heaven

Prayer for Holy Saturday

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Lamentation of Christ, Andrea Mantegna, via Wikimedia Commons

Today a tomb holds him who holds the creation in the hollow of his hand; 
    a stone covers him who covered the heavens with glory. 
Life sleeps and hell trembles, and Adam is set free from his bonds. 
Glory to your dispensation, whereby you have accomplished all things, 
    granting us an eternal Sabbath, your most holy Resurrection from the dead.

What is this sight that we behold? What is this present rest? 
The King of the ages, having through his passion fulfilled the plan of salvation, 
    keeps Sabbath in the tomb, granting us a new Sabbath. 
Unto him let us cry aloud: Arise, O Lord, judge the earth,
    for measureless is your great mercy and you reign forever.

Come, let us see our Life lying in the tomb, 
    that he may give life to those that in their tombs lie dead. 
Come, let us look today on the Son of Judah as he sleeps, 
    and with the prophet let us cry aloud to him: 
You have lain down, you have slept as a lion; 
    who shall awaken you, O King? 
But of your own free will you rise up, 
    who willingly gives yourself for us. 
O Lord, glory to thee
 
Mattins, Holy Saturday, Orthodox
The Oxford Book of Prayer slightly modernized
 
___________________________________
 
 
The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph 
    and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 
Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. 
But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

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Jesus Christ the King

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The Christ Pantocrator of St. Catherine’s Monastery at Sinai, 6th Century via Wikimedia Commons

 
You are Jesus Christ, 
    Word of God, Begotten before the light,
    creator together with the Father.
You are the fashioner of man, all in all.
 
Among the patriarchs you are Patriarch;
    in the law, the Law.
Among the priests, Chief Priest;
    among kings, the Ruler;
    among prophets, the Prophet;
    among the angels, Archangel.
In the voice of the preacher, you are the Word;
    among the spirits, the Spirit;
    in the Father, the Son; 
    in God, God.
 
You are King forever and ever.
For you were the pilot to Noah, 
    the guide to Abraham, bound to Isaac,
    in exile with Jacob, sold with Joseph.
You were there with Moses.
In David and the prophets 
    you announced your own sufferings.
You put on bodily form in the Virgin,
    were born in Bethlehem,
    wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger,
    seen by the shepherds, glorified by the angels,
    worshipped by the magi.
 
You were pointed out by John,
    gathered together the apostles, 
    and you preached the kingdom.
You cured the lame, 
    gave light to the blind, 
    and raised the dead.
You appeared in the temple, 
    were not believed on by the people,
    betrayed by Judas, 
    captured by the priests, 
    and condemned by Pilate.
 
You were pierced in the flesh, hung on the tree,
    and buried in the earth.
You rose from the place of the dead,
    appeared to the apostles, 
    were carried up to heaven,
    and are seated at the right hand of the Father.
 
You are the rest for those that are departed, 
    the one who recovers the lost,
    the light of those who are in darkness,
    the deliverer of those who are captive,
    the guide of those who go astray,
    and the asylum of the afflicted.
 
You are the bridegroom of the church,
    the charioteer of the cherubim,
    and captain of the angels.
You are God who is from God,
Son from the Father,
Jesus Christ the King forevermore.
 
Amen.
 
Melito of Sardis, d.180, Bishop of Sardis
Fount of Heaven Prayers of the Early Church
 
_______________________________
 
 
The Son is the image of the invisible God, 
    the firstborn over all creation. 
For in him all things were created: 
    things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, 
    whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; 
     all things have been created through him and for him. 
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 
And he is the head of the body, the church; 
    he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, 
    so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

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O Lord, in prayer . . .

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Charles Haddon Spurgeon, via Wikimedia Commons
 
O Lord, in prayer I launch far out into the eternal world, 
    and on that broad ocean my soul triumphs 
        over all evils on the shores of mortality. 
Time, with its gay amusements and cruel disappointments 
    never appears so inconsiderate as then.

In prayer I see myself as nothing; 
I find my heart going after You with intensity, 
    and long with vehement thirst to live to You. 
Blessed be the strong gales of the Spirit 
    that speed me on my way to the New Jerusalem.

In prayer all things here below vanish, 
    and nothing seems important 
        but holiness of heart and the salvation of others.

In prayer all my worldly cares, fears, anxieties disappear, 
    and are of as little significance as a puff of wind.

In prayer my soul inwardly exults with lively thoughts 
    at what You are doing for Your church, 
  and I long that You should get Yourself a great name 
    from sinners returning to Zion.

