Patrick Comerford
Next Sunday, 13 September 2020, is the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XIV), and is also Vocations Sunday in the Church of Ireland.
The readings in the Revised Common Lectionary, as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland, are in two sets, the Continuous Readings and the Paired Readings:
The Continuous Readings: Exodus 14: 19-31; Psalm 114; Romans 14: 1-12; Matthew 18: 21-35.
There is a link to the Continuous Readings HERE.
The Paired Readings: Genesis 50: 15-21; Psalm 103: (1-7) 8-13; Romans 14: 1-12; Matthew 18: 21-35.
There is a link to the Paired Readings HERE.
Introducing the Readings:
There are a number of contrasting images in these readings: the slaves reaching freedom and dry land and their pursuers drowning in the sea, a story told in the first reading and recalled in the Psalm; the faith of those who are regarded as spiritually weak and the pitfalls facing those who in their arrogance believe they are spiritually strong; the limits we place on forgiveness and the over-abundant generosity and universal scope of God’s forgiveness.
What are the limits to my capacity to understand and forgive others?
And, are their limits to God’s willingness to forgive?
Exodus 14: 19-31:
After Egypt has suffered ten plagues sent by God, Pharaoh allows the Israelites to leave Egypt. The direct route to Canaan is along the coast of the Red Sea, but God leads the fleeing slaves by a ‘roundabout way towards the Sea of Reeds for, ‘If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt’ (see Exodus 13: 17-18).
God goes in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. But Pharaoh’s heart is hardened. When the people turn back at God’s behest, Pharaoh thinks they are now trapped and pursues them, preparing his chariots for battle (Exodus 14: 6). The sight of the Egyptian army strikes fear into the fleeing slaves. They have complained about Moses’ leadership, now they say they would prefer slavery to certain death. But Moses calms the people, and assures them of God’s plan to rescue if they do not panic. God has commanded Moses to divide the sea.
The ‘angel of God’ (verse 19) comes between the Israelites and the Egyptians, protecting God’s people and confusing the Egyptians, as does the ‘pillar of cloud.’
The Red Sea or Sea of Reeds is shallow and surrounded by marshy land. God uses a natural phenomenon to achieve his purpose: east winds strong enough to blow away the water blow up, and the battle turns when the Egyptian chariots bog down in the soft, muddy earth (verse 25) as the waters form a ‘wall’ (verses 22, 29).
God saves the people. Their slavery in Egypt is over. They have seen the marvellous works God does for them. Now they hold God in awe and trust in him. Whatever has happened in the Red Sea, God has set his people free, and they are on their way, led by Moses.
Psalm 114:
Psalm 114 is a lyrical account of how nature itself trembled and rejoiced at the Exodus, when the supreme Power intervened and recused the powerless. Part of the Psalm 114 is quoted at the beginning of Dante’s Purgatorio, and was associated with burial and funeral rites in the Mediaeval Church. This psalm begins with the Hebrew:
'בְּצֵאת יִשְׂרָאֵל, מִמִּצְרָיִם; בֵּית יַעֲקֹב, מֵעַם לֹעֵז'
In Hebrew this is an acrostic poem. It is also one of the so called Egyptian Hallel prayers, though it is sometimes ascribed to King David.
At eight verses, this psalm is comparatively concise. It is composed of four stanzas of two lines, which the word Jacob envelops. The two central stanzas evoke with images full of life the miracle of the Red Sea and the passage of the Jordan. God is evoked only at the end of the Psalm, doubtless to arouse the expectation.
The first stanza recalls by the verb that the Hebrew people are born in the Exodus. The words sanctuary and domain designate the entire inheritance of God, not only in the geographical sense but also in a spiritual sense. The miracles that allow Israel to cross the Red Sea and cross the River Jordan are poetically enhanced by the process of hyperbole and by images evoking a life of natural elements, water and mountains. It is a means of manifesting all creation, with Israel and actively participating in its march towards the Promised Land.
Verses 1-3 recall the Exodus and its initial and final events: the people led Egypt, and were able to cross the Red Sea and the Jordan.
Verse 4 may be referring to the earth tremors that accompanied God’s appearance on Mount Sinai.
Verses 5-6 ask why these miracles too place.
Verses 7-8 tell us this was because the Lord of all creation was present. He commanded water to spring from the rock, quenching the thirst of the people during the Exodus. As the physical earth responded to God’s command then, how do we respond?
