Tue. morning May 5
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation, to you be praise and glory forever. As once you ransomed your people from Egypt and led them to freedom in the promised land, so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son. May we, the first fruits of your new creation, rejoice in this new day you have made, and praise you for your mighty acts.
Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
Wonderful Words of Life
Words and Music: Philip P. Bliss (1874)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#429)
Sing them over again to me,
wonderful words of life;
let me more of their beauty see,
wonderful words of life;
words of life and beauty,
teach me faith and duty.
Refrain:
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
wonderful words of life.
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
wonderful words of life.
Christ, the blessed one, gives to all
wonderful words of life;
sinner, list to the loving call,
wonderful words of life;
all so freely given,
wooing us to heaven. [Refrain]
Sweetly echo the gospel call,
wonderful words of life;
offer pardon and peace to all,
wonderful words of life;
Jesus, only Savior,
sanctify forever. [Refrain]
Confession of Sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward those who fear Him.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 19
𝙍: The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
and night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor are there words
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice has gone out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
and rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
Its rising is from one end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
𝙍: The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
converting the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
the statutes of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
the decrees of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
yes, than much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is Your servant warned,
and in keeping them there is great reward.
𝙍: The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I will be upright,
and I will be innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
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.
𝙍: The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psalm prayer
Christ, the sun of righteousness, rise in our hearts this day, enfold us in the brightness of your love and bear us at the last to heaven’s horizon; for your love’s sake.
Psalm 147:1-12
𝙍: Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.
The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
𝙍: Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by their names.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.
The LORD lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.
𝙍: Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
sing praises on the harp to our God,
who covers the heavens with clouds,
who prepares rain for the earth,
who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
𝙍: Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
He gives to the beast its food
and to the young ravens that cry.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
in those who hope in His mercy.
Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
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.
𝙍: Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
Psalm Prayer
Compassionate God, as you know each star you have created, so you know the secrets of every heart; in your loving mercy, bring to your table all who are fearful and broken, all who are wounded and needy, that our hungers may be satisfied in the city of your peace; through Christ who is our peace.
Old Testament reading
Numbers 11:1-33
Now when the people complained openly before the LORD, the LORD heard, and His anger burned. Then the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. And the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire was quenched. He called the name of the place Taberah because the fire of the LORD burned among them.
The mixed multitude that was among them lusted, and the Israelites wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt for free, the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic. But now our life is dried up. There is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes.”
The manna was as coriander seed, and it looked like bdellium. The people went about and gathered it, and ground it in mills or beat it in a mortar, and boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it, and the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked in oil. When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna fell on it.
Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the opening of his tent, and the anger of the LORD burned greatly. Moses was also displeased. Moses said to the LORD, “Why have You hurt Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your eyes, that You lay the burden of all this people on me? Have I conceived all this people? Have I given them birth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse bears the nursing child,’ to the land which You swore to their fathers? Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep to me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. If You do this to me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your eyes, and do not let me see my misery.”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people, and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, that they may take a stand there with you. And I will come down, and I will speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit which is on you and will put it on them, and they will bear the burden of the people with you, and you will not bear it by yourself.
“And say to the people: Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, ‘Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt.’ Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall eat, not one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils, and it will be nauseating to you because you rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, ‘Why did we come out of Egypt?’ ”
And Moses said, “The people I am with number six hundred thousand foot soldiers, and You have said, ‘I will give them meat that they may eat a whole month.’ Will the flocks and the herds be slaughtered for them, to satisfy them? Or will all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to satisfy them?”
And the LORD said to Moses, “Is the hand of the LORD shortened? Now you will see if My word will happen to you or not.”
Moses went out, and he spoke to the people the words of the LORD and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and set them around the tabernacle. And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was on him, and gave it to the seventy elders, and when the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but did not do it again.
But two men remained in the camp. The name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other, Medad. And the Spirit rested on them. They were among those listed, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp.”
Then Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, forbid them.”
Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Oh, that all the people of the LORD were prophets, and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!” And Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.
Now a wind from the LORD started up, and it swept quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the ground. And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers. And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. While the meat was between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great slaughter.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 5:1-11
As the people pressed upon Him to hear the word of God, He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret and saw two boats beside the lake. But the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He entered one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to thrust it out a little from the land. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat.
When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
Simon answered Him, “Master, we have worked all night and have caught nothing. But at Your word I will let down the net.”
When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was tearing. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for He has visited and redeemed His people,
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets of long ago,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to perform the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
might serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
for you will go before the presence of the Lord to prepare His ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to His people
by the remission of their sins,
through the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise from on high has visited us;
to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
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 forever. Amen.
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.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He 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,
and is seated at the
right hand of the Father.
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.
Intercession and thanksgiving
Prayers may be offered for:
the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life
Prayers may include the following concerns:
The people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
Prisoners and captives
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ have overcome death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: grant that, as by your grace going before us you put into our minds good desires, so by your continual help we may bring them to good effect; through Jesus Christ our risen Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Rejoicing in God’s new creation, as our Savior taught us, so we pray
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.
Conclusion
May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.