12th October
online Morning Prayer from St.Peter’s.
Harvest Festival: SS. Mary & Barlok
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
As Moses addresses the Hebrews before his death, he reminds them of God’s care for them in the wilderness and instructs them that each year they must celebrate the harvest bringing produce with joy and thankfulness to present to the priest.
When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, "Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response before the Lord your God: "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me." You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
John 6:25-35
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' “ Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Something to think about
One of the ways John’s account of the life and ministry of Jesus differs from the synoptic gospels, is the way he included the so-called ‘I am’ sayings (eg the light of the world, the good shepherd). These illustrated vividly particular aspects of who he was. The saying ‘I am the bread of life’ was spoken soon after the feeding of the 5,000 and would have reminded the people of the story of God’d gifts of manna, quails and water in the wilderness.
Collect
Creator God,
in the evolution of time your hand has shaped the world:
as we give thanks for the fruits of the earth,
enrich our lives with the fruits of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Post Communion
Lord of the harvest,
with joy we have offered thanksgiving for your love in creation
and have shared in the bread and the wine of the kingdom:
by your grace plant within us a reverence for all that you give us
and make us generous and wise stewards of the good things we enjoy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Trinity 17, St.Oswald’s & Holy Trinity.
2 Kings 5:1-3,7-15
Elisha the prophet sends Naaman the Aramaean army captain to wash in the river Jordan to cure him of his leprosy. When Naaman proudly refuses to go, his servants encourage him, and he his cured.
Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.” But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?" He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, "Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, "Wash, and be clean’?" So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean. Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant."
Luke 17:11-19
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Something to think about
Leprosy was regarded as a highly contagious disease which barred a sufferer from normal human contact. A cure had to be certified by the priests. Jesus was in the territory of the Samaritans where Jews did not usually travel because of the ancient feud between Jews and Samaritans - which Jesus often ignored (John 4:7-30). The despised Samaritan was the only leper who returned to give thanks.
Collect
Creator God, you made us all in your image:
may we discern you in all that we see,
and serve you in all that we do;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Post Communion
Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us,
and make us continually to be given to all good works;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Next Sunday’s (19th) Readings:
2 Timothy 4:5-17
Luke 10:1-9
Please remember in your prayers this week:
Those who are unable to be with us in church, including Linda Torr and Arthur Williams.
Those who are ill, especially Graham Price and Joe Lister (priest).
The recently bereaved, especially the family and friends of Nicholas Flux, Rita Mawbey and Duncan Renshaw.
Areas of conflict: the Ukraine, the Middle East and too many others.
Our local churches.
Our Ministry Team: Dwayne, Maggie, Nigel & Lynda.