Praying from Home: Wednesday after Pentecost
You can spend a moment in silence
mindful of the demands for justice ***
Opening to the Word
And God, who searches the heart,
knows what is the mind of the Spirit.Qui autem scrutatur corda,
scit quid desideret Spiritus.
Romans 8:27
The Liturgy of the Word *
Click on one of these references to read today’s Bible readings:
Beginning with the week after Pentecost, the lectionary for weekdays is taken from the Vanderbilt Divinity Library
Short Reflection
And God, who searches the heart,
knows what is the mind of the Spirit.
The world is very dark right now.
The last few days have seen extraordinary hypocrisy from people who, by position of their power, ought to know better.
We hear stories of peaceful protesters outside a church being teargassed and fired upon with rubber bullets in order to clear the way for a self-perceived “colossus” to stride to that sacred space and brandish a bible as though it were a weapon; to speak words with no substance; to assert white supremacy.
We hear of people of colour being attacked.
Such scenes are morally repugnant, and not only for people of faith(s).
Anyone with a conscience and who takes the trouble to find out what is going on, will rightly be appalled.
These are very dangerous echoes of 20th-century history, where minorities were persecuted and exterminated.
—
In our first reading today, we hear of two men, Eldad and Medad, who prophesy, even though they’re not part of the official team of prophets. Naturally, the others are indignant, but Moses sees beyond human nature, recognising that anyone can know and speak the truth.
And God, who searches the heart,
knows what is the mind of the Spirit,
because the Spirit intercedes for the saints
according to the will of God.
Prayer
In these troubled times, when the truth is manipulated,
pray for courage,
pray for those who dare to speak truth to power.
Continue to pray for politicians and leaders,
that they may learn humility, wisdom and integrity.
Pray earnestly:
for justice and respect for all people;
for repentance for our own prejudices.
Pray:
for those in intensive care, unable to breathe on their own;
for those who nurse and care for patients with COVID-19;
for everyone working to protect the most vulnerable in society from this disease;
for those who are most at risk from the pandemic, especially those in enclosed environments.
Pray for essential workers.
Pray for us all.
Music for reflection *
Have mercy on [us], O God, in your kindness
Hymn: Veni Creator Spiritus
1 Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire
and lighten with celestial fire;
thou the anointing Spirit art,
who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart.
2 Thy blessed unction from above
is comfort, life, and fire of love;
enable with perpetual light
the dullness of our mortal sight.
3 Anoint and cheer our soilèd face
with the abundance of thy grace:
keep far our foes, give peace at home;
where thou art guide no ill can come.
4 Teach us to know the Father, Son,
and thee, of both, to be but one;
that through the ages all along
this may be our endless song:
Praise to thine eternal merit,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
As the disciples were heard speaking in various languages on the Day of Pentecost,
so we can say this in any language we choose.
Here it is, in English, Latin and French.
Our 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.
Pater noster, qui es in cælis;
sanctificatur nomen tuum:
adveniat regnum tuum;
fiat voluntas tua,
sicut in cælo, et in terra.
Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie:
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris:
et ne nos inducas in tentationem:
sed libera nos a malo.
Quia tuum est regnum,
et potestas, et gloria, in saecula.
Amen.
Notre Père qui es aux cieux,
que ton nom soit sanctifié.
Que ton règne vienne.
Que ta volonté soit faite sur la terre comme au ciel.
Donne-nous aujourd’hui notre pain de ce jour.
Pardonne-nous nos offences
comme nous pardonnons aussi
à ceux qui nous ont offensés.
Et ne nous soumets pas à la tentation,
mais délivre-nous du mal.
Car c’est à toi qu’appartiennent le règne,
la puissance et la gloire
pour les siècles des siècles. Amen.
Concluding prayer
O God,
who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people
by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit:
grant us by the same Spirit
to have a right judgment in all things,
and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
* You can find more organ music from Holy Trinity Church, Stirling
on Alistair Warwick‘s website and on SoundCloud
*** In solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter, we have no music for today
In these strange times, we are called to trust
Other resources
Acknowledgements
* Beginning with the week after Pentecost, the lectionary for weekdays is taken from the Vanderbilt Divinity Library
In that lectionary, the readings are in the following order: Old Testament reading, Psalm, New Testament reading; we have changed the order to the more usual OT, Psalm and NT.
The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Collects are from the Scottish Episcopal Church, 1982.
Images, unless otherwise stated, are from lockdown, by Alistair Warwick.
Music engraved by The Art of Music.
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