A Prayer Service for the Beginning of Day for January 13, 2021
“And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. John1:32
When reading about Jesus’ baptism, what stands out for you? Last week we learned about Mark’s account. Today we will look at John’s account. What differences do you notice?
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 69:1-5, 30-36
Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the flood sweeps over me.
I am weary with my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
with waiting for my God.
More in number than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me without cause;
many are those who would destroy me,
my enemies who accuse me falsely
What I did not steal
must I now restore?
O God, you know my folly;
the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the LORD more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
For the LORD hears the needy,
and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah;
and his servants shall live there and possess it;
the children of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall live in it.
HYMN
Lord of Glory, You Have Bought Us
1. Lord of glory, you have bought us
with your lifeblood as the price,
never grudging for the lost ones
that tremendous sacrifice;
and with that have freely given
blessings countless as the sand
to the unthankful and the evil
with your own unsparing hand.
2. Grant us hearts, dear Lord, to give you
gladly, freely, of your own.
With the sunshine of your goodness
melt our thankless hearts of stone
till our cold and selfish natures,
warmed by you, at length believe
that more happy and more blessed
'tis to give than to receive.
3. Wondrous honor you have given
to our humblest charity
in your own mysterious sentence,
"You have done it all to me."
Naked, sick, in prison, hungry—
in the least, your face we view,
saying by your poor and needy,
"Give as I have giv'n to you."
4. Lord of glory, you have bought us
with your lifeblood as the price,
never grudging for the lost ones
that tremendous sacrifice.
Give us faith to trust you boldly,
hope, to stay our souls on you:
but, oh, best of all your graces,
with your love our love renew.
Text: Eliza S. Alderson, 1818-1889, alt.
READINGS
Isaiah 41:14-20
Do not fear, you worm Jacob,
you insect Israel!
I will help you, says the LORD;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Now, I will make of you a threshing sledge,
sharp, new, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff.
You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
Then you shall rejoice in the LORD;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the LORD will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
so that all may see and know,
all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
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 1:29-34
The next day [John] saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
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.
MESSAGE
Today we take a look at John’s account of Jesus’ baptism. I’ve read this lesson many times and each time some different stands out. This time, as I read this gospel, the two animals stood out for me—the lamb and the dove.
The lamb reminds me Isaiah 53, where God’s Suffering Servant is said to be like a sheep led to slaughter and a lamb silent before its shearers who “bears the sin of many.” It also reminds me of Exodus 12 when the Israelites are instructed to take an unblemished lamb and slaughter it at twilight. They are to take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses and eat the lamb that same night along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The blood of the lamb spares them from the fate of the Egyptians.
The dove reminds me of Isaiah 11:2 which says:
The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
Do these words sound familiar to you?
If you’ve seen enough baptisms, you will recall that after the pastor baptizes a baby, the following words are prayed over the baby: “God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we give you thanks for freeing your sons and daughters from the power of sin and for raising them up to a new life through this holy sacrament. Pour your Holy Spirit upon name: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence. Amen.”
In John’s gospel, John the Baptist testifies to actually seeing the dove descend and rest on Jesus. This account differs from Mark’s gospel which says, And just as [Jesus] was coming up out of the water, [Jesus] saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. All three synoptic gospels are a little different, but they do not say that John testifies, or anyone else hears the voice of God or sees the dove descend upon Jesus. They do say that Jesus does. It is interesting how the Bible speaks with different voices.
In Christ,
Pastor Harkness
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, for the restoration of peace, and for justice . . .
for the people in countries ravaged by strife or warfare . . .
for all who work for peace and international harmony . . .
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
When Jesus Came to Jordan
1. When Jesus came to Jordan
to be baptized by John,
he did not come for pardon
but as the Sinless One.
He came to share repentance
with all who mourn their sins,
to speak the vital sentence
with which good news begins.
2. He came to share temptation,
our utmost woe and loss,
for us and our salvation
to die upon the cross.
So when the dove descended
on him, the Son of Man,
the hidden years had ended,
the age of grace began.
3. Come, Holy Spirit, aid us
to keep the vows we make;
this very day invade us,
and ev'ry bondage break.
Come, give our lives direction,
the gift we covet most:
to share the resurrection
that leads to Pentecost.
Text: Fred Pratt Green, 1903-2000
Text © 1980 Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2020 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SB125183.