20th Sunday after Pentecost – 10th October 2021

19th Sunday after Trinity

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Proper 23

Year B – Track 2

Watch the service on Twitch

ORDER OF SERVICE

You can click to expand or minimize the order of service below.

All are requested to join in wherever text is GREEN or when instructed by Fr. David.

Where the ✝ is shown, all are encouraged to make the sign of the cross.

Where the ✊ is shown all are encouraged to strike their breast with a closed hand following the actions of Fr. David.

Where the ✋ is shown all are encouraged to tap their breast with an open hand following the actions of Fr. David.

♫♫ Scroll to the bottom of the page for the media player where you can hear the music and practice your singing. ♫♫

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his works in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

♫♫ Scroll to the bottom of the page for the media player where you can hear the music and practice your singing. ♫♫

Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ✝

And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen

 

From Easter to Pentecost:

Allelulia. Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia

 

In Lent and other penitential occasions:

Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins;

His mercy endures for ever.

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

Let us pray:

Almighty God, to whom all hearts be open, all desires known and from whom 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.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

This prayer is omitted during Lent and Advent:

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth.  Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.  Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.  Amen.

 Holy God, holy and mighty ✝, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. 

Amen.

A Reading from the book of:

Amos 5:6-7,10-15

Seek the Lord and live,
or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire,
and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it.

Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood,
and bring righteousness to the ground!

They hate the one who reproves in the gate,
and they abhor the one who speaks the truth.

Therefore, because you trample on the poor
and take from them levies of grain,

you have built houses of hewn stone,
but you shall not live in them;

you have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you shall not drink their wine.

For I know how many are your transgressions,
and how great are your sins—

you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe,
and push aside the needy in the gate.

Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time;
for it is an evil time.

Seek good and not evil,
that you may live;

and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,
just as you have said.

Hate evil and love good,
and establish justice in the gate;

it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

 This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

Psalm 90:12-17

Domine, refugium

12 So teach us to number our days *
that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.

13 Return, O Lord; how long will you tarry? *
be gracious to your servants.

14 Satisfy us by your loving-kindness in the morning; *
so shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.

15 Make us glad by the measure of the days that you afflicted us *
and the years in which we suffered adversity.

16 Show your servants your works *
and your splendour to their children.

17 May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; *
prosper the work of our hands;
prosper our handiwork.

A Reading from the book of

Hebrews 4:12-16

The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God

All stand for the Acclamation and Gospel reading.

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Blessed are you, Father,

Lord of heaven and earth,

For revealing the mysteries of the kingdom

To mere children.

Alleluia!

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to:

Mark 10:17-31

✝✝✝

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”

Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

After the Gospel reading

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Not for the first time, we find Jesus focussing in on ‘wealth’ in today’s gospel passage.  Christ is our wealth – even though if we had nothing at all in this world which we could call our own, in Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God, we possess all things and we are rich in him. He is the word of God that is alive, and active in our hearts.

What is happiness for the Christian?  Quite simply, in doing God’s will and not our own. What is wealth for the Christian?  Having just what God wants us to have, and no more!

“Money can make us.  Money can break us…. Banks financed the Renaissance.  Bond markets decided wars. Stock markets built empires. And monetary meltdowns made revolutions.”  These are the opening lines of a British Channel 4 series, “The Ascent of Money” by Professor Niall Ferguson.  Interestingly, the purpose of the series was to explain the global credit crunch of 2008, which was in fact ‘the descent of money”!

Our daily life in the modern world revolves around money.  We work to earn money.  We spend restless nights calculating how we can increase it.  And we go through anxious moments as we plan how best to spend it!

Like many Jews, the man in Mark’s gospel lived his life‘ according to the Law’, but yet clearly he sensed that something was lacking in that he should have run up and knelt before Jesus, wanting to know what he should do in order to inherit Eternal Life.  Evidently, Jesus was of the opinion that ‘good’ should be applied to God alone, and then quoted from the Ten Commandments.  As ‘a liver according to the Law,’ the man was naturally familiar with these, and evidently had been faithful to the letter of them in his living, but as Jesus complained so often, his Jewish compatriots were so keen on ‘the letter of the Law’ that they failed totally to abide by the spirit of it.  In our more colloquial parlance, we might say, ‘unable to see the wood for the trees’, as I remarked only the other week!

