Year A - Proper 20 (18 Sep - 24 Sep)

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VERSION: 8 May 2002

SUNDAY BETWEEN 18 AND 24 SEP (PROPER 20), YEAR A

In 2002: 18th Sunday after Pentecost, 22 Sep

In 2005: 18th Sunday after Pentecost, 18 Sep

In 2008: 19th Sunday after Pentecost, 21 Sep

In 2011: 14th Sunday after Pentecost, 18 Sep

In 2014: 15th Sunday after Pentecost, 21 Sep

- - -

Note: For explanations and suggestions on the various resources provided, see the documents 'General notes and resources' and 'Time after Pentecost' in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

LITURGY

SENTENCE

See the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Sentence', in the 'General and seasonal' folder for suggestions on using a Sentence.

If I live, it will be for Christ;

and if I die, I will gain even more. (Phil 1:21 CEV)

OR, use one of the general Sentences in the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Sentence', in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

PRAYER OF THE DAY (COLLECT)

Traditional

Lord, grant your people grace

to avoid the contamination of the devil,

and to follow you, the only Lord,

with pure hearts and minds;

through your Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR, modernised traditional

Lord, help your people

to avoid all contamination of the devil,

and to follow you, the only Lord,

with pure hearts and minds.

We ask this through your Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR, alternative

(Let us pray for a willingness to serve others. [silence])

Almighty and merciful Father,

your Son Jesus Christ has taught us

that what we do for those in need

we also do for him.

As he became the servant of all,

help us to be a servant to others.

For he lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR, new

(Let us pray for the gift of generosity. [silence])

Loving and righteous God,

you are far more generous to us,

and to all who work in your kingdom,

than we desire or deserve.

Make us generous to others

as you have been to us.

We ask this through your Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

FIRST READING AND PSALM

Note: There are two sets of first readings (with accompanying Psalms) given for the Sundays after Pentecost: (a) a new semi-continuous set, and (b) a set related thematically to the gospels (as in the earlier form of the lectionary). It is intended that either one of these two sets be used throughout and that they not be mixed.

1a

Exodus 16:2-15 Bread from heaven in the desert

Psalm 105:1-6,37-45

Antiphon:

Remember the wonderful works the Lord has done.

(Ps 105:5a NRSV)

OR, 1b

Jonah 3:10 - 4:11 Jonah is angered by God's mercy

(Substitute 'the people of Nineveh' for 'they' in 3:10)

Psalm 145:1-8

Antiphon:

The Lord is near to all who call on him. (Ps 145:18a NRSV)

SECOND READING

Philippians 1:21-30 Living for Christ

ALLELUIA VERSE (Matt 20:1,16)

Alleluia, alleluia.

(Jesus said:) The kingdom of heaven is like this:

the last will be first, and the first will be last.

Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Matthew 20:1-16 The workers in the vineyard

(Begin: 'Jesus said:')

PRAYER AFTER THE GOSPEL

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Lord Jesus, thank you for your generosity,

far beyond what we deserve.

Teach us to be thankful, and not envious of others.

Amen.

OFFERING PRAYER

Lord, thank you for being so generous

and merciful to us.

Help us to remember what Christ has done for us,

and to give ourselves in love and service

as a response to his love.

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Call to prayer

God has given us the great privilege of believing in Christ, so let us pray that God may show his generosity to all in need.

The regular response, OR:

Lord, in your generosity,

hear our prayer.

Suggested intercessions

Concluding prayer

Father, in your great generosity you freely give us everything we need. Keep us strong in faith, and give us the freedom to expect your generous blessing. When our labour in this world is over, bring us home to your heavenly kingdom. We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

PREFACE

It is indeed right and good,

Lord God, holy Father,

that we should at all times and in all places

give thanks to you,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(On this day)*

he overcame death by his resurrection

and opened up for us

the way to eternal life with you.

And so, with angels and archangels,

and with all the company of heaven,

we adore and praise your glorious name:

* The words 'on this day' are used only on Sundays.

COMMUNION INVITATION

For a choice of communion invitations, see the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Communion invitation', in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

See the service order for a standard post-communion prayer. Alternatively, use the third prayer of the day (as listed above) at this point. It may be modified as follows.

Almighty and merciful Father,

thank you that your Son Jesus Christ

has served us at his own table.

As he became the servant of all,

help us to be a servant to others.

For he lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

BEFORE THE BLESSING

The following verses (based on Phil 1:27, NRSV) may be said before the blessing:

Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,

standing firm in one spirit,

striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel.

DISMISSAL

Go in peace. Serve the Lord with a merciful and generous spirit.

Thanks be to God. OR In the name of Christ. Amen.

HYMNS AND SONGS

FOR THE READINGS

Please note:        * =        Modernised version available

      G3, G4 . . . =        Guitar chords available in the Music Package 3, 4 . . .

      GS =        Guitar chords in the Supplement to LH

First reading (a) : Exodus 16:2-15

LHS

AT

TIS

First reading (b) : Jonah 3:10 - 4:11

LHS

AT

TIS

Second reading: Philippians 1:21-30

LHS

AT

TIS

Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16

LHS

AT

TIS

PSALM 105:1-6,37-45

For musical settings of Psalm 105:1-6,37-45, see Music Package 3. TIS 66, O give thanks to God, is a version of Psalm 105:1-11.

