A Service of Prayer for the Beginning of Day for February 10, 2021

What would it have been like to be Jesus? He was so sought after, so popular that crowds followed him. It got to the point that Jesus asked his disciples to have a boat ready so that he could escape the crowds. 

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 102:12-28

But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever;
your name endures to all generations.
You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to favor it;
the appointed time has come.
For your servants hold its stones dear,
and have pity on its dust.
The nations will fear the name of the LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
For the LORD will build up Zion;
he will appear in his glory.
He will regard the prayer of the destitute,
and will not despise their prayer. 

Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD:
that he looked down from his holy height,
from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die;
so that the name of the LORD may be declared in Zion,
and his praise in Jerusalem,
when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the LORD. 

He has broken my strength in midcourse;
he has shortened my days.
  “O my God,” I say, “do not take me away
at the mid-point of my life,
you whose years endure
throughout all generations.” 

Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,
\and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you endure;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You change them like clothing, and they pass away;
but you are the same, and your years have no end.
The children of your servants shall live secure;
their offspring shall be established in your presence.

 HYMN
O God, Our Help in Ages Past

1. O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home:

2. Under the shadow of your throne
your saints have dwelt secure;
sufficient is your arm alone,
and our defense is sure.

3. Before the hills in order stood
or earth received its frame,
from everlasting you are God,
to endless years the same.

4. A thousand ages in your sight
are like an evening gone,
short as the watch that ends the night
before the rising sun.

6. O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
still be our guard while troubles last
and our eternal home!

Text: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748, alt.

READINGS
Job 6:1-13

Then Job answered:
“O that my vexation were weighed
and all my calamity laid in the balances!
For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
therefore my words have been rash.
For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;
my spirit drinks their poison;
the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
Does the wild ass bray over its grass,
or the ox low over its fodder?
Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,
or is there any flavor in the juice of mallows?
My appetite refuses to touch them;
they are like food that is loathsome to me. 

“O that I might have my request,
and that God would grant my desire;
that it would please God to crush me,
that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
This would be my consolation;
I would even exult in unrelenting pain;
for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should be patient?
Is my strength the strength of stones,
or is my flesh bronze?
In truth I have no help in me,
and any resource is driven from me.  

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
Mark 3:7-12 

Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.

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
Finding Hope in Darkness and Keeping Faith

In taking a few moments to ponder over the book of Job and then read today’s psalm, I could almost imagine Job praying this psalm. Psalm 102 begins with a lowly exile lamenting over the destruction of Jerusalem and praying for its restoration. Has hope and faith in that in dark times the Lord will build up Zion and that he will appear in his glory. Traditionally this psalm is used during fast days and is a prayer for personal restoration. Which brings us to Job, who was a righteous man who had every think he could want or need taken away from him.

I’ve always found the situation in the book of Job puzzling. Why would the Lord enter into a wager with the Adversary (Satan)? Why would God empower the Adversary, who is a kind of heavenly prosecutor, to afflict undeserved suffering upon Job? Is it an experiment to test the Lord’s thesis that Job’s virtue is unconditional? 

The Adversary suggests that Job’s virtue is continent upon his material success. He believes that if Job were to suffer he would stop being faithful and would curse God. But, the Lord has faith in Job. God believes that Job its the most virtuous person on earth. And so the experiment begins. Amidst the experiment, Job suffers greatly. He is certainly living through a dark time in his life. And yet after losing all his material goods and the death by natural disaster of his seven sons and three daughters he responds by praising God and refusing to curse him. The Adversary challenges the Lord  to see if physically afflicting Job himself might cause Job to commit blasphemy and the Lord again agrees. Life becomes even darker. Even Job’s wife prods him to curse God, but Job remains steadfast and faithful proving the Adversary wrong. 

Then his “friends” provoke and blame Job for all his misfortunes. After all, he must have done something wrong to cause God’s wrath upon him. But Job knows that he has remained righteous. Instead of cursing God he curses himself and the day he was born. In the end Job is questioned by God and he relies, ““I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” Job walked through the darkness and his trials. He kept his faith and the Lord restores Job’s life.

Our gospel lesson speaks of many who live darkness and have hope that Jesus will heal them. There are so many Jesus fears he will be crushed by them so he asks his disciples to have a boat ready so that he can escape. The lesson ends with “Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” But he sternly ordered them not to make him known. It leaves me wondering whether Jesus is feeling overwhelmed by the crowds and the demons. Could this be a dark moment for Jesus. But following this lesson, Mark tells us that Jesus, went up the mountain, called twelve men. He named apostles. They were to stay with him, be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. He is finding hope in some help in his mission.

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
Take My Life that I May Be (Verses 1-2, 4, and 6)

1. Take my life, that I may be
consecrated, Lord, to thee;
take my moments and my days;
let them flow in ceaseless praise.

2. Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of thy love;
take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee. 

4. Take my silver and my gold,
not a mite would I withhold;
take my intellect and use
ev'ry pow'r as thou shall choose. 

6. Take my love; my Lord, I pour 
at thy feet its treasure store;
take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.

Text: Frances R. Havergal, 1836-1879, alt.

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