Shane Raynor 5/25/23 Shane Raynor 5/25/23

Thursday evening May 25

Opening response

Hurry, God, to deliver us.
LORD, come quickly to help us.

Send your Holy Spirit upon us,
and clothe us with power from on high. Alleluia.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
Raised to your right hand on high
the ascended Christ shows the prints of love
and bestows on us the gifts of grace.
As your Spirit renews the face of the earth,
may we bring forth the fruit of the Spirit
and reveal your glory in all the world.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Behold! I Come With Joy to Do

Charles Wesley

Behold! I come with joy to do
The Master’s blessed will;
My Lord in outward works pursue,
And serve his pleasure still.
Thus faithful to my Lord’s commands,
I choose the better part,
And serve with careful Martha’s hands,
But loving Mary’s heart.

Though careful, without care I am,
Nor feel my happy toil,
Preserved in peace by Jesus’ name,
Supported by his smile:
Rejoicing thus my faith to show,
His service my reward;
While every work I do below,
I do it to the Lord.

O! That the world the art might know
Of living thus to thee;
And find their heaven begun below,
And here thy glory see;
Walking in all the works prepared
To exercise their grace,
They gain at last their full reward,
And see thy glorious face.

Confession of sin

Seek the LORD while he may be found.
Call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways,
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them return to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,
to our God, for he will freely pardon.

cf Isaiah 55

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have committed evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your faithful love.
Wash us completely clean of our guilt; purify us from our sin.
Put a new, faithful spirit deep inside us,
and return the joy of your salvation to us
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

cf Psalm 51

May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Blessed be the LORD,
because he has heard the voice of our petitions.

Therefore our hearts greatly rejoice.
With our song we will thank him.

cf Psalm 28:7, 9

Psalm 139

Refrain:
Search me, God, and know my heart.

LORD, you have searched me,
and you know me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up.
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
but behold, LORD, you know it altogether.
You hem me in behind and before.
You laid your hand on me.
This knowledge is beyond me.
It’s lofty.
I can’t attain it.
Where could I go from your Spirit?
Or where could I flee from your presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, you are there.
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there!
If I take the wings of the dawn,
and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand will lead me,
and your right hand will hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me.
The light around me will be night,”
even the darkness doesn’t hide from you,
but the night shines as the day.
The darkness is like light to you.
For you formed my inmost being.
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to you,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful.
My soul knows that very well.
My frame wasn’t hidden from you,
when I was made in secret,
woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my body.
In your book they were all written,
the days that were ordained for me,
when as yet there were none of them.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is their sum!
If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand.
When I wake up, I am still with you.
If only you, God, would kill the wicked.
Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
For they speak against you wickedly.
Your enemies take your name in vain.
LORD, don’t I hate those who hate you?
Am I not grieved with those who rise up against you?
I hate them with perfect hatred.
They have become my enemies.
Search me, God, and know my heart.
Try me, and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the everlasting way.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
Search me, God, and know my heart.

Psalm prayer

Creator God,
may every breath we take be for your glory,
may every footstep show you as our way,
that, trusting in your presence in this world,
we may, beyond this life, still be with you
where you are alive and reign
forever and ever.

Old Testament reading

Numbers 24

When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he didn’t go, as at the other times, to use divination, but he set his face towards the wilderness. Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came on him. He took up his parable, and said,

“Balaam the son of Beor says,
the man whose eyes are open says;
he says, who hears the words of God,
who sees the vision of the Almighty,
falling down, and having his eyes open:
How goodly are your tents, Jacob,
and your dwellings, Israel!
As valleys they are spread out,
as gardens by the riverside,
as aloes which the LORD has planted,
as cedar trees beside the waters.
Water shall flow from his buckets.
His seed shall be in many waters.
His king shall be higher than Agag.
His kingdom shall be exalted.
God brings him out of Egypt.
He has as it were the strength of the wild ox.
He shall consume the nations his adversaries,
shall break their bones in pieces,
and pierce them with his arrows.
He couched, he lay down as a lion,
as a lioness;
who shall rouse him up?
Everyone who blesses you is blessed.
Everyone who curses you is cursed.”

Balak’s anger burnt against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and, behold, you have altogether blessed them these three times. Therefore, flee to your place, now! I thought to promote you to great honour; but, behold, the LORD has kept you back from honour.”

