Monday morning July 18
Preparation
Opening response
Lord, open our lips
and our mouth will proclaim your praise.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all,
to you be glory and praise forever.
You founded the earth in the beginning
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
In the fullness of time you made us in your image,
and in these last days you have spoken to us
in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us
let the light of your love always shine in our hearts,
your Spirit ever renew our lives
and your praises ever be on our lips.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
Hymn
Away, My Needless Fears
Charles Wesley
Away, my needless fears
And doubts no longer mine!
A ray of heavenly light appears,
A messenger divine.
Thrice comfortable hope,
That calms my troubled breast;
My Father's hand prepares the cup,
And what he wills is best.
He knows whatever I want;
He sees my helplessness,
And always readier is to grant
Than I to ask his grace.
My fearful heart he reads,
Secures my soul from harms,
And underneath his mercy spreads
Its everlasting arms.
If what I wish is good,
And suits the will divine,
By earth and hell in vain withstood,
I know it shall be mine.
Here is firm footing; here,
My soul, is solid rock,
To break the waves of grief and fear,
And trouble's rudest shock:
This only can sustain
When earth and heaven remove:
O turn thee to thy rest again,
Thy God's eternal love!
Here then I doubt no more,
But in his pleasure rest,
Whose wisdom, love, and truth and power
Engage to make me blest.
Confession of sin
Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
The first commandment is this:
‘Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord,
and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your being, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.’
The second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.
All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.
Amen. Lord, have mercy.
After a period of reflection
Come, let us return to the Lord and say:
Lord our God,
in our sin we have avoided your call.
Our love for you is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes away early.
Have mercy on us;
deliver us from judgment;
bind up our wounds and revive us;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
cf Hosea 6
May almighty God,
who sent his Son into the world to save sinners,
bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.
Amen.
The Word of God
Psalm 27
Refrain:
The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Should I fear anyone?
The Lord is a fortress protecting my life.
Should I be frightened of anything?
When evildoers come at me trying to eat me up—
it’s they, my foes and my enemies,
who stumble and fall!
If an army camps against me,
my heart won’t be afraid.
If war comes up against me,
I will continue to trust in this:
I have asked one thing from the Lord—
it’s all I seek:
to live in the Lord’s house all the days of my life,
seeing the Lord’s beauty
and constantly adoring his temple.
Because he will shelter me in his own dwelling
during troubling times;
he will hide me in a secret place in his own tent;
he will set me up high, safe on a rock.
Now my head is higher than the enemies surrounding me,
and I will offer sacrifices in God’s tent—
sacrifices with shouts of joy!
I will sing and praise the Lord.
Lord, listen to my voice when I cry out—
have mercy on me and answer me!
Come, my heart says, seek God’s face.
Lord, I do seek your face!
Please don’t hide it from me!
Don’t push your servant aside angrily—
you have been my help!
God who saves me,
don’t neglect me!
Don’t leave me all alone!
Even if my father and mother left me all alone,
the Lord would take me in.
Lord, teach me your way;
because of my opponents, lead me on a good path.
Don’t give me over to the desires of my enemies,
because false witnesses and violent accusers
have taken their stand against me.
But I have sure faith
that I will experience the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living!
Hope in the Lord!
Be strong! Let your heart take courage!
Hope in the Lord!
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 is my light and my salvation.
Psalm prayer
God, our light and our salvation,
illuminate our lives,
that we may see your goodness in the land of the living,
and, looking on your beauty,
may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 30
Refrain:
Lord, my God, I cried out to you for help, and you healed me.
I exalt you, Lord, because you pulled me up;
you didn’t let my enemies celebrate over me.
Lord, my God, I cried out to you for help,
and you healed me.
Lord, you brought me up from the grave,
brought me back to life from among those going down to the pit.
You who are faithful to the Lord,
sing praises to him;
give thanks to his holy name!
His anger lasts for only a second,
but his favor lasts a lifetime.
Weeping may stay all night,
but by morning, joy!
When I was comfortable, I said,
“I will never stumble.”
Because it pleased you, Lord,
you made me a strong mountain.
But then you hid your presence.
I was terrified.
I cried out to you, Lord.
I begged my Lord for mercy:
“What is to be gained by my spilled blood,
by my going down into the pit?
Does dust thank you?
Does it proclaim your faithfulness?
Lord, listen and have mercy on me!
Lord, be my helper!”
You changed my mourning into dancing.
You took off my funeral clothes
and dressed me up in joy
so that my whole being
might sing praises to you and never stop.
Lord, my God, I will give thanks to you 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:
Lord, my God, I cried out to you for help, and you healed me.
Psalm prayer
Lord, you hide your face
when we trust in ourselves;
strip us of false security
and reclothe us in your praise,
that we may know you
as the one who raises us from death,
as you raised your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.
