Morning Prayer 2.5.17, Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

I will not continually accuse,
nor will I always be angry;
for then the spirits would grow faint before me,
even the souls that I have made.

The lovely interior of Christ Church, Rochester, New York – where we wonder what it’s like to preach under that clamshell sounding board. (parish photo)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2

INVITATORY AND PSALTER

Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

Psalm 100
Jubilate

Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands;
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.

Know this: The Lord himself is God;
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.

For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting;
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

Psalm 93

1  You, O LORD, are Sovereign;
you have put on splendid apparel; *
you, O LORD have put on your apparel
and girded yourself with strength.
2  You have made the whole world so sure *
that it cannot be moved;
3  Ever since the world began, your throne has been established; *
you are from everlasting.
4  The waters have lifted up, O LORD,
the waters have lifted up their voice; *
the waters have lifted up their pounding waves.
5  Mightier than the sound of many waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea, *
mightier is the LORD who dwells on high.
6  Your testimonies are very sure, *
and holiness adorns your house, O LORD,
for ever and for evermore.

Psalm 96

1  Sing to the LORD a new song; *
sing to the LORD, all the whole earth.
2  Sing to the LORD and bless the LORD’s Name; *
proclaim the good news of salvation from day to day.
3  Declare the glory of the LORD among the nations *
and the wonders of the LORD among all peoples.
4  For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; *
more to be feared than all gods.
5  As for all the gods of the nations, they are but idols; *
but it is the LORD who made the heavens.
6  Oh, the majesty and magnificence of the presence of the LORD! *
Oh, the power and the splendor of the sanctuary of our God!
7  Ascribe to the LORD, you families of the peoples; *
ascribe to the LORD honor and power.
8  Ascribe to the LORD the honor due the divine Name; *
come to the holy courts with your offerings.
9  Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness; *
let the whole earth tremble in awe.
10  Tell it out among the nations: “The LORD is Sovereign! *
the LORD has made the world so firm that it cannot be moved
and will judge the peoples with equity.”
11  Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
let the sea thunder and all that is in it; *
let the field be joyful and all that is therein.
12  Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy
before the LORD who is coming, *
who is coming to judge the earth.
13  The LORD will judge the world with righteousness *
and the peoples with truth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

THE LESSONS
Isaiah 57:14-21 (NRSV)

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

Canticle: Song of Zechariah
Luke 1:68-79

Blessed are you, Lord, the God of Israel; *
you have come to your people and set them free.
You have raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of your servant David.
Through your holy prophets you promised of old
to save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.
To show mercy to our forebears, *
and to remember your holy covenant.
This was the oath you swore to our father Abraham, *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship you without fear, *
holy and righteous before you
all the days of our life.
And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way,
To give God’s people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

A great cloud of witnesses. (Elizabeth Wang)

Hebrews 12:1-6 (NRSV)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children—“My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts.”

Canticle: We Praise You, O God
Te Deum laudamus

We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
All creation worships you,
the Father everlasting.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
the cherubim and seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you:
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you took our flesh to set us free
you humbly chose the Virgin’s womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come to be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.

Rivers of living waters: mist over the Tone River, Minakami, Gumma Prefecture, Japan (pastormikelandry.wordpress.com)

John 7:37-46 (NRSV)

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.'” Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified. When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!”

THE APOSTLES’ CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

THE PRAYERS

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come, your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.

Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

Br. John Huebner, CG, of our congregation has been busy renovating and creating a new worship space for the Church of the Advocate, a mission to homeless and vulnerable street people in Asheville, North Carolina. As you can see, it’s already a holy place by all the love and care that went into it. We’re proud of you, John.

Collect of the Day: Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A Collect for Sundays

O God, you make us glad with the weekly remembrance of the glorious resurrection of your Son our Lord: Give us this day such blessing through our worship of you, that the week to come may be spent in your favor; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sunday Morning Prayer List: Our Donors: thank you!

2017 Donors
PLEASE NOTE: This list does not yet include all ongoing monthly pledges made and continued from 2016 and paid via our Support site to the Diocese in 2017. (It does include ongoing pledges from 2015 and paid via our old PayPal site.) We will receive a monthly report of these important Support site payments in a few days and add them to our list. Thank you, pledgers old and new!

Acolyte – under $50
Richard Burgess
Nancy C. Deutsch
Rachel Diem, in honor of the Community of the Gospel & the Order of Julian of Norwich
The Rev. Elizabeth Fowle
Gary Gee
Pr Dave Heckler
Ann Higdon
Kammy and George
Sara Keeth
Thomas LaFrance
Eric L. Miller, in memory of the Rev. Rick Rutledge
Janet Norden
Stephen Oakes, in honor of Mr. & Mrs. M. Wayne Oakes
Will Wauters, TSSF

Intercessor – $50 – 99
Libbye Brooks
The Rev. Dr. Christopher Dreisbach
Marilyn Engstrom
Steve LoCastro
The McAskill Family, in honor of John Alexander McAskill
Julie Morris, in honor of dailyoffice.org
The Rev. Deacon Susan Reeve
Joseph Scholtes
The Rev. Gwynne Wright (UK)

Lector – $100 – 249
Elisabeth Bourdet
Ann Doebler
Hilary Greene, in honor of Josh Thomas
Harry Kelley
Jo Ann, in memory of Jesse
Katrina Soto
Francesca Wigle

Cantor – $250 – 499
The Rev. Michael E Hartney
Steve Helmreich
Josh Thomas

Gospeler – $500 – 999
Letha Tomes Drury

Missioner – $1000 – 2499
Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis
R. Nikolaus Merrell, in honor of Espanol Costa Rica

Please add your own prayers here.

Prayer for Mission

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The General Thanksgiving

Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14++

VIDEO: O worship the King (#388, Hanover, att. William Croft; Robert Grant) – BBC “Songs of Praise” at Belfast Cathedral, 2010