2. Introduction
Let the words of my mouth, and the
meditation of my heart, be always acceptable
in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my
redeemer. (Ps. 19:14)
The hour comes, and now is, when the true
worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit
and in truth: for the Father seeks such to
worship him. (John 4:23)
If you are praying with another person – read responsively
where appropriate.
3. The Psalm – Psalm 137
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia
1
By the rivers of Babylon,
we sat and wept
when we thought of Zion, our home, so far away.
2
On the branches of the willow trees,
we hung our harps and hid our hearts from the enemy.
3
And the men that surrounded us
made demands that we clap our hands and sing—
Songs of joy from days gone by,
songs from Zion, our home.
Such cruel men taunted us—haunted our memories.
4
How could we sing a song about the Eternal
in a land so foreign, while still tormented, brokenhearted, homesick?
Please don’t make us sing this song.
5-6
O Jerusalem, even still, don’t escape my memory.
I treasure you and your songs, even as I hide my harp from the enemy.
And if I can’t remember,
may I never sing a song again—
may my hands never play well again—
For what use would it be if I don’t remember Jerusalem
as my source of joy?
7
Remember, Eternal One, how the Edomites, our brothers, the descendants of Esau,
stood by and watched as Jerusalem fell.
Gloating, they said, “Destroy it;
tear it down to the ground,” when Jerusalem was being demolished.
8
O daughter of Babylon, you are destined for destruction!
Happy are those who pay you back for how you treated us
so you will no longer walk so proud.
9
Happy are those who dash your children against the rocks
so you will know how it feels.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia
4. Short Reading and Meditation
So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell
you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son
of Man and drink his blood, you have
no life in you. 54Those who eat my
flesh and drink my blood have eternal
life, and I will raise them up on the last
day; 55for my flesh is true food and my
blood is true drink. 56Those who eat
my flesh and drink my blood abide in
me, and I in them. 57Just as the living
Father sent me, and I live because of
the Father, so whoever eats me will live
because of me. 58This is the bread that
came down from heaven, not like that
which your ancestors ate, and they
died. But the one who eats this bread
will live forever." 59He said these
things while he was teaching in the
synagogue at Capernaum.
Thought for Today
The very life of the
Psalmist seems to have
been ripped out of him by
his enemies. By contrast,
Jesus says in John 6 that
only with Him is there life
in the first place. In what
ways does Christ fill our
lives with life, even when
we’re so full of anger and
despair that it seems no
life is worth living?
John 6:53-59
5. Prayer
Pray Silently or Aloud for Others and Yourself
Lord, because you have made me, I owe you the whole of my
love; because you have redeemed me, I owe you the whole of
myself; because you have promised so much, I owe you my
whole being. Moreover, I owe you as much more love than
myself as you are greater than I, for whom you gave yourself
and to whom you promised yourself. I pray you, Lord, make
me taste by love what I taste by knowledge; let me know by
love what I know by understanding. I owe you more than my
whole self, but I have no more, and by myself I cannot render
the whole of it to you. Draw me to you, Lord, in the fullness of
your love. I am wholly yours by creation; make me all yours,
too, in love.
(Anselm 1033-1109)
