Officiant Lord,
open our lips.
People And
our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Alleluia.
Come, let us sing to the Lord; *
let us shout for joy
to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and
raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above
all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the
heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have
molded the dry land.
Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel
before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his
pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would
hearken to his voice!
Have mercy on me, O God,
for my enemies are hounding
me; *
all day long they assault and oppress me.
They hound me all the day long; *
truly there are
many who fight against me, O Most High.
Whenever I am afraid, *
I will put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust and will
not be afraid, *
for what can flesh do to me?
All day long they damage my cause; *
their only
thought is to do me evil.
They band together; they lie in wait; *
they spy upon
my footsteps;
because they seek my life.
Shall they escape despite their wickedness? *
O God,
in your anger, cast down the peoples.
You have noted my lamentation;
put my tears into your
bottle; *
are they not recorded in your book?
Whenever I call upon you, my enemies will be put to
flight; *
this I know, for God is on my side.
In God the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God I trust
and will not be afraid, *
for what can mortals do to me?
I am bound by the vow I made to you, O God; *
I will
present to you thank-offerings;
For you have rescued my soul from death and my feet from
stumbling, *
that I may walk before God in the light of the
living.
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful,
for I have
taken refuge in you; *
in the shadow of your wings will I take
refuge
until this time of trouble has gone by.
I will call upon the Most High God, *
the God who
maintains my cause.
He will send from heaven and save me;
he will
confound those who trample upon me; *
God will send forth his love
and his faithfulness.
I lie in the midst of lions that devour the people;
*
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharp
sword.
They have laid a net for my feet,
and I am bowed low;
*
they have dug a pit before me,
but have fallen into it
themselves.
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your
glory over all the earth.
My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; *
I
will sing and make melody.
Wake up, my spirit;
awake, lute and harp; *
I
myself will waken the dawn.
I will confess you among the peoples, O LORD; *
I
will sing praise to you among the nations.
For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens,
*
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your
glory over all the earth.
Do you indeed decree righteousness, you rulers? *
do
you judge the peoples with equity?
No; you devise evil in your hearts, *
and your hands
deal out violence in the land.
The wicked are perverse from the womb; *
liars go
astray from their birth.
They are as venomous as a serpent, *
they are like
the deaf adder which stops its ears,
Which does not heed the voice of the charmer, *
no
matter how skillful his charming.
O God, break their teeth in their mouths; *
pull the
fangs of the young lions, O LORD.
Let them vanish like water that runs off; *
let them
wither like trodden grass.
Let them be like the snail that melts away, *
like a
stillborn child that never sees the sun.
Before they bear fruit, let them be cut down like a
brier; *
like thorns and thistles let them be swept away.
The righteous will be glad when they see the vengeance;
*
they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
And they will say,
“Surely, there is a reward
for the righteous; *
surely, there is a God who rules in the
earth.”
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
A Reading from the Book of Job.
And the LORD said to Job: “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Anyone who argues with God must respond.” Then Job answered the LORD: “See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but will proceed no further.”
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: “Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you declare to me. Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified? Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his? “Deck yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor. Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on all who are proud, and abase them. Look on all who are proud, and bring them low; tread down the wicked where they stand. Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below. Then I will also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can give you victory.
“Look at Behemoth, which I made just as I made you; it eats grass like an ox. Its strength is in its loins, and its power in the muscles of its belly. It makes its tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are knit together. Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like bars of iron. “It is the first of the great acts of God— only its Maker can approach it with the sword. For the mountains yield food for it where all the wild animals play. Under the lotus plants it lies, in the covert of the reeds and in the marsh. The lotus trees cover it for shade; the willows of the wadi surround it. Even if the river is turbulent, it is not frightened; it is confident though Jordan rushes against its mouth. Can one take it with hooks or pierce its nose with a snare?
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Surely, it is God who saves me; *
I will trust in him
and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, *
and
he will be my Savior.
Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing *
from
the springs of salvation.
And on that day you shall say, *
Give thanks to the
Lord and call upon his Name;
Make his deeds known among the peoples; *
see that
they remember that his Name is exalted.
Sing praises of the Lord, for he has done great things,
*
and this is known in all the world.
Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, *
for
the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
A Reading from the Gospel According to John.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?” Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
O ruler of the universe, Lord God,
great deeds are
they that you have done, *
surpassing human understanding.
Your ways are ways of righteousness and truth, *
O
King of all the ages.
Who can fail to do you homage, Lord,
and sing the
praises of your Name? *
for you only are the Holy One.
All nations will draw near and fall down before you,
*
because your just and holy works have been revealed.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
I believe in God, the Father
almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus
Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of
the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered
under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He
descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He
ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I
believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the
communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the
resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Officiant The
Lord be with you.
People And
also with you.
Officiant Let
us pray.
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.
For thine is the
kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
V. Show
us your mercy, O Lord;
R. And
grant us your salvation.
V. Clothe
your ministers with righteousness;
R. Let
your people sing with joy.
V. Give
peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R. For
only in you can we live in safety.
V. Lord,
keep this nation under your care;
R. And
guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V. Let
your way be known upon earth;
R. Your
saving health among all nations.
V. Let
not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R. Nor
the hope of the poor be taken away.
V. Create
in us clean hearts, O God;
R. And
sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness during the day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.
Let us pray now for our own needs and those of others.
Almighty God, Father of
all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for
all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you
have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all
the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable
love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for
the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such
an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we
may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our
lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking
before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through
Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be
honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
Let us bless the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20,21