Friday Prayers

        Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence
        or stand in the place of the great;
        for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
        than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. (Prov. 25:6-7)

Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Heb. 13:15-16)

¶ When he (Jesus) noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable.  “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”  (Luke 14:7-11)

Psalm 112

        ¶ Praise the LORD!
        Happy are those who fear the LORD,
        who greatly delight in his commandments.
        Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
        the generation of the upright will be blessed.
        Wealth and riches are in their houses,
        and their righteousness endures forever.
        They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
        they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
        It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
        who conduct their affairs with justice.
        For the righteous will never be moved;
        they will be remembered forever.
        They are not afraid of evil tidings;
        their hearts are firm, secure in the LORD.
        Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
        in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
        They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
        their righteousness endures forever;
        their horn is exalted in honor.
        The wicked see it and are angry;
        they gnash their teeth and melt away;
        the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.

An elder … went out to cast a demon out of someone who was possessed.  The demon said to the elder, “I am going to come out, but I am going to ask you a question.  Tell me, who are the goats and who are the sheep?”  The old man said, “I am one of the goats, but as for the sheep, God alone knows who they are.”  When he heard this, the devil began to cry out with a loud voice, “Because of your humility, I am going away,” and he departed.  (The Word in the Desert)

Let us pray:

Great God of all that is Good, we bless you for your passion to make all things Good again.  MAKE US GOOD AGAIN!

Righteous Ruler of every upright heart grant us true humility.  Give us grace to recognize your holy image within ourselves so that we might always know to whom we are related, to whom we own our lives, to whom we are to lift our praise and prayers, to whom we are to turn in times of joy and times of sorrow, to whom we are to direct our fellows when they know times of joy and sorrow too.

Lord Jesus, put us in our place so that we might always know that at your table there is a plate and cup set for us.  Put us in our place so that securely placed we may be free to invite others to come and find their plate and cup as well.  Then most Holy Partier, give us the good sense to enjoy the meal set before us and the company set around us, especially your own presence as, over and over again, you humble yourself to be our host.  Around your table, we rise to our feet in awe, and we stand at attention to receive your word.

Oh Lord, we are sorry that we can be so harsh in our judgments of others when you are so kind in your judgment of us.  For this and all your good graces we praise and honor you with our lips and with our legs.  We sing to you, we shout to you, we speak of you, and we go in your name to share your good graces with our neighbors.  Go with us!

Holy Spirit, blow a chilling breath across our naked necks so that we fear God, and in fearing God, obey, and in obeying God, be blessed, and in being blessed, be a blessing. Command the demons to depart from us.  Fill us with fear of you so that we are not afraid of anything or anyone else.  Make us to stand up to those who stand over and against that which is Good.  Make us to share and not hoard, so that we might be content with enough and not need more than our share.

May the wicked see our fear of you and be afraid.  May the wicked burn out; may their anger consume them.

Lord of what lies ahead, fill our hearts with courage.  Protect us from despair.  May we not believe everything we hear, and not listen to everything that others believe.  Give us eyes to see what is to be, and not what simply is.  And seeing what is to be, give us what it is we need to partner with you in the redemption of the world.

Above all, God of all, remember the goats.

We pray in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.