Oremus for Saturday, October 17, 2020

Ignatius of Antioch
Ignatius was the second bishop of Antioch in Syria, who was caught in a persecution of the Church around the year 115 and condemned to suffer death in the public arena. The authorities decided to send him all the way to Rome for execution of this sentence. He was put in the custody of ten soldiers and escorted along a route which led through cities with large Christian congregations. There was a lengthy stop-over at Smyrna, on the coast of Asia Minor, and Ignatius took the opportunity to write letters to the four churches that he had just passed through. There was another stop-over at Philippi in Macedonia, where Ignatius wrote another three letters, two back to churches in Asia Minor and one forward to the church at Rome. Taken together, these seven letters were Ignatius’s last testament. He exhorted each church to gather in unity under its bishop, most especially at the eucharist; and he urged the churches to reject certain heresies about the person of Christ. Above all, Ignatius urged the churches to rejoice with him in the prospect of his own martyrdom for the sake of Christ. He embraced his fate passionately, even with a joy that we may find hard to fathom. Ignatius wrote in his letter to the church at Rome: “I am God’s wheat: let me be ground by the teeth of wild beasts, that I may be found pure bread for Christ.” ^FAS

Antiphon¹

Ant. Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand on high;
and behold the joy that shall come to you from your God.
V. O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord! *
O Sion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates; *
he has blessed your children within you.
He established peace on your borders; *
he gives you your fill of finest wheat. Baruch 5; Psalm 147

Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires, known,
and from whom no secrets are hid:
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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: Prudentius; trans. Henry Williams Baker and John Mason Neale
Tune: Divinum Mysterium https://tinyurl.com/y8tw5m6q

1 Of the Father’s love begotten
ere the worlds began to be,
he is Alpha and Omega,
he the Source, the Ending he,
of the things that are, that have been,
and that future years shall see,
evermore and evermore!

2 O that birth forever blessed,
when the Virgin, full of grace,
by the Holy Ghost conceiving,
bore the Savior of our race;
and the babe, the world’s Redeemer,
first revealed his sacred face,
evermore and evermore!

3 This is he whom heav’n-taught singers
sang of old with one accord,
whom the Scriptures of the prophets
promised in their faithful word;
now he shines, the long expected;
let creation praise its Lord, 
evermore and evermore!

4 O ye heights of heav’n, adore him;
angel hosts, his praises sing:
all dominions, bow before him
and extol our God and King;
let no tongue on earth be silent,
ev’ry voice in concert ring, 
evermore and evermore!

5 Christ, to thee, with God the Father,
and, O Holy Ghost, to thee,
hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
and unwearied praises be,
honor, glory, and dominion
and eternal victory,
evermore and evermore!

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

Psalm 89 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/ydygwbyj)

