Sunday readings and prayers

The collect for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity 

Almighty God, who sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and light of your Church: open our hearts to the riches of your grace, that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in love and joy and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

First Reading: Jeremiah 23:23-29

Am I a God near by, says the LORD, and not a God far off? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the LORD. I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back - those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal. Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the LORD. Is not my word like fire, says the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?  Jeremiah: Horace Vernet 

Jeremiah the prophet was a contemporary of Isaiah. Repeatedly he warned the people of Judah that their self seeking lifestyle would lead to disaster. Indeed, Jeremiah  lived to see the destruction of Jerusalem.  The passage speaks of God’s greatness: He is everywhere, not just a ‘local’ God of limited influence. He is a God who can make things happen!

Psalm 82
God has taken his stand in the council of heaven; in the midst of the gods he gives judgement:

‘How long will you judge unjustly and show such favour to the wicked?

‘You were to judge the weak and the orphan; defend the right of the humble and needy;

‘Rescue the weak and the poor; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

‘They have no knowledge or wisdom; they walk on still in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

‘Therefore I say that though you are gods and all of you children of the Most High,

‘Nevertheless, you shall die like mortals and fall like one of their princes.’

Arise, O God and judge the earth, for it is you that shall take all nations for your possession.

Second Reading: Hebrews 11:29-12:2

By faith the people of Israel passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.

And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets – who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Letter to the Hebrews was almost certainly written to a group of Jewish Christians who had left Jerusalem to settle in a new place where they could live and worship in peace, possibly Antioch or Caesarea. Things were beginning to get tough: discrimination and persecution was not what they had bargained for when they left the capital. Paul seeks to put things into perspective by placing their situation within the context of the heritage of the Jewish people.  With the coming of Jesus, the Promised Land of the Old Testament has now become the Promised Land of Heaven and the Passover of the Jews has become the Passover of Christ.  Jesus brings a new and living way of entering into a true and spiritual relationship with God, one that will help endure the hardships of life. Through their perseverance and radical faith the Hebrew Christians laid the basis and foundation of a church that was to last an eternal lifetime. In our turn we are asked to play a part in ensuring that the message of salvation gets passed from our generation to the next. Quite a responsibility!

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 12: 49 –56

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptised, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:

father against son  and son against father,

mother against daughter  and daughter against mother,

mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law

and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’

He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?                                                                             Jesus preaches by the sea: Tissot 

The Church today continues to struggle with opposition from without and divisions within – and yet we are asked to be peacemakers!

The crowds in the passage are unable to see the key moment of salvation history unfolding before their very eyes. Jesus’ ministry reveals God’s plan and purpose to the world but the crowds are oblivious to it. They are able to interpret the material world but not the spiritual one. Sometimes we too find it hard to see God at work in the world.  Maybe if we looked at things from God’s perspective, we would see miracles happening all the time. All too often we don’t recognise them because we are so used to seeing life from our own world view, rather than that of the Creator

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Heavenly Father, we thank you for the Love that you have showered on us and on your  people throughout the generations. You guide us and protect us, giving us joy and hope, whatever befalls us,  as we seek to lead our lives in a way that will bring others to know you.

We pray for all who are victims of persecution, whether for their race or their Faith.

We continue to pray for all who are affected by war in Ukraine and the Middle East and ask that the peace makers may be guided as they seek a just resolution to the conflicts.

We pray for all working in the health service, facing pressures and stress and ever growing demands on their time and energy.

Compassionate Father, we ask you to heal the sick, thinking especially of ..........................................  May they know your never failing presence and find in it a source of renewed strength. We ask you, Father, to strengthen and encourage those who care for them.

We pray for the repose of the soul of those who have recently departed this life.  Lord, at this time of distress and questioning, we ask that the bereaved may be comforted and consoled. 

“ O thou, from whom to be turned is to fall, to whom to be turned is to rise, and in whom to stand is to abide for ever; Grant us in all our duties thy help, in all our perplexities thy guidance, In all our dangers thy protection, And in all our sorrows thy peace; Through Jesus Christ our Lord. St. Augustine (340—430)

Prayer from Archbishop Hosam Naoum of Jerusalem

O God of all justice and peace we cry out to you in the midst of pain and trauma of violence and fear which prevails in the Holy Land.

Be with those who need you in these days of suffering; we pray for people of all faiths – Jews, Muslims and Christians and for all the people of the land.

While we pray to you, O Lord, for an end to violence and the establishment of peace, we also call for you to bring justice and equity to the peoples.

Guide us into your kingdom where all people are treated with dignity and honour as your children, for to all of us you are our Heavenly Father. In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

A PRAYER FOR UKRAINE

Lord, you promise us a future in which the weapons of war will be transformed into instruments of peace.  
Today is not such a day, as missiles rain down on Ukraine  and innocent people take refuge underground..
You taught us to pray your kingdom come on earth  as it is in heaven,
and so we pray that you will restrain the aggressor, grant courage and wisdom to the resistance, and bring peace to this part of your world.  
Look with mercy on the peoples of Ukraine and Russia, and grant our leaders wisdom and courage to seek a resolution that will allow truth and freedom to return to these lands.
Grant Lord, that through this conflict that we would have unimaginable four years  ago, we may recognise anew our need for you, and live to thank you for answering our prayers.  

Amen