[Salvation]

Lauds -- Morning Prayer

Morning Prayer (Lauds)

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

O God, come to my aid.

– O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

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A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 50 (51)

God, have mercy on me

Lord, you will accept lawful sacrifice on your altar.

Take pity on me, Lord, in your mercy;

  in your abundance of mercy wipe out my guilt.

Wash me ever more from my guilt

  and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know how guilty I am:

  my sin is always before me.

Against you, you alone have I sinned,

  and I have done evil in your sight.

Know this, so that you may give just sentence

  and an unbiased judgement.

See, I was conceived in guilt,

  in sin my mother conceived me;

but you love truth in the heart,

  and deep within me you have shown me your wisdom.

You will sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be made clean;

  you will wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

You will make me hear the sound of joy and gladness;

  the bones you have crushed will rejoice.

Turn your face away from my sins

  and wipe out all my transgressions;

create a pure heart in me, God,

  put a steadfast spirit into me.

Do not send me away from your presence,

  or withdraw your holy spirit from me;

give me again the joy of your salvation,

  and be ready to strengthen me with your spirit.

I will teach the unjust your ways,

  and the impious will return to you.

Free me from the guilt of bloodshed, God, God my saviour,

  and my voice will glory in your justice.

Open my lips, Lord,

  and my mouth will proclaim your praise;

for you do not delight in sacrifices:

  if I offered you a burnt offering, it would not please you.

The true sacrifice is a broken spirit:

  a contrite and humble heart, O God, you will not refuse.

Be pleased, Lord, to look kindly on Zion,

  so that the walls of Jerusalem can be rebuilt,

Then indeed you will accept the proper sacrifices, gifts and burnt offerings;

  then indeed will bullocks be laid upon your altar.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

Lord, you will accept lawful sacrifice on your altar.

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Canticle	Isaiah 45
All peoples, turn to the Lord
In the Lord all descendants of Israel will receive justice and glory.
In truth you are a hidden God,   the God and Saviour of Israel. They were dismayed and ashamed, all the makers of idols,   all of them fled in dismay. Israel has been saved by the Lord, saved for ever;   you will not be dismayed or ashamed,   to the end of time. For thus says the Lord, the God   who made the heavens,   who made the earth, shaped it, set it firm – he did not make it to be empty,   but to be full of life – “I am the Lord, there is no other.   I have not spoken secretly,   in some dark corner of the earth. I have not said to the children of Jacob, ‘seek me in vain.’   I am the Lord who speaks justice, who proclaims uprightness. “Gather together, come, approach me   all you who have been rescued from the Gentiles. They were ignorant, who raised up wooden idols   and begged favours of a god without power. Announce it – come, ponder it together –   who was saying this from the beginning, who foretold this from the start? Am I not the Lord?   Is there any other God but me?   Do you seek a just God who will save you? There is no other. “Turn to me and you will be saved, all you ends of the earth;   for I am God, there is no other. “I have sworn by my own being,   I have decreed a judgement that will not be revoked; for every knee will bend to me,   every tongue swear by my name.” “Only in the Lord,” they will say,   “are there justice and strength!” All who resisted him will come to him, and be dismayed;   but in the Lord all descendants of Israel   will receive justice and glory. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,   as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,   world without end. Amen.
In the Lord all descendants of Israel will receive justice and glory.

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Psalm 99 (100)

Enter the Temple with joy

Come in triumph before the face of the Lord.

Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,

  and serve him with joy.

Exult as you enter his presence.

Know that the Lord is God.

He made us and we are his

 – his people, the sheep of his flock.

Cry out his praises as you enter his gates,

  fill his courtyards with songs.

Proclaim him and bless his name;

  for the Lord is our delight.

His mercy lasts for ever,

  his faithfulness through all the ages.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

Come in triumph before the face of the Lord.

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Short reading	Isaiah 53:11-12 ©
By his sufferings shall my servant justify many, taking their faults on himself. Hence I will grant whole hordes for his tribute, he shall divide the spoil with the mighty, for surrendering himself to death and letting himself be taken for a sinner, while he was bearing the faults of many and praying all the time for sinners.

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Canticle	Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,   for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption. He has raised up the sign of salvation   in the house of his servant David, as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones,   his prophets through the ages: to rescue us from our enemies   and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers,   to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father,   that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear  – freed from the hands of our enemies – in uprightness and holiness before him,   for all of our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High:   for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path, to let his people know their salvation,   so that their sins may be forgiven. Through the bottomless mercy of our God,   one born on high will visit us to give light to those who walk in darkness,   who live in the shadow of death;   to lead our feet in the path of peace. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,   as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,   world without end. Amen.
If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

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Prayers and Intercessions

?

Let us give thanks to Christ the Lord, who by dying on the Cross conferred life on us. From the depths of our hearts let us pray: – By your death give us life. Our Master and our Saviour, you have given us proof of your faith and you have renewed us by your glorious passion:   let us not grow old in sin. – By your death give us life. Grant that we may fast our well-fed bodies today,   and give help to our poor and hungry brethren. – By your death give us life. May we devoutly receive from you the gift of this Lenten day:   may we consecrate it to you with acts of compassion. – By your death give us life. Discipline our rebellious minds:   make us great in spirit. – By your death give us life.

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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.

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Lord, make your faithful servants ready to celebrate the paschal festival:

  may the bodily denial we have solemnly undertaken

  bear good fruit for our souls.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

  who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

  God for ever and ever.

Amen.

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May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.

A M E N

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Matthew 5:20-26

 For the faithful Jew at the time of Christ, the Law of Moses was seen as the best way they could show the world that they belonged to God’s holy people.

It was the best way they could express their covenant relationship with the God who rescued their ancestors and who continued to guard and protect them. Because of their dedication to the Law, the Pharisees came to be seen as its authoritative interpreters, and many of the people looked up to them as truly righteous men.

Today’s Gospel reading seems somewhat out of step with this view, doesn’t it? Jesus is telling us that our righteousness needs to surpass even these men who had devoted their whole lives to understanding and fulfilling the law. How is that possible?

First, it’s important to see that Jesus wasn’t saying that the Pharisees’ approach was bad. Rather, it wasn’t enough. It is right to try our hardest to uphold God’s laws and to encourage others to do the same. But there is another side to this equation, which many of the Pharisees seemed to have put aside: Righteousness has to do with love and mercy as well as diligent obedience.

Rather than focus on a definition of righteousness that is based solely on whether we have fulfilled our obligations, Jesus is asking us to display the same righteousness he displayed—a righteousness that shows itself in love, compassion, and faithfulness. This was supposed to be at the heart of the Law, but some of the Pharisees, trying to preserve Judaism against foreign threats, dug their heels in and focused more on the externals of the Law—on the things that set them apart as Jews.

What about us? It can be very tempting to settle for a Christianity defined by rules and regulations. But that’s not what Jesus came to give us—and it’s certainly not why he offered his life for us on the cross. He came to give us a righteousness that flows from a relationship with him, a righteousness based on love and humility. And he wants us to treat each other accordingly. He wants us to embrace each other, not judge. He wants us to serve one another, not focus on each other’s faults. If we can do that, then we have definitely surpassed the scribes and Pharisees!

“Father, teach me the righteousness of Christ and lead me in it today.”

Ezekiel 18:21-28; Psalm 130:1-8