3.3.22 National Cathedral Morning Prayer

[Music] [Music] good morning and welcome to washington national cathedral my name is randy hollereth i'm the dean of the cathedral and it's a pleasure to welcome you to this brief service of morning prayer on this thursday this day after ash wednesday i hope that your lent is starting off in a holy way for you and if these services are part of your lenten discipline this year we're so glad that you are with us so let us begin if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us but if we confess our sins god who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness our canticle for today is a song of repentance a song of penitence or the kyrie pentocrater lord and ruler of the hosts of heaven god of abraham isaac and jacob and of all their righteous offspring you made the heavens and the earth with all their vast array all things quake with fear at your presence they tremble because of your power but your merciful promise is beyond all measure it surpasses all that our minds can fathom o lord you are full of compassion longsuffering and abounding in mercy you hold back your hand you do not punish as we deserve in your great goodness o lord you have promised forgiveness to sinners that they may repent of their sin and be saved and now o lord i bend the knee of my heart and make my appeal sure of your gracious goodness i have sinned o lord i have sinned and i know my wickedness only too well therefore i make this prayer to you forgive me lord forgive me do not let me perish in my sin nor condemn me to the depths of the earth for you o lord are the god of those who repent and in me you will show forth your goodness unworthy as i am you will save me in accordance with your great mercy and i will praise you without ceasing all the days of my life for all the powers of heaven sing your praises and yours is the glory to ages of ages amen let us pray heavenly father in you we live and move and have our being we humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your holy spirit that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight through jesus christ our lord amen our colleagues for today direct us o lord in all our doings with your most gracious favor and further us with your continual help then in all our works begun continued and ended in you we may glorify your holy name and finally by your mercy obtain everlasting life through jesus christ our lord who lives and reigns with you in the holy spirit one god forever and ever amen our reading for this morning comes from the book of deuteronomy see i have set before you today life and prosperity death and adversity if you obey the commandments of the lord your god that i am commanding you today by loving the lord your god walking in his ways and observing his commandments decrees and ordinances then you shall live and become numerous and the lord your god will bless you in the land that you were entering to possess but if your heart turns away and you do not hear but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them i declare to you today that you shall perish you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the jordan to enter and possess i call heaven and earth to witness against you today that i have set before you life and death blessings and curses choose life so that you and your descendants may live loving the lord your god obeying him and holding fast to him for that means life to you in length of days so that you may live in the land that the lord swore to give to our ancestors to abraham to isaac and to jacob here ends the lesson our reading for this morning comes from that section of deuteronomy where moses is sharing with the people of israel the covenant that has been made between god and the israelites this passage took place right before the israelites entered the promised land when moses was 120 years old and quite near death in this passage moses says to his people look i have given you the law i have told you what is right and what is wrong i have shown you the way to live now it is up to you to decide if you are going to follow life or follow death if you choose life moses says then you will love god by walking in god's ways and keeping god's commandments if you are led astray by false gods idols that are not worthy of your allegiance then you will be following the path that leads to death and destruction you can hear in these words foreshadowing foreshadowing of what is to come all throughout the bible because the bible is really the story of god's continued faithfulness and humanity's constant and consistent turning away from god god makes and honors covenants and we break them god reaches out to us and we turn away yet the miracle and promise of the good news in the bible is that god never lets us go even to the point of sending us himself in jesus in order to redeem us and restore us to god so during these days of lent i encourage you to spend some time thinking about when do i choose life and when do i choose death when is my life oriented towards god to loving god and then what causes me to fall away from that lent is all about coming to terms with the truth of our own sin of our own inadequacy and in so doing learning how dependent we are on god's love and forgiveness the fundamental truth is we cannot gain our own salvation we cannot save ourselves because we cannot not sin so what are the idols in your life what are the things in which you put your trust and hope that are not deserving of your faithfulness perhaps it's your bank account or your job or your 401k or your social standing or your sense that you can handle all of life all by yourself the truth is the only foundation we have that can provide us any real sense of purpose and meaning and hope over the long run over the course of our entire lives even when we're on our death beds is god's love and mercy but the truth also is we can't really learn to accept this love and mercy deep in our souls until we realize how much we need them lent is the time to turn the light on and to take a good look at our souls to see the truth about ourselves to stake to take stock honestly of our own failings and our own sinfulness to look in the mirror and then to fall on our knees and say lord have mercy christ have mercy lord have mercy amen now would you join with me as we pray together in the words our savior taught us 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 to do temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever amen save your people lord and bless your inheritance govern and uphold them now and always day by day we bless you we praise your name forever lord keep us from all sin today have mercy on us lord have mercy lord show us your love and mercy for we put our trust in you and you lord is our hope and we shall never hope in vain let us pray gracious lord you alone know the secrets of our hearts you alone understand the burdens we carry and the pain that we bear as we make our way through this day this week this month this life we need your healing grace grant us not only those things that we ask for but more importantly give us those good things that we need bless all those whose lives are closely linked with ours on this morning we lift up to you all those who were on our hearts and minds today most especially the people of ukraine we pay for peace and an end to violence heavenly father you have promised to hear what we ask in the name of your son accept and fulfill our petitions we pray not as we ask in our ignorance nor as we deserve in our sinfulness but as you know and love us in your son jesus christ our lord amen and may the peace of god which passes all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in the knowledge and love of god and of his son jesus christ our lord and the blessing of god almighty the father and the son and the holy spirit be amongst you and remain with you this day and always [Music] [Music] you

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Length: 15min 24sec (924 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 03 2022