MORNING PRAYER
GREETING
O God, feed us with the bread of your word.
Let us eat and be filled at your table.
May we taste your sweetness, O God.
Fill us with the bread that gives life.
DOXOLOGY
PSALM 63:1–9
I feast at a rich table, my lips sing of your glory.
God, my God, you I crave;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body aches for you
like a dry and weary land.
Let me gaze on you in your temple:
a vision of strength and glory.
Your love is better than life,
my speech is full of praise.
I give you a lifetime of worship,
my hands raised in your name.
I feast at a rich table,
my lips sing of your glory.
On my bed I lie awake,
your memory fills the night.
You have been my help,
I rejoice beneath your wings.
Yes, I cling to you,
your right hand holds me fast.
Jeremiah 31:10–14
They shall be radiant over the goodness of God, over the grain, the wine.
Nations! Hear God’s word,
tell your distant shores,
“God gathers the scattered flock,
guides Israel like a shepherd.”
The Lord has saved Jacob’s people,
loosened the enemy’s grip.
They reach Zion shouting for joy,
thrilled with the goodness of God:
they see grain and oil and wine,
new lambs and young calves;
they thrive like a watered garden
never to wither again.
Young girls break into dance,
the young and old join in,
for I turn their grief to laughter,
ease their sorrow with joy.
I serve my priests rich food,
I fill my people with plenty.
READING
Isaiah 55:1 – 2
Everyone who is thirsty
come to the waters
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money
for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which
does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me,
and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
Eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
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
O loving One, you have promised to be our God. We ask that you come to us in our need, as you came to our mothers and fathers in faith.
Abraham and Sarah welcomed the stranger at their table and were blessed:
~ Give us hearts that welcome to our table the refugee and the immigrant, the stranger and the outcast.
You fed the people of Israel manna in the desert to sustain them on their way to the promised land:
~ Help all those who are lost in the desert of doubt and disillusionment to find the bread of your word.
You fed Elijah with scones and water when he was persecuted and wished to die:
~ Sustain all those who suffer persecution and torture for your sake and the sake of your people Jesus fed the five thousand who gathered to hear his word:
~ May the sharing of our resources with our sisters and brothers provide for the material needs of the poor.
The night before he died Jesus left us the gift of his Body and his Blood:
~ May we truly recognize him in the breaking of the bread.
We know that as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes:
~ May we live in readiness for your coming and rejoice with you in the eternal banquet you have prepared for us.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Prayer
God of life, you gave us Jesus to be our food and drink. May we who share in the one bread and drink of the one cup strive for unity of mind and heart in sharing whatever we have. May divisions cease, and may enemies seek reconciliation. May the stranger and outcast be welcomed at our feast. This we ask in the name of Jesus, our living bread. Amen.
BLESSING
May we be filled with longing for you, O Christ. Amen.
May we be filled with thankfulness. Amen.
May we be filled with the joy of those who share in your banquet. Amen.