Worship for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity 

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.  

In the name of the Father nd of the Son,and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

The Lord is here  His Spirit is with us.

Prayers of Penitence

Come, Holy Spirit of God, and search our hearts with the light of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Amen. Lord, have mercy.

After a period of reflection

Come, let us return to the Lord and say

Lord our God, in our sin we have avoided your call. Our love for you is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early. Have mercy on us; deliver us from judgement; bind up our wounds and revive us; in Jesus Christ our Lord.         Amen.                                                                                                  cf Hosea 6

May almighty God, who sent his Son into the world to save sinners, bring us his pardon and peace, now and for ever. Amen.

The Collect

You might like to keep a few moments of silence

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

Genesis 15:1-6

After these things 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, 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 toward 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.

Responsorial Psalm 33:12-22          

/R: The earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Lord.

Happy the nation whose God is the Lord and the people he has chosen for his own. 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. /R:

He fashions all the hearts of them and understands all their works. 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. Our soul waits longingly for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. /R:

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:

Hebrews 11:1-3,8-16

Now 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, with Sarah's involvement, he received power of procreation even though he was too old, 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 homeland, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

The Gospel according to Luke                                          chapter 12.32-40

Jesus said, "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 hour you do not expect."

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

Reflection

This passage falls into three sections. The first (vv.32-34) follows Luke’s version of the familiar teaching of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). Following the assurance that God knows our needs (vv.30-31), Luke challenges his hearers to live generously in response to God’s generosity to them. He returns often to questions around the proper use of money, suggesting that his hearers had enough to be able to share.  The second part (vv.35-38) uses a parable to highlight the need to be ready for anything, because the future is unpredictable. Luke’s story takes the perspective of a slave waiting for the master’s return from a party, inviting comparison with Jesus’ return at an unknown time (cf Matthew 24:36). There is a surreal twist in the image of the master inviting the slaves to sit down and be waited on, and this must have taken the hearers aback, whether they were masters or slaves. It’s a striking marker of the unimaginable social relationships of the kingdom.  Thirdly (vv.39-40), Luke describes Jesus coming like a thief, at an unexpected time. This image was already familiar (cf 1 Thessalonians 5:2). The surprising identification of Jesus with a thief expresses his defeat of Satan’s illegitimate claims to ownership. Both parables emphasise that we do not know when Jesus will return.

© Reproduced with permission ROOTS for Churches Ltd 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 Eighth Sunday after Trinity

Lord God, your Son left the riches of heaven and became poor for our sake: when we prosper save us from pride, when we are needy save us from despair, that we may trust in you alone; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Praying for the Earth                                      Lakes, rivers and streams

We thank you for the precious waters of the earth, from the mirror stillness of a lake to the turbulence of a mighty flood, from their crystal clarity to their murky depths. Help us to remember that water is the essence of life itself and that, through the waters of baptism, we rise to new life in union with Christ. Amen

From the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer for the Church

Porvoo Communion: Diocese of Portsmouth Diocese of Stockholm (Church of Sweden)

Anglican Communion: Eglise Anglicane du Rwanda Primate: Archbishop Laurent Mbanda

Newcastle West Deanery:  Benefice of Cowgate Vicar: Ruth Harley Reader (PTO): Susan Smith

From our Parish Prayer Cycle this week 

Pray for residents of Cragside, Dovedale Gardens and Derwentdale Gardens

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

For those in residential care    

For those who have recently died

Dorothy Jean Giacopazzi Graham

For those whose year’s minds are this week 

Edna Hughes, Emily Scott, Matthew Fox, Lancelot Holliday, Mary Edgar, Eleanor Stothard, Mabel Aitchison, Mary Isobel Ross, Robert Burrell, Dick Appleby, Sydney Rowe, Thomas Warrener, Rose Patterson and Winifred Patterson

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!