Morning Service for All Saints’ Sunday 2022
HYMN Immortal, invisible God only wise NEH 377/AMR 372 – St Denio
1. Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious,
the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious,
thy great name we praise.
2 Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice, like mountains
high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of
goodness and love.
3 To all life thou givest–to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish like leaves on the tree,
Then wither and perish—
but naught changeth thee.
4 Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All praise we would render; O help us to see
‘Tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.
PRAYER OF PREPARATION
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen
PRAYERS OF PENITENCE
We recall our Lord’s command to love and in a moment of silence we confess
the many ways we fail to keep his command:
Most merciful God,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
we confess that we have sinned
in thought, word and deed.
We have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
In your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us to amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be;
that we may do justly, love mercy,
and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen
May the God of love and power
forgive us and free us from our sins,
heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,
and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE COLLECT
Almighty God,
you have knit together your elect
in one communion and fellowship
in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord:
grant us grace so to follow your blessed saints
in all virtuous and godly living
that we may come to those inexpressible joys
that you have prepared for those who truly love you;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
FIRST READING – Ephesians 1.11-23
In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
HYMN Dear Lord and father of mankind NEH 353/AMR 184 – Repton
1 Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Re-clothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives thy service find,
In deeper reverence praise.
2 In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow thee.
3 *O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with thee
The silence of eternity,
Interpreted by love!
4 Drop thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of thy peace.
5 Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake,
wind, and fire,
O still small voice of calm!
GOSPEL – Luke 6.20-31
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
SERMON
Sermon – All Saints Day Yr C 98
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Eph. 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31
So today we think about sanctity. We celebrate the heroes of the faith who have ‘made it’, who have run the race and won the prize; who have lived lives of sanctity and holiness, who have inspired others by their acts of self-forgetful generosity, or who have refused to recant their confession of Christ, even though it meant torture and death. These men and women have allowed their faith in God and his Christ to turn their human priorities and instincts upside down.
We are all born with a natural concern for our own wealth and welfare – we instinctively put ourselves first. This some of us will be able to modify to putting our families and then ourselves first. But, by and large it is ourselves that we are most drawn to preserve and prosper.
The saints in some way each demonstrate that that is not the whole story. That human beings can reach beyond themselves, to, in a sense, leave themselves behind – in the service of others, in the service of God. Each faith has its saints, they aren’t restricted to Christianity. It is a part of how we were created – to be able to turn the natural order of things on their head. To walk into the lion’s den because to do anything else would be to deny the grace of God perceived in the heart; to risk one’s life because another’s need must be met; to give away money that would mean personal comfort for the sake of the comfort of someone else. These are human traits, or rather, human plus – humans energised and transformed by forces beyond themselves, transformed to forget themselves, to see only the God they serve, and his glory all around them.
There once lived a man so godly that even the angels rejoiced at the sight of him. But, in spite of his great holiness, he had no notion that he was holy. He just went about his humdrum tasks diffusing goodness the way flowers unselfconsciously diffuse their fragrance and street lamps their glow.
His holiness lay in this that he forgot each person’s past and looked at them as they were now, and he looked beyond each person’s appearance to the very centre of their being where they were innocent and blameless and too ignorant to know what they were doing. Thus he loved and forgave everyone he met – and he saw nothing extraordinary in this for it was the result of his way of looking at people.
One day an angel said to him, “I have been sent to you by God. Ask for anything you wish and it will be given to you. Would you wish to have the gift of healing?” “No,” said the man, “I’d rather God did the healing himself.”
“Would you want to bring sinners back to the path of righteousness?” “No,” he said, “it is not for me to touch human hearts. That is the work of angels.” “Would you like to be such a model of virtue that people will be drawn to imitate you?” “No,” said the saint, “for that would make me the centre of attention.”
“What then do you wish for?” asked the angel. “The grace of God,” was the man’s reply. “Having that, I have all I desire.” “No, you must ask for some miracle, that’s what I’ve been sent to give you,” said the angel. “Well, then I shall ask for this: let good be done through me without my being aware of it.”
So it was decreed that the holy man’s shadow would be endowed with healing properties whenever it fell behind him. So everywhere his shadow fell – provided he had his back to it – the sick were healed, the land became fertile, fountains sprang to life and colour returned to the faces of those who were weighed down by life’s sorrow.
