Oremus for Monday, August 24, 2020

Saint Bartholomew
It has long been assumed that Bartholomew is the same as Nathanael though it is not a certainty. The gospels speak of Philip bringing Nathanael to Jesus and calling him an Israelite worthy of the name. He is also present beside the Sea of Galilee at the resurrection. Although he seems initially a somewhat cynical man, he recognises Jesus for who he is and proclaims him as Son of God and King of Israel. ^EH Saint Bartholomew is credited with many miracles related to the weight of objects. He was martyred in Armenia, being either decapitated or skinned alive. ⁴

Antiphon¹

Ant. Skies, let the Just One come forth like the dew, *
let him descend from the clouds like the rain.
The earth will open up and give birth to our Savior.
V. The heavens declare the glory of God, *
and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands.
Day unto day conveys the message, *
and night unto night imparts the knowledge. Isaiah 45; Psalm 19

Eternal God,
our beginning and our end,
be our starting point and our haven,
and accompany us in this day’s journey.
Use our hands
to do the work of your creation,
and use our lives
to bring others the new life you give this world
in Jesus Christ, Redeemer of all. Amen. ^BCW

Music: https://tinyurl.com/ycn4djk5

O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will declare your praise.
Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
make haste to help me, O Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to you, O Christ, Alleluia!

HYMN: Jan Struther
Tune: Nun preiset alle

O saint of summer, what can we sing for you?
How can we praise you, what can we bring for you?
Lost are your words, your deeds are nameless,
Saint without history, mute and fameless.

Said you wise sayings? No one has hoarded them.
Worked you great wonders? None has recorded them.
Only your name, time’s hand defying,
Shines with the light of your faith undying.

So fade the words, so vanish the deeds from us
Of each lost summer, swift as it speeds from us;
We jest, we toil, we weep, but after
Slip from our memories grief and laughter.

Only the sun that cheered and shone for us,
All else forgotten, ever lives on for us,
Kindling our hearts when summer’s ended,
Soul of the summer, serene and splendid.

Time, take our words and do what thou wilt with them;
Death, take our hands and all that we built with them;
Only our faith, our soul’s endeavour,
Take it, Lord, make it, Lord, shine for ever.

PSALMS
For psalms in contemporary language, https://tinyurl.com/y9tjh7rk

Psalm 119:1-32 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/y9wwyccr)

1  Blessed are those that are undefiled in the way *
 and walk in the law of the Lord.
2  Blessed are they that keep his testimonies *
 and seek him with their whole heart.
3  For they who do no wickedness *
 walk in his ways.
4  Thou hast charged *
 that we shall diligently keep thy commandments.
5  O that my ways were made so direct *
 that I might keep thy statutes!
6  So shall I not be confounded *
 while I have respect unto all thy commandments.
7  I will thank thee with an unfeigned heart *
 when I shall have learned the judgements of thy righteousness.
8  I will keep thy ceremonies *
 O forsake me not utterly.
9  Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way *
 even by ruling himself after thy word.
10  With my whole heart have I sought thee *
 O let me not go wrong out of thy commandments.
11  Thy words have I hid within my heart *
 that I should not sin against thee.
12  Blessed art thou, O Lord *
 O teach me thy statutes.
13  With my lips have I been telling *
 of all the judgements of thy mouth.
14  I have had as great delight in the way of thy testimonies *
 as in all manner of riches.
15  I will talk of thy commandments *
 and have respect unto thy ways.
16  My delight shall be in thy statutes *
 and I will not forget thy word.
17  O do well unto thy servant *
 that I may live, and keep thy word.
18  Open thou mine eyes *
 that I may see the wondrous things of thy law.
19  I am a stranger upon earth *
 O hide not thy commandments from me.
20  My soul breaketh out for the very fervent desire *
 that it hath alway unto thy judgements.
21  Thou hast rebuked the proud *
 and cursed are they that do err from thy commandments.
22  O turn from me shame and rebuke *
 for I have kept thy testimonies.
23  Princes also did sit and speak against me *
 but thy servant is occupied in thy statutes.
24  For thy testimonies are my delight *
 and my counsellors.
25  My soul cleaveth to the dust *
 O quicken thou me, according to thy word.
26  I have acknowledged my ways, and thou heardest me *
 O teach me thy statutes.
27  Make me to understand the way of thy commandments *
 and so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.
28  My soul melteth away for very heaviness *
 comfort thou me according unto thy word.
29  Take from me the way of lying *
 and cause thou me to make much of thy law.
30  I have chosen the way of truth *
 and thy judgements have I laid before me.
31  I have stuck unto thy testimonies *
 O Lord, confound me not.
32  I will run the way of thy commandments *
 when thou hast set my heart at liberty.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.

