The Rev. Canon Bahman Kalantari
Morning Prayer
Opening Hymn:
In the Name of Our Beloved Saviour.
O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.
The Invitatory
Holy God,
we try to fix and fasten you,
but you will not be stayed.
You are love in motion:
always breathing us into being,
calling us to serve,
sustaining us in the wilderness.
Come to us as the morning breaks.
Soften what has grown dry and brittle in our hearts
until we worship with abandon,
for we pray in the name of the Son you sent
and through the Spirit that gives us life. Amen.
Preparation
Spirit of life, we do not know how to pray as we ought.
Meet us in words written, in words spoken;
intercede for us with sighs too deep for words,
until we shine with the hope that is hidden in our hearts,
for we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Hymn:
The Gospel
Matthew 21:12-17
Jesus at the Temple
Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.
“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
“‘From the lips of children and infants
you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”
And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.
The Word of the Lord
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 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, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Statement of Faith (Philippians 2:5-11)
Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Hymn:
Prayers of Intercession
O Holy Trinity,
we pray for your church all over the world,
that we would be seed and yeast
where life has grown barren and heavy.
May the life we discover in you
bind us to each other and to the world you love,
for no need is beyond the strength of your call,
and no child of yours is expendable.
Merciful God, give us wisdom and courage
beyond our imagining.
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We pray for friends and strangers in the grip of addiction.
Make us able companions for each other,
and bless us with hope that bears fruit.
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We pray for unsettled economies
and those whose needs are overlooked
in the choices of the powerful.
May we, who know so much privilege,
bear our responsibilities with open hearts and open hands.
We pray for all who stand at the thresholds of life:
for your children who are soon to be born
and your children who are soon to go home.
We give thanks for new faces to love,
ideas to ponder, work to do—
and we marvel at the sturdy friendships
and persistent memories
that sustain us when the way is hard.
May each be a reminder of your love and your provision.
We thank you for the gift of song—
for notes that speak when words fail
and choirs that practice at the end of long days.
Give strength to leaders who call forth the best from us
and invite us to breathe together.
Holy One, keep calling us into the world—your world—
as seed and yeast and treasure.
Equip each of us for the challenges we will face
until we learn to worship in the most unlikely places,
for you are the source of our song
and the well from which we pray,
wherever we are planted.
By the power of your Spirit,
we make our prayer with resurrection hope,
in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Closing Hymn:
Closing Prayer
May God, who searches the heart,
Jesus, whose love overcomes all division,
and the Spirit, which helps us in our weakness,
continue to lead us into life that we may serve with joy. Amen.
Postlude: Antonio Vivaldi