Good morning. We begin on page 78 of the Book of Common Prayer with morning prayer rate to and the opening verse Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ Dearly beloved we have come together in the presence of almighty God our heavenly Father to step forth his praise to hear his holy word And to ask for ourselves and on behalf of others those things that are necessary for our life and our salvation And so that we may prepare ourselves in a heart and mind to worship him Let us kneel in silence and with penitent and obedient hearts confess our sins that we may obtain forgiveness by his infinite goodness and mercy And this merciful God we confess that we have sinned against you and thought word indeed by what we have done and by what we have left undone We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves We are truly sorry and we humbly repent For the sake of your son Jesus Christ to have mercy on us and forgive us that we 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 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 The mercy of the Lord is everlasting come let us adore him 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 as Psalms For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods and his hand or the caverns of the earth and the heights of the hills Are his awesome the sea is his for he made it and his hands have molded the dry land 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 or that today he would harken to his voice The mercy of the Lord is everlasting come let us adore him Do not fret because of the wicked do not be envious of wrongdoers For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb trust in the Lord and do good So you will live in the land and enjoy security take delight in the Lord And he will give you the desires of your heart commit your way to the Lord trust in him and he will act He will make your vindication shine like the light and the justice of your cause like the new day He's still before the Lord and wait patiently for him do not fret over those who prosper in their way over those who carry out evil Devices we're framed from anger and forsake wrath do not fret it leads only to evil For the wicked shall be cut off but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land Yet a little while in the wicked will be no more though you look diligently for their place They will not be there But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant prosperity The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them But the Lord laughs of the wicked for he sees that their day is coming The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy to kill those who walk up brightly Their sword shall enter their own heart and their bows shall be broken Better is a little of the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked for the arms of the wicked Shall be broken but the Lord upholds the righteous the Lord knows the days of the blameless and their heritage will abide forever 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 A reading from Joshua chapter 3 verse 14 through chapter 4 verse 7 When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan the priests bearing the ark of covenant were in front of the people Now the Jordan overflows all its banks through the time of harvest throughout the time of harvest So when those who bore the ark come to the Jordan and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water The waters flowing from above stood still Rising up in a single heap far off at a dawn the city that is by beside it's a reason while those following toward the sea of the Arabah The Dead Sea were holy cut off then the people crossed over opposite Jericho While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground In the middle of the Jordan until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan the Lord said to Joshua Select 12 men from the people one from each tribe and command them take 12 stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan From the place where the priests feet stood carry them over with you and lay them down in the place where you camp tonight Then Joshua summoned the 12 men from the Israelites whom he had appointed one from each tribe Joshua said to them pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder One for each of the tribes of the Israelites so that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come What do these stones mean to you then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the Covenant of the Lord When it crossed over the Jordan the waters of the Jordan were cut off so these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial forever The word of the Lord thanks be to God We continue with Canticle 8 the song of Moses on page 85 I will sing to the Lord for he is lofty and uplifted the horse and its rider has he hurled into the sea the Lord is my strength in my refuge The Lord has become my Savior. This is my God and I will praise him the God of my people and I will exalt him The Lord is a mighty warrior.
Yeah, why is his name the chariots of Pharaoh and his army has he hurled into the sea? The finest of those who bear armor have been drowned in the Red Sea the fathomless deep has overwhelmed them They sank into the depths like a stone your right hand. Oh Lord is glorious and might your right hand? Oh Lord has overthrown the enemy who can be compared with you?