But the saint knew nothing of this because the attention of people was so centred on the shadow that they forgot about the man and so his wish that good be done through him and he forgotten was abundantly fulfilled.
The saint in that story knew that he became most what he should be when he became empty of himself. For when he didn’t get in the way, all that was good and holy and godlike could shine through him.
Music needs the hollowness of the instrument, letters the blankness of the page, light, the void called a window, and holiness the absence of self.
Or, in other words, Blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom of God, Blessed are the hungry, Blessed are the sad, Blessed are the hated. And for we who are none of those things, we must learn what the absence of wealth, happiness, affection is all about – we must learn what it is to be empty, what it is to be turned upside down, and learn that the Kingdom of God, the rule of God, is not our kingdom, is not our rule – is not the world we have willed into existence. That the response to hate is love, not more hate, that the response to theft is gift and that the response to violence against oneself is not more violence.
This then is sanctity and it is as far from us as day is from night – and yet… because the journey is far it should never stop us from making a beginning.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Let us declare our faith in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures;
he was buried; he was raised to life on the third day
in accordance with the scriptures;
afterwards he appeared to his followers,
and to all the apostles: this we have received,
and this we believe. Amen. 1 Corinthians 15.3-7
HYMN Oft in danger, oft in woe NEH 434/AMR 291 – University College
1 OFT in danger, oft in woe,
Onward, Christians, onward go;
Bear the toil, maintain the strife,
Strengthened with the Bread of Life.
2 Onward, Christians, onward go,
Join the war, and face the foe;
Will ye flee in danger’s hour?
Know ye not your Captain’s power?
3 Let your drooping hearts be glad;
March in heavenly armour clad;
Fight, nor think the battle long,
Victory soon shall tune your song.
4 Let not sorrow dim your eye,
Soon shall every tear be dry;
Let not fears your course impede,
Great your strength, if great your need.
5 Onward then in battle move;
More than conquerors ye shall prove;
Though opposed by many a foe,
Christian soldiers, onward go.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION – Sheila Forbes
Let us pray to the God who loves us all: the saints and we who strive to live up to what we could be. We give thanks for all the saints of heaven who join us as we praise God in his holiness.
We bring before you the world brought to us in terrifying images and words by the media: the hungry in Somalia – those facing the deprivations and misery of war in the Ukraine – the young in Iran seeking to establish the right to choose how they conduct their lives. We pray for your justice and equity that those who are hungry are fed, those waging war are brought to the table of peace and all seeking the right to speak may do so safely.
Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer
We pray for Rishi the young man of faith and the team around him in government as they take on the task of minding the fiscal while never losing sight of the people who are anxious about their livelihood and the basics of food and warmth. We ask that you give all in a position of leadership a judicious balance of wisdom and compassion in their decisions.
Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer
We pray for our community as winter approaches and we live with much needed rain and earlier fading of light. Open our ears to hear and our eyes to see the need in others as we field the increasing demands of running our churches, minding our families and taking pleasure in friendships.
Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer
God our father and mother, we know that you hear the cries of all in pain and misery and we bring before you those in pain and distress remembering in this parish Roger Lowman and John Gillings and the family members looking after them. We ask that you bring the comfort and solace they need.
Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer
We give heartfelt thanks for the love and encouragement we have received through the years from those who have died in faith and are remembered with great affection. We commend them all to your safe keeping.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, Amen
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
BLESSING
May God give to you and to all those whom you love
his comfort and his peace, his light and his joy,
in this world and the next;
and the blessing of God Almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
be with you and remain with you always. Amen
HYMN For all the saints – NEH 197/AMR 527 – Sine Nomine
1 For all the Saints who from their labours rest,
Who thee by faith before the world confest.
Thy name, O Jesu, be for ever blest.
Alleluya! Alleluya!
2 Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou in the darkness drear their one true Light.
Alleluya! Alleluya!
4 O blest communion! fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.
Alleluya! Alleluya!
7 But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The Saints triumphant rise in bright array:
The King of glory passes on his way.
Alleluya! Alleluya!
8 From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Alleluya! Alleluya!