June 22, 2022
Ordinary Time
- Morning Devotional:
- Ezekiel 32:1-10, Evil like a dragon will be destroyed
- Lesson: God’s judgment would reduce Pharaoh
- Ezekiel 32:1-10, Evil like a dragon will be destroyed
- Midday Devotional:
- Luke 9:37-43a, Jesus heals a boy with a demon
- Lesson: We, too, exhibit weakness of faith.
- Luke 9:37-43a, Jesus heals a boy with a demon
- Evening Devotional:
- Psalm 59, Deliver me from my enemies
- Reflection: Psalm 59 Commentary from the Early Church
- Psalm 59, Deliver me from my enemies
Invitatory
The earth is the Lord’s for he made it:
Come let us adore him.
Hymn
“I Saw the Light”
Morning Prayers
Lord, in your mercy
hear my prayer.
Lord, hear me.
Lord, graciously hear me.
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,
for ever and ever. Amen.
O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [1]
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Alleluia.
Short Verse
O, LORD, you are my portion and my cup;* it is you who uphold my lot.
- Psalm 16:5
Morning Reading
Ezekiel 32:1-10, Evil like a dragon will be destroyed
1 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:
You consider yourself a lion among the nations,
but you are like a dragon in the seas;
you thrash about in your streams,
trouble the water with your feet,
and foul your[a] streams.
3
Thus says the Lord God:
In an assembly of many peoples
I will throw my net over you,
and I[b] will haul you up in my dragnet.
4
I will throw you on the ground;
on the open field I will fling you
and will cause all the birds of the air to settle on you,
and I will let the wild animals of the whole earth gorge themselves on you.
5
I will strew your flesh on the mountains
and fill the valleys with your carcass.[c]
6
I will drench the land with your flowing blood
up to the mountains,
and the watercourses will be filled with you.
7
When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens
and make their stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon shall not give its light.
8
All the shining lights of the heavens
I will darken above you
and put darkness on your land,
says the Lord God.
9
I will trouble the hearts of many peoples
as I carry you captive[d] among the nations,
into countries you have not known.
10
I will make many peoples appalled at you;
their kings shall shudder because of you.
When I brandish my sword before them,
they shall tremble every moment
for their lives, each one of them,
on the day of your downfall.
Morning Lesson
God’s judgment would reduce Pharaoh
“This prophecy was given in 585 B.C., two months after the news of Jerusalem’s fall had reached the exiles in Babylon. Ezekiel prophesied numerous judgments upon many wicked nations. These judgments served a positive purpose: They showed that evil forces are continually being overcome and that one day God will overthrow all evil, making the world the perfect place he intended. They also serve as warnings that God alone is sovereign. Even the mightiest rulers, like Pharaoh, will fall before God. All are accountable to him.” [2]
“Although Pharaoh thought of himself as a strong, young lion, in God’s eyes he was nothing but a crocodile (“sea monster”) muddying the water. God’s judgment would reduce Pharaoh to his true size. Anyone who defies God will face his judgment.” [3]
Midday Prayers
Lord, in your mercy
hear my prayer.
Lord, hear me.
Lord, graciously hear me.
Almighty Savior, who at noonday called your servant Saint Paul to be an apostle to the Gentiles: We pray you to illumine the world with the radiance of your glory, that all nations may come and worship you; for you live and reign for ever and ever. Amen. [4]
For Love
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; Abide in my love that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.
CREATE IN ME, gracious Lord, a spirit that is patient and kind. Keep me from all envy, boasting, arrogance, or rudeness; give me true wisdom and understanding, that I may always rejoice in the truth and never in wrongdoing. Strengthen my trust in you, so that I can bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things. Through your strong leading and my own feeble effort, let me mature and grow from the childish to the adult. You, Lord Jesus, are love; make me to be more like you. Grant that your love may be my word and my wisdom, my great offering and my one accomplishment; for of all things, love is the greatest, and it never comes to an end. Amen. [5]
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Alleluia.
Short Verse
Hear the voice of my prayer when I cry out to you,* when I lift up my hands to your holy of holies.
- Psalm 28:2
Midday Reading
Luke 9:37-43a, Jesus heals a boy with a demon
37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. 39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he[a] shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was being brought forward, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
While everyone was amazed at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples,
Midday Lesson
We, too, exhibit weakness of faith.
“On the way down from the transfiguration, Jesus rescues a demon-possessed boy. Like the disciples who appear in this episode, we, too, exhibit weakness of faith. Thankfully, Jesus does not simply rebuke such failures and then fall silent. Rather, He responds in compassion and forgiveness as well, and so rescues us from unbelief and the menacing power of Satan. • Lord Jesus, keep me strong in faith, that neither fear of death nor the threats of the adversary divert my eyes from You and the glories of Your Gospel promises. Amen.” [6]
Eventide Prayers
Lord, in your mercy
hear my prayer.
Lord, hear me.
Lord, graciously hear me.
