Electric See Chapel
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September 2026

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The Chapel archive contains Daily Office readings and reflections that have already been delivered.

September 15, 2026

Morning Prayer

Feria (Green)

Psalms: Psalm 75, 76

King James Version

1 Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare. 2 When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly. 3 The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah. 4 I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn: 5 Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. 6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. 8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them. 9 But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 10 All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted. 1 In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel. 2 In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. 3 There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah. 4 Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. 5 The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands. 6 At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep. 7 Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? 8 Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, 9 When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah. 10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. 11 Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared. 12 He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth.

First Lesson: Jeremiah 32:1-15

King James Version

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. 2 For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; 4 And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; 5 And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the LORD: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper? 6 And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 7 Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it. 8 So Hanameel mine uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. 9 And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle’s son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. 10 And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances. 11 So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open: 12 And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison. 13 And I charged Baruch before them, saying, 14 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days. 15 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.

Second Lesson: Ephesians 6:10-end

King James Version

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. 21 But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: 22 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts. 23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

Reflection

Jeremiah is in prison, Jerusalem is under siege, and the word of the Lord has already declared that the city will fall. The future, as far as human eyes can see, is ruin. Yet in that very moment God tells Jeremiah to buy a field at Anathoth.

It is an extraordinary command. Why purchase land when the enemy is at the gates? Why invest in a country about to be conquered? Why sign deeds, weigh out silver, seal the evidence, and place it carefully in an earthen vessel? Because the Lord is teaching his people to live by his promise rather than by appearances.

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.” The purchase is not a denial of judgment. Jerusalem really will suffer. The Chaldeans really will prevail for a time. But judgment is not the last word. God’s purposes reach beyond the immediate disaster, and Jeremiah’s deed becomes a quiet act of faith in the middle of national calamity.

There are times when the Church, and individual Christians, may feel rather like Jeremiah: confined, opposed, and surrounded by forces stronger than ourselves. We may be tempted to think that faithfulness is pointless unless we can see immediate results. But the Christian is not called to measure obedience by apparent success. We are called to trust the word of God, and to do the next thing he gives us to do.

That is the connection with Saint Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians: “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Notice that he does not say, Be strong in yourselves. Nor does he promise that the Christian life will be free from conflict. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood,” he says, but against spiritual powers. The answer is not panic, nor worldly cleverness, nor bitterness against human adversaries. It is to “put on the whole armour of God” and, having done all, to stand.

The armour is not a costume for religious heroes. It is the ordinary equipment of a faithful Christian. Truth guards us against the lies by which temptation gains entrance. Righteousness guards the heart—not our self-made righteousness, but the righteousness given and worked in us by Christ. The gospel of peace makes our feet ready to go where God sends us. Faith extinguishes the fiery darts: those sudden accusations, fears, suspicions, and temptations to despair. Salvation guards the mind, and the word of God is the sword by which falsehood is answered.

And then Paul adds something easily overlooked: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.” The armour is not worn by self-reliance. Prayer is the breath of the soldier who stands. We pray not only for ourselves, but “for all saints.” Even Paul, an apostle and an ambassador in bonds, asks the Church to pray that he may speak boldly and faithfully.

The Psalms give us the same sober confidence. “God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” Human power is never ultimate. The proud may lift up their horns, and earthly rulers may seem immovable, but the Lord remains sovereign. More wonderfully still, Psalm 76 says that God arises in judgment “to save all the meek of the earth.” His judgment is not merely the destruction of evil; it is the vindication and salvation of those who trust him.

So today, let us not demand to see the whole future before obeying God. Let us purchase the field, as it were: make the honest decision, keep the faithful promise, say the needed prayer, speak the truth in charity, and continue in the worship and discipline of Christ’s Church. These acts may seem small against the powers of the age. Yet they bear witness that God’s word is more certain than circumstances.

The Lord who promised that fields would again be possessed is the Lord who, in Christ, has secured our eternal inheritance. Stand, then—not in your own strength, but in the might of the Lord; stand clothed with his truth, upheld by his grace, and confident that his purposes will endure.

