Morning Prayer: Lent 2 - Jesus' Love Comes Down
The Call to Prayer
But I, O God, cry out to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Psalm 88:13
The Request for Presence
Let your steadfast love become a comfort according to your promise to your servant.
Psalm 119:76
The Greeting
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105
The Hymn
O love, how deep, how broad, how high, how passing thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take our mortal form for mortal’s sake.
For us baptized, for us he bore his holy fast and hungered sore;
For us temptations sharp he knew, for us the tempter overthrew.
For us he prayed for us he taught; for us his daily works he wrought:
By words and signs and actions, thus still seeking not himself but us.
For us to wicked hands betrayed, scrouged, mocked, in purple robe arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death, for us gave up his dying breath.
For us he rose from death again; for us he went on high to reign;
For us he sent his Spirit here to guide, to strengthen and to cheer.
15th c. Latin, translated by Benjamin Webb
PCC Hymn #205 O love, how deep, how broad, how high
The Refrain
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
...And the Word became flesh and dwelled among us.
John 1:1,14
The Reading
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11
The Refrain
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
...And the Word became flesh and dwelled among us.
John 1:1,14
Psalm 31
In you, YHWH, I took refuge; never let me be disgraced! In your justice deliver me!
Turn your ear to me! Hurry! Rescue me! Be the rock I hide behind; be the walled fortress that saves me!
Because you are my rock, my fortress, and for the sake of your Name, lead me, guide me!
Pull me out of the trap they set for me, for you are my refuge!
Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, YHWH, God of truth!
I hate those who cling to useless idols; but I trust in you.
I’ll be happy, I’ll rejoice in your love—for you saw my despair, you knew the dark night of my soul.
You didn’t hand me over to the enemy, but gave my feet boundless freedom.
Now take pity on me, YHWH, for I’m in trouble again. I cried so much that I’m exhausted—and not only my eyes, but my mind and body as well.
My life is consumed by sorrow; my years are worn out with my sighs; my strength fails me because of my despair; my bones are getting weaker.
Because of all my oppressors I’m held in utter contempt, even by my neighbours; my friends are afraid of me, and people who see me on the street hurry past me.
I am forgotten, as good as dead in their hearts, like something that has outlived its usefulness.
I hear their endless slander, and threats from every quarter as they conspire against me, plotting to take my life.
But I put my trust in you, YHWH: I say, “You are my God!”
My times are in your hand; save me from the hands of my enemies and persecutors.
Smile on your faithful one; save me in your love!
Don’t let me be disgraced, YHWH, for I cried to you; let disgrace fall instead on the corrupt—in their silence, let them go to Sheol,
Their lying lips sealed shut because of their sneering contempt for those who do right, because of their overwhelming pride and arrogance.
How great is the goodness reserved for those who revere you! You bestow it—in front of everyone—on those who take refuge in you.
Safe in your presence, you hide them from the world’s insidious schemes; inside your tent, you shelter them, far from the war of tongues!
Blessed are you, YHWH, for you showed your wonderful love to me in a city under siege!
In my alarm I exclaimed, “I’ve been snatched from your sight!” Yet you heard the sound of my cries when I called to you for help.
Revel in your love for God, you whom God has touched! For YHWH protects the faithful but will repay the arrogant in full.
Be strong, let your heart be bold, you who hope in YHWH.
Psalm 31
The Refrain
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
...And the Word became flesh and dwelled among us.
John 1:1,14
The Gloria
All glory to Almighty God
For love so deep, so high, so broad
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.
15th c. Latin, translated by Benjamin Webb
PCC Hymn #205 O love, how deep, how broad, how high
The Lord’s Prayer
The Prayer Appointed for the Day
O Jesus, you lowered yourself to come down and dwell among us. You humbled yourself to be God’s love in human flesh. Help us to know this love, which surpasses knowledge. Help us to emulate you. Give us humility in our own lives so that we can bring God's love to all those around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Rev. Sarina Odden Meyer
The Concluding Prayer of the Church
God be in my head and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes and in my looking;
God be in my mouth and in my speaking;
God be in my heart and in my thinking;
God be at my end and at my departing.
R. Pynson (1514)