Midday Prayer, Maundy Thursday

 

 

OPENING SENTENCES

O God, make speed to save us;

O Lord, make haste to help us.

THE GLORIA PATRI

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. AMEN.

THE PSALMS

Psalm 147:12-20

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!

Praise your God, O Zion!

For he strengthens the bars of your gates;

he blesses your children within you.

He makes peace in your borders;

he fills you with the finest of the wheat.

He sends out his command to the earth;

his word runs swiftly.

He gives snow like wool;

he scatters frost like ashes.

He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;

who can stand before his cold?

He sends out his word, and melts them;

he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

He declares his word to Jacob,

his statutes and rules to Israel.

He has not dealt thus with any other nation;

they do not know his rules.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 27

Of David

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me

to eat up my flesh,

my adversaries and foes,

it is they who stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me,

yet I will be confident.

One thing have I asked of the Lord,

that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will lift me high upon a rock.

And now my head shall be lifted up

above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;

be gracious to me and answer me!

You have said, “Seek my face.”

My heart says to you,

“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

Hide not your face from me.

Turn not your servant away in anger,

O you who have been my help.

Cast me not off; forsake me not,

O God of my salvation!

For my father and my mother have forsaken me,

but the Lord will take me in.

Teach me your way, O Lord,

and lead me on a level path

because of my enemies.

Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;

for false witnesses have risen against me,

and they breathe out violence.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living!

Wait for the Lord;

be strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!

THE PSALM PRAYER

Father of light and fountain of all goodness: Be helpful unto us in times of affliction; and when we are in greatest danger, do not hide your face from us. Indeed, whatever sorts of things fall to us, strengthen our hearts, that we may have a continual hope of all the good things that you have promised to us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

THE OLD TESTAMENT LESSON

A reading from Lamentations 2:10-18

¹⁰  The elders of the daughter of Zion

sit on the ground in silence;

    they have thrown dust on their heads

and put on sackcloth;

    the young women of Jerusalem

have bowed their heads to the ground.

¹¹  My eyes are spent with weeping;

my stomach churns;

    my bile is poured out to the ground

because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,

    because infants and babies faint

in the streets of the city.

¹²  They cry to their mothers,

“Where is bread and wine?”

    as they faint like a wounded man

in the streets of the city,

    as their life is poured out

on their mothers’ bosom.

¹³  What can I say for you, to what compare you,

O daughter of Jerusalem?

    What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,

O virgin daughter of Zion?

    For your ruin is vast as the sea;

who can heal you?

¹⁴  Your prophets have seen for you

false and deceptive visions;

    they have not exposed your iniquity

to restore your fortunes,

    but have seen for you oracles

that are false and misleading.

¹⁵  All who pass along the way

clap their hands at you;

    they hiss and wag their heads

at the daughter of Jerusalem:

    “Is this the city that was called

the perfection of beauty,

the joy of all the earth?”

¹⁶  All your enemies

rail against you;

    they hiss, they gnash their teeth,

they cry: “We have swallowed her!

    Ah, this is the day we longed for;

now we have it; we see it!”

¹⁷  The Lord has done what he purposed;

he has carried out his word,

    which he commanded long ago;

he has thrown down without pity;

    he has made the enemy rejoice over you

and exalted the might of your foes.

¹⁸  Their heart cried to the Lord.

O wall of the daughter of Zion,

    let tears stream down like a torrent

day and night!

    Give yourself no rest,

your eyes no respite!

THE EPISTLE LESSON

A reading from 1 Corinthians 10:14-17; 11:27-32

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread….

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

THE GOSPEL LESSON

A reading from Mark, chapter 14:12-25

And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

THE MIDDAY PRAYERS

I will bless the Lord at all times.

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Holy God,
holy and mighty,
holy and immortal,
have mercy on us.

The Lord’s Prayer     

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. AMEN.

O Lord, hear our prayer;

And let our cry come to you.

Let us pray:

Blessed Savior, at midday you hung upon the Cross, stretching out your loving arms: Grant that all the peoples of the earth may look to you and be saved; for your tender mercies’ sake.

Gracious God, our Father, who for the sake of sinful humankind sent your only-begotten Son to bear the yoke of the cross, and through death destroy the one who had the power of death: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace. Lord Jesus, let the remembrance of your Passion and Triumph always abide within our hearts, that we may be protected against the assaults of our enemies and strengthened to keep your commandments all the days of our life.

Our sovereign Lord and Shepherd, we are overwhelmed by all that is happening around us today.

So much pain.

So much suffering.

So much death.

So many whose lives have been utterly devastated.

So many whose tears are their food day and night.

Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us.

We thank you for the comfort you give us in your eternal Son, Jesus Christ, who endured the full horrors of the valley of the shadow of death on the cross for our sin so that those who trust in Christ alone could lie down forever in the green pastures of eternal life. Holy Spirit, fill us and fix our eyes upon our risen Lord and Good Shepherd who walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death, and leads us beside the still waters. In Christ’s name.

Holy God, source of all love, on the night that he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment, to love one another as he loved them. Write this commandment in our hearts;

give us the will to serve others as he was the servant of all, who gave his life and died for us, yet is now alive forevermore.

THE DISMISSAL

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

For his steadfast love endures forever!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,

and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. AMEN.