Then it is that we’re told that this man had great wealth, and it was this which would deny him the Eternal Life which he craved.  In order to attain this blessed state, it would have been necessary for him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor – we are left with the strong suspicion that this was simply too much to ask!

What, we might well wonder, is intrinsically wrong with being wealthy?  On the face of it, nothing, but when we look a little more deeply, we might then begin to understand more of what Jesus was driving at.  For a start, just how was that wealth acquired?  We don’t need to look any further than here in Thailand to be aware only too painfully that much wealth is acquired by corruption at all levels of society, from top to bottom, and in many cases, it is ‘the poor’ who are the prime victims of this injustice.  In other words, the commandment ‘you must not steal’ has been broken, as the money has been acquired through improper means –‘Brown envelopes’!

Now, even though wealth may well have been perfectly legitimately acquired through hard work and honest endeavour or else inherited, it is invariably a distraction away from the things that should really matter.  For some weeks now I have been intensely preoccupied with trying to judge just when was the ‘right’ moment to bring some more money over to Thailand from the UK.  When we came here in 2006, there were 70 baht to the pound, whereas the other day I got only a little under 45.  I had been holding back for a number of weeks in the hope that the exchange rate might improve a little more in my favour, which it had, but a dwindling bank balance here meant that I couldn’t possibly delay very much longer, and so in effect had to jump before I was pushed!  Sod’s Law of course – the moment I’d made the transaction the pound strengthened, and if I’d waited only a few more hours until the end of the trading day, would have received several thousand baht more – the benefit of hindsight would be a wonderful thing, if only we had been blessed with it!

As you will, I’m sure, readily appreciate, I had allowed myself to be distracted from the things which really matter through my understandable preoccupation with wealth, or to be more truthful in this instance, the lack of it.  That is why Jesus said that ‘it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter into the Kingdom of God’!

Not that the disciples had any earthly possessions of any real consequence to their names, but they were undoubtedly dismayed at this, and asked Jesus, “Who then can be saved?”   Jesus told them quite simply that ‘for mortals this is impossible, but for God all things are possible!

This was too much for Peter, who yet again remonstrated with Jesus, as was his wont, reminding him that they had all left everything – home, family and possessions, to follow him.  You will recall that previously we heard Jesus say that in order to be saved it was indeed necessary to forsake all and give oneself unconditionally to God in order to be rewarded, not only in this life but also in the next!  Then comes again that phrase which we were thinking about together only a fortnight or so ago – the first shall be last and the last first!  In other words, those who have the most in this world will end up with least in the hereafter, as Jesus reminded his hearers in the parable of Dives and Lazarus!

The challenge for us as Christians is surely then the extent to which we give ourselves to God.  Are we like the man in the gospel who had done so much that was ‘right’, but yet was unwilling to take that last, crucial step?  To what extent are we prepared to shed our ‘baggage’ – rather like an emergency evacuation from an aircraft where one is expressly forbidden to take anything of one’s hand luggage?  In this case of course, earthly survival is the prime objective, but quite possibly our eternal salvation is similar?  Perhaps too, the prime reason Jesus was so attracted to ‘the poor’ was because they were completely unencumbered, and therefore so much closer to redemption than his more affluent hearers?

Now what does all this mean for us – we who live in a society governed by a capitalistic, profit-oriented, market economy; we who are constantly bombarded by consumerist ideology; we who are part of a society that uses people and loves things; we who are tempted to draw our identity from our possessions, enmeshing our being with our having?

The unidentified man in today’s gospel was not able to respond to his heart’s deepest yearning, because of his shallow desire for his possessions.  On the other hand, the disciples who ‘left everything and followed Jesus,’ – are known by their names even to this day.   Their identity comes from their relationship with Jesus.  Indeed they were rewarded a hundredfold!

So then, let us pray in this Eucharist that we accept the primacy of God and his kingdom in our lives, so that we only use things, but love people.  And in this way, we will be free not to be possessed by our possessions.  Amen

Please stand for the Nicene Creed.

Let us together affirm the faith of the Church. ✝

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

of one Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation

he came down from heaven:

was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,

and became truly human.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

✝ and the life of the world to come.  Amen.

