St Catherine & St James’ Church Service of the Word Trinity I Sunday 2 June 2024

Welcome and Hymn 325 Be still

Penitence

O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who trust in him. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

The Lord ransoms the lives of his servants and none who trust in him will be destroyed. Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.

Come my children, listen to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Forgiveness

May the God of love and power forgive us, lift our burdens from us, heal and strengthen us by his spirit and raise us to new life in Jesus Christ, our risen and ascended Lord. Amen.

The Collect

God, the strength of all those who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without you, grant us the help of your grace, that in the keeping of your commandments we may please you, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A reading from the First book of Samuel.

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ and he said, ‘Here I am!’ and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down. The Lord called again, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” ’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ Then the Lord said to Samuel, ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. On that day I will fulfil against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I am about to punish his house for ever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering for ever.’

Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said, ‘Samuel, my son.’ He said, ‘Here I am.’ Eli said, ‘What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.’ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, ‘It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.’

As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

1 Samuel 3: 1-10, 11-20

Psalm 139

1 O Lord, you have searched me out and known me; ♦︎

you know my sitting down and my rising up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

2 You mark out my journeys and my resting place ♦︎

and are acquainted with all my ways.

3 For there is not a word on my tongue, ♦︎

but you, O Lord, know it altogether.

4 You encompass me behind and before ♦︎

and lay your hand upon me.

5 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, ♦︎

so high that I cannot attain it.

12 For you yourself created my inmost parts; ♦︎

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

13 I thank you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; ♦︎

marvellous are your works, my soul knows well.

14 My frame was not hidden from you, ♦︎

when I was made in secret

and woven in the depths of the earth.

15 Your eyes beheld my form, as yet unfinished; ♦︎

already in your book were all my members written,

16 As day by day they were fashioned ♦︎

when as yet there was none of them.

17 How deep are your counsels to me, O God! ♦︎

How great is the sum of them!

18 If I count them, they are more in number than the sand, ♦︎

and at the end, I am still in your presence.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;

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

A reading from the Second Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians.

For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

II Corinthians 4.5-12

The Gradual Hymn 566 Duke Street

Hear the Gospel of our Saviour Christ, according to St Mark.

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

One sabbath he was going through the cornfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’ And he said to them, ‘Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.’ Then he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.’

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Come forward.’ Then he said to them, ‘Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Mark 2: 23 – 3: 6

An Affirmation of Faith

We believe in God the Father, the source of all life, by whom every family in heaven and earth has been created.

We believe in God the Son, our friend and brother Jesus, who lives in our hearts through faith and fills us with his love.

We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with his power, and makes Jesus known in the world.

We believe and trust in one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Hymn 418 St Agnes (omit starred verse 5)

An Orthodox Litany of Intercession

For the peace that comes from above, for the loving-kindness of God, and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.