Land’s End Benefice 2020 Ordinary Time Eucharist
Sunday 23rd August 2020
Please join in with the words in bold. The bold with underlining is to mark the sections. You may remain seated throughout or sit or kneel or stand when we usually do so in church.
The Eucharist
The Greeting / Prayer of Preparation
The president greets the people
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. and also with you.
Lord, speak to us that we may hear your word.
Move among us that we may behold your glory.
Receive our prayers that we may learn to trust you. Amen.
Invitation to Confession
God be gracious to us and bless us,
and make your face shine upon us:
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
May your ways be known on the earth,
your saving power among the nations:
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
You, Lord, have made known your salvation,
and reveal your justice in the sight of the nations:
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus 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.
Psalm
Psalm 138 we stand and say the underlined verses together
Refrain: Your loving-kindness, O Lord, endures for ever.
1 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; ♦
before the gods will I sing praise to you.
2 I will bow down towards your holy temple and praise your name, because of your love and faithfulness; ♦ for you have glorified your name and your word above all things.
3 In the day that I called to you, you answered me; ♦
you put new strength in my soul. R
Refrain: Your loving-kindness, O Lord, endures for ever.
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord, ♦
for they have heard the words of your mouth.
5 They shall sing of the ways of the Lord, ♦
that great is the glory of the Lord.
6 Though the Lord be high, he watches over the lowly; ♦
as for the proud, he regards them from afar. R
Refrain: Your loving-kindness, O Lord, endures for ever.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you will preserve me; ♦
you will stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies; your right hand will save me.
8 The Lord shall make good his purpose for me; ♦ your loving-kindness, O Lord, endures for ever; forsake not the work of your hands.
Refrain: Your loving-kindness, O Lord, endures for ever.
Lord our God, supreme over all things, look upon the humble and lowly and put new strength into our souls to complete your purpose for us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel Reading
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Romans (12.1-8) Glory to you, O Lord.
1I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
At the end the reader may say
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Reflection
“1Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” This phrase in Paul’s letter to the Romans so well known. When we read this does it make you feel like you need to check out how you are physically? Present your bodies … not so much are you beach ready but are you ready for God to use you? What might it mean for us to see ourselves as a living sacrifice? Do we need to join a gym and watch what we eat and drink?! No there is something that may help further in the text.
“4As in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function.” Paul goes on to tell us that we are a community of bodies all of whom can be offered to God as his means of ministry in the world today, and that we CAN all be different, and we ALL have different gifts too.
Henri Nowen writes this: We Are Called To Be Fruitful
You have to be really aware of the difference between fruitfulness and success because the world is always talking to you about your success. Society keeps asking you: “Show me your trophies. Show me, how many books have you written? Show me, how many games did you win? Show me, how much money did you make? Show me. . . .” And there is nothing wrong with any of that. I am saying that finally that’s not the question. The question is: “Are you going to bear fruit?” And the amazing thing is that our fruitfulness comes out of our vulnerability and not just out of our power. Actually it comes out of our powerlessness. If the ground wants to be fruitful, you have to break it open a little bit.
The hard ground cannot bear fruit; it has to be raked open. And the mystery is that our illness and our weakness and our many ways of dying are often the ways that we get in touch with our vulnerabilities. You and I have to trust that they will allow us to be more fruitful if lived faithfully. Precisely where we are weakest and often most broken and most needy, precisely there can be the ground of our fruitfulness. That is the vision that means that death can indeed be the final healing—because it becomes the way to be so vulnerable that we can bear fruit in a whole new way. Like trees that die and become fuel, and like leaves that die and become fertilizer, in nature something new comes out from death all the time. So you have to realize that you are part of that beautiful process, that your death is not the end but in fact it is the source of your fruitfulness beyond you in new generations, in new centuries.
Henri Nouwen reminds us that to be a living sacrifice all we need to do is offer all ourselves to God. We don’t have to have an amazing ministry of pray or to be the best musician or the most fabulous host. We just need to take who we are and allow God to work through us, and with us to bring his kingdom closer. Giving ourselves to God is how he plants the seeds for his kingdom, giving ourselves to God is accepting who we are and what are the fabulous shiny parts of us, and what are the murky challenges of being us, and knowing that God knows them all, and loves us in all of who we are right now. And our power to be of use to God is not only in this life, but beyond into our death as well.
Present yourself, not buffed and powdered, not spray tanned and lean bodies, but present yourself for who you are, what you are, and our God of love’s heart will leap for joy in receiving the best gift you can ever offer.
