Sunday, 12th March, 2023
Said Eucharist
3rd Sunday of Lent
Introduction
Greeting
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The president briefly welcomes the congregation.
I will go to the altar of my God:
Even to the God of my joy and gladness.
Confession and absolution
Our help is in the name of the Lord:
Who made the heavens and the earth.
Lord God, heavenly Father, we confess to you and to our siblings in Christ that we have sinned in our thoughts and in our words, in things done and in things left undone. We are truly sorry. Forgive and free us from our sins, we pray, give us strength and show us your salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
May the Lord of compassion, who forgives all those who truly repent, have + mercy upon you, lay aside your sins and bring you to reign with Them in glory, through the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Will you not turn again, O Lord, and give us life:
That your people may rejoice in you?
Kyrie
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Collects
Silence is kept.
Amen.
Liturgy of the Word
First reading: Exodus 17:1–7
A reading from the Book of Exodus.
From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’
For the word of the Lord:
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 95
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be forever, world without end. Amen.
Second reading: Romans 5:1–11
A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans.
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
For the word of the Lord:
Thanks be to God.
Gospel: John 4:5–42
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
Blessed be God forever.
+++ Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John:
Praise to you, O Lord.
So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’
Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’
Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with her?’ Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’ They left the city and were on their way to him.
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Surely no one has brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, “Four months more, then comes the harvest”? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.’
Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.’
Thanks be to you, O Lord, for this your glorious Gospel:
Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, creator 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 whom all things were made; who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven; who was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human; who was crucified for our sake under Pontius Pilate; who suffered, died and was buried; who rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures; who ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; who will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead; of whose kingdom there will be no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the lifegiver, who procedes from the Father; 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 await the resurrection of the dead, and the + life of the world to come. Amen.
Prayers of intercession
Prayers of intercession are said.
Liturgy of the Sacrament
Peace
We meet in Christ’s name:
Let us share his peace.
The congregation offer one another a sign of peace.
Offertory
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for by your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made; it shall become for us the bread of life. Blessed be God forever.
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for by your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands; it shall become the cup of our salvation. Blessed be God forever.
Eucharistic prayer
The Lord be with you:
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts:
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God:
It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Heavenly Creator, all glory, praise and thanksgiving belong to you, for by your power you uphold our very being. Your Holy Spirit is eternally at work in us, breathing life into all things and weaving our lives into your dream for the world. Through your Word made flesh you have redeemed us, making us whole through his death and glorious resurrection.
As a holy people rejoicing to do your work, we who, carrying our cross, now follow in Christ’s footsteps offer you our praise, with angels and archangels, with our Lady Mary and all the saints, and the whole company of heaven, singing the hymn of your unending glory:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
+ Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Almighty God, blessed is your name in all creation, for Christ your Son in whom all things are reconciled. Through him the broken are healed, the lost are found and the outcast made welcome. His table is set that all who hunger may eat and be satisfied.
For, on the night when he was betrayed to his death, at supper with his disciples, he took bread and gave you thanks. He broke the bread, and gave it to them, saying, Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way, after supper, he took the cup, gave you thanks and gave it to them, saying, Drink this, all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you and for all for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
Therefore, merciful Lord, we recall all that Jesus did among us: his birth in Bethlehem; his death on the cross; his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension. In faith, hope and love we offer to God these our gifts of sacrifice, together with our souls and bodies, that Christ may dwell evermore in us and we in him.
To this end, O God, we humbly ask that you send your Holy Spirit upon us and upon this bread and this wine, that by the power of the Spirit they may become the body and blood of your dear Son, that we may be strengthened in faith, emboldened in love and empowered to walk in your grace and truth.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, by whom and with whom and in whom, in the union of the Holy Spirit, all praise and glory and honour be to you, Lord of all ages, world without end. Amen.
Breaking of bread
The president breaks the bread.
The living bread is broken for the life of the world:
Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.
Lord’s Prayer
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray:
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. Lead us not into the time of trial, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
Agnus Dei
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace.
Communion
The ministers and congregation receive Communion.
At the giving of the bread:
The body of Christ, the bread of life. Amen.
At the giving of the cup:
The blood of Christ, the cup of salvation. Amen.
Prayers after communion
Give thanks to the Lord, for They are gracious:
And Their mercy endures forever.
Lord God Almighty, we thank you for this holy meal of the body and blood of your dear Son. Help us to be examples by his great example, and be witnesses to your justice and mercy in the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessing
May the Lord bless you and keep you safe. Amen.
May the Lord make Their face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. Amen.
May the Lord lift Their face to you and give you peace. Amen.
And the blessing of God Almighty, + the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
Dismissal
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord:
+ In the name of Christ. Amen.