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Intercessions for 4th Sunday before Advent Year A: 2 November 2014

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The Collect

Almighty and eternal God, you have kindled the flame of love in the hearts of the saints: grant to us the same faith and power of love, that, as we rejoice in their triumphs, we may be sustained by their example and fellowship; 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: Micah 3.5-12

Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray,  who cry ‘Peace’  when they have something to eat,  but declare war against those  who put nothing into their mouths. Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without revelation. The sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them; the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God. But as for me, I am filled with power, with the spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob and chiefs of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all equity, who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrong! Its rulers give judgement for a bribe, its priests teach for a price, its prophets give oracles for money; yet they lean upon the Lord and say, ‘Surely the Lord is with us! No harm shall come upon us.’ Therefore because of you Zion shall be ploughed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

Psalm 43

Give judgement for me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people; * deliver me from the deceitful and the wicked.
For you are the God of my refuge; why have you cast me from you, * and why go I so heavily, while the enemy oppresses me?
O send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, * and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling,
That I may go to the altar of God, to the God of my joy and gladness; * and on the lyre I will give thanks to you, O God my God.
Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul, * and why are you so disquieted within me?
O put your trust in God; *for I will yet give him thanks, who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

Come, creator Spirit, light and truth;
bring us to the altar of life
and renew our joy and gladness
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2.9-13

You remember our labour and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was towards you believers. As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 24.1-14

As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. Then he asked them, ‘You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’ When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am the Messiah!” and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs. Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.’

Prayers of Intercession

{These intercessions are suggested by Visual Liturgy}
We pray for the coming of God’s kingdom.

You sent your Son to bring good news to the poor, sight to the blind, freedom to captives and salvation to your people: anoint us with your Spirit; rouse us to work in his name.
Father, by your Spirit bring in your kingdom.

Send us to bring help to the poor and freedom to the oppressed.
Father, by your Spirit bring in your kingdom.

Send us to tell the world the good news of your healing love.
Father, by your Spirit bring in your kingdom.

Send us to those who mourn, to bring joy and gladness instead of grief.
Father, by your Spirit bring in your kingdom.

Send us to proclaim that the time is here for you to save your people.
Father, by your Spirit bring in your kingdom.

Lord of the Church, hear our prayer, and make us one in mind and heart
to serve you in Christ our Lord. Amen.


Let us pray in Christ’s name to God, the ruler of all, the beginning and the end.

¶The Church of Christ

Lord, sometimes our life together in the Church feels less like being in an impregnable fortress**than it does like being in a small boat swept along the rapids of a turbulent river. Thrown against jagged obstacles that threaten destruction, in fear of disintegration, just at the point where disaster seems inevitable we are thrown from the turmoil into a quiet pool of equilibrium. When currents swirl again, help us to remember that we are profoundly loved and have no reason to fear.

 Lord, send out your light and your truth to lead us and guide us to your holy hill: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

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

Lord, we thank you for the reminder that there can be no coming of the kingdom without renewal of our present society. And renewal means the breaking down of many of our structures, which have come to serve only as shackles. Your warning applies to the end times, but it also means in the here and now: help us to look hard at our systems and our presumptions and test them against the promptings of your Holy Spirit.

 Lord, send out your light and your truth to lead us and guide us to your holy hill: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

¶The local community

Lord, in our own communities save us from ossification, Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones. Help us to keep supple and flexible, while being robust enough to stand firm through the storms of life. Let us keep the goal constantly before us and resolve once more to love you with all our hearts, our minds and our souls, and our neighbours as ourselves.

 Lord, send out your light and your truth to lead us and guide us to your holy hill: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

¶Those who suffer

Lord, sometimes our souls are weighed down with heaviness, and full of rebellion within. All the waves and torrents of this life have washed over us.  At times it seems as though we may drown in a pool of tears of our own making. Nowhere can we see a place to stand firm. Help us to wait patiently for the dawn as we put our trust in you. Renew in us the spirit of hope and the expectancy that, even when every door is apparently closed, you will surprise us with joy. *

 Lord, send out your light and your truth to lead us and guide us to your holy hill: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

¶The communion of saints

Lord, we bring before you those whom we love but see no longer. Freed from the vicissitudes of this world, we pray that they may dwell in that house where there is neither darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light; no noise nor silence, but one equal music; no fears nor hopes, but one equal possession; no ends nor beginnings, but one equal eternity; world without end

  Lord, send out your light and your truth to lead us and guide us to your holy hill: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 


*Based on Jim Cotter’s mediation on Psalm 43 in ‘Out of the Silence’

** ‘A mighty fortress is our God‘, sang Luther and his followers, ‘a bulwark never failing’.

Copyright acknowledgement : Collect (4th before Advent) © 1980, 1986 Mowbray, a Cassell Imprint: Prayers for the Alternative Services comp. David Silk 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 Some material included in this service is copyright: © The Archbishops’ Council 2002

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