Scripture Reading - Prayer of Azariah (Fourth Sunday after Pentecost)
Prayer of Azariah- (Daniel the Younger 3:24-45)
They walked around in the midst of flames, singing hymns to God and blessing the Lord.
Then Azariah stood still in the fire and prayed aloud:
“Blessed are You, O Lord, God of our ancestors, and worthy of praise ; and glorious is your name forever !
For you are just in all you have done;
All your works are true and your ways right, and all your judgments are true.
You have executed true judgments in all you have brought upon us and upon Jerusalem, the holy city of our ancestors ; by a true judgment you have brought all this upon us because of our sins.
For we have sinned and broken your law in turning away from you ; in all matters we have sinned grievously.
We have not obeyed your commandments, we have not kept them or done what you have commanded us for our own good.
So all that you have bought upon us ,and all that you have done to us, you have done by a true judgment.
You have handed us over to our enemies , lawless and hateful rebels, and to an unjust king , the most wicked in all the world.
And now we cannot open our mouths; we , your servants who worship you, have become a shame and a reproach.
For your name’s sake do not give us up forever, and do not annul your covenant.
Do not withdraw your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham your beloved and for the sake of your servant Isaac and Israel your holy one, to whom you promised to multiply their descendants like the stars of heaven and like the sand on the shore of the sea.
For we, O Lord, have become fewer than any other nation, and are brought low this day in all the world because of our sins.
In our day, we have no ruler , or prophet , or leader, no burnt offerings, or sacrifice, or incense , no place to make an offering before you and to find mercy .
Yet with a contrite heart and a humble spirit may we be accepted, as though it were with burn offerings of ram and bulls, or with tens of thousands of fat lambs ; such may our sacrifice be in your sight today , and may we unreservedly follow you, for no shame will come to those who trust in you.
And now with all our heart we follow you ; we fear you and seek your presence.
Do not put us to shame, but deal with us in your patience and in your abundant mercy.
Deliver us in accordance with your marvellous works , and bring glory to your name, O Lord.
Let all who do harm to your servants be put to shame ; let them be disgraced and deprived of all power, and let the strength be broken.
Let them know that you alone are the Lord God, glorious over the whole world. “
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Note: From the Web page of Malankara Orthodox Church, we have a prescribed Scripture reading and a Lectionary. Yet we have a revised Lectionary through MOC Publications available and a Kalpana by HH Baselios Mathoma Paulose II for it to be used from 2016. It is in this that the prayer of Azariah is prescribed as one of the Old Testament readings.
It is my prayer that respective Bishops of Dioceses and the Synod will raise the importance on the need of consistency and discipline on this matter to the clergy to use one version and return back to the basics on the expectation of laity to have read and meditate upon these Scriptures readings prior to coming to Church.
