Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We are continuing our examination of the 2019 Book of Common
Prayer (BCP) with the Daily Office. This service was used as the primary
worship service on the Lord’s Day for many years. In fact, it wasn’t until
relatively recently that the service of Holy Eucharist, which had been the
primary form of worship up until the Reformation in the sixteenth century, has
made a resurgence. The Daily Office, like most of the BCP, consists primarily
of scripture.
While Holy Eucharist has taken the place of our primary
worship on Sunday Morning, the service of Morning Prayer taken from the
monastic services, is really meant to be a part of our daily relationship with
the Lord. In fact, all clergy in their ordinal vows promise to pray and read
the scriptures daily, and Morning and Evening Prayer fit the bill well for this
purpose.
In my life, I have been blessed to develop the discipline of
praying the offices while in my first year of college. It has been a part of my
daily life and that of my family ever since.
The invitation to confess our sins in Morning Prayer has its
roots in the 1662 BCP. You can hear the beautiful invitation, not only to
examine our lives, but to be obedient to scripture by acknowledging “our many
sins and offenses, not concealing them from our Heavenly Father, but confessing
them with humble and obedient hearts...”
In a world that claims we are “just perfect the way we are,”
this acknowledgement is especially important. And why do we acknowledge and
confess our sins? So that we can receive God’s forgiveness and mercy!
However, we should especially confess our sins when we come
together as the Church, the Body of Christ, and as we sit in His presence, sing
his praises, hear His Word, confess our faith, pray for ourselves and others,
and acknowledge our salvation found only in and through Jesus Christ!
Lastly, the celebrant states the reality of what we are
actually doing: “Therefore, draw near with me to the throne of heavenly grace.”
I pray you all a very blessed day!
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