Trinity 20 / Pentecost 21 / All Saints Sunday, 02/11/2025
OPENING SENTENCE OF SCRIPTURE –
Sing to the Lord a new song (Psalm 149)
HYMN-
GREETING
Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
COLLECT FOR PURITY
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.
SUMMARY OF THE LAW
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this:
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”
The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Amen. Lord, have mercy.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
God is love and we are God’s children. There is no room for fear in love. We love because God loved us first.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.
SILENCE
God our Father,
we confess to you
and to our fellow members in the Body of Christ
that we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
and in what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry.
Forgive us our sins,
and deliver us from the power of evil,
for the sake of your Son who died for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
ABSOLUTION
God, who is both power and love,
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by the Holy Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
GLORIA
sung by Sue Turner
COLLECT for All Saints
Almighty God,
you have knit together your elect in one communion
in the mystical body of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord:
grant that we may attain, with all your saints,
the whole measure of the fullness of Christ;
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.
Amen
PROCLAIMING & RECEIVING GOD’S WORD
FIRST READING:
Daniel 7, 1-3, 15-18,
read by Simon Lidwell
1In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in bed. Then he wrote down the dream: 2I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, 3and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 15As for me, Daniel, my spirit was troubled within me, and the visions of my head terrified me. 16I approached one of the attendants to ask him the truth concerning all this. So he said that he would disclose to me the interpretation of the matter: 17‘As for these four great beasts, four kings shall arise out of the earth.
18But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever—for ever and ever.’
SILENCE
SECOND READING
Ephesians 1, 11-23,
read by Annabelle Guthrie
11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance,[a] having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this[b] is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love[c] toward all the saints, and for this reason
16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20 God[d] put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,[e] 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
GRADUAL HYMN
GOSPEL READING
Luke 6, 20-31,
read by Rev Dr Steven Ballard
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke chapter 6 beginning at verse 20
Glory to Christ our Saviour
20 Then Jesus looked up at his disciples and said:“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you[a] on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven, for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. 24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.25 “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.26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.Love for Enemies27 “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; 28 bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you. 29 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. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back again.
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.
SERMON
Reflection
Today we have heard the set lectionary readings for All Saints Day, which of course fell yesterday, 1st November. And this evening, at St John’s, we will be sharing in a very special Evensong for All Souls, calling to mind, in the course of our worship, those who have gone before and now know and experience, we believe, life in the eternal realm with the living God. We will remember them, giving thanks for all our memories of them and for all that they meant to us.
As I, in my mind, hold together both All Saints and All Souls and reflect around the significance of these commemorations for us, I find myself setting my memories in the context, particularly, of the Gospel passage that we have read this morning.
The passage begins with Luke’s equivalent of the Beatitudes of Matthew’s Gospel, which we have come to know and describe as ‘Blessings and Woes’ (vv 20 – 26). I think it important at the outset to say that I don’t think that we are meant to understand these sayings of our Lord as meaning that it’s good to be poor, hungry or weeping or that it’s bad to be rich, have a full stomach or laughing. As with the Beatitudes of Matthew’s Gospel, here we have Jesus turning on their head the values, standards, expectations and ways we in our society, in our world, make our judgments of others and ourselves. The values of the Kingdom – the way God views us and our world – are not the values of the world. And to underline this turning upside down of the ways of the world, Jesus then (vv 27 – 30) tells us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, turn the other cheek… Here is a total upending of the power dynamics, expectations, how our world – how we, too often, and too easily engage with others in our world. And Jesus finishes (v31) with that injunction that we treat others as we would have them treat us.
All Saints Day invites us to hold in commemoration all those ‘saints’ who have no special day and, especially, those whose faithfulness, love and service are known only to God. These are the unsung, the un-commemorated, the too easily forgotten, who yet have made the most profound contribution to the life of the world. This reflection makes me call to mind so many people in my life’s journey who were simply there when I needed help and support; who said the right word at the right moment; who listened when I needed to be heard. For all of us, when we reflect on this, there will be so many people who have profoundly influenced and shaped who we are, who will never be famous, or celebrities, or have status in the eyes of the world. And for us, these people are ‘our saints’ and we remember them again, and especially, today.
And then, of course, I am challenged to ask of myself – ‘Am I treating others, as I would have them treat me?’ Just as I see the love of God for me in the way that so many people over the years have treated and related to me; is it possible that others can see something of the love of God for them, for each and all, in the way that I treat and relate to them? And that’s a question, a challenge for each one of us.
And I believe that we can only reflect the love of God for us as we open ourselves to the truth of God’s love for all that we experience in Jesus, living, dying and rising. Then we will be filled and strengthened by the Holy Spirit to walk our life’s journey with Him and reflect something of God’s love for us to those we meet.
Amen.
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,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance 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 of 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.
With the Father and the Son,
he is worshipped 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.
PRAYERS
Today for our response we’ll be using the one from Psalm 149:
Sing to the Lord a new Song.
We remember first those closest to us: family, friends, colleagues, neighbours. May we all rejoice in our maker; the Lord who delights in his people. Help us nurture, and model, good relationships.
Sing to the Lord a new song.
We give thanks for the church: this one, other churches in Dumfries and beyond; for faith communities everywhere; and for the often unsung work carried out; for these communities’ leaders, remembering especially Jim and our assisting clergy and lay people, Nick our Bishop, and faith leaders everywhere. Make us all responsive to your leading, and mindful of Jesus’ instructions from today’s gospel.
Sing to the Lord a new song.
We commend to you nations, leaders, governments, civic authorities and all those who have the job of looking after others. Help us all exercise what power and control we have with kindness and discernment, recognising our accountability to you. Help us remember to treat others as we would hope to be treated by others, and give us wisdom and courage to do what we can and should do, and leave alone that which we shouldn’t.
Often all we can do is pray, so we give thanks for the promise that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Places and situations we might pray for just now include Ukraine and Russia; Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and Gaza; Turkey and Syria, Sudan, countries in the Horn of Africa, Congo, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Myanmar and, this week, Jamaica and Cuba; remembering also that this is more or less the anniversary of flooding and landslides in Valencia, and that the cleanup there continues. And, in a moment of silence, we can bring before you anywhere else particularly on our own hearts.[…]
Sing to the Lord a new song.
We remember those who are in distress; whose health is poor; people for home the word ‘home’ does not mean somewhere safe; a place they can relax, wherever that might be in the world, including on our own doorstep; those who are in fear, or in want. We give thanks for the lives of those who have recently died; for what they meant to us, and for those family and friends left behind. In another short pause, we bring before you those particularly known to us.[…]
Sing to the Lord a new song.
And lastly we think of ourselves: our own particular needs and wants; giving thanks that you delight to give us not only what we need, but also, often, what we want, if we would only ask. In a final moment of silence, we bring before you any particular personal concerns.
Sing to the Lord a new song.
Merciful Father accept these prayers for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together
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.
Do not bring us
to the time of trial
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
BLESSING
Christ the Son of God gladden your hearts with the good news of his kingdom; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
HYMN –
(Recording is the organ accompaniment only; words below)
Thanks be to God for his saints of each past generation,
One with us still, in one body, one great congregation;
With them proclaim Jesus forever the same,
Author of life and salvation.
Thanks be to God for his blessings which daily surround us;
Glory to Christ, the redeemer who sought us and found us,
Who from the grave rose, the almighty to save,
Breaking the fetters that bound us.
Thanks be to God for the years that are yet in his keeping,
Trusting each day to the care of a Father unsleeping,
On to the end, Christ our companion and friend,
Joy at the last for our keeping.
Timothy Dudley Smith
DISMISSAL
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen
