Vida Dutton Scudder, Educator, 1954

The Collect:

Rite I:
Most gracious God, who didst send thy beloved Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Raise up in thy church witnesses who, after the example of thy servant Vida Dutton Scudder, stand firm in proclaiming the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Rite II:
Most gracious God, you sent your beloved Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Raise up in your church witnesses who, after the example of your servant Vida Dutton Scudder, stand firm in proclaiming the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Isaiah 11:1–10

¹ A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,
   and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
² The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
   the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
   the spirit of counsel and might,
   the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
³ His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
   or decide by what his ears hear;
⁴ but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
   and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
   and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
⁵ Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
   and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
⁶ The wolf shall live with the lamb,
   the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
   and a little child shall lead them.
⁷ The cow and the bear shall graze,
   their young shall lie down together;
   and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
⁸ The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
   and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
⁹ They will not hurt or destroy
   on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
   as the waters cover the sea.
¹⁰ On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

Psalm: Psalm 25:1-14

¹ To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
  my God, I put my trust in you; *
       let me not be humiliated,
       nor let my enemies triumph over me.
² Let none who look to you be put to shame; *
       let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes.
³ Show me your ways, O Lord, *
       and teach me your paths.
⁴ Lead me in your truth and teach me, *
       for you are the God of my salvation;
       in you have I trusted all the day long.
⁵ Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love, *
       for they are from everlasting.
⁶ Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions; *
       remember me according to your love
       and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.
⁷ Gracious and upright is the Lord; *
       therefore he teaches sinners in his way.
⁸ He guides the humble in doing right *
       and teaches his way to the lowly.
⁹ All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness *
       to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
¹⁰ For your Name’s sake, O Lord, *
       forgive my sin, for it is great.
¹¹ Who are they who fear the Lord? *
       he will teach them the way that they should choose.
¹² They shall dwell in prosperity, *
       and their offspring shall inherit the land.
¹³ The Lord is a friend to those who fear him *
       and will show them his covenant.
¹⁴ My eyes are ever looking to the Lord, *
       for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

Gospel: John 6:37-51

³⁷Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; ³⁸for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. ³⁹And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.’

⁴¹ Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ ⁴²They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ ⁴³Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. ⁴⁴No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. ⁴⁶Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

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