A Service of Prayer for the Beginning of Day (Wednesday, July 8, 2020)
“And now, my children, listen to me: happy are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Happy is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.
For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD; but those who miss me injure themselves; all who hate me love death.””
Last week our lessons demonstrated how God’s Word has the power to mold, shape and transform us with its wisdom. We can choose to receive it with joy or to reject with distain or simply dismiss it. Today’s lessons demonstrate how we have a tendency to resist God’s Word. Today’s
Old Testament lesson from Jeremiah speaks of pride and its danger. Pride can cause us to follow our own way rather than to cling to God’s way. Let’s take a moment to look at Jeremiah's lesson because it seems odd and needs some unpacking. The Jewish Study Bible tells us that "prophets in the ancient world sometimes performed symbolic actions to dramatize their messages." In this passage, Jeremiah recounts God’s instructions to buy a loincloth of linen. An Elide priest would dress entirely in linen, including any undergarments, as a symbol of Levitical purity and fitness to officiate in the Temple. So, Jeremiah does what the Lord asks of him. He buys a linen loincloth. In the priestly ordination ceremony, priests are washed and dressed in clean garments as part of the procedure by which they are prepared for divine service at the Temple altar. But, because God commands him to wear the loincloth without dipping it into water, it will of course become soiled to symbolize Jerusalem’s and Judah’s (and Jeremiah’s) impurity. The priestly ordination also requires observance of God’s commandments. Jeremiah’s impurity symbolizes the people’s refusal to heed God’s bidding. They want to go their own way. The closeness of the loincloth to Jeremiah also draws upon the marriage metaphor used to depict God’s covenantal relationship with the people. When Jeremiah places the loincloth in a cleft of rock by the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia, it makes the loincloth filthy and symbolizes the consequence of the people’s actions—their exile to Babylonia. Today we focus on pride and humility; following our ways and following God’s ways.
DIALOGUE
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall declare 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 forever. Amen
Alleluia.
PSALMODY
Give glory to God, our light and our life.
Oh, come, let us worship him.
Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth; the heights of the hills are also his.
The sea is his, for he made it; and his hands have molded the dry land.
Oh, come, let us bow down and bend the knee, and kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
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
Give glory to God, our light and our life.
Oh, come, let us worship him.
Psalm 131
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
O LORD, my heart is not lifted up,
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.
O Israel, hope in the LORD
from this time on and forevermore.
Your testimonies are very sure, and holiness befits your house, O Lord, forever and forevermore.
HYMN
O Christ, Surround Me
1. God be the love to search and keep me
God be the prayer to move my voice
God be the strength to now uphold me
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me
2. Bind to myself the name of Holy
Great cloud of witnesses enfold
Prophets, apostles, angels witness
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me
3. Brightness of sun and glow of moonlight
Flashing of lightning, strength of wind
Depth of the sea to soil of planet
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me
4. Walking behind to hem my journey
Going ahead to light my way
And from beneath, above, and all ways
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me
5. Christ in the eyes of all who see me
Christ in the ears who hear my voice
Christ in the hearts of all who know me
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me
Credits: by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan from Worldmaking, released May 12, 2004.
READINGS
Jeremiah 13:1-11
Thus said the LORD to me, “Go and buy yourself a linen loincloth, and put it on your loins, but do not dip it in water.” So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the LORD, and put it on my loins. And the word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, “Take the loincloth that you bought and are wearing, and go now to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” So I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. And after many days the LORD said to me, “Go now to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. But now the loincloth was ruined; it was good for nothing.
Then the word of the LORD came to me: Thus says the LORD: Just so I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own will and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. For as the loincloth clings to one’s loins, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the LORD, in order that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory. But they would not listen.
Silence for meditation.
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,
but in these last days God has spoken to us by the Son.
GOSPEL
John 13:1-17
Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
Silence for meditation.
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,
but in these last days God has spoken to us by the Son.
THE GOSPEL CANTICLE
Refrain:
In the tender compassion of our God the Dawn from on high shall break upon us.
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. Refrain
Through your holy prophets, you promised of old
to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us;
you promised to show mercy to our forebears
and to remember your holy covenant. Refrain
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. Refrain
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. Refrain
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. Refrain
PRAYERS
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray,
Mighty God of mercy, we thank you for the resurrection dawn, bringing the glory of our risen Lord who makes every day new.
Especially we thank you—
for the sustaining goodness of your creation . . .
for the new creation in Christ and all gifts of healing and forgiveness . . .
for the gifts of relationship with others . . .
for the communion of faith in your church . . .
Merciful God of might, renew this weary world, heal the hurts of all your children, and bring about your peace for all in Christ Jesus, the living Lord.
Especially we pray—
for those who govern nations of the world especially our president and governors . . .
for the people of our country and for justice . . .
for the people in countries ravaged by strife or warfare . . .
for all who work for peace and international harmony . . .
for all our healthcare workers who strive to help those afflicted with coronavirus . . .
for all who strive to save the earth from carelessness and destruction . . .
for the church of Jesus Christ in every land . . .
Almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us in safety to this new day. Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor be overcome in adversity. In all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
LORD’S PRAYER
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 and ever.
Amen
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
BENEDICTION
Almighty God, the Father, ☩ the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless and preserve us.
Amen
HYMN
Lord Whose Love in Humble Service
1. Lord, whose love in humble service
bore the weight of human need,
who upon the cross, forsaken,
worked your mercy's perfect deed:
we, your servants, bring the worship
not of voice alone, but heart;
consecrating to your purpose
ev'ry gift which you impart.
2. Still your children wander homeless;
still the hungry cry for bread;
still the captives long for freedom;
still in grief we mourn our dead.
As you, Lord, in deep compassion
healed the sick and freed the soul,
by your Spirit send your power
to our world to make it whole.
3. As we worship, grant us vision,
till your love's revealing light
in its height and depth and greatness
dawns upon our quickened sight,
making known the needs and burdens
your compassion bids us bear,
stirring us to ardent service,
your abundant life to share.
4. Called by worship to your service,
forth in your dear name we go,
to the child, the youth, the aged,
love in living deeds to show;
hope and health, good will and comfort,
counsel, aid and peace we give,
that your servants, Lord, in freedom
may your mercy know and live.
Text: Albert F. Bayly, 1901-1984
Text © 1961 Oxford University Press.
Duplication in any form prohibited without permission or valid license from copyright administrator.
Copyright © 2020 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SB125183.