February 13, 2022 | 8:00 a.m. | The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

St. Martin’s Episcopal Church | Williamsburg VA

The Word of God

The Procession

Opening Acclamation

Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever. Amen. 

The Collect for Purity (together)

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Song of Praise    

Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will towards men.  We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.  O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.  Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.  For thou only art holy; thou only art the Lord; thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The Collect of the Day

     The Lord be with you.  And with thy spirit.  Let us pray.

O God, the strength of all who put their trust in thee: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing without thee, give us the help of thy grace, that in keeping thy commandments we may please thee both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The First Reading     Jeremiah 17:5-10

Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord.  They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes.  They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.  It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.  The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse–who can understand it?  I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.   The Word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God.

Psalm 1   (in unison)

Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, * nor lingered in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the scornful!  Their delight is in the law of the Lord, * and they meditate on his law day and night.  They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; * everything they do shall prosper.  It is not so with the wicked; * they are like chaf which the wind blows away.  Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, * nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.  For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, * but the way of the wicked is doomed.

The Second Reading     1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ–whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

The Gospel     Luke 6:17-26

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.  Glory be to thee, O Lord. 

As Jesus came down with the twelve apostles and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.  Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.  Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.  Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.  Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.  But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.  Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”

     The Gospel of the Lord. Praise be to thee, O Christ. 

The Sermon                                                                                                                   The Rev. Lisa Green

A period of silence follows the sermon.

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.  We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.  Through him all things were made.  For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.  For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.  On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.  With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.  He has spoken through the Prophets.  We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.  We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.  We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Prayers of the People

Prayer Leader:  Trusting in the Lord for every mercy, let us offer prayers for all our sisters and brothers in the church and the world who need mercy.

For the church of Jesus Christ throughout the world.  Lord, have mercy.

For Susan, our bishop, and Cathy and Lisa, our priests, for all who minister in Christ, and for all the people of God.  Lord, have mercy.

For those chosen to govern peoples and nations, and for the welfare of their people.  Lord, have mercy.

For all who suffer from any form of oppression, and for the poor and hungry.  Lord, have mercy.

For ourselves, and for our families and all those we love.  Lord, have mercy.

Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours, and grant that we may serve Christ in them, and love one another as Christ loves us.  We pray for Peggy, Sadie, Douglas, Holly, Brett and baby Layla, Ruth, Johnny, for St. Vincent’s School, Haiti, and for an end to the pandemic. We pray for the dying and those who have died, and we pray that we may share with all your saints in your eternal kingdom.  Lord, have mercy.  

     Please add your own intentions, silently or aloud.

Remembering our most glorious and blessed Virgin Mary, blessed Martin, and all the saints, let us offer ourselves and one another to the living God through Christ. To you, O Lord.

Celebrant:   God of every blessing, hear the prayers we offer you this day and plant your people like trees by water in the garden of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.   

Confession of Sin

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against thee in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.  We have not loved thee with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.  We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.  For the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in thy will, and walk in thy ways, to the glory of thy Name.  Amen.

Absolution

The Peace & Announcements

     The peace of the Lord be always with you.  And with thy spirit.

The Holy Communion

The Offering of Gifts    

     All things come of thee, O Lord.  And of thine own have we given thee.

The Great Thanksgiving     Eucharistic Prayer I

The Lord be with you.  And with thy spirit.

Lift up your hearts.  We lift them up unto the Lord.

Let us give thanks unto our Lord God.  It is meet and right so to do.

It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, holy Father, almighty, everlasting God because in the mystery of the Word made flesh, you have caused a new light to shine in our hearts, to give the knowledge of your glory in the face of your son Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious Name; evermore praising thee, and saying,

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts: Heaven and earth are full of thy Glory.

Glory be to thee, O Lord Most High. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest.

All glory be to thee, Almighty God, our heavenly Father, for that thou, of thy tender mercy, didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption; who made there, by his one oblation of himself once offered, a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world; and did institute, and in his holy Gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that his precious death and sacrifice, until his coming again.

For in the night in which he was betrayed, he took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take, eat, this is my Body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”  Likewise, after supper, he took the cup; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink ye all of this; for this is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins. Do this, as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Wherefore, O Lord and heavenly Father, according to the institution of thy dearly beloved Son our Savior

Jesus Christ, we, thy humble servants, do celebrate and make here before thy divine Majesty, with these thy holy gifts, which we now offer unto thee, the memorial thy Son hath commanded us to make; having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension; rendering unto thee most hearty thanks for the innumerable benefits procured unto us by the same.

And we most humbly beseech thee, O merciful Father, to hear us; and, of thy almighty goodness, vouchsafe to bless and sanctify, with thy Word and Holy Spirit, these thy gifts and creatures of bread and wine; that we, receiving them according to thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ’s holy institution, in remembrance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood.

And we earnestly desire thy fatherly goodness mercifully to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; most humbly beseeching thee to grant that, by the merits and death of thy Son Jesus Christ, and through faith in his blood, we, and all thy whole Church, may obtain remission of our sins, and all other benefits of his passion. And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee; humbly beseeching thee that we, and all others who shall be partakers of this Holy Communion, may worthily receive the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ, be filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction, and made one body with him, that he may dwell in us, and we in him.

And although we are unworthy, through our manifold sins, to offer unto thee any sacrifice, yet we beseech thee to accept this our bounden duty and service, not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offenses, through Jesus Christ our Lord;  By whom, and with whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without end. AMEN.

The Lord’s Prayer  

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever and ever.  Amen.

The Breaking of the Bread

     Alleluia.  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.  Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia.

The Invitation

     The Gifts of God for the People of God.

The Post-Communion Prayer

Almighty and everliving God, we most heartily thank thee for that thou dost feed us, in these holy mysteries, with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ; and dost assure us thereby of thy favor and goodness towards us; and that we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son, the blessed company of all faithful people; and are also heirs, through hope, of thy everlasting kingdom. And we humbly beseech thee, O heavenly Father, so to assist us with thy grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship, and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen.  

The Blessing

The Recession & Dismissal

     Let us go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.  Thanks be to God.