Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

31st July 2022

18th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Year C

7th Sunday after Trinity

Proper 13

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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.

Greetings to you all to our Eucharist Service on the (proper)

A particular welcome to you if you are joining us on the internet either now on the Livestream or later on the replay.

You are very welcome; we are very delighted to have you.

Please bring your own petitions, cares and concerns to God and offer them alongside ours.

As usual, you will find all the spoken and sung material for today’s service on our Facebook page and also on our website.

Remember please, the link to donate or the donate button.  We are very much in need of money to assist with our Ministry.

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

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.

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; 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

Ecclesiastes

Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem, applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.

I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me — and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labours under the sun because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun? For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night, their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

Psalm 49:1-11

Audite haec, omnes

1 Hear this, all you peoples;
hearken, all you who dwell in the world, *
you of high degree and low, rich and poor together.

2 My mouth shall speak of wisdom, *
and my heart shall meditate on understanding.

3 I will incline my ear to a proverb *
and set forth my riddle upon the harp.

4 Why should I be afraid in evil days, *
when the wickedness of those at my heels surrounds me,

5 The wickedness of those who put their trust in their goods, *
and boast of their great riches?

6 We can never ransom ourselves, *
or deliver to God the price of our life;

7 For the ransom of our life is so great, *
that we should never have enough to pay it,

8 In order to live for ever and ever, *
and never see the grave.

9 For we see that the wise die also;
like the dull and stupid they perish *
and leave their wealth to those who come after them.

10 Their graves shall be their homes for ever,
their dwelling places from generation to generation, *
though they call the lands after their own names.

11 Even though honored, they cannot live for ever; *
they are like the beasts that perish.

A reading from the book of

Colossians

If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these, the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things– anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal, there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

All stand for the Acclamation and Gospel reading.

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Your word is truth, O Lord,

Consecrate us in the truth.

Alleluia!

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to:

Luke

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, `What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, `I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, `Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, `You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

After the Gospel reading

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

I have to confess; I was not exactly thrilled to see this passage in the lectionary. It is about money, or so it seems, and that is a touchy subject to say the least. A rich man’s land produces abundantly, but he wants to keep everything for himself, to store the excess grain for another day. But if we look a bit closer, we discover that money is only a side issue here. Christ says, “So it is for those who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich toward God.” If this parable were truly about money, it would probably end in a different way, maybe something along the lines of, “So it is for those who store up treasures for themselves but do not give their money to those in need.” But He does not chastise those who refuse to give; He chastises those who are not “rich toward God.”
Rich toward God. What does this mean? Who is rich toward God? What about monks and nuns? Surely, they are rich toward God, for they have taken religious vows. They have cast their possessions aside to spend their lives in prayer and they have left home to immerse themselves in God’s presence. In the early days of the church, the desert fathers and mothers left home and ventured into the deserts of Egypt and Syria to spend their lives in prayer, fasting, and solitude. At times they would chant the psalms. At other times their prayer was simple and unadorned; they would merely repeat the name of Jesus in their hearts, invoking Him there, to draw their attention away from the world and into communion with the Father. And this, I think, is what made them rich toward God. Not their willingness to leave possessions behind, but their habit of seeking God in the depths of the heart. The movement inward… This is richness toward God. When the rich man stored up his possessions and kept the excess grain for himself… This was not a sin of greed, or at least not primarily a sin of greed. No, the sin was that his attention was always moving outward into the world, and not inward toward God. He sought God’s provision in the outside world instead of seeking God’s presence in the depths of his spirit.
It could be that the rich man even had God in mind. Perhaps he thought, “If I have enough food stored away, I will finally have enough time to pray.” But even if this were the case, the energies of his spirit would still be flowing outward and not inward. To take care of his possessions first so that he might then attend to the needs of the heart. But for Christ, it seems that this priority is—however scandalous and counterintuitive this might feel—always reversed. We are told elsewhere to seek the kingdom of God and trust that all else will be provided in time; and we are told to store up treasure in heaven—that is, to store up prayer in the depths of the heart—and not on earth.
But even if we pray, the direction of our lives can still move outward and away from God. After all, Christ also tells us not to pray with many words and vain repetitions. If there are many words, then our attention is probably on problems in our lives and not on God. And then we are still stashing grain into barns, so to speak. In other words, if most of our prayers are about the world… This has not changed the fundamental current of our spirit, the overall direction. The desert fathers and mothers took this advice to heart. And perhaps this is why their prayer was so stark and elemental: a constant invocation of the name of Christ in the heart.
Ultimately this prayer would evolve into the Jesus Prayer, which consists of a single line: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me… Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” Monks in the Eastern Orthodox tradition recite this prayer day in and day out, and night after night, as they work, as they attend the liturgy, as they fall asleep… They are rich toward God. Not because they live away from the world, in a monastery or a hermitage. Not because their possessions are few. But because the current of their attention flows ever inward, toward God. For as St. Augustine says, God is nearer to us than our inmost depths. And they have realized this truth. They seek Him within.
To pray is to sink into our own depths and, from there, to sink into God. And if we persist, if we move inward again and again and again, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me,” then at a certain point our depths fall into the depths of God, and we begin to experience spiritual union with Christ. We are immersed in Him. To pray is to move within. Prayer is a pilgrimage toward the center of our being, where God dwells silently. The desert fathers and mothers knew this. Many of the monks and nuns alive today know this. To know that God is within and to seek Him there… This is what it means to be rich toward God. It is not wrong to pray for our needs and for God’s provision, of course. But the key lesson here is that as we go within, provisions follow us there. Seek first the kingdom. Until our depths converge with God’s.
So, why am I going on and on about monks and nuns? We are all laypersons. How is any of this relevant to our lives? Here we are in this chapel, and presumably none of us have plans to join a monastery. All of this may be true, but it is also true that we are, in a way, standing in a monastery right now. You see, the Anglican liturgy comes from the Benedictines. Our Book of Common Prayer is shorter version of the monastic hours. Our Anglican tradition does not see a rigid boundary between the monastery and the chapel. After the Reformation, some Protestant cities turned against the monks and closed their monasteries. They believed that living a pious life in the world was sufficient. That it was enough to go about our day, praying on occasion. And of course, this amounts to saying: A life devoted to prayer is a life wasted. Perhaps this is even an inversion of Christ’s message: seek first the things of the world, and our prayer will follow naturally. But thankfully, we Anglicans took another approach. We brought the monastery into the world. Our liturgy is our monastery. A monastery of sound. Our Eucharist is our monastery. For to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ is to be one with Him. A monastery of bread and wine. And as we partake of the elements, we are as near to Christ as the soul of a monk, even as he is immersed in prayer, far from the world, in the dead of the night. God is present to us in our hearts, and intensely so. And here today, we do not merely pray to God… We cry into our own depths to remember His presence.
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.

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.

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)

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. ♫♫

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 Minuet Gothique’ (Suite Gothique) – Boellmann