Holy Innocents

Holy Innocents

Lectionary

Jeremiah 31:15-17

Revelation 21:1-7

Morning Prayer

Isaiah 49:13-23

Matthew 18:1-14

Evening Prayer

Lectionary

Psalm 124
^{1 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,

let Israel now say- ²if it had not been the Lord who was on our side,

when men rose up against us, ³then they would have swallowed us up alive,

when their anger was kindled against us; ⁴then the flood would have swept us away,

the torrent would have gone over us; ⁵then over us would have gone

the raging waters.

⁶Blessed be the Lord,

who has not given us

as prey to their teeth!

⁷We have escaped as a bird

from the snare of the fowlers;

the snare is broken,

and we have escaped!

⁸Our help is in the name of the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.}Jeremiah 31:15-17
^{15 Thus says the Lord:
"A voice is heard in Ramah,

lamentation and bitter weeping.

Rachel is weeping for her children;

she refuses to be comforted for her children,

because they are not."
^{16 Thus says the Lord:

"Keep your voice from weeping,

and your eyes from tears;

for your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord,

and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
^{17 There is hope for your future, says the Lord,

and your children shall come back to their own country.}}}Revelation 21:1-7
^{1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; ³and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; ⁴he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away."
^{5 And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." ⁶And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the fountain of the water of life without payment. ⁷He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall be my son.}}Matt 2:13-18
^{13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." ¹⁴And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, ¹⁵and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called my son."
^{16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. ¹⁷Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

^{18 "A voice was heard in Ramah,

wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be consoled,

because they were no more."}}}Morning Prayer

PSALM 2

^{1 Why do the nations conspire,

and the peoples plot in vain?
^{2 The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
^{3 "Let us burst their bonds asunder,

and cast their cords from us."

⁴He who sits in the heavens laughs;

the Lord has them in derision.

⁵Then he will speak to them in his wrath,

and terrify them in his fury, saying,

⁶"I have set my king

on Zion, my holy hill."

⁷I will tell of the decree of the Lord:

He said to me, "You are my son,

today I have begotten you.

⁸Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

and the ends of the earth your possession.

⁹You shall break them with a rod of iron,

and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

¹⁰Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

¹¹Serve the Lord with fear,

with trembling

¹²kiss his feet,

lest he be angry, and you perish in the way;

for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

PSALM 26

¹Vindicate me, O Lord,

for I have walked in my integrity,

and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
^{2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me;

test my heart and my mind.
^{3 For thy steadfast love is before my eyes,

and I walk in faithfulness to thee.

⁴I do not sit with false men,

nor do I consort with dissemblers;
^{5 I hate the company of evildoers,

and I will not sit with the wicked.
^{6 I wash my hands in innocence,

and go about thy altar, O Lord,
^{7 singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,

and telling all thy wondrous deeds.
^{8 O Lord, I love the habitation of thy house,

and the place where thy glory dwells.

⁹Sweep me not away with sinners,

nor my life with bloodthirsty men,

¹⁰men in whose hands are evil devices,

and whose right hands are full of bribes.

¹¹But as for me, I walk in my integrity;

redeem me, and be gracious to me.

¹²My foot stands on level ground;

in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.}}}}}}}}}Isaiah 49:13-23
^{13 Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted. ¹⁴But Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me." ¹⁵"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. ¹⁶Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. ¹⁷Your builders outstrip your destroyers, and those who laid you waste go forth from you. ¹⁸Lift up your eyes round about and see; they all gather, they come to you. As I live, says the Lord, you shall put them all on as an ornament, you shall bind them on as a bride does. ¹⁹"Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land- surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away. ²⁰The children born in the time of your bereavement will yet say in your ears: 'The place is too narrow for me; make room for me to dwell in.' ²¹Then you will say in your heart: 'Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away, but who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; whence then have these come?'" ²²Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. ²³Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame."}Matthew 18:1-14
^{1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" ²And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, ³and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
^{5 "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; ⁶but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
^{7 "Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the man by whom the temptation comes! ⁸And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
^{10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven. ¹²What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.}}}}Evening Prayer

PSALM 19

The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

^{2 Day to day pours forth speech,

and night to night declares knowledge.
^{3 There is no speech, nor are there words;

their voice is not heard;

⁴yet their voice goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.

In them he has set a tent for the sun,

⁵which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,

and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

⁶Its rising is from the end of the heavens,

and its circuit to the end of them;

and there is nothing hid from its heat.

⁷The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure,

making wise the simple;

⁸the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure,

enlightening the eyes;

⁹the fear of the Lord is clean,

enduring for ever;

the ordinances of the Lord are true,

and righteous altogether.

¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey

and drippings of the honeycomb.

¹¹Moreover by them is thy servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

¹²But who can discern his errors?

Clear thou me from hidden faults.

¹³Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;

let them not have dominion over me!

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in thy sight,

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

PSALM 126

¹When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

we were like those who dream.
^{2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then they said among the nations,

"The Lord has done great things for them."
^{3 The Lord has done great things for us;

we are glad.

⁴Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like the watercourses in the Negeb!

⁵May those who sow in tears

reap with shouts of joy!

⁶He that goes forth weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

bringing his sheaves with him.}}}}Is 54:1-13
^{1 "Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in travail! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her that is married, says the Lord. ²Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; hold not back, lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. ³For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your descendants will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities. ⁴"Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. ⁵For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. ⁶For the Lord has called you like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. ⁷For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you. ⁸In overflowing wrath for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. ⁹"For this is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you and will not rebuke you. ¹⁰For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you. ¹¹"O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. ¹²I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones. ¹³All your sons shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the prosperity of your sons.}Mark 10:13-16
^{13 And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁵Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." ¹⁶And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.}