1st September 2024 10.30am – 14th Sunday after Trinity – Eucharist

The Readings

James 1.1-27

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

Greetings.

My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.

If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away.
Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. No one, when tempted, should say, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my beloved.

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.

If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Mark 7.1-8

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
“This people honours me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.”
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’

Mark 7.14-15

Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’

Mark 7.21-23

For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’

Scripture Quotations are from: New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

The Prayers
Prepared by David.

In peace let us pray to the Father, through the Son
and in the power of the Holy Spirit, who make, sustain and renew all things.

Heavenly Father,
we pray for your Church throughout the world, that we may be faithful to our baptism.
We prayer for Elinor to be baptised this afternoon, and for her parents Rose and Tom.
With the dawn of each day, may we be awakened to the beauty of the earth
and rejoice in the wonder and diversity of creation in all its forms and colour.
God of life:
hear our prayer.

Lord of life,
as all living things depend on the good quality of the air, the soil, and water,
may your wisdom guide us as we care for the environment.
Deliver us from selfishness and rapacious greed.
Help us to share the rich resources of this world gladly and justly,
in the cause of stability and peace between nations and peoples.
God of life:
hear our prayer.

Lord of mercy,
we bring before you areas affected by chronic shortage of water,
and pray for those suffering as a result of drought or the lack of safe water to drink.
We pray for those suffering from the effects of extreme weather
and whose environment has been damaged by cyclones, floods or destructive wildfires.
May we better understand the effects of the changing patterns of weather on our planet.
God of life:
hear our prayer.

Lord of abundant life,
we give thanks for the rich harvest of the seas;
may we cherish the good things you have created
and be successful in reducing the pollution in our oceans, rivers and lakes that life may flourish.
May your wisdom help us to maintain the biodiversity of our fragile planet.
Strengthen our resolve and bless the efforts of all who seek to protect the marine, animal, insect and plant life that are threatened with extinction.
God of life:
hear our prayer.

Lord of creation,
you have placed us on the earth to care for it, and call us to be co-workers with Christ your Son.
Bless our farmers, those who work in our nature reserves and National Parks,
in our Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sites of Scientific Interest,
and all who are custodians of our landscape.
God of life:
hear our prayer.

Lord of the universe,
you have made us from the stuff of the earth,
and to earth we shall return.
By your grace, may we tread lightly upon this earth and live our days wisely, and sustainably,
and at the last come with all your saints into paradise and enjoy creation made new.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son
our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

St Marys Walkley

The Church on the Road: inclusive, eucharistic, a safe place to be with God

1st September 2024 10.30am – 14th Sunday after Trinity – Eucharist