In prayer I am lifted above the frowns and flatteries of life, 
    and taste heavenly joys; 
  entering into the eternal world I can give myself to You with all my heart, 
    to be Yours for ever.

In prayer I can place all my concerns in Your hands, 
    to be entirely at Your disposal, 
        having no will or interest of my own.

In prayer I can intercede for my friends, ministers, sinners, the church, 
    Your kingdom to come, with greatest freedom, ardent hopes, 
        as a son to his father, as a lover to the beloved.

Help me to be all prayer and never to cease praying..
 
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 1834-1892, English Baptist Preacher
 
______________________
 
 
 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing

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the enjoyment of God

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Jonathan Edwards engraving, via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
God, You are the highest good of the reasonable creature,
    and the enjoyment of You is the only happiness 
    with which our souls can be satisfied.
To go to heaven fully to enjoy You,
    is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here.
Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, children, 
    or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows.
But the enjoyment of You is the substance.
 
These are but scattered beams, but You are the sun.
These are but streams, but You are the fountain.
These are but drops, but You are the ocean.
 
Jonathan Edwards, 1703-1758, American theologian and pastor
 
__________________________
 
 
I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!
    For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation
    and draped me in a robe of righteousness.
I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding
    or a bride with her jewels.

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Grace to believe and to love God

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Flannery O’Connor, Cmacauley, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
Please let Christian principles permeate my writing 
    and please let there be enough of my writing (published)
    for Christian principles to permeate.
I dread, Oh Lord, losing my faith. 
My mind is not strong.
It is prey to all sorts of intellectual quackery.
I do not want it to be fear which keeps me in the church.
I don’t want to be a coward, staying with You because I fear hell.
I should reason that if I fear hell, I can be assured of the author of it
But learned people can analyze for me why I fear hell 
    and their implication is that there is no hell.
But I believe in hell.
Hell seems a great deal more feasible to my weak mind than heaven.
No doubt because hell is a more earthly seeming thing.
I can fancy the tortures of the damned
    but I cannot imagine the disembodied souls 
    hanging in a crystal for all eternity praising God.
It is natural that I should not imagine this.
If we could accurately map heaven some of our up & coming scientists
    would begin to draw blueprints for its improvement,
    and the bourgeois would sell guides 10 cents the copy to all over 65.
But I do not mean to be clever although I do mean to be clever on 2nd thought
    and like to be clever and want to be considered so.
But the point more specifically here is,
    I don’t want to fear to be out, I want to love to be in;
    I don’t want to believe in hell but in heaven.
Stating this does me no good.
It is a matter of the gift of grace.
Help me to feel that I will give up every earthly thing for this.
 
Flannery O’Conner, 1925 – 1964, American Catholic writer, 
A Prayer Journal, journalled when she was 22
 
_____________________
 
 
The Lord is good to all;
    he has compassion on all he has made.
All your works praise you, Lord;
    your faithful people extol you.
They tell of the glory of your kingdom
    and speak of your might,
 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures through all generations.
 

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to crave the graces of your Holy Spirit

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image, Gloucestershire, UK via Pexels
 
 
Lord God, you know I need to call on you for my daily bread.
But how much more reason have I to crave the graces of your Holy Spirit –
    for supplying my soul with heavenly food,
    especially with saving faith.
When I am tossed about with the storms of doubts and fears,
    show me how to lay hold of your word and promises.
Then all the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil,
    will never prevail over me, since I know in whom I have believed.
Increase the light of my faith, 
    that it may daily cast forth more clear beams.
Preserve that faith in the darkness of death,
    that it may guide me to eternal life.
And rule and govern me by your Holy Spirit,
    that I may never lose faith by agreeing to do anything
    that is against the light of my conscience.
Confirm the good work you have begun in me,
    strengthen me inwardly, and preserve me blameless 
    until the day of the Lord Jesus Christ,
    that I may inherit eternal life.
Amen.
 
Robert Parker, c. 1564 – 1614, English Puritan minister and scholar
 
___________________________
 
 
That is why I am suffering as I am. 
Yet this is no cause for shame, 
    because I know whom I have believed, 
    and am convinced that he is able to guard 
    what I have entrusted to him until that day.

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Risen and Ascended

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The Ascension, Rembrandt, via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
Almighty God,
We come today reminded of your greatness and glory,
your sovereign power and eternal purpose
all expressed so wonderfully in Jesus Christ, our Lord,
Risen and Ascended.

We thank you for the wonder of Ascension,
that marvelous yet mysterious moment
in the life of the Apostles
which left them gazing heavenwards in confusion
yet departing in joy.

