Daily Prayer, Saturday, November 2, 2013

You are righteous, O Lord,

   and your judgments are right.

Trouble and anguish have come upon me,

   but your commandments are my delight (Psalm 119:137, 143).

Morning

Invitatory Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us

  and make his face to shine upon us, Selah

that your way may be known upon earth,

your saving power among all nations.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

  for you judge the peoples with equity

  and guide the nations upon earth. Selah

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you.

The earth has yielded its increase;

God, our God, has blessed us.

May God continue to bless us;

let all the ends of the earth revere him.

Psalm 26

Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity,

   and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.

Prove me, O Lord, and try me;

test my heart and mind.

For your steadfast love is before my eyes,

   and I walk in faithfulness to you.

I do not sit with the worthless,

   nor do I consort with hypocrites;

I hate the company of evildoers,

   and will not sit with the wicked.

I wash my hands in innocence,

   and go around your altar, O Lord,

   singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,

   and telling all your wondrous deeds.

O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,

   and the place where your glory abides.

Do not sweep me away with sinners,

   nor my life with the bloodthirsty,

those in whose hands are evil devices,

   and whose right hands are full of bribes.

But as for me, I walk in my integrity;

redeem me, and be gracious to me.

My foot stands on level ground;

in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.

Psalm 27

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh

  — my adversaries and foes— they shall stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;

though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.

One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:

   to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

   to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will set me high on a rock.

Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me,

  and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,

be gracious to me and answer me!

“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”

Your face, Lord, do I seek.

Do not hide your face from me.

Do not turn your servant away in anger,

   you who have been my help.

Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,

   O God of my salvation!

If my father and mother forsake me,

  the Lord will take me up.

Teach me your way, O Lord,

  and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.

Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,

  for false witnesses have risen against me,

  and they are breathing out violence.

I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord

   in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;

be strong,

and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!

Psalm 29

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;

worship the Lord in holy splendor.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;

the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters.

The voice of the Lord is powerful;

the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;

the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,

   and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.

The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;

the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,

   and strips the forest bare;

   and in his temple all say, “Glory!”

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;

the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.

May the Lord give strength to his people!

May the Lord bless his people with peace!

Daily Lectionary Readings: Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Psalm 119:134-144 

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4

1:1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. The prophet complains 2 Lord, how long will I call for help and you not listen? I cry out to you, “Violence!” but you don’t deliver us. 3 Why do you show me injustice and look at anguish so that devastation and violence are before me? There is strife, and conflict abounds. 4 The Instruction is ineffective. Justice does not endure because the wicked surround the righteous. Justice becomes warped.

2:1 I will take my post; I will position myself on the fortress. I will keep watch to see what the Lord says to me and how he will respond to my complaint. The Lord responds 2 Then the Lord answered me and said, Write a vision, and make it plain upon a tablet so that a runner can read it. 3 There is still a vision for the appointed time; it testifies to the end; it does not deceive. If it delays, wait for it; for it is surely coming; it will not be late. 4 Some people’s desires are truly audacious; they don’t do the right thing. But the righteous person will live honestly.

Psalm 119:134-144 
Redeem me from the people who oppress me so I can keep your precepts. 135 Shine your face on your servant, and teach me your statutes. 136 Rivers of tears stream from my eyes because your Instruction isn’t being kept. 137 Lord, you are righteous, and your rules are right. 138 The laws you commanded are righteous, completely trustworthy. 139 Anger consumes me because my enemies have forgotten what you’ve said. 140 Your word has been tried and tested; your servant loves your word! 141 I’m insignificant and unpopular, but I don’t forget your precepts. 142 Your righteousness lasts forever! Your Instruction is true! 143 Stress and strain have caught up with me, but your commandments are my joy! 144 Your laws are righteous forever. Help me understand so I can live! [Common English Bible]

Prayer for Today: Choose a prayer from Joan Stott's website Timeless Psalms.

Evening

Psalm 35:1-3, 9-28

Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;

fight against those who fight against me!

Take hold of shield and buckler, and rise up to help me!

Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers;

say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”

Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord,

   exulting in his deliverance.

All my bones shall say, “O Lord, who is like you?

