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Intercessions for Sunday before Advent 2012 (Year B): Christ the King

 

The Collect

Eternal Father, whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven that he might rule over all things as Lord and King: keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit and in the bond of peace, and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet…

Daniel 7.9-10,13-14

As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne…I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.

Psalm 93

Refrain: The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.
The Lord is king and has put on glorious apparel; the Lord has put on his glory and girded himself with strength.
He has made the whole world so sure that it cannot be moved.
Your throne has been established from of old; you are from everlasting…

Revelation 1.4b-8

…Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

John 18.33-37

Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus answered…‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’

As you see, this is not a week in which we are in any uncertainty over the theme. The question is how to do it justice, particularly in a week in which the Church has never felt so divided or ill at ease with itself. Perhaps the message is to remember why we have a Church at all – to glorify God.

The Church of Christ

Lord, the strength of those that trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, give us courage to stand for the truth, courage to proclaim the gospel and courage to persevere in times of trouble. Give us minds to know what is good and true, wills to be faithful to you, and hearts to love and serve you. We ask you to guide our new Archbishop of Canterbury as he seeks to reconcile the different wings of the Church, and to give wisdom to our bishops. We ask you to inspire our clergy, and  give to our laity the strength to persevere.

King of kings, and Lord of lords, in your mercy hear our prayer.

Creation, human society, the Sovereign and those in authority

Lord, who holds the universe within your hands and us within your care, all true authority is yours. You touch the hearts of rich and poor alike. You speak to the powerful and the powerless. The rulers and the ruled are all within your family. May all in authority recognise afresh that yours is the final power. Somewhere in the circle of our lives each of us holds influence and power: may pride be reduced, compassion increased and the good of all become our common aim.

King of kings, and Lord of lords, in your mercy hear our prayer.

The local community

Lord, we ask you to increase the sense of community that binds us to one another. Bless the work of our local church so that it may give a sense of identity and create a place of belonging where people know that they are welcomed, remembered by name and valued as individuals as together we celebrate a faith that promises us that we are forgiven and gathered again into the life of the Risen Christ.

King of kings, and Lord of lords, in your mercy hear our prayer.

Those who suffer

Lord, set at rest the crowded, hurrying thoughts within our minds and hearts. Let the peace and quiet of your presence take possession of us. Help us to rest in your presence, and become open and receptive to you. You know the hidden unconscious life within us, the forgotten memories of hurts and fears, the frustrated desires, the unresolved tensions and dilemmas. Cleanse and sweeten the springs of our being so that freedom, life and love may flow into both our conscious and hidden life. Lord, we lie open before you, waiting for your healing, your peace and your word.

King of kings, and Lord of lords, in your mercy hear our prayer.

The communion of saints

Lord, who reigns omnipotent where the kingdom of this world  is become your kingdom, and Christ shall reign for ever and ever, may light perpetual shine upon those whom we love but see no more.

King of kings, and Lord of lords, in your mercy hear our prayer.

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The illustration is  Christ in Majesty by: SPCK – David Stancliffe author: David Stancliffe   The West portal of the Abbey of Ste Foy at Conques: Christ in Majesty via Seedresources.com (formerly Twelve Baskets)

The prayers today are all adapted from prayers in Mary Batchelor’s ‘The Lion Prayers Collection’.

3 comments on this post:

Charley Farns-Barns said...
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Ah! The Hallelujah Chorus!

But dear Laura,they all look a bit fat, don’t you think? One can’t tell with opera (‘cos they’re all a bit “big” shall we say) but I suspect the picture’s been stretched sideways.

However, a better even more joyful version and far better than that by old ham Andre Wotnot is this
http://youtu.be/SXh7JR9oKVE

Regards, Charley F-B.

Lay Anglicana said...
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Many thanks Charley – different but equal, I think! But I love the flash mob – and did you see it has had over 38 million views? Wow!

22 November 2012 08:51
22 November 2012 07:43
UKViewer said...
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Thanks Laura,

And love the video. Had seen it before, but lovely to be refreshed.

23 November 2012 10:11

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