Morning Service for Trinity 12 2024 YrB p15
HYMN Jesus shall reign where’er the sun NEH 388 – Truro
1 Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
2 People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on his love with sweetest song,
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on his name.
3 Blessings abound where’er he reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blest.
4 Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honours to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the long Amen.
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 and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we to pray
and to give more than either we desire or deserve:
pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid
and giving us those good things
which we are not worthy to ask
but through the merits and mediation
of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord; Amen.
FIRST READING – 1 Kings 2.10-12; 3.3-14
Then David slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the city of David. The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established.
Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David; only, he sacrificed and offered incense at the high places. The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the principal high place; Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask what I should give you.” And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?”
It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honour all your life; no other king shall compare with you. If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.”
HYMN I heard the voice of Jesus say NEH 376 – Kingsfold
1 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
‘Come unto me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
Thy head upon my breast:’
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary, and worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting place,
And he has made me glad.
2 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
‘Behold, I freely give
The living water, thirsty one;
Stoop down, and drink, and live:
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in him.
3 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
‘I am this dark world’s Light;
Look unto me, thy morn shall rise,
And all thy day be bright:’
I looked to Jesus, and I found
In him my Star, my Sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk
Till traveling days are done.
GOSPEL – John 6.51-58
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
SERMON
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.”
It’s very physical this Christianity thing. Sometimes I like to pretend it’s all rather esoteric, and spiritual. But then we read something like that and we realise that Christianity is all about incarnation, about God alongside us… in this world and with this world – a part of this world.
Christianity is not about ethics, it’s not about being good boys and girls, keeping to the rules, avoid doing bad things and you’ll be a good person, and God will think you’re just great. God did not send his son to die on a cross to tell us that.
So what did he send his son to tell us ?
That he is a part of this world, our world, and he wants us to be a part of him, that in order for us to relate to him we must be a part of him.
But he won’t hijack us, kidnap us, drag us into relationship with him. You cannot force somebody into relationship with you, you can only open the door, hold out a hand, even open wide your arms, and long for somebody to come into them.
Jesus used the analogy of his flesh and blood for this becoming a part of, accepting God within us, in order to be within God. It is a disturbing and extraordinary analogy, it put people off, after this passage we hear how they left Jesus. And who can blame them? But it is there to make a point. It’s not enough to say to God “I’ll keep the rules , I’ll try to be good , I won’t hurt anybody”. That maybe morality but it’s not faith and it’s not a relationship, a drawing together. What God wants is something quite different. He wants us to get to know him, he wants us consciously to open our hearts and let him in, yearn for him, love him.
And that is what we’re saying every time we come to the communion rail and hold wide our hands and open our lips to receive him. We’re saying to God “be a part of us so we can be a part of you.” “Live in us so that we can live in you.”
That’s why there are at least two communion services in the benefice every Sunday, because the conscious renewal of this desire to take God into ourselves is what gives our faith life and purpose and meaning. And prevents us from ever thinking that God just wants us to stick to the rules.
When Christ comes to us, when we eat and drink, enter the door, abide in the vine, step into His light, come through the narrow gate, enter the sheepfold, believe in Him, whatever the image, we internalise Him and we are forever changed.
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 Come let us join our cheerful songs NEH 349 – Nativity
1. Come, let us join our cheerful songs
With angels round the throne.
Ten thousand, thousand are their tongues,
But all their joys are one.
2. “Worthy the Lamb that died,” they cry,
“To be exalted thus!”
“Worthy the Lamb,” our hearts reply,
“For He was slain for us!”
3. Jesus is worthy to receive
Honour and power divine;
And blessings more than we can give,
Be, Lord, forever Thine.
4. Let all creation join in one,
To bless the sacred name
Of Him who sits upon the throne,
And to adore the Lamb.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION – by Jenny Walmesly
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. Let them, like Solomon, ask for the understanding to discern what is right rather than desiring riches and the lives of their enemies, so that ultimately we can all share in your bounty in a just, sustainable and caring world.
Lord, in your mercy – hear our prayer.
We pray for believers 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 the peace and support we all crave within our church communities.
We pray for those who lead us in our worship especially William, our rector, may he experience your guidance as he prepares for retirement. We include everyone who assists him in his work, thanking them for their constant efforts on our behalf, especially as they prepare for the interregnum, and we thank you, Lord, for your care and compassion. May we seek to do your will as we share our fellowship and the communion with one another and let us be inspired by remembering that, in today’s Gospel, Jesus promised eternal life to those who ate His bread.
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, 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 and that those starting afresh in new schools, colleges and universities may cope well with the transition.
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, mental or physical, 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 Ye holy angels bright NEH 475 – Darwell’s 148th
1. Ye holy angels bright,
who wait at God’s right hand,
or through the realms of light
fly at your Lord’s command,
assist our song,
for else the theme
too high doth seem
for mortal tongue.
2. Ye blessèd souls at rest,
who ran this earthly race
and now, from sin released,
behold your Saviour’s face,
his praises sound,
as in his sight
with sweet delight
ye do abound.
3. Ye saints, who toil below,
adore your heavenly King,
and onward as ye go
some joyful anthem sing;
take what he gives
and praise him still,
through good or ill,
who ever lives!
4. My soul, bear thou thy part,
triumph in God above:
and with a well-tuned heart
sing thou the songs of love!
Let all thy days
till life shall end,
whate’er he send,
be filled with praise!