O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. [7]
Spirit of the living God,
fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God,
fall afresh on me.
Break me, melt me,
mold me, fill me.
Spirit of the living God,
fall afresh on me. Amen.
- Dan Iverson [8]
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Alleluia.
Short Verse
Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, Lord God of Hosts;* let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me, O God of Israel.
- Psalm 69:7
Eventide Reading
Psalm 59, Deliver me from my enemies
1
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
protect me from those who rise up against me.
2
Deliver me from those who work evil;
from the bloodthirsty, save me.
3
Even now they lie in wait for my life;
the mighty stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4
for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!
5
You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Awake to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6
Each evening they come back
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
7
There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
with sharp words[a] on their lips,
for “Who,” they think,[b] “will hear us?”
8
But you laugh at them, O Lord;
you hold all the nations in derision.
9
O my strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress.
10
My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
11
Do not kill them, or my people may forget;
make them totter by your power and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield.
12
For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13
consume them in wrath;
consume them until they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob. Selah
14
Each evening they come back
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
15
They roam about for food
and growl if they do not get their fill.
16
But I will sing of your might;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been a fortress for me
and a refuge in the day of my distress.
17
O my strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.
Let us pray.
Strong and merciful God, stand with the oppressed against the triumph of evil and the complacency of your people, and establish in Jesus Christ your new order of generosity and joy, for he is alive and reigns now and for ever. Amen. [9]
Reflection
Psalm 59 Commentary from the Early Church
Psalm 59:9-10
There remains the Pelagians’ second act of wickedness, because they posit free will to such a degree in human strength that they think that they by themselves, apart from the grace of God, can conceive of some good or do it. But if this were the case, why would the prophet say, “O my God, his mercy will precede me” [LXX]? When you hear that you were preceded by the mercy of the Lord, one is given to understand that nothing of yours preceded God’s mercy.
Cassiodorus, Expositions of the Psalms 50.7 [10]
Psalm 59:11
[L]ikewise that conditional threat of the sword [in Is 1:19-20], “If you refuse and do not listen to me, the sword shall devour you,” has proved that the sword was Christ, for rebellion against whom they have perished. In the fifty-ninth psalm he demands of the Father their dispersion. . . . By Isaiah he also says, as he finishes a prophecy of their consumption by fire: “Because of me this has happened to you; you shall lie down in sorrow” [Is 50:11]. But all this would be meaningless enough, if they suffered this retribution not on account of him who had in prophecy assigned their suffering to his own cause but for the sake of the Christ of the other god. Well, then, although you affirm that it is the Christ of the other god who was driven to the cross by the powers and authorities of the Creator, as it were by hostile beings, still I have to say, see how manifestly he was defended by the Creator: there were given to him both “the wicked for his burial,” even those who had strenuously maintained that his corpse had been stolen, “and the rich for his death,” even those who had redeemed him from the treachery of Judas, as well as from the lying report of the soldiers that his body had been taken away.
Tertullian, Against Marcion 3.23 [11]
Concluding Prayer of the Church
Forgive, O Lord,
Forgive, O Lord, for Thy dear Son.
The ill that I this day have done,
That with the world, myself, and Thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.
Amen. [12]
Citations:
[1] 2019 Book of Common Prayer: http://bcp2019.anglicanchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/06-Daily-Morning-Prayer-11.21.2019.docx
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2012). Ezekiel. In Chronological life application study Bible (Kindle ed., p. 6731). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Pub.
[3] Ibid. 2
[4] Episcopal Church. (1979). Daily Office. In The Book of common prayer: And administration of the sacraments, and other rites and ceremonies of the church, according to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America: Together with the psalter, or, Psalms of David (pp. 107). New York, NY: Church Publishing Incorporated.
[5] Cobb, D., & Olsen, D. A. (2014). Various Prayers. In Saint Augustine’s prayer book: A book of devotions (Kindle ed., p. 58). Cincinnati, OH: Forward Movement.
[6] A., E. E. (2016). Luke. In The Lutheran study Bible: English standard version (Kindle ed., pp. 7004). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.
[7] 2019 Book of Common Prayer: http://bcp2019.anglicanchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/08-Daily-Evening-Prayer-11.21.2019.docx
[8] Forward Movement. (2013). Prayers for Guidance and Surrender. In Prayers for All Occasions (Kindle ed., pp. 450). Cincinnati, OH: Forward Movement.
[9] Church House Publishing. (2005). Psalter. In Common worship: Daily prayer (pp. 862).
[10] Cassiodorus. (2019). Psalms. In Ancient faith study Bible (Kindle ed., p. 2310). Nashville: Holman Bible.
[11] Tertullian. (2019). Psalms. In Ancient faith study Bible (Kindle ed., p. 2310). Nashville: Holman Bible.
[12] From the hymn, “All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night,” retrieved at: https://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/english/allprttm.htm
Daily Devotionals from St. Peter's Anglican Church 