Ash Wednesday (Yr A) Feb 22, 2023

 

PRELUDE      

Galliard           Berhard Schmid     and    Pavane    Peter Warlock

 

OPENING HYMN

“Lord, Who Throughout these 40 Days”                   Hymnal 1982 # 142

 

1  Lord, who throughout these forty days

          for us didst fast and pray,

     teach us with thee to mourn our sins,

          and close by thee to stay.

 

 

2  As thou with Satan didst contend,

          and didst the victory win,

     O give us strength in thee to fight,

          in thee to conquer sin.

 

 

3  As thou didst hunger bear and thirst,

          so teach us, gracious Lord,

     to die to self, and chiefly live

          by thy most holy word.

 

 

4  And through these days of penitence,

          and through thy Passiontide,

     yea, evermore, in life and death,

          Jesus! with us abide.

 

 

5  Abide with us, that so, this life

          of suffering overpast,

     an Easter of unending joy

          we may attain at last!

 

 

The Celebrant begins the service with the Collect.

 

Let us pray.

 

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission
and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Please be seated for the lessons.

 

Old Testament     Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

A Reading from the book of the Prophet Joel:

Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near — a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness!  Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come.  Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.

 

The Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God.

 

Please remain seated.

 

Psalm     103:8-14 (said in unison) 

8 The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, *
     slow to anger and of great kindness.

9 He will not always accuse us, *
     nor will he keep his anger for ever.

10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, *
     nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.

11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, *
     so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.

12 As far as the east is from the west, *
     so far has he removed our sins from us.

13 As a father cares for his children, *
     so does the
Lord care for those who fear him.

14 For he himself knows whereof we are made; *
     he remembers that we are but dust.

 

Epistle     2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:10

A Reading from the Second Letter to the Corinthians:

We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says,

“At an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and on a day of salvation I have helped you.”  

See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see– we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

 

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

 

GRADUAL HYMN

“Eternal Lord of Love”                              Hymnal 1982 #149

 

1  Eternal Lord of love, behold your Church

   walking once more the pilgrim way of Lent,

   led by your cloud by day, by night your fire,

   moved by your love and toward your presence bent:

   far off yet here—the goal of all desire.

 

 

 

 

2  So daily dying to the way of self,

   so daily living to your way of love,

   we walk the road, Lord Jesus, that you trod,

   knowing ourselves baptized into your death:

   so we are dead and live with you in God.

 

 

 

3  If dead in you, so in you we arise,

   you the first-born of all the faithful dead;

   and as through stony ground the green shoots break,

   glorious in springtime dress of leaf and flower,

   so in the Father’s glory shall we wake.

 


Gospel     Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew:

Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Christ.

 

SERMON:   The Rev. Cricket Park

 

After the Sermon, all stand, and the Celebrant invites the people to the observance of a holy Lent:

 

Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.

 

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer.

 

Silence is then kept for a time, all kneeling (as you are able).

 

The Celebrant says the following prayer.
Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth: Grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence, that we may remember that it is only by your gracious gift that we are given everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

The ashes are imposed with the following words:
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

 

The congregation may be seated for the Imposition of Ashes and remains seated during the reading of Psalm 51.

 

 

Psalm 51    said responsively

  1    Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; *
           and cleanse me from my sin.


  2    Wash me through and through from my wickedness *
           in your great compassion blot out my offenses.

 3     For I know my transgressions, *
           and my sin is ever before me.

4     Against you only have I sinned *
           and done what is evil in your sight.

5     And so you are justified when you speak *
           and upright in your judgment

6     Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, *
           a sinner from my mother’s womb.

7     For behold, you look for truth deep within me, *
           and will make me understand wisdom secretly.

8     Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; *
           wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.

9     Make me hear of joy and gladness, *
           that the body you have broken may rejoice.

10     Hide your face from my sins *
           and blot out all my iniquities.

11     Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
           and renew a right spirit within me.

