The Worship Bulletin for Sunday morning, the Ninth Sunday of Pentecost  We hope you find this helpful in following along with the service. You are encouraged to respond in the appropriate places. The service is taken from the Book of Common Prayer. If you do not have a copy, you can access it at either https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/BCP.pdf  or    http://prayerbook.ca/resources/bcponline/.

        

St. Stephen’s Anglican Parish

11:00 am St. Stephen’s On-line Service, Chester

Ninth Sunday of Pentecost                                                                            2 August 2020    

Our mission is to worship God and care for

God’s people in the spirit of Christ….

MORNING PRAYER

(Book of Common Prayer)

The Penitential Rite:                          p. 4

Responsory:                                        p. 5

Venite:                                                 p. 6

The Proclamation of the Word

Psalm 17:1-7, 16

HEAR the right, O LORD, consider my complaint, / and hearken unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; / and let thine eyes look upon the thing that is right.
3 Thou hast proved and visited mine heart in the night-season; thou hast tried me, and shalt find no wickedness in me; / for I am utterly purposed that my mouth shall not offend.
4 As for the works of men, by the word of thy lips / I have kept me from the ways of the destroyer.
5 My steps have held fast to thy paths, / and my feet have not slipped.
6 I HAVE called upon thee, O God, for thou shalt hear me: / incline thine ear to me, and hearken unto my words.
7 Show thy marvellous loving-kindness, thou that art the Saviour of them that put their trust in thee, / from such as resist thy right hand.

16 But as for me, I shall behold thy presence in righteousness; / and when I awake, I shall be satisfied with thy likeness.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son/ and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be/ world without end. Amen.

Lesson:                                   Genesis 32:22-31                                                                                     

The same night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved." The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

The Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

Te Deum:                                            p. 7

Epistle:                                   Romans  9:1-5

I am speaking the truth in Christ - I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit - I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

The Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

Benedictus:                                        p. 9

Gospel Lesson:                            Matthew 14:13-21

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves." Jesus said to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." They replied, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish." And he said, "Bring them here to me." Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

The Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

Reflection:

Apostles’ Creed:                                 p. 10

Lord’s Prayer:                                     p. 11

Versicles and Responses:                  p. 11

Collect:

 God beyond all seeing and knowing, we meet you in the night of change and crisis and wrestle with you in darkness and doubt. Give us the will and spirit to live faithfully and to love as we are loved, through Jesus Christ, your Son. Amen  

Collects for Peace and Grace:                p. 11-12

Intercessory Prayers

General Thanksgiving, Prayer of Saint Chrysostom, The Grace p.14-15 

Announcements

The Rector continues his vacation, through Monday, the 3^rd of August (inclusive). If there is any emergency which requires a priest, please contact the Parish Office or the Wardens (numbers are on the cover of this bulletin), and they will put you in touch with the clergy “on-call”.

Re-Gathering for Worship – We will begin physically gathering once more for worship on Sunday, 9 August.

Please note that at St. Stephen’s, Chester, there will be one service on Sunday Mornings, 10:30 a.m. It will be a “said” Service of the Word (no Communion), and will take place in Tuck Hall, St. Stephen’s Community Centre. Please note that seating will be limited, as we can only have as many people in the hall as will allow for sufficient physical distancing, up to a maximum of 50 in attendance. Also, all those who will be in attendance MUST wear face-masks. Watch for more information in the first week of August.

There will be a Service of the Word also at St. George’s, East River, that day, at 9 a.m. Once more, all attendees must wear masks. If there are more than 10 in attendance, physical distancing must be maintained.

The first gathering at All Saints’, Canaan will take place on Sunday, 16 August, 7 p.m. with a Service of the Word. Masks and possible physical distancing requirements will need to be applied for that celebration as well.

