Morning Prayer for Thursday 7.9.26

Here is a link to our liturgy: Morning Prayer 7.9.26, Thursday in Proper 9 | Daily Office Network

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Good morning and welcome. I'm Father Tom Royd, the Vicar of the Daily Office Network. I'm an ordained priest in the Episcopal Diocese in Minnesota. The Daily Office Network is a community of Christians who gather together on a daily basis Monday through Friday at 7 and 9 Eastern time a.m. to pray morning prayer from the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer. We mix in artwork, we have a news story, there's a video at the end. We come from several different faith traditions in several different countries. All are welcome here where we do our best to exercise tolerance and decency with one another. Now let's settle in and begin morning prayer. Today is Thursday, it is the 9th of July, 2026. In the life of the church, it is a Thursday in proper nine. There is no saint appointed for today. The Daily Office Network is podcasting. You can find us on Apple or Spotify. You can either download it by using the links provided, or you can just listen to it there. You don't have to download it. Let's begin. But Ba'alam answered Balak. Did I not tell you whatever the Lord says, that is what I must do? And I think that is a leftover one from before. So I'm going to go to the second one. Go up to the top of Piskah and look around you to the west, to the north, to the south, and to the east. Look well, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. Photograph of a young man sitting in church with a rainbow altar behind him. Jacob May remembers sitting across from his pastor at twenty two years old, defending his gay identity. They went over the usual talking points with his pastor pointing to the klobber passages. Those are the Bible verses used to condemn homosexuality, and May pointing out mistranslations and historical context in response. We should continue this weekly meeting, his pastor said. He wanted to continue teaching May the Southern Baptist way that sexuality is a sin and that it would be punished by eternity in hell. However, after that day, May moved on. May wound up losing his childhood church community over his homosexuality. Three years later, when he walked into the LGBTQ affirming St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, that's when he began to open up his heart to faith again, and his loneliness started to lift. For May, finding a welcoming church was key to his healing. When he felt unable to be fully himself with his family and feared getting fired from his conservative workplace for being gay, his new church was the only place he felt comfortable wearing his engagement ring and being openly gay. A story that many in the LGBTQ community can identify with. This is a lengthy story, and there is a link there. In the photograph above, Jacob May poses for a portrait at St. Paul's and St. Andrew's in New York City. Pray for all of our LGBTQ plus brothers and sisters. Addie, would you lead us in the invitatory and the Psalter this morning? Our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning and now and will be forever. Amen. Hallelujah. Come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before God's presence with thanksgiving. And raise to the Lord a shout with songs. For you are a great God. You are great above all gods. In your hands are the caverns of the earth, and the heights of the hills are yours also. The sea is yours, for you made it. And your hands have molded the dry land. Come, let us bow down and bend the knee and kneel before the Lord our Maker. For you are our God, and we are the people of your pasture and the sheep of your hand. Oh, that today we would hearken to your voice.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Thank you, Eddie. Our psalm appointed for this morning is Psalm 18, or rather a portion of Psalm 18, verses 1 through 20. I'm going to ask Jacqueline and Jill to lead our Psalm today. Jacqueline, would you start?

SPEAKER_11 5:32

I love you, O Lord, my strength. O Lord, my stronghold, my crag, and my haven.

SPEAKER_03 5:41

My God, my rock in whom I put my trust, my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge. You are worthy of praise.

SPEAKER_11 5:53

I will call upon the Lord, and so shall I be saved from my enemies.

SPEAKER_03 6:00

The breakers of death ruled over me, and the torrents of oblivion made me afraid.

SPEAKER_11 6:08

The cords of hell entangled me, and the snares of death were set for me.

SPEAKER_03 6:16

I called upon the Lord in my distress and cried out to my God for help.

SPEAKER_11 6:23

You heard my voice from your heavenly dwelling, my cry of anguish came to your ears.

SPEAKER_03 6:31

The earth reeled and rocked, the roots of the mountains shook, they reeled because of your anger.

SPEAKER_11 6:39

Smoke came from your nostrils, and a consuming fire out of your mouth. Hot burning coals blazed forth from you.

SPEAKER_03 6:49

You parted the heavens and came down with a storm cloud under your feet.

SPEAKER_11 6:56

You mounted on cherry beam and flew. You swooped on the wings of the wind.

SPEAKER_03 7:03

You wrapped darkness about you. You made dark waters and thick clouds your pavilion.

SPEAKER_11 7:10

From the brightness of your presence through the clouds burst hailstones and coals of fire.

SPEAKER_03 7:18

O Lord, you thundered out of heaven. O Most High, you uttered your voice.

