Ash Wednesday Year C, March 2 2022

[Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] they enjoyed him 118. [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] wow oh [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] good evening my brothers and sisters in christ and welcome to this celebration of the holy eucharist with imposition of ashes or this or ash wednesday liturgy as is customary during this holy season of lent we omit the glorious and alleluias we continue with the opening sentence the sacrifice to god is a troubled spirit a broken and contrite heart of god you will not despise blessed be god father son and holy spirit almighty god to you all hearts are open all desires known and from you no secrets ahead cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy spirit that we may perfectly love you with christ our lord amen lord me [Music] me [Music] the lord be with you 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 worldly 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 [Music] almighty and holy god your son in obedience to the spirit fasted forty days in the desert give us grace to disciple to discipline ourselves that we may press onward towards easter with eager faith and love through jesus christ our lord [Music] a reading from the word of god written in the book of joel the second chapter beginning at the first verse below 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 light has never been seen 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 reindeer hearts and not to your clothing return to the lord your god for he is gracious and merciful slow to anger and abundant in steadfast love and relates from punishing who knows whether he will not turn and relate and leave a blessing behind him a grain offering and a drink offering for the lord your god blow the trumpet in zion sanctify a fast call a solemn assembly gather the people sanctify the congregation assemble the aged gather the children even infants at the breast let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her canopy between the vestibule and the altar let the priests the ministers of the lord reap let them say spare your people o lord and do not make your heritage a mockery a byword among the nations why should it be said among the peoples where is their god here ends the reading the appointed psalm 103 [Music] verses 8 to 14. [Music] so [Music] [Music] oh is foreign [Music] [Music] oh oh [Applause] [Music] [Music] is is [Music] [Music] a reading from the word of god written in the second letter of paul to the corinthians the fifth chapter beginning at the 20th verse we entreat you on behalf of christ we reconcile to god for our sake he made him to be no to sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become 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 obstacles in anyone's way so that no fault may be fun with our ministry but as servants of god we have commended ourselves in every way through great endurance in afflictions hardships calamities beatens 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 rebuked and good repute we are treated as imposters and yet are true as unknown and yet are all 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 here ends the reading the gradual hymn 119 [Music] oh foreign oh foreign [Music] foreign is [Music] [Music] lord be with you [Music] the continuation of the holy gospel of our lord jesus christ according to saint matthew the sixth chapter beginning at the first verse at that time jesus said beware of practice in 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 arms do not sound the 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 arms do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your arms 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 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 but stop for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither mouth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure is there your heart will be also this is the gospel of christ [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so let us pray give us grace o lord not only to hear thy word with our ears but also to receive it into our hearts and to show it forth in our lives for the glory of thy great name amen last sunday i asked those people who were here or who tuned in if you were ready for length and i think being ready for light is something we have to take seriously [Music] certainly over the last past two years we would have recognized that the devil is still definitely roaming around looking to see who he can devour and of most recent times with all that is happening in the ukraine so i think it is important for us to consider what that means to us as believers and how the practices that we normally go through what can we do to ensure we are ready for however long or short you have been on this earth you probably have marked the beginning of length by saying or thinking first the devil is busier during this season so beware and second you would have decided what you are giving up for the next 40 days right traditionally ash wednesday encourages us to focus on repentance and prayer fasting and ants giving for this period not including sundays to coincide with our remembrance of christ's time of of temptation in the wilderness where he fasted and where satan tempted him overall light requires believers to intentionally focus on christ's life his ministry his sacrifice and resurrection so that our own walk with him to and through the cross can be more meaningful incidentally one of my colleagues asked me this morning what i was giving up for lent i told her for the last couple of years i have not been given up but taken on something for lent which in a sense is still giving up because whatever i take on requires my time so basically i have been sacrificing additional time to spend it focusing on christ's life ministry sacrifice and resurrection why because praying repenting fasting and almsgiving means so much more when we are knowledgeable about god otherwise we respond to situations as if there is no god then unbelievers have every right to echo the words of second joel 17. where is their god and the first part of verse 17 reveals why people may look at believers like you and me and wonder where all god is because as servants of god we must behave as though we know god so that in situations like what apostle paul