Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

28th August 2022

22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Year C

11th Sunday after Trinity

Proper 17

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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.

HYMN: Praise, my soul, the King of heaven; To his feet thy tribute bring.

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
To his feet thy tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Who like me his praise should sing?
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King.

Praise him for his grace and favour
To our fathers in distress;
Praise him still the same for ever,
Slow to chide and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glorious in his faithfulness.

Father-like, he tends and spares us;
Well our feeble frame he knows;
In his hands he gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes,
Alleluia, alleluia!
Widely as his mercy flows.

Angels, help us to adore him;
Ye behold him face to face;
Sun and moon, bow down before him;
Dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace.

♫♫ 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:

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.

THE COLLECT OF THE DAY

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

THE FIRST READING

A reading from the book of

Proverbs

Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence
or stand in the place of the great;

for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

THE RESPONSE

Psalm 112

1 Hallelujah!
Happy are they who fear the Lord *
and have great delight in his commandments!

2 Their descendants will be mighty in the land; *
the generation of the upright will be blessed.

3 Wealth and riches will be in their house, *
and their righteousness will last for ever.

4 Light shines in the darkness for the upright; *
the righteous are merciful and full of compassion.

5 It is good for them to be generous in lending *
and to manage their affairs with justice.

6 For they will never be shaken; *
the righteous will be kept in everlasting remembrance.

7 They will not be afraid of any evil rumors; *
their heart is right;
they put their trust in the Lord.

8 Their heart is established and will not shrink, *
until they see their desire upon their enemies.

9 They have given freely to the poor, *
and their righteousness stands fast for ever;
they will hold up their head with honor.

10 The wicked will see it and be angry;
they will gnash their teeth and pine away; *
the desires of the wicked will perish.

THE SECOND READING

A reading from the book of

Hebrews

Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid.

What can anyone do to me?”

Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

All stand for the Acclamation and Gospel reading.

ACCLAMATION

Alleluia! Alleluia!

If anyone loves me he will keep my word,

And my Father will love him,

And we shall come to him.

Alleluia!

THE GOSPEL

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to:

Luke

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, `Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, `Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

After the Gospel reading

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

THE HOMILY

Today many people live not only in the real world but rather engage with friends, family and even a wider sphere digitally using social media.

People display pictures of food, fantastic, exclusive vacations, job promotions, and social occasions. There are glimpses of their flourishing children. Then, we have posts with judgement – good things and bad! These posts are designed to beef up their status amongst those who have been invited into their community, the people the algorithm has determined think and feel like they do. The purpose? All to acknowledge and reassure the person who posts of their high social status. It has even coined the term ‘virtue-signalling’.

It may not surprise you that here in Thailand, Facebook ranked first among the leading social media networks, with around 93.3 per cent of those canvased, registered and using it. The highest engagement on the platform, relative to population, than any country on earth.

In the quest to exhibit our best selves, quite often, the missing component in those conversations is any sense of humility. That is certainly the case here in Thailand, where folks go to great lengths to show just how ‘Up’ in society they are, how ‘HiSo’, ‘VIP’ or ‘VIP++’ they are. Often whilst ridiculing others for the colour of their skin, relative poverty, lack of education, bad teeth, if they are ladyboys or tomboys, and even an accident someone might have been involved in, caught on camera.

Humility is the state of being humble. It is lovely to share the most positive experiences of our lives – I do it myself, but one must be careful not to appear boastful or give the appearance of lording what we have, or what we know, over others.

As a little church in Thailand, we use Facebook, although what we have to say is not vacuous virtue signalling; we share our work, our worship and our witness. And, as the only church in Asia registered with the Inclusive Church Network, our worship is genuinely open to all.

In the 14th chapter of Luke, Jesus takes a provocative step and accepts a dinner invitation to eat with the Pharisees. The Pharisees were rigid in their thoughts and practices of Judaism. They viewed Jesus with great suspicion because of his willingness to break the rules and traditions. In this gospel, Jesus heals a person on his way to dinner and asks the Pharisees if it is wrong to do so. After all, it was the Sabbath. But they remained quiet.

Once inside, Jesus pays particular attention to people jockeying for the best seating at the table. Jesus used this occasion as a teachable moment about humility. He tells us that we are not to immediately flock to the best seat in the house but rather to move down to a lower seat and wait to be invited to a perceived place of honour.

As faithful people, we should recognise that in the eyes of Jesus, we are all equal. Therefore, where we sit is less important than who we offer a seat to and ultimately, the table of Jesus is much bigger than most of us understand.

In Hebrews, we are admonished to graciously give up our cherished seat and “show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that, some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Jesus’ banquet table can never be a place reserved exclusively for the elite.

On occasion, people who have been marginalised by society find themselves standing outside of the banquet room. Some already seated can feel an urgent desire to deny such inclusion. Ceding any power to others can be intimidating. Jesus keeps encouraging us to review the guest list and, in a display of proper etiquette, be sure that everyone has a seat to extend an invitation to others, expecting nothing in return. The banquet is for everyone.

Fear of others can create a tendency to refuse to provide space, so many are still excluded in the wider Church. As long as this resistance continues can never appreciate the full richness of the Church. Jesus says that exclusion is not the appropriate response. He calls us all to participate in the banquet and understand that when called to the table of Jesus, all who we can think of will be at the table too.

Jesus’ relationship with the Pharisees had been rocky. Jesus urged the group to focus less on the letter of the law and instead on promoting the spirit of God’s teaching. For example, healing people on the Sabbath was more important than doing nothing.

Despite the teachings of our Lord, people can sometimes feel very uncomfortable worshipping with people who are not like them, gay people, people who behave differently from us, people who smell or make noises, people who cannot sit still, even children.

Why do I go to the highest seat? Is it comfort? Not rocking the boat? or to find ‘people like me?

What would it be like to sit down next to and get to know the man who wants to be a woman or vice versa, recognising that they are simply who they are and that God loves them no more or less than he loves me?

We are willing to give money for someone to take supplies to the poor, but some would prefer they not come into the sanctuary. We might be happy to plan help for them, but we do not necessarily want to sit next to them.

As we humble ourselves before God, our goal should not be to attain the best seat at a banquet or a party. Instead, let us open the doors leading to the hall and invite everyone in. Let us allow our guests to select their seats first, and then we will fill in what is remaining. Let us give thanks to God for providing sustenance for all who are present. In so doing, we will fulfil the instructions provided through Hebrews and Luke.

In the Gospel, Jesus’ instruction is clear: “When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

These are the pictures we should all be posting on social media. Pictures of us putting the work of Jesus into action, love into action with equal seats offered to all since God equally and profoundly loves us all.

Amen.

THE NICENE CREED

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.

INTERCESSION

To follow

THE CONFESSION

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.

HYMN: To God be the glory, great things he hath done; So loved he the world that he gave us his Son;

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 an 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.

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 and rapture when Jesus we see.

♫♫ 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.

CLICK HERE FOR EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

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, 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.

HYMN: Let all mortal flesh keep silence And with fear and trembling stand;

Let all mortal flesh keep silence
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly-minded,
For with blessings in his hand
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth he stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood:
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

At his feet the six-winged seraph;
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the Presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry,
Alleluia, alleluia,
Alleluia, Lord most high!

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

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