Romans 14: 1-12:
The Apostle Paul continues to write in this letter about how Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome must learn to live together instead of quarrelling over their different practices. As he writes to them, he uses as an illustration two kinds of Christians. Each group is regarded by the other as ‘weak in faith’ because of what they eat or refuse to eat, because of the feast days and holidays they observe or fail to celebrate. Too easily we can become focussed in an unforgiving way on the details and the practices of others rather than living out our shared and common faith.
The weak are welcome as full members of the community, for God has welcomed them, he says (verse 3). Their expressions of piety may include not eating meat, fasting regularly (verses 5-6) and abstaining from wine (verse 21).
It was bad manners in Roman society to pass judgement on the conduct of another master’s servant, who answered to his own lord or master. In the same way, each Christian answers to the Lord and should not be criticised. What matters is one’s own conviction before God is what matters. We should not judge, for God will judge us at the end of time and ‘each of us will be accountable to God’ (verse 12).
Matthew 18: 21-35:
Christ has told the disciples in the previous Sunday’s reading how the community is to discipline those who disrupt its harmony by going against God’s ways. However, they should realise that God forgives many times.
Saint Peter asks how many times he should forgive, and is told 'not seven times but, I tell you, seventy-seven times,' or, as some sources put it, seventy times seven.
We have seen many times in recent weeks how the number seven always indicates holiness, as in the seventh day, the seventh month, the seventh year or ‘year of release,’ and the Jubilee year that follows seven cycles of seven years. As the former Chief Rabbi Lord (Jonathan) Sacks says, seven is the symbol of the holy, that God exists beyond time and space.
But what about the number 70?
Talmudic scholars approach the Torah as if it has ‘seventy faces’ (Numbers Rabbah 13: 15-16). The number 70 also has sacred significance in Biblical Hebrew: 70 is the number of people who first went down to Egypt, the elders chosen by Moses, the years of King David, the Babylonian exile, the sages of the Sanhedrin, the translators of the Septuagint, the words of Kiddush, the nations of the world …
As the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy points out in The Genius of Judaism, the number 70 is ‘no ordinary number.’ He calls it the ‘secret universal.’ It represents the fullness of humanity, the ‘other universal that escorts human beings on the path of their history and to the centre of their substance.’ It is ‘the number of infinity extended.’
So, Christ tells us in this reading that divine forgiveness is to be extended ‘seventy-seven times’ or ‘seventy times seven’ – in other words, forgiveness in its abundance is holy in its giving and infinite in its reach.
In the second part of this reading, Christ explains what he is saying in a parable that is unique to Saint Matthew’s Gospel and that involves three distinct but linked episodes:
1, A king decides to settle his accounts with his slaves or servants – the word δοῦλος doulos means either, so those who first heard this parable could imagine an end-of-year audit with court officials, financiers or tax collectors. One of these officials owes 10,000 talents, which has been calculated as the equivalent to €3,877,551,979 today. This is no ordinary slave, or servant, to accumulate a debt of this magnitude. Of course, he is unable to clear a debt of such magnitude.
The king might have been reminded that in mitzvah 234, one of the 613 commandments or mitvot in Jewish law, it is prohibited to demand payment from a debtor who is known to be unable to pay (see Exodus 22: 24). Although the lender has the right to have his money returned, he may not embarrass the borrower by harassing him, and the lender is forbidden to seize the debtor’s land or to sell him or his family into slavery to secure payment.
When the servant seeks forgiveness, the king goes beyond the narrow constraints of rabbinical law, shows overflowing generosity, and agrees to clear off the loan.
2, Now, however, this senior official demands the repayment of a loan of three month’s wages, 100 denarii – equivalent to €7,473 in today’s money – from a lower-level servant for whom he is the line manager. The lower-ranking official asks for forgiveness, and, once again, the senior official might have been reminded of the command among the 613 commandments not to take a pledge from a debtor by force (mitzvah 239; see Deuteronomy 24: 10). But the man who has already been forgiven so much now refuses to forgive when it is his turn, his opportunity, and even his obligation, and he compounds his transgressions with his use of force.
3, When the king hears about this, he retracts his original forgiveness and has the first slave tortured – probably for ever.
After telling this parable, Christ explains it and identifies the principle figures: the king is God, the first slave is any Christian, and the second slave is any other person.
Christ makes a point about each episode:
1, God loves us so much that he will forgive any sin, not matter how unforgiveable it may seem.
