¶ Morning Prayer
Passiontide
Monday, 27 March 2023

Preparation

O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Let your ways be known upon earth,
Allyour saving power among the nations.

One or more of the following is said or sung:

this or another prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief
your only Son was lifted up
that he might draw the whole world to himself.
May we walk this day in the way of the cross
and always be ready to share its weight,
declaring your love for all the world.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.

a suitable hymn, or A Song of Lamentation

1Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? ♦
Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,

2Which was brought upon me, ♦
which the Lord inflicted
on the day of his fierce anger.

3For these things I weep;
my eyes flow with tears; ♦
for a comforter is far from me,
one to revive my courage.

4Remember my affliction and my bitterness, ♦
the wormwood and the gall!

5But this I call to mind, ♦
and therefore I have hope:

6The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, ♦
his mercies never come to an end;

7They are new every morning; ♦
great is your faithfulness.

8‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ♦
‘therefore I will hope in him.’

9The Lord is good to those who wait for him, ♦
to the soul that seeks him.

10It is good that we should wait quietly ♦
for the salvation of the Lord.

11For the Lord will not reject for ever; ♦
though he causes grief, he will have compassion,

12According to the abundance of his steadfast love; ♦
for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.

Lamentations 1.12, 16a,b; 3.19, 21-26, 31-33

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

This opening prayer may be said

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Word of God

Psalmody

The appointed psalmody is said.

Psalm 73

Refrain: In the Lord God have I made my refuge.

1 Truly, God is loving to Israel, ♦
to those who are pure in heart.

2 Nevertheless, my feet were almost gone; ♦
my steps had well-nigh slipped.

3 For I was envious of the proud; ♦
I saw the wicked in such prosperity;

4 For they suffer no pains ♦
and their bodies are sleek and sound;

5 They come to no misfortune like other folk; ♦
nor are they plagued as others are;

6 Therefore pride is their necklace ♦
and violence wraps them like a cloak.

7 Their iniquity comes from within; ♦
the conceits of their hearts overflow. R

8 They scoff, and speak only of evil; ♦
they talk of oppression from on high.

9 They set their mouth against the heavens, ♦
and their tongue ranges round the earth;

10 And so the people turn to them ♦
and find in them no fault.

11 They say, ‘How should God know? ♦
Is there knowledge in the Most High?’

12 Behold, these are the wicked; ♦
ever at ease, they increase their wealth.

13 Is it in vain that I cleansed my heart ♦
and washed my hands in innocence?

14 All day long have I been stricken ♦
and chastened every morning.

15 If I had said, ‘I will speak as they do,’ ♦
I should have betrayed the generation of your children. R

16 Then thought I to understand this, ♦
but it was too hard for me,

17 Until I entered the sanctuary of God ♦
and understood the end of the wicked:

18 How you set them in slippery places; ♦
you cast them down to destruction.

19 How suddenly do they come to destruction, ♦
perish and come to a fearful end!

20 As with a dream when one awakes, ♦
so, Lord, when you arise you will despise their image.

21 When my heart became embittered ♦
and I was pierced to the quick,

22 I was but foolish and ignorant; ♦
I was like a brute beast in your presence. R

23 Yet I am always with you; ♦
you hold me by my right hand.

24 You will guide me with your counsel ♦
and afterwards receive me with glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you? ♦
And there is nothing upon earth that I desire
in comparison with you.

26 Though my flesh and my heart fail me, ♦
God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.

27 Truly, those who forsake you will perish; ♦
you will put to silence the faithless who betray you.

28 But it is good for me to draw near to God; ♦
in the Lord God have I made my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.

Refrain: In the Lord God have I made my refuge.

Holy God,
may we find wisdom in your presence
and set our hope not on uncertain riches
but on the love that holds us to the end;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 121

Refrain: The Lord shall keep you from all evil.

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills; ♦
from where is my help to come?

2 My help comes from the Lord, ♦
the maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not suffer your foot to stumble; ♦
he who watches over you will not sleep.

4 Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel ♦
shall neither slumber nor sleep. R

5 The Lord himself watches over you; ♦
the Lord is your shade at your right hand,

6 So that the sun shall not strike you by day, ♦
neither the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall keep you from all evil; ♦
it is he who shall keep your soul.

