Third Sunday After Pentecost
**Please note this service is based on the format of the Anglican Church of Canada. Unless otherwise indicated, all prayers come from the Book of Alternative Services (BAS) and the hymns from the Book of Common Praise (BCP). Other hymns and prayers have been sourced to give appropriate credit.
**NRSV translation used for the readings, unless otherwise stated.
**This is for personal use at home as the church is unable to gather in
our houses of worship but together, we can worship in our own homes.
Opening Prayer
God, our hope and our defence, protect all
those who call upon your name, that they may stand upright in the day of trouble,
and share in the victory of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Opening
Hymn – God of Grace and God of Glory (BCP #577)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with
you all.
And
also with you.
Collect for Purity
The Gloria
Collect of the Day
Let us pray.
Almighty God, without you we are not able to
please you. Mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and
rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
The Readings
A reading from the First Book of Samuel 15:34-16:13
Then Samuel went to
Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. Samuel did not see Saul
again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord
was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.
The Lord said to
Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being
king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse
the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” Samuel
said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said,
“Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you
shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” Samuel did what the Lord
commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him
trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably; I have come
to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the
sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the
sacrifice.
When they came, he
looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the
Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the
height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see
as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the
heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said,
“Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he
said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse made seven of his sons pass
before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of
these.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There
remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to
Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” He
sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was
handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” Then
Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers;
and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.
Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks
be the God.
Psalm 20
The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
The
name of the God of Jacob protect you!
May he send you help from the sanctuary,
and
give you support from Zion.
May he remember all your offerings,
and
regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah
May he grant you your heart’s desire,
and
fulfill all your plans.
May we shout for joy over your victory,
and
in the name of our God set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
Now I know that the Lord will help his
anointed;
he
will answer him from his holy heaven
with
mighty victories by his right hand.
Some take pride in chariots, and some in
horses,
but
our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
They will collapse and fall,
but
we shall rise and stand upright.
Give victory to the king, O Lord;
answer us when we call.
A reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the
Corinthians 5:6-17
So we are always
confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are
away from the Lord – for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have
confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the
Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For
all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may
receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.
Therefore, knowing
the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well
known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. We
are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to
boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward
appearance and not in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God;
if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ urges us on,
because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.
And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for
themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.
From now on,
therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once
knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So
if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed
away; see, everything has become new!
The word of the Lord.
Thanks
be to God.
Gradual
Hymn – Lord Whose Love in Humble Service (BCP #585)
The Lord be with you.
And
also with you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Mark 4:26-34
Glory
to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
He also said, “The
kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would
sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not
know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then
the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with
his sickle, because the harvest has come.”
He also said, “With
what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It
is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of
all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the
greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the
air can make nests in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to
them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his
disciples.
The Gospel of Christ.
Praise
to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Sermon
May only truth be spoken and only truth received. Amen.
Last
week, we heard about the Israelites demanding to have a King, a human King,
just like everyone else around them. Recognizing that Samuel was aging and his
sons would not be a great fit for them, the people cried out for a move from
theocracy to democracy. After many attempts to convince them otherwise, God
allowed them to select a King, directing them to Saul.
Between
the text from last week and that of this week, there is nothing but war,
devastation, hunger, and malice. Chapter after chapter, we read of Saul’s
destruction of the Israelites, including his own son, Jonathan.
According
to chapter 14, verse 47, “when Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he faught
against all his enemies on every side – against Moab, against the Ammonites,
against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines; wherever
he turned he routed them.”
The
people demanded a human king because they thought that would be better than having
God as king. Perhaps it was the tangibility of a person standing in front of
them rather than listening to prophets deliver the word of God. Whatever the
reason, I don’t think they got what they were looking for in Saul.
At
the beginning of chapter 15, Samuel comes looking for Saul to try to figure out
what is happening. Saul has rejected the Lord, will not carry out what is asked
of him, has kept spoils of war, and has erected a monument of himself in
Carmel.
Saul
thinks he is doing the Lord’s bidding but he is also selfishly doing things for
himself. You can see some similarities in leadership found in our world today.
