Daily Prayer, Friday, May 4, 2012

Those who seek him shall praise the Lord.

Morning
Invitatory Psalm 118
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   his steadfast love endures forever!
….
Let those who fear the Lord say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”

Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me
   and set me in a broad place.
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
What can mortals do to me?
The Lord is on my side to help me;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
   than to put confidence in mortals.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
   than to put confidence in princes.
...
The Lord is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
There are glad songs of victory
  in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;
the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”
I shall not die, but I shall live,
   and recount the deeds of the Lord.
...
The stone that the builders rejected
   has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God, and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
   up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God, I will extol you.
O give thanks to the Lord,
   for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.


Psalm 41
Happy are those who consider the poor;
the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.
The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;
   they are called happy in the land.
You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.

The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;
   in their illness you heal all their infirmities.
As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
   heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
My enemies wonder in malice when I will die,
   and my name perish.
And when they come to see me, they utter empty words,
   while their hearts gather mischief;
   when they go out, they tell it abroad.

All who hate me whisper together about me;
they imagine the worst for me.
They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,
  that I will not rise again from where I lie.
Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,
  who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.

But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
  and raise me up, that I may repay them.
By this I know that you are pleased with me;
   because my enemy has not triumphed over me.
But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
   and set me in your presence forever.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
   from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

Psalm 42
As a deer longs for flowing streams, 
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. 
When shall I come and behold the face of God?
My tears have been my food day and night,
   while people say to me continually, “Where is your God?”

These things I remember, as I pour out my soul:
   how I went with the throng,
   and led them in procession to the house of God,
       with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
   a multitude keeping festival.

Why are you cast down, O my soul, 
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, 
my help and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
   therefore I remember you 
from the land of Jordan
and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me?
   Why must I walk about mournfully 
because the enemy oppresses me?”
As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me,
   while they say to me continually, “Where is your God?”

Why are you cast down, O my soul, 
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, 
my help and my God.



Psalm 43
Vindicate me, O God, 
and defend my cause against an ungodly people;
from those who are deceitful and unjust deliver me!
For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you cast me off?
Why must I walk about mournfully 
because of the oppression of the enemy?
O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.

Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.

Why are you cast down, O my soul, 
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.



Psalm 47
Clap your hands, all you peoples; 
shout to God with loud songs of joy.
For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome, 
a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us, 
and nations under our feet.
He chose our heritage for us, 
the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
God has gone up with a shout, 
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.


Sing praises to God, sing praises; 
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the king of all the earth; 
sing praises with a psalm.
God is king over the nations; 
God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples gather 
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God; 
he is highly exalted.



Daily Lectionary Reading, Acts 8:36-40
36 As they went down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look! Water! What would keep me from being baptized?” ( z) 38 He ordered that the carriage halt. Both Philip and the eunuch went down to the water, where Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Lord’s Spirit suddenly took Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip found himself in Azotus. He traveled through that area, preaching the good news in all the cities until he reached Caesarea. _________________________________________________
z  Critical editions of the Gk New Testament do not include 8:37 Philip said to him, “If you believe with all your heart, you can be.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son.”
[Common English Bible]


Prayer for Today: God, help us to welcome people into the community of our church. Help us to welcome unfamiliar people. Help us to be ready to respond to their needs. Amen.

Midday Psalm 119:78-88
Let the arrogant be put to shame,
   because they have subverted me with guile;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
Let those who fear you turn to me,
   so that they may know your decrees.
May my heart be blameless in your statutes,
   so that I may not be put to shame.
My soul languishes for your salvation;
I hope in your word.
My eyes fail with watching for your promise;
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
How long must your servant endure?
When will you judge those who persecute me?
The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me;
they flout your law.
All your commandments are enduring;
I am persecuted without cause; help me!
They have almost made an end of me on earth;
   but I have not forsaken your precepts.
In your steadfast love spare my life,
   so that I may keep the decrees of your mouth.



Evening
Psalm 74
O God, why do you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smoke
   against the sheep of your pasture?
Remember your congregation,
   which you acquired long ago,
   which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage.
Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.

....
You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.
You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
You cut openings for springs and torrents;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.
Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you established the luminaries and the sun.
You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;
you made summer and winter.

Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
   and an impious people reviles your name.
Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.
Have regard for your covenant,
     for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.
Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.
....

Ready Response, a Reflection on Acts 8:32-35

The Ethiopian had been reading from Isaiah (53:7-8), a passage first heard by a weak nation in tribulation caused by a powerful invader, a passage about suffering. 


Who is the Ethiopian talking about--himself or somebody else?

Philip responded by telling him about Jesus.

Christians continue to appropriate the stories of Israel in exile. Some of us think all the prophets were talking about Jesus. Some of us think that we can understand the meaning of Jesus better as we learn the history of God's dealing with suffering through the millenia that preceded Jesus' time on earth.