PROPER 23 – YEAR B – p95-96

20th Sunday after Pentecost

19th Sunday after Trinity

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

a. Let us pray to God, in whose love and power all things are possible.

b. Keep your Church holy, free from desire for earthly wealth and glory….Make your preachers powerful to proclaim your saving word….Guide all who confess your name, that they may walk in the way of your commandments.

We pray for the welfare of your church here on earth;  guide and govern it by your Spirit,  so that all Christians may be led in the way of truth,  and hold the faith in the unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life.

We ask your blessing on +Vsevolod our Bishop,  on this, our parish of St. George – for its work,  its worship and its witness.  We pray particularly for Fr. David in his ministry to us,  and for all members of our congregation,  be they near or far.

1 Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

c. Have mercy on all whose wealth in this world holds them back from the knowledge of where true riches are to be found….Inspire the rulers of wealthy nations to feel compassion for those that are poor…In your mercy, do not send the rich empty away.

d. Bless us, our families and friends, with desire truly to follow you…..Shield us from all temptation, in the strength of Jesus Christ, who was tempted like us, but lived a life which was fully human here on earth, without sin.

We pray for the leaders of all the nations of this world,  most particularly for the King and Government of Thailand at this time of unrest,  and also in the countries from which we come. We remember also all the people in countries that have had problems of any kind during this past week, most particularly all those caught up in the tragic situation in Afghanistan, the floods here in Thailand, and the volcanic eruption in La Palma.

Grant wisdom to those in authority in every land,  and give to all people a desire for righteousness and peace,  the will to work together in trust,  to seek the common good,  and to share with justice and equity the limited resources of the earth.

2 Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

e. We pray for those who have heard your call, but failed to follow you…For those who have been unable to fulfil their vocation, or have lost their first desire.  Grant wisdom and love to those who guide others to find the right way.

We pray for all who are prevented from,  or persecuted for practising their faith,  wherever they may be.  We pray for our fellow Christians, both here in Thailand,  and also in our own home countries.

3 Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

We pray for all those who suffer in body,  mind and spirit;  the sick;  the poor;  the depressed;  the lonely;  the afraid, the unloved;  the persecuted;  the unemployed and those who care for them. Those who grieve;  and those who have nobody to pray for them.

4 Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

We remember all those who have been touched by the COVID 19 pandemic;  particularly here in Pattai-Ya,  where so many lives and livelihoods have been senselessly destroyed,   and where there is such heavy dependence on the hotel, hospitality and tourist industry,  as the outbreak still persists at an unacceptably high level of intensity. We pray for the on-going vaccination programme here in Thailand,  giving thanks that greater numbers are being safeguarded more speedily,  and then be spared the worst  of the unpleasant side-effects.

Amongst the sick we remember;

Fr. Tom, Fr. Michael, Brian, Kyoko, Colin, Mavis, Patricia,  Eric, Kent, Graham, Elizabeth, Conrad, Griselda, Jun,  Maurice,  Martyn, Emilia and any others known personally to each and every one of us…

5 Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

f. Grant the inheritance of eternal life to those who have followed you here on earth….Receive them in mercy as they come into your presence, and look upon the image in them of their great HIGH Priest, who has passed before them into heaven.

We bring to you all who have died in the hope of the resurrection,   especially the millions who have perished in the COVID pandemic – ,  for Robert (3), Bill (3), Margaret (2) David (1)…. … for Dick,  whose anniversary occurs at this time, and for all those known personally to us, collectively or individually…

Give them joy in the fellowship of  your heavenly Kingdom,  where Christ reigns for ever.

6 Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

[DAVID] – g. We pray in the name of Christ, who has made us inheritors of eternal life.

Grant that what we have asked in faith we may by your grace receive, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

THE CONFESSION:

God is steadfast in love and infinite in mercy, welcoming sinners and inviting them to the Lord’s table.

Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith, confident in God’s forgiveness.

Merciful God, our maker and our judge, we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, and in what we have failed to do: we have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves; we repent and are sorry ✊ for all ✊ our sins ✊, Father forgive us, strengthen us to love and obey you in newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

**(Note: all are encouraged to strike their breast 3 times following the lead of Fr. David as he utters the words: ‘sorry for all our sins’)**

Almighty God, who has promised forgiveness to all who turn to him in faith, pardon you ✝ and set you free from all your sins, strengthen you in all goodness and keep you in eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

THE PEACE:

The congregation stands.

We are the Body of Christ.

His Spirit is with us.

