Morning Prayer (Mattins) in Contemporary Language

¶ Morning Prayer
Easter Season
Sunday, 5 May 2024
The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Preparation

O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

In your resurrection, O Christ,
Alllet heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.

One or more of the following is said or sung:

this or another prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As once you ransomed your people from Egypt
and led them to freedom in the promised land,
so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.
May we, the first fruits of your new creation,
rejoice in this new day you have made,
and praise you for your mighty acts.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.

a suitable hymn, or the Easter Anthems

1Christ our passover has been sacrificed for us: ♦
so let us celebrate the feast,

2not with the old leaven of corruption and wickedness: ♦
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5.7b, 8

3Christ once raised from the dead dies no more: ♦
death has no more dominion over him.

4In dying he died to sin once for all: ♦
in living he lives to God.

5See yourselves therefore as dead to sin: ♦
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6.9-11

6Christ has been raised from the dead: ♦
the first fruits of those who sleep.

7For as by man came death: ♦
by man has come also the resurrection of the dead;

8for as in Adam all die: ♦
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15.20-22

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

This opening prayer may be said

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Word of God

Psalmody

The appointed psalmody is said.

Psalm 104.26-32

Refrain: I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.

26 O Lord, how manifold are your works! ♦
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

27 There is the sea, spread far and wide, ♦
and there move creatures beyond number, both small and great.

28 There go the ships, and there is that Leviathan ♦
which you have made to play in the deep.

29 All of these look to you ♦
to give them their food in due season.

30 When you give it them, they gather it; ♦
you open your hand and they are filled with good.

31 When you hide your face they are troubled; ♦
when you take away their breath,
they die and return again to the dust.

32 When you send forth your spirit, they are created, ♦
and you renew the face of the earth. R

Refrain: I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.

Creator God,
send your Holy Spirit to renew this living world,
that the whole creation,
in its groaning and striving,
may know your loving purpose
and come to reflect your glory;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Each psalm or group of psalms may end with

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.

Ezekiel 47.1-12

Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple towards the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me round on the outside to the outer gate that faces towards the east; and the water was coming out on the south side.

Going on eastwards with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits, and then led me through the water; and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was up to the waist. Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, ‘Mortal, have you seen this?’

Then he led me back along the bank of the river. As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on one side and on the other. He said to me, ‘This water flows towards the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes. People will stand fishing beside the sea from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.’

Canticle

The Song of Moses and Miriam, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 23 (page 574) or number 32 (page 583), may be said

Refrain:

AllIn your unfailing love, O Lord,
you lead the people whom you have redeemed. Alleluia.

1I will sing to the Lord, who has triumphed gloriously, ♦
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

2The Lord is my strength and my song ♦
and has become my salvation.

3This is my God whom I will praise, ♦
the God of my forebears whom I will exalt.

4The Lord is a warrior, ♦
the Lord is his name.

5Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power: ♦
your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.

6At the blast of your nostrils, the sea covered them; ♦
they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

7In your unfailing love, O Lord, ♦
you lead the people whom you have redeemed.

8And by your invincible strength ♦
you will guide them to your holy dwelling.

9You will bring them in and plant them, O Lord, ♦
in the sanctuary which your hands have established.

Exodus 15.1b-3, 6, 10, 13, 17

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

AllIn your unfailing love, O Lord,
you lead the people whom you have redeemed. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.

John 21.1-19

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the lake. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.’ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’

A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow

Death is swallowed up in victory.
AllWhere, O death, is your sting?
Christ is risen from the dead,
the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
AllDeath is swallowed up in victory.
The trumpet will sound
and the dead shall be raised.
AllWhere, O death, is your sting?
We shall not all sleep,
but we shall be changed.
AllDeath is swallowed up in victory.
Where, O death, is your sting?

from 1 Corinthians 15

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or The Song of Christ’s Glory (page 619) may be said

Refrain:

AllThe Lord is risen from the tomb
who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.

1Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, ♦
who has come to his people and set them free.

2He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, ♦
born of the house of his servant David.

3Through his holy prophets God promised of old ♦
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,

4To show mercy to our ancestors, ♦
and to remember his holy covenant.

5This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: ♦
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

6Free to worship him without fear, ♦
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

7And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, ♦
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

8To give his people knowledge of salvation ♦
by the forgiveness of all their sins.

9In the tender compassion of our God ♦
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

10To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, ♦
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1.68-79

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

Refrain:

AllThe Lord is risen from the tomb
who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.

Prayers

Intercessions are offered
¶ for the day and its tasks
¶ for the world and its needs
¶ for the Church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 364–365

¶ The people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
¶ God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
¶ Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
¶ Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
¶ Prisoners and captives

A form of prayer found on page 382 may be used.

These responses may be used

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer

(or)

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Silence may be kept.

The Collect of the day is said

God our redeemer,
you have delivered us from the power of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your Son:
grant, that as by his death he has recalled us to life,
so by his continual presence in us he may raise us
      to eternal joy;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Lord’s Prayer is said

Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
as our Saviour taught us, so we pray

AllOur 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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

(or)

Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us

AllOur Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

The Conclusion

May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
AllAmen.

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.