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Intercessions for 13th Sunday after Trinity (Year B) 2012: Freedom under God (Series 1)

Note: These are the intercessions for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity Year B for 2012, the first series. The second series begins in August 2015 and you can see the related intercessions for this day here.


 

 

    Now that we are attempting to publish a post every day, we will try to provide a suggested form of intercessions for the coming Sunday every Wednesday evening.

 

 

    As promised, the collective advice from Lay Anglicana will go up tomorrow or the next day (thus just keeping to the deadline of ‘before the end of August’, which turned out to be a busier month than I had anticipated). I will do my share of the weekly intercessions, but I am also hoping that some of the contributors to the collective piece might like to join in on a regular basis?

 

 

    My idea is that those already doing intercessions in their parish church on a particular Sunday might be willing to share these with the Lay Anglicana readership in advance. Please contact me at laurasykes{at}layanglicana{dot}org if you might join us.

 

    To begin with, we will stick to those using the Continuous track in the Church of England lectionary, since this is followed by the majority of our readers (judging by their country of origin).

 

 

 

Lectionary for Proper 17

Song of Solomon 2.8-13, Psalm 45 1-7, James 1.17-27, Mark 7.1-8, 14-15, 21-23

The readings for today are varied, but the thread running through them seems to be about the observance of God’s law. Do we just obey the letter of the law or do we obey the will of God behind them?
Rather than trying to write intercessions about hypocrisy, it is perhaps preferable to concentrate on the idea of obeying God’s law in the first place. There is that difficult phrase in the second collect in Morning Prayer (BCP): ‘whose service is perfect freedom’, which seems a good refrain.

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act – they will be blessed in their doing.

James 1.22-27

Give grace, O Lord, to the Church to be steadfast in faith and  firm in your word. As our Church leaders uphold the Church’s teaching, may they seek continually to discern and rediscover the commandment of God’s Holy Spirit behind the traditions of the Church.

We pray for the church working in areas of hatred, where Christians are facing hostility and violence. Keep your people strong when their discipleship is costly and the burden is heavy.

Lord, whose service is perfect freedom, in your mercy (hear our prayer)

 

Have mercy, O Lord,  on your human creation that does not recognise its true identity. Restore the world to the knowledge of the truth, and lead it out of the slavery of error into the perfect law of liberty.

Visit and relieve all who suffer from cruelty and injustice under evil laws. Through the sufferings of Christ, grant them release and turn the hearts of their persecutors.

We pray for all who are working for liberty and freedom, all who are risking their lives for justice and peace. We pray for all peace-makers and peace-keepers, for all who seek to reconcile divided communities or peoples.

Lord, whose service is perfect freedom, in your mercy (hear our prayer)

 

 

Fill us with praise, O Lord,  for the good gifts that you have given to us in families and friendships. Give us grace to use them in your service for the good of others and make us a generous people, a hospitable people, as we open our hearts to our community in your name.

Lord, we pray that we may never take anyone for granted, and that we may never misuse the power and freedom that we have.

We remember the world’s poor, all who have nothing to call their own and whose liberty is circumscribed by their poverty.

Lord, whose service is perfect freedom, in your mercy (hear our prayer)

 

Bless our loved ones departed who are renewed and restored to the fullness of life and are inheritors with the saints in light; may we share with them in the glory that is to come.

Lord, whose service is perfect freedom, in your mercy (hear our prayer)

 

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Once again,  I acknowledge my debt to two books: ‘Leading Intercessions’ by Raymond Chapman and ‘Traces of Glory’ by David Adam.

3 comments on this post:

UKViewer said...
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Thanks Laura,

I must admit that although I’ve got books on intercessions, I normally write them from scratch. Perhaps I need to do some relying on stuff already out there as guidance.

29 August 2012 17:50
JACKIE HESKETH said...
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Thank you so much. My husband & I used your intercessions as a basis for ours (with adaptations) at Parish Communion this morning & they fitted the Vicar’s sermon perfectly.

Jackie

Lay Anglicana said...
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Jackie, thank-you very much for this comment. It is exactly what I hoped, that it would give people something to work with. Having worked as a civil servant for some years, I know it is always easier to work from someone else’s draft!
I am hoping to put these up every Wednesday evening, sometimes from me, and sometimes from other contributors. Hope to see you again?

02 September 2012 16:36
02 September 2012 15:04

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