17 September 2016
Collects
Prayers
developed from the daily readings
Saturday 17 September 2016
Morning
Prayer
Psalm 40
The psalmist tells the
whole congregation of how God delivered him from desolation and being stuck. He
sings a new song of praise telling of God’s innumerable deeds.
God listens even when no
sacrifice is offered. God wants us to fulfil the Law and do God’s will.
The psalmist asks for
more aid: past sins assail him and people want to take his life, to hurt and
ridicule him. He prays for those who do God’s will and repeats the request for
deliverance.
Nahum
1: 1 – 14
Nahum
proclaims that the Lord, slow to anger will act on those who are adversaries.
God will protect those who take refuge with God. The oppressors will be cut off
from their strength and their name will have no more worth.
Matthew
6: 5 – 15
Jesus
says when we pray do it not for external praise but quietly behind a closed
door. Keep it simple and use the prayer our Lord gave us. Forgive others their
trespasses and God will also forgive us. If we fail to forgive, so God will not
forgive us.
Collect for
Morning Prayer
New Norcia - church Benedictine Community WA L Osburn |
Saturday 17 September 2016
Evening
Prayer
Psalms 42 and 43
The psalmist longs for
God. In deep distress his soul thirsts for God. He recalls the times in the
past he has been part of the celebrations. He is in the depths of despair,
oppressed by an enemy. The psalmist tells his soul to hope in God for a time of
praise will come – God is our help.
Again ungodly people
oppress the psalmist. God’s light and truth are
requested. They will lead us back to worship, to joy and praise. The
psalmist tells his soul to hope in God. A time of praise will come – God is our
help.
2 Maccabees 6: 18 – 31
Eleazar, a scribe who is
very old dies a noble and courageous death as an example to the young people.
He is forced to eat pork by the oppressors or be beaten to death. Fellow Jews
have to administer this process. They give him the opportunity to get meat from
his home so that he may look like he eats the meat provided and therefore can
be spared. He chooses not to let people think that at the end he went over to
an alien religion. He wants to be an example of someone who keeps the laws and
to die a good death. As he dies he proclaims how glad he is to suffer for he
reveres God.
Ephesians 4: 1 – 16
Paul encourages the people toward Christian maturity.
We are to lead lives that are worthy of our calling: “with humility,
gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love making every effort to
maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (v.3). We are to hold to
the core components of our faith: one body, one spirit, one Lord, one faith,
one God of all. We have different gifts and abilities and different roles to
play. We are not to be tossed about by novel ideas but to speak truth in love
and steadily grow into Christ.
Collect for
Evening Prayer
Sunset on the canal Mulwala NSW L Osburn |
Holy God, you call us to lives with you in unity with the Spirit and in
bonds of peace. Be with us now and help us reflect on our day. Open our hearts
to see the choices we made today that were worthy of our calling. Help us to
recognise and celebrate those actions of your Holy Spirit in our lives and guide
us to do the same and more tomorrow so that we take another step toward you
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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