The Collect

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us your gift of faith that, forsaking what lies behind and reaching out to that which is before, we may run the way of your commandments and win the crown of everlasting joy; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

¶ The Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Jeremiah 32.1-3a,6-15

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah, where King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him.  Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came to me: Hanamel son of your uncle Shallum is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’ Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.‘ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord. And I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy; and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. In their presence I charged Baruch, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.

Psalm 91.1-6,14-16

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High *and abides under the shadow of the Almighty,
Shall say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my stronghold, *my God, in whom I put my trust.’
For he shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler *and from the deadly pestilence.
He shall cover you with his wings and you shall be safe under his feathers; *his faithfulness shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of any terror by night, * nor of the arrow that flies by day;
Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, * nor of the sickness that destroys at noonday.
Because they have set their love upon me, therefore will I deliver them; *I will lift them up, because they know my name.
They will call upon me and I will answer them; * I am with them in trouble, I will deliver them and bring them to honour.
With long life will I satisfy them * and show them my salvation.

 

Second Reading: 1 Timothy 6.6-19

There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time – he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.  As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

Gospel Reading: Luke 16.19-31

Jesus told this parable to those among the Pharisees who loved money: ‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.” But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” The man who had been rich said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house – for I have five brothers – that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Abraham said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”’

 

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Prayers of Intercession

Jane Williams says about today’s readings:

There have always been Christians who see success and material comfort as rewards from God, and clearly this congregation is no exception. The writer does not urge them to give up all their wealth, but to remember where it belongs and what it is worth…Every time you make a decision about how to spend, how to live, imagine your actions weighed up…’by the only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords’… The problem with riches is that it is hard to remember how dangerous they are. Insidiously they get into our systems and make us dependent on them. Perhaps money should have a kind of Christian equivalent of a government health warning stamped upon it. But we already have ‘Moses and the prophets’ to warn us.

¶The Church of Christ

Lord, teach us as a Church to travel light. On our collective pilgrimage towards your heavenly kingdom, let us use the Church’s money and possessions to serve you, and may we not become weighed down with the mundane concerns of bricks and mortar, necessary though they may be. May we draw comfort from the thought that we are not alone, but travelling the same road as our Christian brothers and sisters. Help the Church as a whole, as well as its individual members, to share what we have with others the world over in love, and to store up for ourselves and the Church treasure in heaven.

Lord, teach us to distinguish between the solid gold of your heavenly treasure and the tawdry shininess of worldly wealth: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

¶Creation, human society, the Sovereign and those in authority

Lord, you asked for our hands: we gave them for a moment, then withdrew them, for the work was hard. You asked for our mouths to speak out against injustice: we gave you a whisper that we might not be accused. You asked for our eyes to see the pain of poverty: we closed them for we did not want to see. You asked for our lives, that you might work through us: we gave a small part, that we might not get too involved. Lord, forgive our calculated efforts to serve you only when it is convenient for us to do so, only in those places where it is safe to do so, and only with those who make it easy to do so. Forgive us, renew us, and send us out as usable instruments in your name.

Lord, teach us to distinguish between the solid gold of your heavenly treasure and the tawdry shininess of worldly wealth: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

¶The local community

Lord, the source of our common life, when we are divided and alone, we long for community. With those we live beside, whom we may be afraid to approach yet who have riches of friendship to share, we long for community. With those whom we have only heard of and who see with different eyes, whose struggles we try to imagine, we long for community. With those we shall never know, but whose lives are linked with ours, whose shared ground we stand on and whose common air we breathe, we long for community. When we are dry and scattered, when we are divided and alone, breathe on us O Lord that we may joyfully stand together and celebrate your name.

Lord, teach us to distinguish between the solid gold of your heavenly treasure and the tawdry shininess of worldly wealth: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

¶Those who suffer

Lord, we pray for those whose acquaintance with grief is greater than they feel able to bear. Teach us all to trust where we cannot see, walking in the light we have: your light which illumines our path and shows us the way. Help us to cling to the knowledge that you will never abandon us, and that even in the valley of the shadow of death, your rod and your staff will be there to comfort us.

Lord, teach us to distinguish between the solid gold of your heavenly treasure and the tawdry shininess of worldly wealth: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

¶The communion of saints

Lord, open our eyes beyond the puzzling reflections in the mirror of this life so that we may see the wide open spaces of promised freedom, may glimpse the communion of saints, and brush the wings of angels. May we recognise for a moment the glory of the universe, where darkness and doubt dissolve, where the gash of a wound shines.  Then shall we know as we are known, and  shall feast at that table where you reign with all your saints, for ever and ever.

Lord, teach us to distinguish between the solid gold of your heavenly treasure and the tawdry shininess of worldly wealth: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

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Grateful acknowledgement for today’s illustration, which is Angel by Christine Hales via Veritasse. It illustrates today’s psalm: “The verse on the back of the greetings card reads, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Psalm 91 : 11″

Today is the Feast of St Michael and All Angels.  In a splendid example of Anglican drafting, Visual Liturgy says: “Not usually displaced.  If falling on a Sunday, may be kept on that Sunday or transferred to the Monday (or, at the discretion of the minister, to the next suitable weekday).” Despite “not usually displaced”, it is the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity which is in bold type, and I am therefore using the readings for this Sunday accordingly. I apologise if you are wrestling with dragons instead, and hope you will be able to intercede accordingly without too much difficulty. But if not, Visual Liturgy offers the following:

Prayers of Intercession

In the power of the Spirit,
and in union with Christ,
let us pray to the Father.

Father in heaven,
by his blood your Christ has ransomed us to you,
and has made us a kingdom and priests to you our God.
As the angels minister to you in heaven,
strengthen your Church to serve you here on earth.
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us.

Father in heaven,
when the angels greeted the birth of your Son
they sang for joy ‘Glory to God and peace on earth’.
Bless with Christ’s peace the nations of the world.
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us.

Father in heaven,
your Son has promised to your children
the care of the guardian angels who look upon your face.
Protect by your mercy our neighbours, families and friends.
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us.

Father in heaven,
you give your angels charge over those who trust in you
to guard them in all their ways.
Be with those in trouble … ,
rescue them and show them your salvation.
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us.

Father in heaven,
your angel declares ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.’
‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit,
‘for they may rest from their labours,
for they take with them the record of their deeds.’
Enfold in your love […  and] all who come in faith
to your judgement seat in heaven.
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us.

Father in heaven,
the angels sing by day and night around your throne:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty.’
With Michael, prince of the angels, who contends by our side,
with Gabriel, your herald, who brings glad tidings,
with Raphael, the protector, who ministers your healing,
and with the whole company of heaven,
we worship you, we give you glory,
we sing your praise and exalt you for ever.
Amen.