2, It is absurd to live in a way that is contrary to God’s love and mercy.
3, Those who accept forgiveness from God but fail to forgive others will bring down judgment on themselves.
An additional reflection on the readings:
I have to admit to having some difficulties with the readings from the Book Exodus in recent few weeks.
It was fine two weeks earlier, when Moses met God on Mount Sinai, and took off his sandals because he is standing on holy ground.
But then last Sunday [6 September 2020], we had very specific details about how the Passover Lamb is to be killed and cooked, with splattering of blood on doorposts and lintels, specific details about how to cook the lamb and how to eat it – tough going, and not only for this vegetarian.
And then we have the warning that the first-born are going to be slain. It is an image of God that is terrifying. And then it is followed up this morning with a story in which we meet the Angel of the Lord or the Angel of Death.
The Angel of Death plays a very terrifying role in an oratorio written by the great English composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), Dona nobis pacem.
The fifth movement in this oratorio is called ‘The Angel of Death.’ Vaughan Williams derived his text for this movement from a speech in the House of Commons in 1855 by the great Victorian politician and reformer, John Bright, in which he condemned the Crimean War.
John Bright (1811-1889) was almost a lone voice in opposing the Crimean War. In that speech, he drew on images in the Passover story in the Book Exodus, where the Angel of Death kills the first-born children of Egypt, but spares any Israelite where the lintels and the door posts have been painted with the blood of the lamb (see Exodus 12: 21-32).
Of course, the Exodus story makes no mention of the ‘Angel of Death’ as the author of this final plague. But John Bright’s eloquence helped to popularise this image.
However, his speech did not stop the Crimean War, and 600,000 people were left dead.
When Vaughan Williams was writing his oratorio, Bright’s speech was finding new relevance in England with the rise of Nazism and Fascism on Continental Europe, and a fear of yet another great war.
Vaughan Williams uses these words to create an atmosphere of anxiety and expectation, which leaves us wondering whether the war will ever end, whether we shall ever find peace.
The fifth movement begins with Bright’s words: ‘The Angel of Death has been abroad throughout the land …’ In the final movement, the fearful news of the presence of the Angel of Death causes the chorus to burst into another cry for peace, but only more trouble follows: ‘We looked for peace, but no good came … The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved …’
These words have relevance once again today as we worry about war or violence on city streets or the death toll during the Covid-19 pandemic. And they may have more relevance if the European project, having saved much of Europe from the horrors of war for over two generations, collapses after the combination of a 'No-Deal Brexit' and the economic changes brought about by the pandemic.
But if the image of the Angel of Death in this reading disturbs us, we are not the first.
Not only do I find myself asking why Pharaoh and his army had to drown. Why could events not take another turn so that they arrive late, after the people cross and after the waters return?
To make matters worse, Moses and the Israelites later sing a triumphant song of gratitude to God for wiping out their enemies, declaring: ‘God is a Man of War’ (see Exodus 15:3). The Bible does not get any more masculine and militaristic than that.
Why is this Shirat Hayam (‘Song of the Sea’) so violent and unforgiving?
Where is God’s compassion and mercy?
This story is part of a longer Biblical passage known to Jews as Beshalach (בְּשַׁלַּח – ‘when he let go).’ It is read in synagogues on a Saturday around January or February, a Saturday that is known as Shabbat Shirah after the ‘Song of the Sea.’
The reading calls up the contrasting images of God parting the waters of Creation (Genesis 1: 6) and God promising after the Flood that the world would never be flooded or drowned again (Genesis 9: 11). So, this is a reading that we need to search through for promises of new creation and God’s redemption.
Traditional Jewish commentaries have been sensitive to the ethical problems this story creates. The Talmud says that when they see the Egyptians drowning, the angels are about to break into song. But God silences them declaring, ‘How dare you sing for joy when my creatures are dying’ (Talmud, Megillah 10b, Sanhedrin 39b).
Rabbi Johanan says that when the Egyptians are drowning in the sea, the angels want to sing a song of rejoicing. But God rebukes them, asking them rhetorically: ‘The work of my hands is being drowned in the sea, and you want to sing songs?’
The Talmud reminds us that our personal elation should never make us forget the misfortunes afflicting others (Berachot 31a). The mediaeval commentaries or Tosafot say this is the source for the Jewish custom of breaking a glass at the end of a wedding ceremony. This is also given as the reason why Jews spill out drops of wine on Seder night, the night of the Passover meal, as a reminder that the cup of deliverance and celebration cannot be full when others have to suffer.
