Collect, Readings & Prayers for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Collect

Almighty God,

who sent your Holy Spirit

to be the life and light of your Church:

open our hearts to the riches of your grace,

that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit

in love and joy and peace;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

Isaiah 55:1-5

An Invitation to Abundant Life

55 The Lord says this: “Ho, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labour for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.
³ Incline your ear, and come to me;
    listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    my steadfast, sure love for David.
⁴ See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
    a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵ See, you shall call nations that you do not know,
    and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has glorified you.

OR

Genesis 32:22-31

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² 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. ²³ He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. ²⁴ Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. ²⁵ 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. ²⁶ Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’ ²⁷ So he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’ ²⁸ 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.’ ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.’ ³¹ The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

Romans 9:1-5

God’s Election of Israel

9 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit— ² I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³ 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. ⁴ They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; ⁵ to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

Matthew 14:13-21

Feeding the Five Thousand

¹³ Now when Jesus heard that Herod had beheaded John the Baptist, 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. ¹⁴ When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. ¹⁵ 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.’ ¹⁶ Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ ¹⁷ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ ¹⁹ 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. ²⁰ And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. ²¹ And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Prayers

God invites us to hold the needs of our sisters and brothers
as dear to us as our own needs.
Loving our neighbours as ourselves,
we offer our thanksgivings and our petitions
on behalf of the church and the world.

• 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.  Glorious God, your generosity floods the world with goodness
  and you shower creation with abundance. Lord Jesus, we pray for those who will today go hungry, or find it hard to feed their families.
  Awaken in us a hunger for food to satisfy both body and heart,
  that in the miracle of being fed we may be empowered to feed the hungry in Jesus’ name, and to be generous and willing to share. Amen

• God our Father, in the name of him who gave bread to the hungry, we remember all who through our human ignorance, folly, and sin are condemned to live in want. Show us, who have so much, what we can do to help those who have so little; and bless the efforts of those who work to overcome poverty and hunger, that sufficient food may be found for all; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

From the Book of Common Order of the Church of Scotland

Lammas or ‘Loaf-mass’ is an English feast in origin, held on 1 August as a thanksgiving for the first-fruits of the wheat harvest and was traditionally the first harvest festival of the year.

• Loving God, as we celebrate Lammastide, and Your grace and provision, we are reminded of the importance of community and sharing. Thank You for the harvest that brings us together and for the fellowship we enjoy with one another. Help us to build a community of care and support, reflecting Your love and generosity. May this season strengthen our bonds with each other and inspire us to work together for the common good. Let our hearts be open to one another and our actions be guided by Your grace and help us to remain humble and grateful, always remembering that You are the source of all that is good Amen.

• Gracious God, we lift up in prayer all those who work the land and labour in the fields. we especially remember the farmers and all who are involved in bringing in the harvest. Bless their work, grant them strength and health, and provide for their needs. Help us to honour their efforts and to use the fruits of their labour responsibly. May their work be fruitful, and may they find joy in the harvest they have laboured to produce. Amen.

• Lord, you who make both cold and heat, have mercy upon us, we pray, in the extreme heat conditions, preserve us from irritability as we wilt and wither under the scorching heat of the sun, and help us to endure these days with patience. We pray for all who will struggle or suffer as a consequence of the high temperatures and pray that you will provide for all those that are in need of the resources necessary to survive. Guide neighbours to check on one another and offer what help and relief they can. We pray for the farmers coping with the extreme conditions, for steady rain so that the crops will mature, seeds (for next season's crops) germinate in the ground and the grass grow. Amen

• God, you came to bring peace, to offer reconciliation, to heal the separation between people, and to show how it is possible for men and women to overcome their differences and to celebrate their unity. You revealed your God as a God of all people, a God without resentments or desires for revenge, a God who cares for each one of his children with an infinite love and mercy and who does not hesitate to invite them into his own house. But our world today does not look like a world that knows you. Our nations are torn by chaos, hatred, violence, and war. In many places, death rules.
  O God, do not forget the world into which you came to save your people; do not turn your back on your children who desire to live in harmony but who are constantly entangled in fear, anger, lust, violence, greed, suspicion, jealousy, and hunger for power. Bring your peace to this world, a peace we cannot make ourselves. Awaken the consciousness of all peoples and their leaders; raise up men and women full of love and generosity who can speak and act for peace, and show us new ways in which hatred can be left behind, wounds can be healed, and unity restored.
  O God, come to our assistance. O God, make haste to help us. Amen.
  Adapted from "A Cry for Mercy," by Henri J.M. Nouwen
   

• Dear Father God. Our human lives are full of change. We know that life always moves on and nothing stays the same. We find change frightening, sad or difficult. Help us to be brave. Help us to be positive and above all, help us to remember that You alone do not change and will always be with us. Amen

• God, our refuge and strength, our help in times of trouble. 
  We lift our prayers to you as your creation is suffering from wildfires. 
  Have mercy on the lands ravaged by fires. 
  Calm the winds that fan the flames, and send rain to the parched lands. 
  Comfort all who have had to leave their homes; give them solace as they wait for news.
  Give peace to those under evacuation alerts. 
  Bless all those who help and support the evacuees. 
  Protect all those who are fighting the fires, and keep them safe in difficult circumstances. 
  Protect all whose health is at risk because of the smoke. 
  Heal the people, heal the nature, and heal the land. 
  God, in your unending mercy, we ask you to hear our prayers. Command the winds and the flames to obey You, Lord, as You once calmed the stormy seas. Pour the water of Your grace upon these destructive fires. Stay them with Your powerful hand. Angels of God, come to the aid of those most in need of God's mercy. Amen

• Lord Jesus, we pray for those who are struggling with the busyness and demands of life, those who long for a break, a pause, a chance to be quiet and ask that you grant them peace and time for rest and recovery. We pray too for those who are lonely or alone and long to be part of a crowd. Lord, reassure them of your presence and provide them with people, care and love. Amen

• Loving God, we thank You for the gift of life and pray for those whose lives are troubled by illness, grief, poverty or injustice. We pray that in the darkness of their suffering and pain Your light will shine to bring them the assurance and hope they need. We remember at this time those known personally to us and those who have requested our prayers. Heavenly Father, we place in your loving keeping all those we know who have died and ask for your comfort and peace to be on all who mourn. Amen

• Each morning and each evening
  let the peace of the Father, be ours.
  Each day and each night
  let the peace of the Son be ours.
  Each dawn and each dusk
  let the peace of the Spirit be ours.
  Let the blessing of the three in one be ours;
  both now and for ever. Amen.
  Carmina Gadelica