A Service for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, 15th 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.
O God, you declare your almighty power
most chiefly in showing mercy and pity:
mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace,
that we, running the way of your commandments,
may receive your gracious promises,
and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure;
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 First Hymn
Firmly, I believe, and truly: please access Simon’s accompaniment here:
1 Firmly I believe and truly
God is Three and God is One;
and I next acknowledge duly
manhood taken by the Son.
2 And I trust and hope most fully
in that manhood crucified;
and each thought and deed unruly
do to death, as he has died.
3 Simply to his grace and wholly
light and life and strength belong,
and I love supremely, solely,
him the holy, him the strong.
4 And I hold in veneration,
for the love of him alone,
Holy Church as his creation,
and her teachings as his own.
5 Adoration ay be given,
with and through the angelic host,
to the God of earth and heaven,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
The First Reading:
Proverbs 9: 1-6
Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
‘You that are simple, turn in here!’
To those without sense she says,
‘Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.’
Psalm 34: 9-14
Refrain: O taste and see that the Lord is gracious.
9 Fear the Lord, all you his holy ones, ♦
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Lions may lack and suffer hunger, ♦
but those who seek the Lord
lack nothing that is good. [R]
11 Come, my children, and listen to me; ♦
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is there who delights in life ♦
and longs for days to enjoy good things?
13 Keep your tongue from evil ♦
and your lips from lying words.
14 Turn from evil and do good; ♦
seek peace and pursue it. [R]
Refrain: O taste and see that the Lord is gracious.
Send your holy angels
to watch over us, O God,
that on our lips will be found your truth
and in our hearts your love;
so we may ever taste your goodness
in the land of the living;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Second Reading:
Ephesians 5: 15-20
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel:
John 6: 51-58
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever.’
Homily
John, in chapter 6 of his Gospel story, has begun with his account of the feeding of the five thousand. It is a miracle that appears in all four Gospels but John adds some interesting information. In glancing back to verse 4, in one of those little asides that are so pertinent to the John, we see that he mentions, “Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.” So we should be approaching this whole chapter in the light of this observation by John, because, what he is saying in effect is: “Jesus is doing and saying what he is (that I am recording in the sentences that I am writing for you) against a particular backdrop: people are assembling with their families to eat unleavened bread, and specially prepared lamb; they are obeying the voice of God, and remembering their deliverance from Egypt, through his power and mercy.”
With these thoughts we approach the verses of today’s Gospel. The people’s minds are thrown back to the Exodus; the great escape; the nation’s salvation - and they were fed on the journey to the Promised Land. Jesus speaks of bread and of flesh and relates these things directly to himself, by repeated use of the present tense of the verb to be. The people’s minds may be cast back to the past; to what has been, and what needs to be remembered, but Jesus speaks differently: “I am the living bread”, “my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed”, “This is the bread which came down from heaven.
So what does this mean to us all these years later? As we understand Jesus as giving very direct theological interpretation to his actions, through what he says about himself and what he is doing, so, today, we read this with an understanding of what Jesus’ self-sacrificial life meant, as he died on the Cross, but also can’t help but interpret his words eucharistically as well. This is the meal of sharing for Christians, by it we are brought close to Christ’s death, but also to his life, in which, and through which, we too may live.
John Mann
Second Hymn
My God, how wonderful thou art: https://youtu.be/qr2dKQmaQ_A
1 My God, how wonderful thou art,
thy majesty how bright!
How beautiful thy mercy seat,
in depths of burning light!
2 Wondrous are thine eternal years,
O everlasting Lord,
by holy angels day and night
incessantly adored!
3 How wonderful, how beautiful,
the sight of thee will be,
thine endless wisdom, boundless power,
and awesome purity!
4 O how I fear thee, living God,
with deepest, tenderest fears,
and worship thee with trembling hope
and penitential tears!
5 Yet I may love thee too, O Lord,
almighty as thou art,
for thou hast stooped to ask of me
the love of my poor heart.
6 No earthly father loves like thee,
no mother, e’er so mild,
bears and forbears, as thou hast done
with me, thy sinful child.
7 Father of Jesus, Love’s reward,
what rapture it will be,
prostrate before thy throne to lie,
and gaze and gaze on 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 remember particularly in our prayers today those who feel isolated from the fellowship of God’s people through ill health or the necessity to maintain physical separation from others through the current pandemic. May your love and peace be felt by them today, and those gathering in Church know the conscious presence of those physically absent, in rejoicing in the oneness in the Spirit which is your gift.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Lord Jesus, 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, and an end to poverty and prejudice.
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:
Lord of all mercy,
we your faithful people celebrate that one true sacrifice
which takes away our sins and brings pardon and peace:
by our communion
keep us firm on the foundation of the gospel
and preserve us from all sin;
through 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.
Folk Tune - Percy Whitlock: https://youtu.be/MojitlZt8WI
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