You deliver the weak from those too strong for them,

   the weak and needy from those who despoil them.”

Malicious witnesses rise up;

they ask me about things I do not know.

They repay me evil for good; my soul is forlorn.

But as for me, when they were sick, I wore sackcloth;

I afflicted myself with fasting.

I prayed with head bowed on my bosom,

   as though I grieved for a friend or a brother;

I went about as one who laments for a mother,

   bowed down and in mourning.

But at my stumbling they gathered in glee,

they gathered together against me;

ruffians whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing;

they impiously mocked more and more,

   gnashing at me with their teeth.

How long, O Lord, will you look on?

Rescue me from their ravages, my life from the lions!

Then I will thank you in the great congregation;

in the mighty throng I will praise you.

Do not let my treacherous enemies rejoice over me,

   or those who hate me without cause wink the eye.

For they do not speak peace,

   but they conceive deceitful words

   against those who are quiet in the land.

They open wide their mouths against me;

they say, “Aha, Aha, our eyes have seen it.”

You have seen, O Lord; do not be silent!

O Lord, do not be far from me!

Wake up!

Bestir yourself for my defense,

   for my cause, my God and my Lord!

Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,

   according to your righteousness,

   and do not let them rejoice over me.

Do not let them say to themselves,

   “Aha, we have our heart’s desire.”

Do not let them say, “We have swallowed you up.”

…..

Let those who desire my vindication shout for joy

and be glad, and say evermore,

    “Great is the Lord,

    who delights in the welfare of his servant.”

Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness

   and of your praise all day long.

Psalm 38

O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger,

   or discipline me in your wrath.

For your arrows have sunk into me,

   and your hand has come down on me.

There is no soundness in my flesh

   because of your indignation;

there is no health in my bones because of my sin.

For my iniquities have gone over my head;

they weigh like a burden too heavy for me.

My wounds grow foul and fester

   because of my foolishness;

I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;

all day long I go around mourning.

For my loins are filled with burning,

   and there is no soundness in my flesh.

I am utterly spent and crushed;

I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

O Lord, all my longing is known to you;

my sighing is not hidden from you.

My heart throbs, my strength fails me;

as for the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.

My friends and companions stand aloof from my affliction,

   and my neighbors stand far off.

Those who seek my life lay their snares;

those who seek to hurt me speak of ruin,

   and meditate treachery all day long.

But I am like the deaf, I do not hear;

like the mute, who cannot speak.

Truly, I am like one who does not hear,

and in whose mouth is no retort.

But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait;

it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

For I pray, “Only do not let them rejoice over me,

    those who boast against me when my foot slips.”

For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever with me.

I confess my iniquity;

I am sorry for my sin.

….

Do not forsake me, O Lord;

O my God, do not be far from me;

make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.

GBOD offers a  Confession and Pardon for Christ the King Sunday

The Salvation of Zacchaeus, a Reflection on Luke 19:1-10

As a tax collector, Zacchaeus would have been viewed as a collaborator with the occupier. Yet, Jesus invites himself over to his house. How shocked should we be? After all, in last week's Gospel passage, Luke 18:9-14, Jesus declared a tax collector to be justified but not the religious person who was proud of being religious.

But, Zacchaeus is also rich, and as Sharon Ringe reminds us in her Commentary on Luke, rich people don't fare as well; e.g., 12:13-21; 16:19-31; 18:18-25.

The people who were there did not approve of Jesus' willing association with someone they perceived to be a sinner.

Zacchaseus' response was to vow to give up half his possessions and repay four-fold anyone he had cheated.

Then Jesus declares, "Today salvation has come to his house because he too is a son of Abraham." As a son of Abraham, he is not clutching his wealth to himself but sharing it with the poor who need it and returning what he did not deserve. Sharon Ringe asserts:

Because of his political and economic role as a chief tax collector, Zacchaeus has never been in a position to consider membership in the people of God something on which he can presume (note John the Baptist's warning in 3:8). In fact, some would say that his profession has made him the equivalent of a Gentile.

