The LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. Habakkuk 2:20
A Psalm of Ascent
Psalm 121
Levavi oculos
I Will lift up mine eyes unto the hills; * from whence cometh my help?
2 My help cometh even from the LORD, * who hath made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; * and he that keepeth thee will not sleep.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel * shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD himself is thy keeper; * the LORD is thy defence upon thy right hand;
6 So that the sun shall not burn thee by day, * neither the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil; * yea, it is even he that shall keep thy soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in, * from this time forth for evermore.
(USA, The Book of Common Prayer, 1928)
Collect
O Gracious Father, we humbly beseech thee for thy holy Catholic Church; that thou wouldst be pleased to fill it with all truth, in all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, establish it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of him who died and rose again, and ever liveth to make intercession for us, Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Lesson (from Morning Prayer, BCP 1928)
In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! Why did you bring the LORD's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!"
Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. The LORD said to Moses, "Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.
So Moses took the staff from the LORD's presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."
These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD and where he showed himself holy among them.
Numbers 20:1-13 (NIV)
From the Great Litany
O God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth;
Have mercy upon us.
O God the Son, Redeemer of the world;
Have mercy upon us.
O God the Holy Ghost, Sanctifier of the faithful;
Have mercy upon us.
O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, one God;
Have mercy upon us.
Remember not, Lord, our offences, nor the offences of our forefathers; neither take thou vengeance of our sins: Spare us, good Lord, spare thy people, whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood, and be not angry with us for ever.
Spare us, good Lord.
From all evil and mischief; from sin; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; from thy wrath, and from everlasting damnation,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all blindness of heart; from pride, vainglory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all inordinate and sinful affections; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From lightning and tempest; from earthquake, fire, and flood; from plague, pestilence, and famine; from battle and murder, and from sudden death,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all sedition, privy conspiracy, and rebellion; from all false doctrine, heresy, and schism; from hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word and Commandment,
Good Lord, deliver us....
Second Lesson (from Morning Prayer, BCP 1928)
When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."
They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name."
Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.
Luke 1:57-66 (NIV)
Third Lesson (from Evening Prayer, BCP 1928)
On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: "Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 'Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD. 'Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the LORD Almighty. 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'
"This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty. 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."
Haggai 2:1-9 (NIV)
A Meditation
What if, after all I have done, all I have worked for in God's kingdom, all I have learned from godly scholars, all the lives I have touched, I, like the great Moses, strike the rock instead of just speak to it, as our Lord directed? Could I close my ear to God, assuming from my own wisdom that this second rock is to be treated like the first? Or, will my own indignation deafen my ear, so that I not only strike the rock (that should have only received a word), but strike it twice? Or, could I begin to hear God, only to have my arrogance finish his sentence for him?
What if, like Zechariah, in the midst of offering my prayers and incense in God's own presence, I hear God's call, but find it insurmountable--even for God--and lose faith in his power, so that I am speechless when there is so much that needs to be said?
And then I remember: "be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not."
A Heritage Reflection
"Whatsoever is spoken of God or things appertaining to God otherwise than as the truth is, though it seem an honour, it is an injury."
Richard Hooker (1554?-1600) The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, Book II
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