 

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

And also with you.

Please greet each other with a sign of peace.

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.

It makes the wounded spirit whole,
And calms the troubled breast;
‘Tis manna to the hungry soul,
And to the weary rest.

Dear name! the rock on which I build,
My shield and hiding-place,
Mt never-failing treasury filled
With boundless stores of grace.

Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see thee as thou art,
I’ll praise thee as I ought.
Till then I would thy love proclaim
With every fleeting breath;
And may the music of thy name
Refresh my soul in death.

♫♫ Scroll to the bottom of the page for the media player where you can hear the music and practice your singing. ♫♫

THE OFFERTORY

Blessed are you, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have these gifts to share. Accept and use our offerings for your glory and the service of your kingdom.

Blessed be God forever.

 Let us pray

We do not presume to come to your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies.  We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord whose nature is always to have mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us.  Amen.

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER C

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 thanks and praise.

Father, we give you thanks and praise through your beloved Son Jesus Christ, your living Word, through whom you have created all things; who was sent by you in your great goodness to be our Saviour.

By the power of the Holy Spirit he took flesh; as your Son, born of the blessed Virgin, he lived on earth and went about among us; he opened wide his arms for us on the cross; he put an end to death by dying for us; and revealed the resurrection by rising to new life; so he fulfilled your will and won for you a holy people.

Proper Preface

Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and saying:

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.

Lord, you are holy indeed, the source of all holiness; grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit, and according to your holy will, these gifts of bread and wine may be to us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; who, in the same night that he was betrayed, took bread and gave you thanks; he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat; this is my body ✝ which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.

In the same way, after supper he took the cup and gave you thanks; he gave it to them, saying: Drink this, all of you; this is my blood ✝ of the new covenant,

which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it,

in remembrance of me.

Great is the mystery of faith:

Christ has died:

Christ is risen:

Christ will come again.

And so, Father, calling to mind his death on the cross, his perfect sacrifice, made once for the sins of the whole world; rejoicing in his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension, and looking for his coming in glory, we celebrate this memorial of our redemption.

As we offer you this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, we bring before you this bread and this cup and we thank you for counting us worthy to stand in your presence and serve you. Send the Holy Spirit on your people and gather into one in your kingdom all who share this one bread and one cup, so that we, in the company of [N and] all the saints, may praise and glorify you for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord; by whom, and with whom, and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honour and glory be yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Let us pray with confidence to the Father, as our Saviour has taught us:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.  ✋

O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.✋

O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.✋

**(Note:  All are encouraged to tap their breast three times following the example of Fr. David as he utters the words ‘…have mercy, …have mercy and …grant us peace’)**

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.

Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.

This is the Lamb of God ✝, who takes away the sins of the world;

Happy are those who are called to his supper.

Lord, I am not worthy ✊ to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

**(Note:  All are encouraged to strike breast following the example of Fr. David as all utter the words ‘not worthy’)** 

After Communion the celebrant and the congregation say

 

Let us pray.

Father of all we give you thanks and praise that when we were still far off you met us in your Son and brought us home. Dying and living, he declared your love, gave us grace, and opened the gate of glory. May we who share Christ’s body live his risen life; we who drink his cup bring life to others; we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world. 

Keep us in this hope that we have grasped; so we and all your children shall be free, and the whole earth live to praise your name.

Father, we offer ourselves to you as a living sacrifice through Jesus Christ our Lord. Send us out in the power of your Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord: and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ✝, be amongst you and remain with you always.

Amen.

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord:

In the name of Christ.  Amen.

Stand up, and bless the Lord,
Ye people of his choice;
Stand up, and bless the Lord your God
With heart and soul and voice.

Though high above all praise,
Above all blessing high,
Who would not fear his holy name,
And laud and magnify?

God is our strength and song,
And his salvation ours;
Then be his love in Christ proclaimed
With all our ransomed powers.

Stand up, and bless the Lord,
The Lord your God adore;
Stand up, and bless his glorious name
Henceforth for evermore.

♫♫ Scroll to the bottom of the page for the media player where you can hear the music and practice your singing. ♫♫

CONTRIBUTE TO OUR WORK

Music

Here is the music for this week’s hymns, if you would like to practice beforehand.

Performed by Fr. David Price

NOTE: The introductory music is ‘A Fancy’ – Harris.