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Lord’s Prayer

Our 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, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

The Morning “Lorica” (Prayer) of Saint Patrick

I  arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today through the strength of Heaven
the rays of the sun,
the radiance of the moon,
the splendor of fire,
the speed of lightening,
the swiftness of the wind,
the depth of the sea,
the stability of the earth
the firmness of rock.

I arise today through the power of God:
God’s might to comfort me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to lead me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s Heavenly Host to save me
from the snares of the devil,
from temptations to sin,
from all who wish me ill,
from near and afar,
alone and with others.

May Christ shield me today
against poison and fire,
against drowning and wounding,
so that I may fulfill my mission
and bear fruit in abundance.
Christ behind and before me,
Christ behind and above me,
Christ with me and in me,
Christ around and about me,
Christ on my right and on my left,
Christ when I lie down at night,
Christ when I rise in the morning,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone that speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

Mason Barge 5/29/2014

Concerning Forgiveness

Father, I ask you to help me to be generous when I think of the attitude and actions of others. Forgiving someone isn’t an easy option, and I know that forgiveness isn’t somehow pretending that something wrong hasn’t happened. For what I have done wrong, forgive me Father. And let me live in obedience to your word, remembering that, as we forgive others, so shall we be forgiven.

Dedication

Walk with me, dear Lord, so that I may not be alone as I face this day, but always in your presence. Your joy is a lighthouse in a world often dark with sin, and I pray that I may reflect the light of your truth, to inspire others as I have been inspired. In the name of Christ, bless me this day, and all whom I may meet.

Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.

Matthew 26:49-52 (NASB)

2 Samuel 2, 3, 4 (abridged) (NLT)

The Civil War Between David and Ish-Bosheth

A fierce battle followed that day [soon after David’s coronation], and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the forces of David.

Asahel [Joab’s brother] could run like a gazelle, and he began chasing Abner. He pursued him relentlessly, not stopping for anything. “Go fight someone else!” Abner warned. “Take on one of the younger men, and strip him of his weapons.”

But Asahel refused to turn back, so Abner thrust the butt end of his spear through Asahel’s stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He stumbled to the ground and died there. And everyone who came by that spot stopped and stood still when they saw Asahel lying there.

When Joab and Abishai found out what had happened, they set out after Abner. Abner shouted down to Joab, “Must we always be killing each other? Don’t you realize that bitterness is the only result? When will you call off your men from chasing their Israelite brothers?”

That was the beginning of a long war between those who were loyal to Saul and those loyal to David. As time passed David became stronger and stronger, while Saul’s dynasty became weaker and weaker.

         *         *         *

Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know it. Now when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the gateway, as though to speak with him privately. And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab (with the help of his brother Asahel) stabbed him in the stomach, and he died.

         *         *         *

When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. Saul's son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. They had gone into the house [of Ish-Bosheth] while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron. David answered, “[W]icked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed — should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!”

So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner's tomb at Hebron.

Notes on the Scripture

e have greatly abridged the melodramatic civil war between David and the majority of Israel, who were loyal to Saul’s son, Ish-Bosheth. Most people will say that the early kings of Israel were Saul, David, and Solomon, but really Ish-Bosheth might be inserted in the line—he at least merits a footnote! David (although anointed as king of Israel) commands only one tribe, Judah, at the start of it. These chapters are a backwater in the Old Testament history of Israel’s monarchic period. Mostly, it reminds us of how messy history actually is. Like Solomon after him, David must fight a major civil war to secure his kingdom.

The details seem like a plot out of a Shakespeare play, or a history of 15th century Florence. Abner, Saul’s general, kills Joab's brother Asahel. Joab murders Abner in revenge, stabbing him in the equivalent of a dark alley. A couple of opportunists run down Ish-Bosheth himself and murder him in his bed, then cut off his head and bring it to David.

You would think that, by this time, people would have stopped murdering kings and expecting David to reward them. David has a peculiar sense of right and wrong, as to whom may be killed and who may not. He would raid a village and kill the women and children; yet he calls Ish-Bosheth “an innocent man in his own house.” It is not clear whether David is simply opposed to regicide—remembering that the idea of kings being anointed by God had already arisen. Or perhaps this is an early manifestation of the Hebrews attitude toward non-Jews, who did not follow the law and correspondingly were not always entitled to its protection.

Thou Shalt Not Kill, illustration by M. Leone Bracker, ca. 1924.

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