Year B - Proper 10 (10 July - 16 July)

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VERSION: 8 May 2002

SUNDAY BETWEEN 10 AND 16 JULY (PROPER 10), YEAR B

In 2003: 5th Sunday after Pentecost, 13 July

In 2006: 6th Sunday after Pentecost, 16 July

In 2009: 6th Sunday after Pentecost, 12 July

In 2012: 7th Sunday after Pentecost, 15 July

In 2015: 7th Sunday after Pentecost, 12 July

- - -

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.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. (Eph 1:3 NRSV)

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

O God, whose never-failing providence

orders all things in heaven and earth:

Put away from us all hurtful things,

and give us whatever is profitable for us;

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 God, everything is in your care.

Put away from us all things that are harmful,

and give us whatever is profitable for 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.

OR, alternative

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

Almighty and merciful God,

you have planted in us the seed of your word.

Help us by your Holy Spirit

to receive it with joy

and live according to it,

so that we may grow in faith, hope, and love.

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, new

(Let us pray for knowledge of what is right. [silence])

Holy and merciful God,

give us a clear vision

to see what is right and true,

and the courage to live by it,

whatever the cost may be.

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

2 Samuel 6:1-5,12b-19 David brings the ark to Jerusalem

(Begin verse 12b at 'So David . . . ')

Psalm 24

Antiphon:

Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. (Ps 24:9 NRSV)

OR, 1b

Amos 7:7-15 The plumbline; Amos and Amaziah

Psalm 85:8-13

Antiphon:

Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.

(Ps 85:7 NRSV)

SECOND READING

Ephesians 1:3-14 God praised for his secret plan now revealed

ALLELUIA VERSE.(Matt 11:11 NRSV)

Alleluia, alleluia.

Among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Mark 6:14-29 The death of John the Baptist

PRAYER AFTER THE GOSPEL

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

We thank you, Lord Jesus,

for sending prophets to proclaim God's will.

Lead us to listen to what they say.

Amen.

OFFERING PRAYER

Thank you, eternal God,

for all you have given us through Christ.

You have made us holy as he is holy:

help us to live holy lives.

Let us show by our actions

and our lives of love and service

that we are your children.

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Call to prayer

God is holy and just and judges righteously. He does all he can to keep his people from falling away. Let us pray to him in the full confidence that he will hear our prayers.

The regular response, OR:

O God of all wisdom,

hear our prayer.

Suggested intercessions

Concluding prayer

Loving God, when the time was right and according to your good pleasure you sent your Son to be a Saviour to all people. We ask that you would hear our prayers and grant them according to your wisdom and timing, through 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 God,

you have planted in us the seed of your word,

and nurtured us

with the body and blood of your Son, Jesus Christ.

Help us by your Holy Spirit

to grow in faith, hope, and love.

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.

DISMISSAL

Go in peace as the holy children of God.

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): 2 Samuel 6:1-5,12b-19

LHS

AT

TIS

First reading (b): Amos 7:7-15

LHS

AT

TIS

Second reading: Ephesians 1:3-14

LHS

AT

TIS

Gospel: Mark 6:14-29

See selections for 1b above

PSALM 24

For musical settings of Psalm 24, see Music Package 6. Another setting is in TIS 13, The Lord's is the earth and its fullness, and TIS 12 is a version of Psalm 24:7-10.

PSALM 85:8-13

For musical settings of Psalm 85:8-13, see Music Packages 4, 6 and 9. TIS 45, I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, is a version of Psalm 85:7-13.

Below is a metrical version by David Sch¸tz of Psalm 85:8-13, which may be sung to the tune Ave virgo (LH 469. TIS 391). If reproducing this version, please put 'Words (c) David Sch¸tz' at the beginning or the end of the psalm.

Let me hear what God will say -

say to all his faithful.

He will speak his peace to us -

peace to all who trust him.

His salvation now is near -

near to all who fear him.

He in glory comes to us -

comes and makes his dwelling.

Love and faithfulness will meet -

meet in peace and justice.

Faithfulness will spring from earth,

righteousness from heaven.

God will give us what is good

and our land will prosper.

Righteousness will pave his way

as he comes to save us.

NOTES ON THE READINGS

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

AMOS 7:7-15: After the death of King Solomon, the land of Israel was divided into two kingdoms, the Southern Kingdom with Jerusalem the capital, and the Northern Kingdom with Bethel (at the time of this prophecy) its capital. Amos's vision of God presents him as a master builder checking with a plumbline. This suggests that both the religious and political structures of the Northern Kingdom were so 'out of line with true' that a major demolition and restructure was called for. The 'high places' were religious shrines for perverted cultic Baal worship. Bethel was the political and religious centre for King Jeroboam. The prophesied destruction of these places evokes the intensity of the priest Amaziah's response to Amos's prophecy. He tells Amos to go and make his living in the Southern Kingdom. Amos politely answers that he is not a prophet by training or profession but rather by the special choice and act of the Lord.

EPHESIANS 1:3-14: Here St Paul breaks out into praise as he treats the doctrine of election. This deep mystery is not meant to bewilder the Christian but rather to reassure and comfort. It shows how precious is our relationship with God by faith in Christ through the intricate workings of God, that he chose us from eternity and made us his own in time. All this hinges on God's central historical act of Christ's sacrificial death for our sin, verse 7. While the whole universe finds its ultimate rationale in Christ's work for God the Father, yet God's purpose for us is to reflect our election in the way our lives come into harmony with him and in living to his praise. The Spirit gives us all of this as a guarantee of the full and final glory of the heavenly redemption still to come.

MARK 6:14-29: Herod was in reality not a king but a puppet ruler under the Romans in the northern areas above Judea. His imprisonment of John the Baptist afforded him the opportunity to hear John, although without belief. His wife, Herodias, resented the Baptist's criticism of the religiously unlawful marriage between Herod and herself. The same blackness of soul which later brought silence from Jesus (Luke 23: 7-11) caused the rashness of a lustful promise to combine with weakness of will to give in to Herodias's vengeful bloodthirsty demand. Hence, when reports of Jesus' ministry with his miracles reached him, Herod's conscience allowed superstitious guilt-images to take hold in his mind that John the Baptist had come back to life embodied in Jesus.

VISUAL

VISUALS FOR THE READINGS

Pictures or visual symbols could be displayed on banners or the overhead screen during the readings. For instance, reading 1a from 2 Samuel could be accompanied by a picture like the illustration in the TEV Bible for 2 Samuel 6:5; reading 1b from Amos could be accompanied by a picture of a plumbline; and the second reading by a picture like the illustration in TEV for Ephesians 1:12.

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, reading 1b from Amos could be read by four readers: narrator, the Lord, Amos, Amaziah; the second reading could be read antiphonally by two readers; and the gospel could be read by up to eight readers: narrator (the pastor), first person, second person, third person, Herod, John the Baptist, the daughter of Herodias, Herodias.

CHILDREN

CHILDREN AND THE READINGS

Children could make or display either a picture of the ark ('Covenant Box' in TEV) or a plumbline, depending on which first reading is used. The meaning and significance of the item could be explained in a talk with the 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 'Three men in a fiery furnace'. Material for this story may be found in

Original Edition, Series C, Semester 2 (Pentecost 5)

OR

Revised RCL Edition, Series B, Semester 2 (Proper 10)