Prayer and Fasting for GAFCON - Day 33

Opening Sentence
The LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

Habakkuk 2:20

A Psalm of Ascent
Psalm 122
Laetatus sum

I was glad when they said unto me, * We will go into the house of the LORD.
2 Our feet shall stand in thy gates, * O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built as a city * that is at unity in itself.
4 For thither the tribes go up, even the tribes of the LORD, * to testify unto Israel, to give thanks unto the Name of the LORD.
5 For there is the seat of judgment, * even the seat of the house of David.
6 O pray for the peace of Jerusalem; * they shall prosper that love thee.
7 Peace be within thy walls, * and plenteousness within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions' sakes, * I will wish thee prosperity.
9 Yea, because of the house of the LORD our God, * I will seek to do thee good.

(USA, The Book of Common Prayer, 1928)

Collect
O God, who makest us glad with the weekly remembrance of the glorious resurrection of thy Son our Lord; Vouchsafe us this day such blessing through our worship of thee, that the days to come may be spent in thy service; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

“For Sunday,” The Book of Common Prayer (USA, 1928)

First Lesson (from Morning Prayer, BCP 1928)
A soft answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

The eyes of the LORD are in every place,
keeping watch on the evil and the good.

A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

A fool despises his father’s instruction,
but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.

In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,
but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.

The lips of the wise spread knowledge;
not so the hearts of fools.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,
but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,
but he loves him who pursues righteousness.

There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way;
whoever hates reproof will die….

The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD,
But gracious words are pure.

Proverbs 15:1-10, 26 (ESV)

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.

…By the mystery of thy holy Incarnation; by thy holy Nativity and Circumcision; by thy Baptism, Fasting, and Temptation,
Good Lord, deliver us.

By thine Agony and Bloody Sweat; by thy Cross and Passion; by thy precious Death and Burial; by thy glorious Resurrection and Ascension, and by the Coming of the Holy Ghost,
Good Lord, deliver us.

In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment,
Good Lord, deliver us….




Second Lesson (from Morning Prayer, BCP 1928)
Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

James 3 (NIV)

Third Lesson (from Evening Prayer, BCP 1928)
Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

“Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Luke 14:25-35 (ESV)

A Meditation
“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

Lord Jesus,
Help my ears to hear your call.
Help my eyes to see my duty.
Help my tongue to speak your wisdom.
Help my back to bear my cross.



A Heritage Reflection
“I should like objectors to Christian missions to the African heathen to say what could have been the worldly inducements held out to these converts, since left by their missionaries for a period of ten years, which made them stand steadfast to the doctrine they had been taught? They had weathered the shock of persecution from relatives and former associates in idolatry, from whom they had separated themselves; no missionaries to comfort, encourage and support them in those trying hours; no superior buildings to boast of, but instead of which they struggle to maintain their new faith, in an humble shed among the very ruins. Can all these be? The fact speaks for itself; the member of the sceptic school, who has witnessed the sight in the interior, must set his seal to the truthfulness of these results of the missionaries' operations, which he has seen in the course of his travels.

“It is no worldly inducements, but the power of the Spirit by the preached word. “My Word shall not return unto Me void; it shall accomplish that which I please, it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

Bishop Samuel Adjai Crowther (c. 1806–1891)
Niger Mission