An Order for the Eucharist on the Sixth Sunday of Easter (17 May 2015)

Please note that we are using the English Language Liturgical Consultation's recommended Hebrew Bible reading and psalm for the Easter season (Year B).

The Seventh Sunday of Easter

17 May 2015

The Gathering of the Community

Entrance Hymn

‘I Come with Joy’  Common Praise #60

Greeting

Alleluia!  Christ is risen.

The Lord is risen indeed.  Alleluia!

May his grace and peace be with you.

May he fill our hearts with joy.

Canticle

‘Alleluia!  Jesus Is Risen’  Evangelical Lutheran Worship #377 vv. 1, 2, 5

Collect of the Day

Let us pray.

Giver of eternal life,
send us to your world
to speak the truth of peace,
to stand with those who suffer,
and to show another way;
through Jesus Christ, the life of all things.  Amen. [i]

The Proclamation of the Word of God

The First Reading

A Reading from Jeremiah (10.1-10a).

            ¹ Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel.

            ² Thus says the Lord:  Do not learn the way of the nations, or be dismayed at the signs of the heavens; for the nations are dismayed at them.  ³ For the customs of the peoples are false:  a tree from the forest is cut down, and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan; ⁴ people deck it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move.  ⁵ Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk.  Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor is it in them to do good.

            ⁶ There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might.  ⁷ Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?  For that is your due; among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is no one like you.  ⁸ They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction given by idols is no better than wood!  ⁹ Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz.  They are the work of the artisan and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is blue and purple; they are all the product of skilled workers.  ¹⁰ But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.

Thanks be to God.

The Psalm of the Day

Psalm 108 with Refrain from Songs for the Holy One

Refrain (twice):  Holy One, your faithful love towers over the heavens.

¹ My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; *

            I will sing and make melody.

² Wake up, my spirit; awake, lute and harp; *

            I myself will waken the dawn.

³ I will confess you among the peoples, O Lord; *

            I will sing praises to you among the nations.

⁴ For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens, *

            and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Refrain:  Holy One, your faithful love towers over the heavens.

⁵ Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *

            and your glory over all the earth.

⁶ So that those who are dear to you may be delivered, *

            save with your strong hand and answer me.

⁷ You spoke from your heavenly dwelling and said, *

            “I will exult and parcel out Shechem;

            I will divide the valley of Succoth.

⁸ Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine; *

            Ephraim is my helmet and Judah my sceptre.

⁹ Moab is my washbasin; on Edom I throw down my sandal to claim it, *

            and over Philistia will I shout in triumph.”

Refrain:  Holy One, your faithful love towers over the heavens.

¹⁰ Who will lead me into the strong city? *

            Who will bring me into Edom?

¹¹ Have you not cast us off, O God? *

            you no longer go out, O God, with our armies.

¹² Grant us your help against the enemy, *

            for vain is the help of mortals.

¹³ With you we will do valiant deeds, *

            and you shall tread our enemies under foot.

Refrain:  Holy One, your faithful love towers over the heavens.

The Second Reading

A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles (1.15-17, 21-26).

            ¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, ¹⁶ “Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus — ¹⁷ for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.

            ²¹ “So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²² beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us — one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.”  ²³ So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.  ²⁴ Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart.  Show us which one of these two you have chosen ²⁵ to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”  ²⁶ And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.

Thanks be to God.

Hymn before the Gospel

‘Alleluia!  The Strife Is O’er’  Common Praise #212 vv. 1, 2, 5

The Gospel

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John (17.6-19)

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

            ⁶ [Jesus continued to pray to God,] “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world.  They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.  ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; ⁸ for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.  ⁹ I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.  ¹⁰ All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.  ¹¹ And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.  ¹² While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled.  ¹³ But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.  ¹⁴ I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.  ¹⁵ I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.  ¹⁶ They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.  ¹⁸ As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.  ¹⁹ And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

The Gospel of Christ.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

The Sermon

An Affirmation of Faith

Let us affirm our faith in God,

the One in Three, the Three in One.

We believe in a loving God,

whose Word sustains our lives

and the work of our hands in the world.

God is life.

We believe in God’s Son among us,

who brought the seed of life’s renewal.

He lived with the poor to show the meaning of love.

Jesus Christ is Lord.

We believe in the Spirit of Life,

who makes us one with God,

whose strength and energy renews our own.