Oh Lord among the gods who is like you glorious and holiness awesome and renown and worker of wonders you stretched forth your right hand The earth swallowed them up with your constant love you led the people you redeemed with your might you brought them in safety to your holy dwelling You will bring them in and plant them on the mount of your possession the resting place you have made for yourself the Lord the sanctuary Lord that your hand has established the Lord shall reign forever and forever 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 Reading from Romans chapter 12 verses 1 through 18 Excuse me versus one through 8 I appeal to you therefore Brothers and sisters by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God Which is your spiritual worship? Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds So that you may discern what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect for by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment Each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned for as in one body We have many members and not all the members have the same function So we who are many are one body in Christ and individually we are members one of another We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us prophecy in proportion to faith Ministry and ministering the teacher and teaching the Exuerer and exhortation the giver and generosity The leader and diligence the compassionate and sheerfulness the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God Kancicle 20 on page 94 Glory to God in the highest and peace to its people on earth Lord God heavenly King Almighty God and Father We worship you we give you thanks. We praise you for your glory Lord Jesus Christ only son of the Father Lord God Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world Have mercy on us.
You are seated at the right hand of the Father receive our prayer for you alone are the Holy One You alone are the Lord you will own are the most high Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit and the glory of God the Father Amen the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew Glory to you Lord Christ Matthew chapter 26 verses 1 through 16 When Jesus had finished saying all these things he said to his disciples You know that after two days the Passover is coming and the Son of man will be handed over to be crucified Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest who was called Kifus And they conspired to arrest Jesus by self and kill him But they said not during the festival or there may be a riot among the people now Well, Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the lever a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment And she poured it on his head as he sat at the table But when the disciples saw it they were angry and said why this waste but this ointment could have been sold for a large Some and the money given to the poor But Jesus aware of this said to them why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me for you always have the poor with you But you will not always have me by pouring this ointment on my body. She's prepared me for burial Truly I tell you whatever this good news is proclaimed whenever wherever Excuse me truly I tell you wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world What she is done will be told in remembrance of her Then one of the twelve who was called Judas is karaet went to the chief priests and said what will you give me if I betray him to you They paid him 30 pieces of silver and from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him the gospel of the Lord Christ to you Lord Christ We continue with the apostles creed on page 96. 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 power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary He suffered under Pontius Pilate and 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 in the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit the Holy Catholic Church the communion of saints Forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting The Lord be with you and also with you let us pray our Father in heaven hallowed be your name your kingdom Come your will be done on earth as in heaven Give us today our daily bread forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil For the kingdom the power and the glory or yours now and forever. Amen Show us your mercy, O Lord and grant us your salvation Close your ministers with righteousness let your people sing with joy Give peace O Lord in all the world for only in you can we live in safety? Lord keep this nation under your care and guide us in the way of justice and truth Let your way be known upon earth.
You're saving health among all nations. Let not the media of Lord be forgotten Nor the hope of the poor be taken away Great and us clean hearts of God and sustain us with your Holy Spirit 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 your son Our Lord, Amen Almighty and everlasting God by whose spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy church that in their vocation Ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Here's the place where we say a few prayers together and then prayers on our own As you know, I've been enjoying saying the prior tribute of the De St. Francis number 62 on page 833 Lord make us instruments of your peace where there is hatred let us so love where there is injury pardon where there is discord union Where there is doubt faith where there is despair hope where there is darkness light where there is sadness joy Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console to be understood as to understand to be loved as to love For it is in giving that we receive it is in pardoning that we are pardoned and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life Amen We will also pray the prayer right before that prayer number 61 prayer of self-dedication Almighty and eternal God so draw our hearts to be so guide our minds so fill our imaginations So control our wills that we may be holy vine Utterly dedicated unto thee and then use us we pray be as thou wilt and only to thy glory and the welfare of thy people Through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen Now I'll pause the recording and perhaps you will too and we will say some personal prayers.