Evening Prayer

Feria (Green)

Psalms: Psalm 77

King James Version

1 I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me. 2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. 3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. 4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5 I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. 6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. 7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? 8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? 9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah. 10 And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. 11 I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. 12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. 13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? 14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. 15 Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. 16 The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. 17 The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad. 18 The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. 19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. 20 Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

First Lesson: Jeremiah 32:16-35

King James Version

16 Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying, 17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: 18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name, 19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings: 20 Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day; 21 And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror; 22 And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey; 23 And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them: 24 Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it. 25 And thou hast said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, 27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? 28 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it: 29 And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD. 31 For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face, 32 Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. 34 But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. 35 And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

Second Lesson: John 9

King James Version

1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. 4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. 6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, 7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. 8 The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? 9 Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. 10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? 11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. 12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. 13 They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. 14 And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. 15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. 16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. 17 They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. 18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. 19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? 20 His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: 21 But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. 22 These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him. 24 Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. 25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. 26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? 27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples? 28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. 30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. 31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. 32 Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. 33 If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. 34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? 36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? 37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. 38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. 39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. 40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? 41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Reflection

There is a striking difference between the blind man in the Gospel and the people who question him. The blind man knows that he cannot see. The Pharisees insist that they can. Yet, as the story unfolds, it is the man who receives sight, while those who claim to see become more and more blind.

The disciples begin with a question which is understandable, but mistaken: “Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” They want an explanation, and perhaps a culprit. But our Lord will not allow this man to be reduced to a case, or his suffering to be treated as a simple calculation of blame. “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents,” Jesus says, “but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”

This does not mean that sin and suffering are unrelated in the world. Jeremiah’s prophecy is quite plain about the consequences of Judah’s rebellion. The people turned their backs upon God, defiled the house called by his name, and worshipped what their own hands had made. Their blindness was not physical but spiritual: though the Lord taught them, rising early and teaching them, they would not hearken.

But the Gospel warns us against assuming that we can always read another person’s troubles as a private judgment from God. The Lord alone sees the whole truth. Our duty is not to sit in judgment over the afflicted, but to bring them to Christ, who is “the light of the world.”

The healing itself is wonderfully concrete. Jesus makes clay, anoints the man’s eyes, and tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The man obeys, and returns seeing. The place is named “Sent”, and that name directs us to the whole mystery of Christ. He is the One sent by the Father, and through his appointed means he gives light and life. The man does not understand everything at once; indeed, at first he does not even know where Jesus is. But he has obeyed the word he was given, and now he can see.

His testimony is simple and unanswerable: “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” He does not possess a learned theological argument. He has not yet grasped the full identity of Jesus. But he knows what Christ has done for him.

The Pharisees, however, are not examining the evidence in order to discover the truth. They are defending a position. The work was done on the sabbath, and therefore, in their judgment, Jesus cannot be from God. They have the law, but use it as a shield against the Lawgiver. They have eyes, but refuse the light standing before them.

That is a danger for every religious person, and especially for those of us who cherish the Church’s worship, doctrine, and order. These are precious gifts, and we must not despise them. But even sound forms can be used wrongly if they become a refuge from the living Christ. The purpose of the Church’s ministry and the ordered prayers of the Book of Common Prayer is not to help us congratulate ourselves that we see, but to lead us continually to the Lord who opens our eyes.

Psalm 77 gives us another kind of faithful sight. The psalmist is in distress. His soul refuses to be comforted, and he asks whether God’s mercy has ceased for ever. Yet he does not remain imprisoned in his immediate feelings. “I will remember the works of the LORD,” he says. He looks back to God’s mighty acts, and remembers that the Lord led his people “like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” Faith sometimes begins not with comfort, but with remembering what God has done when we cannot yet perceive what he is doing.

At the end of the Gospel, the healed man meets Jesus again. Our Lord asks, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” The man receives not merely restored sight, but the sight of faith. When Jesus reveals himself, he answers, “Lord, I believe,” and worships him.

That is the true end of all divine illumination: not pride in our own understanding, but humble worship. May Christ deliver us from the blindness that says, “We see,” and grant us the honest faith of the man who was healed: to receive his word, to trust his light, and to worship the Son of God.