Liturgy Pacific: An Ordo for Lent 4 (6 March 2016)

The Fourth Sunday in Lent

6 March 2016

The Gathering of the Community

Gathering Music

Greeting and Litany

The Presider greets the Community from the door to the Nave.

Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins,

whose mercy endures for ever. [i]

The Community then sings the following hymn.

‘Before I Take the Body of My Lord’ Common Praise #610

The Presider then says the following,

May the God of love and power

forgive you and free you from your sins,

heal and strengthen you by the Spirit,

and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen. [ii]

The Collect of the Day

Let us pray.

Merciful Lord,

you know our struggle to serve you:

when sin spoils our lives and overshadows our hearts,

come to our aid and turn us back to you again;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [iii]

The Proclamation of the Word

The First Reading

A reading from Joshua (5.9-12).

⁹ The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And so that place is called Gilgal to this day.

¹⁰ While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. ¹¹ On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. ¹² The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.

Thanks be to God.

The Psalm

Psalm 32 with refrain from Songs for the Holy One

Refrain (sung twice): Holy One, show us the way we must go.

¹ Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, *

and whose sin is put away!

² Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, *

and in whose spirit there is no guile!

³ While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, *

because of my groaning all day long.

⁴ For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; *

my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer.

Refrain: Holy One, show us the way we must go.

⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you, *

and did not conceal my guilt.*

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” *

Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin.

⁶ Therefore all the faithful *

will make their prayers to you in time of trouble;

when the great waters overflow, *

they shall not reach them.

⁷ You are my hiding-place;

you preserve me from trouble; *

you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

⁸ “I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go; *

I will guide you with my eye.

Refrain: Holy One, show us the way we must go.

⁹ Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding; *

who must be fitted with bit and bridle,

or else they will not stay near you.”

¹⁰ Great are the tribulations of the wicked; *

but mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord.

¹¹ Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord; *

shout for joy, all who are true of heart.

Refrain: Holy One, show us the way we must go.

The Second Reading

A reading from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (5.16-21).

^5.16 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^{. 17} So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. ²⁰ So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.

Thanks be to God.

The Hymn before the Gospel

‘What Wondrous Love Is This’ Common Praise #400

The Gospel

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke (15.1-3, 11b-32).

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus]. ² And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ So [Jesus] told them this parable:

^11b “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So [the father] divided his property between [his two sons]. ¹³ A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. ¹⁴ When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶ He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. ¹⁷ But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’ ²⁰ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. ²¹ Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe — the best one — and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. ²⁷ He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ Then [the older son] became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ ³¹ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

The Gospel of Christ.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

The Sermon

The Affirmation of Faith

Let us declare our faith in God.

We believe in God the Creator of all,

from whom every family

in heaven and on earth is named.

We believe in God the Word of redemption,

who lives in our hearts through faith

and fills us with love and compassion.

We believe in God the Spirit of wisdom,

who strengthens us with power from on high.

We believe in one God:

Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. [iv]

The Prayers of the Community

A Litany for the Mission of the Church

Let us pray to the Source of all life, saying,

“Source of all life, empower us with your Spirit.”