Mid-Day Noon Prayer
May 25, 2023

Call to Worship

In the middle of the day we become weary
We come to you, O Lord

We come for rest and refreshment
Come to us, O Lord    

Restore us as we serve you and your people
Be with us, O Lord

Invocation

Dialogue

O God, come to my assistance.

O Lord, make haste to help me. 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.

Prayer of the Day    
Almighty Creator and ever-living God: we worship your glory, eternal Three-in-One, and we praise your power, majestic One-in-Three. Keep us steadfast in this faith, defend us in all adversity, and bring us at last into your presence, where you live in endless joy and love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Commemorations      

Justin, martyr at Rome, died around 165
Born of pagan parents, Justin was influenced by an elderly Christian in Ephesus. He became a teacher of philosophy and the Christian faith. Jailed for practicing an unauthorized religion, he refused to renounce his faith and was beheaded.

The Martyrs of Uganda, died 1886
On June 3, 1886, thirty-two young men were burned to death for refusing to renounce Christianity. The confident manner in which these Christians went to their deaths contributed to a much stronger Christian presence in Uganda.

Psalm 8

 ¹O LORD, our Sovereign,
 how majestic is your name in all the earth!
 You have set your glory above the heavens.
 ²Out of the mouths of babes and infants
 you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
 to silence the enemy and the avenger.
 ³When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
 the moon and the stars that you have established;
 ⁴what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
 mortals that you care for them?
 ⁵Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
 and crowned them with glory and honor.
 ⁶You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
 you have put all things under their feet,
 ⁷all sheep and oxen,
 and also the beasts of the field,
 ⁸the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
 whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
 ⁹O LORD, our Sovereign,
 how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 118

¹O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
 his steadfast love endures forever!
 ²Let Israel say,
 "His steadfast love endures forever."
 ³Let the house of Aaron say,
 "His steadfast love endures forever."
 ⁴Let those who fear the LORD say,
 "His steadfast love endures forever."
 ⁵Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
 the LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.
 ⁶With the LORD on my side I do not fear.
 What can mortals do to me?
 ⁷The LORD is on my side to help me;
 I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
 ⁸It is better to take refuge in the LORD
 than to put confidence in mortals.
 ⁹It is better to take refuge in the LORD
 than to put confidence in princes.
 ¹⁰All nations surrounded me;
 in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
 ¹¹They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
 in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
 ¹²They surrounded me like bees;
 they blazed like a fire of thorns;
 in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
 ¹³I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
 but the LORD helped me.
 ¹⁴The LORD is my strength and my might;
 he has become my salvation.
 ¹⁵There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
 "The right hand of the LORD does valiantly;
 ¹⁶the right hand of the LORD is exalted;
 the right hand of the LORD does valiantly."
 ¹⁷I shall not die, but I shall live,
 and recount the deeds of the LORD.
 ¹⁸The LORD has punished me severely,
 but he did not give me over to death.
 ¹⁹Open to me the gates of righteousness,
 that I may enter through them
 and give thanks to the LORD.
 ²⁰This is the gate of the LORD;
 the righteous shall enter through it.
 ²¹I thank you that you have answered me
 and have become my salvation.
 ²²The stone that the builders rejected
 has become the chief cornerstone.
 ²³This is the LORD's doing;
 it is marvelous in our eyes.
 ²⁴This is the day that the LORD has made;
 let us rejoice and be glad in it.
 ²⁵Save us, we beseech you, O LORD!
 O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!
 ²⁶Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.
 We bless you from the house of the LORD.
 ²⁷The LORD is God,
 and he has given us light.
 Bind the festal procession with branches,
 up to the horns of the altar.
 ²⁸You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
 you are my God, I will extol you.
 ²⁹O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
 for his steadfast love endures forever.

Gloria Patri

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be. Amen.

Reading   2 Corinthians 13:11-13 

¹¹Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. ¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.
¹³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

Reflection

Apostles’ Creed

Prayers        

Mighty God of mercy, we give you thanks that at midday you give us a time of rest; may we accept it gratefully and be strengthened by it, to serve you and our neighbor. And we thank you…

   for the sustaining goodness of your creation…
   for the new creation in Christ and all gifts of healing and forgiveness…
   for the gifts of relationship with others…    
   for the communion of faith in your church…

Merciful God of might, renew this weary world, heal the hurts of all your children, and bring about your peace for all in Christ Jesus, the living Lord.  We pray …
    
   for those who govern nations of the world…
   for the people in countries ravaged by strife or warfare…
   for all who work for peace and international harmony…
   for all who strive to save the earth from carelessness and destruction…
   for the church of Jesus Christ in every land…
    
God of heaven and earth, help us to live in this world faithfully guided by your love, which manifests itself in our love toward one another. Prepare us for that great morning when your new world is fully revealed. Amen.

Lord’s Prayer