Suddenly his membership in the chosen people is reinstated. His earnest promise is not mentioned as a reason, but one is left with the sense that they are connected. His embrace of the opportunity to give alms ... does not earn his new identity.... But the lifestyle he has embraced makes his identity evident.

"Salvation has come to his house," Jesus said. The question of salvation is not how we get it but what we do with it.

Daily Prayer, Friday, November 1, 2013

You are righteous, O Lord,

   and your judgments are right.

Trouble and anguish have come upon me,

   but your commandments are my delight (Psalm 119:137, 143).

Morning

Invitatory Psalm 118

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his steadfast love endures forever!

Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

Let the house of Aaron say,

  “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.

….

Open to me the gates of righteousness,

  that I may enter through them

  and give thanks to the Lord.

This is the gate of the Lord;

the righteous shall enter through it.

I thank you that you have answered me

  and have become my salvation.

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 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside still waters;

he restores my soul.

He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil;

for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

   and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

Psalm 25

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

O my God, in you I trust;

do not let me be put to shame;

do not let my enemies exult over me.

Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;

let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;

teach me your paths.

Lead me in your truth, and teach me,

   for you are the God of my salvation;

   for you I wait all day long.

Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord,

   and of your steadfast love,

   for they have been from of old.

Do not remember the sins

   of my youth or my transgressions;

according to your steadfast love remember me,

   for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!

Good and upright is the Lord;

therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

He leads the humble in what is right,

   and teaches the humble his way.

All the paths of the Lord

   are steadfast love and faithfulness,

   for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

For your name’s sake, O Lord,

   pardon my guilt, for it is great.

Who are they that fear the Lord?

He will teach them the way that they should choose.

They will abide in prosperity,

   and their children shall possess the land.

The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,

   and he makes his covenant known to them.

My eyes are ever toward the Lord,

   for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

Turn to me and be gracious to me,

   for I am lonely and afflicted.

Relieve the troubles of my heart,

   and bring me out of my distress.

Consider my affliction and my trouble,

   and forgive all my sins.

Consider how many are my foes,

   and with what violent hatred they hate me.

O guard my life, and deliver me;

do not let me be put to shame,

   for I take refuge in you.

May integrity and uprightness preserve me,

   for I wait for you.

Redeem Israel, O God, out of all its troubles.

Daily Lectionary Reading, Luke 19:1-10

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through town. 2 A man there named Zacchaeus, a ruler among tax collectors, was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but, being a short man, he couldn’t because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to that spot, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay in your home today.” 6 So Zacchaeus came down at once, happy to welcome Jesus. 7 Everyone who saw this grumbled, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this household because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 The Human One came to seek and save the lost.” [Common English Bible]

Prayer for Today: Lord, when circumstances prevent us from seeing you clearly, make yourself known to us. When our self-centerness prevent us from doing your will, make yourself known to us. Amen.

Midday Psalm 119:33-40

Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes,

   and I will observe it to the end.

Give me understanding,

   that I may keep your law

   and observe it with my whole heart.

Lead me in the path of your commandments,

   for I delight in it.

Turn my heart to your decrees, and not to selfish gain.

Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;

give me life in your ways.

Confirm to your servant your promise,

   which is for those who fear you.

Turn away the disgrace that I dread,

   for your ordinances are good.

See, I have longed for your precepts;

in your righteousness give me life.

Evening

Psalm 30

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up,

   and did not let my foes rejoice over me.

O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,

   and you have healed me.

O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,

   restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,

    and give thanks to his holy name.

For his anger is but for a moment;

his favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping may linger for the night,

   but joy comes with the morning.

As for me, I said in my prosperity,

    “I shall never be moved.”

By your favor, O Lord,

   you had established me as a strong mountain;

you hid your face; I was dismayed.

To you, O Lord, I cried, and to the Lord I made supplication:

“What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit?

Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?

Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!

O Lord, be my helper!”

You have turned my mourning into dancing;

you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

   so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Psalm 31

In you, O Lord, I seek refuge;

do not let me ever be put to shame;

in your righteousness deliver me.

Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily.

Be a rock of refuge for me,

   a strong fortress to save me.

You are indeed my rock and my fortress;

for your name’s sake lead me and guide me,

take me out of the net that is hidden for me,