A Service for the Second Sunday after Trinity, 13th June, 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.
Lord, you have taught us
that all our doings without love are nothing worth:
send your Holy Spirit
and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The First Hymn
O Thou who Camest From Above: please access Simon’s accompaniment here:
O thou who camest from above
the fire celestial to impart,
kindle a flame of sacred love
on the mean altar of my heart!
2 There let it for thy glory burn
with inextinguishable blaze,
and trembling to its source return
in humble prayer and fervent praise.
3 Jesus, confirm my heart's desire
to work, and speak, and think for thee;
still let me guard the holy fire,
and still stir up the gift in me.
4 Still let me prove thy perfect will,
my acts of faith and love repeat;
till death thy endless mercies seal,
and make the sacrifice complete.
The First Reading:
Ezekiel 17:22-end
Thus says the Lord God:
I myself will take a sprig
from the lofty top of a cedar;
I will set it out.
I will break off a tender one
from the topmost of its young twigs;
I myself will plant it
on a high and lofty mountain.
On the mountain height of Israel
I will plant it,
in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit,
and become a noble cedar.
Under it every kind of bird will live;
in the shade of its branches will nest
winged creatures of every kind.
All the trees of the field shall know
that I am the Lord.
I bring low the high tree,
I make high the low tree;
I dry up the green tree
and make the dry tree flourish.
I the Lord have spoken;
I will accomplish it.
Psalm 92 vv 1-8
Refrain: You, O Lord, shall be exalted for evermore.
1 It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord ♦
and to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 To tell of your love early in the morning ♦
and of your faithfulness in the night-time,
3 Upon the ten-stringed instrument, upon the harp, ♦
and to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, Lord, have made me glad by your acts, ♦
and I sing aloud at the works of your hands.
5 O Lord, how glorious are your works! ♦
Your thoughts are very deep. [R]
6 The senseless do not know, ♦
nor do fools understand,
7 That though the wicked sprout like grass ♦
and all the workers of iniquity flourish,
8 It is only to be destroyed for ever; ♦
but you, O Lord, shall be exalted for evermore.
Refrain: You, O Lord, shall be exalted for evermore.
Give us the music of your praise, Lord,
morning, noon and night,
that our lives may be fruitful
and our lips confess you as the true and only God.
The Second Reading:
2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17
So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For all of us must appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil. For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
The Gospel:
Mark 4:26-34
He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’
He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
Homily
There may be a few gardeners amongst us that will give a wry smile (or even a grimace) at the first parable of today’s Gospel, which gives the impression that a crop can be grown, even through the secret hours of darkness, without ploughing, harrowing and weeding; without feeding, protecting or watering; all the man in the parable does is scatter seed and then puts in the sickle when the harvest has come. Having lost most of a double row of runner beans, at least half of the French beans and more young lettuce plants than I care to count, I am not so sure that “the earth produces of itself”.
So why is the carefree nature of this harvest stressed? No drought; no storm; no struggle. There seem to be two possible explanations: either, Jesus is encouraging his readers not to be anxious, as with the birds of the air and the lilies of the field in Matthew chapter 6, or he is referring back to the Parable of the Sower which occurs earlier in chapter 4 of Mark, and that this man was deliberately sowing in good, well-prepared soil that would readily give him the crop promised in that parable.
I think that on balance that it is probably the latter. Jesus is called upon to do the sowing, admittedly with a confident approach, but, at the same time, he is encouraging his new followers to approach with an expectant attitude the building of the life of the Kingdom; building on God’s promises, with hearts ready - like the good soil - affecting our thinking and feeling, our doing and our speaking - becoming good soil for the seed/word is thus becoming second nature - and God will give the growth.
Yes, it is carefree, but not irresponsible; yes, we are not to be anxious, but at the same time we must be alert and ready - and then day or night, sleeping or waking, we are constantly aware that the Father’s work is being done; nothing can stop it, and there will be a great harvest! Guaranteed.
John Mann
Second Hymn
For the Fruits of His Creation: https://youtu.be/5IYnpZUOrQU
For the fruits of his creation
thanks be to God;
for his gifts to every nation
thanks be to God;
for the ploughing, sowing, reaping,
silent growth while men are sleeping,
future needs in earth’s safe keeping,
thanks be to God.
In the just reward of labour,
God’s will is done;
in the help we give our neighbour,
God’s will is done;
in our worldwide task of caring
for the hungry and despairing,
in the harvests we are sharing,
God’s will is done.
For the harvests of the Spirit,
thanks be to God;
for the good we all inherit,
thanks be to God;
for the wonders that astound us,
for the truths that still confound us,
most of all, that love has found us,
thanks be to God
Prayers
Heavenly Father, we pray for your Church in all the world, especially for this Diocese of Salisbury and for Nicholas and Karen our bishops. Bless this team of churches in Swanage and Studland, of which we are a part, and guide its in mission and in the ministry which we share, especially during these extraordinary days of the current health crisis. May all who enter our church buildings for prayer, solace or simply for a moment’s silence, be enriched by your Holy Spirit and united with and feel enfolded by our fellowship of prayer and love.
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 all the nations of the world; as with compassion, equity and justice - as well as with discernment and mercy - they may respond to those in poverty and distress, in their own countries 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, or those most affected by the pandemic.
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 healing, for reconciliation, and for an end to poverty and prejudice. Grant to our politicians wisdom in their deliberations and direction in their decisions and bless this town of Swanage, and all who live and work here and those who visit us.
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 Lord’s Prayer
A few moments of silence before we pray:
Faithful Creator,
whose mercy never fails:
deepen our faithfulness to you
and to your living Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Conclusion
The Lord bless us and keep us:
The Lord make his face to shine upon us,
and be gracious to us:
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.
Prelude in C Minor - J.S.Bach: https://youtu.be/odd4oFzhFvc