We thank you for the way that it brought the earthly ministry of Jesus
to a fitting conclusion;
signifying his oneness with you,
and demonstrating your final seal of approval
on all that he had done.

We thank you that through his Ascension
Jesus is now set free to be Lord of all:
no longer bound to a particular place or time,
but with us always—able to reach even to the ends of the earth.

We thank you that through his departing
Jesus prepared for his coming again:
through his Spirit,
his Church,
and his coming again in glory.

Gracious God,
Forgive us for so often failing
to grasp the wonder of Ascension,
for living each day as though it had never been.

Forgive the smallness of our vision,
the narrowness of our outlook,
the weakness of our love,
the nervousness of our witness,
our repeated failure to recognize
the fullness of your revelation in Christ.

Give us a deeper sense of wonder,
a stronger faith,
and a greater understanding of all you have done.

Father God,
Like the Apostles,
we too will never fully understand all Ascension means.
We accept, but we do not fully understand.
We believe, yet we have many questions.
Help us, despite our uncertainty, to hold firm to the great truth
that the wonder of Christ Jesus
goes far beyond anything we can ever imagine,
and in that faith may we live each day
to his glory and honour. Amen.
 
Bryce Calder, minister in the Church of Scotland
 
________________________
 
 
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, 
he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 
And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, 
behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, 
 
    “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? 
    This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, 
    will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

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to share in your triumph

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painting by Duccio di Buoninsegna, via Wikimedia Commons

 
O Christ, the brightness of God’s glory
    and express image of his person,
  whom death could not conquer,
    nor the tomb imprison;
as you have shared our mortal frailty in the flesh,
    help us to share your immortal triumph in the spirit.
Let no shadow of the grave affright us
    and no fear of darkness turn our hearts from you.
Reveal yourself to us as the first and the last,
    that Living One, 
    our immortal Savior and Lord.
Amen.
 
Henry Van Dyke, 1852 – 1933, American diplomat and Presbyterian clergyman
________________________
 
 
But our citizenship is in heaven. 
And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
    who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, 
    will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

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prayer for humility in light of future glory

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image, Alberto Fernandez Fernandez, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
Grant, Almighty God,
    since you have not only created me out of nothing,
  but intend to create me again in your only begotten Son;
    and since you have taken me from the lowest depths,
  so that you may raise me to the hope of your heavenly kingdom:
Grant, I pray,
   that I may not be proud or puffed up with conceit;
  but may embrace your favor with humility,
    and submit myself to you in simplicity,
  until at last I become a partaker of that glory
    your only begotten Son has acquired for me.
Amen.
 
John Calvin
_________________
 
 
We all, with unveiled faces, 
    are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord 
    and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory;
 this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.
 

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the wonder of his Ascension

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Ascension of Christ, Pietro della Vecchia, Wikimedia Commons
 
 
Almighty God,
We come today reminded of your greatness and glory,
your sovereign power and eternal purpose
all expressed so wonderfully in Jesus Christ, our Lord,
Risen and Ascended.

We thank you for the wonder of Ascension,
that marvelous yet mysterious moment
in the life of the Apostles
which left them gazing heavenwards in confusion
yet departing in joy.

We thank you for the way that it brought the earthly ministry of Jesus
to a fitting conclusion;
signifying his oneness with you,
and demonstrating your final seal of approval
on all that he had done.

We thank you that through his Ascension
Jesus is now set free to be Lord of all:
no longer bound to a particular place or time,
but with us always—able to reach even to the ends of the earth.

We thank you that through his departing
Jesus prepared for his coming again:
through his Spirit,
his Church,
and his coming again in glory.

Gracious God,
Forgive us for so often failing
to grasp the wonder of Ascension,
for living each day as though it had never been.

Forgive the smallness of our vision,
the narrowness of our outlook,
the weakness of our love,
the nervousness of our witness,
our repeated failure to recognize
the fullness of your revelation in Christ.

Give us a deeper sense of wonder,
a stronger faith,
and a greater understanding of all you have done.

Father God,
Like the Apostles,
we too will never fully understand all Ascension means.
We accept, but we do not fully understand.
We believe, yet we have many questions.
Help us, despite our uncertainty, to hold firm to the great truth
that the wonder of Christ Jesus
goes far beyond anything we can ever imagine,
and in that faith may we live each day
to his glory and honour. Amen.
 
Bryce Calder, Church of Scotland Minister
 
_________________
 
 
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” 
She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).  
Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; 
but go to my brothers and say to them, 
    ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

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