If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Colossians 3:1
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.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for
us; *
therefore let us keep the feast,
Not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil,
*
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia.
Christ being raised from the dead will never die again;
*
death no longer has dominion over him.
The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all;
*
but the life he lives, he lives to God.
So also consider yourselves dead to sin, *
and alive
to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia.
Christ has been raised from the dead, *
the first
fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since by a man came death, *
by a man has come
also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, *
so also in Christ shall all
be made alive. Alleluia.
LORD, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before you;
*
hide not your face from me in the day of my trouble.
Incline your ear to me; *
when I call, make haste to
answer me,
For my days drift away like smoke, *
and my bones are
hot as burning coals.
My heart is smitten like grass and withered, *
so
that I forget to eat my bread.
Because of the voice of my groaning *
I am but skin
and bones.
I have become like a vulture in the wilderness, *
like
an owl among the ruins.
I lie awake and groan; *
I am like a sparrow, lonely
on a house-top.
My enemies revile me all day long, *
and those who
scoff at me have taken an oath against me.
For I have eaten ashes for bread *
and mingled my
drink with weeping.
Because of your indignation and wrath *
you have
lifted me up and thrown me away.
My days pass away like a shadow, *
and I wither like
the grass.
But you, O LORD, endure for ever, *
and your Name
from age to age.
You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is
time to have mercy upon her; *
indeed, the appointed time has
come.
For your servants love her very rubble, *
and are
moved to pity even for her dust.
The nations shall fear your Name, O LORD, *
and all
the kings of the earth your glory.
For the LORD will build up Zion, *
and his glory will
appear.
He will look with favor on the prayer of the homeless;
*
he will not despise their plea.
Let this be written for a future generation, *
so
that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD.
For the LORD looked down from his holy place on high;
*
from the heavens he beheld the earth;
That he might hear the groan of the captive *
and set
free those condemned to die;
That they may declare in Zion the Name of the LORD,
*
and his praise in Jerusalem;
When the peoples are gathered together, *
and the
kingdoms also, to serve the LORD.
He has brought down my strength before my time; *
he
has shortened the number of my days;
And I said, “O my God,
do not take me away in
the midst of my days; *
your years endure throughout all
generations.
In the beginning, O LORD, you laid the foundations of
the earth, *
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
They shall perish, but you will endure;
they all
shall wear out like a garment; *
as clothing you will change
them,
and they shall be changed;
But you are always the same, *
and your years will
never end.
The children of your servants shall continue, *
and
their offspring shall stand fast in your sight.”
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 the Prophet Jeremiah.
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the LORD. In those days they shall no longer say: “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge. The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the LORD,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Seek the Lord while he wills to be found; *
call upon
him when he draws near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways *
and the evil ones
their thoughts;
And let them turn to the Lord, and he will have
compassion, *
and to our God, for he will richly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, *
nor your
ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, *
so
are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your
thoughts.
For as rain and snow fall from the heavens *
and
return not again, but water the earth,
Bringing forth life and giving growth, *
seed for
sowing and bread for eating,
So is my word that goes forth from my mouth; *
it
will not return to me empty;
But it will accomplish that which I have purposed, *
and
prosper in that for which I sent it.
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 Matthew.
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Splendor and honor and kingly power *
are yours by
right, O Lord our God,
For you created everything that is, *
and by your
will they were created and have their being;
And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain, *
for with
your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people, and nation, *
a
kingdom of priests to serve our God.
And so, to him who sits upon the throne, *
and to
Christ the Lamb,
Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor, *
for
ever and for evermore.
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, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 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.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
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