9.21.22 Morning Prayer

[Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] good morning and welcome to Washington National Cathedral my name is Randy hollarath as always we're so grateful that you've joined us for this service of morning prayer let us begin grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ I was glad when they said to me let us go into the house of the Lord I can't go forward today is the third song of Isaiah arise Shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you for behold Darkness covers the land deep gloom and shrouds the peoples but over you the Lord will rise and His glory will appear upon you Nations will stream to your light and Kings to the brightness of your Dawning your Gates will always be open by day or night they will never be shut they will call you the city of the Lord the Zion of the Holy One of Israel violence will no more be heard in your land ruin or destruction within your borders you will call your walls salvation and all your portals praise the sun will no more be your light by day by night you will not need the brightness of the Moon the Lord will be your Everlasting Light and your God Will Be Your Glory glory to the father and to the son and to the Holy Spirit as it was the beginning is now and will be forever amen let us pray heavenly father in you we live and move and have our being and we humbly pray you so to God 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 working in your sight through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen our colleagues for today grant us O Lord not to be anxious about Earthly things but to love things heavenly and even now while we are placed among things that are passing away to hold fast to those that it shall endure through Jesus Christ Our Lord who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit one God forever and ever amen our lesson for today comes from the Gospel of Luke chapter 3 verses one through six in the 15th year of the reign of the emperor Tiberius when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea and Herod was ruler of Galilee and his brother Philip ruler of the region of ichiria and trekonitis and lysinius ruler of Abilene during the high priesthood of anus and Caiaphas the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness he went into all the region around the Jordan proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the Forgiveness of sins as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah the voice of one crying out in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord make his paths straight every Valley shall be filled in every mountain and every Hill be made low and the Crooked shall be made straight and the rough ways made smooth and All Flesh shall see the salvation of God he runs the lesson claim your own sinfulness own up to your own faults and failures turn away from your idolatry and seek God's forgiveness this is the message of John the Baptist every year we hear about it during Advent John's message is a universal one it isn't reserved for the Foreigner for the Foreigner or the notorious sinner it's aimed at all of us without regard to pedigree or privilege or level of personal piety John is not I'm okay you're okay John's much more I'm not okay you're not okay neither is anyone else and you we all need to do something about it when talking about John the Baptist Luke's quotes one of John's predecessors another sort of in your face Old Testament prophet Isaiah the voice of one crying out in the wilderness prepared the way of the Lord make his path straight every Valley shall be filled and every mountain and Hill shall be made low and the Crooked shall be made straight and the rough ways shall be made smooth and All Flesh shall see the salvation of God if you're like me and if you're willing to be honest with yourself then you know that you have plenty of valleys that need filling in numerous mountains that ought to be flattened out and much in your life that is crooked and needs to be made straight none of it's easy to look at but John comes gets in our face and won't let us off the hook the truth is inside many of us there are valleys that need to be filled in valleys of sadness loneliness grief pain depression there are mountains that need to come down mountains of racism or Pride or privilege and the false sense that everything I have is mine because I earned it there are crooked places that have to be made straight crooked places that become bent out of shape when we deceive ourselves and others when we hide from hard truths when we remain silent in the face of oppression or Injustice who wants to hear all of this it's tough stuff but John demands that we take his message seriously the good news is that God has not abandoned us we have not been left alone to drown in our sins in our crookedness in Jesus all of our sins have been nailed with him on the cross and he Bears them with him to the Grave and Jesus we are forgiven and made new and Jesus we've been given away forward a way out of the sin that encapsulates our lives John simply wants us to be sure that we realize just how much we need a savior amen now would you join with me as we pray together the prayer Our Lords 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 let us pray gracious God 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 life we need your healing Grace grant us those things that we ask for but more importantly give us those things that we need bless all those whose lives are closely linked with ours well this morning we lift up to you all those who are on our hearts and Minds this day pray for all the people of Israel and Palestine the Jews Muslims Christians for peace in the Holy Land Heavenly Father you have promised to hear what we ask in the name of your son except 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 I closed today with the prayer of dedication let us pray Lord Jesus I give you my hands to do your work I give you my feet to go your way I give you my tongue to speak your words I give you my mind that you may think in me I give you my spirit that you may pray in me above all I give you my heart that you may love in me your father and all humankind I give you my whole self that you may grow in me so that it is you Lord Jesus who live and work and pray in me and may the blessing of God Almighty the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit be with you and remain with you this day and always amen [Music] thank you [Music] foreign

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Length: 12min 34sec (754 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 21 2022