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:  Jeremiah 29.1,4-7

These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Psalm 66.1-11

Be joyful in God, all the earth; *sing the glory of his name; sing the glory of his praise.
Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! *Because of your great strength your enemies shall bow before you.
‘All the earth shall worship you, *sing to you, sing praise to your name.’
Come now and behold the works of God, *how wonderful he is in his dealings with humankind.
He turned the sea into dry land; the river they passed through on foot; *there we rejoiced in him.
In his might he rules for ever; his eyes keep watch over the nations; * let no rebel rise up against him.
Bless our God, O you peoples; *make the voice of his praise to be heard,
Who holds our souls in life *and suffers not our feet to slip.
For you, O God, have proved us; *you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the snare; * you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.
You let enemies ride over our heads; we went through fire and water; * but you brought us out into a place of liberty.

Second Reading: 2 Timothy 2.8-15

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David – that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself. Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

Gospel Reading: Luke 17.11-19

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him – and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no-one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

This week’s theme is, I think, well encapsulated by the Collect – when we are lucky enough to sense the Holy Spirit well up within ourselves and our Church, let us make the most of the moment, take joy in creation, and use the energy to do what we know to be God’s will for us, and mankind. And, since through grace we experience these moments, and this energy, let us praise God and thank him.

Prayers of Intercession

As our prayers flow into those of generations past who have blazed a trail for us, we say with them: ‘Lord, let your light shine in our world.’ Forgive our thanklessness, and in the fullness of your grace, make us grateful.

¶The Church of Christ

Lord, you know we are frail. You know that we fail. We fear and we falter. And yet you call us to be a people of the future, to build your Church of the future. When we feel daunted by the task of building and spreading your word that lies ahead, remind us of your words to the apostles, which echo through time unchanged, but changing everything: ‘Trust the Father, Receive the Spirit and Tell the story of the Son’.

Lord, we thank you with our lips, help us also to thank you with your lives. In your mercy, hear our prayer.

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

Lord, arrest us with the beauty of your world. Open our eyes to look out beyond ourselves to your glory. Thank-you, Lord, for having created us. As a gracious gardener, we ask you to grow us. As a sculptor, we ask you to shape our souls. We are none of us finished, none done, but we ask you to make us whole.  And we humbly thank you that at times you work through us, unfinished and imperfect though we may be, even if at times you also have to work in spite of us.

Lord, we thank you with our lips, help us also to thank you with your lives. In your mercy, hear our prayer.

¶The local community

Lord, your kingdom is a jungle of people, a garden growing human fruit. Teach us to delight in the rainbow of colours, and the kaleidoscope of shapes and sizes, of all that grows in your garden. Each has their season of beauty in turn, and each reflects and complements the others. Help us, Lord, to know and love the people that you have planted in this place.

Lord, we thank you with our lips, help us also to thank you with your lives. In your mercy, hear our prayer.

¶Those who suffer

Lord, may the wounds that we have borne bear fruit in love. May the pain we have suffered create compassion in us. From brokenness, let kindness rise from us so that we can truly feel the suffering of others. Lord, grant them courage for all that lies ahead. Give them night vision to see you in the dark. May they find in the shadows the contours of your presence.

Lord, we thank you with our lips, help us also to thank you with your lives. In your mercy, hear our prayer.

¶The communion of saints

Lord, we pray for those whom we love but see no longer. You gave them breath and called them to yourself. Receive them now in your infinite tenderness, and give them peace.

Lord, we thank you with our lips, help us also to thank you with your lives. In your mercy, hear our prayer.

The image is ‘Rising Up’ by James Martin, by kind permission of Veritasse.  Inspired by ‘Those whose hope is in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles …’ (Isaiah 40, 31), James says: “I love to paint big cloudscapes with their drama of huge space, light and shadow. Soaring like eagles in God’s warmth and light is what this is about”.

The prayers today are inspired by Twitturgies, by Gerard Kelly. You can follow him on Twitter at @twitturgies