Lay Anglicana, the unofficial voice of the laity throughout the Anglican Communion.
This is the place to share news and views from the pews.

Get involved ...

Intercessions for Pentecost Year B: 24 May 2015

Hosios_Loukas_Katholikon_(sanctuary_vault)_-_Pentecost_-_detail_01_Glossai

Pentecost Mosaic in Hosios Loukas via Wikimedia under CCL

The Collect

God, who as at this time taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, 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: Acts 2.1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs – in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’ But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Psalm 104.26-36,37b

O Lord, how manifold are your works! * In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
There is the sea, spread far and wide, * and there move creatures beyond number, both small and great.
There go the ships, and there is that Leviathan * which you have made to play in the deep.
All of these look to you * to give them their food in due season.
When you give it them, they gather it; * you open your hand and they are filled with good.
When you hide your face they are troubled; * when you take away their breath, they die and return again to the dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created, * and you renew the face of the earth.
May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; * may the Lord rejoice in his works;
He looks on the earth and it trembles; * he touches the mountains and they smoke.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; * I will make music to my God while I have my being.
So shall my song please him* while I rejoice in the Lord.

Bless the Lord, O my soul. Alleluia.

Second Reading: Romans 8.22-27

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Gospel Reading: John 15.26-27; 16.4b-15

Jesus spoke to his disciples: ‘When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. ‘I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, “Where are you going?” But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgement, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.’


 

Jane Williams has a good account of some of the complexities of the Pentecost, which you can read here on page 70 by searching ‘soppy’. The RSCM has: “There’s a sound like wind, but  no movement of the air. There is something that looks like flames, but no one is burned. Nothing is what it seems. The disciples appear drunk, but are stone cold sober. The crowd look like a disparate gathering of ‘every nation under heaven’, but they have the potential under the creative work of the Holy Spirit to become united in the body of Christ. They only have to hear and see (understand) Peter’s message for themselves.”

 

Prayers of Intercession

In the power of the Holy Spirit, which we have received through grace, let us pray; and may our prayers be worthy of that grace:

¶The Church of Christ

Lord of light, enlighten us. Lord of warmth and love, evermore enkindle us. Lord and giver of life, evermore live in us. Lord who bestows grace on us sevenfold, evermore replenish us. As the wind is your symbol, so breathe your inspiration on our endeavours. As the dove, launch us heavenwards. As you are water, so purify our souls. As a cloud, veil our temptations and lessen them. As you are dew, revive us when we tire. And as you are fire, purge from us our dross. *

Lord, pour out your Spirit upon us: in your mercy, hear our prayer

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

Lord, you know better than do we the challenges that face us in caring for your creation. Sometimes these problems seem overwhelmingly complex, and solutions hard to find. Come, Holy Spirit. Sometimes we can almost hear the earth groaning under the onslaught. Come, Holy Spirit, come to lead us, come to guide us, so that we may work through your power and rest in your presence.

Lord, pour out your Spirit upon us: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶The local community

Lord, fill our homes and our hearts with the warmth of your love. Breathe on us and inspire us with new ideas and new possibilities, as well as enabling us to see the comfortable and familiar in a new light. Guide us in our relationships with each other, and draw us together to serve you in love and joy.

Lord, pour out your Spirit upon us: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶Those who suffer

Lord, we pray for those who suffer in mind, body or spirit. For those who can see only the dark corners, even on the brightest day. For those who fear lurking dangers on every side. For those who have lost confidence in their ability to deal with what the day may bring. For those whose pain is unremitting. For those whose inner light seems about to be extinguished. Comfort them all, we pray, with the promise of your healing presence.

Lord, pour out your Spirit upon us: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶The communion of saints

Lord, we pray for those who now rejoice in the perfect knowledge and unclouded vision of your nearer presence. May we who now know and worship you imperfectly in this world come at last into that same eternal light..

Merciful Father, accept these prayers….

Prayer after Communion

Faithful God,
who fulfilled the promises of Easter
by sending us your Holy Spirit
and opening to every race and nation
the way of life eternal:
open our lips by your Spirit,
that every tongue may tell of your glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

* This prayer is based on the Pentecost prayer ‘Be The Power Of All Things Within Us‘ by Christina Rossetti (1830-94) (quoted in The Lion Book of Christian Poetry)

Copyright acknowledgement (where not already indicated above): Post Communion (Day of Pentecost) © 1985 Anglican Church of Canada: The Book of Alternative Services 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 Blessing (Day after Ascension Day until Pentecost; Guidance) © The Archbishops’ Council Collect (Pentecost) © The Crown/Cambridge University Press: The Book of Common Prayer (1662)

1 comment on this post:

Joyce Hackney said...
avatar

Thank you, Laura. I’ve ordered the book : it looks very handy. What is it that CofE publishers seem to have against Kindle ? Has the CofE got massive portfolios in paper and printer’s ink, or what ?

20 May 2015 00:18

Leave a Reply

We rely on donations to keep this website running.