PRAYER

Holy God,
you are just in all your ways
and your commandments are the greatest of treasures.
Give us understanding of your law
and direct us according to your will
that we may be faithful in serving you
for the sake of Jesus our Lord. Amen. ^BCW

THE WORD OF GOD

Reading: 2 Samuel 9:1-13

David asked, ‘Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’ Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, ‘Are you Ziba?’ And he said, ‘At your service!’ The king said, ‘Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?’ Ziba said to the king, ‘There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.’ The king said to him, ‘Where is he?’ Ziba said to the king, ‘He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.’ Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, ‘Mephibosheth!’ He answered, ‘I am your servant.’ David said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.’ He did obeisance and said, ‘What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I am?’

Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba, and said to him, ‘All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. You and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him, and shall bring in the produce, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat; but your master’s grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table.’ Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, ‘According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.’ Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.

HYMN: Shirley Erena Murray ©
Tune: For Everyone Born

1 For ev’ryone born, a place at the table,
For ev’ryone born, clean water and bread,
A shelter, a space, a safe place for growing,
For ev’ryone born, a star overhead,

Refrain:
And God will delight when we are creators
Of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
Yes, God will delight when we are creators
Of justice, justice and joy.

2 For woman and man, a place at the table,
Revising the roles, deciding the share,
With wisdom and grace, dividing the power,
For woman and man, a system that’s fair, [Refrain]

3 For young and for old, a place at the table,
A voice to be heard, a part in the song,
The hands of a child in hands that are wrinkled,
For young and for old, the right to belong, [Refrain]

4 For just and unjust, a place at the table,
Abuser, abused, with need to forgive,
In anger, in hurt, a mindset of mercy,
For just and unjust, a new way to live, [Refrain]

5 For ev’ryone born, a place at the table,
To live without fear, and simply to be,
To work, to speak out, to witness and worship,
For ev’ryone born, the right to be free, [Refrain]

Reading: James 2:14-26

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith without works is barren? Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness’, and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.

HYMN: Fred Pratt Green ©
Tune: King’s Weston https://tinyurl.com/y4bk67t3

1 When the church of Jesus shuts its outer door,
lest the roar of traffic drown the voice of prayer:
may our prayers, Lord, make us ten times more aware
that the world we banish is our Christian care.

2 If our hearts are lifted where devotion soars
high above this hungry suffering world of ours:
lest our hymns should drug us to forget its needs,
forge our Christian worship into Christian deeds.

3 Lest the gifts we offer, money, talents, time,
serve to salve our conscience to our secret shame:
Lord, reprove, inspire us by the way You give;
teach us, dying Savior, how true Christians live.

Reading: John 1:43-51

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

CANTICLE Te Deum
(Chant by Joe Cox: https://tinyurl.com/ybzyundx)

We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud,
the Heavens and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry:
    Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth;
    Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the apostles praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee.
The noble army of martyrs praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world
                              doth acknowledge thee,
    the Father, of an infinite majesty,
    thine adorable, true, and only Son,
    also the Holy Ghost the Comforter.

Thou art the King of glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man,
thou didst humble thyself to be born of a Virgin.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death,
thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come to be our judge.
    We therefore pray thee, help thy servants,
    whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
    Make them to be numbered with thy saints,
    in glory everlasting.

PRAYER

Let us pray to God,
whose word was entrusted to the Apostles
and has spread to all the world.

Empower your Church
to proclaim the saving message of Jesus Christ.
Lord of mercy,
spread your word.

Give us courage and strength
to spread the Gospel in places
where it has not been preached.
Lord of mercy,
spread your word.

Bless us in our personal lives
that we may live fully according to Jesus’ example.
Lord of mercy,
spread your word.

Open our eyes to your Word in the Holy Scriptures
that we find new paths of understanding.
Lord of mercy,
spread your word.

Remember, in your mercy, those who have gone before
marked with the sign of faith and led by the Gospel.
Lord of mercy,
spread your word.

(Plainsong Mode 2: https://tinyurl.com/yctqq8cf)^DL

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today the bread of life;
and 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.

Almighty and everlasting God,
who gave to your apostle Bartholomew grace
truly to believe and to preach your word:
grant that your Church
may love that word which he believed
and may faithfully preach and receive the same;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Music: https://tinyurl.com/y9efvwm5
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. 2 Cor. 13:14

---

^BCW Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 1993.

^EH Exciting Holiness, Ed. Brother Tristram SSF © European Province of the Society of Saint Francis, 1997

^RCLP Revised Common Lectionary Prayers. © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress.

^DL © Daniel Lawson; used with permission.

^CW Common Worship © 2000, Central Board of Finance of the Church of England

¹ Adam Bartlett, Simple English Propers; audio from https://musicasacra.com/additional-publications/sep-practice-videos/ ©
⁴ biography.com

The three main scripture readings are from the The New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Edition, The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer (1662).

Musical links are usually either to artists’ albums posted on Spotify or to recordings made available at smallchurchmusic.com. Audio stripped from YouTube videos is footnoted accordingly above.

Compilation © 2020 Stephen T. Benner. All links worked at the time they were created, but I cannot accept responsibility for their content or any damage resulting from their use. The linked content is under the control of the respective content creators and is subject to change at any time. Any copyright texts included in this compilation are provided for non-commercial purposes related to study or worship. Please contact the respective copyright holders for permission to use the texts in other contexts.