Lectio Divina: Psalm 22:31 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.

Daily Prayer, Thursday, May 3, 2012

O Lord, those who seek you shall praise you.

Morning
Invitatory Psalm 150
Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty firmament!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with clanging cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! 
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 39
I said, “I will guard my ways
   that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
   as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
I was silent and still;
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse,
my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
“Lord, let me know my end,
  and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.

You have made my days a few handbreadths,
   and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up, and do not know who will gather.

“And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
I am silent;
I do not open my mouth,
   for it is you who have done it.

Remove your stroke from me;
I am worn down by the blows of your hand.
“You chastise mortals in punishment for sin,
   consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah

“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry;
do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.
Turn your gaze away from me,
  that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more.”

Psalm 40
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
   out of the miry bog,
   and set my feet upon a rock,
   making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
   a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
Happy are those who make the Lord their trust,
   who do not turn to the proud,
   to those who go astray after false gods.
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
   your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
   they would be more than can be counted.
Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
   but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.

Then I said, “Here I am;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”
I have told the glad news of deliverance
   in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord.
I have not hidden your saving help within my heart,
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love
   and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
   keep me safe forever.
For evils have encompassed me without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me, until I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
….
But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
   say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
As for me, I am poor and needy,
   but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God.

Daily Lectionary Reading, Acts 8:32-35
32 This was the passage of scripture he was reading: Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent so he didn’t open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was taken away from him. Who can tell the story of his descendants because his life was taken from the earth? (y) 34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, about whom does the prophet say this? Is he talking about himself or someone else” 35 Starting with that passage, Philip proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him.
_________
y  Isa 53:7-8  
[Common English Bible] 


Prayer for Today: Help me to study your word and to understand your intentions for us. Then help me to recognize opportunities to share what I have learned. Give me knowledge and courage. Amen.


Midday Psalm 119:68-77
You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.
The arrogant smear me with lies,
   but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.
Their hearts are fat and gross,
   but I delight in your law.
It is good for me that I was humbled,
   so that I might learn your statutes.
The law of your mouth is better to me
   than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Your hands have made and fashioned me;
give me understanding
   that I may learn your commandments.
Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,
   because I have hoped in your word.

I know, O Lord, that your judgments are right,
   and that in faithfulness you have humbled me.
Let your steadfast love become my comfort
   according to your promise to your servant.
Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;
   for your law is my delight.

Evening
Psalm 69
Save me, O God,
   for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
   and the flood sweeps over me.
I am weary with my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
….
O God, you know my folly;
the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame
   because of me, O Lord God of hosts;
do not let those who seek you be dishonored
   because of me, O God of Israel.
….
At an acceptable time, O God,
   in the abundance of your steadfast love,
   answer me. With your faithful help
rescue me from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies a
   nd from the deep waters.
Do not let the flood sweep over me,
   or the deep swallow me up,
   or the Pit close its mouth over me.

Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
Do not hide your face from your servant,
   for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.
Draw near to me, redeem me,
   set me free because of my enemies.
….
lO God, protect me.
I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the Lord more than
   an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.

Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
For the Lord hears the needy,
   and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
Let heaven and earth praise him,
   the seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah;
and his servants shall live there and possess it;
the children of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall live in it.

A guide to guiding, Reflection on Acts 8:26-31

Through the first seven chapters of Acts, Peter and the other apostles have been preaching in Jerusalem. Successes and setbacks. Steven was condemned to death. Saul (more about him later) watched the stoning.

The persecution became so severe that the apostles scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. (Go back and read again Acts 1:8.)

Philip is preaching in Samaria where crowds are listening eagerly to him and seeing the signs that he did (8:4-8). Peter and John returned to Jerusalem. And Philip is directed by a messenger from God to go to Gaza.

He is performing signs, drawing crowds, being praised, and baptizing. Philip is in a productive mission field. And God tells him to travel the wilderness road.

On the trip, Philip came across a court official of the Ethiopian queen who was returning from a trip to Jerusalem. He had gone there to worship, and when Philip saw him, he was reading from the prophet Isaiah.

We can speculate whether he had already read the part of Isaiah where eunuchs and foreigners are included in Israel's promise (56:1-8). [Tangent: We can further speculate on whether we ourselves have spent much time with that passage and whether we talk and act as if we believed it.]

The Spirit sent Philip over to speak to this foreigner. Philip responded to this command by running over to his chariot.

He asked him if he understood what he was reading. The Ethiopian replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to join him.

Some points to consider:

People who don't look like or who haven't been brought up like us may be sensing the call of God. God may be talking to us, and we ought to be listening.

If someone wants to understand scripture, and we're standing right there, we need to be prepared to step up to the need.

OTOH, scripture may not be transparent even to someone who has studied a lot. We need to look at the Ethiopian as a good example of someone who knew he needed instruction and was willing to admit it.