Morning Prayer: Friday 25 December 2020

Friday 25 December 2020

CHRISTMAS DAY
Incarnation

CHRISTMAS DAY

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

Glory 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.

PSALMODY

Antiphon: Your justice Lord dawns like morning light; its dawning is as sure as the sunrise. (Hosea 6.3)

Opening

VENITE

1 O come let us sing out to the Lord,*
let us shout in triumph to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his face with thanksgiving*
and cry out to him joyfully in psalms.
3 For the Lord is a great God,*
and a great king above all gods.
4 In his hands are the depths of the earth,*
and the peaks of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his and he made it;*
his hands moulded dry land.
6 Come let us worship and bow down,*
and kneel before the Lord our maker.
7 For he himself is our God;*
we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
8 Today if only you would hear his voice:*
"Do not harden your hearts as Israel did in the wilderness;
9 when your fathers tested me;*
put me to proof though they had seen my works.
10 Of whom I swore in my wrath:*
'They shall not enter my rest.'"
Glory to the Father... (may be said by all)


Glory to the Father
or a suitable Hymn
(Or from 85)

1 I will listen to what the Lord God is saying,*
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people.

2 Truly his salvation is very near to those who fear him,*
that his glory may dwell in our land.

3 Mercy and truth have met together;*
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

4 Truth shall spring up from the earth,*
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

Glory to the Father...
or a suitable hymn

Psalm 89.1-18
1 Your love, O Lord, for ever will I sing;*
from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.

2 For I am persuaded that your love is established for ever;*
you have set your faithfulness firmly in the heavens.

3 "I have made a covenant with my chosen one;*
I have sworn an oath to David my servant:

4 'I will establish your line for ever,*
and preserve your throne for all generations.'"

5 The heavens bear witness to your wonders, O Lord,*
and to your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones;

6 For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?*
who is like the Lord among the gods?

7 God is much to be feared in the council of the holy ones,*
great and terrible to all those round about him.

8 Who is like you, Lord God of hosts?*
O mighty Lord, your faithfulness is all around you.

9 You rule the raging of the sea*
and still the surging of its waves.

10 You have crushed Rahab of the deep with a deadly wound;*
you have scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.

11 Yours are the heavens; the earth also is yours;*
you laid the foundations of the world and all that is in it.

12 You have made the north and the south;*
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name.

13 You have a mighty arm;*
strong is your hand and high is your right hand.

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne;*
love and truth go before your face.

15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout!*
they walk, O Lord, in the light of your presence.

16 They rejoice daily in your name;*
they are jubilant in your righteousness.

17 For you are the glory of their strength,*
and by your favour our might is exalted.

18 Truly, the Lord is our ruler;*
the Holy One of Israel is our king.

Glory to the Father...

Remember us, gracious God, when we cannot see your way and purpose, and renew in us the joy of your kingdom of light and life. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.



Conclusion

Isaiah 60

1 Arise, shine, for your light has come,*
the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

2 For behold darkness shall cover the earth,*
thick darkness the peoples;

3 but the Lord will arise upon you;*
God’s glory will be seen upon you.

4 Nations shall come to your light;*
kings to the brightness of your rising.

5 The sun shall be no more your light by day;*
nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night;

6 but the Lord will be your everlasting light,*
your God will be your glory.

Glory to the Father...

Your justice Lord dawns like morning light, its dawning is as sure as the sunrise.


READING(S)

Zechariah 2.10-13

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For lo, I will come and dwell in your midst, says the Lord. Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in your midst. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. Be silent, all people, before the Lord; for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.


1 Letter of John 4.7-16

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God"s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.

Silence

Response Psalm (128.13)

When your word goes forth it gives light
When your word goes forth it gives light.
It gives understanding to the simple.
It gives light.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
When your word goes forth it gives light.


BENEDICTUS

Benedictus antiphon: To us is born this day a Saviour, Christ the Lord. (Luke 2.11)

1 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,* for he has come to his people and set them free.
2 He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,* born of the house of his servant David.
3 Through his holy prophets he promised of old* that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us.
4 He promised to show mercy to our forebears,* and to remember his holy covenant.
5 This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:* to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6 free to worship him without fear,* holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
7 You my child shall be called the prophet of the Most High,* for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8 to give his people knowledge of salvation* by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9 In the tender compassion of our God* the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10 to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,* and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father... (may be said by all)

Benedictus antiphon: To us is born this day a Saviour, Christ the Lord. (Luke 2.11)

PRAYERS


Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

Our 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.
Do not bring us to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever.

Amen



Collect of the Day

O God our Father,
the light of whose Word has come among us
in the Holy Child of Bethlehem:
grant that the radiance of that true light,
which enlightens our minds by faith,
may shine brightly through our words and deeds;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.
Amen

God most holy, we give you thanks for bringing us out of the shadow of night into the light of morning; and we ask you for the joy of spending this day in your service, so that when evening comes, we may once more give you thanks, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Amen

Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!

The Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil;
and bring us to life eternal.
Amen.