An Order for the Eucharist on Pentecost 15 (RCL Proper 23B, 6 September 2015)

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

6 September 2015

The Gathering of the Community

Gathering Music

Greeting

Blessed be the Holy Trinity, one God,

who forgives all our sin,

whose mercy endures forever.

Blessed be God forever. [i]

Collect for Purity

Almighty God,

to you all hearts are open,

all desires known,

and from you no secrets are hidden.

Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts

by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,

that we may perfectly love you,

and worthily magnify your holy name;

through Christ our Lord.  Amen. [ii]

Hymn of Praise

‘We Cannot Measure How You Heal’  Common Praise #292

Collect of the Day

Let us pray.

Maker of us all,

you call us to love our neighbours as ourselves

and teach us that faith without works is dead.

Open us to the ministries that lie before us,

where faith and the needs of our neighbour

come together in the name of Jesus Christ,

our Saviour.  Amen. [iii]

The Proclamation of the Word of God

The First Reading

A reading from Proverbs (22.1-2, 8-9, 22-23).

         ¹ A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favour is better than silver or gold.  ² The rich and the poor have this in common:  the Lord is the maker of them all.

         ⁸ Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of anger will fail.  ⁹ Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.

         ²² Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; ²³ for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.

Thanks be to God.

The Psalm of the Day

Psalm 125 with a refrain from Songs for the Holy One

Refrain (sung twice):  O God, show your goodness to all your people.

¹ Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, *

         which cannot be moved, but stands fast for ever.

² The hills stand about Jerusalem; *

         so does the Lord stand round about this people,

         from this time forth for evermore.

³ The sceptre of the wicked shall not hold sway

over the land allotted to the just, *

         so that the just shall not put their hands to evil.

Refrain:  O God, show your goodness to all your people.

⁴ Show your goodness, O Lord, to those who are good *

         and to those who are true of heart.

⁵ As for those who turn aside to crooked ways,

the Lord will lead them away with the evildoers; *

         but peace be upon Israel.

Refrain:  O God, show your goodness to all your people.

The Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of James (2.1-17).

         ¹ My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favouritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?  ² For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, ³ and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” ⁴ have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?  ⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.  Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?  ⁶ But you have dishonoured the poor.  Is it not the rich who oppress you?  Is it not they who drag you into court?  ⁷ Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

         ⁸ You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”  ⁹ But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.  ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.  ¹¹ For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.”  Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.  ¹² So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.  ¹³ For judgement will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgement.

         ¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?  Can faith save you?  ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?  ¹⁷ So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.

Thanks be to God.

Hymn before the Gospel

Alleluia.  Alleluia.  Alleluia.

Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom

and healed every infirmity among the people.

Alleluia.  Alleluia.  Alleluia. [iv]

The Gospel

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark (7.24-37).

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

         ^7.24 From there [Jesus] set out and went away to the region of Tyre.  He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there.  Yet he could not escape notice, ²⁵ but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet.  ²⁶ Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin.  She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  ²⁷ He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”  ²⁸ But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”  ²⁹ Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go — the demon has left your daughter.”  ³⁰ So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

         ³¹ Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.  ³² They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him.  ³³ He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.  ³⁴ Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”  ³⁵ And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.  ³⁶ Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.  ³⁷ They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

The Gospel of Christ.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

The Sermon

An Affirmation of Faith

Let us declare our faith in God.

We believe in God the Father,

from whom every family

in heaven and on earth is named.

We believe in God the Son,

who lives in our hearts through faith,

and fills us with his love.

We believe in God the Holy Spirit,

who strengthens us

with power from on high.

We believe in one God;

the holy and undivided Trinity.  Amen. [v]

The Prayers of the Community

Intercessions, Thanksgivings and Petitions

The Exchange of the Peace

May the peace of the Lord be always with you.

And also with you.

The Holy Communion

Offertory Hymn

‘We Lay Our Broken World’  Common Praise #613 (sung to #167)

The Prayer over the Gifts

Let us pray.

Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things.

Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts:

our selves, our time, and our possessions.

Use us, and what we have gathered,

in feeding the world with your love,

through the one who gave himself for us,

Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen. [vi]

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 that we should praise you, gracious God,

for you created all things. 

You formed us in your own image: 

male and female you created us. 

When we turned away from you in sin,

you did not cease to care for us,

but opened a path of salvation for all people. 

You made a covenant with Israel,

and through your servants Abraham and Sarah

gave the promise of a blessing to all nations. 

Through Moses you led your people from bondage into freedom;

through the prophets you renewed your promise of salvation. 

Therefore, with them, and with all your saints

who have served you in every age,

we give thanks and raise our voices 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. [vii]

Holy God, source of life and goodness, all creation rightly gives you praise. 

In the fullness of time, you sent your Son Jesus Christ,

to share our human nature, to live and die as one of us,

to reconcile us to you, the God and Creator of all. 

He healed the sick and ate and drank with outcasts and sinners;

he opened the eyes of the blind

and proclaimed the good news of your kingdom

to the poor and to those in need. 

In all things he fulfilled your gracious will.

On the night he freely gave himself to death,

our Lord Jesus Christ took bread,

and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it,

and gave it to his disciples, and said,

“Take, eat:  this is my body which is given for you. 

Do this for the remembrance of me.”

After supper he took the cup of wine;

and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, 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.”

Gracious God, his perfect sacrifice destroys the power of sin and death;

by raising him to life you give us life for evermore. 

Therefore we proclaim our hope. 

Dying you destroyed our death. 

Rising you restored our life. 

Lord Jesus, come in glory.

Recalling his death, proclaiming his resurrection,

and looking for his coming again in glory,

we offer you, O Holy One of Israel, this bread and this cup. 

Send your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts,

so that all who eat and drink at this table

may be one body and one holy people,

a living sacrifice in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory is yours,

Creator of all things, seen and unseen,

now and for ever.  Amen. [viii]

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. [ix]

The Breaking of the Bread

“I am the bread of life,” says the Lord.

“Whoever comes to me will never be hungry;

whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Taste and see that the Lord is good;

happy are they who trust in him! [x]

The gifts of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

Communion

Hymn after Communion

‘The Church of Christ in Every Age’  Common Praise #584 (sung to #96)

The Sending Forth of the Community

The Prayer after Communion

We give you thanks, almighty God,

that you have refreshed us

through the healing power of this gift of life.

In your mercy, strengthen us through this gift,

in faith toward you

and in fervent love toward one another;

for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. [xi]

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. [xii]

Closing Hymn

‘O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing’  Common Praise #306

The Dismissal

The Deacon sends the People forth with a Dismissal for the occasion.

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[i] Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 94 alt.

[ii] The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 185.

[iii] Liturgy Task Force, ‘Trial Use Collects for Proper 23B to Proper 30B’ (2015), 1.

[iv] Common Praise #710 with Sentence for Proper 23B sung by the presider.

[v] Common Worship (2000), 148 alt.

[vi] Liturgy Task Force, ‘Trial Use Collects for Proper 23B to Proper 30B’ (2015), 7.

[vii] Common Praise #732.

[viii] The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 193-195 alt.

[ix] Songs for a Gospel People #12.

[x] The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 212.

[xi] Liturgy Task Force, ‘Trial Use Collects for Proper 23B to Proper 30B’ (2015), 8.

[xii] The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 214.