Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen.
Jesus said, "The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord your God is the only Lord. 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 neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:29-31
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8,9
We confess our sins against God and others.
Silence may be kept.
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 neighbors 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.
May Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.
A Hymn of Praise
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, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Old Testament Exodus 32:1-14
When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold, and cast an image of a calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.” They rose early the next day, and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.
The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.”
But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.
Psalm 23 Dominus regit me
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.
The Epistle Philippians 4:1-9
My brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
The Gospel Matthew 22:1-14
Once more Jesus spoke to the people in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The Sermon Fr. Nelson Gaetz
It’s election time. SO, we hear from everyone “this is the most important election in your lifetime… or may be ever.” Of course, we don’t believe it because “we have heard it all before.” We are so easily distracted by the constant barrage of claims that everything is the most important. Everything is the most urgent. SO, in reality nothing is most important, most urgent. “we have heard it all before.” But, what if it really IS the most important (fill in the blank)? Will we be prepared when it is important? Will we work at sorting out the messages?
I begin here this week because I think this situation helps me understand our Gospel lesson today. St. Matthew included these two parables (Yes, there are two parables – more on that later.) in a time when society was falling apart. The economy was turbulent. The legal system was shaky. And there was a turbulent “family feud” going on between the substantial Jewish community and their straying, pesty new rivals, the Christians. And that’s where it gets really complicated. We have discovered that, as the split between Jews and Christians widened there was great pressure on people to “make up their minds.” Up to this point most Christians were also practicing Jews. But, the pressure of the times was making this difficult. More difficult because the Christians were having great success attracting non-Jews. Enter our parables today:
1) God’s kingdom was a banquet but who gets invited? A few or everyone? With the background of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD it was easy to “take up sides” blaming each other for the troubles. It was the Hatfields and the McCoys in robes and sandals. Enter our text:
◊ The Jews blamed the Christians for letting Gentiles in.
◊ The Christians blamed the Jews for not letting Gentiles in.
Since this is a Christian parable, as we might expect, the king (God came down on the side of letting everyone in. And because I am a Christian preacher, I like that outcome. And…. It sure worked. The Church (which some have called the missionary version of Judaism) grew in leaps and bounds.
2) Then there is that strange line about wedding garments in the second parable. I’m not entirely sure but I think it points people to the urgency of the moment. YES, Jesus wants everyone to come to the banquet of his kingdom. BUT, he wants us to “look the part.” That is – act on our faith. You know the wonderful little line: “If Christianity was illegal, would there be enough evidence in your life to convict you?” Who knows how much time is available? Make your choice NOW! It’s urgent.
Well, I’m glad we are wrestling with parables. As I have been telling you, they are intended to make us think, struggle with meaning, accept the notion that God is always bigger than us and our insights.
So, here is some homework for this week:
► Who do you think should be invited into God’s kingdom? What part are you willing to play in the invitation?
► How are your “putting on Christ” – that wedding garment taken on at Baptism?
God bless you in your wrestling.
Amen.
THE NICENE 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:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from 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.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped 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.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Drawn together by God’s Word and encouraged by His promise of mercy, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the Church, for the leaders of the Church, for all bishops, priests and deacons and especially Michael and DeDe, our bishops and Nelson, our rector, for those preparing for church vocations, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the blessing of marriage and the faithfulness of husbands and wives, for the children entrusted to their care, for the loving care of children who have suffered abuse or neglect, and for those who open their homes to children in foster care, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For a welcoming spirit in this parish, and for a willingness to serve our neighbor in need and the stranger whose lives cross our paths, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For compassion toward the sick and those who suffer, for our care of those who need our assistance, for the hospitalized and those recovering, and those we name in our hearts, that God may grant them healing, comfort, strength and peace, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For all elected and appointed civil servants, for all judges and magistrates, for all emergency personnel, for all members of the armed forces, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the dawn of God’s eternal day, for an end to death and sorrow, for the comfort of those who grieve and for the strength of those facing death, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For gratitude in receiving the Lord’s gifts and blessings, for generosity in sharing these resources with those in need, and for the pledges and offerings to support the work of the Kingdom in this place, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For grace, that we may hear and heed the invitation of our Lord and joyfully wear the baptismal clothing of His righteousness: Lord, have mercy.
All these things, Lord, we pray You to grant us according to Your mercy in Jesus Christ and to fill us with contentment, that trusting in Your gracious will for all things, our hearts may enjoy rest and peace; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
So now we pray with confidence to the Father the words our Lord Jesus taught us:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by the 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, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Closing Blessing
May God almighty bless and keep us, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We go now in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Amen.
All Saints sunday
Sunday, November 1st, is All Saints Sunday. In keeping with St. Mark’s tradition, we will be remembering “ALL” of the Saints in our lives. The great and Biblical ones and those closer to us, especially those who have died recently. Please email or call the office with the name of your loved one(s) by Tuesday, October 27.