Praying at Home: Tuesday 16 June 2020
Welcome to PrayingAtHome.com
Here you can find some resources for each day.
We hope these will help you stay in touch with the Church
and to sustain you on your journey through life.
Opening to the Word
You can spend a few moments in silence,
focussing on your breathing
to become more mindful of the present moment
and to open yourself more fully
to God’s presence within you.
In the name of the living God,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Short scripture passage
The lamp of God had not yet gone out.
Lucerna Dei antequam extingueretur.
1 Samuel 3:3
The Liturgy of the Word *
Here are today’s Bible readings.
You can read just one, or all of them if you have time.
Short Reflection
The lamp of God had not yet gone out.
The seven-branched candle lit at nightfall, to be extinguished with the rising of the sun, was still alight before the tabernacle of God.
It is deep silence, in the early morning, before dawn.
The boy Samuel is asleep in the temple while Eli, the high priest, is lying in his chamber, adjacent to the temple sanctuary.
Samuel hears someone call his name, “Samuel! Samuel!” and runs to Eli, believing that it is he who has called him.
But it is not Eli who is calling.
On the third occasion, Eli perceives that it is the Lord who is calling the boy and instructs him on how to reply,
“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
The lamp of God had not yet gone out.
According to a comment in the Talmud, this is a teaching that no righteous person dies before another equally righteous is born.
Eli, whose eyesight is dim, and in the autumn of his life, recognises that the Lord is now calling to Samuel, and he instructs the child on how to respond to God’s call.
Some commentators have suggested that this passage is also a reminder to elders to assist the young, teaching and feeding them with what they need to take up their challenge for life.
Let us be open to our young people, and willingly hand on the baton to them.**
Prayer Suggestions
Encouraged by God’s word,
we pray.
We pray for our young people, that we may learn to trust them.
We pray for those in authority, that they may learn humility.
We pray for those who have limited or no sight.
And as the pandemic continues,
pray for those who work in our countries’ National Health Services.
Pray for essential workers.
Pray for us all.
Music for reflection *
Be still for the presence of the Lord,
the Holy One is here.
The Lord’s Prayer
We can say the Lord’s Prayer in any language or version 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 Christ of our way,
light of the world,
you call us by our name.
Help us to listen for your voice
in the most unexpected of places
and learn to do your will.
Amen.
* You can find more organ music from Holy Trinity Church, Stirling
on Alistair Warwick‘s website and on SoundCloud
** This is a musical pun too!
Music leaders need to pass on their skills and understanding to young people so they can take up the challenge of leading music in church and community.
In these strange times, we are called to trust
Other worship resources
Acknowledgements
* Beginning with the week after Pentecost, the lectionary for weekdays is taken from the Vanderbilt Divinity Library (complementary readings).
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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