Today’s Prayer The Church of England Tuesday 2 January 2024
Heavenly Father,
whose blessed Son shared at Nazareth
the life of an earthly home:
help your Church to live as one family,
united in love and obedience,
and bring us all at last
to our home in heaven;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Morning Prayer Christmas Season Tuesday, 2 January 2024
Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
You laid the foundation of the earth
Alland the heavens are the work of your hands.
One or more of the following is said or sung:
this or another prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, sovereign God,
creator of heaven and earth,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As your living Word, eternal in heaven,
assumed the frailty of our mortal flesh,
may the light of your love be born in us
to fill our hearts with joy as we sing:
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.
a suitable hymn, or A Song of the Bride
1I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, ♦
my soul shall exult in my God;
2Who has clothed me with the garments of salvation, ♦
and has covered me with the cloak of integrity,
3As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, ♦
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
4For as the earth puts forth her blossom, ♦
and as seeds in the garden spring up,
5So shall God make righteousness and praise ♦
blossom before all the nations.
6For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, ♦
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest
7Until her deliverance shines out like the dawn, ♦
and her salvation as a burning torch.
8The nations shall see your deliverance, ♦
and all rulers shall see your glory;
9Then you shall be called by a new name ♦
which the mouth of God will give.
10You shall be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, ♦
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
Isaiah 61.10,11; 62.1-3
AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
This opening prayer may be said
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
AllAmen.
The Word of God
Psalmody
The appointed psalmody is said.
Psalm 18.1-30
Refrain:The Lord my God shall make my darkness to be bright.
1I love you, O Lord my strength. ♦
The Lord is my crag, my fortress and my deliverer,
2My God, my rock in whom I take refuge, ♦
my shield, the horn of my salvation and my stronghold.
3I cried to the Lord in my anguish ♦
and I was saved from my enemies. R
4The cords of death entwined me ♦
and the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5The cords of the Pit fastened about me ♦
and the snares of death entangled me.
6In my distress I called upon the Lord ♦
and cried out to my God for help.
7He heard my voice in his temple ♦
and my cry came to his ears. R
8The earth trembled and quaked; ♦
the foundations of the mountains shook;
they reeled because he was angry.
9Smoke rose from his nostrils
and a consuming fire went out of his mouth; ♦
burning coals blazed forth from him.
10He parted the heavens and came down ♦
and thick darkness was under his feet.
11He rode upon the cherubim and flew; ♦
he came flying on the wings of the wind.
12He made darkness his covering round about him, ♦
dark waters and thick clouds his pavilion. R
13From the brightness of his presence, through the clouds ♦
burst hailstones and coals of fire.
14The Lord also thundered out of heaven; ♦
the Most High uttered his voice
with hailstones and coals of fire.
15He sent out his arrows and scattered them; ♦
he hurled down lightnings and put them to flight.
16The springs of the ocean were seen,
and the foundations of the world uncovered ♦
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your displeasure. R
17He reached down from on high and took me; ♦
he drew me out of the mighty waters.
18He delivered me from my strong enemy, ♦
from foes that were too mighty for me.
19They came upon me in the day of my trouble; ♦
but the Lord was my upholder.
20He brought me out into a place of liberty; ♦
he rescued me because he delighted in me. R
21The Lord rewarded me after my righteous dealing; ♦
according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me,
22Because I had kept the ways of the Lord ♦
and had not gone wickedly away from my God,
23For I had an eye to all his laws, ♦
and did not cast out his commandments from me.
24I was also wholehearted before him ♦
and kept myself from iniquity;
25Therefore the Lord rewarded me
after my righteous dealing, ♦
and according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. R
26With the faithful you show yourself faithful; ♦
with the true you show yourself true;
27With the pure you show yourself pure, ♦
but with the crooked you show yourself perverse.
28For you will save a lowly people ♦
and bring down the high looks of the proud.
29You also shall light my candle; ♦
the Lord my God shall make my darkness to be bright.
30By your help I shall run at an enemy host; ♦
with the help of my God I can leap over a wall. R
Refrain:The Lord my God shall make my darkness to be bright.