The mediaeval rabbis point out that God continues to pour out pity and mercy for the rest of life even while wrongdoers are destroyed. Even when the oppressors engage in gross evil, God is open to forgiveness.
When DreamWorks made the movie Prince of Egypt (1998), they realised it was not politically correct to show the Israelites singing for joy at the death of their foes, so they had them begin to sing the ‘Song of the Sea’ as soon as they left Egypt. The song ‘When You believe,’ which became a hit single, refers to God’s power but conveniently avoids any mention of violence.
‘The Song of the Sea,’ or ‘The Song of Miriam’, is so challenging, so disturbing, that the General Synod dropped it from the canticles in the edition of the Book of Common Prayer published by the Church of Ireland in 2004.
There is a dichotomy. If we are not happy that evil has been punished, then we do not care enough. But if we are not sad at the loss of life, then our humanity is weakened. The Prophet Ezekiel reminds us: ‘As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live’ (Ezekiel 33: 11).
Perhaps the two shores of the sea represent two sides of the one story. Perhaps, for us, we must pass through the middle, preserving and valuing life, yet not drowning in war and hate. The middle path between justice and mercy is a difficult one to tread and at any moment we can be washed away. We need to tread carefully and try not to get wet.
These are dilemmas that lead us to the ethical problems in the Epistle reading (Romans 14: 1-12) and in the Gospel reading (Matthew 18: 21-35).
I often find the call to forgive a much greater moral dilemma than some of the questions I ask about the Old Testament reading.
The Apostle Paul challenges us: ‘Why do you pass judgement on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgement seat of God’ (verse 10).
And in the Gospel reading, Christ calls us to forgive in a way that is so difficult that I am still wrestling with it.
Clergy in the Church of Ireland like to joke – when we step outside the rule books and do things that our bishops might not approve of – that it is easier to ask for forgiveness afterwards than permission beforehand.
Many of us grew up with language that chided us, so that when we did something wrong and said sorry, we were told, ‘Sorry is not enough,’ ‘Sorry doesn’t fix anything,’ or ‘Sorry is only a word.’ These are phrases that allow a hurt person to withhold forgiveness, to find a form of comfort in their own hurt, to control us in a way that allows us to know mercilessly how much we are in need of mercy.
But we now live in a culture of half-hearted apologies that are difficult to forgive. Politicians claim they are accepting responsibility for their decisions by resigning – which means they never have to answer for their actions. Public figures who are loose with their words later apologise half-heartedly – ‘I am sorry if I have offended you’ – so that those who are hurt now feel that they need to apologise for their response, for their reaction, for being hurt.
There are times that I have no right to forgive, when it is not my place to forgive. I cannot forgive the perpetrators of the Holocaust, because, no matter how many times I have visited places that are an intimate part of the Holocaust story, I am not one of the victims.
I cannot forgive the slaveholders or the mass murderers in wars and killing fields, because I am not one of their victims. On the other hand, perhaps, because I am not a victim, I might find it is not so difficult.
The true difficulties arise in my own personal life. The members of my own family, lost friends, near neighbours, former colleagues I think have hurt me in the past. I walk around with perceived slights, insults and hurts, as if they are some sort of crutch that helps the wounded, broken me to walk through this broken and hurting world.
But then I am reminded, time and again, by the Christ who loves me so much, of what ‘my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’
I try, and I fail, and I try again, because I too need to tread carefully between the divided waters of mercy and justice and try not to get wet, so that I may turn from my ways and live.
Matthew 18: 21-35 (NRSVA):
21 Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ 22 Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
23 ‘For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; 25 and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. 26 So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” 27 And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, “Pay what you owe.” 29 Then his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” 30 But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?” 34 And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should pay his entire debt. 35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’
Liturgical resources:
Liturgical colour: Green (Ordinary Time, Year A).
The Collect of the Day:
Almighty God,
whose only Son has opened for us
a new and living way into your presence:
Give us pure hearts and steadfast wills
to worship you in spirit and in truth,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Collect of the Word:
O God,
you call your Church to witness
that in Christ we are reconciled to you:
help us to proclaim the good news of your love,
that all who hear it may turn to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Lord God, the source of truth and love:
Keep us faithful to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship,
united in prayer and the breaking of bread,
and one in joy and simplicity of heart,
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Speaking on the readings on Vocation Sunday:
During these few weeks, we are reding the story of God calling the enslaved people to freedom. That promise of and call to freedom comes not just to each of those slaves as individuals, but to the scattered households, families and tribes who are being called as a people, and who are about to enter into a covenantal relationship with God.
