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Eucharist
Collect One
Almighty God,
who madest thy blessed Son to be circumcised,
and obedient to the law for man;
Grant us the true circumcision of the Spirit;
that, our hearts and all our members being mortified
from all worldly and carnal lusts,
we may in all things obey thy holy will;
through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.. Amen
Collect Two
Almighty God,
whose blessed Son was circumcised
in obedience to the law for our sake
and given the Name that declares your saving love:
Give us grace faithfully to bear his Name,
to worship him in the freedom of the Spirit,
and to proclaim him as the Saviour of the world;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen
The Lesson
Numbers 6: 22-27
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus
you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them, The Lord bless you
and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to
you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. So
they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.
The Psalm 8
The Epistle
Galatians 4: 4-7
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman,
born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so
that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children,
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba!
Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then
also an heir, through God.
The Gospel
Luke 2: 15-21
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to
one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken
place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and
found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw
this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all
who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary
treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds
returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as
it had been told them. After eight days had passed, it was time to
circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.
The Post Communion Prayer
Eternal God,
whose incarnate Son was given the name of Saviour:
Grant that we who have shared in this sacrament of our salvation
may live out our years
in the power of the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen |
Morning Prayer
Psalm 96
Old Testament
Genesis 17: 1-12a, (12b-16)
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said
to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will
make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly
numerous." Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, "As for me,
this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of
nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be
Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I
will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and
kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and
you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an
everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where
you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and
I will be their God." God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my
covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.
This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your
offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall
circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the
covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations every male among
you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old,
[including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money
from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. Both the slave born in
your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So
shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any
uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin
shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." God said to
Abraham, "As for Sarah your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah
shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by
her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of
peoples shall come from her."]
New Testament
Matthew 1: 18-25
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother
Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was
found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a
righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to
dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of
the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do
not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is
from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus,
for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to
fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the
virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,"
which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the
angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no
marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him
Jesus. |
Evening Prayer
Psalm 34
Old Testament
Genesis 12: 1-7
The Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your
father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a
great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you
will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who
curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be
blessed."
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was
seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife
Sarai and his brother's son Lot, and all the possessions that they had
gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set
forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of
Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak
of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord
appeared to Abram, and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So
he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
New Testament
Hebrews 11: 1-12
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not
seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we
understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what
is seen was made from things that are not visible.
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain's.
Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving
approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks. By
faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and "he was not
found, because God had taken him." For it was attested before he was taken
away that "he had pleased God." And without faith it is impossible to
please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and
that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, warned by God about
events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his
household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the
righteousness that is in accordance with faith.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he
was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was
going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as
in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs
with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has
foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received
power of procreation, even though he was too old - and Sarah herself was
barren - because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore
from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, "as
many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the
seashore." |
