Prayer for this time
Heavenly Father,
our ever present help in trouble,
our fortress and our God:
calm the anxious fears of all who turn to you;
give strength and healing to those who are sick,
and courage and skill to those who care for them;
grant wisdom and clarity to those in authority;
and humble us all to call upon you,
that we may be saved not only in this life,
but also for that which is to come.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
A Simple Order of Morning Prayer in Ordinary Time
O Lord open our lips,
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
We sing to you, O Lord, and bless your name,
And tell of your salvation from day to day.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Worship the Lord.
All praise to his name.
Silent prayer/reflection on the coming day. :
Eternal God,
we praise and thank you for the day
on which you created light
and saw that it was good;
the day on which the disciples
discovered the empty tomb
and met the risen Christ.
This is the day that you have made;
we rejoice and are glad in it.
Blessed be God for ever.
Jubilate Deo (Psalm 100)
The Lord is gracious, his steadfast love is everlasting.
O be joyful in the Lord, all the earth:
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
Know that the Lord is God:
it is he that has made us and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise:
give thanks to him and bless his name.
For the Lord is gracious; his steadfast love is everlasting:
and his faithfulness endures from generation to generation.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and shall be for ever. Amen.
The Lord is gracious, his steadfast love is everlasting.
Bible Readings
FIRST READING Isaiah 40.12–17, 27–31.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure,
and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has directed the spirit of the LORD, or as his counsellor has instructed him?
Whom did he consult for his enlightenment, and who taught him the path of justice? Who taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Even the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as dust on the scales; see, he takes up the isles like fine dust.
Lebanon would not provide fuel enough, nor are its animals enough for a burnt-offering. All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God’? Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
PSALM Psalm 8
R O Lord our governor, how exalted is your name in all the earth.
O Lord our governor, how exalted is your name in all the world! Out of the mouths of infants and children your majesty is praised above the heavens. You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, to quell the enemy and the avenger. R
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars you have set in their courses, What are mortals, that you should be mindful of them? mere human beings, that you should seek them out? You have made them little lower than the angels; you adorn them with glory and honour. R
You give them mastery over the works of your hands; and put all things under their feet, All sheep and oxen, even the wild beasts of the field, The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea. R
O Lord our governor, how exalted is your name in all the world!
SECOND READING 2 Corinthians 13.11–13
Brothers and sisters, put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you
The Gospel of Christ according to Matthew 28. 16-20
Glory to you, O Lord.
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
Praise to you, O Christ.
Reflection.
It was the French Philosopher Jean Paul Sartre who famously wrote: ‘hell is other people’! There may be times when we have found ourselves sympathising with him; perhaps all of us at times feel the need to spend some time away from other people. Yet such feelings probably don’t last for long as most of us also appreciate human companionship, perhaps only feeling really complete when we’re in some sort of a relationship with others. Solitary confinement has always been considered one of the hardest forms of punishment because it takes away our human need to be with others. Part of our human DNA wants to be with others, to communicate, to build relationships. If we bring to mind some of the happiest memories of life then we’ll probably discover they involved some experience of relationship with others. Even in an age of individualism and technological communication we realise that no one is an island because we all need each other.
This Sunday we will be celebrating the Trinity. And we discover what is true of ourselves is also true of God. At the heart of God is a communion of persons who relate in perfect harmony with each other. Within the nature of God we discover a relationship of profound love that is revealed to the world through the relationship of of Father, Son and Holy spirit or if we prefer Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. That relationship is not a closed community of love but one that is open to all and which reaches out to embrace us.
On Sunday during our worship I’ll be reflecting on Rublev’s famous icon on the Trinity. This is an image that invites us to enter into a relationship with God for ourselves and to become part of a community of love, That relationship then challenges us to reflect that love in our own lives so as to reflect the community of the Trinity. We are all called to live in community, we might not always be perfect and we will all struggle but we are all called to persevere in playing our part in forming a community of love, a community that should reflect the love of God. Jesus the night before he died prayed ‘as the Father has loved me I love you….love one another as I have loved you’’.
