February 20, 2022 | 8:00 a.m. | The Seventh 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 Lord, who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth: Send thy Holy Ghost and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee. Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ’s sake, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The First Reading     Genesis 45:3-11, 15

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.  Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there–since there are five more years of famine to come–so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.'”  And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.   The Word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God.

Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42   (Responsively, by half-verse)

Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; * do not be jealous of those who do wrong.  For they shall soon wither like the grass, * and like the green grass fade away.  Put your trust in the Lord and do good; * dwell in the land and feed on its riches.  Take delight in the Lord, * and he shall give you your heart’s desire.  Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, * and he will bring it to pass.  He will make your righteousness as clear as the light * and your just dealing as the noonday.  Be still before the Lord * and wait patiently for him.  Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, * the one who succeeds in evil schemes.  Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; * do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil.  For evildoers shall be cut off, * but those who wait upon the Lord shall possess the land.  In a little while the wicked shall be no more; * you shall search out their place, but they will not be there.  But the lowly shall possess the land; * they will delight in abundance of peace.  But the deliverance of the righteous comes from the Lord; * he is their stronghold in time of trouble.  The Lord will help them and rescue them; * he will rescue them from the wicked and deliver them, because they seek refuge in him.

The Second Reading     1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.  So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.  What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.   The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

The Gospel     Luke 6:27-38

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

Jesus said, “I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.  “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.  “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

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

The Sermon                                                                                                            Ms. Laura Hill

      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:  To God who is merciful and kind to all, let us pray for all those in need.

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

For those alienated from the church, and for our witness to Christ in every community. Lord, have mercy.

For those in charge of peoples and nations, and for their exercise of mercy and justice. Lord, have mercy.

For all who suffer from oppressive rulers and regimes, and for the victims of abuse and violence.

Lord, have mercy.

For all who are sick and troubled.  Lord, have mercy.

For ourselves, 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 Sakura, 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 the lover of every man and woman, hear the prayers we offer you this day and grant that we may bless those who curse and do good to those who do evil; 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 II

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, O Lord our God, for that thou didst create heaven and earth, and didst make us in thine own image; and, of thy tender mercy, didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to take our nature upon him, and to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption. He made there a full and perfect sacrifice for 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 to thee, he broke 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 this, all of you; for this is my Blood of the New Covenant, 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, we thy people do celebrate and make, 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; and looking for his coming again with power and great glory.

     And we most humbly beseech thee, O merciful Father, to hear us, and, with thy Word and Holy Spirit, to bless and sanctify these gifts of bread and wine, that they may be unto us the Body and Blood of thy dearly-beloved Son Jesus Christ.

     And we earnestly desire thy fatherly goodness to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, whereby we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies. Grant, we beseech thee, that all who partake of this Holy Communion may worthily receive the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ, and be filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction; and also that we and all thy whole Church may be made one body with him, that he may dwell in us, and we in him; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord;  By whom, and with whom, and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost all honor and glory be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without end. Amen.

     And now, as our Savior Christ hath taught us, we are bold to say,

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.

“Alleluia, alleluia” is only said during the Easter season.

The flowers on the altar are given to the glory of God in loving memory of Bob Cope by Peggy Donahue-Cope.