People climb the ranks thinking they will do better for the people around them
than the leader before, but once they get into a position of leadership, they
look after themselves more than the people.
As
we get into today’s reading from First Samuel, you can feel the disappointment
from Samuel and from God as we read, “Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord
was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.” Samuel grieves Saul’s lack
of faith. God regrets God’s own action.
This
comment about God’s regret considers Saul’s shortfall as the consequence of a
general troublesome disconnect between God’s rule and the king’s unbridled
hubris.
This
hubris got in the way of God’s plan. Never would I say that God made a mistake.
There were likely very high hopes for Saul as a leader. But as sometimes
happens, once a person gets into leadership, no matter their initial intention,
power gets to their head. I believe this is what happened with Saul.
Leadership
can be taught, but Saul wasn’t willing to listen and learn. Not to Samuel. Not
even to God.
And
thus, Saul was removed from kingship.
While
Saul’s reign was preceded with a warning from God, David’s reign was preceded
with God’s regret. David’s story begins with a note that God regretted making
Saul king. The reader knows that God’s warning about kingship in general and
regret over Saul in particular are ever present, ever silent in the background.
Only
twice throughout the entire Bible is there any mention of God regretting
anything. Recall that in Genesis 6:6 God regrets creating humanity and sends a
flood to restart humanity.
Here
in 1 Samuel 15:34, God regrets having anointed Saul. One can almost feel the
sadness as God comes to terms with what God has done.
However,
God would help the Israelites choose a new king. God tells Samuel to go to
Bethlehem to the house of Jesse. God says that Israel’s next king will comes
from one of Jesse’s sons.
Traditionally,
the eldest son would become king. But verse 6 delivers an enormous surprise
when the eldest Eliab is rejected. As an explanation, we heard, “For the LORD
does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD
looks on the heart.”
God’s
ways are often confounding to us, but that should not be surprising consider
how little we know compared to the Omniscient One. God defies cultural
convention, expected norms, even when norms may have good reason.
God
continues to go down the list rejecting the next available candidate and the
next and the next until there is none left.
Samuel
knows that God wouldn’t have lied about finding the next king amongst the sons
of Jesse, so he was confused when all 7 men standing before them were rejected.
Turns
out, the youngest son was not present despite the declaration that the king
would be “among the sons” (v. 1). David was so much not even on the radar that
he did not make the journey. But just as God rejects the expected, he then
selects the most unexpected.
As
you have often heard me say, we must expect the unexpected from our God. To our
surprise, God anoints the last in the line of sons as king of Israel, a man who
God has seen to have a good heart for leadership.
With
Saul, external qualifications were used in his choosing – did he look the part
of a king?
This
time, the heart was the sole qualifier for leadership. Perhaps a good heart
would prevent failure. Perhaps a good heart would preclude giving in to any temptation
to abuse power. Perhaps a candidate who already had a good heart was even
better than God equipping a candidate with a new heart.
God
judges David by his heart. There is nothing about David that suggests he should
be King. He is a shepherd boy, ignored even by his own family, yet it is upon
David that God builds the Kingdom.
This
is especially good news for those who are not ‘credentialed.’ I am sure that we
have all, at one time or another, felt like we were not up to the task. Have
you been in a position of leadership and thought “I’m not qualified for this?”
Or
have you turned down such a position for that same reason?
Or
have you kept your thoughts to yourself because you assumed no one would want
to follow you down your thought path?
Those
that have no business changing the world are the ones God usually choose to do
just that.
Just
as the flood was an attempt to start anew, so too was anointing David. As with
Jesus years later, David’s anointing represented a new beginning for the nation
Israel. It was a heavy weight to carry.
And
silently in the background, God’s warning still hangs in the air. Remember the
warning from last week? That a King other than God is not a good idea?
The
difference between Saul and David, here, is that God is active and, most
importantly, behind the Israelite king. The Davidic line begins, and unlike the
institution of kingship, which was a human institution, God has accepted this
kingship, which will transcend earthly rule, to the point where God will later
grieve, comfort, promise, surprise and anoint the Israelites in the form of
Jesus the Messiah.