Commentary (Compiled from Commentaries by Chris Haslam – Diocese of Montreal)

Genesis 32:22-31-  After serving Laban for many years, Jacob has decided to return home to Canaan. He has outwitted Laban into giving him the best of his flocks, and has departed with his wives and entourage without saying farewell. This has angered Laban, who has marched after Jacob, but (thanks to God’s intervention), they have come to an amicable agreement. In ancient folklore, struggles between humans and mysterious beings are common. Such beings, sometimes divine, often guard river crossings, and are only effective at night. The being is usually forced to reveal something of himself. This is such a story – but much more. Jabbock is little more than a stream, but it runs in a deep, mysterious gorge. The supernatural event can have no witnesses (“Jacob was left alone”, v. 24.) The struggle appears to be with “a man”, but in v. 26, Jacob probably recognizes him as God: he seeks his blessing. This is confirmed in v. 28: “you have striven with God”. Jacob’s life has been a struggle, from his birth on. He does not win a complete victory: his “hip was put out of joint” (v. 25). In v. 30, “Peniel” means face of God. We read in earlier chapters that God promised to preserve Jacob’s life; here (v. 30) his “life is preserved”. This story was handed down orally for many generations, and recorded by an author of Genesis much later. To this author, what really mattered was what it said about Israel, the nation: Jacob struggled with God, and he is given a new name (“Israel”, v. 28.) This change signifies a new era in Jacob’s life; it gives meaning to his future life; he now has a mission. Jacob is no longer just cunning; he is now divinely commissioned Israel: he is father of God’s chosen people. Just as he struggled with God, so does the nation. It too is protected by God, and God’s people have a role in the path to salvation.

Romans 9:1-5 - Paul has written of the new way of being we have in Christ, in the love of God, aided by the Holy Spirit, with the certain hope of eternal life – while others continually alienate themselves from God and face the finality of physical death. We are adopted children of God, and so will attain complete oneness with him, sharing in his power (glory). Now he confronts a worrying question: why have most Jews rejected the good news? This causes Paul, as a follower of Christ, great pain. Perhaps some thought him insensitive to the plight of his fellow Jews, but the “Holy Spirit”, within him, “confirms” that he really cares. He would even be willing to be “cut off from Christ” (v. 3), be condemned to damnation, for the sake of bringing his fellow Jews to Christ. They are “Israelites” (v. 4) – a title given to them by God. They have seven gifts from God: (1) “adoption”, being chosen as children of God; (2) “glory”, God’s presence in the desert and in the Temple; (3) the “covenants” of God with the patriarchs; (4) “the giving of the law”, the expression of God’s will at Sinai; (5) temple “worship”; (6) “the promises” to Adam, Noah, Moses and David; and (7) a heritage still in effect, of worshipping the God of their fathers, “the patriarchs” (v. 5, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). There is an eighth gift, the greatest: Jesus, who was born a Jew. But they fail to recognize him for who he is: the “Messiah”, the Christ. Paul’s basic answer is in vv. 6-18: God, not humans, choses through whom he works to bring about his plan of salvation, as the Old Testament shows. God decided that the lineage of Israel, his people, would be through Isaac and Jacob, not through Ishmael and Esau.

Matthew 14:13-21 Matthew has told us of the beheading of John the Baptist – killed because he denounced Herod Antipas’ marriage to his brother Philip’s wife when Philip was still alive (a violation of Jewish law). This is a story of a miracle, but which miracle? The obvious answer is the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, but there is perhaps another miracle here. Matthew places this story in a section of the gospel about training the disciples for their mission, so perhaps Jesus is teaching them about what they can do. (A peasant in Palestine, then and now, travelled with food.) Jesus says to his disciples “you give them something to eat” (v. 16). He is saying: you have the resources to solve this problem! Take the initiative! Be leaders! In v. 19, we have a reminder of the Last Supper, the eucharistic feast, and of the messianic feast at the end of time. Jesus takes bread, recognizes it as the Father’s gift (“looked up to heaven”), blesses it, breaks it, and gives it, distributes it. Then, in v. 20, we see another level to the story. The disciples get everyone to work together to a common purpose. All are “filled” and much is left over: a basket for each disciple. Each of them has a mission to perform, one of telling the good news of the infinite abundance of God’s love, which all can eat.

11:00 am St. Stephen’s On-line Service, Chester Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

The Worship Bulletin for Sunday morning, the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost  We hope you find this helpful in following along with the service. You are encouraged to respond in the appropriate places. The service is taken from the Book of Common Prayer. If you do not have a copy, you can access it at either https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/BCP.pdf  or    http://prayerbook.ca/resources/bcponline/.

 

        

St. Stephen’s Anglican Parish

11:00 am St. Stephen’s On-line Service, Chester

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost                                                                           

 26 July 2020    

  

Our mission is to worship God and care for

God’s people in the spirit of Christ….