I have a few thoughts on today's readings Let me see where to start. I suppose let's start with the first one reading from the Psalms One of the many messages that I get from this reading is that when we are aligned with God when his desires are our desires When our heart sings the same song as his heart I feel forgive me being a bit flowery then we get what we want and I know that it sounds a little bit Simplistic if we want the Lord's will and the Lord's will is always done The Lord's will alone be done as a prayer that I pray over my life and my life of my friends and family quite often Then of course it's all gonna work out right so just fix yourself So you want what God wants and I know that's um, it's not quite the crux of it right? It's more I believe anyway that as we draw closer to the Lord We become in greater unity with him and our desires Become more aligned with his desires right as another passage in the Bible says create in us a new and clean heart and I think that Some of our wants are shaped by the world and some of our deep desires are shaped by the Lord and sifting sifting through and Using the discernment of the Holy Spirit to figure out which is which and which to cling to and which to cleave that That I believe is one of the great mysteries of life but not unattainable And so that is my prayer for us that as our life is sifted or we sift our life because sometimes it happens to us and sometimes We are intentional about it that the Holy Spirit grant us the discernment to see what to cling to and what to cleave In our reading from Joshua The Lord really comes through right He creates a safe space a calm space a space of dry ground in the middle of the rushing waters and forgive me if I go a little too far again with the imagery and Those who carry the arc who are special people right because they're carrying the Ark of the Covenant They're carrying the Lord because in those days God did not yet dwell within us He dwelt without and we carried him with us now we carry him inside us right But those who carry the Ark of the Lord where God went peace prevailed and he parted the waters so they could pass through safely True safety is found in the Lord and the circles back to our Psalm again True safety is found in the Lord Put a pin in that hold on to it Okay, because we'll get to it when we get to the gospel reading Another piece that I love about Joshua is that it's a beautiful example about being chosen by the Lord for special roles and how Those chosen for the roles serve on the people's behalf So those carrying the Ark stood in the middle of the dry ground Keeping holding and receding On behalf of the people and creating that safe space for them and holding it there as long as they needed it Lord may those of us that feel called to serve others create a safe space and hold it open as As long as it's needed which might be always for the people around us The Holy Name of Jesus Christ, Amen Okay, we've still got the pin and the only safety being in God, right? So we'll go on now to Romans Oh, what I love about this is that it acknowledges that people are different and have Different gifts and those gifts differ not according to any sort of limitation But according to the grace that God has given us.
Oh, and I want to hold on to that so much Can we just hold on to that? We are different not because of our limitations But because of God's limitless grace and the beautiful myriad of different ways which he has chosen to bestow it upon us Also, it speaks to the transformation of our minds which circles back to a common theme throughout our readings at least for me Which is that when we allow God to transform us we are moved ever closer to him and we become more in alignment with him We are in harmony and we get closer to living our lives in that sweet spot so to speak For those of you who are baseball fans right the sweet spot on the bat is where the ball hits it just right and you crack it in outer space I know it's a fine But anyway when we live our lives in that sweet spot of harmony with the Lord then things align and the kind of the key there Is that the blessings might not look like worldly blessings the success might not look like worldly success And that's not an out it's an invitation to broaden our vision of what living with and in God and being blessed by him means For me it means growth and transformation and so this passage is very affirming to me in it in a couple of different ways Okay Onto the gospel reading so something I noticed today is that The woman in this story and I don't believe that this woman was Mary Magdalene I know that I know that there is a school of thought that thinks she is and quite frankly forgive me if this is insulting to anyone But quite frankly, I think that that diminishes the role here I think when we say oh she's Mary Magdalene, it's really just kind of like oh women can't do that many awesome things So this must be the same woman doing whatever Forgive me. I kind of run off of my little ran there. I believe that's another amazing woman another amazing woman rather but she gives excessively to God and Even the disciples around her who are still operating in this human mentality of scarcity They are aghast at the excessiveness of her tribute to the Lord Then we have right behind it on the opposite side of things So we have the woman giving what the world thinks is too much right to Jesus And then immediately behind it.
