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Community Universalist Church

Daily Office

Morning · Sunday, 6 June 2027 · Ordinary Time

We hear God’s CALL TO WORSHIP in Psalm 100, known as the Jubilate Deo

Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands;
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.

Know this: The Lord himself is God;
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.

For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

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 the Sarum Breviary

God, author of eternal light, shine forth eternal day on us who watch for you, so that our lips may praise you, our life may bless you, and our meditations may glorify you, through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

We hear God’s CALL TO REPENTANCE in Romans 8:38–39 and Joel 2:13

I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from God’s love, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God; for he indeed is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and plenteous in love, and relents of the evil.

We respond with CONFESSION using the words of Augustine of Hippo

Cleanse me from my secret faults, O Lord, and spare your servant from the power of the enemy. I contend not in judgment with you, who are the truth; I fear to deceive myself, lest my iniquity lie to itself. Therefore I contend not in judgment with you; for if you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall abide it? Amen.

We hear God’s teaching for our lives in THE READING OF THE LAW in Romans 12:9–21

Let your love be sincere. Hate the wrong; cling to the right. In the love of the community of the Lord’s followers, be affectionate to one another; in showing respect, set an example of deference to one another; never flagging in zeal; fervent in spirit; serving the Master; rejoicing in your hope; steadfast under persecution; persevering in prayer; relieving the wants of Christ’s people; devoted to hospitality.

Bless your persecutors – bless and never curse. Rejoice with those who are rejoicing, and weep with those who are weeping. Let the same spirit of sympathy animate you all, not a spirit of pride; enjoy the company of ordinary people. Do not think too highly of yourselves. Never return injury for injury. Aim at doing what everyone will recognize as honorable. If it is possible, as far as rests with you, live peaceably with everyone.

Never avenge yourselves, dear friends, but make way for the wrath of God; for scripture declares – ‘“It is for me to avenge, I will requite,” says the Lord.’ Rather – ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him to drink. By doing this you will heap coals of fire on his head.’

Never be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

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 51:11–18 · Miserere mei, Deus

11Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
and renew a right spirit within me.

12Cast me not away from your presence *
and take not your holy Spirit from me.

13Give me the joy of your saving help again *
and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.

14I shall teach your ways to the wicked, *
and sinners shall return to you.

15Deliver me from death, O God, *
and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness, *
O God of my salvation.

16Open my lips, O Lord, *
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

17Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice, *
but you take no delight in burnt-offerings.

18The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; *
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

We pray a PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION in the words of the Mozarabic Rite

Show the light of your countenance upon us, Lord, that the going-forth of your Word may give light and understanding, to nourish the hearts of the humble; and that while our desire is set on your commandments, we may receive with open heart your spirit of wisdom and understanding.

We hear God speaking to us in THE READING for the day2 Samuel 12:1–15

Sunday, 6 June 2027 · Ordinary Time

1The LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in one city: the one rich, and the other poor. 2The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3but the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food, drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was like a daughter to him. 4A traveller came to the rich man, and he didn’t want to take of his own flock and of his own herd to prepare for the wayfaring man who had come to him, but took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

5David’s anger burnt hot against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die! 6He must restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and because he had no pity!”

7Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that would have been too little, I would have added to you many more such things. 9Why have you despised the LORD’s word, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. 10Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken Uriah the Hittite’s wife to be your wife.’

11“This is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbour, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12For you did this secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’ ”

13David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”

Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin. You will not die. 14However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the LORD’s enemies to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you will surely die.” 15Then Nathan departed to his house.

The LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he was very sick.

World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: 2 Samuel 12:1–15 · the short form, 2 Samuel 12:5–9.

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 Saint Patrick

I bind myself today:
To the power of God to guide me.
To the might of God to uphold me.
To the wisdom of God to teach me.
The eye of God to watch over me.
The ear of God to hear me.
The word of God to speak to me.
The way of God to lie before me.
The host of God to defend me.
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 Hugh Cameron

For the life which you have given and preserved,
the world in which we dwell,
and the hope of everlasting blessedness,
we thank you, O God.

For the pains and distresses which have moulded us as clay is moulded by the potter,
and for the consolations which so often like springs in the desert have refreshed our weariness,
we thank you, O God.

For comfort and help in sorrow,
in pain,
in bereavement,
and when flesh and heart failed,
we thank you, O God.

For the warnings of your spirit speaking to our spirits when the sky was bright and all people spoke well of us,
we thank you, O God.

For the life and doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ,
for his love and sacrifice,
for his boundless compassion,
and for the glorious company of those who have followed him in weakness unto victory,
we thank you, O God.

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.