The following metrical paraphrase of Psalm 105:1-6,37-45 by David Sch¸tz is sung to the tune of 'Trust and obey', LHS 877. If reproducing this version, please put 'Words (c) David Sch¸tz' at the beginning or the end of the psalm.

O give thanks to the Lord,

as you call on his name,

and make known all his deeds to the world.

Sing your praises to him,

as you tell what he's done,

as you glory in his holy name.

Let the hearts of all those

who approach him rejoice.

Seek the Lord and his strength at his throne.

And remember his works

and the judgments he gave,

O you chosen of Abraham's line.

God brought Israel out

with much silver and gold,

and not one of their many tribes fell.

The Egyptians were glad

when they went from their land,

for they'd learnt to fear Israel's God.

The Lord spread out a cloud

to protect them by day,

and at night they were led by a fire.

When they asked, the Lord gave

them their food from the sky,

sending birds in their thousands to eat.

The Lord opened the rock,

and the water gushed out;

and it flowed like a stream on the sand.

He remembered his word

and the promise he made

that his people would have their own land.

So he brought Israel out,

they went singing with joy,

and he gave them the wealth of their foes.

Now they had their own land

as a gift from the Lord,

that his laws may be kept for all time.

PSALM 145:1-8

For musical settings of Psalm 145:1-8 (9), see Music Packages 3 and 4.

TIS 89, O Lord, you are my God and King, is a paraphrase of Psalm 145:1-7,9-12. The following paraphrase of Psalm 145:1-8 by David Sch¸tz may be sung to various tunes, including Quam dilecta (LH 503) and St Cecilia (LH 416). If reproducing this version, please put 'Words (c) David Sch¸tz' at the beginning or the end of the psalm.

I praise you, God and King,

I bless your holy name,

forever every day,

I bless your name always.

Great is the Lord our God,

and greatly to be praised,

his greatness is beyond

all human power to know.

And every age will tell

each other of your works,

and everyone declare

the mighty things you do.

And I will meditate

upon your wondrous works,

the beauty of your face,

the splendour of your ways.

Your awesome deeds are told

and I declare you great!

We know your righteousness;

we sing and celebrate!

For gracious is the Lord,

and he is merciful,

he's slow to show his wrath,

abounds in steadfast love.

NOTES ON THE READINGS

See the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Notes on the readings', in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

EXODUS 16:2-15: Privations of desert life brought the people to the verge of desperation. Hence their outcry against Moses and Aaron. However, God had clearly shown both his miraculous presence and his deliverance previously. Thus their complaint was really against him and his practical teaching aimed at testing their obedience and developing their faith and trust. Even so, the Lord again showed his presence by the display of his glory and his loving mercy by the provision of quail and manna. The people were to learn that it is God who sustains life, not the pride and strength latent in human endeavour. Hence the detailed instructions concerning the gathering and use of this heaven-sent food. The miraculous provision of daily food would continue until the time the people would enter Canaan.

JONAH 3:10 - 4:11: Jonah and God had two vastly different reactions to Nineveh's repentance. God never changes in himself - yet he changes his mind about judgment when people repent. Jonah had tried to flee to Tarshish because he feared Nineveh would repent! We need to remember that Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, would be a rod of iron politically to break Israel. Hence Jonah's wish to see it destroyed even after he had preached repentance. What self-righteousness! He forgets that he himself was spared by God after his wilful disobedience and three days in the big fish. God still patiently teaches him, however, through the lesson of the vine and gourd that God's people need unquestioningly to go with God's gracious disposition to forgive those to whom he wills to show mercy regardless of the seeming injustice.

PHILIPPIANS 1:21-30: Paul has two wonderful possibilities before him, which makes it difficult for him to choose. To work on with the gospel, experiencing Christ's wonderful closeness, or to 'break camp', so to speak, and to go into the immediate presence of his Lord in heaven. He knows that he must work on. He encourages the Philippian Christians, then, similarly to work on with the gospel, experiencing the joy of Christian life, and receiving the reality of joy from God's hand amidst suffering from unbelievers.

MATTHEW 20:1-16: Sometimes the Scriptures talk about heaven as a final 'reward'. Other times salvation is taught to be strictly undeserved and solely received as a gift of God. In this parable Jesus shows that God owes no individual person anything. No matter what the extent of personal service, it is God who determines 'rewards' essentially according to his own grace and all-knowing counsel. He gives only in grace, otherwise nobody would receive eternal salvation in the Kingdom.

VISUAL

VISUALS FOR THE READINGS

Pictures or visual symbols could be displayed on banners or the overhead screen during the readings.

DRAMA

'MEGA DRAMA'

See a drama for the day in Mega Drama resources (Openbook Publishers), originally included in these worship resources when they were released on disks.

DRAMATISING THE READINGS

The readings can be read by more than one person to make the dramatic meaning of the text clearer. For instance, the first reading (1a) could be read by several readers: narrator, Israelite(s), the Lord, Moses (and Aaron). The alternative first reading (1b) could be read by three readers: narrator, Jonah, the Lord. The gospel could be read by several readers: narrator (the pastor), owner, various workers, Jesus.

CHILDREN

'COME AND SEE JESUS'

The Come and See Jesus curriculum published by Openbook Publishers has a wealth of material and ideas that may be adapted for use in worship. Please note that a new edition of this material is currently available for the Revised Common Lectionary.

This week's story is 'The parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16)'. Material for this story may be found in:

Original Edition, Year A, Semester 2, 18 Pentecost

OR

Revised RCL Edition, Year A, Semester 2, Proper 20.