Balaam said to Balak, “Didn’t I also tell your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, ‘If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I can’t go beyond the LORD’s word, to do either good or bad from my own mind. I will say what the LORD says’? Now, behold, I go to my people. Come, I will inform you what this people shall do to your people in the latter days.”

He took up his parable, and said,
“Balaam the son of Beor says,
the man whose eyes are open says;
he says, who hears the words of God,
knows the knowledge of the Most High,
and who sees the vision of the Almighty,
falling down, and having his eyes open:
I see him, but not now.
I see him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob.
A sceptre will rise out of Israel,
and shall strike through the corners of Moab,
and crush all the sons of Sheth.
Edom shall be a possession.
Seir, his enemy, also shall be a possession,
while Israel does valiantly.
Out of Jacob shall one have dominion,
and shall destroy the remnant from the city.”
He looked at Amalek, and took up his parable, and said,
“Amalek was the first of the nations,
but his latter end shall come to destruction.”
He looked at the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said,
“Your dwelling place is strong.
Your nest is set in the rock.
Nevertheless Kain shall be wasted,
until Asshur carries you away captive.”
He took up his parable, and said,
“Alas, who shall live when God does this?
But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim.
They shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber.
He also shall come to destruction.”
Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went his way.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Luke 8:26-39

Then they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, a certain man out of the city who had demons for a long time met him. He wore no clothes, and didn’t live in a house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, “What do I have to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torment me!” For Jesus was commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For the unclean spirit had often seized the man. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and fetters. Breaking the bonds apart, he was driven by the demon into the desert.

Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

He said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered into him. They begged him that he would not command them to go into the abyss.

Now there was there a herd of many pigs feeding on the mountain, and they begged him that he would allow them to enter into those. Then he allowed them. The demons came out of the man and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.

People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who saw it told them how he who had been possessed by demons was healed. All the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them, for they were very much afraid. Then he entered into the boat and returned. But the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him that he might go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your house, and declare what great things God has done for you.” He went his way, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

Refrain:
How excellent is your name in all the world, you have set your glory above the heavens. Alleluia.

My soul magnifies the Lord.
My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
for he has looked at the humble state of his servant.
For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
For he who is mighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down princes from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things.
He has sent the rich away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and his offspring forever.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
How excellent is your name in all the world, you have set your glory above the heavens. Alleluia.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his 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,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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.

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

God’s royal priesthood, for empowerment by the Spirit
Those who wait on God, that they may find renewal
All people, that they may acknowledge the kingdom of the ascended Christ
The earth, for productivity and for fruitful harvests
All who are struggling with broken relationships

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O God the King of glory,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:
we beseech you, leave us not comfortless,
but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us
and exalt us to the place where our Savior Christ is gone before,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Being made one by the power of the Spirit,
as our Savior 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 forever.
Amen.

Conclusion

May the Spirit kindle in us the fire of God’s love.
Amen.

Shane Raynor 5/24/23 Shane Raynor 5/24/23

Wednesday evening May 24

Aldersgate Day

Thursday evening
Tuesday evening

Opening response

Hurry, God, to deliver us.
LORD, come quickly to help us.

Send your Holy Spirit upon us,
and clothe us with power from on high. Alleluia.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Hymn

Spirit of holiness, let all thy saints adore

Charles Wesley

Spirit of holiness,
Let all thy saints adore
Thy sacred energy, and bless
Thy heart-renewing power.

Not angel tongues can tell
Thy love’s ecstatic height,
The glorious joy unspeakable,
The beatific sight.

Eternal, triune God!
Let all the hosts above,
Let all the sons of men record,
And dwell upon thy love.

When heaven and earth are fled
Before thy glorious face,
Sing, all the saints thy love hath made
Thine everlasting praise.

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Silence may be kept.

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in
eternal life.
Amen.

Psalm 36

Refrain:
With you, O God, is the spring of life.

A revelation is within my heart about the disobedience of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
too much to detect and hate his sin.
The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit.
He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
He plots iniquity on his bed.
He sets himself in a way that is not good.
He doesn’t abhor evil.

Your loving kindness, LORD, is in the heavens.
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God.
Your judgements are like a great deep.
LORD, you preserve man and animal.
How precious is your loving kindness, God!
The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings.
They shall be abundantly satisfied with the abundance of your house.
You will make them drink of the river of your pleasures.
For with you is the spring of life.
In your light we will see light.
Oh continue your loving kindness to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.
Don’t let the foot of pride come against me.
Don’t let the hand of the wicked drive me away.
There the workers of iniquity are fallen.
They are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
With you, O God, is the spring of life.

