Welcome to our worship for
Sunday, 7th August
A Prayer for Ukraine
God of peace and justice,
we pray for the people of Ukraine today.
We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons.
We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow,
that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them.
We pray for those with power over war or peace,
for wisdom, discernment and compassion
to guide their decisions.
Above all, we pray for all your precious children,
at risk and in fear,
that you would hold and protect them.
We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Amen
Archbishop Justin Welby
Archbishop Stephen Cottrell
God of peace and justice,
we pray for the people of Ukraine today.
We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons.
We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow,
that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them.
We pray for those with power over war or peace,
for wisdom, discernment and compassion
to guide their decisions.
Above all, we pray for all your precious children,
at risk and in fear,
that you would hold and protect them.
We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Amen
Archbishop Justin Welby
Archbishop Stephen Cottrell
Collect
Almighty Lord and everlasting God, we beseech you to direct, sanctify and govern both our hearts and bodies in the ways of your laws and the works of your commandments;
that through your most mighty protection, both here and ever, we may be preserved in body and soul;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen
Readings for today
First Reading: Genesis 15. 1-6
The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.’ But the word of the Lord came to him, ‘This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.’ He brought him outside and said, ‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Psalm 49
Response: Let your loving kindness be upon us, O Lord
Happy the nation whose God is the Lord and the people he has chosen for his own. R
The Lord looks down from heaven and beholds all the children of earth. From where he sits enthroned he turns his gaze on all who dwell on the earth. He fashions all the hearts of them and understands all their works. R
No king is saved by the might of his host; no warrior delivered by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; for all its strength it cannot save. R
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him, on those who wait in hope for his steadfast love, To deliver their soul from death and to feed them in time of famine. R
Our soul waits longingly for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. Indeed, our heart rejoices in him; in his holy name have we put our trust. Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, as we have set our hope on you. R
Second Reading: Hebrews 11. 1-3, 8-16
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, ‘as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.’
All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.
Gospel Reading: Luke 12. 32-40
‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
‘But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’
The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.’ But the word of the Lord came to him, ‘This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.’ He brought him outside and said, ‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Psalm 49
Response: Let your loving kindness be upon us, O Lord
Happy the nation whose God is the Lord and the people he has chosen for his own. R
The Lord looks down from heaven and beholds all the children of earth. From where he sits enthroned he turns his gaze on all who dwell on the earth. He fashions all the hearts of them and understands all their works. R
No king is saved by the might of his host; no warrior delivered by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; for all its strength it cannot save. R
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him, on those who wait in hope for his steadfast love, To deliver their soul from death and to feed them in time of famine. R
Our soul waits longingly for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. Indeed, our heart rejoices in him; in his holy name have we put our trust. Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, as we have set our hope on you. R
Second Reading: Hebrews 11. 1-3, 8-16
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, ‘as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.’
All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.
Gospel Reading: Luke 12. 32-40
‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
‘But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’
Thoughts on today's readings, from Common Worship, Living Word
A dinner party is a poised affair where respect and behaviour are important, and in the ancient Mediterranean world, religion and politics were often discussed, along with the proper duties of slaves, masters, wives and children, and the “right way” to order society.
We know that Luke wrote his Gospel for a man who held dinner parties – Theophilus. Any man who owned a book was, by definition, a man of means. He would undoubtedly display his book to his friends, reading and discussing it with them. But they were in for a shock when they heard what Luke had to say. Because Luke’s Gospel was like the embarrassing guest at a dinner party. Theophilus and his friends would probably have held Jesus the rabbi in high regard. Yet time and again, in his choice of stories, Luke is challenging the wealthy elite. “Use your wealth for good,” he tells them. “Learn to serve those in need!”
In today’s reading Jesus tells us to be like servants, not masters. Being “dressed for action” means having your sleeves rolled up to get your hands dirty. And Jesus isn’t simply saying we should be prepared to serve if called upon – he’s saying that our life’s attitude should be one of practical service.
This is what it means to be a servant. Your position is not simply to muck in if needed, but to be waiting at all times, in every way, to serve: “like those who are waiting for their master”. Whereas Luke’s contemporaries would have thought that their slaves should look up to them as role models, Jesus says it should be the opposite way round. The master should learn from the slave.
We often think of this parable as being something to do with the second coming, partly because it refers to the master’s “return”. However, Jesus and Luke are unlikely to have meant this. For Jesus, we must be ready at any time. As for Luke, one of his major themes is that Jerusalem was manifestly unready for Jesus. Indeed, it’s in Luke’s Gospel alone that Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, because they could not see the day of their visitation by God.
Later in the Gospel, Jesus tells a story of a rich man who ignored Lazarus suffering at his gate – doubtless while he was entertaining wealthy friends. The rich man was not ready for Jesus because he would not see and accept the need for practical service of those who were poor. In the same way, Jesus’ listeners – Theophilus and his friends – need to become like servants. So this parable isn’t about some far-off future event. It is about how we live our lives here and now.
Then comes the twist. If the master finds his servants ready, he himself will roll up his sleeves – or, to use Jesus’ idiom, “fasten his belt”. He will have them sit down to eat and serve them. Again, the point is made: if this is what God is like, the ruler of all, how much more should you earthly “rulers” be like him. The image points not to the second coming of Jesus but to the first, and in particular the Last Supper, as related in John’s Gospel, in which Jesus washes his disciples’ feet.
Sometimes we turn Jesus’ teaching into a simple devotion as we focus intently on the Lord. Yet Jesus comes to us like the master in the parable whenever we are faced with someone who needs our Christlike compassion. The insistent, blunt and repeated question is, “Are you ready to serve?”
Some of us get anxious when faced with a practical task or the prospect of mucking in with others. Others seem to find it natural. Yet Jesus charges all his followers with the same paradigm – service is God’s way, and it must be ours, too.
You may not see yourself as one of the elite, like Theophilus and his friends. But there’s always someone you can serve. The first question is: “How can I use my gifts to serve others?” The second question is: “How can I stretch myself to address the needs before me?”
It’s not enough to slumber until something shouts at us. Our charge is to be watchful, alert, active and thoughtful.
We know that Luke wrote his Gospel for a man who held dinner parties – Theophilus. Any man who owned a book was, by definition, a man of means. He would undoubtedly display his book to his friends, reading and discussing it with them. But they were in for a shock when they heard what Luke had to say. Because Luke’s Gospel was like the embarrassing guest at a dinner party. Theophilus and his friends would probably have held Jesus the rabbi in high regard. Yet time and again, in his choice of stories, Luke is challenging the wealthy elite. “Use your wealth for good,” he tells them. “Learn to serve those in need!”
In today’s reading Jesus tells us to be like servants, not masters. Being “dressed for action” means having your sleeves rolled up to get your hands dirty. And Jesus isn’t simply saying we should be prepared to serve if called upon – he’s saying that our life’s attitude should be one of practical service.
This is what it means to be a servant. Your position is not simply to muck in if needed, but to be waiting at all times, in every way, to serve: “like those who are waiting for their master”. Whereas Luke’s contemporaries would have thought that their slaves should look up to them as role models, Jesus says it should be the opposite way round. The master should learn from the slave.
We often think of this parable as being something to do with the second coming, partly because it refers to the master’s “return”. However, Jesus and Luke are unlikely to have meant this. For Jesus, we must be ready at any time. As for Luke, one of his major themes is that Jerusalem was manifestly unready for Jesus. Indeed, it’s in Luke’s Gospel alone that Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, because they could not see the day of their visitation by God.
Later in the Gospel, Jesus tells a story of a rich man who ignored Lazarus suffering at his gate – doubtless while he was entertaining wealthy friends. The rich man was not ready for Jesus because he would not see and accept the need for practical service of those who were poor. In the same way, Jesus’ listeners – Theophilus and his friends – need to become like servants. So this parable isn’t about some far-off future event. It is about how we live our lives here and now.
Then comes the twist. If the master finds his servants ready, he himself will roll up his sleeves – or, to use Jesus’ idiom, “fasten his belt”. He will have them sit down to eat and serve them. Again, the point is made: if this is what God is like, the ruler of all, how much more should you earthly “rulers” be like him. The image points not to the second coming of Jesus but to the first, and in particular the Last Supper, as related in John’s Gospel, in which Jesus washes his disciples’ feet.
Sometimes we turn Jesus’ teaching into a simple devotion as we focus intently on the Lord. Yet Jesus comes to us like the master in the parable whenever we are faced with someone who needs our Christlike compassion. The insistent, blunt and repeated question is, “Are you ready to serve?”
Some of us get anxious when faced with a practical task or the prospect of mucking in with others. Others seem to find it natural. Yet Jesus charges all his followers with the same paradigm – service is God’s way, and it must be ours, too.
You may not see yourself as one of the elite, like Theophilus and his friends. But there’s always someone you can serve. The first question is: “How can I use my gifts to serve others?” The second question is: “How can I stretch myself to address the needs before me?”
It’s not enough to slumber until something shouts at us. Our charge is to be watchful, alert, active and thoughtful.
Prayers for this week
Loving Lord, yet again today we hear Jesus tell us not to be afraid and so we come to you in confidence with our hopes and dreams, joys and sorrows, successes and failures. We bring you ourselves and all those whom we know and love and those people whom we will never meet, knowing that you care for them.
We pray for all religious leaders. May they guide our world towards living together in peace, justice and compassion.
We pray for Archbishop Justin Welby and all those who will take part in the Lambeth Conference. May the Holy Spirit inspire and lead their decision-making on behalf of Anglicans across the world.
We pray for everyone who has been affected by the recent droughts, wildfires, floods, earthquake and volcanic eruption. May they know the comfort and support that they need to look towards the future in hope. May the world unite to work against the effects of climate change.
We pray for families who are struggling to make ends meet. May they find workable solutions to their difficulties, solutions which will also help them to grow in their love for each other.
We pray for the people of Ukraine, Yemen, Myanmar, Somalia and Hong Kong. May their human rights be respected and upheld as they search for dignity and freedom.
We pray for Taiwan, caught between the conflicting interests of China and the United States. May there be constructive dialogue which leads to peace and an end to all threats of war.
We pray for everyone who is currently on holiday. May their days be filled with happiness and friendship. May they travel in safety and return home refreshed and at peace.
Loving God and Lord of life, we pray for the gift of courage to face up to and cope with illness. We thank you for those who through their courage have come through illness and for those facing the reality that there is little light at the end of their earthly tunnel.
Gracious God, give us ears to hear and minds to understand the message of immortality for the children of your kingdom so that we may look forward with patience and confidence to that time when we will join you in the peace of eternity. We especially pray for any we know who have recently died and are on that journey to you.
Lord God, hear our prayers. Draw us ever closer to you who love us more than we can possibly imagine. Amen.
We pray for all religious leaders. May they guide our world towards living together in peace, justice and compassion.
We pray for Archbishop Justin Welby and all those who will take part in the Lambeth Conference. May the Holy Spirit inspire and lead their decision-making on behalf of Anglicans across the world.
We pray for everyone who has been affected by the recent droughts, wildfires, floods, earthquake and volcanic eruption. May they know the comfort and support that they need to look towards the future in hope. May the world unite to work against the effects of climate change.
We pray for families who are struggling to make ends meet. May they find workable solutions to their difficulties, solutions which will also help them to grow in their love for each other.
We pray for the people of Ukraine, Yemen, Myanmar, Somalia and Hong Kong. May their human rights be respected and upheld as they search for dignity and freedom.
We pray for Taiwan, caught between the conflicting interests of China and the United States. May there be constructive dialogue which leads to peace and an end to all threats of war.
We pray for everyone who is currently on holiday. May their days be filled with happiness and friendship. May they travel in safety and return home refreshed and at peace.
Loving God and Lord of life, we pray for the gift of courage to face up to and cope with illness. We thank you for those who through their courage have come through illness and for those facing the reality that there is little light at the end of their earthly tunnel.
Gracious God, give us ears to hear and minds to understand the message of immortality for the children of your kingdom so that we may look forward with patience and confidence to that time when we will join you in the peace of eternity. We especially pray for any we know who have recently died and are on that journey to you.
Lord God, hear our prayers. Draw us ever closer to you who love us more than we can possibly imagine. Amen.
Please pray for:-
the sick, and those who care for them, including Anthony Nichol and Gillian Beal.
those who have lit candles and those for whom candles have been lit
those who have recently died, including Charles Taplin, David Massheder and Geoff Barry.
those whose anniversary of death falls at this time, including Helen Small, Kenneth Richardson, Edward Darlington and Elizabeth House
the sick, and those who care for them, including Anthony Nichol and Gillian Beal.
those who have lit candles and those for whom candles have been lit
those who have recently died, including Charles Taplin, David Massheder and Geoff Barry.
those whose anniversary of death falls at this time, including Helen Small, Kenneth Richardson, Edward Darlington and Elizabeth House
Post Communion Prayer:
Strengthen for service, Lord, the hands that have taken holy things;
may the ears which have heard your word be deaf to clamour and dispute;
may the tongues which have sung your praise be free from deceit;
may the eyes which have seen the tokens of your love shine with the light of hope;
and may the bodies which have been fed with your body be refreshed with the fullness of your life; glory to you for ever.
Amen
Church of England online service
Here is a link to the Church of England’s service, which comes from a different place each week.
Click here
Click here
CHURCH GIVING
A few people have asked how they can support the church financially if they can't do their normal weekly giving. Please continue to use Pam’s letterbox to drop off church donations – either envelopes, cheques (made payable to PCC of Pickering Parish Church) or other loose cash (In a sealed envelope marked for the Church). If you are unable to go outside, please ring, and we will see if there is an alternative way to collect.
Pam Robb at 16 Garden Way, Pickering, YO18 8BG. 07769 801708
WITH VERY MANY THANKS.