That call to freedom is not only a call to personal, social and political freedom, but a call to enjoy and exercise to worship God freely. Pharaoh’s sin is not only in keeping them enslaved, but also is refusing them the right to worship God freely.
But while the people are called to freedom by God and led to their freedom by a pillar of cloud and light, they are constantly reminded of their purpose – the call to worship God and to enter a new relationship with God – through the leadership of the brothers Moses and Aaron and their sister Miriam.
At first, Moses is reluctant to hear God’s call, excusing himself because he is not articulate enough and because his past life has been anything but exemplary. But, reluctant though he is, when Moses answers that call, God does great things though him, and Moses is called on also to ordain or consecrate Aaron to priestly or religious leadership of the people.
Many people may think they are hearing God’s call to ministry in the Church, among God’s people, but are often reluctant to listen to that call, finding excuses in their past life or their present skills. They may be relying on the encouragement of others – a sermon next Sunday, an encouraging word at the church door, an invitation to look at the accompanying video clip – to give themselves permission to listen to whether God is calling them and to test whether the Church is offering to train and equip them.
As Saint Paul says in the Epistle reading, ‘We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s’ (Romans 14: 7-8).
The Gospel reading talks about forgiveness being at the heart of the ministry and the mission of the Church. In Ireland today, in the world today, these are core Gospel values that clearly need to be spoken, preached and lived out.
The call to ministry is not necessarily to ordained ministry. Many people serve the Church and serve the world in countless ways that go unnoticed and without affirmation. But the Church constantly needs people in ministry – including people in ordained ministry and as commissioned readers – and next Sunday may be the moment someone in your parish is waiting for to ask themselves whether God is calling them and the Church is willing to train and equip them.
Suggested prayers for Vocation Sunday:
Lord help us to believe that we are all ordinary people made extraordinary through your vision and your power. Take our insecurities and feelings of inadequacy and give us the courage to see ourselves and others as you see us, with gifts and potential to transform your world and build your Kingdom. Amen.
Lord, you call us by our names. Help us to be confident in our own unique identity. To find opportunities to develop our specific gifts and our passions. Enable us to hear and recognise the call of Jesus in our lives, and those of others. Help us to find appropriate and life-giving ways to spread your Good News in a way which draws others to you and helps them experience your radical and extraordinary love. Amen.
Lord, enable your church to be the safe harbour as we search and explore a vocation in life and in ministry. Help it to be the lighthouse too, enabling us all to navigate our lives with skilfulness and joy, risking an adventure in Christ as we follow his leading, believing against the odds that we will discover the vitality of a new vocation. Amen.
God who calls us all to contribute to His Kingdom, take our insecurities and vulnerabilities and weave them through with your holy confidence, which always reassures us that we have something to offer. As we explore what you are asking of us, we pray for integrity of heart, clarity of mind, and a yearning to love and serve others wherever that may take us; For deep peace about this next step, and for God’s Light in our eyes. Amen.
God of every aspect of our lives, help us to hear clearly what you are asking of us each day, whatever situation we find ourselves in. You are the God who calls us to stay where we are or to move at your bidding: to seek and speak courageously, sharing your love, defending the vulnerable and bringing dignity to those who have no voice. Help us to sense your presence, in perseverance and in hope, in those everyday places which can be continuously renewed by your grace. Amen.
Loving and Generous God, it is You who call us by name and ask us to follow You. Help us to grow in the Love and Service of our Church as we experience it today. Give us the energy and courage of Your Spirit to shape its future. Grant us faith-filled leaders who will embrace Christ's Mission of love and justice. Bless your Church by raising up dedicated and generous leaders from our church, families and friends who will serve Your people. Inspire us to know You better and open our hearts to hear Your call. Amen.
God our Father, Lord of all the world, through your Son you have called us into the fellowship of your universal Church: hear our prayer for your faithful people that in their vocation and ministry each may be an instrument of your love, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified: hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people, that in their vocation and ministry they may serve you in holiness and truth to the glory of your name; 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.
