A Service of Prayer for the Beginning of Day for Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Jesus said, “While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.

”

John 12:36

When things get tough, what do we do? Each of us reacts in a different way. The Israelites complained to Moses in the wilderness. Yes they were freed from bondage, but they didn’t like desert food! St Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. We see these words as good news. Today we focus on God’s abundance and his great love for us.

DIALOGUE

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
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.

Alleluia.

PSALMODY

Give glory to God, our light and our life.
Oh, come, let us worship him.
Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth; the heights of the hills are also his.
The sea is his, for he made it; and his hands have molded the dry land.
Oh, come, let us bow down and bend the knee, and kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
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

Give glory to God, our light and our life. 
Oh, come, let us worship him

Psalm 105:1-11, 37-45

O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
  Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Seek the LORD and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
  O offspring of his servant Abraham,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

He is the LORD our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
  He is mindful of his covenant forever,
of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
  which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”

 Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
  Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.
He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
They asked, and he brought quails,
and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
  For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.

So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the LORD!

 HYMN 
Forgive Our Sins As We Forgive

1. "Forgive our sins as we forgive,"
you taught us, Lord, to pray;
but you alone can grant us grace
to live the words we say.

2. How can your pardon reach and bless
the unforgiving heart
that broods on wrongs and will not let
old bitterness depart?

3. In blazing light your cross reveals
the truth we dimly knew:
how trifling others' debts to us;
how great our debt to you!

4. Lord, cleanse the depths within our souls
and bid resentment cease;
then, by your mercy reconciled,
our lives will spread your peace.

Text: Rosamond E. Herklots, 1905-1987, alt.
Text © Oxford University Press 1969
Duplication in any form prohibited without permission or valid license from copyright administrator.

READINGS
Jeremiah 30:12-22

For thus says the LORD:
Your hurt is incurable,
your wound is grievous.
There is no one to uphold your cause,
no medicine for your wound,
no healing for you.
All your lovers have forgotten you;
they care nothing for you;
for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy,
the punishment of a merciless foe,
because your guilt is great,
because your sins are so numerous.
Why do you cry out over your hurt?
Your pain is incurable.
Because your guilt is great,
because your sins are so numerous,
I have done these things to you.
Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured,
and all your foes, everyone of them, shall go into captivity;
those who plunder you shall be plundered,
and all who prey on you I will make a prey.
For I will restore health to you,
and your wounds I will heal, says the LORD,
because they have called you an outcast:
“It is Zion; no one cares for her!” 

Thus says the LORD:
I am going to restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob,
and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound,
and the citadel set on its rightful site.

Out of them shall come thanksgiving,
and the sound of merrymakers.

 I will make them many, and they shall not be few;
I will make them honored, and they shall not be disdained.

Their children shall be as of old,
their congregation shall be established before me;
and I will punish all who oppress them.

Their prince shall be one of their own,
their ruler shall come from their midst;

 I will bring him near, and he shall approach me,
for who would otherwise dare to approach me? says the LORD.

And you shall be my people,
and I will be your God. 

Silence for meditation.

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,
but in these last days God has spoken to us by the Son. 

GOSPEL
John 12:36-43

While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”

 After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them. Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah:
“Lord, who has believed our message,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said,
“He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.”
Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke about him. Nevertheless many, even of the authorities, believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God. 

Silence for meditation.

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,
but in these last days God has spoken to us by the Son.

MESSAGE
God of Abundance!

Three days after entering the wilderness, after being set free from bondage in Egypt, what do the Israelites do? They complain against Moses. Why? There is no water to drink. When they arrive at Mar’ah, the water is bitter and they complain saying, What shall we drink? This water is awful! Moses takes their complaint to God and God answers. Moses obeys the Lord and throws a piece of wood into the water and the water turns sweet. The Lord instructs his people to listen and do what is right, He will protect them from disease and will heal them. They are then led to a place where there are twelve springs. Our God is a God of abundance!

