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Intercessions for 1st Sunday after Trinity (Proper 5) Year B: 7 June 2015

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The Collect

O God, the strength of all those who put their trust in you, mercifully accept our prayers and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without you, grant us the help of your grace, that in the keeping of your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; 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: 1 Samuel 8.4-11(12-15)16-20(11.14-15)

All the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, ‘You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.’ But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to govern us.’ Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. Now then, listen to their voice; only – you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.’ So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, ‘These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plough his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day.’ But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, ‘No! but we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.’ Samuel said to the people, ‘Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingship.’ So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed offerings of well-being before the Lord, and there Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.

 

Psalm 138

Refrain: Your loving-kindness, O Lord, endures for ever.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; *before the gods will I sing praise to you.
I will bow down towards your holy temple and praise your name, because of your love and faithfulness; * for you have glorified your name and your word above all things.
In the day that I called to you, you answered me; * you put new strength in my soul. R
All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord, * for they have heard the words of your mouth.
They shall sing of the ways of the Lord, * that great is the glory of the Lord.
Though the Lord be high, he watches over the lowly; * as for the proud, he regards them from afar. R
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you will preserve me; * you will stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies; your right hand will save me.
The Lord shall make good his purpose for me; * your loving-kindness, O Lord, endures for ever; forsake not the work of your hands.

Refrain: Your loving-kindness, O Lord, endures for ever.

Lord our God, supreme over all things,
look upon the humble and lowly
and put new strength into our souls
to complete your purpose for us
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 4.13-5.1

Just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture – ‘I believed, and so I spoke’ – we also believe, and so we speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.  So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Gospel Reading: Mark 3.20-35

The crowd came together again, so that Jesus and his companions could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’ And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.’ And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’ – for they had said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’ Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, ‘Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.’ And he replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’

At this point, as we return to Ordinary Time, Jane Williams takes the Related readings, whereas I am following the Continuous. The gospel reading is the same, and today her comments are only on the gospel. You can find them here, by searching ‘relentless‘ (p.78). She ends:

relentless

Prayers of Intercession

¶The Church of Christ

Lord, you have warned us that a house divided against itself will not long be able to stand. Help us, we pray, for the Church which is one in the greatness of your love, but divided by the littleness of our own. May we become less preoccupied with those things that divide us, the better to concentrate on those we hold in common. Help us to see ourselves as rays from the one sun, with you our common source of life, and may we transmit your light all over the earth through your heavenly grace.

Lord, without whose help we can do nothing good, in your mercy: hear our prayer

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

Lord of truth and judgment, lead us in freeing our world from the evil that threatens us. At the point of crisis, lend us your discernment that we may see the way that leads to peace. When we are overwhelmed by the growing gulf between rich and poor, the memory of your Son, who lived without material wealth, inspires us with hope that the true strength of the gentle and merciful will overcome the brittle force of the fearful and powerful, and that at the last the unrecognized will indeed inherit the earth. *

Lord, without whose help we can do nothing good, in your mercy: hear our prayer

¶The local community

Lord, we ask you to bless our families, friends and neighbours. Help us in our relationships with them, and fill us, we pray, with love and forgiveness to any who have offended us. May we receive them in love, acknowledging that we too have need of healing and pardon in our turn. Lord of community, whose call is more insistent than ties of family or blood, may we also never neglect our service beyond our own immediate circle to your greater glory.

Lord, without whose help we can do nothing good, in your mercy: hear our prayer

¶Those who suffer

Lord, we pray for all those whom we love who suffer in body, mind or spirit. May their pain be lessened, or may they find the strength to endure. Comfort them with your presence, we pray, and help them to hold fast to that which is good, and not to lose heart.

Lord, without whose help we can do nothing good, in your mercy: hear our prayer

¶The communion of saints

Lord, extend our vision, we pray, so that we may look beyond the immediate to the eternal. We remember before you all those who now see you in that glory which is beyond measure as they join you with the multitudes beyond number.

Lord, without whose help we can do nothing good, in your mercy: hear our prayer

 

Merciful Father, accept these prayers…

*Based partly on Jim Cotter’s mediation on Psalm 138.

 

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 (1st after Trinity) © The Crown/Cambridge University Press: The Book of Common Prayer (1662)

6 comments on this post:

Rob Brown said...
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Thank you Laura for your continuing efforts on this resource, which I find of great inspiration and help for my involvement in intercessions for my local parish church. It is much appreciated.

RB

Lay Anglicana said...
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Many thanks for the encouragement, Rob 🙂

06 June 2015 20:12
06 June 2015 16:53
Catherine Copp said...
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I find them really helpful too (and people often ask me where I get my ideas for intercessions from). Thank you x

Lay Anglicana said...
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My turn to thank you, Catherine – so glad they trigger a response in you 🙂

07 June 2015 08:10
07 June 2015 07:37
Janet HESKINS said...
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Today I am not attending a church but have used today’s Intercessions instead. I have had time to reflect on what is written rather than be carried along in the busyness of service. I am most grateful that this type of service is available. Thank you….

07 June 2015 08:59
Lay Anglicana said...
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Thank-you Janet – I must admit I also use them as a service on the day as most churches now omit the psalm and have only two readings, so I enjoy seeing the links of the whole lectionary.

07 June 2015 10:59

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