Hang on a second. Sorry guys I've got um the dog here with me in prayer time and he apparently is easily distracted But I kind of need to keep him with me so he doesn't a wake up the son or be good or something he's not supposed to be doing But so we've got the woman and right behind her We've got and Judas is carrying the Lord for what now seems like very little, right? So the woman gives overly much and Judas betrays for overly little and ends up As giving his whole life as a result of that mistake and so the juxtaposition of those Two responses to the Lord are very interesting to me But the reason I wanted to put a pen in the piece about true safety being found only in the Lord Is it really connected with me in all of our passages today and in the gospel too that That when we give to God he replenishes so the woman pouring out the ointment I think that we can it's not too far of a leap to make the parallel there between us pouring ourselves out All we have are resources our gifts our talents for the Lord and knowing that he will replenish them Jack had a really interesting question for me in the car the other day We've been having great conversations tuned from crew camp And so I'm grateful for that driving time with him I can't wait to see what we talk about this weekend when we take a bit of a road trip And the answer to the very tough question that he asked which was to the effect of Why do people behave in a way that's not generous towards the least of us And the answer that I believe the Holy Spirit gave me because anything good that comes out of my mouth comes through him right Was that it's because they're acting from a place of fear or a place of scarcity They're afraid of not having enough that if they give What they have that then they will be left without and I think that's something that That trust in God overcomes that we will be given back that If we give from a place of love instead of hold on from a place of fear Poured from a place of fear. We're going to be in a much better place God will replenish.
I remember having a boss who was super well intentioned. He really was Telling me once I think that you might give too much of your time and your money to your church And I can really see that that was a remark that was intended to assist me because he didn't want me to empty myself out and have nothing left And he was I called him my work dad so he was I had given him that place in my life And that kind of brings us to another question about who are we letting speak into our lives right? Let's set that aside for the moment. I don't think that's part of today's narrative here Um, but I've come to learn that when I Pregrfully discern where to pour myself my energy my talents my time my money into that God God blesses that and that I get back even more than I gave out and I think that's Where we know that we're moving in our calling is that it doesn't deplete us the more we give out the more we are we filled Just my thought anyway, um, and I'm gonna go ahead and mention this here and sorry if you disagree with me Um, but I don't believe that it's always a particular percentage I don't believe that way with money and I don't believe that way with time or effort or gifts either I don't believe that we've jol ourselves out in 10 percent So particularly the bit about tithe tithe thing really needs 10 percent to your church I believe that it is whatever we are called to give and sometimes it's more than we feel we can afford and sometimes it is not money but Time which in our world to a lot of us is even more precious than money And I think 10 percent of a salary to one person is astronomical and to another is a drop in the bucket They don't even feel rushed.
Would you knock it off please? Apparently the dog wants to chime in. I'm sorry Um, really somebody's walking by the house. So he's very protective of this territory here and on a second So to kind of wrap up the rambling I apologize for that Um, on percentages and so forth But I think I'm trying to say is that it's not a formula Like so much else probably everything else in our faithlight.
It was not a formula it all comes down to trusting God and really really um making the root of every day about drawing closer to him and living in harmony with him And discerning by the Holy Spirit So that all being said and forgive me that it went around and around and in circles and down the garden path and whatever metaphor is We move on to the general Thanksgiving On page 101 almighty god father of all mercies We are unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving kindness to us and to all whom you have made We bless you for our creation preservation and all the blessings of this life But above all for your immeasurable love and the redemption of the world by our lord, Jesus Christ For the means of grace and for the hope of glory And we pray give us such an awareness of your mercies That with truly thankful hearts we may ship forth through praise Not only with our lips but in our lives by giving of ourselves to your service and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness All our days through Jesus Christ our lord to whom with you in the Holy Spirit the honor and glory throughout all ages Amen Almighty god you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our commons application to you And you have promised through your well-beloved son that when two or three are gathered together in his name You will be in the midst of them fulfill now a lord our desires and petitions is maybe best for us Granting us in this world knowledge of your truth and an age to come life everlasting Let us bless the lord. Thanks be to god Glory to god whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine Glory to him from generation to generation in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever Amen We live without fear for our creator has made us holy has always protected us and loves us as a mother loves her children Go in peace to follow the good road and may god's blessing be with us always Amen