Proper Prayers for the 5th Sunday in Lent: Year A (29 March 2020)

Proper Prayers for the 5th Sunday in Lent (Year A)

Ezekiel 37.1-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8.6-11; John 11.1-45

                                  

Collect of the Day

Almighty God, your Son came into the world to free us all from sin and death.  Breathe upon us with the power of your Spirit, that/so that we may be raised to new life in Christ, and serve you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.  [1]

or

Almighty God, your Son came into the world to free us all from sin and death.  Breathe upon us with the power of your Spirit, that/so that we may be raised to new life in Christ, and serve you in righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.  [2]

or

God of compassion, you call us out of the bindings of death on this, our resurrection day:  make us ready to surrender the fear in which we hide to step into your future alive and unashamed; through Jesus Christ, the life of the world.  Amen.  [3]

or

God of all consolation, your Son comforted the grieving sisters, Martha and Mary, for your breath alone brings life to dry bones and weary souls.  Pour out your Spirit upon us, so that we may face despair and death with the hope of the resurrection and faith in the One who called Lazarus forth from the grave.  Amen.

or

Merciful God, you showed your glory to our fallen race by sending your Son to confound the powers of death.  Call us forth from sin’s dark tomb.  Break the bonds which hold us, that/so that we may believe and proclaim Christ, the cause of our freedom and the source of life, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, holy and mighty God for ever and ever.  Amen.  [4 alt.]

Prayer over the Gifts

Giver of life, your Son has destroyed the power of death for all those who believe in him.  Accept all we offer you this day and strengthen us in faith and hope; through Jesus Christ, the Lord of the living.  Amen.  [1]

or

God our provider, you have not fed us with bread alone, but with words of grace and life.  Bless us and these your gifts, which we receive from your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [3]

Preface

Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of heaven and earth, because you bid your faithful people to cleanse their hearts and to prepare with joy for the paschal feast; that reborn through the waters of baptism and renewed in the eucharistic mystery, we may be more fervent in prayer and more generous in the works of love.  Therefore we raise our voices to you in praise to proclaim the glory of your name.  [1]

or

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:  [2]

Prayer after Communion

God of hope, in this eucharist we have tasted the promise of your heavenly banquet and the richness of eternal life.  May we who bear witness to the death of your Son, also proclaim the glory of his resurrection, for he is Lord for ever and ever.  Amen.  [1]

or

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; through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [3]

Prayer over the People

In place of a blessing or the Doxology (‘Glory to God whose . . . ‘), a Prayer over the People appropriate to the day may be used.

Look with compassion, O Lord, upon this your people; that, rightly observing this holy season, they may learn to know you more fully, and to serve you with a more perfect will; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [7]

Notes

[1]        The Book of Alternative Services 1985

[2]       Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006

[2a]     Evangelical Lutheran Worship:  Leaders Desk Edition 2006

[3]       Alternative Collects for Years A, B & C of the RCL and Seasonal Prayers over the Gifts and after Communion 2019

[4]        Opening Prayers:  Collects in Contemporary Language 1997

[5]        Prayers for an Inclusive Church 2009

[6]        Revised Common Lectionary Prayers 2002

[7]        Book of Occasional Services 2018

N.B.  Text in italics are possible alternatives suggested by the Ven. Richard Geoffrey Leggett, Ph.D.

The Lord Is Really with Us: The 3rd Sunday in Lent (15 March 2020)

The Lord Is Really with Us

The 3^rd Sunday in Lent

Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral

New Westminster BC

15 March 2020

Exodus 17.1-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5.1-11; John 4.5-42

Is the Lord really with us?

            On Thursday morning of this past week Archbishop Melissa joined three other faith leaders from the Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities on CBC Radio One’s ‘Early Edition’ with Stephen Quinn.  They were each interviewed about how their respective communities were responding to the COVID-19 outbreak and what spiritual resources they were bringing to bear.

            One of the leaders spoke about his tradition’s belief that events such as these challenge us to examine our moral and spiritual lives.  In his comments I heard echoes of today’s reading from Exodus.

            The Hebrews had been enslaved in Egypt and through the mighty work of God had been liberated.  They had evaded pursuing armies with God’s help and had had their thirst and hunger satisfied by the providential gifts of manna, quail and water from a stone.  Yet they still muttered to themselves and to Moses, ‘Is the Lord really with us or not?’ [1]

            Hardships of any sort tend to reduce our horizons, whether as individuals or as communities.  We begin to act as if we have been abandoned and lose sight of our primary resource:  God’s persistent and pervasive gracious presence in many and varied ways, seen and unseen.  We often fall into the grip of ingratitude and forget that God, even in our hardships of whatever form, continues to sustain us through the generosity and compassion of our families, our friends and our neighbours.  While no one wishes hardship to come upon anybody, hardship is not a fallow time, a time for personal and communal spiritual growth.

Trouble, Endurance, Character and Hope

            When Paul wrote to the Christian believers in the city of Rome, he was writing at a time of great personal and vocational crisis.  He himself was on the way to Rome for judicial examination, trial and potential execution.  The Roman Christians to whom he was writing were divided by theological partisanship and ethnic conflict.

            Yet, even in this midst of this, Paul writes some of his more memorable prose.

