Collect
Faithful Lord,
whose steadfast love never ceases
and whose mercies never come to an end:
grant us the grace to trust you
and to receive the gifts of your love,
new every morning,
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
John 13.12–20
After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfil the scripture, “The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.” I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he. Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.’
Psalm 107
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say this,
those he redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
And gathered out of the lands
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
Some went astray in desert wastes
and found no path to a city to dwell in.
Hungry and thirsty,
their soul was fainting within them.
So they cried to the Lord in their trouble
and he delivered them from their distress.
He set their feet on the right way
till they came to a city to dwell in.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness
and the wonders he does for his children.
For he satisfies the longing soul
and fills the hungry soul with good.
Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
bound fast in misery and iron,
For they had rebelled against the words of God
and despised the counsel of the Most High.
So he bowed down their heart with heaviness;
they stumbled and there was none to help them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness and out of the shadow of death,
and broke their bonds asunder.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness
and the wonders he does for his children.
For he has broken the doors of bronze
and breaks the bars of iron in pieces.
Some were foolish and took a rebellious way,
and were plagued because of their wrongdoing.
Their soul abhorred all manner of food
and drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He sent forth his word and healed them,
and saved them from destruction.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness
and the wonders he does for his children.
Let them offer him sacrifices of thanksgiving
and tell of his acts with shouts of joy.
Those who go down to the sea in ships
and ply their trade in great waters,
These have seen the works of the Lord
and his wonders in the deep.
For at his word the stormy wind arose
and lifted up the waves of the sea.
They were carried up to the heavens
and down again to the deep;
their soul melted away in their peril.
They reeled and staggered like a drunkard
and were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
He made the storm be still
and the waves of the sea were calmed.
Then were they glad because they were at rest,
and he brought them to the haven they desired.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness
and the wonders he does for his children.
Let them exalt him in the congregation of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.
The Lord turns rivers into wilderness
and water springs into thirsty ground;
A fruitful land he makes a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of those who dwell there.
He makes the wilderness a pool of water
and water springs out of a thirsty land.
There he settles the hungry
and they build a city to dwell in.
They sow fields and plant vineyards
and bring in a fruitful harvest.
He blesses them, so that they multiply greatly;
he does not let their herds of cattle decrease.
He pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes.
They are diminished and brought low,
through stress of misfortune and sorrow,
But he raises the poor from their misery
and multiplies their families like flocks of sheep.
The upright will see this and rejoice,
but all wickedness will shut its mouth.
Whoever is wise will ponder these things
and consider the loving-kindness of the Lord.