As much of a fan as I am of liturgy, I still sometimes get a bit self-conscious, or worried, about using certain identical forms week by week, with my congregation.  It’s not that I’m getting restless with the lack of variation or am chafing for greater liturgical freedom, it’s more that I sometimes worry that those to whom I minister might feel that way – “can’t Father Matt use a different prayer here for once?”

The two experiential assurances for me are, first, that nobody in my congregation has ever complained to me about the repetitive nature of liturgy; and second, that if I deliver my parts of the liturgy with integrity, sincerity, and meaning, then chances are that others will receive them in the same positive light.

But in Morning Prayer today we come to Numbers 6, and there I am given a scriptural assurance about the simple repetitions…