A Service for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity, 4th 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 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 First Hymn
134 Loving Shepherd: please access Simon’s accompaniment here:
Loving Shepherd of Thy sheep,
Keep Thy lamb, in safety keep;
Nothing can Thy power withstand;
None can pluck me from Thy hand.
Loving Saviour, Thou didst give
Thine own life that we might live;
And the hands outstretched to bless
Bear the cruel nails' impress.
I would praise Thee every day,
Gladly all Thy will obey,
Like Thy blessed ones above
Happy in Thy precious love.
Loving Shepherd, ever near,
Teach Thy lambs Thy voice to hear;
Suffer not my steps to stray
From the straight and narrow way.
Where Thou leadest I would go,
Walking in Thy steps below,
Till before my Father's throne
I shall know as I am known.
The First Reading:
Ezekiel 2: 1-5
He said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you. And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.
Psalm 123
Refrain: Our eyes wait upon the Lord our God.
1 To you I lift up my eyes, ♦
to you that are enthroned in the heavens.
2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, ♦
or the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
3 So our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, ♦
until he have mercy upon us. [R]
4 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, ♦
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
5 Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of the arrogant, ♦
and of the contempt of the proud.
Refrain: Our eyes wait upon the Lord our God.
Sovereign God, enthroned in the heavens,
look upon us with your eyes of mercy,
as we look on you with humility and love,
and fill our souls with your peace
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Second Reading:
2 Corinthians 12: 2-10
I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows— was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
The Gospel:
Mark 6: 1-13
He left that place and came to his home town, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town, and among their own kin, and in their own house.’ And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.’ So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Homily
“And he called to him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two….”
There are numerous words and phrases that one could choose to pick up from today’s Gospel. I can imagine a group of preachers sitting around, relaxed and over a coffee, later this week asking the question generally, “So, what did you preach on?” It might be over ‘authority’ or Jesus’ instruction to the twelve as to what to take, or, perhaps from earlier in the reading, teasing out how and why our Lord was responded to the way he was, in his own home and synagogue.
But, there is something in the word ’send’ that provides us with an imperative more insistent than most for attention. At what point does a learner become a teacher? Going back to my imaginary coffee morning and its developing subject matter, I hear someone say, “My concern for these disciples is around their readiness.” That surely is from where the rest of the teaching of Jesus in this passage arises. The disciples were sent very much in the same way as John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness proclaiming as he did the need of repentance.
They went, two by two, carrying the authority of Jesus into a confrontational and testing situation. Mark makes the point, as we shall hear next Sunday, that Herod felt the presence of John, whom he had earlier beheaded. The question then is settling on whose authority and whose ministry this was that the passage before us today is demonstrating? Was Jesus revisiting the ‘preparing of the way’ of John, or was he declaring something new?
For the answer to this question we look to the text of today’s Gospel as a whole. The ground is being broken up, Jesus is visiting villages near his home and he is spreading that tilling of the soil more widely through the sending of pairs of his disciples to other places. In that sense it is preparatory, but there is a greater feeling of this being, to introduce another initiating metaphor, a springboard which continues to vibrate and provide energy for what is already happening; already declared - and that by the very presence of Christ in those communities. This is all of a piece: the Saviour is here, there will be setbacks, but the Kingdom has come and the disciples are already an integral part of it.
John Mann
Second Hymn
172 Glorious Things: https://youtu.be/Y55Xnzj_w7o
1 Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God;
he whose word cannot be broken
formed thee for his own abode;
on the Rock of Ages founded,
what can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation's walls surrounded,
thou may’st smile at all thy foes.
2 See the streams of living waters,
springing from eternal love,
well supply thy sons and daughters,
and all fear of want remove;
who can faint while such a river
ever flows their thirst t'assuage?
Grace, which like the Lord, the giver,
never fails from age to age.
3 Saviour, if of Zion's city
I, thro' grace, a member am,
let the world deride or pity,
I will glory in thy name;
fading is the worldling's pleasure,
all his boasted pomp and show;
solid joys and lasting treasure
none but Zion's children know.
Prayers
Lord God, in the firmament of heaven may your glory be forever a source of constant wonder and awe; and though our praises be inadequate and our worship earth-bound, in your mercy let our hearts soar to the heights and our voices join with those of the angels as we give thanks for all that you give us each day that we live. Bless we pray the Bishops and other clergy of the Church, especially Justin our Archbishop, Nicholas, Bishop of Salisbury, Karen, Bishop of Sherborne and the ordained and lay leaders of the churches of Swanage and Studland. Especially we pray today for Bishop Nicholas on this his last Sunday before retirement.
Lord hear us
Lord, graciously hear us.
Father, almighty and ever-living God, preserve in your mercy all who live in danger and fear, or in anxiety over their health or that of a loved one. We pray especially for all who have lost loved ones or home, or livelihood, or have suffered injury, due to living in a conflict situation in our world today. Bless Elizabeth our Queen and all leaders with wisdom, justice and mercy. May your love be apparent in public life and Christian values be heard and shared, in all meetings to review and promote the decisions of governments and nations. Bless those who seek peace and justice in parts of the world where there is violence and oppression; bring stability and unity of purpose to all countries, and may individuals who are at risk and whose voices are unheard, have the opportunity to share their concerns safely in national debate, in order to bring a just and lasting settlement to conflict-torn nations.
Lord hear us
Lord, graciously hear us.
Father, may we in love welcome into our midst those who worship with us from other places. Especially today, we pray for all who join us through the internet from across the country and further afield for the streamed, zoom and website services. Father bring your joy into our hearts and lift our souls to you as we reach out to each other, our neighbours and friends, those we know and those we don’t, as we seek your blessing upon our town and village. Keep us in peace and safety and help us, by our example to be sensitive to the needs of others; especially we pray for those who have no home and feel that they have no hope, or no job and feel that they have no future, or no friends or family and feel that they have no life. May their guardian angels, who ever behold the face of God, bring comfort, support and assurance.
Lord hear us
Lord, graciously hear us.
May your mercy, O Lord, be known in the lives of those in our families and communities who are suffering today. To the frail and elderly bring comfort and a real sense that they are loved and valued and not forgotten; for those undergoing tests or operations bring assurance and your ever-present healing touch and to those chronically ill, grant patience in the face of adversity, and strength to cope in hours of weakness. Bring healing to those of our Church communities who are ill, especially……..
Lord hear us
Lord, graciously hear us.
Comfort and strengthen the bereaved and shield the dying from pain and fear; that in love we may be drawn ever closer to you, the source of our life and answer to our prayer. We pray especially for those who have died recently from our Churches.
Lord hear us
Lord, graciously hear us.
Shed the bright beams of your glory upon the downcast, and raise up the fallen, for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son, whose very presence gives us new life.
Merciful Father accept these our prayers for the sake of your Son our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
The Lord’s Prayer
A few moments of silence before we pray:
Grant, O Lord, we beseech you,
that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered
by your governance,
that your Church may joyfully serve you in all godly quietness;
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.
Fugue in D Major - J.S.Bach: https://youtu.be/I_sKnrqIPYg
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