Morning Prayer

Easter 5

Sunday, 18th May 2025

Preparation

O Lord, open our lips

All and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

In your resurrection, O Christ,

All let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation, to you be praise and glory for ever.

As once you ransomed your people from Egypt and led them to freedom in the promised land, so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.

May we, the first fruits of your new creation, rejoice in this new day you have made, and praise you for your mighty acts.

Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

All Blessed be God for ever.

This opening prayer may be said

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;

let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and for ever.

All Amen.

The Word of God

Psalmody

Psalm 148

Praise for God’s Universal Glory

¹ Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
 praise him in the heights!
² Praise him, all his angels;
 praise him, all his host!

³ Praise him, sun and moon;
 praise him, all you shining stars!
⁴ Praise him, you highest heavens,
 and you waters above the heavens!

⁵ Let them praise the name of the Lord,
 for he commanded and they were created.
⁶ He established them for ever and ever;
 he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

⁷ Praise the Lord from the earth,
 you sea monsters and all deeps,
⁸ fire and hail, snow and frost,
 stormy wind fulfilling his command!

⁹ Mountains and all hills,
 fruit trees and all cedars!
¹⁰ Wild animals and all cattle,
 creeping things and flying birds!

¹¹ Kings of the earth and all peoples,
 princes and all rulers of the earth!
¹² Young men and women alike,
 old and young together!

¹³ Let them praise the name of the Lord,
 for his name alone is exalted;
 his glory is above earth and heaven.
¹⁴ He has raised up a horn for his people,
 praise for all his faithful,
 for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!

All Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen.

Old Testament Reading

Genesis 22:1-18

The Command to Sacrifice Isaac

22 After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ ² He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.’ ³ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt-offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. ⁵ Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.’ ⁶ Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. ⁷ Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘Father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ He said, ‘The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?’ ⁸ Abraham said, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together.

⁹ When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ ¹² He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’ ¹³ And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’

¹⁵ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, ¹⁶ and said, ‘By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, ¹⁸ and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.’

New Testament Reading

Acts 11:1-18

Peter’s Report to the Church at Jerusalem

11 Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. ² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, ³ saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’ ⁴ Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ⁵ ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. ⁶ As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. ⁷ I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” ⁸ But I replied, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” ⁹ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” ¹⁰ This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. ¹¹ At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. ¹² The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; ¹⁴ he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.” ¹⁵ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶ And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁷ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?’ ¹⁸ When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’

Canticle

Refrain:

All In your unfailing love, O Lord, you lead the people whom you have redeemed. Alleluia.

1I will sing to the Lord, who has triumphed gloriously, ♦

the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

2The Lord is my strength and my song ♦

and has become my salvation.

3This is my God whom I will praise, ♦

the God of my forebears whom I will exalt.

4The Lord is a warrior, ♦

the Lord is his name.

5Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power: ♦

your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.

6At the blast of your nostrils, the sea covered them; ♦

they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

7In your unfailing love, O Lord, ♦ you lead the people whom you have redeemed.

8And by your invincible strength ♦

you will guide them to your holy dwelling.

9You will bring them in and plant them, O Lord, ♦

in the sanctuary which your hands have established.

Exodus 15.1b-3, 6, 10, 13, 17

All Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen.

All In your unfailing love, O Lord, you lead the people whom you have redeemed. Alleluia.

Gospel Reading

John 13:31-35

The New Commandment

³¹ When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. ³² If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. ³³ Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” ³⁴ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

Death is swallowed up in victory.

All Where, O death, is your sting?

Christ is risen from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

All Death is swallowed up in victory.

The trumpet will sound and the dead shall be raised.

All Where, O death, is your sting?

We shall not all sleep,but we shall be changed.

AllDeath is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your sting?

from 1 Corinthians 15

Gospel Canticle

Refrain:

All The Lord is risen from the tomb who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.

1Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, ♦

who has come to his people and set them free.

2He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, ♦

born of the house of his servant David.

3Through his holy prophets God promised of old ♦

to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us,

4To show mercy to our ancestors, ♦

and to remember his holy covenant.

5This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: ♦

to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

6Free to worship him without fear, ♦

holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.

7And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, ♦

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

8To give his people knowledge of salvation ♦

by the forgiveness of all their sins.

9In the tender compassion of our God ♦

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

10To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, ♦

and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1.68-79

All Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen.

Refrain:

All The Lord is risen from the tomb who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.

Prayers