To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, because we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by following his laws which he set before us.
Daniel 9:9, 10
Officiant Lord,
open our lips.
People And
our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Come, let us sing to the Lord; *
let us shout for joy
to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and
raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above
all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the
heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have
molded the dry land.
Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel
before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his
pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would
hearken to his voice!
Give the King your justice, O God, *
and your
righteousness to the King’s son;
That he may rule your people righteously *
and the
poor with justice.
That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people,
*
and the little hills bring righteousness.
He shall defend the needy among the people; *
he
shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.
He shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, *
from
one generation to another.
He shall come down like rain upon the mown field, *
like
showers that water the earth.
In his time shall the righteous flourish; *
there
shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more.
He shall rule from sea to sea, *
and from the River
to the ends of the earth.
His foes shall bow down before him, *
and his enemies
lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay
tribute, *
and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts.
All kings shall bow down before him, *
and all the
nations do him service.
For he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress,
*
and the oppressed who has no helper.
He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; *
he shall
preserve the lives of the needy.
He shall redeem their lives from oppression and
violence, *
and dear shall their blood be in his sight.
Long may he live!
and may there be given to him gold
from Arabia; *
may prayer be made for him always,
and may they
bless him all the day long.
May there be abundance of grain on the earth,
growing
thick even on the hilltops; *
may its fruit flourish like
Lebanon,
and its grain like grass upon the earth.
May his Name remain for ever
and be established as
long as the sun endures; *
may all the nations bless themselves in
him and call him blessed.
Blessed be the Lord GOD, the God of Israel, *
who
alone does wondrous deeds!
And blessed be his glorious Name for ever! *
and may
all the earth be filled with his glory. Amen. Amen.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
A Reading from the Book of Genesis.
On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: if you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here where you are imprisoned. The rest of you shall go and carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me. Thus your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they agreed to do so.
They said to one another, “Alas, we are paying the penalty for what we did to our brother; we saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this anguish has come upon us.” Then Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to wrong the boy? But you would not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” They did not know that Joseph understood them, since he spoke with them through an interpreter. He turned away from them and wept; then he returned and spoke to them. And he picked out Simeon and had him bound before their eyes. Joseph then gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. This was done for them. They loaded their donkeys with their grain, and departed. When one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money at the top of the sack. He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back; here it is in my sack!” At this they lost heart and turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
O Lord and Ruler of the hosts of heaven, *
God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and of all their righteous offspring:
You made the heavens and the earth, *
with all their
vast array.
All things quake with fear at your presence; *
they
tremble because of your power.
But your merciful promise is beyond all measure; *
it
surpasses all that our minds can fathom.
O Lord, you are full of compassion, *
long-suffering,
and abounding in mercy.
You hold back your hand; *
you do not punish as we
deserve.
In your great goodness, Lord,
you have promised
forgiveness to sinners, *
that they may repent of their sin and be
saved.
And now, O Lord, I bend the knee of my heart, *
and
make my appeal, sure of your gracious goodness.
I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, *
and I know my
wickedness only too well.
Therefore I make this prayer to you: *
Forgive me,
Lord, forgive me.
Do not let me perish in my sin, *
nor condemn me to
the depths of the earth.
For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent, *
and
in me you will show forth your goodness.
Unworthy as I am, you will save me,
in accordance
with your great mercy, *
and I will praise you without ceasing all
the days of my life.
For all the powers of heaven sing your praises, *
and
yours is the glory to ages of ages. Amen.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
A Reading from the Gospel According to Mark.
Again he began to teach beside the lake. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the lake on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’ And he said, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’
When he was alone, those
who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the
parables. And he said to them, ‘To you has been given the secret
of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in
parables; in order that
“they may indeed look, but not
perceive,
and may indeed listen, but not understand;
so that
they may not turn again and be forgiven.” ’
And he said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come
to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of
the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he
would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate
us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to
remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, *
to
set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear, *
holy and
righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most
High, *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the
forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from
on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow
of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
I believe in God, the Father
almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus
Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of
the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered
under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He
descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He
ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I
believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the
communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the
resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Officiant The
Lord be with you.
People And
also with you.
Officiant Let
us pray.
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,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
V. Show
us your mercy, O Lord;
R. And
grant us your salvation.
V. Clothe
your ministers with righteousness;
R. Let
your people sing with joy.
V. Give
peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R. For
only in you can we live in safety.
V. Lord,
keep this nation under your care;
R. And
guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V. Let
your way be known upon earth;
R. Your
saving health among all nations.
V. Let
not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R. Nor
the hope of the poor be taken away.
V. Create
in us clean hearts, O God;
R. And
sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.
Let us pray now for our own needs and those of others.
Almighty God, Father of
all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for
all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you
have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all
the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable
love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for
the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such
an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we
may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our
lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking
before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through
Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be
honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
Let us bless the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20,21