8th Sunday after Pentecost – 18th July 2021

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

7th Sunday after Trinity

Year B – Track 2

Proper 11

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. ♫♫

O happy band of pilgrims,
If onward ye will tread
With Jesus as your fellow
To Jesus as you head!

O happy if ye labour
As Jesus did for men;
O happy if ye hunger
As Jesus hungered then!

The trials that beset you,
The sorrows ye endure,
The manifold temptations
That death alone can cure.

O happy band of pilgrims,
Look upward to the skies,
Where such a light affliction
Shall win you such a prize!

♫♫ 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.

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son 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:

Jeremiah

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

Psalm 23

Dominus regit me

The Lord is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.

3 He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake.

4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.

6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

A Reading from the book of

Ephesians

Remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision” —a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

All stand for the Acclamation and Gospel reading.

Acclamation:

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice, says the Lord,

I know them, and they follow me.

Alleluia!

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to:

Mark

✝✝✝

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

After the Gospel reading

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

We humans are great builders – towns and turbines, subways and satellites, farms and factories.  We can take justifiable pride in these accomplishments, but toooften we tend to do our building for all the wrongreasons.

Remember the Genesis story of the Tower of Babel?  Those builders achieved amazing things – they were on their way to building a tower to heaven itself – but they were constructing a temple to their own glory.  God scrambled their languages and put some limits on their ambition.

Unfortunately, we took those skills we had at building one very tall tower and got really good at building lots and lots of walls.  We build walls to protect and to shelter, to corral and to contain, to mark boundaries and to defend them.

In fact, the walls themselves work in concert with the curse of Babel – they help us define and defend all the differences between us.  We usually start with languages and nations, but before long we’re segregating ourselves by customs and habits, by religions and ideologies.  The distinctions get finer, and the walls grow more numerous.  Ever creative in our pride, we begin to build walls to the glory of our own distinctiveness, and then convince ourselves that God dwells within our own particular boundaries.

Into the midst of this situation comes Jesus, and as we read in Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians today, Christ “has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostilitybetween us.”  Languages and nations?  Christ proclaims peace to those who are far off and those who are near. Religions and ideologies? Jesus was prepared even to “abolish the law, with its commandments and ordinances,” in order to create one new humanity.

Jesus takes down whatever walls we have raised to create divisions amongst us.  Insiders and outsiders?  The walls come down.  Citizens and foreigners? The walls come down.  Oppressors and victims?  In Christ Jesus, the walls come down.

Jesus isn’t just doing demolition work here – he’s nottrying to bring about a sort of spiritual anarchy.   He’s working to raise a new structure, to join us togetherinto a holy temple.  Jesus is working to reverse the curse of Babel, first by healing our division, and then by creating a new tower. This tower, though, is built to God’s glory. Instead of striving to reach heaven from the earth, this temple is built to invite the presence of God, to be “a dwelling place for God.”

Paul tells us that Jesus does all this through his ownbody.  “In his flesh he … has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.”  At least in part, Paul is talking about the crucifixion.  On the cross, Jesus accepted the full weight of our pride and our contention, allowing his own body to be broken, in order to show us the folly of our divisions and hostilities.

Here again, the story does not end in mere destruction.  In the resurrection, Jesus not only witnesses to new life, but acts to reconcile all our divided factions to God “in one body through the cross.”  In a sense, this is a natural extension of Jesus’ work of bodily healing throughout his earthly ministry.  In our gospel reading for today, remember how the crowds rush to meet Jesus, bringing the sick to lay along his path.  The sick and injured come to him with nothing but their faith, and their own weakness and vulnerability.  Jesus meets not only their needs to be healed, but their needs to be seen and acknowledged.

Sickness or disability in that culture was a sentence of separation. Likely it meant a life of dependence, or even of begging.  Certainly it meant exclusion from religious life, being declared unclean for temple worship, prevented from drawing near to the physical presence of God that the temple represented.  Jesus instead brings God’s presence directly to those most excluded, and most in need.  Jesus does not let even the religious law stop him – he heals on the Sabbath, he heals in synagogues; he overturns tables in the temple, and the sick come to him to be healed there.

