Wednesday Morning Devotion (with dragons)

A Devotion for In the Morning (BCP 137)

Let us pray.

Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be
whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept
joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the
glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one 
God, for ever and ever. Amen.




Psalm 74:1-16 (BCP 689)

1	O God, why have you utterly cast us off? *     why is your wrath so hot against the sheep of your pasture?
2	Remember your congregation that you purchased long ago, *     the tribe you redeemed to be your inheritance,     and Mount Zion where you dwell.
3	Turn your steps toward the endless ruins; *     the enemy has laid waste everything in your sanctuary.
4	Your adversaries roared in your holy place; *     they set up their banners as tokens of victory.
5	They were like men coming up with axes to a grove of trees; *     they broke down all your carved work with hatchets                              and hammers.
6	They set fire to your holy place; *     they defiled the dwelling-place of your Name     and razed it to the ground.
7	They said to themselves, "Let us destroy them altogether." *     They burned down all the meeting-places of God                              in the land.

8	There are no signs for us to see; there is no prophet left; *     there is not one among us who knows how long.
9	How long, O God, will the adversary scoff? *     will the enemy blaspheme your Name for ever?
10	Why do you draw back your hand? *     why is your right hand hidden in your bosom?
11	Yet God is my King from ancient times, *     victorious in the midst of the earth.
12	You divided the sea by your might *     and shattered the heads of the dragons upon the waters;
13	You crushed the heads of Leviathan *     and gave him to the people of the desert for food.
14	You split open spring and torrent; *     you dried up ever-flowing rivers.
15	Yours is the day, yours also the night; *     you established the moon and the sun.
16	You fixed all the boundaries of the earth; *     you made both summer and winter.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as
it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.


A reading from the Gospel of Mark

12 Then he began to speak to them in parables. ‘A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watch-tower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. ² When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. ³ But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. ⁵ Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed. ⁶ He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” ⁷ But those tenants said to one another, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” ⁸ So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not read this scripture:

“The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
¹¹ this was the Lord’s doing,
    and it is amazing in our eyes”?’

The Lord be with You
And also with you
Let us pray

Our Father, who art in heaven,      hallowed be thy Name,      thy kingdom come,      thy will be done,          on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,      as we forgive those          who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation,      but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,      and the power, and the glory,      for ever and ever. Amen. O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Let us bless the Lord Thanks be to God