Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

23rd October 2022

30th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Year C

19th Sunday after Trinity

Proper 25

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.

To God be the glory! Great things he hath done;
So loved he the world that He gave us his Son;
Who yielded his life in atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord!
Let the earth hear His voice;
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord!
Let the people rejoice:
O come to the Father
Through Jesus the Son
And give him the glory;
Great things he hath done!

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood!
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord!
Let the earth hear His voice;
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord!
Let the people rejoice:
O come to the Father
Through Jesus the Son
And give him the glory;
Great things he hath done!

Great things he hath taught us, great things he hath done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer and higher and greater will be
Our wonder, our rapture, when Jesus we see.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord!
Let the earth hear His voice;
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord!
Let the people rejoice:
O come to the Father
Through Jesus the Son
And give him the glory;
Great things he hath done!

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 and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A reading from the book of

Sirach

Give to the Most High as he has given to you,
and as generously as you can afford.

For the Lord is the one who repays,
and he will repay you sevenfold.

Do not offer him a bribe, for he will not accept it
and do not rely on a dishonest sacrifice;

for the Lord is the judge,
and with him there is no partiality.

He will not show partiality to the poor;
but he will listen to the prayer of one who is wronged.

He will not ignore the supplication of the orphan,
or the widow when she pours out her complaint.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

Psalm 84:1-6

1 How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! *

My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.

2 The sparrow has found her a house

and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; *

by the side of your altars, O Lord of hosts,

my King and my God. 3 Happy are they who dwell in your house! *

they will always be praising you. 4 Happy are the people whose strength is in you! *

whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way.

5 Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs, *

for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.

6 They will climb from height to height, *

and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.

A reading from

the 2nd Letter of Paul to Timothy

I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

All stand for the Acclamation and Gospel reading.

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,

And he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.

Alleluia

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to:

Luke

Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, `God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, `God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

After the Gospel reading

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

When we pray and expect that our prayers might be heard, then we must pray humbly, asking for the Lord’s mercy rather than seeking to demand his attention. We can give our love and prayers to Him, expecting nothing, but having total confidence in His love for us and that He will arrange the outcome of all things for our good.

The first reading today is from the book of Sirach, one of the Wisdom books. This book teaches us about many things: God has no favourites – the prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds and will reach its goal.

We can compare this with today’s Gospel, from Saint Luke, which presents us with two people, both praying. The first person tells God about all that he has done that is good. He was a Pharisee – a member of a very fanatical sect, who believed every word of the Old Testament to be true, and then acted it out to the letter

He had the confidence or was it really the conceit to remind God just how true and faithful a follower he was, boasting that he was a better person than the tax collector.  

The other simply tells God that he is a sinner. Now tax collectors were regarded by their fellows as traitors, working for the hated Roman occupiers. These people ‘bought’ the revenue collection rights for a particular district from the Romans for an agreed sum – anything which they managed to extort beyond this was theirs to keep, and so they soaked their hapless victims for every last cent that they thought possible – anyone who didn’t pay could expect a visit from a posse of Roman soldiers to rough them up and help themselves to the victim’s possessions, just as do the bailiffs in our own day.  

Anyone with a shred of conscience would know that this wasn’t right, and the tax collector in the parable was one such – he wanted to ‘own up’ and humbly told God he was a sinner. We know he is humble because he stood afar off and couldn’t so much as lift up his eye to heaven but simply pleaded to God for mercy. Jesus tells us then that it is the sinner who is heard, rather than the arrogant, self-righteous Pharisee! 

There is so much fear today of admitting that we are sinners or about defining ourselves as such. We would rather be known as children of God, as those loved by God. Of course, both ways of looking at us are equally valid. On the other hand, although we are children of God and loved by God, we are not faithful to Him and all too often fail to respond to His love – nevertheless, He never rejects us.  Both descriptions of us are true, and yet from our side, we are only sinners and merit nothing, and that is an uncomfortable fact from which we should not attempt to hide, or delude ourselves otherwise!

We can always rejoice that He loves us, that He invites us to share His life, and that He constantly reaches out to us, no matter how many times we turn away. We need to have that confidence in Him, yet we should never be ashamed to admit to being sinners and, therefore, unworthy of His love.

What a miracle it is though that He loves us! What infinite compassion He has towards us! What tender mercy He shows to us!

The second Letter to Timothy gives us the perspective of Saint Paul: I have kept in the race, I have persevered, I trust in the Lord. The race is simply to live our life here on earth with this total trust in God, no matter how often we fail or turn aside. We know the truth of this life: God loves us. We know the path of this life: love of God and love of our neighbour, especially our enemy, who we inevitably find it so difficult to embrace. We know that He will always give us the strength to believe if we only ask Him.

God invites us to see ourselves as we are, rather than as we might wish to be. The more humbly we live, the more confidence we can have in His love and compassion.  

Let us, therefore, take the time today to pray as did the Tax Collector: Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. 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.

To follow

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’)**

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.

All creatures of our God and King,
Lift up your voice and with us sing
Alleluya, alleluya!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam:

O praise him, O praise him,
Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya!

Dear mother earth, who day by day
Unfoldest blessings on our way,
O praise him, Alleluya!
The flowers and fruits that in thee grow,
Let them his glory also show:

O praise him, O praise him,
Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya!

Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship him in humbleness,
O praise him, Alleluya!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, three in One:

O praise him, O praise him,
Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya!

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.

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.

Thank you all for being with us today, either here in the chapel or scattered around the world.  We are delighted to have you, to share our worship with you.

We hope that you will join us again in future weeks.

You remember please that as a Mission Church we are in need of your support to enable our ministry and you will find details of how to donate on our website StGeorgesPattaya.com

Now, if you are able please, will you stand as we sing;

(First line of last hymn)

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what thou dost love,
And do what thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until with thee I will one will,
To do and to endure.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Till I am wholly thine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with the fire divine.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
So shall I never die,
But live with thee the perfect life
Of thine eternity.

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