From your royal throne, O God,
you sent your living Word
to pierce the gloom of oppression;
so, in our souls’ night,
come with your saving help
and penetrate our darkness with the
rays of your glory
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Each psalm or group of psalms may end with
AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.
Ruth 1
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there for about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons or her husband.
Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had had consideration for his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.’ Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, ‘No, we will return with you to your people.’ But Naomi said, ‘Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.’ Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
So she said, ‘See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.’ But Ruth said,
‘Do not press me to leave you
or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die—
there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus and so to me,
and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!’
When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them; and the women said, ‘Is this Naomi?’ She said to them,
‘Call me no longer Naomi,
call me Mara,
for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me.
I went away full,
but the Lord has brought me back empty;
why call me Naomi
when the Lord has dealt harshly with me,
and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?’
So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Canticle
A Song of the Messiah, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 21 (page 572) or number 26 (page 577), may be said
Refrain:
AllTo us a child is born,
to us a son is given.
1The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; ♦
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
upon them the light has dawned.
2You have increased their joy and given them great gladness; ♦
they rejoiced before you as with joy at the harvest.
3For you have shattered the yoke that burdened them; ♦
the collar that lay heavy on their shoulders.
4For to us a child is born and to us a son is given, ♦
and the government will be upon his shoulder.
5And his name will be called: Wonderful Counsellor;
the Mighty God; ♦
the Everlasting Father; the Prince of Peace.
6Of the increase of his government and of peace ♦
there will be no end,
7Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, ♦
to establish and uphold it with justice and righteousness.
8From this time forth and for evermore; ♦
the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 9.2, 3b, 4a, 6, 7
AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
AllTo us a child is born,
to us a son is given.
Scripture Reading
One or more readings appointed for the day are read.
The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.
Colossians 2.8-end
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.
Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.
If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, ‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’? All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.
A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow
The Word of life which was from the beginning
Allwe proclaim to you.
The darkness is passing away
and the true light is already shining;
Allthe Word of life which was from the beginning.
That which we heard, which we saw with our eyes,
and touched with our hands,
Allwe proclaim to you.
For our fellowship is with the Father,
and with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
AllThe Word of life which was from the beginning
we proclaim to you.
from 1 John 1
Gospel Canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said, or Gloria in Excelsis (A Song of God’s Glory) (page 635) may be said
Refrain:
AllThose who are wise will shine as brightly as the heavens,
and those who have instructed many in virtue will shine like stars
for all eternity.
1Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, ♦
who has come to his people and set them free.
2He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, ♦
born of the house of his servant David.
3Through his holy prophets God promised of old ♦
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,
4To show mercy to our ancestors, ♦
and to remember his holy covenant.
5This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: ♦
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6Free to worship him without fear, ♦
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
7And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, ♦
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8To give his people knowledge of salvation ♦
by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9In the tender compassion of our God ♦
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, ♦
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1.68-79
AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Refrain:
AllThose who are wise will shine as brightly as the heavens,
and those who have instructed many in virtue will shine like stars
for all eternity.
Prayers
Intercessions are offered
¶ for the day and its tasks
¶ for the world and its needs
¶ for the Church and her life
Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 364–365
¶ The Church, especially in places of conflict
¶ The Holy Land, for peace with justice, and reconciliation
¶ Refugees and asylum seekers
¶ Homeless people
¶ Families with young children
A form of prayer found on page 378 may be used.
These responses may be used
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer
(or)
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.
Silence may be kept.
The Collect of the day is said
Lord God,whose servants Basil and Gregory
proclaimed the mystery of your Word made flesh,
to build up your Church in wisdom and strength:
grant that we may rejoice in his presence among us,
and so be brought with them to know the power
of your unending love;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.
The Lord’s Prayer is said
Rejoicing in the presence of God here among us,
as our Saviour taught us, so we pray
AllOur 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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
(or)
Rejoicing in the presence of God here among us,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
AllOur 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,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Conclusion
May God, who has called us out of darkness
into his marvellous light,
bless us and fill us with peace.
AllAmen.
Let us bless the Lord.
AllThanks be to God.
