OREMUS for Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Saint Matthias the Apostle
O Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Blessed are you, almighty God,
for your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
who established the Church
upon the foundation of the apostles,
through whom we have received the Good News
and come to know the mystery of salvation.
For these and all your mercies, we praise you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
Blessed be God for ever!
An opening canticle may be sung.
Psalm 33
Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous;*
it is good for the just to sing praises.
Praise the Lord with the harp;*
play to him upon the psaltery and lyre.
Sing for him a new song;*
sound a fanfare with all your skill upon the trumpet.
For the word of the Lord is right,*
and all his works are sure.
He loves righteousness and justice;*
the loving-kindness of the Lord fills the whole earth.
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,*
by the breath of his mouth all the heavenly hosts.
He gathers up the waters of the ocean
as in a water-skin*
and stores up the depths of the sea.
Let all the earth fear the Lord;*
let all who dwell in the world stand in awe of him.
For he spoke and it came to pass;*
he commanded and it stood fast.
The Lord brings the will of the nations to naught;*
he thwarts the designs of the peoples.
But the Lord=92s will stands fast for ever,*
and the designs of his heart from age to age.
Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord!*
happy the people he has chosen to be his own!
The Lord looks down from heaven,*
and beholds all the people in the world.
=46rom where he sits enthroned he turns his gaze*
on all who dwell on the earth.
He fa****ons all the hearts of them*
and understands all their works.
There is no king that can be saved by a mighty army;*
the strong are not delivered by great strength.nbsp;
The horse is a vain hope for deliverance;*
for all its strength it cannot save.
Behold, the eye of the Lord
is upon those who fear him,*
on those who wait upon his love,
To pluck their lives from death,*
and to feed them in time of famine.
Our soul waits for the Lord;*
he is our help and our ****eld.
Indeed, our heart rejoices in him,*
for in his holy name we put our trust.
Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us,*
as we have put our trust in you.
A Song of Christ's Appearing (1 Timothy 3:16; 6:15-16)
Christ Jesus was revealed in the flesh
and vindicated in the spirit.
He was seen by angels
and proclaimed among the nations.
Believed in throughout the world,
he was taken up in glory.
This will be made manifest at the proper time
by the blessed and only Sovereign,
Who alone has immortality,
and dwells in unapproachable light.
To the King of kings and Lord of lords
be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.
Psalm 147:13-end
Alleluia!
Wor****p the Lord, O Jerusalem;*
praise your God, O Zion;
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;*
he has blessed your children within you.
He has established peace on your borders;*
he satisfies you with the finest wheat.
He sends out his command to the earth,*
and his word runs very swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;*
he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.
He scatters his hail like bread crumbs;*
who can stand against his cold?
He sends forth his word and melts them;*
he blows with his wind and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,*
his statutes and his judgements to Israel.
He has not done so to any other nation;*
to them he has not revealed his judgements.
Alleluia!
FIRST READING [1 Samuel 12:1-5]:
Samuel said to all Israel, 'I have listened to you in all that you
have said to me, and have set a king over you. See, it is the king who
leads you now; I am old and grey, but my sons are with you. I have led
you from my youth until this day. Here I am; testify against me before
the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose
donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed?
Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it?
Testify against me and I will restore it to you.' They said, 'You have
not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from the hand of
anyone.' He said to them, 'The Lord is witness against you, and his
anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my
hand.' And they said, 'He is witness.'
HYMN
Words: Gerard Moultrie (1829-1885)
Tune: Sherbourne
Bishop of the souls of men,
when the foeman's step is nigh,
when the wolf lays wait by night
for the lambs continually,
watch, O Lord, about us keep,
guard us, Shepherd of the sheep.
When the hireling flees away,
caring only for his gold,
and the gate unguarded stands
at the entrance to the fold,
stand, O Lord, thy flock before,
thou the Guardian, thou the Door.
Lord, whose guiding finger ruled
in the casting of the lot,
that thy Church might fill the throne
of the lost Iscariot,
in our trouble ever thus
stand, good Master, nigh to us.
When the saints their order take
in the new Jerusalem,
and Matthias stands elect,
give us part and lot with him,
where in thine own dwelling-place
we may witness face to face.
SECOND READING [Acts 1:15-end]:
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd
numbered about one hundred and twenty people) and said, 'Friends, the
scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David
foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested
Jesus for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this
ministry.' (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his
wickedness; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all
his bowels gushed out. This became known to all the residents of
Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their language Hakeldama,
that is, Field of Blood.) 'For it is written in the book of Psalms,
"Let his homestead become desolate,
and let there be no one to live in it";
and
"Let another take his position of overseer."
So one of the men who have accompanied us throughout the time that the
Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of
John until the day when he was taken up from us one of these must
become a witness with us to his resurrection.' So they proposed two,
Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.
Then they prayed and said, 'Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us
which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this
ministry and apostle****p from which Judas turned aside to go to his
own place.' And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias;
and he was added to the eleven apostles.
The Benedictus (Morning), the Magnificat (Evening), or Nunc dimittis
(Night) may follow.
Prayer:
Let us pray to God,
whose word was entrusted to the Apostles
and has spread to all the world.
Empower your Church
to proclaim the saving message of Jesus Christ.
Lord of mercy,
spread your word.
Give us courage and strength
to spread the Gospel in places
where it has not been preached.
Lord of mercy,
spread your word.
Bless us in our personal lives
that we may live fully according to Jesus' example.
Lord of mercy,
spread your word.
Open our eyes to your Word in the Holy Scriptures
that we find new paths of understanding.
Lord of mercy,
spread your word.
Remember, in your mercy, those who have gone before
marked with the sign of faith and led by the Gospel.
Lord of mercy,
spread your word.
Feed your people, O Lord,
with your holy Word
and free us from the temptations
which lead us away from you
that, being filled with your mercy,
we may be admitted to your holy presence;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God,
who in the place of Judas chose your faithful servant Matthias
to be numbered among the Twelve:
Grant that your Church, being delivered from false apostles,
may always be guided and governed by faithful and true pastors;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Gathering our prayers and praises into one,
let us pray as our Savior has taught us.
- The Lord's Prayer
Savior,
send us to earth's ends with water and words
and startle us with the grace, love, and communion
of your unity in diversity,
that we may live to the praise of your majestic Name. Amen.
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The psalms are from Celebrating Common Prayer (Mowbray), =A9 The Society
of Saint Francis 1992, which is used with permission.
The canticle is from Common Wor****p: Daily Prayer, Preliminary
Edition, copyright =A9 The Archbishops' Council, 2002.
The biblical passage is from The New Revised Standard Version
(Anglicized Edition), copyright =A9 1989, 1995 by the Division of
Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ
in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The opening prayer of thanksgiving is adapted from a prayer by Philip
Newell and the closing sentence is adapted from Revised Common
Lectionary Prayers, copyright =A9 2002 Consultation on Common Texts.
http://oremus.org/oremus.cgi?f
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