A Service for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, 29th August, 2021
Preparation:
Before beginning to read this short service, you may wish to find a space for prayer in front of a cross, a candle, or a special place.
May the light of Christ, rising in glory, banish all darkness from our hearts and minds.
The Acclamation of Christ at the Dawning of the Day
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
May Christ, the true, the only light
banish all darkness from our hearts and minds.
O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us heartily rejoice in the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving
and be glad in him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God
and a great king above all gods.
Come, let us worship and bow down
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God;
we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Blessed are you, creator of all,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As your dawn renews the face of the earth
bringing light and life to all creation,
may we rejoice in this day you have made;
as we wake refreshed from the depths of sleep,
open our eyes to behold your presence
and strengthen our hands to do your will,
that the world may rejoice and give you praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God for ever.
The Collect
Silence is kept.
Almighty God,
who called your Church to bear witness
that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself:
help us to proclaim the good news of your love,
that all who hear it may be drawn to you;
through him who was lifted up on the cross,
and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen
The First Hymn
Thy Kingdom Come: please access Simon’s accompaniment here:
1 Thy kingdom come! On bended knee
the passing ages pray;
and faithful souls have yearned to see
on earth that kingdom's day.
2 But the slow watches of the night
not less to God belong;
and for the everlasting right
the silent stars are strong.
3 And lo, already on the hills
the flags of dawn appear;
gird up your loins, ye prophet souls,
proclaim the day is near:
4 The day in whose clear-shining light
all wrong shall stand revealed,
when justice shall be throned in might,
and every hurt be healed;
5 When knowledge, hand in hand with peace,
shall walk the earth abroad:
the day of perfect righteousness,
the promised day of God.
The First Reading:
Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, 6-9
So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’ For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?
But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children—
Psalm 15
Refrain: Through the greatness of your mercy,
I will come into your house.
1 Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? ♦
Who may rest upon your holy hill?
2 Whoever leads an uncorrupt life ♦
and does the thing that is right;
3 Who speaks the truth from the heart ♦
and bears no deceit on the tongue;
4 Who does no evil to a friend ♦
and pours no scorn on a neighbour;
5 In whose sight the wicked are not esteemed, ♦
but who honours those who fear the Lord.
6 Whoever has sworn to a neighbour ♦
and never goes back on that word;
7 Who does not lend money in hope of gain, ♦
nor takes a bribe against the innocent;
8 Whoever does these things ♦
shall never fall.
Refrain: Through the greatness of your mercy,
I will come into your house.
Lord, lead us to our heavenly home
by single steps of self-restraint
and deeds of righteousness;
through the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Second Reading:
James 1: 17-end
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.
If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
The Gospel:
Mark 7: 1-8, 14, 15, 21-23
Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
“This people honours me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.”
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’
Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’ For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’
Homily
The comparison between how Jesus and his disciples lived and how the religious leaders interpreted the law and expected compliance, might lead us to see the key verse in today’s Gospel as being the question posed in verse 5: “And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?’”
The specific answer is given over the course of the next three verses, but what Mark is really drawing his reader’s attention to is the overwhelming burden that legalism is holding over the whole of life, and what is expected, as conformity to it is taught by the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus’ struggle is deeper and more profound than this; than what are the specific requirements of Pharisaic practice. Our Lord demonstrates in other places in the Gospels that it is the heart and spirit of the law that is important; he doesn’t - for example - just condemn murder, but the spirit of contention that may lead to it (Matthew 5:21f) and his dismissal of the self-righteous in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector going up to the temple to pray (Luke 18: 9-14) places this where Jesus would have us see it. Our Lord is, in fact, highly critical of the controlling religious leaders of his day.
What is Jesus really trying to get at here that is relevant to our day and age? It seems that he is trying to tackle that core tendency within all of us to justify ourselves and demonstrate our self-importance. We find it so hard to follow Jesus’ example and let God be the only one who counts. It is natural for us to consider the specific evils that Jesus lists (in verses 21-23) as coming out of people’s lives that are defiling, but, without losing sight of these individual evils, let us recognise that what our Lord is more generally identifying are the things that can develop from someone as they assert themselves. All of these things begin within us; with a life that is concerned with personal aims and wants and desires, which we all have, but they can also so easily dominate us and lead us at least to the lesser, if not the greater, of the evils that Jesus lists. So we pray for the grace of God to free us from these things and allow us to live from the heart which is turned to God and away from self.
John Mann
Second Hymn
Ye Holy Angels Bright: https://youtu.be/yN5r7mnTMjg
1 Ye holy angels bright,
who wait at God's right hand,
or through the realms of light
fly at your Lord's command,
assist our song,
for else the theme
too high doth seem
for mortal tongue.
2 Ye blessèd souls at rest,
who ran this earthly race,
and now, from sin released,
behold the Saviour's face,
his praises sound,
as in his sight
with sweet delight
ye do abound.
3 Ye saints, who toil below,
adore your heavenly King,
and onward as ye go
some joyful anthem sing;
take what he gives
and praise him still,
through good and ill,
who ever lives.
4 My soul, bear thou thy part,
triumph in God above,
and with a well-tuned heart
sing thou the songs of love;
let all thy days
till life shall end,
whate'er he send,
be filled with praise.
Prayers
Heavenly Father, we pray for your Church in all the world, especially for this Diocese of Salisbury and for Karen our Bishop. We pray for the Church in Swanage and Studland and for all engaged in ministry and mission. Bless all the children and staff of the schools in Swanage that are returning to classes soon. Encourage and strengthen those who feel uneasy, and guide all involved in the running of our schools with your grace and protection.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Lord Jesus, bless the nations of the world, and especially our own country, as with compassion, equity and justice as well as with discernment and mercy they may respond to those in poverty and distress, at home and abroad. We pray for those who are vulnerable: the sick and injured, the refugee and the bereaved, and all who are caught in regions of conflict. Especially we pray at this time for the people of Afghanistan.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, you taught your followers to be active and to be still; to work and to rest; to proclaim as well as to live the Gospel by example. Continue, we pray, to make known the ways of love and joy and peace. Keep your people conscious of the need to work for a just and free world, for reconciliation, an end to poverty and prejudice. Grant to our national politicians wisdom in their deliberations and direction in their decisions, and in local government, bless the town council of Swanage, and parish council of Studland, and all who live and work here and those who visit us from abroad.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Lord, we remember before you the sick in body, mind and spirit. Bring healing to those who have asked for our prayer as we bring them to mind in a moment of silence:
Silence
May your blessing rest on those for whom we pray, known or unknown; and may the comfort of your Holy Spirit rest on the bereaved, the distressed, those living through times of doubt and hopelessness. Give strength to the weak, rest to the weary, support and reassurance to all who are close to death. Stand beside, and when needed carry, all who are exhausted with caring for others assuring them that their loved one is carried too.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Merciful Father accept these our prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen
The Peace
The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said, “Peace be with you.” Then were they glad when they saw the Lord
The Lord’s Prayer
A few moments of silence before we pray:
God our creator,
you feed your children with the true manna,
the living bread from heaven:
let this holy food sustain us through our earthly pilgrimage
until we come to that place
where hunger and thirst are no more;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Conclusion
The Lord bless us and keep us:
Amen.
The Lord make his face to shine upon us,
and be gracious to us:
Amen.
The Lord lift up his countenance upon us
and give us peace:
Amen
Numbers 6.24-26
The Lord God almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
the holy and undivided Trinity,
guard us, save us,
and bring us to that heavenly city,
where he lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.
Adagio in E - Frank Bridge: https://youtu.be/qKRJ-XuqTqI
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Account name: Swanage PCC
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