Almighty God, you have entrusted to your Church a share in the ministry of your Son our great high priest: inspire by your Holy Spirit the hearts of many to offer themselves for the ministry of your Church, that strengthened by his power, they may work for the increase of your kingdom and set forward the eternal praise of your name; 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.
Almighty God, look with compassion on the world you have redeemed by the death of your Son Jesus Christ. Move the hearts of many to offer themselves for the sacred ministry of your Church, so that by their lives and labours your light may shine in the darkness and the coming of your kingdom be advanced, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Jesus, Lord and Master, you transform the lives of men and women. In your strength we can do all things and please our sovereign God. Tame our natures Lord, mould us to your need, fashion us to your taste, and conform us to your will. Enable us and all who hear your call to ministry to give ourselves generously to your service. Send us as workers into the Church and into the world. Amen.
Lord, as you called your disciples, call us now.
Open our ears to listen to you calling;
Open our eyes to see you;
Open our hearts to your love.
Help us to hear you, to experience your presence with us and to love you.
And loving you, let us serve you, our servant King. Amen.
Suggested Hymns:
Exodus 14: 19-31:
254, At the Lamb’s high feast we sing
262, Come, ye faithful, raise the strain
647, Guide me, O thou great Jehovah
652, Lead us heavenly Father, lead us
657, O God of Bethel, by whose hand
537, O God, our help in ages past
661, Through the night of doubt and sorrow
Psalm 114:
325, Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here
646, Glorious things of thee are spoken
557, Rock of ages, cleft for me
Genesis 50: 15-21:
550, ‘Forgive our sins, as we forgive’
Psalm 103: (1-7) 8-13:
1, Bless the Lord, my soul
686, Bless the Lord, the God of our forebears
688, Come, bless the Lord, God of our forebears
349, Fill thou my life, O Lord my God
80, Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father
33, O Lord of every shining constellation
366, Praise, my soul, the King of heaven
365, Praise to the Lord, the almighty, the King of creation
660, Thine for ever, God of love
47, We plough the fields and scatter
374, When all thy mercies, O my God
Romans 14: 1-12:
147, Angels from the realms of glory
94, In the name of Jesus
272, Jesus lives: thy terrors now
277, Love’s redeeming work is done
Matthew 18: 21-35:
550, ‘Forgive our sins, as we forgive’
421, I come with joy, a child of God
503, Make me a channel of your peace
623, Our heavenly Father, through your Son
Vocation Sunday:
Suggested hymns and songs from the Church Hymnal:
10, All my hope on God is founded
559, All to Jesus I surrender
643, Be thou my vision
517, Brother, sister, let me serve you
219 From heaven you came (The Servant King)
478, Go forth and tell
581, I, the Lord of sea and sky (Here I am, Lord)
587, Just as I am, without one plea
503, Make me a channel of your peace
658, One more step along the world I go
597, Take my life and let it be
491, We have a Gospel to proclaim
492, Ye servants of God your master proclaim
567, Will you come and follow me
605 Forth, in thy name, O Lord, I go
584, Jesus calls us! O’er the tumult
636, May the mind of Christ my Saviour
593, O Jesus, I have promised
Suggested ‘Contemporary Songs’:
Build my life (Housefires)
God of justice (Tim Hughes)
I will offer up my life (Matt Redman)
Lord I give you my heart (Michael W Smith)
The Stand (Hillsong)
This is our God (Graham Kendrick)
One thing remains (Jesus Culture)
An additional resource for 13 September 2020:
The Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is offering a free pre-recorded sermon for Sunday 13 September 2020. This sermon will be delivered by the Revd Dr Carlton Turner, a USPG trustee and a lecturer at the Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham.
It will be available on Thursday 10 September 2020, for use in online worship the following Sunday (13 September 2020).
Next month, the Revd Jessie Anand, Assistant Priest at Christ Church, Clapham, will be providing the sermon for Sunday 11 October.
To order these sermons for your church or parish, please email Gwen Mtambirwa, Mission Engagement Co-ordinator, gwenm@uspg.org.uk In the email, include the name of your church (if it is for a church service), the time of the service, and if you have one, attach a high-resolution photo of your church to your email as a jpeg.
USPG sends these sermons to you by the Thursday prior to the Sunday of use.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised 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 hymns suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000)
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
‘Dona nobis pacem’ with the Eastman-Rochester Chorus, the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra and Michaela Anthony, soprano
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