The Collect

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified: hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people, that in their vocation and ministry they may serve you in holiness and truth to the glory of your name; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 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: Genesis 28.10-19a

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel.

Psalm 139.1-11,23-24

Lord, you have searched me out and known me; * you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
You mark out my journeys and my resting place * and are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue, * but you, O Lord, know it altogether.
You encompass me behind and before * and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, * so high that I cannot attain it.
Where can I go then from your spirit? * Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I climb up to heaven, you are there; * if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
If I take the wings of the morning * and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there your hand shall lead me, * your right hand hold me fast.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will cover me * and the light around me turn to night,’
Even darkness is no darkness with you; the night is as clear as the day; * darkness and light to you are both alike.
Search me out, O God, and know my heart; * try me and examine my thoughts.
See if there is any way of wickedness in me * and lead me in the way everlasting.

Second Reading: Romans 8.12-25

Brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh – for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ – if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 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.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 13.24-30,36-43

Jesus put before the crowd another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’ Then Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!’

On a historic day for the Church of England, when our General Synod approved the raising of women to the episcopate, it is hard not to devote the whole of the intercessions to this topic and its ramifications. However, we have many readers from abroad who are not directly affected, so I have avoided any specific mention of our news in the prayers. Nevertheless, as so often happens, the lectionary chimes with what is in the hearts of many of us. First of all, Jacob’s ladder dream, which is traditionally taken to mean that our Lord is our means to ascend to heaven (as we recognise every time we end a prayer ‘through Jesus Christ our Lord’). For me, the emphasis is on our pilgrimage, our spiritual journey, ever travelling onward and upwards. And occasionally there is a chink of light, something understood. Prophetically, in 2008, the RSCM commented:

How easy it is to see the chaos and mess around us, in the world but also in the church, and to be tempted to think it’s our responsibility to try and sort it all out. Yes, things go wrong, yes, they are messy, even in the church, but it is God’s responsibility to unravel at the end. We must ‘tend the field’, faithfully doing all that we are called to do, leaving the rest to God, who knows the secrets of all hearts.

Prayers of Intercession

¶The Church of Christ

Lord, we thank you that at times when differences amongst us threaten to tear us asunder, you send a shaft of light, a new way of seeing, even if it is a man who is himself blind that is chosen to teach us how to see.  Through your grace, we each have individual experience of the working of the Holy Spirit: now help us to see the spirit working among us collectively as the Body of Christ, even if it is those with whom we disagree on doctrine who today seem to have advanced their own cause. Pour on us, we pray, your charity so that we may learn to appreciate and work in harmony with all our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Lord, through your Son you have shown us the way, the truth and the life: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

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

Lord, you are working your purpose out, as year succeeds to year. Give us, we pray, a deep sense of the way your providence unfolds, its ebb and its flow. Take from us all sense of urgency or haste, keeping us conscious that our timescale is not the same as the timescale of eternity. You, who are the keeper of celestial time, help us attune ourselves to the pulse of your grace and the season of your spirit, rather than our own impatient desires and plans for the universe. Reconcile us to the present moment, and the slow but certain dawning of your future.

Lord, through your Son you have shown us the way, the truth and the life: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

¶The local community

Lord, we love our friends, even though they may have faults, and they love us despite ours. But you have set us to live amongst people who do not necessarily think like us, or share the same tastes or ideas about life. And they may not like us. But you have told us so many times, in so many ways, that it is in caring for these people that we can best serve you. Lord, help us to build bridges to the different. And if we have to agree to disagree, then let us do so in love.

Lord, through your Son you have shown us the way, the truth and the life: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

¶Those who suffer

Lord of life, we ask for a gift we never want to need: the gift of courage. We pray for it for ourselves, as we look towards an unknown future. We pray for those who will need it this day, those who face the prospect of physical or mental pain. Give us eyes to see beauty, dignity and grace in the bravery of others. Bless us with the courage of Gethsemane, and bind us in the fellowship of those who take the cup of necessary suffering and drink from it.  *

Lord, through your Son you have shown us the way, the truth and the life: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

¶The communion of saints

Lord, give us ears to hear, wills to listen, and minds to comprehend the message of immortality for the children of your kingdom, that we may look forward with patient confidence to entering at the last into your glorious liberty.

Lord, through your Son you have shown us the way, the truth and the life: in your mercy, hear our prayer.

* Based on the prayer ‘Courage‘ by Stephen Cherry

Copyright acknowledgement (where not already indicated above): Genesis 28.10-19a © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Pub. Hodder & Stoughton 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 Crown/Cambridge University Press: The Book of Common Prayer (1662)