Creed we stand
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Prayers by Carrie Snaden we sit or kneel to pray:
Everlasting God, we thank You for the gift of Your Son Jesus Christ and for revealing him as Messiah and Saviour of the World. We pray that we learn not to conform to the pattern of this world but to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to You our Lord in true and proper worship. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Holy God, we pray for Your church and ask that it might always provide a solid foundation upon which we can anchor our lives. We especially pray for Christians who pay a heavy price for their faith; who daily experience hostility, from their governments, employers and neighbours, as a result of their identification with Christ. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Father God, help us be reliable and honest in what we do, and friendly to all we meet in our daily lives. Help us always to give our best, to work to our fullest and never be ashamed to confess your name. Help us to cheerfully use our God-given gifts whether they be prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading or being merciful. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Gracious God, we pray for the ill, the lonely and distressed especially those tormented by fear arising from the Global Pandemic. We pray for healing and wholeness in their lives and we pray for ourselves. Help us to bring life and love, joy and hope, to those who live in despair and give help to all those treating the effects of Covid-19 and those working to find a cure. (add names of those requesting prayers) Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Merciful God, remember the souls of your servants now fallen asleep and for those who are saddened by their passing. Be with the bereaved in their loneliness and give them the faith to look beyond their present troubles to Your Son Jesus Christ who died and rose again and who lives forevermore. (add names of the recently departed or on Anniversary list) Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Faithful God, forgive us when we only turn to You when things trouble us and when we forget to thank You for Your blessings and bounty. Help us to recognise all the wonderful things in Your world for which we should be grateful and send us out into the coming week ready to show our gratitude in all that we do and say. Release the gifts You have given to each one, so that in us and through us, Your kingdom might come and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Merciful Father: Accept these prayers for the sake of Your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
concluding with:
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever Amen.
The Peace
Words of introduction to the peace are used concluding with:
The peace of the Lord be always with you
And also with you.
A prayer is said over the bread and wine
Blessed be God, by whose grace creation is renewed,
by whose love heaven is opened,
by whose mercy we offer our sacrifice of praise.
Blessed be God for ever.
The Eucharistic Prayer
The Lord is here His Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.
It is always right to give you thanks, God our Creator, loving and faithful, holy and strong. You made us and the whole universe, and filled your world with life.
You sent your Son to live among us, Jesus our Saviour, Mary’s child. He suffered on the cross; he died to save us from our sins; he rose in glory from the dead.
You send your Spirit to bring new life to the world and clothe us with power from on high. And so we join the angels to celebrate and say:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Father, on the night before he died, Jesus shared a meal with his friends. He took the bread, and thanked you. He broke it, and gave it to them, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this to remember me.
After the meal, Jesus took the cup of wine. He thanked you, and gave it to them, saying: Drink this, all of you. This is my blood, the new promise of God’s unfailing love. Do this to remember me.
Great is the mystery of faith
Jesus Christ has died. Jesus Christ is risen.
Jesus Christ will come again.
Father, as we bring this bread and wine, and remember his death and resurrection, send your Holy Spirit, that we who share these gifts may be fed by Christ’s body and his blood.
Pour your Spirit on us that we may love one another, work for the healing of the earth, and share the good news of Jesus, as we wait for his coming in glory. For honour and praise belong to you, Father, with Jesus your Son, and the Holy Spirit: one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Breaking of the Bread
We break the bread of life, and that life is the light of the world.
God here among us, light in the midst of us,
bring us to light and life.
Giving of Communion
Christ is the true bread which has come down from heaven.
Lord, give us this bread always.
St. Alphonsus Liguori in the 18th century:
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
The priest receives the bread and wine on behalf of the community
Final Prayer and Blessing
God of power, may the boldness of your Spirit transform us, may the gentleness of your Spirit lead us, may the gifts of your Spirit equip us to serve and worship you now and always. Amen.
Draw your Church together, O God, into one great company of disciples, together following our Lord Jesus Christ into every walk of life, together serving him in his mission to the world, and together witnessing to his love on every continent and island, and may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among us and remain with us always. Amen.
Go in the peace of Christ.
Thanks be to God.
A suitable blessing is given, and usually concludes with:
… and may the blessing of almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
Live in the peace of Christ.
Thanks be to God.
Lord our God,
Amid the uncertainties of our human life,
May we pause and draw strength from you,
Trusting in your faithful love,
We ask through Jesus, your Son our Lord. Amen
The Celtic Primer
Copyright acknowledgement (where not already indicated above):
Some material included in this service is copyright: © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ, USA
Some material included in this service is copyright: © The Archbishops’ Council 2000