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Intercessions for 16th Sunday after Trinity (Proper 22 ) Year A – 5 October 2014

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The Collect

O Lord, we beseech you mercifully to hear the prayers of your people who call upon you; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil them; 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: Exodus 20.1-4,7-9,12-20

Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the  Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work. Honour your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the  Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour. When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.’ Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.’

Psalm 19

Refrain: The commandment of the Lord is pure and gives light to the eyes.

The heavens are telling the glory of God *and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. One day pours out its song to another *and one night unfolds knowledge to another.
They have neither speech nor language * and their voices are not heard, Yet their sound has gone out into all lands *and their words to the ends of the world.
In them has he set a tabernacle for the sun, * that comes forth as a bridegroom out of his chamber and rejoices as a champion to run his course.
It goes forth from the end of the heavens and runs to the very end again, * and there is nothing hidden from its heat. R
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; * the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the simple.
The statutes of the Lord are right and rejoice the heart; * the commandment of the Lord is pure and gives light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean and endures for ever; * the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, more than much fine gold, * sweeter also than honey, dripping from the honeycomb.
By them also is your servant taught * and in keeping them there is great reward. R
Who can tell how often they offend? * O cleanse me from my secret faults!
Keep your servant also from presumptuous sins lest they get dominion over me; * so shall I be undefiled, and innocent of great offence.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, * O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Refrain: The commandment of the Lord is pure and gives light to the eyes.

 

Second Reading: Philippians 3.4b-14

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 21.33-46

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: ‘Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes”? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.


Prayers of Intercession

Lord, may the words we speak, the words we write and the thoughts we think all be acceptable to you, O God of our salvation.

¶The Church of Christ

Lord, we know how you yearn and strive to bring harmony out of the discord that threatens our Church. So fill us all with your wisdom, and so move with the wind of your presence among the landscapes and structures that comprise the Body of Christ here on earth that Christian people throughout the world may reflect the wonder of the universe, in the glory of your transfigured Son, at one with you in the cost of creating.

Lord, may the love that moves the stars stir in the depths of our hearts: in your mercy, hear our prayer

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

Lord, the stars in the heavens chant your glory, pulsing their praise across aeons of space. From the radiance of a summer dawn to the sunset of a winter evening, from the darkest of mountain nights to the stillness of moonlit seas, your creation’s praise is never silent, all this without speech or language. Help us to understand that we, too, do not always need a voice to enable you to hear us. Inscribe your commandments on our souls, we pray, and incline our hearts to keep your laws, with all joy and peace in believing.

Lord, may the love that moves the stars stir in the depths of our hearts: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶The local community

Lord, help us to work together for the common good with those we live amongst. As we find ourselves walking alongside those who hear a different drummer and walk to a different beat, help us to adjust our pace to theirs, so that we may become synchronised to walk in step. If we find others who delight in leadership for its own sake, let us press on towards our common goal. If the way seems a struggle, and obstacles never-ending, we pray for your strength to continue upwards along the road.

Lord, may the love that moves the stars stir in the depths of our hearts: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶Those who suffer

Lord of all worlds, look in love upon your people. Pour the healing of your compassion on a world that is wounded. Send us out in search of the lost, to comfort the afflicted, to bind up the broken and to free those trapped under the rubble of their fallen dreams. *

Lord, may the love that moves the stars stir in the depths of our hearts: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶The communion of saints

Lord, be near to those who are dying and make yourself known to them. Give them your peace and take away their fears. Rise in our hearts this day, enfold us in the brightness of your love and bear us at the last to heaven’s horizon; for your love’s sake.

Lord, may the love that moves the stars stir in the depths of our hearts: in your mercy, hear our prayer

*Based on a prayer by Sheila Cassidy

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. Collect (16th after Trinity) © The Crown/Cambridge University Press: The Book of Common Prayer (1662)

 

 

3 comments on this post:

minidvr said...
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Thanks Laura.

02 October 2014 13:16
Ann Roberts said...
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Lovely intercessions,as usual. Thank you.

Lay Anglicana said...
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And thank-you, Ann, it is always lovely to have a response 🙂

05 October 2014 13:58
05 October 2014 05:41

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