Year B - Proper 17 (28 Aug - 03 Sep)

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VERSION: 8 May 2002

SUNDAY BETWEEN 28 AUG AND 3 SEP (PROPER 17), YEAR B

In 2003: 12th Sunday after Pentecost, 31 Aug

In 2006: 13th Sunday after Pentecost, 3 Sep

In 2009: 13th Sunday after Pentecost, 30 Aug

In 2012: 14th Sunday after Pentecost, 2 Sep

In 2015: 14th Sunday after Pentecost, 30 Aug

- - -

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.

Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;

for the winter is past, and the time of singing has come.

(Song of Sol 2:10b,12a NRSV)

OR

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights. (Jas 1:17) 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

Keep, O Lord, your church

with your continual mercy;

and because without you

we in our frailty cannot but fall,

keep us always by your help

from all things hurtful,

and lead us to all things

profitable to our salvation;

through your Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR, modernised traditional

Watch over your church, Lord,

with your constant mercy,

because without your support

we would fall.

Keep us from what might hurt us,

and lead us to what is good 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 that we may offer ourselves to God. [silence])

Lord God, your Son humbled himself

in obedience to your will

and gave up his life for us.

Transform and renew us within.

Help us not to be conformed to this world,

but to dedicate ourselves to you,

and do what pleases you.

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 sincerity. [silence])

Holy and faithful God,

keep us from a piety

that is only for show.

Wash us completely clean,

so that what flows out of us

may be pure and good.

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

Song of Solomon 2:8-13 Springtime love song

Psalm 45:1,2,6-9

Antiphon:

God has anointed you with the oil of gladness. (Ps 45:7b NRSV)

OR, 1b

Deuteronomy 4:1,2,6-9 Moses urges Israel to keep the Lord's commands

(If using NRSV or NIV, begin: 'Moses said:')

Psalm 15

Antiphon:

O Lord, who may abide in your tent? (Ps 15:1a NRSV)

SECOND READING

James 1:17-27 Listening and doing

ALLELUIA VERSE (James 1:18 NRSV)

Alleluia, alleluia.

The Father gave us birth by the word of truth,

so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Mark 7:1-8,14,15,21-23 What makes people unclean

(If using NRSV, put 'Jesus' instead of 'him' in v 1)

PRAYER AFTER THE GOSPEL

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Thank you, Lord Jesus,

for telling us what God requires.

Create in us clean hearts.

Amen.

OFFERING PRAYER

God of light and life,

let our faith be sincere and active,

so that we put your word into practice,

and live the lives you want us to.

Lead us to help people in need,

showing the same love that you have shown us.

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Call to prayer

The Lord knows how we should live. Let us pray to God, knowing that in and through Jesus Christ we can come into the house of God with all that is on our hearts, and he will hear us.

The regular response, OR:

O loving God,

hear our prayer.

Suggested intercessions

Concluding prayer

Our Saviour God, hear our prayer this day, and help us all not to fall into the thinking of the world, but to be doers of the word, seeking your will in our daily lives. We pray 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.

Lord God,

as we have received the body and blood

of your Son Jesus Christ,

transform and renew us within.

Help us not to be conformed to this world,

but to dedicate ourselves to you,

and do what pleases you.

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. Accept the word that God has planted in you.

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): Song of Solomon 2:8-13

LHS

AT

TIS

-

First reading (b): Deuteronomy 4:1,2,6-9

LHS

AT

TIS

Second reading: James 1:17-27

LHS

AT

TIS

Gospel: Mark 7:1-8,14,15,21-23

LHS

AT

TIS

PSALM 45:1,2,6-9

For musical settings of Psalm 45:1,2,6-9, see Music Package 6.

Here is a metrical paraphrase of Psalm 45:1-9 by David Sch¸tz to be sung to the tune of Hanover (LH 454, TIS 133). If reproducing this version, please put 'Words (c) David Sch¸tz' at the beginning or the end of the psalm.

My heart overflows with beautiful verse,

in songs for the king my tongue pens its words,

you are the most handsome, your lips speak with grace,

and so God has blessed you throughout all your days.

With sword at your side, in majesty ride,

victorious and strong, defend right from wrong,

Your right hand is lifted t'ward our enemies,

your arrows fly swiftly, they fall to their knees.

The throne of our God will always endure.

You hate wickedness, with justice you rule,

and so God anoints you with gladness for oil,

above your companions, you rule over all.

In ivory halls, the harps make you sing.

Around you attend the daughters of kings.

The queen stands beside you in gold of Ophir,

and your robes are fragrant with aloes and myrrh.

PSALM 15

For musical settings of Psalm 15, see Music Packages 1, 6 and 9. Another version may be found in TIS, no. 5, O Lord, who shall abide in your tabernacle.

The following paraphrase of Psalm 15 by David Sch¸tz (alt.) may be sung to the tune Anthes (LH 308). If reproducing this version, please put 'Words (c) David Sch¸tz' at the beginning or the end of the psalm.

Lord, who shall be admitted

into your holy tent?

And who may find a dwelling

upon your holy hill?

All those whose life is blameless,

the righteous and the just,

who never stoop to slander,

but speak with honest heart.

They keep from doing evil,

from doing harm to friends.

They close their ears to rumours

that harm their neighbours' name.

They show the greatest honour

to those who fear the Lord,

but in their eyes the evil

are held in no regard.

They always keep their promise,

no matter what the cost.

They lend their money freely

and will not take a bribe.

All these shall be admitted

and shall not be removed,

for they alone may enter

God's tent and know his love.

NOTES ON THE READINGS

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

DEUTERONOMY 4:1,2,6-9: Moses gives the people of Israel a code of law which will apply as a permanent reference for morality and justice in the land they are about to enter. God's code for behaviour is also to serve as a witness among the surrounding nations through the life of the people. Their different conduct of life and distinctive national social justice should point clearly to the greatness of their God in the eyes of neighbouring peoples.

JAMES 1:17-21: If Old Testament Israel was expected to show forth righteousness by the proper observance of God's law, how much more should Christians of the new era display genuine righteousness. God regards the believer as righteous for Christ's sake, but also works righteousness in the life of the believer. The Christian has been set free from the results of sin through the gospel (the perfect law of liberty). Therefore one needs constantly to put off the sinful life and persevere in the power of God's implanted word to live in patent sincerity to carry out works of generosity and purity.

MARK 7:1-8,14,15,21-23: The only violent language our Lord Jesus used was in response to hypocrisy. The religious leaders taught that external rituals were necessary to avoid contamination from other peoples' sin and it was necessary to abstain from forbidden foods. Jesus clearly answered their criticism against his disciples by pointing to God's own emphasis. He quoted Isaiah (29:13) to show that God's first requirement is a heart which sorrows over sin but worships and obeys in purity. We can see clearly that our Lord upheld God's law as not only binding for our conduct, but that the commands of God are to dwell within our heart. When the heart is right, outward deeds will follow in purity.

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 gospel could be read by three readers: narrator (the pastor), a Pharisee, 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 'Ruth'. Material for this story may be found in

Original Edition, Series C, Semester 2 (Pentecost 7)

OR

Revised RCL Edition, Series B, Semester 2 (Proper 17)