1  My song shall be alway of the loving kindness of the Lord *
 with my mouth will I ever be shewing thy truth from one generation to another.
2  For I have said, Mercy shall be set up for ever *
 thy truth shalt thou stablish in the heavens.
3  I have made a covenant with my chosen *
 I have sworn unto David my servant;
4  Thy seed will I stablish for ever *
 and set up thy throne from one generation to another.
5  O Lord, the very heavens shall praise thy wondrous works *
 and thy truth in the congregation of the saints.
6  For who is he among the clouds *
 that shall be compared unto the Lord?
7  And what is he among the gods *
 that shall be like unto the Lord?
8  God is very greatly to be feared in the council of the saints *
 and to be had in reverence of all them that are round about him.
9  O Lord God of hosts, who is like unto thee *
 thy truth, most mighty Lord, is on every side.
10  Thou rulest the raging of the sea *
 thou stillest the waves thereof when they arise.
11  Thou hast subdued Egypt, and destroyed it *
 thou hast scattered thine enemies abroad with thy mighty arm.
12  The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine *
 thou hast laid the foundation of the round world, and all that therein is.
13  Thou hast made the north and the south *
 Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy Name.
14  Thou hast a mighty arm *
 strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
15  Righteousness and equity are the habitation of thy seat *
 mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
16  Blessed is the people, O Lord, that can rejoice in thee *
 they shall walk in the light of thy countenance.
17  Their delight shall be daily in thy Name *
 and in thy righteousness shall they make their boast.
18  For thou art the glory of their strength *
 and in thy loving-kindness thou shalt lift up our horns.
19  For the Lord is our defence *
 the Holy One of Israel is our King.
20  Thou spakest sometime in visions unto thy saints, and saidst *
 I have laid help upon one that is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
21  I have found David my servant *
 with my holy oil have I anointed him.
22  My hand shall hold him fast *
 and my arm shall strengthen him.
23  The enemy shall not be able to do him violence *
 the son of wickedness shall not hurt him.
24  I will smite down his foes before his face *
 and plague them that hate him.
25  My truth also and my mercy shall be with him *
 and in my Name shall his horn be exalted.
26  I will set his dominion also in the sea *
 and his right hand in the floods.
27  He shall call me, Thou art my Father *
 my God, and my strong salvation.
28  And I will make him my first-born *
 higher than the kings of the earth.
29  My mercy will I keep for him for evermore *
 and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
30  His seed also will I make to endure for ever *
 and his throne as the days of heaven.
31  But if his children forsake my law *
 and walk not in my judgements;
32  If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments *
 I will visit their offences with the rod, and their sin with scourges.
33  Nevertheless, my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him *
 nor suffer my truth to fail.
34  My covenant will I not break,
nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips *
 I have sworn once by my holiness, that I will not fail David.
35  His seed shall endure for ever *
 and his seat is like as the sun before me.
36  He shall stand fast for evermore as the moon *
 and as the faithful witness in heaven.
37  But thou hast abhorred and forsaken thine Anointed *
 and art displeased at him.
38  Thou hast broken the covenant of thy servant *
 and cast his crown to the ground.
39  Thou hast overthrown all his hedges *
 and broken down his strong holds.
40  All they that go by spoil him *
 and he is become a reproach to his neighbours.
41  Thou hast set up the right hand of his enemies *
 and made all his adversaries to rejoice.
42  Thou hast taken away the edge of his sword *
 and givest him not victory in the battle.
43  Thou hast put out his glory *
 and cast his throne down to the ground.
44  The days of his youth hast thou shortened *
 and covered him with dishonour.
45  Lord, how long wilt thou hide thyself, for ever *
 and shall thy wrath burn like fire?
46  O remember how short my time is *
 wherefore hast thou made all men for nought?
47  What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death *
 and shall he deliver his soul from the hand of hell?
48  Lord, where are thy old loving-kindnesses *
 which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?
49  Remember, Lord, the rebuke that thy servants have *
 and how I do bear in my bosom the rebukes of many people;
50  Wherewith thine enemies have blasphemed thee, and slandered the footsteps of thine Anointed *
 Praised be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and Amen.
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

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. Amen. ^BCW

THE WORD OF GOD

Reading: Numbers 23:11-26

Then Balak said to Balaam, ‘What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but now you have done nothing but bless them.’ He answered, ‘Must I not take care to say what the Lord puts into my mouth?’

So Balak said to him, ‘Come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only part of them, and shall not see them all; then curse them for me from there.’ So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah. He built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Balaam said to Balak, ‘Stand here beside your burnt-offerings, while I meet the Lord over there.’ The Lord met Balaam, put a word into his mouth, and said, ‘Return to Balak, and this is what you shall say.’ When he came to him, he was standing beside his burnt-offerings with the officials of Moab. Balak said to him, ‘What has the Lord said?’ Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying:
‘Rise, Balak, and hear;
   listen to me, O son of Zippor:
God is not a human being, that he should lie,
   or a mortal, that he should change his mind.
Has he promised, and will he not do it?
   Has he spoken, and will he not fulfil it?
See, I received a command to bless;
   he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob;
   nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
   acclaimed as a king among them.
God, who brings them out of Egypt,
   is like the horns of a wild ox for them.
Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob,
   no divination against Israel;
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
   “See what God has done!”
Look, a people rising up like a lioness,
   and rousing itself like a lion!
It does not lie down until it has eaten the prey
   and drunk the blood of the slain.’