Jesus is healing more than bodily illness; he is healing division and exclusion.  In fact, he is creating a new Body, gathering together the crowds, who have been like sheep without a shepherd, and bringing God’s presence among them.  Teaching and healing, Jesus begins to assemble a new community bound together by faith in the nearness of God.

In the cross and resurrection, Jesus consummates allthis work of teaching healing.  He shows himself to be present, even in surrender, suffering and death.  He surpasses all those ills in the resurrection, and invites all of humanity to become part of his own body.  He not only restores the temple of his own body in threedays, but begins to shape all of us into the Body of Christ.  In the cross, the two great metaphors for the church are united and find their basis: the church as the Body of Christ, and the church as the new temple of God.

We all are invited to join with the apostles and prophets, in their self-giving role of building this newand holy temple.  Moreover, we are invited to hold each other up in service, prayer and worship, even as the stones of the temple together bear the weight of the whole.

This can only happen because of Jesus the cornerstone, who also happens to be the master architect.  We may look at the church, and see it terribly fragmented.  We may look at our fellow Christians across the dividing line of denominations, worship styles and theologies, and despair of everworking together.  Frankly, we may not want to be placed side-by-side with them, in a new and unifiedstructure.

But if we come to seek healing, in humility and in faith, then maybe we will see that Jesus, who is able to heal our divisions, and is also able to grow us into one body of many different sorts of members, so long as we remember that Jesus is the head.  And Jesus, as our master-builder, can make use even of our differences in order to create a perfect balance and counterpoise.  Hewill work until the only walls that remain standing are the walls of one great “holy temple in the Lord.”   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.

18/07 PROPER 11 – YEAR B – p85/6

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Let us pray to God,  who has compassion on his people in all their needs.

Strengthen the Church to be the witness of your new law,  and a living sign of your reconciling powerBless those who work for the spread of the Gospel,  granting them rest and refreshment when they are weary from their labours.

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 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.

Save with your healing powers the nations of the world…Grant that men and women shall not live in suspicion of strangers,  and fear of what seems to be foreign, but coexist together in harmony as your gathered people.

We pray for the leaders of all the nations of this world,  most particularly for the King and Government of Thailand,  and also in the countries from which we come, and for all the people in countries that have had problems of any kind during this past week.

Grant wisdom to all 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.

Draw into the fellowship of your household our families and friends,  our neighbours and colleagues…Make us one in the unity that Christ came to bring.

We pray for all who are prevented from,  or persecuted for practising their faith,  wherever they may beWe 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 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.

Visit and relieve the sick…Give new hope to those whose suffering has been long…Give skill and compassion to all who do the work of healing.

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 destroyed;   and where there is such heavy dependence on the hotel, hospitality and tourist industry,  now given added urgency as the outbreak continues to  increase in severity.

Amongst the sick we remember;

Fr. Tom, Colin, Mavis, Patricia,  Eric, Kent, David, Graham, Elizabeth, Conrad, Jun and any others known personally to each and every one of us…

5 Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

We give thanks for all those whose lives were built on the foundation of Jesus Christ,   and now rest in him

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 Ian, for Herman, for Margaret, and for all those known personally to us, collectively or individually…

We remember also all those whose anniversary falls at this time, who we have known and loved…(1, 2, 3)

Give them joy in the fellowship of the heavenly church where Christ reigns for ever.

6 Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

[DAVID] – As sheep who have found their shepherd,  we pray through Christ our Lord

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.

The Son of God proclaim,
The Lord of time and space;
The God who bade the light break forth
Now shines in Jesus’ face.

He, God’s creative Word,
The Church’s Lord and head,
Here bids us gather as his friends
And share his wine and bread.

The Lord of life and death,
With wondering praise we sing:
We break the bread at his command
And name him God and King.

We take this cup in hope;
For he, who gladly bore
The shameful cross, is risen again
And reigns for evermore

♫♫ 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.

Let us, with a gladsome mind,
Praise the Lord, for he is kind:
For his mercies ay endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

Let us blaze his name abroad,
For of gods he is the God:
For his mercies ay endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

All things living he doth feed,
His full hand supplies their need:
For his mercies ay endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

Let us, with a gladsome mind,
Praise the Lord, for he is kind:
For his mercies ay endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

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

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 ‘Minuet Gothique’ (Suite Gothique) – Boellmann