Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:2
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.
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!
Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; *
I have
said to the LORD, “You are my Lord,
my good above all
other.”
All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land,
*
upon those who are noble among the people.
But those who run after other gods *
shall have their
troubles multiplied.
Their libations of blood I will not offer, *
nor take
the names of their gods upon my lips.
O LORD, you are my portion and my cup; *
it is you
who uphold my lot.
My boundaries enclose a pleasant land; *
indeed, I
have a goodly heritage.
I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel; *
my
heart teaches me, night after night.
I have set the LORD always before me; *
because he is
at my right hand I shall not fall.
My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices;
*
my body also shall rest in hope.
For you will not abandon me to the grave, *
nor let
your holy one see the Pit.
You will show me the path of life; *
in your presence
there is fullness of joy,
and in your right hand are pleasures
for evermore.
Hear my plea of innocence, O LORD;
give heed to my
cry; *
listen to my prayer, which does not come from lying lips.
Let my vindication come forth from your presence; *
let
your eyes be fixed on justice.
Weigh my heart, summon me by night, *
melt me down;
you will find no impurity in me.
I give no offense with my mouth as others do; *
I
have heeded the words of your lips.
My footsteps hold fast to the ways of your law; *
in
your paths my feet shall not stumble.
I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me;
*
incline your ear to me and hear my words.
Show me your marvelous loving-kindness, *
O Savior of
those who take refuge at your right hand
from those who rise up
against them.
Keep me as the apple of your eye; *
hide me under the
shadow of your wings,
From the wicked who assault me, *
from my deadly
enemies who surround me.
They have closed their heart to pity, *
and their
mouth speaks proud things.
They press me hard,
now they surround me, *
watching
how they may cast me to the ground,
Like a lion, greedy for its prey, *
and like a young
lion lurking in secret places.
Arise, O LORD; confront them and bring them down;
*
deliver me from the wicked by your sword.
Deliver me, O LORD, by your hand *
from those whose
portion in life is this world;
Whose bellies you fill with your treasure, *
who are
well supplied with children
and leave their wealth to their
little ones.
But at my vindication I shall see your face; *
when I
awake, I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.
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 Proverbs.
Does not wisdom
call,
and does not understanding raise her
voice?
On the heights, beside the way,
at
the crossroads she takes her stand;
beside the gates in front of
the town,
at the entrance of the portals she
cries out:
‘To you, O people, I call,
and
my cry is to all that live.
O simple ones, learn
prudence;
acquire intelligence, you who lack it.
Hear, for I will speak noble things,
and
from my lips will come what is right;
for my mouth will utter
truth;
wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
All the words of my mouth are righteous;
there
is nothing twisted or crooked in them.
They are all straight to
one who understands
and right to those who find
knowledge.
Take my instruction instead of silver,
and
knowledge rather than choice gold;
for wisdom is better than
jewels,
and all that you may desire cannot
compare with her.
I, wisdom, live with prudence,
and
I attain knowledge and discretion.
The fear of the LORD is
hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way
of evil
and perverted speech I hate.
I
have good advice and sound wisdom;
I have
insight, I have strength.
By me kings reign,
and
rulers decree what is just;
by me rulers rule,
and
nobles, all who govern rightly.
I love those who love me,
and
those who seek me diligently find me.
Riches and honour are with
me,
enduring wealth and prosperity.
My
fruit is better than gold, even fine gold,
and
my yield than choice silver.
I walk in the way of
righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
endowing with wealth those who love me,
and filling their
treasuries.
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.
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.” He left that place and entered their synagogue; a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?” so that they might accuse him. He said to them, “Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other.
But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.
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.
Almighty and merciful God, in your goodness keep us, we pray, from all things that may hurt us, that we, being ready both in mind and body, may accomplish with free hearts those things which belong to your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. 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.
O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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.
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.
2 Corinthians 13:14