Then Balak said to Balaam, ‘Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.’ But Balaam answered Balak, ‘Did I not tell you, “Whatever the Lord says, that is what I must do”?’

HYMN: Charles Wesley
Tune: Syria https://tinyurl.com/y2pgusv4

1. See how great a flame aspires,
kindled by a spark of grace!
Jesus’ love the nations fires,
sets the kingdoms all ablaze;
fire to bring on earth he came;
kindled in some hearts it is:
O that all might catch the flame,
all partake the glorious bliss!

2. When the work was first begun,
small and hidden was its day:
see the word now swiftly run,
as it wins its widening way;
more and more it spreads and grows,
ever mighty to prevail,
Satan’s strongholds overthrows,
shakes the trembling gates of hell.

3. Sons of God, your Saviour praise;
he the door has opened wide,
he has given the word of grace,
Jesus’ word is glorified;
Jesus, mighty to redeem,
he alone the work has wrought;
worthy is the work of him,
him who spoke a world from nought.

4. Did you see the cloud arise,
little as a human hand?
Now it spreads throughout the skies,
over all the thirsty land;
see! the promise of a shower
drops already from above;
but the Lord will surely pour
all the Spirit of his love.

Reading: Romans 8:28-39

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,
‘For your sake we are being killed all day long;
   we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

HYMN: Charles Wesley
Tune: Diademata https://tinyurl.com/ybqdgavl

1 Soldiers of Christ, arise,
and put your armour on,
strong in the strength which God supplies,
through his eternal Son;
Strong in the Lord of Hosts,
and in his mighty power:
who in the strength of Jesus trusts
is more than conqueror.

2 Stand then in his great might,
with all his strength endued;
and take, to arm you for the fight,
the panoply of God.
To keep your armour bright
attend with constant care,
still walking in your Captain’s sight,
and watching unto prayer.

3 From strength to strength go on,
wrestle and fight and pray;
tread all the powers of darkness down,
and win the well-fought day;
That, having all things done,
and all your conflicts past,
ye may o’ercome, through Christ alone,
and stand entire at last.

Reading: Mark 2:13-17

Jesus went out again beside the lake; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.

And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax-collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples—for there were many who followed him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax-collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’

CANTICLE Micah 6:6-8
(Tune: Sharpthorne https://tinyurl.com/yafplab4)

What does the Lord require
for praise and offering?
What sacrifice, desire,
or tribute bid you bring?
Do justly,
love mercy,
walk humbly with your God.

Rulers of earth, give ear!
Should you not justice know?
Will God your pleading hear
while crime and cruelty grow?
Do justly,
love mercy,
walk humbly with your God.

Still down the ages ring
the prophet’s stern commands;
to merchant, worker, king
he brings God’s high commands:
do justly,
love mercy,
walk humbly with your God.

How shall our life fulfill
God’s law so hard and high?
Let Christ endue our will
with grace to fortify.
Then justly,
in mercy,
we’ll humbly walk with God.

THE PRAYERS ^BCW

God of glory, we praise you for your presence in our lives, and for all goodness
that you shower upon your children in Jesus Christ. Especially we thank you for
promises kept and hope for tomorrow . . .
the enjoyment of friends . . .
the wonders of your creation . . .
the love from our parents, our sisters and brothers, our spouses and children . . .
the pleasures of living. . . .

God of grace, we are one with all your children, for we are sisters and brothers
of Jesus Christ, and we offer our prayers for all whom we love.
Especially we pray for
those we too often forget . . .
people who have lost hope . . .
victims of tragedy and disaster . . .
those who suffer mental anguish . . .
ecumenical councils and church agencies. . . .

(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.

O Lord our God,
may the bread of heaven refresh us
and the wine of your kingdom give us new strength,
that we who honour your martyr Ignatius
may manifest by our actions
what we became by our baptism;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ^FAS

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

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^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

^FAS For All the Saints, Anglican Church of Canada.

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

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.