The unknown is terrifying, responsibility is overwhelming, the untapped anger cannot be borne. Hear our cry, O God of love, for all so trapped in fear. Open our hearts to trust your presence to guide us in the unknown places; teach us to know you will support us in allthat we undertake; free us to share with you the rage within, knowing you will never desert us.Amen.
- Vienna Cobb Anderson

1 Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 1 New Revised Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
Exodus 14:21-31 - 1 Peter 1:1-12 - John 14:1-17

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Teacher, Martyr

O God, early in the morning I cry to you.Help me to pray and to concentrate my thoughts on you:I cannot do this alone.In me there is darkness, but with you there is light;I am lonely, but you do not leave me;I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;I am restless, but with you there is peace.In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;I do not understand your ways, but you know the way for me…Restore me to liberty, and enable me to live nowThat I may answer before you and before me.Lord, whatever this day may bring, Your name be praised.
–Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1906-1945

89 The Lord exists for ever;
your word is firmly fixed in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
91 By your appointment they stand today,
for all things are your servants.
92 If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my misery.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have given me life.
94 I am yours; save me,
for I have sought your precepts.
Psalm 119 New Revised Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
Exodus 13:1-2, 11-16 - 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 - Luke 24:1-12

O Lord,The house of my soul is narrow;enlarge it that you may enter in.It is ruinous, O repair it!It displeases Your sight.I confess it, I know.But who shall cleanse it,to whom shall I cry but to you?Cleanse me from my secret faults, O Lord,and spare Your servant from strange sins.
St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430)

12Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
14 He grants peace within your borders;
he fills you with the finest of wheat.
15 He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 147 New Revised Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
Exodus 13:3-10 - 1 Corinthians 15:41-50 - Matthew 28:1-16

Father,
You provide a way out of temptation.
I can't say, "The devil made me do it." No, You have given me the priceless gift of free will, and I will not cheapen that gift by allowing another to control me. But I do fall into temptation, and sometimes I feel so weak. Help me to make the right choice -- to follow You rather that my greedy self-will. And thank You for Your promise that You will always provide a way for me to escape temptation. All I need to do is use it. Amen.
(From "Everyday Prayers for Everyday Cares")

1Praise the Lord!
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
2The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3He heals the broken-hearted,
and binds up their wounds.
4He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
5Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
6The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;
he casts the wicked to the ground.
Psalm 147 New Revised Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
Exodus 12:40-51 - 1 Corinthians 15:29-41- Matthew 28:1-16

Albrecht Durer, Painter; Michelangelo Buonarroti, Artist

O God, who by your Holy Spirit give to some the word of wisdom, To others the word of knowledge, and to others the word of faith: We praise you for the gifts of preaching through visual representation that you gave to your servants Albrecht Duerer and Michaelangelo Buonarroti, and we pray that your Church may never be destitute of such gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns, with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

1Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
2Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
3who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5who satisfies you with good as long as you live*
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6The Lord works vindication
and justice for all who are oppressed.
Psalm 103 New Revised Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
Exodus 12:28-39 - 1 Corinthians 15:12-28 - Mark 16:1-8

Good Friday

Lord,
by the suffering of Christ your Son you have saved is all from the death we inherited from sinful Adam. By the law of nature we have borne the likeness of his manhood. May the sanctifying power of grace help us to put on the likeness of our Lord in heaven who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
2O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.
3Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5To you they cried, and were saved;
in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.
Psalm 22 New Revised Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-33 - 1 Peter 1:10-20 - John 13:36-38

Maundy Thursday

Eternal God, in the sharing of a meal your Son established a New Covenant for all people, and in the washing of feet He showed us the dignity of service. Grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit these signs of our life in faith may speak again to our hearts, feed our spirits, and refresh our bodies, Through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

1 With my voice I cry to the Lord;
with my voice I make supplication to the Lord.
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
3 When my spirit is faint, you know my way.
In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look on my right hand and see—there is no one who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me; no one cares for me.
5 I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.’
6Give heed to my cry,
for I am brought very low.
Psalm 142 New Revised Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
Lamentations 2:10-18 - 1 Corinthians 10:14-17, 11:27-32 - Mark 14:12-25