At this time when we are unable to use our church buildings I hope we might all take some time to reflect on what the church really is. The Trinity encourages us to view the church as a gathering of disciples, a community that is built on love. We might not always be perfect but through the Holy Spirit active in our lives we are being built into a living community which is the true church.
Rublev’s Icon of the Trinity (The Hospitality of Abraham)
The Benedictus
In your tender compassion, O God,
the dawn from on high shall break upon us.
Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel
for he has come to his people and set them free.
The Lord has raised up for us a mighty Saviour
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets God promised of old
to save us from our enemies
from the hands of all who hate us.
To show mercy to our forebears
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear
holy and righteous before him all the days of our life.
And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and shall be for ever. Amen.
In your tender compassion, O God,
the dawn from on high shall break upon us.
Prayers
Loving God, as we meet this morning, we acknowledge that we are limited in our understanding of you. Thank you for loving us and remaining with us in our sorrows and joys; and despite our inadequacies and foolishness.
We thank you heavenly Father, for the perfect life and witness of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.
We thank you heavenly Father, for the power of your Holy Spirit as he directs us away from evil thoughts, words and actions. (Short Silence)
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer
God in three persons, blessed Trinity, we pray for your church.
We give thanks for our Benefice, and we pray that the Holy Spirit guides our leaders in their search for our new spiritual leader.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit we pray for our congregations. Help us to use your heavenly gifts that we may welcome the poor, the oppressed, the widow and the orphan; those who have committed crime, those suffering from mental conditions as well as the drug and alcohol abuser. May we exercise care for those suffering from family breakdowns or loss of employment. May we demonstrate our faith with all. (Short Silence)
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer
Loving Lord, we bring before You the leaders of the world, and those in high positions. We pray that they abide by the truth of your Word, working in all humility for justice, peace and righteousness. (Short Silence)
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer
God in three persons, blessed Trinity, we pray for peace in our world, in our communities and in our families. Create in us a love for peace: not peace that is absent from struggle, nor peace that is blind to injustice, but the peace that makes whole that which is currently broken. (Short Silence)
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer
God in three persons, blessed Trinity, we remember this morning those who are sick or injured, those who are concerned about their future, those who are lonely. (add names of those requesting prayer)
We pray too for all whose lives are darkened following the death of a loved one remembering especially at this time Gary Slater, whose wife recently perished in a house fire in Caldicot (and all others known to us).
We pray, Holy Father, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, all who suffer may be aware of your comforting presence. (Short Silence)
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer
God in three persons, blessed Trinity, we give thanks for all those Funeral Directors and Crematoriums who’ve been working through the Covid-19 Pandemic, and in the most trying of circumstances.
We give thanks, for all Hospital Chaplains. We thank you too for those Nurses, Doctors and Care Workers who daily demonstrate love, compassion and understanding to both the dying, and those left behind to grieve.
We remember before You, O Lord, those
- who have recently died,
- those whose anniversary of their passing falls at this time,
- those we have loved and see no more. (add names of the recently departed (Charmaine Slater) or on Anniversary list)
(Short Silence)
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer
Father God, lead us into the coming week, that we make the right choices.
Son of God, guide us by your words and examples, and give us hope.
Spirit of God, empower us to take the message of the Gospels to all who don’t know you.
Triune God, help us that we never disappoint you.
Merciful Father: Accept these prayers for the sake of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The Lord’s Prayer is said.
The Collect for Trinity Sunday
Almighty and everlasting God, you have given us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of the divine majesty to worship the Unity:
keep us steadfast in this faith, that we may evermore be defended from all adversities; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
The second collect, for peace.
O God, the author of peace and lover of concord,
to know you is eternal life,
to serve you is perfect freedom:
defend us in all assaults of our enemies,
that we, surely trusting in your protection,
may not fear the power of any adversaries;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The third collect, for grace.
Eternal God and Father,
by your power we are created
and by your love we are redeemed:
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves to you
in love and service of one another;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with us all, evermore. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.