The Spirit is love. [ii]

The Prayers of the Community

Intercessions, Petitions and Thanksgivings

The Exchange of the Peace

May the peace of the risen Christ be with you all.

And also with you.

The Holy Communion

Offertory Hymn

‘Now the Green Blade Rises’  Common Worship #237

The Prayer over the Gifts

Let us pray.

Blessed are you, O God, ruler of heaven and earth.

Day by day you shower us with blessings.

As you have raised us to new life in Christ,

give us glad and generous hearts,

ready to praise you and to respond to those in need,

through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen. [iii]

The Thanksgiving at the Table

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Blessed are you, gracious God,

creator of heaven and earth;

we give you thanks and praise

for the glorious resurrection of your Son

Jesus Christ our Lord;

for he is the true paschal lamb

who has taken away the sin of the world. 

By his death he destroyed death,

and by his rising to life again

he has won for us eternal life. 

Therefore, joining our voices

with the whole company of heaven,

we sing our joyful hymn of praise

to proclaim the glory of your name.

Holy, holy, holy Lord,

God of power and might. 

Heaven and earth are full of your glory. 

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. [iv]

Blessed are you, O God of the universe. 

Your mercy is everlasting

and your faithfulness endures from age to age.

Praise to you for creating the heavens and the earth. 

Praise to you for saving the earth from the waters of the flood. 

Praise to you for bringing the Israelites safely through the sea. 

Praise to you for leading your people

through the wilderness to the land of milk and honey. 

Praise to you for the words and deeds of Jesus, your anointed one. 

Praise to you for the death and resurrection of Christ. 

Praise to you for your Spirit poured out on all nations.

In the night in which he was betrayed,

our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;

broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: 

Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. 

Do this for the remembrance of me.

Again, after supper, he took the cup,

gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: 

This cup is the new covenant in my blood,

shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. 

Do this for the remembrance of me.

With this bread and cup

we remember our Lord’s Passover from death to life

as we proclaim the mystery of faith:

Christ has died. 

Christ is risen. 

Christ will come again.

O God of resurrection and new life: 

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us

and on these gifts of bread and wine. 

Bless this feast. 

Grace our table with your presence.

Come, Holy Spirit.

Reveal yourself to us in the breaking of the bread. 

Raise us up as the body of Christ for the world. 

Breathe new life into us. 

Send us forth, burning with justice, peace and love.

Come, Holy Spirit.

With the ever-blessed Virgin Mary,

blessed Joseph, blessed Faith

and your holy ones of all times and places,

with the earth and all its creatures,

with sun and moon and stars,

we praise you, O God,

blessed and holy Trinity,

now and forever.  Amen. [v]

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Saviour taught us, let us pray,

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial,

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours,

now and for ever.  Amen. [vi]

The Breaking of the Bread

Lord, we died with you on the cross.

Now we are raised to new life.

We were buried in your tomb.

Now we share in your resurrection.

Live in us, that we may live in you.

The gifts of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

Communion

Hymn after Communion

‘Come Now, O Prince of Peace’  Common Praise #588

The Sending Forth of the Community

The Prayer after Communion

Life-giving God,

in the mystery of Christ’s resurrection

you send light to conquer darkness,

water to give new life,

and the bread of life to nourish your people.

Send us forth as witnesses to your Son’s resurrection,

that we may show your glory to all the world,

through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord.  Amen. [vii]

Glory to God,

whose power, working in us,

can do infinitely more

than we can ask or imagine. 

Glory to God from generation to generation,

in the Church and in Christ Jesus,

for ever and ever.  Amen.

Closing Hymn

‘Wind Who Makes All Winds That Blow’  Common Praise #249

The Dismissal

Let us go forth in the name of Christ.  Alleluia, alleluia!

Thanks be to God.  Alleluia, alleluia!

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[i] ‘Trial Use Propers:  Maundy Thursday to Trinity Sunday Year B 2015’, 6.

[ii] Camilo Torres as quoted in Janet Morley, ed., Bread for Tomorrow:  Prayers for the Church Year (1992), 140 and as adapted by the Rev’d Dr Richard Geoffrey Leggett for liturgical recitation.

[iii] ‘Offering Prayer for Easter’, Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 64.

[iv] Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), #525.

[v] ‘Thanksgiving at the Table IV’, Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 111.

[vi] Songs for a Gospel People #12.

[vii] ‘Prayer after Communion for Easter’, Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 65.