12     Cast me not away from your presence *
           and take not your holy Spirit from me.

13     Give me the joy of your saving help again *
           and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.

 

14     I shall teach your ways to the wicked, *
           and sinners shall return to you.

 

15     Deliver me from death, O God, *
           and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness,
           O God of my salvation.

 

16     Open my lips, O Lord, *
           and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

 

17     Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice; *
           but you take no delight in burnt-offerings.

 

18     The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; *
           a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
          

 

 

Litany of Penitence

 

The Celebrant and People together, all kneeling (as you are able).

 Most holy and merciful Father:
We confess to you and to one another,
and to the whole communion of saints
in heaven and on earth,
that we have sinned by our own fault
in thought, word, and deed;
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

 

The Celebrant continues

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
Have mercy on us, Lord.

 

We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.
Have mercy on us, Lord.

 

We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience

of our lives,
We confess to you, Lord.

 

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people,
We confess to you, Lord.

 

Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves,
We confess to you, Lord.

 

Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work,
We confess to you, Lord.

 

Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us,
We confess to you, Lord.

 

Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

 

For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

 

For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

 

Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us;
Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great.

 

Accomplish in us the work of your salvation,
That we may show forth your glory in the world.

 

By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord,
Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

 

The Priest stands and, facing the people, says

Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who desires not the death of sinners, but rather that they may turn from their wickedness and live, has given power and commandment to his ministers to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent, the absolution and remission of their sins. He pardons and absolves all those who truly repent, and with sincere hearts believe his holy Gospel.

Therefore we beseech him to grant us true repentance and his Holy Spirit, that those things may please him which we do on this day, and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and holy, so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

THE PEACE

Celebrant The peace of the Lord be always with you.

People And also with you.

 

 

The Holy Communion/Liturgy of the Table

 

Celebrant The Lord be with you.

People And also with you.

Celebrant Lift up your hearts.

People We lift them to the Lord.

Celebrant Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

People It is right to give him thanks and praise.

 

The Celebrant proceeds

It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. 

 

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who was tempted in every way as we are, yet did not sin. By his grace we are able to triumph over every evil, and to live no longer for ourselves alone, but for him who died for us and rose again.

 

Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name:

 

Celebrant and People

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
    Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
    Hosanna in the highest.

 

The people stand or kneel.

Then the Celebrant continues

Holy and gracious Father: In your infinite love you made us for yourself, and, when we had fallen into sin and become subject to evil and death, you, in your mercy, sent Jesus Christ, your only and eternal Son, to share our human nature, to live and die as one of us, to reconcile us to you, the
God and Father of all.

He stretched out his arms upon the cross, and offered himself, in obedience to your will, a perfect sacrifice for the whole world.

 

On the night he was handed over to suffering and death, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread; and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”

 

As our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,

 

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name,
    thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
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 Breaking of the Bread

The Celebrant breaks the consecrated Bread.

A period of silence is kept.

Celebrant:  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;
People: Therefore let us keep the feast.


Facing the people, the Celebrant says the following Invitation

The Gifts of God for the People of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.

 

After Communion, the Celebrant says

Let us pray.

Celebrant and People

Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted us as living members of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have fed us with spiritual food in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood. Send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength and courage
to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

BLESSING

 

CLOSING HYMN

“My God, Accept My Heart This Day”                      Hymnal 1982 #697

 

1. My God, Accept My Heart This Day,
And Make It Always Thine,
That I From Thee No More May Stray,
No More From Thee Decline.

 

 

2. Before The Cross Of Him Who Died,
Behold, I Prostrate Fall;
Let Every Sin Be Crucified,
Let Christ Be All In All.

 

 

3. Anoint Me With Thy Heavenly Grace,
Adopt Me For Thine Own,
That I May See Thy Glorious Face,
And Worship At Thy Throne.

 

 

4. Let Every Thought, And Work, And Word,
To Thee Be Ever Given;
Then Life Shall Be Thy Service, Lord,
And Death The Gate Of Heaven.

 

 

Let us bless the Lord

People Thanks be to God.

 

POSTLUDE

Volutary in E flat Major J.N. Seeger