A Service for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity, 25th July, 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 Lord and everlasting God,
we beseech you to direct, sanctify and govern
both our hearts and bodies
in the ways of your laws
and the works of your commandments;
that through your most mighty protection, both here and ever,
we may be preserved in body and soul;
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 First Hymn
Be Thou, my Guardian and my Guide: please access Simon’s accompaniment here:
1 Be thou my guardian and my guide,
and hear me when I call;
let not my slippery footsteps slide,
and hold me lest I fall.
2 The world, the flesh, and Satan dwell
around the path I tread;
O save me from the snares of hell,
thou quickener of the dead.
3 And if I tempted am to sin,
and outward things are strong,
do thou, O Lord, keep watch within,
and save my soul from wrong.
4 Still let me ever watch and pray,
and feel that I am frail;
that if the tempter cross my way,
yet he may not prevail.
The First Reading:
2 Kings 4: 42-end
A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, ‘Give it to the people and let them eat.’ But his servant said, ‘How can I set this before a hundred people?’ So he repeated, ‘Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, “They shall eat and have some left.” ’ He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.
Psalm 145: 10-19
Refrain: Great is the Lord and highly to be praised.
10 All your works praise you, O Lord, ♦
and your faithful servants bless you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom ♦
and speak of your mighty power,
12 To make known to all peoples your mighty acts ♦
and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; ♦
your dominion endures throughout all ages. [R]
14 The Lord is sure in all his words ♦
and faithful in all his deeds.
15 The Lord upholds all those who fall ♦
and lifts up all those who are bowed down.
16 The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, ♦
and you give them their food in due season.
17 You open wide your hand ♦
and fill all things living with plenty. [R]
18 The Lord is righteous in all his ways ♦
and loving in all his works.
19 The Lord is near to those who call upon him, ♦
to all who call upon him faithfully.
Refrain: Great is the Lord and highly to be praised.
King of the universe,
you show the bright glory of your reign
in acts of mercy and enduring love;
raise the spirits of the downcast
and restore those who have fallen away,
that we may sing for ever of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Second Reading:
Ephesians 3: 14-end
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Gospel:
John 6: 1-21
After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’
When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, got into a boat, and started across the lake to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The lake became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’ Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land towards which they were going.
Homily
I have been asked more than once, during this hot dry period, “How is the garden doing?” This almost inevitably brings up the subject of watering. Helen and I have emptied the bath on occasions over the past few weeks in buckets: down the stairs, out to the pots on the front steps, or to the tomatoes on the patio, or along the lines of beans, runners and French now, both very thirsty and not at all drought tolerant. Having spoken about being careful about water usage on the basis of it being a finite resource, several people have gone on to ask, “And, is your water metered?” But I suppose more to the point, and very seriously, in recent weeks we have seen the western side of north America on fire with heat and desperate for rain, and a portion of north-west Europe so devastated by flooding that many people have lost their lives. Caring and sharing on a global level is ever more necessary as different places require different solutions.
Dwelling on this thought and at the same time reading today’s Gospel made me think a little of the generosity of God and the provision by Jesus leading to the feeding of the five thousand, that involved sharing and facing the need as one people. We are good a figures and statistics over this miracle, whatever Gospel account it is taken from (and it is the only miracle, apart from the Resurrection that appears in all four Gospels): 5,000 men - John isn’t including women and children apparently - five barley loaves, two fish, and, lest we forget, twelve baskets of broken fragments. Numbers, statistics, these giving proof of miracle; proof that our Lord provides. These would certainly appear in an official diocesan report on the occasion.
Yet the message is that grace is free and abundant and unlimited and unmetered. We are not in this sense using up a finite resource. We are welcomed for who we are; accepted by a Church that believes that God loves us as we are. We don’t live to protect and possess, we live to release and love and share, and discover that the mercy and forgiveness of Christ is freely offered, and when I think of this my mind always seems to slip to those amazing words of Frederick William Faber on the mercy of God: “But we make his love too narrow by false limits of our own; and we magnify his strictness with a zeal he will not own”.
John Mann
Second Hymn
Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer: https://youtu.be/YDqhTGKRri4
1 Guide me, O thou great Redeemer,
pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore.
2 Open now the crystal fountain,
whence the healing stream doth flow.
Let the fiery cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
be thou still my strength and shield.
3 When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside.
Death of death, and hell's Destruction,
land me safe on Canaan's side.
Songs and praises, songs and praises
I will ever give to thee.
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 visitors to this Isle of Purbeck. Give them rest and happy a holiday; may their travelling be safe and let them take home in their hearts a little of the beauty and peace of this place.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Lord Jesus, you taught your followers to lay up treasure in heaven and not to rely upon the fleeting security of this world’s wealth; bring to our awareness our own attitudes towards what we possess and help us to see more clearly how best to use the resources we have. We pray for 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.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, you came amongst us as one who shows what it means to be a follower of you, by all you did and said. 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:
Strengthen for service, Lord,
the hands that have taken holy things;
may the ears which have heard your word
be deaf to clamour and dispute;
may the tongues which have sung your praise be free from deceit;
may the eyes which have seen the tokens of your love
shine with the light of hope;
and may the bodies which have been fed with your body
be refreshed with the fullness of your life;
glory to you for ever.
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.
“Finale” from Sonata no. 6 - Mendelssohn: https://youtu.be/rPBPqi6jixc
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Account name: Swanage PCC
Account Number: 70585005
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