10.00 am Parish Sung Eucharist

Sowing and Reaping: the sequel

In our Gospel reading today, popularly known as the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, what we sow, how and where it is sown, is made a bit more complicated. ‘Good’ seed and ‘bad’ seed flourish in similar conditions unless checked. Look out for those who would try to corrupt our future harvest and make it difficult to gather. That is, we need to root out evil at the earliest opportunity within and without. This parable is way before pesticides! It can be hard, tedious work, as sometimes, before some things reach reasonable development, they are difficult to distinguish.

Let’s not extend the metaphor here too far, as it’s impracticable to prick out the seedlings of wheat (left) and tares (left, also known as charnel). We risk losing some of the wheat and/or contaminating it with the tares we miss. The seeds of the tares are slightly poisonous and would make us ill.

The field is our soul, our interior life. Perhaps, then, we should read the tares as the ‘bad’ traits in us, whose thoughts lead to deeds. Therefore, let’s not sow them, or if we have, nip them in the bud, and throw away the remaining seeds at the earliest opportunity. If we don’t, they will be found in the end, and will be burnt even before that threshing floor, which is the metaphor for our ultimate judgement before the throne of God.

Mature, well-tended wheat makes wholesome flour; tares are poison. We eat of the ultimate, wholesome Bread of Life today. Imitate Him, that in our lives we sow only that which is good and leads to Eternal Life.
Fr A.

Music before the service

Music before the service

Machs mit mir, Gott, nach deiner Gut J.S. Bach
(Deal with me Lord, according to your good) BWV 957

THE GATHERING

We stand to sing

1 O for a heart to praise my God,
a heart from sin set free,
a heart that always feels thy blood
so freely spilt for me;

2 A heart resigned, submissive, meek,
my dear redeemer's throne,
where only Christ is heard to speak,
where Jesus reigns alone;

3 A humble, lowly, contrite heart,
believing, true, and clean;
which neither life nor death can part
from him that dwells within;

4 A heart in every thought renewed,
and full of love divine;
perfect, and right, and pure, and good,
a copy, Lord, of thine!

5 My heart, thou know'st, can never rest
till thou create my peace:
till of mine Eden repossest,
from self, and sin, I cease.

6 Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart;
come quickly from above,
write thy new name upon my heart,
thy new, best name of love.

Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

In the name of the +Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

The Greeting

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
and also with you

Prayer of Preparation

Please sit or kneel.

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.

Prayers of Penitence

Invitation to confession:

We run the race set before us, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.
Therefore let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which clings so closely,
bringing them to Jesus in penitence
and faith. Hebrews 12.1

Most merciful God,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
we confess that we have sinned
in thought, word and deed.
We have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
In your mercy, forgive what we have been
help us to amend what we are
and direct what we shall be;
that we may do justly, love mercy
and walk humbly with you, our God
Amen

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.

Gloria in Excelsis

Please stand
(Mass of St Cedd, Nardone)

Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.

The Collect

Lord of all power and might,
the author and giver of all good things:
graft in our hearts the love of your name,
increase in us true religion,
nourish us with all goodness,
and of your great mercy
keep us in the same;
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.

THE LITURGY OF THE WORD

Isaiah 44.6-8

6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
7 Who is like me? Let them proclaim it,
let them declare and set it forth before me.
Who has announced from of old
the things to come?
Let them tell us what is yet to be.
8 Do not fear, or be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
You are my witnesses!
Is there any god besides me?
There is no other rock; I know not one.

This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God

Romans 8.12-25

12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; 23and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.

As you are able, please stand

Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who hear the word of the Lord and keep it.
Alleluia.

The Lord be with you
And also with you.

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Matthew
Glory to you, O Lord.

24 He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” 28He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” 29But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ 37He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
Matthew 13.24-30, 36-43

At the end:

This is the Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, O Christ.

The Sermon

The 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,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and 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,
who with the Father and the Son is
worshipped and glorified,
who 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.