Psalm prayer

O God, the spring of life,
make us bright with wisdom,
that we may be lightened with the knowledge of your glory
in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 46

Refrain:
The LORD of Armies is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge.

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we won’t be afraid, though the earth changes,
though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas;
though its waters roar and are troubled,
though the mountains tremble with their swelling. Selah.

There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad,
the holy place of the tents of the Most High.
God is within her. She shall not be moved.
God will help her at dawn.
The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved.
He lifted his voice and the earth melted.
The LORD of Armies is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Come, see the LORD’s works,
what desolations he has made in the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth.
He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear.
He burns the chariots in the fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted amongst the nations.
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The LORD of Armies is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
The LORD of Armies is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Psalm prayer

God of Jacob,
when the earth shakes
and the nations are in uproar,
speak, and let the storm be still;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Numbers 23:13-30

Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, where you may see them. You shall see just part of them, and shall not see them all. Curse them from there for me.”

He took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bull and a ram on every altar. He said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet God over there.”

The LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and say this.”

He came to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?”

He took up his parable, and said,

“Rise up, Balak, and hear!
Listen to me, you son of Zippor.
God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of man, that he should repent.
Has he said, and he won’t do it?
Or has he spoken, and he won’t make it good?
Behold, I have received a command to bless.
He has blessed, and I can’t reverse it.
He has not seen iniquity in Jacob.
Neither has he seen perverseness in Israel.
The LORD his God is with him.
The shout of a king is amongst them.
God brings them out of Egypt.
He has as it were the strength of the wild ox.
Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob;
neither is there any divination with Israel.
Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel,
‘What has God done!’
Behold, a people rises up as a lioness.
As a lion he lifts himself up.
He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey,
and drinks the blood of the slain.”

Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.”
But Balaam answered Balak, “Didn’t I tell you, saying, ‘All that the LORD speaks, that I must do?’ ”
Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.”
Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks down on the desert. Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.”
Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Luke 8:16-25

“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a container or puts it under a bed; but puts it on a stand, that those who enter in may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Be careful therefore how you hear. For whoever has, to him will be given; and whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he thinks he has.”

His mother and brothers came to him, and they could not come near him for the crowd. Some people told him, “Your mother and your brothers stand outside, desiring to see you.”

But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

Now on one of those days, he entered into a boat, himself and his disciples, and he said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out. But as they sailed, he fell asleep. A wind storm came down on the lake, and they were taking on dangerous amounts of water. They came to him and awoke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are dying!” He awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water; then they ceased, and it was calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” Being afraid, they marvelled, saying to one another, “Who is this then, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?”

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Thanksgiving and intercession

Response

Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

God of mercy,
who inspired John and Charles Wesley with zeal for your gospel:
grant to all people boldness to proclaim your word
and a heart ever to rejoice in singing your praises;
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

Conclusion

May the Spirit kindle in us the fire of God’s love.
Amen.

Shane Raynor 5/23/23 Shane Raynor 5/23/23

Tuesday evening May 23

Wednesday evening
Monday evening

Opening response

Hurry, God, to deliver us.
LORD, come quickly to help us.

Send your Holy Spirit upon us,
and clothe us with power from on high. Alleluia.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Hymn

Spirit of holiness, let all thy saints adore

Confession of sin

Psalm 68

Refrain:
Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!

Let God arise!
Let his enemies be scattered!
Let them who hate him also flee before him.
As smoke is driven away,
so drive them away.
As wax melts before the fire,
so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
But let the righteous be glad.
Let them rejoice before God.
Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.
Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!
Extol him who rides on the clouds:
to the LORD, his name!
Rejoice before him!
A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows,
is God in his holy habitation.
God sets the lonely in families.
He brings out the prisoners with singing,
but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.

