Welcome
to our Service of Holy Communion
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Jacob Wrestles
with God
We meet in the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Sing:
Jesus Christ I think upon your sacrifice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgzVGFXurgo
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are
open,
all desires known,
and from whom no
secrets are hidden:
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;
through Christ our
Lord.
Amen.
We Say Sorry to God
Jesus Christ, risen Master and
triumphant Lord,
we come to you in sorrow for our sins,
and confess to you our weakness and
unbelief.
We have lived by our own strength,
and not by the power of your
resurrection.
In your mercy, forgive us.
Lord, hear us and help us.
We have lived by the light of our own
eyes,
as faithless and not believing.
In your mercy, forgive us.
Lord, hear us and help us.
We have lived for this world alone,
and doubted our home in heaven.
In your mercy, forgive us.
Lord, hear us and help us.
Almighty God,
who forgives all who truly repent,
have mercy upon you,
pardon and deliver you from
all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in
all goodness,
and keep you in life
eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Collect
Lord God,
your Son left the riches of heaven
and became poor for our sake:
when we prosper save us from pride,
when we are needy save us from
despair,
that we may trust in you alone;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Song: Majesty Worship his Majesty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cv2jyDMrPE
First Reading: Psalm 17:1-7,15
17 Listen, O Lord, to my plea for justice;
pay attention to my cry for help!
Listen to my honest prayer.
2 You will judge in my favour,
because you know what is right.
3 You know my heart.
You have come to me at night;
you have examined me completely
and found no evil desire in me.
I speak no evil,
4 as others do;
I have obeyed your command
and have not followed paths of violence.
5 I have always walked in your way
and have never strayed from it.
6 I pray to you, O God, because you answer me;
so turn to me and listen to my words.
7 Reveal your wonderful love and save me;
at your side I am safe from my enemies.
15 But I will see you, because I have done no wrong;
and when I awake, your presence will fill me with joy.
Old Testament Reading: Genesis 32:22-31
22 That same night Jacob got up,
took his two wives, his two concubines, and his eleven children, and crossed
the Jabbok River. 23 After he had sent them across, he also sent
across all that he owned, 24 but he stayed behind, alone.
Then a man came and wrestled with him
until just before daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he was not winning
the struggle, he hit Jacob on the hip, and it was thrown out of joint.
26 The man said, “Let me go;
daylight is coming.”
“I won't, unless you bless me,” Jacob
answered.
27 “What is your name?” the man
asked.
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 The man said, “Your name will no
longer be Jacob. You have struggled with God and with men, and you have won; so
your name will be Israel.”
29 Jacob said, “Now tell me your
name.”
But he answered, “Why do you want to
know my name?” Then he blessed Jacob.
30 Jacob said, “I have seen God
face-to-face, and I am still alive”; so he named the place
Peniel. 31 The sun rose as Jacob was leaving Peniel, and he was
limping because of his hip.
Reading Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-PhM9xPZ_E
Song: O
love that will not let me go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmk9sfX_QPY
Sermon:
Jacob has a problem. He ran away from home- gone back to
his roots and served his uncle Laban for 20 years- he’s gained 2 wives, Leah and Rachel, and many children, flocks and herds. He’s now a rich man but Laban proves as tricky and slippery as Jacob was in the past. Laban is angry that Jacob has gained so much (even though Jacob has been tricked and not paid!)- so Jacob is on the run again. This time, however, God has also called him back and it’s God’s favour that has made him rich despite his uncle’s scheming. Though Jacob and his whole family, herds and belongings escape one night, Laban does catch up with them and Jacob and Laban make their peace.
But now Jacob has a new problem. He might have escaped
Laban, but coming towards him is Esau and a huge crowd of
people. Jacob now both plans and prays. His prayer
acknowledges God; Jacob recognises that God has blessed
him with all that he has. Jacob pleads with God to rescue him
and his family- not because they are particularly worthy but
because God has promised to make Jacob (as God promised
in the past) the father of a great nation. And Jacob sends gifts of property and animals ahead of hm to Esau – yes, Jacob’s afraid of his estranged brother whom he tricked in the past but perhaps now he’s also trying to make amends.
Perhaps Jacob has truly changed. Though he make plans, he’s not trying to deceive any more. And he prays- the basis of his prayer is God’s goodness and promise.
And yet- late in the night, as he prepares
to meet Esau, Jacob has a strange encounter. He’s sleeping alone, out in
the open and someone appears and fights or wrestles with him. The conflict goes
on all night until dawn the next morning. Jacob will not let go of the man
until Jacob has received a blessing from him. Jacob realises that this is no
human being but an angel from God. The angel gives Jacob as new name. The old
name, Jacob had meant he who supplants; that is he who tricks.
But now Jacob’s new name Israel means he
who wrestles with God or he who perseveres or strives but also God
strives for him.
In his struggle with God, Jacob is
changed. He is no longer someone who schemes and deceives but someone who
relies on God’s promises to him. Jacob is changed into Israel and the injury to
his hip is a physical reminder of that.
And incidentally,Esau does forgive
him when they meet!
What does this tell us about God?