8 The Lord shall keep watch over your going out
and your coming in, ♦
from this time forth for evermore.

Refrain: The Lord shall keep you from all evil.

Lord, ever watchful and faithful,
we look to you to be our defence
and we lift our hearts to know your help;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Each psalm or group of psalms may end with

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.

Jeremiah 21.1-10

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, saying, ‘Please inquire of the Lord on our behalf, for King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the Lord will perform a wonderful deed for us, as he has often done, and will make him withdraw from us.’

Then Jeremiah said to them: Thus you shall say to Zedekiah: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I am going to turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls; and I will bring them together into the centre of this city. I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and mighty arm, in anger, in fury, and in great wrath. And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both human beings and animals; they shall die of a great pestilence. Afterwards, says the Lord, I will give King Zedekiah of Judah, and his servants, and the people in this city—those who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine—into the hands of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, into the hands of their enemies, into the hands of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword; he shall not pity them, or spare them, or have compassion.

And to this people you shall say: Thus says the Lord: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Those who stay in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but those who go out and surrender to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have their lives as a prize of war. For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good, says the Lord: it shall be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

Canticle

A Song of the Lord’s Gracious Deeds, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 23 (page 574), number 42 (page 593) or number 43 (page 594), may be said

Refrain:

AllI will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord,
the praises of the Most High. Alleluia.

1Who is this that comes from Edom, ♦
coming from Bozrah, his garments stained crimson?

2Who is this in glorious apparel, ♦
marching in the greatness of his strength?

3‘It is I, who announce that right has won the day, ♦
it is I,’ says the Lord, ‘for I am mighty to save.’

4Why are your robes all red, O Lord, ♦
and your garments like theirs who tread the winepress?

5‘I have trodden the winepress alone, ♦
and from the peoples no one was with me.’

6I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, ♦
the praises of the Most High;

7All that God has done for us in his mercy, ♦
by his many acts of love.

8For God said, ‘Surely, they are my people,
my children who will not deal falsely,’ ♦
and he became their Saviour in all their distress.

9So God redeemed them by his love and pity; ♦
he lifted them up and carried them
through all the days of old.

Isaiah 63.1-3a, 7-9

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

AllI will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord,
the praises of the Most High. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.

John 11.28-44

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’

A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you;
Allby your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.
AllWe adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
We preach Christ crucified,
the power of God and the wisdom of God.
AllBy your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
God forbid that I should glory,
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
AllWe adore you, O Christ, and we bless you;
by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

cf 1 Corinthians 1 and Galatians 6

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or Saviour of the World (page 644) may be said

Refrain:

AllThe word of the cross is folly
to those who are perishing,
but to those who are being saved
it is the power of God.

1Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, ♦
who has come to his people and set them free.

2He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, ♦
born of the house of his servant David.

3Through his holy prophets God promised of old ♦
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,

4To show mercy to our ancestors, ♦
and to remember his holy covenant.

5This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: ♦
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

6Free to worship him without fear, ♦
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

7And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, ♦
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

8To give his people knowledge of salvation ♦
by the forgiveness of all their sins.

9In the tender compassion of our God ♦
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

10To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, ♦
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1.68-79

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

Refrain:

AllThe word of the cross is folly
to those who are perishing,
but to those who are being saved
it is the power of God.

Prayers

Intercessions are offered
¶ for the day and its tasks
¶ for the world and its needs
¶ for the Church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 364–365

¶ The persecuted Church
¶ The oppressed peoples of the world
¶ All who are lonely
¶ All who are near to death
¶ All who are facing loss

A form of prayer found on page 381 may be used.

The Litany on pages 400-403 may be said instead of the Prayers.

These responses may be used

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer

(or)

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Silence may be kept.

The Collect of the day is said

Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Lord’s Prayer is said

Standing at the foot of the cross,
as our Saviour taught us, so we pray

AllOur Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

(or)

Standing at the foot of the cross,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us

AllOur 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 into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

The Conclusion

May Christ, who bore our sins on the cross,
set us free to serve him with joy.
AllAmen.

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.