We even take pride in our problems,

because we know that trouble produces endurance,

endurance produces character,

and character produces hope. [2]

Trouble, endurance, character and hope.  What a quartet!  When Paul writes about character, he is thinking of a person who is tried and trusted, some who is a firm as a rock. [3]  For some with character, the hardships of life do not produce naïve optimism or fatalism; they produce hope.  Hope springs from looking around us, looking closely at our lives, and seeing how God has been at work in us, around us and, most importantly, for us.

The Lord is really with us.

            She came to the well as she did at least once a day.  How many times had she had to put up with misogyny, sexual innuendo and prejudice?  And so she came and there he was, just one more Jewish male who could indulge in a little bit of Samaritan-bashing and social snobbery.

            But that’s not was happened.  True, there were a few witty remarks exchanged.  But then he touched the depths of her soul and spoke to her heart-felt hopes.  ‘No more waiting for the Messiah,’ he said and she came to believe, ‘I am here.’

            My friends, I will not recite a catalogue of the challenges we face as disciples of Jesus in 21^st-century Canada and in this heart of the city of New Westminster.  Nor will I minimize the social, physical and financial hardships COVID-19 has and is likely to continue to impose upon us and many others here and abroad.  But I will tell you this.

            The Lord is really with us, whether we can touch one another or not.  Whether we meet physically in the same space or virtually by means of social media and technology, the Lord is really with us.

            This present trouble comes upon us in the midst of Lent.  During this holy season we seek endurance for our pilgrim journey of faith.  We are building character, becoming more Christ-like as each day brings us closer to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection.  And we grow in up because

[we are] convinced that nothing can separate us 

from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord:  

not death nor life, not angels or rulers,

 not present things or future things,

 not powers or height or depth, 

or any other thing that is created. [4]

Not COVID-19.  Not temporary suspensions of our gatherings, whether social or liturgical.  Not anything.  Because the Lord is really with us --- with every human being on this fragile planet of ours.  And when this crisis passes, let us remember this and be thankful.

---

[1] Exodus 17.7 Common English Bible.

[2] Romans 5.3-4 Common English Bible.

[3] N. T. Wright in “Romans” in The New Interpreter’s Bible 2002, X.516.

[4] Romans 8.38-39 Common English Bible alt.

Proper Prayers for the 2nd Sunday in Lent (8 March 2020)

Proper Prayers for the 2^nd Sunday in Lent (Year A)

Genesis 12.1-4a; Psalm 121; Romans 4.1-5, 13-17; John 3.1-17

                                  

Collect of the Day

Almighty God, whose Son was revealed in majesty before he suffered death upon the cross, give us faith to perceive his glory, that/so that being strengthened by his grace we may be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, ow and for ever.  Amen.  [1]

or

O God, our leader and guide, in the waters of baptism you bring us to new birth to live as your children.  Strengthen our faith in your promises, that/so that by your Spirit we may lift up your life to all the world through your Son, our Saviour  and Lord, who lies and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.  [2]

or

Holy God, whose Spirit’s breath prompts our seeking:  transform the night-time of our fear into a welcoming womb for us and all the world; through Jesus Christ, in whom we are born anew.  Amen.  [3]

or

God of mercy, you are full of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in mercy, and always ready to forgive:  grant us grace to renounce all evil and to cling to Christ, so that in every way we may prove to be your loving children; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.  [3]

or

Holy God, during this forty days enlighten your Church with the bright glory of your presence.  Inspire us by your word, and transform us into the image of the risen Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, holy and mighty God for ever and ever.  Amen.  [4 alt.]

or

God of amazing compassion, lover of our wayward race, you bring to birth a pilgrim people, and call us to be a blessing for ourselves and all the world.  We pray for grace to take your generous gift and step with courage on this holy path, confident in the radiant life that is your plan for us, made known and given in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [6]

Prayer over the Gifts

God of wisdom, may the light of the eternal Word, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, guide us to your glory.  We ask this in his name.  Amen.  [1]

or

God our provider, you have not fed us with bread alone, but with words of grace and life.  Bless us and these your gifts, which we receive from your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [3]

Preface

Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of heaven and earth, because you bid your faithful people to cleanse their hearts and to prepare with joy for the paschal feast; that reborn through the waters of baptism and renewed in the eucharistic mystery, we may be more fervent in prayer and more generous in the works of love.  Therefore we raise our voices to you in praise to proclaim the glory of your name.  [1]

or

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:  [2]

Prayer after Communion

Creator of heaven and earth, we thank you for these holy mysteries, which bring us now a share in the life to come, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [1]

or

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; through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [3]

Prayer over the People

In place of a blessing or the Doxology (‘Glory to God whose . . . ‘), a Prayer over the People appropriate to the day may be used.

Keep this your family, Lord, with your never-failing mercy, that relying solely on the help of your heavenly grace, they may be upheld by your divine protection; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.   [7]

Notes

[1]        The Book of Alternative Services 1985

[2]       Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006

[2a]     Evangelical Lutheran Worship:  Leaders Desk Edition 2006

[3]      Alternative Collects for Years A, B & C of the RCL and Seasonal Prayers over the Gifts and after Communion 2019

[4]        Opening Prayers:  Collects in Contemporary Language 1997

[5]        Prayers for an Inclusive Church 2009

[6]        Revised Common Lectionary Prayers 2002

[7]        Book of Occasional Services 2018

N.B.  Text in italics are possible alternatives suggested by the Ven. Richard Geoffrey Leggett, Ph.D.