SPEAKER_11 7:26

You loosed your arrows and scattered them. You hurled thunderbolts and routed them.

SPEAKER_03 7:34

In the beds of the seas, the beds of the seas were uncovered and the foundations of the world laid bare. At your battle cry, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

SPEAKER_11 7:49

You reached down from on high and grasped me. You drew me out of great waters.

SPEAKER_03 7:56

You delivered me from my strong enemies and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

SPEAKER_11 8:05

They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.

SPEAKER_03 8:12

You brought me into an open place. You rescued me because you delighted in me.

SPEAKER_11 8:19

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

Thank you, Jill and Jacqueline. That was a great reading. This is Moses sitting on this rock, or the likeness of Moses. The death of Moses looking over the land of promise, like God's own son. He was put to death for the sins of others. This is actually from the Providence Lithiograph Company. Our first reading is from Deuteronomy chapter three, verses eighteen through twenty-eight. Chad, would you lead this?

SPEAKER_00 9:16

At that time I, Moses, charged you as follows Although the Lord your God has given you this land to occupy, all your troops shall cross over armed as the vanguard of your Israelite kin. Only your wives, your children, and your livestock, I know that you have much livestock, shall stay behind in the town that I have given you. When the Lord gives rest to your kindred as to you, and they shall they too have occupied the land that the Lord your God has given them beyond the Jordan, then each of you may return to the property that I have given to you. And I charged Joshua as well at that time, saying, Your own eyes have seen everything that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So the Lord will do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. Do not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you. At that time too I entreated the Lord, saying, O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your might. What God in heaven or on earth can perform deeds and mighty acts like yours? Let me cross over to see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and the Lebanon. But the Lord was angry with me on your account and would not heed me. The Lord said to me, Enough from you, never speak to me of this matter again. Go up to the top of Pisgah and look around you to the west and to the north and to the south and to the east. Look well, for you shall not cross over this Jordan, but charge Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, because it is he who will cross over at the head of this people and who shall secure their possession of the land that you will see. The word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Thanks be to God. Thank you, Chad. Our first canticle is the song of Moses. Mother Angel, would you lead this?

SPEAKER_04 11:35

I will sing to the Lord, for he is lofty and uplifted. The horse and its rider has he hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my refuge. The Lord has become my savior. This is my God and I will praise him. The God of my people and I will exalt him. The Lord is a mighty warrior. Yahweh is his name. The chariots of Pharaoh and his army has he hurled into the sea. The finest of those who burn murmur have been drowned in the Red Sea. The fathomless deep has overwhelmed them. They sank into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in might. Your right hand, O Lord, has overthrown the enemy. Who can be compared with you, O Lord among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, awesome in renown, and worker of wonders? You stretched forth your right hand, the earth swallowed them up. With your constant love, you led the people you redeemed. With your right might you brought them in safety to your holy dwelling. You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your possession, the resting place you have made for yourself, the sanctuary of the Lord that your hand has established, the Lord shall reign forever and forever. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 14:11

Or something like that. Our second reading comes from Romans chapter nine, verses nineteen through thirty-three. There we go.

SPEAKER_09 14:45

You will say to me then, why then does God still find fault? For who can resist his will? But who indeed are you? A human being to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it? Why have you made me like this? As the porter no right over the clay to make out of the same lamp one object for special use and another for ordinary use? What if God, deciding to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath that are made for destruction? And what if he has done so in order to make known the riches of his glory for the objects of mercy which he has prepared beforehand for glory, including us whom he was called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles. As indeed he says in Hosea, those who are not my people, I will call my people, and her who was not beloved, I will call beloved. And in the very place where it was said to them, You are not my people, there they shall be called children of the living God. And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, though the number of the children of Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved. For the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth quickly and decisively. And as Isaiah predicted, if the Lord of hosts had not left survivors to us, would have would have fared like Sodom and been made like Gomorrah. What then are we to say? Gentiles who do not strive for righteousness have attained it. That is righteousness through faith. But Israel who did strive for the righteousness that is based on the law did not succeed in fulfilling that law. Why not? Because they do not strive for it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works, they have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written. See, I'm laying in Zion a stone that will make people stample, a rock that will make them fall, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. The word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

Thanks be to God. Thank you, Deacon. Our second canticle is glory to God. Mother and Joe.

SPEAKER_04 18:08

We give you thanks. We praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only summon God, God, you take away the silver seated holy one. Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit in the glory of God.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

Thank you, Mother Unjo. These are ruins of the old Sheldon Church in Beauford County, South Carolina. An episcopal church built by slaves and burned by General William Tecumseh Sherman to help bring an end to the U.S. Civil War. Deacon Diana, would you lead this?

