Good Evening Dear Family of God and Love!

Happy Being Thoughtful and Thankful Thursday. I hope even during these trying times we all have times to put on our attitudes of gratitude. Attitudes of gratitude are what keeps us sane and connected. Psalms function very much the same way and we have an opportunity to see how this works with the featured Psalm for the Feast Day of Polycarp of Smyrna- Bishop and Martyr. We will pray and make vigil with the lessons for his feast day and take time to meditate on the featured Psalm, Psalm 121.

Let us read and meditate upon these words and then pause, breathe, and read them again in another translation.

121 Levavi oculos

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills; *
from where is my help to come?

2 My help comes from the Lord, *
the maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot be moved *
and he who watches over you will not fall asleep.

4 Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel *
shall neither slumber nor sleep;

5 The Lord himself watches over you; *
the Lord is your shade at your right hand,

6 So that the sun shall not strike you by day, *
nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; *
it is he who shall keep you safe.

8 The Lord shall watch over your going out and
your coming in, *
from this time forth for evermore.

Pause, breathe, and read again.

Psalm 121 The Message (MSG)

A Pilgrim Song

121

1-2 I look up to the mountains;
does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

3-4 He won’t let you stumble,
your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel’s
Guardian will never doze or sleep.

5-6 God’s your Guardian,
right at your side to protect you—
Shielding you from sunstroke,
sheltering you from moonstroke.

7-8 God guards you from every evil,
he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
he guards you now, he guards you always.

Pause, breathe, and read

Psalm 121The Voice (VOICE)

Psalm 121

A song for those journeying to worship.

1 I look up at the vast size of the mountains—
from where will my help come in times of trouble?
2 The Eternal Creator of heaven and earth and these mountains
will send the help I need.

3 He holds you firmly in place;
He will not let you fall.
He who keeps you will never take His eyes off you and never drift off to sleep.
4 What a relief! The One who watches over Israel
never leaves for rest or sleep.

5 The Eternal keeps you safe,
so close to Him that His shadow is a cooling shade to you.
6 Neither bright light of sun
nor dim light of moon will harm you.

7 The Eternal will keep you safe
    from all of life’s evils,
8 From your first breath to the last breath you breathe,
    from this day and forever.

Pause, breathe, and read:

From the Tanakh

Book of Tehillim (Psalms ):

121:1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

121:2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

121:3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

121:4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

121:5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

121:6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

121:7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

121:8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Let us light our candles and make vigil as we lift up our eyes to the hills.

Canticle B

A Song of Pilgrimage Priusquam errarem

Ecclesiasticus 51:13-16,20b-22

Before I ventured forth,

even while I was very young, *

I sought wisdom openly in my prayer.

In the forecourts of the temple I asked for her, *

and I will seek her to the end.

From first blossom to early fruit, *

she has been the delight of my heart.

My foot has kept firmly to the true path, *

diligently from my youth have I pursued her.

I inclined my ear a little and received her; *

I found for myself much wisdom and became adept in her.

To the one who gives me wisdom will I give glory, *

for I have resolved to live according to her way.

From the beginning I gained courage from her, *

therefore I will not be forsaken.

In my inmost being I have been stirred to seek her, *

therefore have I gained a good possession.

As my reward the Almighty has given me the gift of language,*

and with it will I offer praise to God.

God we come before you this night with troubled hearts, minds, and spirits seeking unity not division, not to hate but to love, to be together as we accept our differences without fear, anxiety, and suspicion. We light one candle tonight in unity, compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy. We light one candle tonight for the family member and others who represent the latest deaths of our brothers and sisters in the Abrahamic Faiths and LGBTQIA communities due to hate groups and those who have decided that living is too much to bear and commit suicide. We pray that we all may be one and live authentically without shame as we open ourselves up to tell our stories. We pray for loving hearts and listening ears so that we may absorb the many stories of coming out and the struggles that continue to plague and give rise to insecurity. We pray that we all may be one and that we may seek only to be we not we/they or them and us. We pray this night that we all may be one as Jesus and you are one. We pray that we may respect the dignity of every human being without fear but with light, love, justice, kindness, and a willingness to help stop the shaming and hate filled speech. We hold this candle out to one another and say and pray these words "The Light of Christ in Me, Recognizes the Light of Christ in you! Let us all be one in love, prayer, and peace this night as we are united with you God. Amen.

Numbers 23:5-12

5 The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, ‘Return to Balak, and this is what you must say.’ 6 So he returned to Balak,* who was standing beside his burnt-offerings with all the officials of Moab. 7 Then Balaam* uttered his oracle, saying:

‘Balak has brought me from Aram,

the king of Moab from the eastern mountains:

“Come, curse Jacob for me;

Come, denounce Israel!”

8 How can I curse whom God has not cursed?

How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?

9 For from the top of the crags I see him,

from the hills I behold him;

Here is a people living alone,

and not reckoning itself among the nations!

10 Who can count the dust of Jacob,

or number the dust-cloud* of Israel?

Let me die the death of the upright,

and let my end be like his!’

11 Then Balak said to Balaam, ‘What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but now you have done nothing but bless them.’ 12He answered, ‘Must I not take care to say what the Lord puts into my mouth?’

Canticle J

A Song of Judith

Judith 16:13-16

I will sing a new song to my God, *

for you are great and glorious, wonderful in strength, invincible.

Let the whole creation serve you, *

for you spoke and all things came into being.

You sent your breath and it formed them, *

no one is able to resist your voice.

Mountains and seas are stirred to their depths, *

rocks melt like wax at your presence.

But to those who fear you, *

you continue to show mercy.

No sacrifice, however fragrant, can please you, *

but whoever fears the Lord shall stand in your sight for ever.

Hear the words of Polycarp of Smyrna

I exhort you, press on in your course, and exhort all men that they may be saved.

Polycarp

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

2 When I came to you, brothers and sisters,* I did not come proclaiming the mystery* of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. 4 My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom,* but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Canticle S

A Song of Our True Nature

Julian of Norwich

Christ revealed our frailty and our falling, *

our trespasses and our humiliations.

Christ also revealed his blessed power, *

his blessed wisdom and love.

He protects us as tenderly and as sweetly when we are in greatest need; *

he raises us in spirit

and turns everything to glory and joy without ending.

God is the ground and the substance, the very essence of nature; *

God is the true father and mother of natures.

We are all bound to God by nature, *

and we are all bound to God by grace.

And this grace is for all the world, *

because it is our precious mother, Christ.

For this fair nature was prepared by Christ

for the honor and nobility of all, *

and for the joy and bliss of salvation.

Hear the words of Polycarp of Smyrna

Hear me declare with boldness, I am a Christian,

Polycarp

Matthew 20:20-23

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favour of him. 21 And he said to her, ‘What do you want?’ She said to him, ‘Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.’ 22 But Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?’* They said to him, ‘We are able.’ 23 He said to them, ‘You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’

Canticle 15

The Song of Mary Magnificat

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.

Hear the words of Polycarp of Smyrna

Now may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the eternal high priest himself, the Son of God Jesus Christ, build you up in faith and truth and in all gentleness and in all freedom from anger and forbearance and steadfastness and patient endurance and purity.

O God, the maker of heaven and earth, who gave to your venerable servant, the holy and gentle Polycarp, boldness to confess Jesus Christ as King and Saviour, and steadfastness to die for his faith: Give us grace, following his example, to share the cup of Christ and rise to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.Amen.

Respond to these petitions with: May we all be one and comfort one another with love, kindness and gentleness God hear our prayers!

God of all comfort be with us this night as we pray for peace in this world and that we may live into our baptismal covenant with you and each other.