Collect, Readings and Prayers for The Last Sunday after Trinity and Bible Sunday.
The Last Sunday after Trinity
Collect
Merciful God,
teach us to be faithful in change and uncertainty,
that trusting in your word
and obeying your will
we may enter the unfailing joy of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Readings
Joel 2:23-32
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
23 O children of Zion, be glad
and rejoice in the Lord your God;
for he has given the early rain[a] for your vindication,
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the later rain, as before.
24 The threshing-floors shall be full of grain,
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent against you.
26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again
be put to shame.
God’s Spirit Poured Out
28 Then afterwards
I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
29 Even on the male and female slaves,
in those days, I will pour out my spirit.
30 I will show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. 32 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
6 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
16 At my first defence no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Luke 18:9-14
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-Collector
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” 13 But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’
Bible Sunday
Collect
Blessed Lord,
who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
help us so to hear them,
to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them
that, through patience, and the comfort of your holy word,
we may embrace and for ever hold fast
the hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Readings
Isaiah 45:22-25
22 Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn,
from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.’
24 Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and strength;
all who were incensed against him
shall come to him and be ashamed.
25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall triumph and glory.
Romans 15:1-6
Please Others, Not Yourselves
15 We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us must please our neighbour for the good purpose of building up the neighbour. 3 For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’ 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6 so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Luke 4:16-24
The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth
16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ 23 He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.”’ 24 And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town.
Prayers
Merciful God, help us when praying to be like tax-collector, who was honest and contrite in his prayers. He, unlike the Pharisee, knew that he was a sinner, and stood before God in spiritual nakedness and in terrible need of forgiveness. We too pray for God’s forgiveness even as we offer our prayers our hopes and our concerns for those we love and for those in our communities and our world
- As believers in Jesus we rejoice in the vibrancy of God’s word in the Bible. Almighty God, thank you for the gift of your Holy Word. May it be a lantern to our feet, a light to our paths, and a strength to our lives. We pray that through the scriptures Your voice will be heard and heeded and take us and use us to love and serve all people in the power of the Holy Spirit, and in the name of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ
- Gracious God, we pray for your church throughout the world and for all Christian people; for the renewal of the Church in faith, love and service; for Stephen, Archbishop of York and Sarah Archbishop of Canterbury Elect: our Bishops Martyn and Saju and Claire our Archdeacon; for the life of the churches in the Woodfield Team. We give you thanks for the gift of your word, the grace of the sacraments and the fellowship of your people.
- Creator God, Lord of all, we pray for peace in the world bringing before you the troubles and dangers of people and nations; the war-torn and the world-weary. We pray in particular for the fragile cease-fire in Gaza to hold and for a permanent peace to be established. Shower your blessings on communities seeking to rebuild their lives in peace and hope; guide and protect refugees fleeing from war and persecution in their homelands and direct all rulers, governments and leaders of people to strive for justice, peace and fair shares of the rich bounty of their lands.
- Father God, we pray for ourselves. Give to us an eye that is willing to see meaning and value in things and people that are familiar and commonplace and always to be sincerely aware of our own faults. Enable us to see likeable qualities in those we may not like, recognise the mistakes in what we thought was correct and to understand the strength in what we choose to see as weakness.
- We pray for our families, friends, neighbours, and schools. Help us to be kind and generous, and to look out for those who feel lonely or left out. Show us how to be your hands and feet in the world. We pray especially for anyone who is sick, sad, or worried and we lift up to you all the people we know who need your help at this time. Bring them comfort and healing and surround them with your peace.
- At this season of Remembrance and of All Souls' Day, also called The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, we remember in our prayers friends and loved ones who have enriched our lives and are now departed from us. We pray for those who. have died in recent days and those whose anniversaries occur at this time.
May your light shine on them for ever and our lives be richer because of their memory.
- Lord of all creation, you have written our story with hands of grace.
Every chapter filled with mercy. Every verse a melody of love.
May our lives sing of your faithfulness.
Let our story be a testament of your goodness
and our song a sweet offering before your throne.
You weave sorrow in strands of gold, turning burdens into blessings unseen.
Teach us to sing through every season,
to trust when the road is steep,
to know that your goodness is the chorus that carries us home.
You, O Lord, are our keeper,
our composer, our strength, our song.
To you be all the glory, forever and ever.
Naomi Fetu, Methodist Church in Samoa
- Faithful God as we go out into the world help us to entrust the past to your mercy, the present to your love and the future to your wisdom.
Amen