‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’
A favorite photo of the late Holocaust survivor Eva Kor, a great proponent of forgiveness as the means of self-healing and reconciliation, taking her message to first-graders at St. Richard’s Episcopal School in Indianapolis in 2017. She found that her experience of trauma was widely shared, even by children the same age as she and her sister Miriam were when they were taken to the camps. Therefore, she reasoned, the role of forgiveness in healing the abused person might be similar. Eva was not a religious person – she gave up on God at Auschwitz – but she was righteous to the core; what a tremendous vocation, teaching children how to love themselves and forgive. (Eva Kor on Twitter)
Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2
INVITATORY AND PSALTER
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
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. Alleluia.
Hymn: Light of the World
Light of the world in grace and beauty,
Mirror of God’s eternal face,
Transparent flame of love’s free duty,
You bring salvation to our race.
Now, as we see the lights of evening,
We raise our voice in hymns of praise;
Worthy are you of endless blessing,
Sun of our night, lamp of our days.
Psalm 111
1 Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, *
in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the deeds of the LORD! *
they are studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of majesty and splendor is the work of the LORD, *
whose righteousness endures for ever.
4 Gracious and full of compassion is the LORD, *
whose marvelous works are to be remembered.
5 The LORD gives food to the God-fearing, *
ever mindful of the covenant.
6 The LORD has shown the chosen people works of power *
in giving them the lands of the nations.
7 The hands of the LORD work faithfulness and justice; *
all the commandments of the LORD are sure.
8 They stand fast for ever and ever, *
because they are done in truth and equity.
9 The LORD sent redemption to the chosen people,
commanding the covenant for ever; *
holy and awesome is the Name of the LORD.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; *
those who act accordingly have a good understanding;
the praise of the LORD endures for ever.
Psalm 112
1 Hallelujah!
Happy are they who fear the LORD *
and have great delight in his commandments!
2 Their descendants will be mighty in the land; *
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches will be in their house, *
and their righteousness will last for ever.
4 Light shines in the darkness for the upright; *
the righteous are merciful and full of compassion.
5 It is good for them to be generous in lending *
and to manage their affairs with justice.
6 For they will never be shaken; *
the righteous will be kept in everlasting remembrance.
7 They will not be afraid of any evil rumors; *
their heart is right;
they put their trust in the LORD.
8 Their heart is established and will not shrink, *
until they see their desire upon their enemies.
9 They have given freely to the poor, *
and their righteousness stands fast for ever;
they will hold up their head with honor.
10 The wicked will see it and be angry;
they will gnash their teeth and pine away; *
the desires of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 113
1 Hallelujah!
Give praise, you servants of the LORD; *
praise the Name of the LORD.
2 Let the Name of the LORD be blessed, *
from this time forth for evermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its going down *
let the Name of the LORD be praised.
4 High above all nations is the LORD, *
whose glory is above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who sits enthroned on high, *
but stoops to behold the heavens and the earth?
6 The LORD takes up the weak out of the dust *
and lifts up the poor from the ashes.
7 The LORD sets them with the nobles, *
with the nobles of the chosen people.
8 The LORD makes the woman of a childless house *
to be a joyful mother of children.
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.
Parable of the Wedding Banquet; this artist does not focus on a guest’s disrespect, but on the king’s order sending his servants into the streets for more of them. (Word on Fire blog)
THE LESSON
Matthew 22:1-14 (NRSV)
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Canticle: The Song of Mary
Luke 1:46-55
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in you, O God my Savior, *
for you have looked with favor on your lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,
and holy is your Name.
You have mercy on those who fear you *
from generation to generation.
You have shown strength with your arm, *
and scattered the proud in their conceit,
Casting down the mighty from their thrones, *
and lifting up the lowly.
You have filled the hungry with good things, *
and sent the rich away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel, *
for you have remembered your promise of mercy,
The promise made to our forebears, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
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.
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
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.
THE PRAYERS
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as 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 for ever. Amen.
Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
Lawyer, human rights activist, author and priest Dr. Pauli Murray, whose feast day was Monday, in an undated photo from Duke University in her hometown, Durham, North Carolina.
Collect of the Day: Proper 9
O God, you have taught us to keep all 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, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for Sundays
Lord God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ triumphed over the powers of death and prepared for us our place in the new Jerusalem: Grant that we, who have this day given thanks for his resurrection, may praise you in that City of which he is the light, and where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea
Sunday Evening Prayer List: for the Daily Office Network
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A Collect for Mission
O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer of St. Chrysostom
Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfil now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21++
VIDEO: O praise ye the Lord (#432, Laudate Dominum, Charles Hubert Hastings Parry; Henry Williams Baker, based on Ps. 148, 150) – Cathedral Choral Society, 2010
The Daily Office 
the power of forgiveness, the death of the evil growth, as evil is a cancer that has to feed, while goodness can just be itself. Forgiveness, the sermon on the 7th of the 7th, at a time when the world needs to heal, blessings and thanks for your words, amen
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