Mid-Week Eucharist , February 8, 2023, Rev. Sally Bullas     

Mid-Week Eucharist , February 8, 2023, Rev. Sally Bullas                                                                  

Gathering:

The grace of Christ Jesus, the love of God, 

and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And also with you.

Word Comes to Us                                    (From Sirach 15:15-20, adapted)
If you will, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice.
The Holy One has placed before you fire and water: stretch out your hand for whichever you wish.

Before humankind are life and death, and whichever is chosen will be given.
For great is the wisdom of God who is mighty in power and sees everything;

God’s eyes are on those who fear God, and God knows every deed of humankind.
The Holy One has not commanded any one to be ungodly, and has not given any one permission to sin.

Collect:   
Let us pray,
Creator God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid.  Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Scripture Text

Reader:  Today’s reading is from 1 Corinthians 3:1-9.  (NRSV)

“And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people but rather as fleshly, as infants in Christ.  I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still fleshly. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not fleshly and behaving according to human inclinations?  For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not all too human?

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each.  I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.  So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.  The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and each will receive wages according to their own labor.  For we are God’s coworkers, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

Reader:  Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church

All:         Thanks be to God

silence for reflection

Affirmation of Faith:                                from The New Zealand Prayer Book

You, O God, are supreme and holy.
You create our world and give us life.
Your purpose overarches everything we do.
You have always been with us. 

You are God.

You, O God, are infinitely generous,
good beyond all measure.
You came to us before we came to you.
You have revealed and proved
your love for us in Jesus Christ,
who lived and died and rose again.
You are with us now. 

You are God.

You, O God, are Holy Spirit.
You empower us to be your gospel in the world.
You reconcile and heal; you overcome death.

You are our God. We worship you.

Dear friends in Christ, God is steadfast in love, infinite in mercy, and is inclusive of all. Let us bring our whole selves before God, confident in God’s grace.

 

Holy God, maker of us all                               Have mercy on us

Christ Jesus, Servant of the poor                   Have mercy on us

Holy Spirit, Breath of life                                 Have mercy on us

Let us in silence confess the ways in which we turn from God . . . 

silence

Words of Renewal:
Merciful God, you have heard our prayers. . . 

            May God forgive us, 

            Christ renew us and 

            the Spirit enable us to grow in love.           
            Amen

Invitation: 

This table of bread and wine is now to be made ready. 

It is the table of company with Jesus; 

it is the table of sharing with the poor of the world, with whom Jesus identified himself; 

it is the table of communion with the earth, in which Christ became incarnate; 

it is the table of radical welcome in the name of our God. 

Come to this table, whoever you are; 

it is Christ who invites us to meet him here.

Great Thanksgiving:

            God be with you                      

            And also with you

            Lift up your hearts                   

            We lift them to God

            Let us give thanks to God most high.

            It is right to give God thanks and praise

Blessed are you, O God, 
for you have brought forth bread from the earth. 

Blessed are you, O God, 

for you have created the fruit of the vine. 

In the beginning you watered the earth 

that all people might have food and drink. 

You gave your servant Sarah bread to strengthen her family 
on their journey, and wine to make them glad. 

You called Moses and his people out of bondage 

and refreshed them with food in the wilderness. 

You gave Mary and Jesus their daily bread to share. 

And here at your table you offer us bread and wine for the journey to nourish us, the Body of Christ, first fruits of your new creation, 

and of your mending of the world’s brokenness. 

And so with the community gathered, 

before us and beside us, 

we praise you from our hearts 

for your unending greatness.

Holy, holy, holy Lord. 

God of power and might, 

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest. 

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest.

Among friends, gathered round a table, 

Jesus took bread, and, having blessed it, 

he broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying, 

            “This is my body which is given for you.

            Do this in remembrance of me.” 

In the same way he took wine, 

and, having given thanks for it, 

he poured it out and gave the cup to his disciples, saying, 

            “this cup is the new relationship with God, 

            sealed with my blood. 

            Take this and share it. 

            I shall drink wine with you next 

            in the coming kin-dom of God.”

So now, following Jesus’ example, 

we take this bread and this wine; 

the ordinary things of this world 

through which God will bless us. 

And, as Jesus offered thanks for the gifts of the earth, 

and proclaimed the coming of your kingdom, 

in his living, his dying and his rising, 

so we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Hear us, O Christ, 

and breathe your Spirit upon us 

and upon this bread and wine. 

May they become for us your body, 

vibrant with your life, healing, 

renewing and making us whole.

And as the bread and wine which we 

now eat and drink are changed in to us, 

may we be changed again in to you, 

bone of your bone, 

flesh of your flesh, 

loving and caring in the world.

 

Prayers of the Community: 

(One: God in your mercy; All: Hear our prayer)

Our Mother/Father in heaven, 

hallowed be your name, 

your kin-dom come, 

your will be done, 

on earth as in heaven. 

Give us today our daily bread. 

Forgive us our sins 

as we forgive those who sin against us. 

Save us from the time of trial, 

and deliver us from evil. 

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, 

now and forever. 

Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, 

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory is yours, 

Almighty God now and forever, 

Amen

The Body of Christ is broken for the life of the world.

Here is Christ coming to us in bread and in wine.

These are the gifts of God for the people of God. 

Thanks be to God!

After sharing communion around the table 

we observe a period of silence for reflection

 

Prayer after Communion: 

Let us pray: 

For the bread we have eaten,

for the cup we have shared, 

for the life we have received, 

we thank you God. 

            Grant that what we have done and been given here 

            may remain a guidepost for our lives. 

            Grant that we may grow in your love 

            and understand your way, 

            that our lives may show faithful action in Christ’s name. 

Glory to God 

whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. 

Glory to God from generation to generation, in the Church and in Christ Jesus, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Blessing: 

Go in peace to love and serve God.

And may God go with us.