Morning Prayer
Feria (Green)
Psalms: Psalm 28, 29
King James Version
1 Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. 2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle. 3 Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts. 4 Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert. 5 Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up. 6 Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. 7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. 8 The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed. 9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever. 1 Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. 2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. 3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. 7 The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire. 8 The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. 10 The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever. 11 The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.
First Lesson: Ezekiel 33:12-20
King James Version
12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. 13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. 14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; 15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. 16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live. 17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. 18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. 19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. 20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
Second Lesson: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
King James Version
1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: 6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. 8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. 9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. 10 And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; 11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
Reflection
The readings today give us a sober and consoling account of what it means to live before God. They leave no room for complacency, but neither do they leave the penitent without hope.
Through Ezekiel, the Lord overturns two comfortable assumptions. The first is that a good past can excuse a sinful present: “The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression.” The second is that a sinful past makes repentance useless: “If he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right… he shall surely live.”
God judges us truthfully as we are now. We cannot rest upon yesterday’s obedience while deliberately resisting God today. Nor may we say, “I have gone too far; there is no returning for me.” The Lord does not keep a secret ledger in order to deny mercy to those who turn to him. He calls the wicked to repentance, and repentance is not merely regret. It bears fruit: restitution, lawful conduct, and a new direction of life. The man who had robbed must “give again that he had robbed.” Grace does not make sin unimportant; grace makes a new life possible.
This is why the prophet’s hearers complain, “The way of the Lord is not equal.” They think God’s justice should work according to their calculations. But the Lord answers that it is their way which is not equal. We are often severe toward the faults of others and indulgent toward our own; suspicious of another person’s repentance, yet eager to have our own failures forgotten. The judgment of God is more searching and more merciful than ours. He judges every one “after his ways,” and he delights not in the death of the sinner, but in his turning and living.
Saint Paul then shows what this turning looks like in the ordinary life of a Christian congregation. “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” Holiness is not an ornament reserved for a few unusually devout souls. It is God’s will for all his baptized people. It reaches into the body, into our dealings with one another, into our work, and even into the quiet habits by which we conduct our daily lives.
Paul speaks plainly about sexual purity and about refusing to defraud a brother. He does not treat these matters as private arrangements beyond the concern of God. The Lord is the avenger of such things, because another person is not an object for our appetite or advantage, but one whom God has made and whom we are bound to honour. “God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.”
Yet holiness is not merely the avoidance of wrongdoing. It is also brotherly love, and Saint Paul recognises that the Thessalonians already practise it. Still, he urges them to “increase more and more.” There is no point at which a Christian may say that love has been sufficiently accomplished. We are to grow in charity, not noisily or self-importantly, but through a faithful and disciplined life: studying to be quiet, doing our own business, working with our hands, and walking honestly toward those without.
That quiet faithfulness is easily overlooked. But the psalm teaches us that the Lord’s voice is powerful: it breaks cedars, shakes the wilderness, and thunders over the waters. The same mighty Lord gives strength to his people and blesses them with peace. His voice is not only heard in the dramatic moments of life. It speaks through his commandments, through the warnings of Scripture, and through the steady call to repent and live differently.
So let us not rely upon a reputation for goodness, nor despair because we know our sin. Let us hear the voice of the Lord, turn from what is evil, restore what we have wronged, and abound more and more in holiness and love. The Lord who judges us is also the Lord who strengthens us; and in Christ he calls us not merely to be forgiven, but to live.
Evening Prayer
Feria (Green)
Psalms: Psalm 27
King James Version
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. 3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. 4 One thing have I desired 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 behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. 5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. 6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. 7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. 9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. 10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. 11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. 12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. 13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
First Lesson: Ezekiel 33:21-end
King James Version
21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten. 22 Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb. 23 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 24 Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. 25 Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? 26 Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour’s wife: and shall ye possess the land? 27 Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. 28 For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. 29 Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed. 30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD. 31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. 32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. 33 And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.
Second Lesson: John 21
King James Version
1 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself. 2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. 6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. 8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. 9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. 10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. 11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, and hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. 12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. 14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. 15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. 20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? 21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? 22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. 23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? 24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. 25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
Reflection
“Come and dine.” There are few words in the Gospel more tender than these. The disciples have spent the night labouring, and have nothing to show for it. Then, in the early morning light, Jesus stands upon the shore. They do not at first recognise him, but he knows their need. He directs their labour, fills their nets, kindles a fire, and prepares bread and fish for them.
This is the risen Lord: not a mere memory of the teacher they once followed, but the living Christ who meets his people in the ordinary places of their lives. He meets them after a night of failure, and he does not begin with a rebuke. He begins by feeding them.
Yet Christ’s kindness is not indulgence. After they have eaten, Jesus turns particularly to Peter. Three times Peter had denied his Lord; three times the Lord asks him, “Lovest thou me?” The questions are searching, but they are also merciful. Christ does not pretend that Peter’s denial did not happen. Neither does he cast Peter aside as unusable. He brings the wound into the light, and then gives him work to do: “Feed my lambs.” “Feed my sheep.”
Peter’s restoration is not merely the removal of his shame. It is a renewed calling. Love for Christ must take shape in service to Christ’s people. The shepherding of the flock belongs to the Lord, and those whom he appoints are servants under his authority. They are not invited to invent their own message, but to feed Christ’s sheep with what Christ has given. In this we see the proper dignity of the Church’s ministry: not mastery, but faithful care; not entertainment, but nourishment; not the pursuit of novelty, but obedience to the voice of the Good Shepherd.
The passage from Ezekiel gives us a necessary warning. The people gather to hear the prophet; they speak warmly of him; they listen as though his words were a lovely song. But “they hear thy words, but they do them not.” It is possible to enjoy holy things without yielding ourselves to God. We may admire the language of Scripture, appreciate the beauty of worship, and even speak affectionately of the faith, while our hearts remain governed by covetousness, pride, or some cherished sin.
The difference between hearing and obedience is not a small distinction. It is the difference between a net lying empty and a net cast where Christ commands; between admiration of the Shepherd and actually following him. The word of God is not given merely to furnish our thoughts. It is given to direct our steps.
That is why the Psalmist prays, “Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path.” He does not ask only for comfort, though he needs comfort. He asks to be taught and led. His confidence is not that trouble will never come, but that the Lord will be his light, his salvation, and the strength of his life. “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart.”
There may be some matter in which we feel that we have laboured all night and caught nothing. There may be some failure we would rather leave unmentioned, as Peter might have wished to leave his denial behind him. But the risen Christ still comes to his people. He provides what we cannot provide for ourselves, calls us back from failure, and gives us again the next faithful duty.
Let us therefore hear his word not as a pleasant song only, but as the voice of our Lord. Let us receive his mercy, love him truly, and follow where he leads. For the Christ who says, “Come and dine,” also says, “Follow me.”