Morning Devotion for the season after Pentecost
Friday October 29, 2021
The Invitatory
O give thanks unto the Lord, and call upon his Name; tell the people what things he hath done.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end.
Amen.
Praise ye the Lord.
The Lord's Name be praised.
Reading: Psalm 51:1-18
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; *
in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
2 Wash me through and through from my wickedness *
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, *
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you only have I sinned *
and done what is evil in your sight.
5 And so you are justified when you speak *
and upright in your judgment.
6 Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, *
a sinner from my mother's womb.
7 For behold, you look for truth deep within me, *
and will make me understand wisdom secretly.
8 Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; *
wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.
9 Make me hear of joy and gladness, *
that the body you have broken may rejoice.
10 Hide your face from my sins *
and blot out all my iniquities.
11 Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
and renew a right spirit within me.
12 Cast me not away from your presence *
and take not your holy Spirit from me.
13 Give me the joy of your saving help again *
and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
14 I shall teach your ways to the wicked, *
and sinners shall return to you.
15 Deliver me from death, O God, *
and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness,
O God of my salvation.
16 Open my lips, O Lord, *
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
17 Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice, *
but you take no delight in burnt-offerings.
18 The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; *
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Meditation – Michael Palmisano
Reunions have a way of drawing from us an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia. In this context, old memories of affection and resentment frozen in time can be thawed-out and revealed once more. When these memories are rediscovered, the possibility of constructing something new from the remnants of the past may arise once more.
Our confessions hold within them the great possibility of reunion. Our proper confessions are the recollection of past doings, misdoings, and never-dones. They recollect the past in such a way that resets memories within the context of the present. During moments of such heartfelt contrition, our history becomes transparent to us and to God.
Confession is a reunion of self with God during which the unification of the past and present is enacted. It is in this contrite reunion that a redeemed future may blossom. It is within the time-bending context of confession that God forgives us and aids us in the work of becoming once more. Confession is not an attempt to reconstruct the past. More accurately, confession regathers broken people, fragmented memories, and remnants of the past so that, by God’s grace, a new, beautiful mosaic of self might come into being.
The Episcopal monastic Br. Martin Smith prudently encourages us not to forget that confession itself is a form of praise. Do not focus narrowly upon the successes sin has had in our life, but glorify God, give thanks for His forbearance, marvel in His tenderness, and be amazed by His hold on us (Smith, Reconciliation). Thanks be to God for such heartfelt reunion.
The Lord's Prayer
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.
Closing Prayer
Direct us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favor, and further us with thy continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy Name, and finally, by thy mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