God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness... Selah.
The earth trembled.
The sky also poured down rain at the presence of the God of Sinai—
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
You, God, sent a plentiful rain.
You confirmed your inheritance when it was weary.
Your congregation lived therein.
You, God, prepared your goodness for the poor.
The Lord announced the word.
The ones who proclaim it are a great company.
“Kings of armies flee! They flee!”
She who waits at home divides the plunder,
while you sleep amongst the camp fires,
the wings of a dove sheathed with silver,
her feathers with shining gold.
When the Almighty scattered kings in her,
it snowed on Zalmon.
The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains.
The mountains of Bashan are rugged.
Why do you look in envy, you rugged mountains,
at the mountain where God chooses to reign?
Yes, the LORD will dwell there forever.
The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands.
The Lord is amongst them, from Sinai, into the sanctuary.
You have ascended on high.
You have led away captives.
You have received gifts amongst people,
yes, amongst the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell there.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burdens,
even the God who is our salvation. Selah.
God is to us a God of deliverance.
To the LORD, the Lord, belongs escape from death.
But God will strike through the head of his enemies,
the hairy scalp of such a one as still continues in his guiltiness.
The Lord said, “I will bring you again from Bashan,
I will bring you again from the depths of the sea,
that you may crush them, dipping your foot in blood,
that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies.”
They have seen your processions, God,
even the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
The singers went before, the minstrels followed after,
amongst the ladies playing with tambourines,
“Bless God in the congregations,
even the Lord in the assembly of Israel!”
There is little Benjamin, their ruler,
the princes of Judah, their council,
the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.

Your God has commanded your strength.
Strengthen, God, that which you have done for us.
Because of your temple at Jerusalem,
kings shall bring presents to you.
Rebuke the wild animal of the reeds,
the multitude of the bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample under foot the bars of silver.
Scatter the nations who delight in war.
Princes shall come out of Egypt.
Ethiopia shall hurry to stretch out her hands to God.
Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth!
Sing praises to the Lord— Selah—
to him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which are of old;
behold, he utters his voice, a mighty voice.
Ascribe strength to God!
His excellency is over Israel,
his strength is in the skies.
You are awesome, God, in your sanctuaries.
The God of Israel gives strength and power to his people.
Praise be to God!

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!

Psalm prayer

Blessed are you, gracious God;
you make your home among the weak,
you deliver us from death,
you bring us joy beyond our imagining
to the praise of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Numbers 22:36-23:12

When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him to the City of Moab, which is on the border of the Arnon, which is in the utmost part of the border. Balak said to Balaam, “Didn’t I earnestly send for you to summon you? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I not able indeed to promote you to honour?”

Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you. Have I now any power at all to speak anything? I will speak the word that God puts in my mouth.”

Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath Huzoth. Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes who were with him. In the morning, Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal; and he saw from there part of the people.

Balaam said to Balak, “Build here seven altars for me, and prepare here seven bulls and seven rams for me.”

Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bull and a ram. Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me I will tell you.”

He went to a bare height. God met Balaam, and he said to him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.”

The LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”

He returned to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, he, and all the princes of Moab. He took up his parable, and said,

“From Aram has Balak brought me,
the king of Moab from the mountains of the East.
Come, curse Jacob for me.
Come, defy Israel.
How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
How shall I defy whom the LORD has not defied?
For from the top of the rocks I see him.
From the hills I see him.
Behold, it is a people that dwells alone,
and shall not be listed amongst the nations.
Who can count the dust of Jacob,
or count the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous!
Let my last end be like his!”
Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them altogether.”
He answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD puts in my mouth?”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Luke 8:1-15

Soon afterwards, he went about through cities and villages, preaching and bringing the good news of God’s Kingdom. With him were the twelve, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; and Joanna, the wife of Chuzas, Herod’s steward; Susanna; and many others who served them from their possessions. When a great multitude came together and people from every city were coming to him, he spoke by a parable: “The farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the road, and it was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it. Other seed fell on the rock, and as soon as it grew, it withered away, because it had no moisture. Other fell amid the thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Other fell into the good ground and grew and produced one hundred times as much fruit.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Then his disciples asked him, “What does this parable mean?”

He said, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of God’s Kingdom, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those along the road are those who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are they who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; but these have no root. They believe for a while, then fall away in time of temptation. What fell amongst the thorns, these are those who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life; and they bring no fruit to maturity. Those in the good ground, these are those who with an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and produce fruit with perseverance.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

Refrain:
How excellent is your name in all the world, you have set your glory above the heavens. Alleluia.

My soul magnifies the Lord.
My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
for he has looked at the humble state of his servant.
For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
For he who is mighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down princes from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things.
He has sent the rich away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and his offspring forever.