Morning Prayer, Tuesday after the Second Sunday in Lent — March 14, 2017

Opening

O Lord, open my lips,
     and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. (Psalm 51:15)
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.

Invitatory

The Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings. (Malachi 4:2)
Oh, come, let us worship and praise.

Psalm 95:1-7

Come, let us sing to the Lord:
     let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before God’s presence with thanksgiving
     and raise a loud shout to the Lord with psalms.
For you, Lord, are a great God,
     and a great ruler above all gods.
Come, let us sing to the Lord:
     let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
In your hand are the caverns of the earth;
     the heights of the hills are also yours.
The sea is yours, for you made it;
     and your hands have molded the dry land.
Come, let us sing to the Lord:
     let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Come, let us worship and bow down;
     let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
For the Lord is our God,
and we are the people of God’s pasture
and the sheep of God’s hand.
Come, let us sing to the Lord:
     let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.

Invitatory

The Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings.
Oh, come, let us worship and praise.

Isaiah 65:17-25

For I am about to create new heavens
     and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
     or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
     in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
     and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
     and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
     or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it
     an infant that lives but a few days,
     or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
     and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
     they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
     they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
     and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain,
     or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be offspring blessed by the LORD —
     and their descendants as well.
Before they call I will answer,
     while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
     the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
     but the serpent — its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
     on all my holy mountain,
                                      says the LORD.

Creating God, you are Lord of the past and of the future, creating light out of darkness at the dawn of creation. Continue your work of creating new from old and bringing forth life from death. Amen.

Song “Redemption,” Kip Fox

We are thirsty, we have lost our way
Chasing glory, we were led astray
Now we’re drifting, in a barren land
Bruised and hurting, we can hardly stand

So pick us up, pick us up
Pick us up, pick us up
Redemption, redemption
Love reaches down
In the arms of the Father
Holding us now

You deliver, time and time again
With a promise to forgive our sin
When we falter, falling on our face
You respond with never-ending grace

You pick us up, pick us up
Pick us up, pick us up
Redemption, redemption
Love reaches down
In the arms of the Father
Holding us now

He is holding you right now
He is holding you right now

So pick us up, pick us up
Pick us up, pick us up
Pick us up, pick us up
Pick us up, pick us up

Redemption, redemption
Love reaches down
In the arms of the Father
Holding us now

Redemption, redemption
Love reaches down
In the arms of the Father
Holding us now

Romans 4:6-13

So also David speaks of the blessedness of those to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the one against whom the Lord will not reckon sin.” Is this blessedness, then, pronounced only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We say, "Faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness." How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the ancestor of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them, and likewise the ancestor of the circumcised who are not only circumcised but who also follow the example of the faith that our ancestor Abraham had before he was circumcised. For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.

Reflection   “This Old Barn,” a poem by Robert Hinshaw

It has stood for decades along the county gravel road.
Skittering mice and barn owls now call it their abode.

What was once a stately building is now a shambles,
Surrounded by barren fields and prickly brambles.

Where once its weather-boarding was a bright cherry-red,
Due to the ravages of time, they're now a silvered-gray instead.

Yet can be seen a faded Mail Pouch Tobacco sign on its weathered side,
And a rusty weather-vane twisting in the wind, though a bit cockeyed!

Seasons of howling gales have striven to raze its sturdy oaken beams,
But they've held the old barn together though straining at its seams.

Its cavernous lofts once abounded with fragrant alfalfa hay,
That provided children a playground on many a rainy day.

It sheltered horses, sheep and cattle on frigid winter nights,
And for lack of electricity, it was lit by flickering lantern lights.

It was built when neighbors helped neighbors who were skilled,
At wielding hammer and saw and cherished great pride in their guild.

(The old barn of which I speak still stands on Indiana's Farmers' Pike,
Where I spent many happy times as an unassuming Hoosier tyke!)

Scriptural Dialogue

One does not live by bread alone,
     but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

Gospel Canticle “Song of Zechariah”

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.
In the tender compassion of our God
     the dawn from on high shall break upon us.

Through your holy prophets, you promised of old
     to save us from our enemies,
     from the hands of all who hate us,
to show mercy to our forebears,
     and to remember your holy covenant.
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.
In the tender compassion of our God
     the dawn from on high shall break upon us.

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.
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.
In the tender compassion of our God
     the dawn from on high shall break upon us.

Prayers

The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Let us pray. We give thanks to you, heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have protected us through the night from all harm and danger. We ask that you would also protect us today from sin and all evil, so that our life and actions may please you. Into your hands we commend ourselves: our bodies, our souls, and all that is ours. Let your holy angels be with us, so that the wicked foe may have no power over us. Amen.

Lord’s Prayer

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 are yours, now and forever. Amen.

Blessing

May God who has called us forth from the dust of the earth, and claimed us as children of the light, strengthen you on your journey into life renewed. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord’s face shine upon you with grace and mercy. The Lord look upon you with favor
and give you + peace. Amen.

A greeting of peace may be shared by all.

Copyright © 2017 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS011448. New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. “Redemption,” Kip Fox, © 2011 Kip Fox Music. “This Old Barn,” Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF (retired), © Robert L. Hinshaw 2016.