in second corinthians 6 verse 4 recalls we have and continue to have great endurance in afflictions in hardships calamities beatings imprisonments riots labors sleepless nights hunger because the non-believers will keep asking where is the god who has promised to help us as he did with judah and jerusalem where is the god whom they had boasted so much of and put such confidence in if god's heritage can be destroyed the non-believers will say god was either weak i could not save them and us are unkind and would not and we know especially over the last couple of years non-believers have been very bold faced we hear these kinds of things we hear questions like where's the god you said were coming for over 2 000 years or how could your god allow so much suffering in the world or the infamous question if there's a god why does he allow bad things to happen to good people so you can see how the naysayers would say god is either weak and cannot save us are unkind and will not does this sound like our god indeed not second corinthians 5 supplies that by purity knowledge patience kindness holiness of spirit genuine love truthful speech and the power of god we are able to boast because god reconciles us to him in that same joel 2 reading we hear of how god called the judeans to repentance when in verse 12 he asked them to turn to him with all their hearts with fasting with weeping and with mourning [Music] my brothers and sisters in christ light calls us to sincere repentance and this requires us to turn to god and away from our sin sincere repentance is done from and with all our heart giving everything we can in surrender to god because we know him and what he expects of us sincere repentance is also marked by action with fasting praying and arms giving and it is marked with emotion with three pain and mourning coached in humility and sincerity every act of repentance will not include fasting and weeping but if action and emotion are absent it isn't real repentance verse 13 encourages return to the lord your god for he is gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness and he relents from doing harm knowing the goodness and mercy of god is another motive for true repentance we come to him confident that he will heal and forgive and that he may relate from the judgment he announced one by the commentary i read made this valuable point we don't repent with the idea god is so mean that if i don't return to him he will destroy me when we know god we repent instead with the idea that god is so gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness that he will spare us from what we deserve if we turn back to him ultimately it is his reliable goodness that inspires and leads us to repentance in addition verse 17 states let the priests who minister to god weep between the porch and the altar in other words leaders of god's people must lead the charge of the repentant but first we must ourselves be repentant we should not come with the attitude that the people must repent and not us we are to pious for that instead indeed not we all are the people all of us and we all sin and therefore we all must repent the prophet joe motivated the judean priests to persuade god to spare his people and have mercy on them could he have done that if he didn't know how merciful god is yes we deserve judgment but with humble holy and repentant hearts we can plead for mercy when we do wrong verses 8 to 10 of psalm 103 offers us a timely reminder of how full of compassion and mercy the lord is slow to anger and of great kindness he will not always accuse us nor will he keep his anger forever and regarding verse 10 he has not dealt with us according to our sins nor rewarded us according to our wickedness i don't know about you but i say a big thank you god because i do not think we could handle it if he did but again i say my brothers and sisters in christ if you do not know him you would not know or appreciate this awesome characteristic of god this reminds us that we belong to god he is our father and provides another motivation for us to repent and as the father cares for his children psalm 103 13 reveals so does the lord care for us those of us who fear him ever mindful that has verse 14 says he knows we are mere mortals that we are but dust basically we are nothing we sweet thus in the corner and the lord shows us compassion partly because he knows we are frail and we do not live long he made man from dust breathe into our nostrils a man became a living creature but we know what man sinned and he we incurred the sentence of death so between birth and death human beings bear the physical effects of sin we experience illness aches pains disease and weakness all other kinds of adversities but none of these calamities escape the lord's attention or his compassion after all he formed us in the womb psalm 139 tells us he knows all about us and we need to know as much as we can about him hopefully you now have a better understanding of why i have been sacrificing additional time to spend focusing on christ's life ministry sacrifice and resurrection jesus came to give himself as a sacrifice for all peoples so that we could escape our corruption and reconnect with god this is not a new plan this plan was announced at the beginning of human history the good news of the gospel is that the sacrifice of jesus's death is sufficient to bridge the separation that our sin creates between us and god it is offered as a gift we talked about this at christmas time think about gifts no matter what the gift is if it is really a gift it is something that you do not work for and that you do not earn by merit if you earned it the gift would no longer be a gift it would be a wage in the same way you cannot merit or earn the sacrifice of jesus it is given to us as a gift and that gift is eternal life that means that the sin which brought you and me death is no counsel written off jesus's life ministry sacrifice and resurrection enables us to reconnect with god and receive life life which lasts forever my brothers and sisters in christ god loves us that much get to know him do something different this length attend the bible study sessions offered for this period come to the stations of the cross and experience a deeper understanding and appreciation of what jesus christ our lord and savior went through for us amen [Music] in response the call for us to take on more during this lenten