Archdeacon Ian Wissler, Rector 902. 275. 8627 ian.wissler@gmail.com

Rev. Canon Dr. Stephen Paul Booth, Honorary Assistant                                   

Wardens:  Mary Casavant 902.275.7992   rickmarycasavant@gmail.com                                                                                   

 Jon Waddell   902.275.4630    jwadell@bellaliant.net

Bill Hilchie 902.275.7779 billhilchie@gmail.com

Choir Director: Dawn Harwood-Jones

Organist: Margaret Machum

ststephensparish@ns.sympatico.ca

Parish Office Hours:  Monday-Thursday, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

54 Regent Street Chester NS B0J 1J0      902.275.3804 

MORNING PRAYER

(Book of Common Prayer)

*A Note from the Rector about Morning Prayer. - The Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer are some of the treasures of our Book of Common Prayer. In “saying” the Office, any person can read the prayers, especially in the privacy of their own home, without the presence of a priest – with the exception of the Prayer of Absolution, which normally follows the Confession at the start of the service. Everything else can be led by any Christian person. And so, if you are praying this service, YOU are the “Officiant”, or “Minister”, and can even read those parts that say “Priest”. I would encourage you to read the “Mutual Salutations” (“The Lord be with you”. “And with thy spirit.”) as a reminder that, even if you are praying this service physically alone, you are praying in unity with your whole parish family, and the whole family of Christ’s Church on earth.

O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: let the whole earth stand in awe of him.
Psalm 96. 9.

Prayer of Confession

Officiant: ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father, We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep, We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts, We have offended against thy holy laws, We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults. Restore thou them that are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesu our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.

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 them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.

Minister. O Lord, open thou our lips;
People. And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.
Minister. O God, make speed to save us;
People. O Lord, make haste to help us.

Minister: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
People. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Minister. Praise ye the Lord;

People. The Lord’s Name be praised.

“Venite” (Psalm 95)

O COME, let us sing unto the LORD: / let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, / and show ourselves glad in him with psalms.
For the LORD is a great God, / and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are all the corners of the earth: / and the strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his, and he made it: / and his hands prepared the dry land.

O COME, let us worship, and fall down, / and kneel before the LORD our Maker.                                                                            

 For he is the Lord our God; / and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.                                                    

 TO-DAY, O that ye would hear his voice: / ‘Harden not your hearts as in the Provocation, and as in the day of Temptation in the wilderness;
When your fathers tempted me, / proved me, and saw my works.
Forty years long was I grieved with that generation, and said, / “It is a people that do err in their hearts, for they have not known my ways”;
Unto whom I sware in my wrath, / that they should not enter into my rest.’

GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, / and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, / world without end. Amen.

The Proclamation of the Word

Psalm 105:1-11

O GIVE thanks unto the LORD, and call upon his Name; / tell the peoples what things he hath done.
2 O let your songs be of him and praise him; / and let your talking be of all his wondrous works.
3 Rejoice in his holy Name: / let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.
4 Seek the LORD and his strength: / seek his face evermore.
5 Remember the marvellous works that he hath done, / his wonders, and the judgements of his mouth;
6 O ye seed of Abraham his servant, / ye children of Jacob, his chosen.
7 HE is the LORD our God: / his judgements are in all the world.
8 He hath been alway mindful of his covenant, / and the promise that he made to a thousand generations;
9 Even the covenant that he made with Abraham, / and the oath that he sware unto Isaac;
10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a statute, / and to Israel for an everlasting testament;
11 Saying, ‘Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, / the lot of your inheritance.’

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son/ and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be/ world without end. Amen.

Lesson:                                   Genesis 29:15-28                                                                                      

Laban said to Jacob, "Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?" Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel." Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me." So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed." So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?" Laban said, "This is not done in our country - giving the younger before the firstborn. Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years." Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.

The Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

“Te Deum” 

WE praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud, the Heavens and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts;
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee;
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise thee;
The noble army of Martyrs praise thee;
The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee,
The Father, of an infinite Majesty;
Thine honourable, true, and only Son;
Also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.

THOU art the King of Glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin’s womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints, in glory everlasting.

Epistle:                                   Romans  8:26-39

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

“Benedictus”

BLESSED be the Lord God of Israel; / for he hath visited and redeemed his people;
And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us, / in the house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets, / which have been since the world began;
That we should be saved from our enemies, / and from the hands of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers, / and to remember his holy covenant;
To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham, / that he would grant us
That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies / might serve him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him, / all the days of our life.

