The First Eucharist of Lent With imposition of ashes
28 February 2017
The Gathering of the Community
The Greeting and Collect of the Day
The Lord be with you.
And also with
you.
Let us pray.
Silence
O God,
you delight
not in pomp and show
but in a humble
and contrite heart.
Overturn our
love of worldly possessions
and fix our
hearts more firmly on you,
that, having
nothing,
we may yet
possess everything,
a treasure
stored up for us in heaven,
made known to
us in Jesus Christ
who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now
and for ever. Amen.
The Proclamation of the Word of God
The First Reading
A reading from the Prophet Isaiah (58.1-12).
1
Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up
your voice like a trumpet! Announce to
my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet day after day they seek me
and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced
righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me
righteous judgements, they delight to draw near to God. 3 “Why do we fast, but you do not
see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” Look, you serve your own interest on your
fast day, and oppress all your workers. 4
Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked
fist. Such fasting as you do today will
not make your voice heard on high.
5
Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will
you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? 6 Is not this the fast that I
choose: to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break
every yoke? 7 Is it not to
share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own
kin? 8 Then your light shall
break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your
vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear
guard. 9 Then you shall call,
and the Lord will answer; you shall
cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
If
you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of
evil, 10 if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs
of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be
like the noonday. 11 The Lord
will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make
your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of
water, whose waters never fail. 12
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many
generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of
streets to live in.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to
God.
Psalm 103.7-18 (NRSV)
7
O Lord, you made your ways known to Moses *
and
your works to the children of Israel.
8
You are full of compassion and mercy, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.
9
You will not always accuse us, *
nor
will you keep your anger for ever.
10
You have not dealt with us according to
our sins, *
nor rewarded us according to our
wickedness.
11
For as the heavens are high above the earth, *
so
is your mercy great upon those who fear you.
12
As far as the east is from the west, *
so far have you removed our sins
from us.
13
As parents care for their children, *
so
do you, O Lord, care for those who fear you.
14
For you yourself know whereof we are
made; *
you remember that we are but dust.
15
Our days are like the grass; *
we
flourish like a flower of the field;
16
when the wind goes over it, it is gone,
*
and its place shall know it no more.
17
But your merciful goodness endures for ever on those who fear you, *
and
your righteousness on children’s children;
18
on those who keep the covenant *
and remember the commandments and do
them.
The Gospel
The Lord be with you.
And also with
you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according
to Matthew (6.1-6, 16-21).
Glory to you,
Lord Jesus Christ.
1
[Jesus said,] “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be
seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2
“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised
by others. Truly I tell you, they have
received their reward. 3 But
when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who
sees in secret will reward you.
5
“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand
and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen
by others. Truly I tell you, they have
received their reward. 6 But
whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father
who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
16
“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they
disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their
reward. 17 But when you fast,
put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may
be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who
sees in secret will reward you.
19
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume
and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do
not break in and steal. 21
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The Gospel of Christ.
Praise to
you, Lord Jesus Christ.
The Homily
The Prayers of the Community
The Prayers
Dear friends in Christ, every year at the time of
the Christian Passover
we celebrate our redemption through the death and
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lent is a time to prepare for this celebration
and to renew our life in the paschal mystery.
We begin this holy season by remembering our need
for repentance,
and for the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. We begin our
journey to Easter with the sign of ashes, an ancient sign, speaking of the
frailty and uncertainty of human life, and marking the penitence of the
community as a whole.
I invite you therefore, in the name of the Lord, to
observe a holy Lent by self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting, and
alms-giving, and by reading and meditating on the word of God.
For our incapacity to feel the sufferings of
others,
and our tendency to live comfortably with
injustice,
Holy One,
forgive us.
For the self-righteousness that denies guilt,
and the self-interest that strangles compassion,
Holy One,
forgive us.
For those who live their lives in careless
unconcern,
who cry ‘Peace, peace,’, when there is no peace,
Holy One,
forgive us.
For our failings in community,
our lack of understanding,
Holy One,
forgive us.
For our lack of forgiveness, openness and
sensitivity,
Holy One,
forgive us.
For the times we were too eager to be better than
others,
when we are too rushed to care,
when we are too tired to bother,
when we do not really listen,
when we are too quick to act from motives other
than love,
Holy One,
forgive us.
[i]
Almighty God, from the dust of the earth you have
created us.
May these ashes be for us a sign of our mortality
and penitence,
and a reminder that only by your gracious gift are
we given eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Those who wish
to receive the sign of ashes come forward.
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall
return.
After the
imposition of ashes the Presider says,
Almighty God have mercy on you,
forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus
Christ,
strengthen you in all goodness,
and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in
eternal life. Amen.
Jesus invites us to a way of celebration,
meeting and feasting with the humble and poor.
Let us walk
this way with joy.
Jesus beckons us to a way of risk,
letting go of our security.
Let us walk
this way with joy.
Jesus challenges us to listen to the voices
of those who have nothing to lose.
Let us walk
this way with joy.
Jesus points us to a way of self-giving,
where power and status are overturned.
Let us walk
this way with joy.
Jesus calls us to follow the way of the cross,
where despair is transformed by the promise of new
life.
Let us walk
this way with joy.
[ii]
The Exchange of the Peace
The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with
you.
The Holy Communion
The Prayer over the Gifts
Let us pray.
Artist of souls,
you sculpted
a people for yourself
out of the
rocks of the wilderness and fasting.
Help us to
accept your invitation to prayer and simplicity,
that the
discipline of these forty days
may sharpen
our hunger for your feast of holy friendship,
and whet our thirst
for the living water
you offer
through Jesus Christ. Amen.
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,
through our Saviour Jesus Christ.
You call your people to cleanse their hearts
and prepare with joy for the paschal feast,
that renewed in the gift of baptism,
we may come to the fullness of your grace.
And so, with all the choirs of angels,
with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven,
we praise your name and join 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.
Hosanna in
the highest.
Holy, mighty and merciful Lord,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
In great love you sent us Jesus, your Son,
who reached out to heal the sick and suffering,
who preached good news to the poor
and who, on the cross, opened his arms to all.
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.
Remembering, therefore, his death, resurrection and
ascension,
we await his coming in glory.
Pour out upon us the Spirit of your love, O Lord,
and unite the wills of all who share this heavenly
food,
the body and blood of Jesus Christ our Lord;
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be all glory and honour, now and for ever. Amen.
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.
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
The Commissioning of the Community
The Prayer after Communion
Let us pray.
God of the wilderness and water,
your Son was
baptized and tempted as we are.
Guide us
through this season,
that we may
not avoid struggle,
but open
ourselves to blessing,
through the
cleansing depths of repentance
and the heaven-rending
words of the Spirit. Amen.
Grant, most merciful Lord,
to your faithful people pardon and peace,
so that they may be cleansed from all their sins,
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Dismissal
Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to
God.
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