Saturday Morning Prayer from Daily Prayer for All Seasons
Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Opening
Holy God, you are always with us.
Open our eyes to your presence.
Prayer
God of faithful surprises, throughout the ages you have made known your love and power in unexpected ways and places: May we daily perceive the joy and wonder of your abiding presence and offer our lives in gratitude for our redemption. Amen.
Praise Benedicite Omnia Opera
All you works of God, bless your creator;
praise her and glorify her for ever.
Let the wide earth bless the creator;
let the arching heavens bless the creator;
let the whole body of God bless the creator;
praise her and glorify her for ever.
You returning daylight, bless your creator;
twilight and shadows, bless your creator;
embracing darkness, bless your creator;
praise her and glorify her for ever.
Let all who live and grow and breathe bless our creator,
praise her and glorify her for ever.
Scripture
Luke 8:16-25
‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.’
Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.’ But he said to them, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.’
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A gale swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him up, shouting, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?’
Meditation
Again the Air is Full
Again the air is full
of falling: the fall of the leaves
in the weighty season that bring
all home again to the lowly
miracle from which they came.Nature, the mother and maker,
requires that life take form,
enflesh itself in the shapes
and habits of the world’s unnumbered
kinds. And then she requires
each one at last to shed
its guise, giving up
its matter to the life to come.Think of a world of no fall
no gravity calling downward,
homeward, bringing all
by the light uprisen down
to rest in the resting land
– a world, instead, where all
that dies would fly upward
and outward, nameless and alone.
How sterile then would be
the earth, seasonless the year.The year is the showing forth
of the heavenly love that is
the being of the present world.
The leaves, opening and at last
falling, hold a while
the beauty of God who made them
by the work and care of Nature,
His vicar and our mother.
His only is the light
of which all things are made,
the beauty that they are,
the delight that is our prayer.-Wendall Berry
Affirmation
We believe in God,
the creator of all life and beauty,
who blesses our journey.
We believe in Jesus Christ,
who lived as a friend and savior
to all he met as he traveled,
and who ate and laughed,
wept and celebrated with them in love.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
who rides on the gentle breeze,
who strengthens our bindings,
and who offers hope eternal.
We believe in the church,
which stands open to all travelers,
and bears witness to the everlasting love of God.
Prayers
As we turn to the tasks before us this day,
Fill us, gracious Lord.
In making faithful choices, great and small,
Guide us, gracious Lord.
As we seek to notice and serve those in need,
Teach us, gracious Lord.
As we offer our lives to you,
Hear us, gracious Lord.
With our hearts ready to serve,
Accompany us, gracious Lord.
Lord’s Prayer
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.
Going Out
Holy God, you are always with us.
Open our eyes to your presence.