AND thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest: / for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people / for the remission of their sins;
Through the tender mercy of our God; / whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us;
To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, / and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, / and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, / world without end. Amen.

Gospel Lesson:                            Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Jesus put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

The Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

Reflection – See Commentary at the End of the Bulletin

Apostles’ Creed

I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
     And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
     I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting. Amen.

Minister: The Lord be with you;
People. And with thy spirit.
Minister. Let us pray.

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

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 them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Amen.

Priest: O Lord, show thy mercy upon us;
People. And grant us thy salvation.
Priest. O Lord, save the Queen;
People. And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.
Priest. Endue thy Ministers with righteousness;
People. And make thy chosen people joyful.
Priest. O Lord, save thy people;
People. And bless thine inheritance.
Priest. Give peace in our time, O Lord;
People. And evermore mightily defend us.
Priest. O God, make clean our hearts within us;
People. And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.

Collect:

God of the earth, all creation awaits your gift of new life. Prepare our hearts to receive your Word so that it may grow within us and yield a hundredfold harvest; through Jesus Christ, the Sower. Amen. 

Collect for Peace

O GOD, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom: Defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defence, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Collect for Grace

O LORD our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day: Defend us in the same with thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings may be ordered by thy governance, to do always that is righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for the Queen

O LORD God Almighty, who rulest the nations of the earth, we humbly beseech thee with thy favour to behold our Sovereign Lady, Queen ELIZABETH, that in all things she may be led by thy guidance and protected by thy power. We pray thee also to bless and all the Royal Family. Endue with wisdom the Governor-General of this Dominion, the Lieutanant-Governors of the Provinces, the Legislators of the Commonwealth and Empire, and all who are set in authority; that all things may be so ordered and settled by their endeavours upon the best and surest foundations, that peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety, may be established among us for all generations; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for the Clergy and People

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift: Send down upon Ronald our Archbishop, all  Clergy, and all Congregations committed to their charge, and especially this Parish of St. Stephen, Chester (with this community of St. George’s/All Saints) the healthful Spirit of thy grace; and that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Prayer for All Conditions

O GOD, the Creator and Preserver of all, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of humanity; that thou wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto all nations. More especially we pray for the good estate of the Catholic Church; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those, who are any ways afflicted or distressed in mind, body, or estate; [*name here any who are in your heart and on your mind who stand in need of God’s help] that it may please thee to comfort and relieve them, according to their several necessities, giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen.

The General Thanksgiving

ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, We thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks For all thy goodness and loving-kindness To us and to all people; [*Name here any particular thanks you have to offer to the Lord.] We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; But above all for thine inestimable 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 beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, That our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, And that we show forth thy praise, Not only with our lips, but in our lives; By giving up ourselves to thy service, And by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, To whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their requests: Fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.

The Grace

THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.

Announcements

The Rector continues his vacation, through Monday, the 3^rd of August (inclusive). If there is any emergency which requires a priest, please contact the Parish Office or the Wardens (numbers are on the cover of this bulletin), and they will put you in touch with the clergy “on-call”.

Re-Gathering for Worship – We will begin physically gathering once more for worship on Sunday, 9 August.

Please note that at St. Stephen’s, Chester, there will be one service on Sunday Mornings, 10:30 a.m. It will be a “said” Service of the Word (no Communion), and will take place in Tuck Hall, St. Stephen’s Community Centre. Please note that seating will be limited, as we can only have as many people in the hall as will allow for sufficient physical distancing, up to a maximum of 50 in attendance. Also, all those who will be in attendance MUST wear face-masks. Watch for more information in the first week of August.

There will be a Service of the Word also at St. George’s, East River, that day, at 9 a.m. Once more, all attendees must wear masks. If there are more than 10 in attendance, physical distancing must be maintained.

The first gathering at All Saints’, Canaan will take place on Sunday, 16 August, 7 p.m. with a Service of the Word. Masks and possible physical distancing requirements will need to be applied for that celebration as well.