The Israelites are in the wilderness for one and half months and what do they do? They complain against Moses and Aaron. Why? They remember how they ate bread in Egypt and now, even through they are free, they are hungry. Moses takes their complaint to God and God responds. God rains bread (manna) from heaven. Again they complain, for there is not meat to eat. What does God do? God provides them with quail to eat. Our God is a God of abundance.

When things get tough, what do we do? I don’ like to admit it, but sometimes my first reaction is to complain. So, I’m working on breaking that tendency because, to tell you the truth, no one likes to hear it. Personally I have found prayer to be quite helpful. God heard the Israelites complaints and God responded. Why? Because we have a God of abundance. 

Another helpful response is gratitude. Rather than looking at what is unfair, it is more productive to find something that we can learn from an experience. Or, we can be more proactive and assertively try to resolve the situation we’re in. We may find that much patience is required. Sometimes it takes a long time before we find a resolution or know the direction God is calling us.

In psalm 105, the psalmist looks to the ways God provides for his people and responds with gratitude.   He sees a God of abundance. The Jeremiah passage begins with rebuke. God’s people are suffering in exile in Babylon. Yet, the passage ends with consolation. It looks toward restoration and brings these words of reassurance, “And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”  

And finally, placing the gospel passage in John in context, Jesus enters Jerusalem not as a king who will kill to save them, but as a king who will die for their salvation. He makes a final attempt to draw the Pharisees into the light. And yet, they do not have faith and resist Jesus’ revelation. They are locked in their knowledge of the Law. But, what stands out for me are Jesus’ words to the crowd, “ While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” What greater gift can Jesus give, than living up his life for the sake of all people? 

Here’s the point! We all have certain proclivities whether it is complaining, procrastinating, teasing, relating sarcastically or dismissively, etc. that others may find off-putting. But, the good news is that we can change our ways and acknowledge God loves us and will help us. Our response to Jesus great gift for us is to live out our lives as children of the light, as best we can and to believe that we certainly have a God of abundance.

In Christ,
Pastor Harkness

THE GOSPEL CANTICLE

Refrain:
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. Refrain

Through your holy prophets, you promised of old
to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us;
you promised to show mercy to our forebears
and to remember your holy covenant. Refrain

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. Refrain

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. Refrain

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. Refrain

PRAYERS

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Let us pray,
Mighty God of mercy, we thank you for the resurrection dawn, bringing the glory of our risen Lord who makes every day new.
Especially we thank you—
for the sustaining goodness of your creation . . .
for the new creation in Christ and all gifts of healing and forgiveness . . .
for the gifts of relationship with others . . .
for the communion of faith in your church . . .

Merciful God of might, renew this weary world, heal the hurts of all your children, and bring about your peace for all in Christ Jesus, the living Lord.
Especially we pray—
for those who govern nations of the world especially our president and governors . . .
for the people of our country, for the restoration of peace, and for justice . . .
for the people in countries ravaged by strife or warfare . . .
for all who work for peace and international harmony . . .
for all who strive to save the earth from carelessness and destruction . . .
for the church of Jesus Christ in every land . . .

Almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us in safety to this new day. Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor be overcome in adversity. In all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

LORD’S PRAYER

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,
forever and ever. 
Amen

Let us bless the Lord
Thanks be to God.

BENEDICTION

Almighty God, the Father,  ☩  the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless and preserve us. Amen

HYMN
Lord Jesus, Think on Me

In this version the words of the verses vary slightly from our hymnal. It also includes additional verses.

1 Lord Jesus, think on me,
and purge away my sin;
from selfish passions set me free
and make me pure within.

2 Lord Jesus, think on me,
by anxious thoughts oppressed;
let me your loving servant be
and taste your promised rest.

3 Lord Jesus, think on me,
nor let me go astray;
through darkness and perplexity
point out your chosen way.

4 Lord Jesus, think on me,
that, when the flood is past,
I may the eternal brightness see
and share your joy at last.

Text: Synesius of Cyrene, 375-430; tr. Allen W. Chatfield, 1808-1896, alt.

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