Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
Former President Jimmy Carter remains in home hospice care after three months, and his grandson Jason says he is aware of the tributes being accorded his achievements, including peace between Israel and Egypt. A former peanut farmer, Carter enjoys his favorite ice cream flavor (peanut butter) and listens to news about the Carter Center, including its ongoing campaign to eradicate guinea worm in Africa. Millions have died from the deadly parasite, but last year there were fewer than two dozen cases. Otherwise the former president lives with his wife Rosalyn in the same one-story ranch house in Plains, Georgia they built when he first ran for the state legislature. Above: banners wave on Jimmy Carter Boulevard in thriving Norcross, Georgia, a former backwater north of Atlanta that’s become a commercial hub for a million area residents. (Alex Stitz/AP)
If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Corinthians 5:17
INVITATORY AND PSALTER
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
Hymn: O Gracious Light
O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.
Psalm 119:121-144
121 I have done what is just and right; *
do not deliver me to my oppressors.
122 Be surety for your servant’s good; *
let not the proud oppress me.
123 My eyes have failed from watching for your salvation *
and for your righteous promise.
124 Deal with your servant according to your loving-kindness *
and teach me your statutes.
125 I am your servant; grant me understanding, *
that I may know your decrees.
126 It is time for you to act, O LORD, *
for they have broken your law.
127 Truly, I love your commandments *
more than gold and precious stones.
128 I hold all your commandments to be right for me; *
all paths of falsehood I abhor.
129 Your decrees are wonderful; *
therefore I obey them with all my heart.
130 When your word goes forth it gives light; *
it gives understanding to the simple.
131 I open my mouth and pant; *
I long for your commandments.
132 Turn to me in mercy, *
as you always do to those who love your Name.
133 Steady my footsteps in your word; *
let no iniquity have dominion over me.
134 Rescue me from those who oppress me, *
and I will keep your commandments.
135 Let your countenance shine upon your servant *
and teach me your statutes.
136 My eyes shed streams of tears, *
because people do not keep your law.
137 You are righteous, O LORD, *
and upright are your judgments.
138 You have issued your decrees *
with justice and in perfect faithfulness.
139 My indignation has consumed me, *
because my enemies forget your words.
140 Your word has been tested to the uttermost, *
and your servant holds it dear.
141 I am small and of little account, *
yet I do not forget your commandments.
142 Your justice is an everlasting justice *
and your law is the truth.
143 Trouble and distress have come upon me, *
yet your commandments are my delight.
144 The righteousness of your decrees is everlasting; *
grant me understanding, that I may live.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Corrado Giaquinto, 1750: Satan Before the Lord
THE LESSON
Luke 10:17-24 (NRSV)
The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” Jesus said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
Canticle: A Song of Christ’s Humility
Philippians 2:6-11
Though in the form of God, *
Christ Jesus did not cling to equality with God,
But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, *
and was born in human likeness.
Being found in human form, he humbled himself *
and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Therefore, God has highly exalted him *
and given him the name above every name,
That at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, *
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, *
to the glory of God the Father.
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God,
the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
THE PRAYERS
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.
Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.
V. That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful,
R. We entreat you, O Lord.
V. That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill,
R. We entreat you, O Lord.
V. That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offenses,
R. We entreat you, O Lord.
V. That there may be peace to your Church and to the whole world,
R. We entreat you, O Lord.
V. That we may depart this life in your faith and fear,
and not be condemned before the great judgment seat of Christ,
R. We entreat you, O Lord.
V. That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit
in the communion of all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ,
R. We entreat you, O Lord.
David Jackson Kemper was a New Yorker when he answered the call to mission work in the Old Northwest, as the region by the Great Lakes was called. Well-to-do Eastern priests didn’t like the weather, wilderness and harsh conditions, but Kemper thrived there, founding parishes, dioceses and schools wherever he went. He even found time to head up missions to the South and Southwest, and urged the Church to take up “Indian work.” The American Church we know today is in large part his creation.
Collect of the Day: Jackson Kemper, First Missionary Bishop in the United States, 1870
O God, who sent your Son Jesus Christ to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that we, like your servant Jackson Kemper, may proclaim the Gospel in our own day, with courage, vision and perseverance; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for Protection
O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Another look at one of the red fox kits now living in a garden at Millennium Park in downtown Chicago, a major tourist destination. Urban foxes hide from coyotes, their only natural enemies, during the day, then come out as night falls to forage for food. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times)
For the Beauty of the Earth
We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the beauty of earth and sky and sea; for the richness of mountains, plains, and rivers; for the songs of birds and the loveliness of flowers. We praise you for these good gifts, and pray that we may safeguard them for our posterity. Grant that we may continue to grow in our grateful enjoyment of your abundant creation, to the honor and glory of your Name, now and for ever. Amen.
Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Diocese of Tamale, Ghana
Wednesday Evening Prayer List
For Disaster & Terror Victims
Violence in Pakistan, ex-PM freed
Floods in New Zealand; 6 killed in hostel fire
Increasing violence between Israel & Palestine
Earthquakes in Syria & Turkey; 50,000 dead
Public executions of dissenters in Iran, poisoning of schoolgirls
Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine; intense fighting near Bakhmut
Famine in East Africa
Violence & economic collapse in Sri Lanka
Mass arrests in Myanmar, villages bombed by military junta
Chinese violence against Uighurs
Hundreds of thousands in squalid refugee camps, including those on Lesbos and Rohingyas in Bangladesh; recent fire victims
For Prisoners
Evan Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal, detention extended 3 more months
Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., Russian opposition leader
Alexei Navalny, there is a pattern here
Austin Tice, journalist kidnapped in Syria
Political prisoners around the world
David, out of jail
Cleave Thomas, last years of a 20-year sentence
Matthew
Children and families of prisoners
Prison chaplains and ministries, especially Kairos
Sr. Helen Prejean and all prison reformers
All who are condemned to die
Please offer your own prayers here.
Prayer for Mission
O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.++
VIDEO: Down at the Cross (John H. Stockton; E.A. Hoffman) – Guy Penrod, 2016
Daily Office Asia-Pacific 