Wednesday, May 4, 2016

An Ordo for Easter 7 (RCL Easter 7C, 8 May 2016)

The Seventh Sunday of Easter
8 May 2016

The Gathering of the Community

Entrance Hymn

‘Jesus Christ Is Risen Today’  Common Praise #203

Greeting

Alleluia!  Christ is risen.
The Lord is risen indeed.  Alleluia!
May his grace and peace be with us.
May he fill our hearts with joy.
There is one body and one Spirit;
there is one hope in God’s call to us;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God, the Source of all being.

Canticle

‘O Laughing Light’  Songs for a Gospel People #101

Collect of the Day

Let us pray.

Living God,
mystery of love given and received:
deepen our yearning for unity,
so that the whole creation might share in your communion;
through Jesus Christ, who makes known your love.  Amen. [i]

The Proclamation of the Word of God

The First Reading

A Reading from 2 Kings (2.1-15)

            2.1 Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.  2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.”  But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”  So they went down to Bethel.  3 The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?”  And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”

            4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”  But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”  So they came to Jericho.  5 The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?”  And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.”

            6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”  But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”  So the two of them went on.  7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.  8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

            9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.”  Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.”  10 He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.”  11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.  12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father!  The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”  But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

            13 He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.  14 He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”  When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

            15 When the company of prophets who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.”  They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.

The Psalm of the Day

Psalm 2 with Refrain from Songs for the Holy One

Refrain (twice):  Happy are those who trust the Holy One.

1  Why are the nations in an uproar? *
            Why do the peoples mutter empty threats?
2  Why do the rulers of the earth rise up in revolt,
and the princes plot together, *
            against the Lord and the Lord’s anointed?
3  “Let us break their yoke,” they say; *
            “let us cast off their bonds from us.”
4  The One enthroned in heaven is laughing; *
            the Lord has them in derision.

Refrain:  Happy are those who trust the Holy One.

5  Then God speaks to them in wrath, *
            and the divine rage fills them with terror.
6  “I myself have set my anointed *
            upon my holy hill of Zion.”
7  Let me announce the decree of the Lord, *
            who said to me, “You are my heir;
            this day have I begotten you.
8  Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance *
            and the ends of the earth for your possession.

Refrain:  Happy are those who trust the Holy One.

9  You shall crush them with an iron rod *
            and shatter them like a piece of pottery.”
10  And now, you monarchs, be wise; *
            be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11  Submit to the Lord with fear, *
            and bow with trembling before the presence of the Lord;
12  lest God be angry and you perish; *
            for the divine wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are they all *
            who take refuge in God!

Refrain:  Happy are those who trust the Holy One.

The Second Reading

A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles (16.16-34).

            16.16 One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling.  17 While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.”  18 She kept doing this for many days.  But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.”  And it came out that very hour.

            19 But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.  20 When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews 21 and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.”  22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods.  23 After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely.  24 Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

            25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.  26 Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.  27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.  28 But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”  29 The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.  30 Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  31 They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”  32 They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.  33 At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay.  34 He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.

Hymn before the Gospel

‘Spirit, Come, Dispel Our Sadness’  Common Praise #252 v. 1 (sung to #223)

The Gospel

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John (17.20-26).
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

            17.20 [Jesus continued to pray,] “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one.  As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.  24 Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

            25 “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me.  26 I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

The Gospel of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Hymn after the Gospel

‘Spirit, Come, Dispel Our Sadness’  Common Praise #252 v. 2 (sung to #223)

The Sermon

The Apostles’ Creed

Do you believe in God the Father?
I believe in God,  the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God? 
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended to the dead. 
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit? 
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.  Amen.

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

‘O Lord Most High, Eternal King’  Common Praise #245

The Prayer over the Gifts

Let us pray.

Source of all joy,
receive our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.
Keep us in the love of Christ
and bring us to the vision of his glory;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. [ii]

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.

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy,
that we should at all times and in all places
give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God,
for the glorious resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who enthroned forever at your right hand
intercedes for us as our great high priest.
And so, with Mary Magdalene and Peter and all the witnesses of the resurrection,
with earth and sea and all their creatures,
and with angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim,
we praise your name and join their unending hymn: [iii]

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]

Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father: 
Endless is your mercy and eternal your reign. 
You have filled all creation with light and life;
heaven and earth are full of your glory.

We praise you for the grace shown to your people in every age: 
the promise to Israel, the rescue from Egypt,
the gift of the promised land, the words of the prophets;
and, at this end of all the ages, the gift of your Son,
who proclaimed the good news in word and deed
and was obedient to your will, even to giving his life.

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.

For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup,
we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 
Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again.

Therefore, O God, with this bread and cup
we remember the life our Lord offered for us. 
And, believing the witness of his resurrection,
we await his coming in power
to share with us the great and promised feast. 
Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.

Send now, we pray, your Holy Spirit,
so that we who share in Christ’s body and blood
may live to the praise of your glory
and receive our inheritance with all your saints in light. 
Amen.  Come, Holy Spirit.

Join our prayers with those of your servants of every time and every place,
and unite them with the ceaseless petitions of our great high priest
until he comes as victorious Lord of all. 
Through him, with him, in him,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honour is yours, Creator of all,
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

‘And Have the Bright Immensities’  Common Praise #248 (sung to #508)

The Sending Forth of the Community

The Prayer after Communion

Let us pray.

Eternal God,
may we who share Christ’s banquet
be one with him as he is one with you.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ,
the risen and ascended Lord.  Amen. [vii]

May the light of God illumine your hearts.
May the flame of Christ kindle your love.
May the fire of the Spirit free you to live boldly.
And the blessing of holy and undivided Trinity:
Source of all being, Word of redemption and Spirit of wisdom,
be with you all, now and for ever.  Amen. [viii]

Closing Hymn

‘Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise’  Common Praise #247 vv. 1, 2, 3, 6

The Dismissal

Let us go forth in the name of the risen and ascended Christ.  Alleluia, alleluia!
Thanks be to God.  Alleluia, alleluia!




[i] Liturgy Task Force, ‘Trial Use Collects and Prayers over the Gifts and after Communion for Year C:  Easter during the Day through Pentecost’ (2015), 8.

[ii] The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 344.

[iii] Evangelical Lutheran Worship:  Leaders Desk Edition (2006), 232.

[iv] Common Praise #719.

[v] Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 66 alt.

[vi] Songs for a Gospel People #12.

[vii] The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 345.

[viii] J. Philip Newell, Celtic Benediction:  Morning and Night Prayer (2000), 5 alt.

No comments: