The Fourth
Sunday in Lent
30 March
2014
The
Gathering of the Community
Gathering
Music
Opening
Litany
At the door to the Nave, the
Presider, assisted by other Ministers, begins the Litany.
Blessed be the holy Trinity, one
God,
the fountain of living water,
the rock who gave us birth,
our light and our salvation.
God of our ancestors, you raise
the dead to life in the Spirit:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
You bring pardon and peace to the
broken in heart:
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
You make one by your Spirit the
torn and divided:
Lord, have mercy.
God of the prophets, may your
loving mercy come to us
and your salvation according to
your word:
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Your word is a lantern to our feet
and a light to our path:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Let your mercy come to us so that
we may life,
for your ways are our delight:
Christ, have mercy.
Lenten
Hymn of Praise
‘Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery’ Common Praise #179 vv. 4, 6e
Collect
of the Day
Let us pray.
Creator and Healer,
teach us the insight that gives true judgement
and praises you wherever you are found,
through Jesus your Belovèd
who gives sight to the seeker
and in the Spirit
The
Proclamation of the Word of God
The First Reading
A
Reading from the first book of Samuel (16.1-13).
The Lord
said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over
Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set
out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself
a king among his sons.” Samuel said, “How
can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord
said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do;
and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him
trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with
me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified
Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they came, he looked on Eliab
and thought, “Surely the Lord’s
anointed is now before the Lord.”
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do
not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have
rejected him; for the Lord does
not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass
before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the
Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse made seven of his sons pass before
Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord
has not chosen any of these.” Samuel
said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?”
And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the
sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send
and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and
was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for
this is the one.” Then Samuel took the
horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit
of the Lord came mightily upon
David from that day forward. Samuel then
set out and went to Ramah.
Hear
what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.
The Psalm
Psalm 23
with the refrain from Songs for the Holy One
1 The Lord is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.
2 You
make me lie down in green pastures *
and
lead me beside still waters.
Refrain: The
Holy One is our light and saving help.
3 You revive my soul *
and guide me along right pathways
for your name’s sake.
4 Though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, *
I shall fear no evil;
for
you are with me; *
your rod and your staff, they
comfort me.
5 You
spread a table before me *
in the presence of those who trouble
me;
you
have anointed my head with oil, *
and my cup is running over.
6 Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
and
I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Refrain: The
Holy One is our light and saving help.
The
Second Reading
A Reading from the letter to the Ephesians
(5.8-14).
Let no one deceive you with empty
words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are
disobedient. Therefore do not be
associated with them. For once you were
darkness, but now in the Lord you are light.
Live as children of light — for
the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the
Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful
works of darkness, but instead expose them.
For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but
everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes
visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and
Christ will shine on you.”
Hear what the Spirit is saying to
the church.
Thanks be to God.
Gradual
Hymn
‘Praise the One Who Breaks the
Darkness’ Common Praise #397
The
Gospel
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ according to John (9.1-41).
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
As
[Jesus] walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned,
this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his
parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in
him. We must work the works of him who
sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light
of the world.” When he had said this, he
spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s
eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to
see. The neighbours and those who had
seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit
and beg?” Some were saying, “It is
he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is
someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am
the man.” But they kept asking him,
“Then how were your eyes opened?” He
answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me,
‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and
washed and received my sight.” They said
to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do
not know.”
They
brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the
mud and opened his eyes. Then the
Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not
from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.”
But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such
signs?” And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What do
you say about him? It was your eyes he
opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”
The
[Jewish authorities] did not believe that he had been blind and had received
his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight
and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is
our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he
sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him; he is of age. He will
speak for himself.” His parents said
this because they were afraid of the [Jewish authorities]; for the
[authorities] had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the
Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.
Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
So
for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to
him, “Give glory to God! We know that
this man is a sinner.” He answered, “I
do not know whether he is a sinner. One
thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already,
and you would not listen. Why do you
want to hear it again? Do you also want
to become his disciples?” Then they
reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We
know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he
comes from.” The man answered, “Here is
an astonishing thing! You do not know
where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard
that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do
nothing.” They answered him, “You were
born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.
Jesus
heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you
believe in the Son of Man?” He answered,
“And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I
may believe in him.” Jesus said to him,
“You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgement
so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and
said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you
would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains’.”
The Gospel of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
The
Sermon
A
Lenten Affirmation of Faith
The Deacon invites the Community
to affirm its faith.
Let us affirm our faith.
Sisters and brothers, let us love one another,
because love is from God;
everyone who loves is born of God
and knows God.
Whoever does not love does not know God,
for God is love.
God’s love was revealed among us in this way:
God sent the Word, the Belovèd, into the world
so that we might live through Christ.
Sisters and brothers, since God loved us so much,
we also ought to love one another.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God.
The
Prayers of the Community
Intercessions,
Thanksgivings and Petitions
The
Exchange of the Peace
May the peace of Christ be always
with you.
And also with you.
The Holy
Communion
The
Offertory Hymn
‘He Comes to Us As One Unknown’ Common Praise #456
Lenten
Prayer over the Gifts
The Deacon leads the Community in the Prayer
over the Gifts.
God our provider,
you have fed us not
with bread alone,
but with words of
grace and life.
Bless us and these
your gifts,
which we receive
from your bounty,
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 right to give you thanks and
praise,
O Lord, our God, sustainer of the
universe,
you are worthy of glory and
praise.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
At your command all things came to
be:
the vast expanse of interstellar
space,
galaxies, suns, the planets in
their courses,
and this fragile earth, our island
home;
by your will they were created and
have their being.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
From the primal elements
you brought forth the human race,
and blessed us with memory, reason
and skill;
you made us the stewards of
creation.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
But we turn against you and betray
your trust,
and we turn against one another.
Again and again you call us to
return.
Through the prophets and sages
you reveal your righteous law.
In the fullness of time you sent
your Son,
born of woman, to be our Saviour.
He was wounded for our
transgressions
and bruised for our iniquities.
By his death he opened to us
the way of freedom and peace.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
Therefore we praise you,
joining with the heavenly chorus,
with prophets, apostles and
martyrs,
and with those in every generation
who have looked to you in hope,
to proclaim with them your glory,
in their unending hymn:
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.
Blessed are you, Lord our God,
for sending us Jesus, the Christ,
who on the night he was handed
over
to suffering and death,
took bread, said the blessing,
broke the bread, gave it to his
friends,
and said, “Take this, and eat it:
this is my body which is given for
you.
Do this for the remembrance of
me.”
In the same way, after supper,
he took the cup of wine;
he gave you thanks,
and said, “Drink this, all of you:
this is my blood of the new
covenant,
which is shed for you and for all
people
for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
do this for the remembrance of
me.”
Glory to you for ever and ever.
Gracious God,
we recall the death of your Son
Jesus Christ,
we proclaim his resurrection and
ascension,
and we look with expectation for
his coming
as Lord of all the nations.
We who have been redeemed by him
and made a new people by water and
the Spirit,
now bring you these gifts.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon this offering of your
Church,
so that we who eat and drink at
this holy table
may share the divine life of
Christ our Lord.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
Pour out your Spirit upon the
whole earth
and make it your new creation.
Gather your Church together
from the ends of the earth into
your kingdom,
where peace and justice are
revealed,
so that we, with all your people,
of every language, race and
nation,
may share the banquet you have
promised;
through Christ, with Christ and in
Christ,
all honour and glory are yours,
Creator of all.
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,
The
Breaking of the Bread
We break this bread,
communion in Christ’s body once broken.
Let your Church be the wheat
which bears its fruit in dying.
If we have died with him,
we shall live with him;
if we hold firm,
we shall reign with him.
The gifts of God for the people of
God.
Thanks be to God.
The
Communion
Communion
Hymn
‘Shepherd of Souls, Refresh and
Bless’ Common Praise #85
The Sending Forth of the Community
Lenten
Prayer after Communion
Compassionate God,
you have fed us with the bread of heaven.
Sustain us in our Lenten pilgrimage:
may our fasting be hunger for justice;
our alms, a making of peace;
and our prayer, the song of grateful hearts,
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
‘God, Who Touchest Earth with
Beauty’ Common Praise #422
Dismissal
The Deacon or Assisting Minister
sends the Community forth with an appropriate Dismissal.
Concluding
Music
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