SPEAKER_07 19:50

As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. Then he asked them, You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another. All will be thrown down. When he was sitting on the Mount of the Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Jesus answered them, Beware that no one leads you astray, for many will come in my name, saying, I am the Messiah, and they will lead many astray, and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed. For this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All this but the beginning of birth is excuse me, all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs. Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another, and many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved, and this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. The word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Thanks be to God. Thank you, Deacon. And now the Apostle's Creed. Paul, would you lead us in the creed this morning?

SPEAKER_05 21:58

I believe in God. The Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again, he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

Amen. Thank you, Paul. And now the prayers begin with our Lord's Prayer. Martha, would you lead us in the Lord's Prayer? And then we'll read the suffrages. The Lord be with you. And also with you.

SPEAKER_10 23:13

Let us pray. Our Father in heaven. Hallow be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On oil to us 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 forever. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 23:52

Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance.

SPEAKER_10 23:57

Own and uphold them now and always.

SPEAKER_01 24:01

Day by day we bless you.

SPEAKER_10 24:04

We praise your name forever.

SPEAKER_01 24:07

Lord, keep us from all sin today.

SPEAKER_10 24:11

Have mercy on us, Lord. Have mercy.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

Lord, show us your love and mercy.

SPEAKER_10 24:19

For we put our trust in you.

SPEAKER_01 24:22

In you, Lord, is our hope.

SPEAKER_10 24:25

And we shall never hope in vain.

SPEAKER_01 24:28

Thank you, Martha. Now two prayers. The collect of the day for proper nine and a collect for guidance. Patricia, would you lead us in these two prayers?

SPEAKER_06 24:46

Oh God, you have taught us to keep your commandments by loving you and our neighbor. Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart and united to one another with pure affection. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen. Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being. We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life, we may not forget you, but may remember that you are ever walking, that we are ever walking in your sight through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 25:34

Amen. Thank you, Patricia. Now it's time to take a look at America's gun toll, a look at how many people were shot or killed in the United States this past week with all the guns that we have. This is as of Monday. That's when we pull the stats. And our spotlight takes us to Boston, Massachusetts. The headline read, two were killed and 13 were shot across Boston during 4th of July violence. Officers were injured by fireworks. There's actually probably more people than that. But as you can see, the one headline read four shot in Grove Hill and one dead, and another it read two people are dead, and nearly a dozen are injured after gun violence broke out in the city over the weekend. It appears that all of the violence is gang related and was between rival gangs from everything that I have read or could find. So we look at our totals from this last week. Those killed by gunfire in the United States actually went down. It had been 297 the week before, and it dropped down to 275. So a drop of about 22. Brings our total year-to-day kill to 6,603. But those injured went up by more than 100. It went to 630. It had been 513 the week before. And it brings our total injured year-to-day to 12,202. And so we pray a prayer to end gun violence. Oh Lord our God, we pray for the victims of the other pandemic as gun violence ravages our homes, our streets, our businesses, our schools, and houses of worship. We pray for the children who are killed and injured. We pray for their families and their classmates and school employees. We pray for the teenagers who are gunned down before their lives have really started. We pray for the police officers who keep fighting a never-ending battle while trying to keep themselves and everyone else safe. And we pray to an end to racial profiling and law enforcement. We pray for all of those who are depressed or mentally ill wanting to hurt themselves or others in a nation where guns are everywhere. We pray for the victims of crime who are forced to defend themselves and their loved ones. And we pray for anti-violence activists and community leaders in a time when new methods of protest and reform must be created. Let your demands for justice and your cries for peace be heard, O Lord, in our legislative chambers and in our hearts. May your healing grace overtake this land through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. There you go.

SPEAKER_08 29:04

Almighty God, you sent your Son Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to yourself. We praise and bless you for those whom you have sent in the power of the Spirit to preach the gospel to all nations. We thank you that in all parts of the earth a community of love has been gathered together by their prayers and labors, and that in every place your servants call upon your name for the kingdom and the power and the glory of yours forever. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

Let us bless the Lord.

SPEAKER_08 29:40

Thanks be to God.

SPEAKER_01 29:42

Life is short, and we don't have much time to gladden the hearts of those who make this journey with us. So be swift to love and make haste to be kind. God's blessing be with you. Christ's peace be with you. The Spirit's outpouring be with you now and forever. Amen.

SPEAKER_10 29:59

Amen. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

And that is morning prayer on this Thursday. Thank you for coming to pray today. Wherever you go, take the love of Jesus you carry inside of you the Jesus in your heart. Share that Jesus with the world. Show that Jesus to the world. Hope to see you back with us on Friday tomorrow, bright and early.