Prayers of Intercession

Please sit or kneel

Encouraged by our fellowship with all the saints, let us make our prayers to the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Cycle of Prayer

Our bishops: David, Mark and Matthew
The Anglican Communion
Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan
Porvoo Communion
The Church of England: Diocese of Leeds
Church of Sweden: Diocese of Skara
Schools and Colleges
All Saints; St Wilfrid’s; Briscoe Lane Academy; Christ the King; Co-op Academy Broadhurst;
Oldham Blue Coat; Trinity High School; Bowdoin College, Maine; Churchill College, Cambridge; University of Coventry; Edge Hill University; University of Leeds; Loretto Sixth Form College; Oldham Sixth Form College.
Parish
Norland Walk, Oak Terrace, Oakleigh Avenue, Octavia Drive, Old Church Street, Oldham Road.
Book of Remembrance
Robert Egerton; Barrie Wilson; Robert Walmsley; Harry Bowen;
Sarah Harland; William Crompton; John Ryan; John Bradley;
William Fitton (Jr); William Etchells; Ethel Etchells; Eric Johnson.

The Peace

Please stand

We are fellow-citizens with the saints and of
the household of God,
through Christ our Lord, who came and
preached peace to those who were far off
and those who were near.
Ephesians 2.19,17

The peace of the Lord be always with you
and also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of peace.

THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Preparation of the Table

Father,
accept all we bring before you this day.
Guide us with your love and feed us at your table
as you nourish the faith of the Church by the preaching of your apostles.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Eucharistic Prayer

Please sit or kneel

The Lord is here.
His Spirit is with us.

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.

The president recites the Preface as far as
“…we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and saying/singing:

(Mass of St. Cedd, Nardone)

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
+Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

The president continues with the institution narrative as far as
Praise to you Lord Jesus
Dying you destroyed our death,
rising you restored our life:
Lord Jesus, come in glory.

The Eucharistic prayer continues to its conclusion in the Doxology

by whom, and with whom, and in whom,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory be yours,
almighty Father, for ever and ever
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour
has taught us:

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,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.

Amen.

Breaking of the Bread

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.

The Agnus Dei

Jesus, Lamb of God:
have mercy on us.
Jesus, bearer of our sins:
have mercy on us.
Jesus, Redeemer of the world:
give us your peace.

Giving of Communion

Behold the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world.
Happy are those who are called to his supper.
Lord I am not worthy to receive you,
but only say the word and I am healed.

We join in Communion.
If you wish to come forward for a Blessing, please bring this booklet with you or keep your arms folded.

Music after Communion

(Remain seated)

Prayer of St Benedict
Almighty God, give us wisdom to perceive you, intellect to understand you; diligence to seek you; patience to wait for you; eyes to behold you; a heart to meditate upon you; and a life to proclaim you; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Music: Bob Chilcott.

Prayer after Communion

Silence is kept

Lord God, whose Son is the true vine and the source of life,
ever giving himself that the world may live:
may we so receive within ourselves
the power of his death and passion
that, in his saving cup,
we may share his glory and be made perfect in his love;
for he is alive and reigns, now and for ever.

Almighty God,
we thank you for feeding us
with the body and blood of your Son
Jesus Christ.
Through him we offer you our souls
and bodies to be a living sacrifice.
Send us out in the power of your Spirit
to live and work to your praise and glory.
Amen.

Notices may be given out.

Hymn

1 Christ triumphant, ever reigning,
Saviour, Master, King!
Lord of heaven, our lives sustaining,
hear us as we sing:
Yours the glory and the crown,
the high renown, the eternal name.

2 Word incarnate, truth revealing,
Son of Man on earth!
power and majesty concealing
by your humble birth:
Yours the glory...

3 Suffering servant, scorned, ill - treated,
victim crucified!
death is through the cross defeated,
sinners justified:
Yours the glory...

4 Priestly king, enthroned for ever
high in heaven above!
sin and death and hell shall never
stifle hymns of love:
Yours the glory...

5 So, our hearts and voices raising
through the ages long,
ceaselessly upon you gazing,
this shall be our song:
Yours the glory...

Michael Saward (born 1932)
© Michael Saward/Jubilate Hymns

The Blessing

God, who has prepared for you a city
with eternal foundations,
bring you, with all the saints,
to the eternal and triumphant joy of that city;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen

The Dismissal

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ, Amen.

Voluntary

Piece d’Orgue BWV 572 J.S. Bach

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