2 Samuel 7:18-29
18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:
“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human![a]
20 “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.
22 “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?[b] 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.
25 “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.
27 “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”
Revelation 22:12-16
12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you[a] this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
“Andrew the Apostle, the brother of Peter, was born at Bethsaida, a town of Galilee. He was one of the disciples of John the Baptist, and heard him say of Christ "Behold the Lamb of God." Immediately he followed Jesus, bringing his brother also with them. After Christ's death and resurrection, the province of Scythia was alloted to Andrew as the place of his preaching. After working there, he went through Epirus and Thrace and converted multitudes to Christ by his teaching and miracles.
“Finally he went to Patras an Achaia, and there likewise he converted many to the knowledge of the gospel. He fearlessly rebuked Aegeas, the proconsul, who oppsed the preaching of the gospel, because he who wished to e considered as a judge of others was himself so deceived by the devil as not to know the judge of all, Christ the Lord. Filled with anger, Aegeas answered him: "Boast no more of your Christ. He spoke as you do but his words did not help him, for he was crucified." Andrew boldly answered that Christ himself had delivered himself for the salvation of humankind, but he was insultingly interrupted by the proconsul and told to look out for himself and to sacrifice to the gods. Andrew then replied: "We have an altar on which I offer up to God every day, not the flesh of bulls nor the blood of goats, but a spotless Lamb; and when all the faithful have eaten the flesh thereof, this Lamb that was slain remains whole and lives."
“Aegeas was then filled with anger and sent the apostle, bound, to prison. The people would have set him free, but he calmed them and begged them not to take away from him the path of martyrdom which he so much desired and which now was within reach. Shortly thereafter he was brought before the judgment seat where he extolled the mystery of the cross and rebuked Aegeas for his impiety. Aegeas, not being able to bear with him any longer, commanded him to be crucified as was Christ.
“Andrew then was led to the place of martyrdom, and as soon as he saw the cross he cried out, "O precious cross, which the member of my Lord have made so honorable, how long have I desired you? How fervently have I loved you! How constantly have I sought you? And now that you have come to me, how my soul is attracted to you. Take me from here and unite me with my master, that as by you he redeemed me, so by you also me may take me to himself." Then he was fastened to the cross, where he continued to live for two days, not ceasing to preach the faith of Christ. Finally he passed into the presence of him, the likeness of whose death he had loved so well.”
--Monastic office of readings
BENEDICTUS ANTIPHON
(Apostles): As I have done, so you must do.You will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud of great power and glory.
BENEDICTUS
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
who shepherds the people and sets them free.
God raises from David's house
a child with power to save.
Through the holy prophets
God promised in ages past
to save us from enemy hands,
from the grip of all who hate us.
The Lord favored our ancestors
recalling the sacred covenant,
the pledge to our ancestor Abraham,
to free us from our enemies,
so we might worship without fear
and be holy and just all our days.
And you, child, will be called
Prophet of the Most High,
for you will come to prepare
a pathway for the Lord
by teaching the people salvation
through forgiveness of their sin.
Out of God's deepest mercy
a dawn will come from on hight,
light for those shadowed by death,
a guide for our feet on the way to peace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Our Father....
Source of strength and courage, you gave your beloved apostle Andrew the convinction of faith to the very end. Grace us with the ability to translate your teachings into action, remain patient amid hardship and live as your true and faithful servants. We ask this, O god, through Christ our Lord and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
May God bless us and keep us. May God smile upon us and be gracious to us. May God look upon us kindly, and give us peace. Amen.
Let us bless God/and give thanks.
(The Benedictus is the traditional part of Christian morning prayer. The Magnificat is recited at evening prayer, the Nunc Dimmitus at Compline (Night prayer). Just by way of saying you'll be reading the Benedictus a lot, though after the first week I may just indicate it, rather like the Our Father, to simplify things a bit.)
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