Collect, Readings and Prayers for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity

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.

Readings

Genesis 28:10-19a

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Jacob left Beer-sheba and went towards Haran. ¹¹ He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. ¹² And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ And the Lord stood beside him and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; ¹⁴ and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. ¹⁵ Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ ¹⁶ Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!’ ¹⁷ And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’

¹⁸ So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ He called that place Bethel.

OR

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.

Romans 8:12-25

¹² Brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— ¹³ for 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. ¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵ For 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!’ ¹⁶ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and 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.

Future Glory

¹⁸ I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; ²⁰ for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that 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. ²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; ²³ and 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. ²⁴ For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat

²⁴ Jesus put before the crowd another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵ but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.

²⁶ So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷ And 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?” ²⁸ He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” ²⁹ But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰ Let 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.”’

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds

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

Prayers

In the power of the Spirit who helps us in our weakness, and in union with Christ Jesus at God’s right hand, let us pray to our merciful and ever-loving God.

• We pray for the Church, the Church in its local setting, the Church in the Diocese of Leicester and the Church world-wide. Bless your people, O God, in all our diversity. Deepen our prayer, draw us closer to you, and may neither race nor gender, education nor sexuality, class nor calling nor anything else separate us from you or each other in your love.

Bless our Archbishops Sarah and Stephen, our Diocesan Bishops Martyn and Saju, our Woodfield Team Vicar Rick and all clergy and licensed ministers, and all communities within our Diocese as they seek to care for your people and to grow your church.  Amen

• Bless your world, O God. Bless and keep from harm all who are struggling to protect and preserve our fragile home, in the face of powerful vested interests and widespread apathy. Bring peace to the parts of the world riven by war and in particular we pray for a lasting peace in the Middle East and for a just end to the war in Ukraine.  Give hope to all who work for peace, and a home to all who are refugees displaced by violence or climate change. Amen

• We pray for all places stricken by natural disasters and once again plead for the people of Venezuela that they will receive all the help and resources which they need to rebuild their stricken land and lives. We pray too for all areas affected by wildfires, for safety for those in the affected areas and for the firefighters, and for the necessary resources to support those who have suffered loss as a result of the fires.  Amen

• Bless all governments, O God, local, national and international. In particular we pray for the new British Prime Minister. May he seek to serve rather than to wield power, for justice rather than self-interest, and for healing rather than division. Amen

• Bless all public servants, O God, in the health and social services, in education, science, in refuse and recycling, in food production, delivery and retail. Give us understanding of the pressures which they face and may they all know their work is valued. At the same time Lord, where major deficiencies in services provided have been identified we pray that wisdom and a sense of urgency may be given to those who lead the action to address the failings and may they receive co-operation and enthusiasm for improvement from all those on the ground who are charged with putting change into practice. Amen

• With the statistics of family life challenging our values, and with the pressures to conform to norms in conflict with God’s will, we pray for your sound and centred wisdom in all our daily living and life choices. With the stressed and overburdened, the overworked and the unemployed, we pray for balanced lives; for physical, mental and spiritual health; for patience in times of trouble, and direction in times of confusion. Amen

• Lord of all good things, we thank you for the gifts of life, health, and community. We pray for our local neighbourhood. Comfort those who are lonely and those suffering from physical or mental illness. As we remember with love and gratitude the lives of those who have died in faith, we commend them to your eternal rest and unchanging affection and we pray for those who mourn their passing and for all those known to us personally who are in especial need at this time that they may feel your healing and sustaining presence. Amen

• A Prayer on Rural Mission Sunday                                                                                  Creator God, You are the Lord of the harvest and your presence is woven into the changing seasons and rhythms of our countryside.

To-day we open our hearts in thankfulness for the communities in which we live, work, and worship. We praise you for the beauty of the earth, for the fields that feed us and for the life that thrives in our villages and rural spaces. We give you thanks for the rural “stars” among us, those whose faithful service keeps our communities alive.

We pray for our farmers, working the land in all weathers; for our volunteers and community organisers, who freely give their time, for local shopkeepers, post offices and service providers, and for the neighbours who watch out for the lonely and vulnerable.  Though their work may often go unnoticed by the world, we know it is seen and valued by you.

Grant us Lord, eyes to see these gifts of grace in one another. Strengthen us, as church, to be people of welcome, a hub of support, and a channel of your hospitable love.  Help us to look beyond the walls of our own church building and people, that we might share your hope and walk together in gratitude.

We ask this in the name of your Holy Spirit who goes before us, and in the name of Jesus Christ who walks alongside us. Amen.

• We pray for the coming of God’s kingdom. Father, by your Spirit bring in your kingdom. You sent your Son to bring good news to the poor, sight to the blind, freedom to captives and salvation to your people: anoint us with your Spirit; rouse us to work in his name. Send us to bring help to the poor and freedom to the oppressed. Send us to tell the world the good news of your healing love. Send us to proclaim that the time is here for you to save your people. Amen

• Our hearts are lifted with joy at your presence among us, for we know that you have the words of eternal life. Lord of the Church, hear our prayers and make us one in heart and mind to serve you with joy forever. Amen