Commentary (Compiled from Commentaries by Chris Haslam – Diocese of Montreal)

1^st Lesson - Genesis 25:19-3 - Abraham has taken another wife, Keturah, who has borne him sons; they found the Arabic tribes (vv. 2-4). He sends these sons eastward: they will not compete with Isaac (v. 6). Abraham has died (vv. 7-10). Ishmael, his son by Hagar, has twelve sons who become the fathers of tribes between Egypt and Arabia (vv. 12- 18). Now vv. 19-20 recall Isaac’s Aramean lineage. The story implies that Rebekah was barren for 19 years: see vv. 20 and 26. Isaac, mostly shown as a bridge between Abraham and Jacob, prays for her to conceive (v. 21), but when the pregnancy proves difficult, it is she who visits a shrine, seeking a divine oracle (“inquire of the Lord”, v. 22). Contrary to Israelite custom, “the elder shall serve the younger” (v. 23). A scholar suggests that Esau is ruddy rather than “red” (v. 25). His abundance of body hair is important later when Isaac is fooled into blessing Jacob rather than Esau. The Hebrew for “hairy” (se'ir) reminds the reader of Seir, the land where Esau later lives. “Jacob” (v. 26) probably means May God protect. Within the name is a syllable which on its own means “heel”. The two boys are indeed “divided” (v. 23) as God has foretold: Esau, like Ishmael, becomes nomadic while Jacob lives a settled life (“living in tents”, v. 27).

Vv. 29-34 are a second story. Jacob may well be cooking up a stew, i.e. stirring up trouble. When Esau returns from hunting “famished” and weary, he wants to gulp down whatever Jacob is cooking. (“Edom”, v. 30, meaning red one, is another name for Seir). But Jacob thinks fast, to his own advantage; he demands Esau’s favoured status (and greater inheritance) as first-born. Esau will give anything for a meal (v. 32). So Jacob is able to extract from him a legal agreement (v. 33). And so we learn how Abraham’s line, the line of God’s people, continues through Jacob and not Esau, and how Israel became a greater power than Edom. God chooses; whom he chooses is his affair.

Romans 8:1-11 Paul has written of the inner conflict which arises within the believer. Whether an adherent to the Law or a Christian, one wills to follow God’s ways, but somehow one does otherwise. Something within one causes one not to follow through from “mind” (v. 6) to action. One’s body, one’s “flesh”, seems naturally inclined to do evil. Paul has thanked God for rescuing us from this state: for we who are incorporated “in Christ Jesus” (v. 1) there are no dire consequences (“condemnation”) of our mistakes. Why? Because God’s “Spirit” (v. 2), in the new way of being, has freed us from the finality of physical death. God has overcome our inclination to sin by lovingly “sending his own Son” (v. 3): he who suffered the effects of human sin in order to do away with it through rising again, thus enabling us to attain oneness with God (v. 4). There are two mindsets (vv. 5-6): one self-oriented and the other Spirit-oriented, one leading to the finality of “death”, and one to spiritual “life”. Self-orientation is inherently in opposition to God (v. 7). But Christians are motivated by the Spirit (dwells”, v. 9), belong to God. “Spirit” and “Christ” come together. Vv. 10-11 say: if Christ (or the Spirit) is in you, though you may be a corpse because of all the wrong you have done, you are actually very much alive – because of the Spirit. If God’s Spirit is in you, God will resuscitate your bodies (from being corpses) through the Spirit, in raising you to new life at the end of time.

Matthew 13:1-9,18-23 - The crowd that has come to hear Jesus is so large that he teaches from a boat on the Sea of Galilee. He tells several parables; the first one (vv. 3b-8) he explains in vv. 18-23, but only partially. People were familiar with Palestinian farming; sometimes seeding preceded ploughing. The “sower” (v. 3) and the seed are constant; where it lands varies: in three unfruitful places (“on the path”, v. 4, among rocks, v. 5, “among thorns”, v. 7) and in one fruitful place (v. 8). V. 9 tells us (and the crowd) that this is a story with a deeper meaning. People naturally thought of the sower as God and the various soils as the people of the world; knowing the prophecy of the fate of Jeroboam’s household in 1 Kings, they probably linked “birds” (v. 4) with evil. Perhaps here the sower is anyone who tells the good news. Growth represents receptivity. While Jesus has invited listening (v. 9), understanding (vv. 19, 23) is required in order to be fruitful: reflect on Jesus’ message. Those who brush off the message are seduced by evil (v. 19). Vv. 20-21 also speak of lack of understanding: of superficiality, of reflecting insufficiently to withstand “persecution”. Discipleship is demanding. Then v. 22: following Christ requires undivided loyalty, single-mindedness. Finally v. 23: only those who adequately reflect (thus coming to understanding), who meet the demands of the faith, and who are truly dedicated are fruitful and bring others to Christ.