December 27
Morning Prayer
PSALM
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said
to his mother, “ Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
READING
Acts 4:19 – 20
But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, concerning the word of life.
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
who shepherds the people
and sets them free.
God raises from David’s house
a child with power to save. --
--Through the holy prophets
God promised in ages past
to save us from enemy hands,
from the grip of all who hate us.
The Lord favored our ancestors
recalling the sacred covenant,
the pledge to our ancestor Abraham,
to free us from our enemies,
so we might worship without fear
and be holy and just all our days.
And you child, will be called
Prophet of the Most High,
for you will come to prepare
a pathway for the Lord
by teaching the people salvation
through forgiveness of their sin.
Out of God’s deepest mercy
a dawn will come from on high,
light for those shadowed by death,
a guide for our feet on the way to peace.
INTERCESSIONS
Jesus our Savior, we raise our hearts to you this morning, as we pray.
Because you chose to become human we have been able to see and hear and touch you:
~ May we encounter you also in the people who fill our lives.
You inspired Saint John to write of you as a God of love:
~ May we experience your care for us and reflect it in our words, actions and relationships.
John was your beloved disciple:
~ May the young people of our world experience your love.
You placed your mother in John’s protection:
~ May we offer gentle care to those who need our assistance.
John was a leader of your early church:
~ May those who lead the church today be inspired by his example.
PRAYER
God of all ages, Alpha and Omega, your revelation to John promises a new heaven and a new earth. Strengthen us for our role in bringing about this new creation. May our words reveal the nearness of your reign; may our acts of mercy hasten the day when, living in peace, we will know that you truly dwell among us. We ask this in confidence, for you have promised it. Amen.
EVENING PRAYER
PSALM
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “ Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
READING
Romans 8:3 – 4
God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, God condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
CANTICLE OF MARY
We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, concerning the word of life.
I acclaim the greatness of the Lord,
I delight in God my savior,
who regarded my humble state.
Truly from this day on all ages
will call me blest.
For God, wonderful in power,
has used that strength for me.
Holy the name of the Lord!
Whose mercy embraces the faithful,
one generation to the next.
The mighty arm of God
scatters the proud in their conceit,
Pulls tyrants from their thrones,
and raises up the humble.
The Lord fills the starving
and lets the rich go hungry.
God rescues lowly Israel,
recalling the promise of mercy,
the promise made to our ancestors,
to Abraham’s heirs forever.
INTERCESSIONS
We have been inspired, O God, by the revelation recorded by Saint John, and so we pray.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth:
~ O God, help us to experience your incarnation in each person we encounter.
We declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ:
~ O God, may we be clear and courageous in declaring the Good News of salvation.
For this is the message you have heard from the beginning that we should love one another:
~ O God, be with us as we work toward the elimination of racism.
Jesus said to them, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day”:
~ O God, reward with eternal life our sisters and family members who have gone before us into the fullness of your life.
Then Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine but his who sent me”:
~ O God, may your Spirit enlighten theologians, preachers, teachers, parents and all who interpret your revelation.