to hurt me speak of ruin
and meditate on treachery all day long.
13
But I am like the deaf; I do not hear;
like the mute, who cannot speak.
14
Truly, I am like one who does not hear
and in whose mouth is no retort.
15
But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16
For I pray, “Only do not let them rejoice over me,
those who boast against me when my foot slips.”
17
For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.
18
I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.
19
Those who are my foes without cause[a] are mighty,
and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20
Those who render me evil for good
are my adversaries because I follow after good.
21
Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, do not be far from me;
22
make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation.
Psalm 39, 13
Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness
To the leader: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1
I said, “I will guard my ways
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2
I was silent and still;
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse;
3
my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4
“Lord, let me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
5
You have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
6
Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up and do not know who will gather.
7
“And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.
8
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
9
I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
10
Remove your stroke from me;
I am worn down by the blows[a] of your hand.
11
“You chastise mortals
in punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah
12
“Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry;
do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
an alien, like all my forebears.
13
Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more.”
Psalm 40, 17
Thanksgiving for Deliverance and Prayer for Help
To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.
1
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2
He drew me up from the desolate pit,[a]
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.
4
Happy are those who make
the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false gods.
5
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be counted.
6
Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
but you have given me an open ear.[b]
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
7
Then I said, “Here I am;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me.[c]
8
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”
9
I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
10
I have not hidden your saving help within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.
11
Do not, O Lord, withhold
your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
keep me safe forever.
12
For evils have encompassed me
without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me
until I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.
13
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
14
Let all those be put to shame and confusion
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who desire my hurt.
15
Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
16
But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17
As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen.
+++
Let us pray.
God the Father,
have mercy upon us.
God the Son,
have mercy upon us.
God the Holy Spirit,
have mercy upon us.
Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity,
have mercy upon us.
Leader prays a short prayer
+++
The Collect of the day is said
God, whom the glorious company of the redeemed adore,
assembled from all times and places of your dominion:
we praise you for the saints of our own land
and for the many lamps their holiness has lit;
and we pray that we also may be numbered at last
with those who have done your will
and declared your righteousness;
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.
+++
The Lord’s Prayer is said
Rejoicing in the presence of God here among us, as our Saviour taught us, so we pray
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
+++
The Conclusion
May Christ, who has opened the kingdom of heaven,
bring us to reign with him in glory.
Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
+++
Evening
Sirach 30, 25
Concerning Children[a]
30
He who loves his son will whip him often,
so that he may rejoice at the way he turns out.
2
He who disciplines his son will profit by him
and will boast of him among acquaintances.
3
He who teaches his son will make his enemies envious
and will glory in him among his friends.
4
When the father dies, he will not seem to be dead,
for he has left behind him one like himself,
5
whom in his life he looked upon with joy
and at death, without grief.
6
He has left behind him an avenger against his enemies
and one to repay the kindness of his friends.
7
Whoever cherishes his son will bind up his wounds,
and at every cry his heart will be troubled.
8
An unbroken horse turns out stubborn,
and an unchecked son turns out headstrong.
9
Pamper a child, and he will terrorize you;
play with him, and he will grieve you.
10
Do not laugh with him, or you will have sorrow with him,
and in the end you will gnash your teeth.
11
Give him no freedom in his youth;[b]
12
beat his sides while he is young,
or else he will become stubborn and disobey you.[c]
13
Discipline your son and make his yoke heavy,[d]
so that you may not be offended by his shamelessness.
14
Better off poor, healthy, and fit
than rich and afflicted in body.
15
Health and fitness are better than any gold
and a robust body[e] than countless riches.
16
There is no wealth better than health of body
and no gladness above joy of heart.
17
Death is better than a life of misery
and eternal sleep[f] than chronic sickness.
Concerning Foods[g]
18
Good things poured out upon a mouth that is closed
are like offerings of food placed upon a grave.
19
Of what use to an idol is a sacrifice?
For it can neither eat nor smell.
So is the one punished by the Lord;
20
he sees with his eyes and groans
as a eunuch groans when embracing a young woman.[h]
21
Do not give yourself over to sorrow,
and do not distress yourself deliberately.
22
A joyful heart is life itself,
and rejoicing lengthens one’s life span.
23
Indulge yourself[i] and take comfort,
and remove sorrow far from you,
for sorrow has destroyed many,
and no advantage ever comes from it.
24
Jealousy and anger shorten life,
and anxiety brings on premature old age.
25
Those who are cheerful and merry at table
will benefit from their food.
+++
1 Thessalonians 4, 18
A Life Pleasing to God
4 Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control your own body[a] in holiness and honor, 5 not with lustful passion, like the gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9 Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, 12 so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and be dependent on no one.
The Coming of the Lord
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died,[b] so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.[c] 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died.[d] 16 For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
+++
Psalm 41, 13
Assurance of God’s Help and a Plea for Healing
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1
Happy are those who consider the poor;[a]
the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.
2
The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;
they are called happy in the land.
You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.
3
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;
in their illness you heal all their infirmities.[b]
4
As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
5
My enemies wonder in malice
when I will die and my name perish.
6
And when they come to see me, they utter empty words
while their hearts gather mischief;
when they go out, they tell it abroad.
7
All who hate me whisper together about me;
they imagine the worst for me.
8
They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,
that I will not rise again from where I lie.
9
Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.
10
But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them.
11
By this I know that you are pleased with me:
because my enemy has not triumphed over me.
12
But you have upheld me because of my integrity
and set me in your presence forever.
13
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
Psalm 42, 11
Longing for God and His Help in Distress
To the leader. A Maskil of the Korahites.
1
As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
2
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
3
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me continually,
“Where is your God?”
4
These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng[a]
and led them in procession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
a multitude keeping festival.
5
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise him,
my help
6
and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
7
Deep calls to deep
at the thunder of your torrents;
all your waves and your billows
have gone over me.
8
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9
I say to God, my rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?”
10
As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
“Where is your God?”
11
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
Psalm 43, 5
Prayer to God in Time of Trouble
1
Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly people;
from those who are deceitful and unjust,
deliver me!
2
For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you cast me off?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because of the oppression of the enemy?
3
O send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling.
4
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.
5
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.