St. Paul’s Church
Charlottetown,
PEI
Morning Prayer - the
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 22, 2020
Sentence
I am the light of
the world, says the Lord;
those who follow
me will have the light of life.
John 8.12
The Gathering of
the Community
The grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of
God,
and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all
And also with you.
Let us pray.
We thank you, O
God, that you have again brought us together to praise you for your goodness
and to ask your blessing. Give us grace to see your hand in the week that is
past, and your purpose in the week to come; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Confession and
Absolution
Dear friends in
Christ,
as we turn our
hearts and minds
to worship
almighty God,
let us confess
our sins in penitence and faith,
firmly resolved
to keep God’s commandments
and to live in
love and peace with our neighbour.
Most merciful
God,
we confess that
we have sinned against you
in thought, word,
and deed,
by what we have
done,
and by what we
have left undone.
We have not loved
you with our whole heart;
we have not loved
our neighbours as ourselves.
We are truly
sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of
your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us
and forgive us,
that we may
delight in your will,
and walk in your
ways,
to the glory of
your name. Amen.
Merciful God,
grant to your
faithful people pardon and peace,
that we may be
cleansed from all our sins
and serve you
with a quiet mind;
through Jesus
Christ our Lord,
who is alive and
reigns with you
and the Holy
Spirit,
one God, now and
for ever. Amen.
Psalm 23
1 The Lord is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures
*
and leads me beside still waters.
3 He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways
for his name’s sake.
4 Though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they
comfort me.
5 You spread a table before me in the
presence of those
who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the
days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the
Lord for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and
to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
The Holy Gospel
The Lord be with
you.
And also with you.
The Holy Gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
As he walked
along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who
sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered,
"Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's
works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while
it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world,
I am the light of the world." When he had said this, he spat on the ground
and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, saying to
him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he
went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbours and those who had
seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to
sit and beg?" Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying,
"No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the
man." But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes
opened?" He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my
eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and
received my sight." They said to him, "Where is he?" He said,
"I do not know." They brought to the Pharisees the man who had
formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and
opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received
his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now
I see." Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he
does not observe the sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is
a sinner perform such signs?" And they were divided. So they said again to
the blind man, "What do you say about him? It was your eyes he
opened." He said, "He is a prophet." The Jews did not believe
that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents
of the man who had received his sight and asked them, "Is this your son,
who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" His parents
answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but
we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself." His parents said this
because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that
anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.
Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him." So for the
second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him,
"Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner." He answered,
"I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I
was blind, now I see." They said to him, "What did he do to you? How
did he open your eyes?" He answered them, "I have told you already,
and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to
be-come his disciples?" Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his
disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses,
but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." The man
answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes
from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the
world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born
blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." They answered
him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach
us?" And they drove him out. Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and
when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He
answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in
him." Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking
with you is he." He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshipped
him. Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgement so that those who
do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind." Some of the
Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind,
are we?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have
sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains." 9:1-41
The Gospel of
Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Sermon
Affirmation of
Faith: Hear, O Israel
Hear, O Israel,
the Lord our God,
the Lord is one.
Love the Lord
your God
with all your
heart,
with all your
soul,
with all your
mind,
and with all your
strength.
This is the first
and the great commandment.
The second is
like it:
Love your
neighbour as yourself.
There is no
commandment greater than these.
Prayers of the
People
God of wholeness
and light, you have called us and made us children of light, hear us as we pray
for all of your creation saying, Hear our prayer.
For the Church: especially for the Church of
Masvingo; of the Virgin Islands; and of Gumbs Hpa-an (Myanmar); for the Diocese
of Western Newfoundland; the Diocese of Montreal; the Assistant to the Bishop
and the staff of the Manitoba – Northwestern Ontario Lutheran Synod; the people
of the parish of the Anglican Churches of Pictou County; and Liscomb with Port
Bickerton, in Nova Scotia: that we may work the works of God while it is day,
bringing your light and hope to the world, God of love:
Hear our prayer.
For this parish family, that our Lenten
observances may wake us from sleep and fill us with light to bring forth all
that is good and right and true, In these days of crisis and uncertainty, we
pray for the grace of trust and peace, God of love:
Hear our prayer.
For doctors, nurses, researchers and medical
personnel that they may know God's presence and protection, for all in
positions of leadership, that they may have the foresight to act with charity
and true concern for the well-being of those they are meant to serve, God of love:
Hear our prayer.
We pray for those
who struggle with adversity and sorrow, we pray especially for people we know
who are ill at home or in the hospital…
-
…
… and other we
may name out loud or in our hearts…
-
God of love:
Hear our prayer.
For all who are lonely, anxious or afraid, and
for those in need of our prayers, that their hearts and souls may be revived by
the Lord. For all those who have died, (remembering especially…), that they may
dwell in the house of the Lord forever, God of love:
Hear our prayer.
Discerner
of hearts, you look beneath our outward appearance and see your image in each
of us. Banish in us the blindness that prevents us from recognizing truth, so
we may see the world through your eyes and with the compassion of Jesus Christ
who redeems us. Amen.
Prayer for
a Pandemic
(from St.
Paul’s Church, Lexington, Ken., shared by the Primate, Archbishop Linda
Nicholls)
May we who are
merely inconvenienced
Remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk
factors
Remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the
luxury of working from home
Remember those who must choose between
preserving their health
or making their rent.
May we who have the
flexibility to care for our children when their schools close,
Remember those who have no options.
May we who have to
cancel our trips
Remember those that have no safe place to
go.
May we who are
losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market
Remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle
in for a quarantine at home
Remember those who have no home.
As fear grips our
country,
Let us choose love.
During this time
when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other, let us yet find ways
to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbour. Amen.
Collect
Almighty God, through
the waters of baptism your Son has made us children of light. May we ever walk
in his light and show forth your glory in the world; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Gathering our
prayers and praises into one,
let us pray as
our Saviour taught us,
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.
Save us from the
time of trial,
and deliver us
from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power,
and the glory are
yours,
now and forever.
Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May the God of
hope
fill us with all
joy and peace in believing through
the power of the
Holy Spirit. Amen
