Worship & Prayers for The Conversion of Paul 

Opening Rite 

If you’re at home you might wish to light a candle, make sure you are sitting comfortably and take a few deep breaths to still yourself.  

The Lord is here.  His Spirit is with us.

We were once dead through the trespasses and sins in which we lived, but now we are alive together with Christ. Through him we have access in one Spirit to the Father, to whom we humbly confess our sins.                       cf Ephesians 2.1,5,18

Prayers of Penitence

After a period of reflection

Open our eyes to your presence in our midst.  Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Turn our hearts from selfish ends. Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.

Draw us into your company on the way. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

May the God of all healing and forgiveness draw us to himself, and cleanse us from all our sins that we may behold the glory of his Son, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

The Collect

You might like to keep a few moments of silence

Almighty God, who caused the light of the gospel to shine throughout the world through the preaching of your servant Saint Paul: grant that we who celebrate his wonderful conversion may follow him in bearing witness to your truth; 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

Jeremiah 1.4-10

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’  Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ But the Lord a said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.’ Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, ‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.  See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.’

Psalm 67

/R: Let the people's praise you O God, let all the peoples praise you

God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, That your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations. /R:

O let the nations rejoice and be glad, For you will judge the peoples righteously  and govern the nations upon earth. /R

Then shall the earth bring forth her increase, and God, our own God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear him. /R:

Acts 9.1-22

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ The men who were travelling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.  Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ He answered, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ The Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.’ But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’ So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ All who heard him were amazed and said, ‘Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?’ Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.

The Gospel according to Matthew                               Chapter 19:27-end

Then Peter said in reply, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

This is the Gospel of the Lord  Praise to you O Christ

Reflection

Paul (then known as Saul) approved of Stephen’s stoning and began to persecute the Church (Acts 7:58–8:3), pursuing the disciples of Jesus who had taken their faith as far as Damascus in Syria. Belonging to ‘the Way’, they understood their acceptance of Jesus as the right way of understanding the Jewish Scriptures, just as the Dead Sea Sect at Qumran argued that in their interpretation of Scripture they were ‘those who have chosen the Way’ (see The Damascus Document 9:18). Paul was ‘persecuting the Church’ because he was ‘far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors’ than others (Galatians 1:14-16). But it was while violently preserving the status quo that his perspective was radically changed, leading him to interpret his Jewish Scriptures afresh in the light of Christ’s death and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The blinding light and regained sight recall Simeon’s description of the infant Jesus as ‘a light for revelation to the Gentiles’ (Luke 2:32), itself drawn from the prophetic vision of Israel as the servant given by God ‘as a light to the nations’ (Isaiah 49:6). The persecutor Paul now shares the vision of the persecuted Stephen (Acts 7:56,22:20). The risen Jesus is the suffering servant of his people (9:5), whose sufferings Paul will share (9:16) as God works in him to fulfil Israel’s calling. Paul later recalled that the Lord had said, ‘I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light’ (26:17-18).  The high priest’s posse accompanying Paul lead him away, ‘and for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank’ (9:9). This suggests his participation in Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, death and burial (see Romans 6:1-4). In Damascus, Ananias, the disciple of Jesus, has also received a vision, responding as the prophets responded, ‘Here I am, Lord’. Ananias finds the courage to go to Paul at Straight Street. By Ananias’ touch and teaching the scales fall from Paul’s eyes and, filled with the Spirit, he participates in Jesus’ risen life, greeted as ‘brother’ by the courageous man whose life he had threatened.

Reproduced with permission www.rootsontheweb.com 2002-2021  

Prayers 

Spend a few moments praying for the people you know and love, for the world, for peace and for the relief of refugees everywhere.  

On the Feast of the Conversion of Paul              

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles nd prophets, with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone: so join us together in unity of spirit by their doctrine, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Praying for the Earth                                                                  Biofuels

Teach us wisdom in our use of the earth’s resources. Grant us inspiration in our search for alternatives to fossil fuels. Give guidance to those involved in the development of biofuels. Help us to find the right balance between the need for food and the need for fuel. Amen

From the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer for the Church

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: All Black, African and Ethnic Minority churches in Britain 

Porvoo Communion: Diocese of Birmingham, Diocese of Elsinore (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark), Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross (Church of Ireland)

Anglican Communion: Iglesia Anglicana de Chile Primate: The Most Reverend Enrique Lago Zugadi

Diocese of Botswana: Parish of St Simon of Cyrene, Tiokweng: Fr Botshabelo Beleme, Revd Dr Nelson Mwaniki and Fr Chris Mensah

Norham Deanery: St Michael and All Angels’ Church, Ford Hugh Joicey C of E First School, Ford

From our Parish Prayer Cycle this week 

pray for all residents of Kingham Court, Finstock Court and Burford Court

Being baptised today

Isaac John Robinson

For the sick and those being cared for in hospital or at home      

Sheila Sidney-Wilmot, Jacqueline Pearson, Ida Smart, Irene Gibson, Lynne Dryden, Liz Clarke, Corinne Harris, Jo Whittam, Veronica Brown, Alan Trotter, Linda Pallister, Alastair Day, Jenny Freeman, John Irving, Maureen Webster, Carol Greener, baby Rajvi, baby Gianna Skye and Daniel Hassan

For those in residential care    

Doreen Richardson, Deirdré Crowe, Brian Smart, Tony Bartlett, Pat Bell and Pat Hindmarsh

For those who have recently died        

Ada Medwell and Harry Titley 

For those whose year’s minds are this week 

John Duncan Brack, Muriel Edwards, Constance Wears, Jean Holmes, Sarah Elizabeth Lawrence, Barbara Anne Bryant, John Munro, Sarah Atkinson and Alice Brown

You might like to end your prayers with 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.

The Conclusion

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and 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!