+ In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
The Greeting:
Grace, mercy and peace
from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ
be with you
and also with you.
Prayer of Preparation:
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are 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.
The Gloria:
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his 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
The Collect – 10th Sunday after Trinity
Let your merciful ears, O Lord,
be open to the prayers of your humble servants;
and that they may obtain their petitions
make them to ask such things as shall please you;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Readings:
Isaiah 58: 9b-14
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD’s holy day honourable,
and if you honour it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Hebrews 12: 18-29
18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Luke 13: 10-17
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
Homily:
When I was growing up, Sunday was a very different day in our house. My parents worked in a shop for 6 days a week, sometimes from very early in the morning to very late into the night. Sunday was a catch-up day. It had its special bits. We always had a full English breakfast and a roast lunch. Apart from cooking, Mum hoovered the house and ironed my Dad’s shirts and my uniform for the coming week. Dad got up later than usual, read a Sunday newspaper and then went to the pub for a drink – or two. We ate late and I then made a start on the homework that I had not done so far that weekend. Somewhere in the day Mum and I would have a heated discussion about my lack of time to do the dusting: my job.
I might have been to Church in the morning as I was a Guide on Church Parade once a month. I would have gone in the evening to Sung Evensong as my friend and I were in the Choir.
We rarely saw any other members of our family because my uncles and my older cousins all worked in the coal mines. For them: Sunday was much the same as any other day. They were either on a day off or an afternoon or a late. In 1994, the Sunday Trading Law was passed and if my parents had still been at work, they also would have discovered that Sunday became just another working day. At around that time, half days in the week were also phased out. Of course it is possible for shopworkers to ask not to work on Sundays if they attend church but the fact is that it takes a lot of courage to stand up to your Supervisor when he has many others willing to take the work.
What holds our readings together today is a few thoughts about the Sabbath and our observance of it. Sabbath day observance started way back in the mists of time for the Jews. In Genesis Chapter 2, verse 2 we read: “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work, Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”
We see the inauguration of a day of rest. It certainly wasn’t very restful for my Mum by the time she had cooked for us and cleaned for us and caught up with everything else she had got behind with.
The Jews were better at having a day of rest. Of course, the seventh day inaugurated by God is Saturday, so the Jewish Sabbath begins at 6pm on Friday evening and goes on until 6pm on Saturday. All preparations for the family meals are done before 6pm on Friday because no work is allowed on the Sabbath. No travel is allowed because that is viewed as work and medication can only be given to save life, not to routinely treat an illness. There are over 600 rules in Judaism and many of them refer to the Sabbath day. Our gospel passage describes what happened one day when Jesus was in one of the synagogues for sabbath worship. We can read of several stories concerning people whom Jesus healed on the Sabbath. He got himself into serious trouble with the Pharisees when he did it. Eventually, he was driven out of one synagogue and the Jews were going to stone him to death. Today’s story seems much gentler. There is no person shouting out to Jesus to come and heal them. We read that Jesus had just finished teaching and a woman appeared. She was clearly in need: her back was bent over and she had been in that condition for 18 years. Jesus just calmly said to her “you are set free” and he then laid a hand on her for healing. She immediately stood up straight and began praising God. The leader of the synagogue was not pleased and pointed out to Jesus that we don’t do that kind of thing on the Sabbath because the Sabbath is different. Jesus, as always pointed out the hypocrisy. It was impossible to cease from work altogether. They said they didn’t work but they still fed and watered their animals.
Isaiah says that the people should not pursue their own interests on the Sabbath day but rather should take delight in the Lord. They should spend time praising God and thanking him for his many gifts to them. If they do that God will be pleased with them and they will prosper. The writer to the Hebrews compares this time of praise to coming to Mount Zion and to the city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where there are innumerable angels in festival robes. They are talking about deliberately taking time out regularly to develop a relationship with God where he can help us to know what our next step in life is to be. Many people these days who are serious about living a Christian way of Life purposefully take a day every week as their Sabbath day. Sunday is no longer a day for many people when they can take a good length of time because they are involved in leading worship and teaching children or running activities. So, they take some time on a quieter day of the week or a quieter time of the day in order to concentrate on their personal relationship with God. They don’t have any rules about how this is done. Sometimes it’s dedicated time with their husband and wife and family: to do what they love to do together. Then they probably eat together and pray together. No guests, no catching up with the washing etc. It takes some organizing for busy people but if we are serious about our relationship with God, it is worth it.
Intercessions:
For the peace that comes from God alone,
for the unity of all peoples,
and for our salvation,
Lord, in your mercy.
Here our prayer.
For the Church of Christ, for Graham, Alan and Jane our Bishops
and for the whole people of God throughout the Anglican Communion.
We pray for the clergy of this Deanery and Stephen Thorp our Rural Dean.
We pray for the local churches as they continue vacancy and for those whose task it is to appoint clergy.
Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer.
For the nations of the world, particularly praying for those where there is unrest and suffering. We continue to pray for Russia and Ukraine that peace may be restored.
For Elizabeth our Queen, Charles, Prince of Wales and William, Duke of Cambridge.
We pray for all those in positions of leadership in our nation whether at local or national level. We pray for the election of the new Prime Minister.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
For this village of Stow Bedon and all the churches in this Benefice: for our neighbours and our friends. For all we do to promote peace and the love of God to those we live amongst.
For all children and their teachers now on holiday, farms and other places of work.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
For the aged and infirm,
For the widowed and orphans,
For the sick and suffering.
We pray for all the residents and staff at Thorp House and for all those being cared for in their own homes.
For …..
And for anyone else in need,
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
For the dying, for those who mourn,
for the faithful whom we entrust to the Lord in hope,
as we look forward to the day when we share
the fullness of the resurrection. We pray for the family and friends of Peggy Vincent who has died recently.
Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The Peace:
We are the body of Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Let us then pursue all that makes for peace and builds up our common life.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
The Lord’s Prayer:
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.
Final Prayer:
God of our pilgrimage,
you have willed that the gate of mercy
should stand open for those who trust in you:
look upon us with your favour
that those who follow the path of our will
may never wander from the way of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The Blessing:
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 among you and remain with you
always. Amen