David,
he who will become the next king of Israel, a mere shepherd, is mentioned more
than a thousand times in the Hebrew Texts from Ruth 4:13 to Zechariah 13:1, and
59 times in the Christian Testament.
He
is mentioned more often than Moses or Abraham, the founders of our destiny. Why
is David so important?
The
anointing of David as king is the turning point in our story - moving from Law
and Patriarchs into Kings and Prophets.
The
promise made to David is eternal and endures. The Kingship of David is
unquestioned - and it is the House of David upon which Jesus builds his
kingdom.
Stay
tuned next week as we witness how God sides with a ruddy, modest, shepherd boy
as he rises to become the king of the whole land.
Affirmation of Faith
Let us confess the faith of our baptism, as we
say the Apostles’ Creed:
I
believe in God,
the
Father almighty,
creator
of heaven and earth.
I
believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He
was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and
born of the Virgin Mary.
He
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was
crucified, died, and was buried.
He
descended to the dead.
On
the third day he rose again.
He
ascended into heaven,
and
is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He
will come again
to
judge the living and the dead.
I
believe in the Holy Spirit,
the
holy catholic Church,
the
communion of saints,
the
forgiveness of sins,
the
resurrection of the body,
and
the life everlasting. Amen.
The Prayers of the People
Let us pray to the Lord, saying, “Lord have mercy.”
Let
us ask the Lord for a day of fulfillment and peace,
Lord
have mercy.
Let
us ask the Lord to teach us to love others as he has loved us,
Lord
have mercy.
Let
us ask the Lord for peace and justice in the world.
Lord
have mercy.
Let
us ask the Lord to strengthen and relieve those who are in need.
Lord
have mercy.
Let
us ask the Lord to renew the Church through the power of his life-giving
Spirit.
Lord
have mercy.
As
we contemplate the ways we know you, Lord – as Creator of an order larger than
we can grasp by understanding or imagination; as Lord, deserving our
faithfulness; as Redeemer, unafraid to invest yourself in the high-risk venture
of loving us – we fear that our praying may be an audacious act.
We
stand in awe of you, hardly knowing how to pray, and sensing an openness before
you that betrays words before they are spoken and thoughts before they are
formed. Surely, you know those
hesitancies that arise because of our lack of understanding and faith. You know the prayers we fear to pray because
they might reveal insufficiency on our part.
You know the prayers we cannot pray because we have feelings too deep
for words.
But,
we do pray because you have planted it in our hearts to do so, and because in
this act we sense your reaching back to us as we reach out to you. We thank you for the freedom experienced when
we remember that prayer is an act facilitated by your grace, and not by our
goodness or religious expertise. In such
moments we can put away attempts to instruct or advise you, and experience the
give-and-take of real fellowship with you.
In
that spirit, rather than telling you what to do with our concerns and those for
whom we care, we come to share them with you, and to experience your sharing
them with us. In that sharing we find
blessing and, at least sometimes direction.
We
pray for those who are experiencing the trials of poverty, anxiety, bereavement
and illness. We pray especially for the
Afzal family who were victims of a racist attack this week and for the nine
year old child who has been left without mother, father, grandmother and
sister. We pray for his recovery. We ask your blessing for those made victims
of the fury of the elements and the violence of other persons. We pray for people in all areas of the world
where peace is non-existent. We pray for
all those who are involved in those conflicts.
For ourselves, we ask for an awareness of your Presence and humility to
respond to your lordship.
Please
take time to offer your own intercessions or to pray in silence.
We pray in the name of Jesus, the Christ, God’s
beloved Son.
Amen
Confession and Absolution
Dear friends in Christ,
God is steadfast in love and infinite in mercy;
God welcomes sinners and invites them to the
table.
Let us confess our sins, confident in God’s
forgiveness.
Most merciful God,
We
confess that we have sinned against you
in
thought, word, and deed,
by
what we have done,
and
by what we have left undone.
We
have not loved you with our whole heart;
we
have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We
are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
for
the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have
mercy on us and forgive us,
that
we may delight in your will,
and
walk in your ways,
to
the glory of your name. Amen.
As we speak the truth of our lives, God who is
faithful and just, restores us and brings us home again and again.
Almighty God have mercy upon you,
pardon and deliver you from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,
and keep you in eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Peace
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And
also with you.
Offertory
Hymn – What a Friend We Have in Jesus (BCP #532)
Prayer over the Gifts
**Although
not physically at our church buildings to share our offering together I would
encourage you to set your offering of money aside so that it can be dropped off
or placed in the church once services resume, to mail your offering to the church,
or to make donations online. Please remember ministry is still taking place.
Let us pray.
God of reconciliation and forgiveness, the
saving work of Christ has made our peace with you. May that work grow toward its
perfection in all we offer you this day. We ask this in his name. Amen.
This service was created for live worship on Zoom. For
those worshiping on your own, you may either read the Eucharistic prayer, or
skip ahead to the Lord's Prayer and then the Doxology.
Eucharistic Prayer 1
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 our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right that we should praise you,
gracious God,
for you created all things.
You formed us in your own image:
male and female you created us.
When we turned away from you in sin,
you did not cease to care for us,
but opened a path of salvation for all people.
You made a covenant with Israel,
and through your servants Abraham and Sarah
gave the promise of a blessing to all nations.
Through Moses you led your people
from bondage into freedom;
through the prophets
you renewed your promise of salvation.
Therefore, with them, and with all your saints
who have served you in every age,
we give thanks and raise our voices
to proclaim the glory of your name.
Holy God, source of life and goodness,
all creation rightly gives you praise.
In the fullness of time,
you sent your Son Jesus Christ,
to share our human nature,
to live and die as one of us,
to reconcile us to you,
the almighty God of all.
He healed the sick
and ate and drank with outcasts and sinners;
he opened the eyes of the blind
and proclaimed the good news of your kingdom
to the poor and to those in need.
In all things he fulfilled your gracious will.
On the night he freely gave himself to death,
our Lord Jesus Christ took bread,
and when he had given thanks to you,
he broke it, and gave it to his disciples,
and said, “Take, eat:
this is my body which is given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.”
After supper he took the cup of wine;
and when he had given thanks,
he gave it to them,
and said, “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.
Whenever you drink it,
do this for the remembrance of me.”
Gracious God,
his perfect sacrifice
destroys the power of sin and death;
by raising him to life
you give us life for evermore.
Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
Recalling his death,
proclaiming his resurrection,
and looking for his coming again in glory,
we offer you, God, this bread and this cup.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon these gifts,
that all who eat and drink at this table
may be one body and one holy people,
a living sacrifice in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory is yours, almighty God,
now and for ever.
Amen.
And now, as our Saviour Christ has taught us,
we are bold to pray,
Our
Father in heaven,
hallowed
be your name,
your
kingdom come,
your
will be done,
on
earth as in heaven.
Give
us today our daily bread.
Forgive
us our sins
as
we forgive those who sin against us.
Save
us from the time of trial,
and
deliver us from evil.
For
the kingdom, the power,
and
the glory are yours,
now
and for ever. Amen.
Breaking of the Bread
This is the body of Christ.
Behold what you are.
Become what you receive.
Amen.
Communion
This is the table of Christ. It is made ready
for those who love him, and for those who want to love him more. Come, whether
you have much faith or little, have tried to follow, or are afraid that you
have failed. Come. Because it is Christ's will that those who want to meet him,
might meet him here.
These are the gifts of God for the People of
God.
Thanks
be to God.
Share
in the Eucharist
Prayer After Communion
As we have feasted around the table, let us
pray.
Holy and blessed God, as you give us the body
and blood of your Son, guide us with your Holy Spirit, that we may honour you
not only with our lips but also in our lives.
This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Doxology
As a congregation, we declare our doxology, as
we say together,
Glory to God,
whose
power, working in us,
can
do infinitely more
than
we can ask or imagine.
Glory
to God from generation to generation,
in
the Church and in Christ Jesus,
for
ever and ever.
Amen.
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 the Creator, the
Redeemer, and the Sanctifier be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
Closing Hymn – You Are Salt for the
Earth (BCP #502)
Dismissal
Go
forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.
Thanks be to God.
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