Morning Prayer

Epiphany
From the rising of the sun to its setting my Name shall be great among the nations, and in every place incense shall be offered to my Name, and a pure offering: for my Name shall be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 1:11

Confession of Sin
Most merciful God,
I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen

The Invitatory and Psalter

Lord, open our lips. And our mouth shall proclaim 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

Venite
The Antiphon:

ⓘ   A short, reflective sentence recited alongside a psalm to deepen our understanding of the readings.

The Lord has shown forth his glory: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 140

⁽¹⁾ Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men, ⁽²⁾ Who plan evil things in their hearts; They continually gather together for war. ⁽³⁾ They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; The poison of asps is under their lips. Selah ⁽⁴⁾ Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; Preserve me from violent men, Who have purposed to make my steps stumble.

⁽⁵⁾ The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords; They have spread a net by the wayside; They have set traps for me. Selah ⁽⁶⁾ I said to the LORD: 'You are my God; Hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD. ⁽⁷⁾ O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle. ⁽⁸⁾ Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; Do not further his wicked scheme, Lest they be exalted. Selah

⁽⁹⁾ As for the head of those who surround me, Let the evil of their lips cover them; ⁽¹⁰⁾ Let burning coals fall upon them; Let them be cast into the fire, Into deep pits, that they rise not up again. ⁽¹¹⁾ Let not a slanderer be established in the earth; Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.' ⁽¹²⁾ I know that the LORD will maintain The cause of the afflicted, And justice for the poor.

⁽¹³⁾ Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; The upright shall dwell in Your presence.

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.

Psalm 142

⁽¹⁾ I cry out to the LORD with my voice; With my voice to the LORD I make my supplication. ⁽²⁾ I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. ⁽³⁾ When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, Then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk They have secretly set a snare for me. ⁽⁴⁾ Look on my right hand and see, For there is no one who acknowledges me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul.

⁽⁵⁾ I cried out to You, O LORD: I said, 'You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. ⁽⁶⁾ Attend to my cry, For I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are stronger than I. ⁽⁷⁾ Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me.'

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.

Proverbs Chapter 8

⁽¹⁾ Does not wisdom cry out, And understanding lift up her voice? ⁽²⁾ She takes her stand on the top of the high hill, Beside the way, where the paths meet. ⁽³⁾ She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city, At the entrance of the doors: ⁽⁴⁾ To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men.

⁽⁵⁾ O you simple ones, understand prudence, And you fools, be of an understanding heart. ⁽⁶⁾ Listen, for I will speak of excellent things, And from the opening of my lips will come right things; ⁽⁷⁾ For my mouth will speak truth; Wickedness is an abomination to my lips. ⁽⁸⁾ All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; Nothing crooked or perverse is in them.

⁽⁹⁾ They are all plain to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold; ⁽¹¹⁾ For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her. ⁽¹²⁾ I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And find out knowledge and discretion.

⁽¹³⁾ The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate. ⁽¹⁴⁾ Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength. ⁽¹⁵⁾ By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice. ⁽¹⁶⁾ By me princes rule, and nobles, All the judges of the earth.

⁽¹⁷⁾ I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Riches and honor are with me, Enduring riches and righteousness. ⁽¹⁹⁾ My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, And my revenue than choice silver. ⁽²⁰⁾ I traverse the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice,

⁽²¹⁾ That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, That I may fill their treasuries.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Philemon Chapter 1

⁽¹⁾ Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, ⁽²⁾ to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: ⁽³⁾ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ⁽⁴⁾ I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers,

⁽⁵⁾ hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, ⁽⁶⁾ that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. ⁽⁷⁾ For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. ⁽⁸⁾ Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting,

⁽⁹⁾ yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you -- being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ -- ⁽¹⁰⁾ I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, ⁽¹¹⁾ who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. ⁽¹²⁾ I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart,

⁽¹³⁾ whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. ⁽¹⁴⁾ But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary. ⁽¹⁵⁾ For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, ⁽¹⁶⁾ no longer as a slave but more than a slave -- a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

⁽¹⁷⁾ If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. ⁽¹⁸⁾ But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. ⁽¹⁹⁾ I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay -- not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. ⁽²⁰⁾ Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord.

⁽²¹⁾ Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. ⁽²²⁾ But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you. ⁽²³⁾ Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, ⁽²⁴⁾ as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.

⁽²⁵⁾ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 12

⁽⁹⁾ Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. ⁽¹⁰⁾ But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, ⁽¹¹⁾ because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. ⁽¹²⁾ The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

⁽¹³⁾ took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: 'Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The King of Israel!' ⁽¹⁴⁾ Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: ⁽¹⁵⁾ Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey's colt.' ⁽¹⁶⁾ His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. ⁽¹⁸⁾ For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. ⁽¹⁹⁾ The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, 'You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The Second Song of Isaiah      Isaiah 55:6 to 11

Seek the Lord while he wills to be found;
call upon him when he draws near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the evil ones their thoughts;
And let them turn to the Lord, and he will have compassion,
and to our God, for he will richly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as rain and snow fall from the heavens
and return not again, but water the earth,
Bringing forth life and giving growth,
seed for sowing and bread for eating,
So is my word that goes forth from my mouth;
it will not return to me empty;
But it will accomplish that which I have purposed,
and prosper in that for which I sent it.
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.


The Apostles' Creed
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.

The Prayers

The Lord's Prayer   Traditional
Suffrages A

Seasonal Collect:  Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany
O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Personal Prayers and Reflection

This is a time to pause, consider and listen. Pray for yourself and others. When you lack the words


Closing Prayers   Thanksgiving

Conclude with the following
Let Us Bless the Lord, Thanks be to God

May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Romans 15:13