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Community Universalist Church

Daily Office

Morning · Monday, 15 February 2027 · Ordinary Time

We hear God’s CALL TO WORSHIP in Revelation 19:6–7

I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns! Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let us give the glory to him.”

We listen in silence for God’s still small voice, CENTERING ourselves, becoming aware of God’s presence within us and around us

We respond to God with ADORATION using the words of Gregory of Nyssa

Lord, you are the pure and eternal fount of goodness, who justly turned away from us, and in loving kindness had mercy upon us. You hated, and were reconciled; you cursed, and blessed; you banished us from Paradise, and called us back; you stripped off the fig leaves, an unseemly covering, and clothed us in a costly garment; you opened the prison, and released the condemned; you sprinkled us with clean water, and cleansed us from our uncleanness.

No longer will Adam be ashamed when called by you, nor hide himself, convicted by his conscience, cowering in the thicket of Paradise. No longer will the flaming sword encircle Paradise and bar the entrance to those who draw near; but all is turned to joy for us who were the heirs of sin. Paradise, yes, heaven itself, is opened to humankind; and creation, in the world and above the world, once at variance with itself, is knit together in friendship; and we are made to join in the angels' song, offering to God the worship of their praise.

For all these things, then, let us sing to God that hymn of joy which lips touched by the Spirit long ago sang aloud:

Let my soul rejoice in the Lord,
for he has clothed me with a garment of salvation,
and put upon me a robe of gladness;
as on a bridegroom he has set a crown upon me,
and as a bride he has adorned me with beauty.

And truly the Adorner of the bride is Christ, who is, and was, and shall be, blessed now and for evermore.

Amen.

We hear God’s CALL TO REPENTANCE in Lamentations 3:22–23, 31, 33, 40

It is because of the Lord’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed,
    because his compassion doesn’t fail.
They are new every morning.
    Great is your faithfulness.

For the Lord will not cast off forever.
For he does not afflict willingly,
    nor grieve the children of men.

Let us search and try our ways,
    and turn again to the Lord.

We respond with CONFESSION using the words of Anselm of Canterbury

Lord, I am bowed down and can only look downward; raise me up that I may look upward. My iniquities have gone over my head; they overwhelm me; and, like a heavy load, they weigh me down. Free me from them; unburden me, that the pit of iniquities may not close over me.

Be it mine to look up to your light, even from afar, even from the depths. Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me, when I seek you, for I cannot seek you, except you teach me, nor find you, except you reveal yourself. Let me seek you in longing, let me long for you in seeking; let me find you in love, and love you in finding

We hear God’s teaching for our lives in THE READING OF THE LAW in Philippians 2:3–4

Nothing should be done out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility lift others up above yourselves, considering not only your own interests but also the interests of others.

We PRAISE God in the INVITATORY PSALM, the VenitePsalm 95:1–7 · Venite, exultemus

1O come, let us sing to the Lord; *
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.

2Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, *
and show ourselves glad in him with psalms.

3For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.

4In his hand are all the corners of the earth, *
and the strength of the hills is his also.

5The sea is his, and he made it; *
and his hands prepared the dry land.

6O come, let us worship and bow down, *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

7For he is the Lord our God, *
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father
    and to the Son
    and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
    is now and ever shall be,
    world without end.
Amen.

We PRAISE God in THE PSALM OF THE DAYPsalm 103:2–9 · Benedic, anima mea

2Bless the Lord, O my soul, *
and forget not all his benefits.

3He forgives all your sins *
and heals all your infirmities;

4He redeems your life from the grave *
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;

5He satisfies you with good things, *
and your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.

6The Lord executes righteousness *
and judgment for all who are oppressed.

7He made his ways known to Moses *
and his works to the children of Israel.

8The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.

9He will not always accuse us, *
nor will he keep his anger for ever.

We pray a PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION in the words of George Matheson

Divine Spirit,
illumine to me the words of the Lord.

Show me the wealth of glory
that lies beneath the old familiar stories.

Teach me the depths of meaning
hidden in the songs of Zion.

Raise me to the heights of aspiration
that is reached by the wings of the prophet.

Lift me to the summit of faith
that is trod by the feet of the apostle.

Open my eyes,
that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

Amen.

We hear God speaking to us in THE READING for the dayExodus 33:12–23

Monday, 15 February 2027 · Ordinary Time

12Moses said to the LORD, “Behold, you tell me, ‘Bring up this people;’ and you haven’t let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favour in my sight.’ 13Now therefore, if I have found favour in your sight, please show me your way, now, that I may know you, so that I may find favour in your sight; and consider that this nation is your people.”

14He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

15Moses said to him, “If your presence doesn’t go with me, don’t carry us up from here. 16For how would people know that I have found favour in your sight, I and your people? Isn’t it that you go with us, so that we are separated, I and your people, from all the people who are on the surface of the earth?”

17The LORD said to Moses, “I will do this thing also that you have spoken; for you have found favour in my sight, and I know you by name.”

18Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”

19He said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the LORD’s name before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” 20He said, “You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live.” 21The LORD also said, “Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22It will happen, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; 23then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back; but my face shall not be seen.”

World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: Exodus 33:12–23 · the short form, Exodus 33:18–23.

We REFLECT in silence

We greet the day with THE SONG OF ZECHARIAH, the Benedictus Luke 1:68–79

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
    he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
    born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
    from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
    and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
    to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
    holy and righteous in his sight
    all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
    by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
    the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
    and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

We pray the LORD’S PRAYER as Jesus taught his disciples, in those words which are most meaningful to us

Our [ Father / Mother / Creator ] in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our [ trespasses / sins ]
as we forgive those who [ trespass / sin ] against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

We pray a PRAYER OF INTERCESSION in the words of the Book of Common Prayer

Almighty God, the fountain of wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask, and our ignorance in asking; we ask you to have compassion upon our weaknesses; and those things, which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask, grant to give us for the worthiness of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We silently pray PERSONAL PRAYER

Followed by

Amen.

We pray a PRAYER FOR UNITY OF ALL PEOPLE

God, you have made of one blood all nations of the earth, and your will is that all your children should be gathered into one family of love: break down, we pray you, the walls that divide us; deliver us from hardness of heart and from contempt for those who differ from us; and hasten the time when all shall dwell together in that peace which passes understanding, knowing you as Father and one another as brothers and sisters; through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are one. Amen.

We pray a PRAYER OF GENERAL THANKSGIVING in the words of Hubert Louis Simpson

We thank you for the good things of this life: for food and clothing and shelter; for work to do and zest in the doing of it. We thank you for the perpetual touch of the divine in life, for the image of yourself in the human soul; for the vigor of youth, the wisdom of age, and for all the lessons of experience; the steps by which we climb to higher things; for the courage of the brave, the indignation of the righteous, the kindness of the thoughtful, and all that makes us human and keeps us Godlike.

Amen.

A concluding BENEDICTION or blessing Numbers 6:24–26

The Lord bless us and keep us;
the Lord make his face to shine upon us,
and be gracious to us;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon us,
and give us peace.

Amen.