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Intercessions for Trinity + 20 – Proper 24 -Year B- 18 October 2015

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The Collect

God, the giver of life, whose Holy Spirit wells up within your Church: by the Spirit’s gifts equip us to live the gospel of Christ and make us eager to do your will, that we may share with the whole creation the joys of eternal life; 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: Job 38.1-7(34-41)

The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. ‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements – surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? ‘Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that a flood of waters may cover you? Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go and say to you, “Here we are”? Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind? Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cling together? ‘Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, when they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in their covert? Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?

 

Psalm 104.1-10,24,35c

Bless the Lord, O my soul. * O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness!
You are clothed with majesty and honour, * wrapped in light as in a garment.
You spread out the heavens like a curtain * and lay the beams of your dwelling place in the waters above.
You make the clouds your chariot * and ride on the wings of the wind.
You make the winds your messengers * and flames of fire your servants.
You laid the foundations of the earth, * that it never should move at any time.
You covered it with the deep like a garment; * the waters stood high above the hills.
At your rebuke they fled; * at the voice of your thunder they hastened away.
They rose up to the hills and flowed down to the valleys beneath, * to the place which you had appointed for them.
You have set them their bounds that they should not pass, * nor turn again to cover the earth.
The sun rises and they are gone * to lay themselves down in their dens.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; * I will make music to my God while I have my being.

 

Second Reading: Hebrews 5.1-10

Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this honour, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’; as he says also in another place, ‘You are a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchizedek.’ In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

 

Gospel Reading: Mark 10.35-45

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Jesus and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’ And he said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ They replied, ‘We are able.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.’ When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, ‘You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’

 


This is one of those weeks when the rubric for the lectionary ties itself into knots, viz: “18 October Festival of Luke the Evangelist. Red. 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).” Well, I’m sorry, St Luke, but we will have to wait until 2016 (if I am spared) to get around to intercessions in your honour. To keep the flow of readings in Mark, and because The Preachers’ Handbook says that verse 45 in the gospel passage is ‘the most important in the whole of Mark’, Lay Anglicana is treating this Sunday as Proper 24, the 20th Sunday after Trinity in Year B. It is also Laity Sunday, if you happen to be a Methodist. And as the following asks: ‘How far do our church structures mirror the picture in vv 43-44?’

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Prayers of Intercession

Let us pray to the Father, through his Son, as his loving servants.

¶The Church of Christ

King of kings, Lord of lords, whom we are joined together to serve, teach us also to serve one another in your name. For whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. As we are the Body of Christ, may we be mindful that every member is a part of the whole, needed by us all, and they also serve who only stand and wait.

Lord, whom to serve is perfect freedom: in your mercy, hear our prayer

 

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

Lord, the beauty that is in you, and of you, and from you, is beyond all our imagining. Your truth shines like a beacon to shed light on our journey. Your power is beyond our imagining. Show us your glory, we pray, in so far as we can grasp it, and shield us from eating more of the tree of knowledge that we can bear until we are able at the last to gaze upon you without fear.

Lord, whom to serve is perfect freedom: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶The local community

Lord, in our homes and at our places of work, let us not take pleasure and find glory in the power we have over each other. For the strongest may become weak over time, and we achieve most when we share the weight of authority amongst us, so that each may be empowered in your name.

Lord, whom to serve is perfect freedom: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶Those who suffer

Lord of all, knowing the intricacies and intimacy of all that is created, we remember before you those who live with painful memories and challenging perceptions in this world. We remember those in hospital and community care against their will and those who struggle to find meaning in life. Help those of us who do not struggle with their own mental health to be without fear of difference: help those who do so struggle to become strong enough to ask others for support. Lord, hold us all close in your care.*

Lord, whom to serve is perfect freedom: in your mercy, hear our prayer

¶The communion of saints

Lord, you have told us that you are preparing a place for us: prepare also us, we pray, so that where you are we may be always, O Lord of life and death. We bring before you……………………………………. Comfort those who mourn their departing, and may they rest in peace and rise in glory.

 

Merciful Father, accept these prayers……

* Based on a prayer by the Revd Jane Wallman-Girdlestone

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
whose Son, the light unfailing,
has come from heaven to deliver the world
from the darkness of ignorance:
let these holy mysteries open the eyes of our understanding
that we may know the way of life,
and walk in it without stumbling;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

 

Copyright acknowledgement (where not already indicated above): Mark 10.35-45 © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Pub. Hodder & Stoughton Post Communion (20th after Trinity) © 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

 

 


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