Old Testament reading
1 Samuel 14:24-46
Now the Israelite soldiers were in a difficult situation that day because Saul had bound the troops by a solemn pledge: “Anyone who eats anything before evening when I have taken revenge on my enemies is doomed.” So none of the army ate anything. The troops came across a honeycomb with honey on the ground. But even when they came across the honeycomb with the honey still flowing, no one ate any of it because the troops were afraid of the solemn pledge. But Jonathan hadn’t heard his father make the people swear the pledge, so he dipped the end of the staff he was carrying into the honeycomb. When he ate some his eyes lit up. Then one of the soldiers spoke up: “Your father bound the troops by a solemn pledge: ‘Anyone who eats food today is doomed.’ That’s why the troops are exhausted.”
Jonathan said, “My father has brought trouble to the land. Look how my eyes lit up when I tasted just a bit of that honey! It would have been even better if the troops had eaten some of their enemies’ plunder today when they found it! But now the Philistine defeat isn’t as thorough as it might have been.”
That day, after they had fought the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon, the troops were completely exhausted. So the troops tore into the plunder, taking sheep, cattle, and calves. They slaughtered them right on the ground and devoured them with the blood still in them. When it was reported to Saul, “The troops are sinning against the Lord by eating meat with blood in it,” Saul said, “All of you are traitors! Roll a large stone over here right now. Go among the troops and say to them, ‘Everyone must bring their ox or sheep, and slaughter them here with me. Don’t sin against the Lord by eating meat with blood still in it.’” So everyone brought whatever they had and slaughtered it there. And Saul built an altar to the Lord. It was the first altar he had built to the Lord.
“Let’s go after the Philistines tonight and plunder them until morning,” Saul said. “We won’t leave them a single survivor!”
“Do whatever you think is best,” the troops replied.
But the priest said, “Let’s ask God first.”
So Saul questioned God: “Should I go after the Philistines? Will you hand them over to Israel?” But God did not answer him that day.
Then Saul said, “All you officers in the army, come forward! Let’s find out what sin was committed today. As surely as the Lord lives—the one who has saved Israel—even if it’s my own son Jonathan, that person will be executed.” Not one of the soldiers answered him. So Saul said to all Israel, “You be on one side, and my son Jonathan and I will be on the other.”
“Do whatever you think is best,” the troops said.
Then Saul asked the Lord God of Israel, “Why haven’t you answered your servant today? If the wrongdoing is mine or my son Jonathan’s, respond with Urim, but if the wrongdoing belongs to your people Israel, respond with Thummim.” Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, and the troops were cleared.
Then Saul said, “Decide between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was selected.
“Tell me what you’ve done,” Saul said to Jonathan.
So Jonathan told him. “I only took a very small taste of honey on the end of my staff,” he said. “And now I’m supposed to die?”
“May God deal harshly with me and worse still if you don’t die today!” Saul swore.
But the troops said to Saul, “Why should Jonathan die when he has won this great victory for Israel? No way! As surely as the Lord lives, not one hair off his head will fall to the ground, because he did this today with God’s help.” So the troops rescued Jonathan, and he wasn’t executed.
Then Saul stopped chasing the Philistines, and the Philistines went back to their own country.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 23:13-25
Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people. He said to them, “You brought this man before me as one who was misleading the people. I have questioned him in your presence and found nothing in this man’s conduct that provides a legal basis for the charges you have brought against him. Neither did Herod, because Herod returned him to us. He’s done nothing that deserves death. Therefore, I’ll have him whipped, then let him go.”
But with one voice they shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us.” (Barabbas had been thrown into prison because of a riot that had occurred in the city, and for murder.)
Pilate addressed them again because he wanted to release Jesus.
They kept shouting out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
For the third time, Pilate said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done? I’ve found no legal basis for the death penalty in his case. Therefore, I will have him whipped, then let him go.”
But they were adamant, shouting their demand that Jesus be crucified. Their voices won out. Pilate issued his decision to grant their request. 25 He released the one they asked for, who had been thrown into prison because of a riot and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will.
Silence may be kept.
Gospel canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Refrain:
Lord, you have raised up a mighty savior for us in your servant David’s house.
Bless the Lord God of Israel
because he has come to help and has delivered his people.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,
just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.
He has brought salvation from our enemies
and from the power of all those who hate us.
He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and remembered his holy covenant,
the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.
He has granted that we would be rescued
from the power of our enemies
so that we could serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,
for as long as we live.
You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
You will tell his people how to be saved
through the forgiveness of their sins.
Because of our God’s deep compassion,
the dawn from heaven will break upon us,
to give light to those who are sitting in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide us on the path of peace.”
Luke 1:68-79
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:
Lord, you have raised up a mighty savior for us in your servant David’s house.
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.
Prayers
Intercession and thanksgiving
Prayers are offered
for the day and its tasks
for the world and its needs
for the Church and her life
Response
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty Lord and everlasting God,
we beseech you to direct, sanctify and govern
both our hearts and bodies
in the ways of your laws
and the works of your commandments;
that through your most mighty protection, both here and ever,
we may be preserved in body and soul;
through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
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
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.