Again and again, the stories in the Old
Testament repeat the same theme. God is faithful. God promises. His love and faithfulness
don’t depend on our actions but on His nature. God loves because he loves. He
is faithful because he can’t be otherwise.
What about Jacob?
Jacob has changed- he recognises God’s
work in his life; he knows now that he depends on God and not on his own
cleverness. He is truly a marked man.
But what about us?
Jacob’s wrestling with God can be
understood as a model of our wrestling with God in prayer.
That’s why our first reading is from
Psalm 17. As in other Psalms, the writer is pleading with God. And they go on a
journey through the Psalm. The person starts with justifying themselves.
They have a just cause. It’s not wrong
to bring before God our anger or bitterness, our pain and frustration. He hears
us; God listens. But God acts on what is right. So we can bring whatever it is
to God – but we can expect him is act according to his justice.
I might want to pray that God would destroy
such and such; God would punish so and so and God hears the cries of those who
are down-trodden, those denied justice. He won’t act on the things I say when I’m
being petty or vindictive; God acts in justice.
As Jacob was changed- both physically and
in name by God, we too are changed in prayer. The psalmist goes from justifying
themselves (they have a right to get God to hear them) to leaning on his love
and power. In verse 7, they recognise what God is like.
7 Reveal your wonderful love and save me;
at your side I am safe from my enemies.
And this then brings them peace.
15 But
I will see you, because I have done no wrong;
and when I awake, your presence will fill me with joy.
The person who started as pleading and anxious,
leans on God and is changed.
This is what peace looks like. The storm
hasn’t gone away- but the person in the middle of it has hope. God is with
them. They can look forward; God has heard them. Things will change according
to God’s plans; but they are also changed.
The Creed
Let us declare our faith in God.
We believe in God the Father,
from whom every family
in heaven and on earth is named.
We believe in God the Son,
who lives in our hearts through
faith,
and fills us with his love.
We believe in God the Holy Spirit,
who strengthens us
with power from on high.
We believe in one God;
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our
Prayers:
Let us pray to God our Father,
We pray for peace among the countries of our world, that God
may rid the world of violence and let peoples spend their everyday lives in peace and harmony
…
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer
For those who serve our country in
governments and councils,
that they may work for the common good so everyone on
everyday may live to their full potential
…
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer
For Christian people everywhere,
that we may joyfully proclaim and live our faith in Jesus Christ
on Sunday and everyday
…
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer
For those who suffer from hunger,
grief or loneliness,
that the presence of Christ may bring them health and
wholeness in the darkest days and everyday
…
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer
Let us commend ourselves, and all for
whom we pray,
to the mercy and protection of God.
Amen
The Peace
The peace of the Lord be always with you
and also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of
peace.
Song: Your name is power https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H62gNjAYOs
Holy
Communion
The Lord be with you
and also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord
our God.
It is right to give thanks and
praise.
It is right to praise you,
Father, Lord of all creation;
in your love you made us for
yourself.
When we turned away
you did not reject us,
but came to meet us in your
Son.
You embraced us as your
children
and welcomed us to sit and eat
with you.
In Christ you shared our life
that we might live in him and
he in us.
He opened his arms of love
upon the cross
and made for all the perfect sacrifice
for sin.
On the night he was betrayed,
at supper with his friends
he took bread, and gave you
thanks;
he broke it and gave it to
them, saying:
Take, eat; this is my body
which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of me.
Father, we do this in
remembrance of him:
his body is the bread of life.
At the end of supper, taking
the cup of wine,
he gave you thanks, and said:
Drink this, all of you; this
is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you for the
forgiveness of sins;
do this in remembrance of me.
Father, we do this in
remembrance of him:
his blood is shed for all.
As we proclaim his death and
celebrate his rising in glory,
send your Holy Spirit that
this bread and this wine
may be to us the body and
blood of your dear Son.
As we eat and drink these holy
gifts
make us one in Christ, our
risen Lord.
With your whole Church
throughout the world
we offer you this sacrifice of
praise
and lift our voice to join the
eternal song of heaven:
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of
your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
We
continue with the words of The Lord's Prayer:
Our
Father in heaven,
hallowed
be your name,
your
kingdom 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.
Lead
us not into temptation
but
deliver us from evil.
For
the kingdom, the power,
and
the glory are yours
now
and for ever. Amen
We
break this bread
to
share in the body of Christ.
Though
we are many, we are one body,
because
we all share in one bread.
Every
time we eat this bread
and
drink this cup,
we
proclaim the Lord’s death
until
he comes.
God’s
holy gifts
for
God’s holy people.
Jesus
Christ is holy,
Jesus
Christ is Lord,
to
the glory of God the Father.
Prayer of Spiritual Communion
Thanks
be to you, Lord Jesus Christ,
for
all the benefits you have given me,
for
all the pains and insults you have borne for me.
Since
I cannot now receive you sacramentally,
I
ask you to come spiritually into my heart.
O
most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
may
I know you more clearly,
love
you more dearly,
and
follow you more nearly, day by day. Amen
The Blessing
The peace of God,
which passes all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds
in the knowledge and love of God,
and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.
Song: The Blessing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUtll3mNj5U
The Dismissal
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.