Morning Service for Trinity 11 2022
HYMN Come down, O love divine NEH 137 – Down Ampney
1 Come down, O Love divine,
Seek thou this soul of mine,
And visit it with thine own ardour glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
Within my heart appear,
And kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.
2 O let it freely burn,
Till earthly passions turn
To dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
And let thy glorious light
Shine ever on my sight,
And clothe me round, the while my path illuming.
3 Let holy charity
Mine outward vesture be,
And lowliness become mine inner clothing;
True lowliness of heart,
Which takes the humbler part,
And o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.
4 And so the yearning strong,
With which the soul will long,
Shall far outpass the power of human telling;
For none can guess its grace,
Till it become the place
Wherein the Holy Spirit makes his dwelling.
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
O God, you declare your almighty power
most chiefly in showing mercy and pity:
mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace,
that we, running the way of your commandments,
may receive your gracious promises,
and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
FIRST READING – Jeremiah 2.4-13
Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the LORD: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?
They did not say, “Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that no one passes through, where no one lives?” I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things. But when you entered you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, “Where is the LORD?” Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things that do not profit. Therefore once more I accuse you, says the LORD, and I accuse your children’s children. Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has ever been such a thing. Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for something that does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
HYMN Let all the world in every corner sing, NEH 394 – Luckington
1 Let all the world in every corner sing,
My God and King!
The heavens are not too high,
His praise may thither fly;
The earth is not too low,
His praises there may grow.
Let all the world in every corner sing,
My God and King!
2 Let all the world in every corner sing,
My God and King!
The church with psalms must shout,
No door can keep them out;
But above all, the heart
Must bear the longest part.
Let all the world in every corner sing,
My God and King!
GOSPEL -Luke 14.1,7-14
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
SERMON
Charlemagne was the greatest Christian ruler of the early Middle Ages. After his death a mighty funeral procession left his castle for the cathedral at Aix. When the royal casket arrived, so the story goes, with all pomp and circumstance, it was met by the local bishop, who barred the cathedral door.
“Who comes?” the Bishop asked, as was the custom.
“Charlemagne, Lord and King of the Holy Roman Empire,” proclaimed the
Emperor’s proud herald.
“Him I know not,” the Bishop replied. “Who comes?”
The herald, a bit shaken, replied, “Charles the Great, a good and honest man
of the earth.”
“Him I know not,” the Bishop said again. “Who comes?”
The herald, now completely crushed, responded, “Charles, a lowly sinner, who
begs the gift of Christ.”
To which the Bishop, Christ’s representative, responded, “Enter! Receive Christ’s gift of life!”
So Charlemagne’s body was granted access, when it was acknowledged that he was the equal of all and no higher than any, he was welcomed.
The message is clear to us, we all come as equals before the throne of God and we must not forget that in our dealings here on earth – relying on the same grace of God that welcomes each one us, saint or sinner, or varying hues of both.
We certainly must not forget that in our life as a Church, we must strive and struggle to make this place and what we do here as open and welcoming as we possibly can, to people of all ages and from all places. We are called to mirror the welcome of heaven – and maybe as wide as our doors are to others so will the doors of heaven be to us.
When Jesus told his Pharisee host to invite “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,” he was inviting him to break down the barriers of middle-class religious respectability that he had put around himself, and to open his home to those he thought beneath him, indeed, as would have seen it, the unclean and deserving victims of God’s judgement.
If Jesus demanded hospitality from this Pharisee how much more must we, his hands and feet here in the world today, live this hospitality to all. What a challenge is that.
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 All my hope on God is founded NEH 333 – Michael
1 All my hope on God is founded;
He doth still my trust renew.
Me through change and chance he guideth,
Only good and only true.
God unknown,
He alone
Calls my heart to be his own.
2 Pride of man and earthly glory,
Sword and crown betray his trust;
What with care and toil he buildeth,
Tower and temple, fall to dust
But God’s power,
Hour by hour,
Is my temple and my tower.
3 God’s great goodness aye endureth,
Deep his wisdom, passing thought:
Splendour, light and life attend him,
Beauty springeth out of naught.
Evermore
From his store
New-born worlds rise and adore.
4 Daily doth th’Almighty giver
Bounteous gifts on us bestow;
His desire our soul delighteth,
Pleasure leads us where we go.
Love doth stand
At his hand;
Joy doth wait on his command.
5 Still from man to God eternal
Sacrifice of praise be done,
High above all praises praising
For the gift of Christ his Son.
Christ doth call
One and all:
Ye who follow shall not fall.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION – Jenny Walmsley
We pray for our world as it suffers from the high temperatures exacerbated by climate change. We think of the wildfires, the depleted harvests, the famines and chronic water shortages. We pray that our leaders will realise that they must work together for the common future of mankind. Do not let them destroy our world because events are not going as they might have hoped, as suggested in the reading from Isaiah, but instead let them work for the good of all so that ultimately we can all share in your righteous bounty in a just and caring world.
Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer
We pray for Christians throughout the world, especially those being persecuted for their faith. We pray for our own churches, may everyone always receive a loving welcome and find peace there. We pray for those who lead us in our worship, for William, our rector and everyone who assists him in his work. We thank them for their constant efforts on our behalf and we thank you, Lord, for your care and compassion; may we emulate it as we share our fellowship with one another.
Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer
We pray for the young people coping with the influences and demands of school, university, and work. Give the Year 11 and 13s the resilience and responsibility to accept their exam results this week and next, may they be guided into making the right choices for their futures. We also pray that our children and teachers will return in September stimulated and invigorated by their summer breaks.
Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer
And now let us share a moment of silence together as we bring before you those known only to ourselves and to you Lord who are in need at this time, particularly those suffering from ill health or mourning loved ones. Let them feel your presence in their lives as we name them in our hearts and commit them to your loving care.
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
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face to shine upon and be gracious unto you.
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
The Lord God almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
the holy and undivided Trinity,
guard you, save you, and bring you to that heavenly city,
where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen
HYMN O praise ye the Lord NEH 427 – Laudate Dominum
1 O praise ye the Lord!
Praise him in the height;
Rejoice in his word,
Ye angels of light;
Ye heavens adore him
By whom you were made,
And worship before him,
In brightness arrayed.
2 O praise ye the Lord!
Praise him on the earth,
In tuneful accord,
Ye sons of new birth;
Praise him who has brought you
His grace from above,
Praise him who has taught you
To sing of his love.
3 O praise ye the Lord!
All things that give sound;
Each jubilant chord,
Re-echo around;
Loud organs, his glory
Forth tell in deep tone,
And sweet harp, the story
Of what he has done.
4 O praise ye the Lord!
Thanksgiving and song
To him be out-poured
All ages along:
For love in creation,
For heaven restored,
For grace of salvation,
O praise ye the Lord!