season we'll now prepare to receive the sign of ashes which is an intention for us to be of greater service to god dear friends in christ every year at the time of the christian passover we celebrate our redemption for the life death and resurrection of our lord jesus christ lent is a time to prepare for this celebration and to renew our life in the paschal mystery we begin this holy season by remembering our need for repentance and for the mercy forgiveness and grace proclaimed in the gospel of our savior jesus christ we begin our journey to easter with a sign of ashes an ancient sign speaking of the frailty and uncertainty of human life and making the penitents mark independence of the community as a whole let us ask god our father to bless these ashes to become a symbol of our intention they have been made from the palms with which we greeted christ our king with joy last palm sunday they are a sign that we intend to prepare ourselves with penitence for easter let us pray lord bless these ashes to our youths and grant that they may remind us of our mortality and of our need of repentance so that we may keep lent faithfully in preparation for the victory and joy of easter we ask this in the name of christ our lord amen remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return [Music] 504 [Music] so [Music] [Laughter] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] foreign so [Music] [Music] to [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] oh oh [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] so [Music] [Music] [Music] ah so [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] wow [Music] my god so [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] so [Music] so so [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] remember that you are dust and thus you shall return return to the lord with all your heart leave the past and the actions and turn to god with fears and fasting for he is slow to anger and ready to protect you [Music] let's pray 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 we have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves we have not loved ourselves as we ought we have not forgiven others as we desire to be forgiven we have not forgiven ourselves as we have been forgiven o lord we have been death 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 o 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 over-exploitation of other people we confess to you o 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's in us 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 our false judgment for uncharitable thoughts towards our neighbors and for our prejudice and content towards those who differ from us accept our repentance lord for our ways 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 break 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 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 are true who truly repent and with sincere hearts believe his holy gospel therefore we beseech him to grant us through repentance and his holy spirit that those things may please him which we do on this day and that the rest of our life thereafter may be pure and holy so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy through jesus christ our lord please stand for the greeting of the peace being justified by faith we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ the peace of the lord be always with you let us share that peace with each other they have carry him 522 [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh is [Music] is [Music] i'm ready [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] the prayer for the presentation of the offerings together we pray father we offer you these gifts which you have given us this bread this wine this money with them we offer ourselves our life and our work to become through your holy spirit a reasonable holy and lively sacrifice as this bread and wine become the body and blood of christ so may we and all your people become channels of your love for the same price our lord amen [Music] [Music] now me [Music] oh [Music] [Music] ah [Music] lord be with you lift up your hearts let us give thanks to the lord our god [Music] it is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give you thanks father almighty everlasting god for you bathe your faithful people cleanse their hearts and prepare with joy for the paschal feast that fervent in prayer and in works of mercy and renewed by your word and sacraments they may come to the fullness of praise which you are prepared for those who love you therefore we praise you join in our voices with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven who forever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your name [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] eucharistic right e sovereign lord and father to you be glory and praise forever in your boundless wisdom you brought creation into being in your great love you fashioned us in your image in your tender compassion you sent your son jesus christ our savior to share our human nature in the power of the holy spirit he overcame the power of sin and death and brought your people to new birth as first fruits of your new creation on the night that he was betrayed he took bread and when he had given thanks to you he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said take this and eat it this is my body which is given for you do this for the remembrance of me and after supper he took the cup of wine and when he had given thanks he gave it to them and said drink this all of you this is my blood of the new covenant which is shared for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins whenever you drink it do this for the remembrance of me [Music] [Music] according to the command of your dearly beloved son [Music] and we offer you father our sacrifice of thanks and praise send your holy spirit on these gifts of bread and wine that they may become the body and blood of your son jesus our lord and redeemer as we partake of this holy food of new and unending life may your holy spirit establish us as a royal priesthood with the blessed virgin mary sent george and all your sons and daughters who share in your eternal inheritance through jesus christ our lord with him and in him and through him by the power of the holy spirit we worship you father almighty with all who stand before you in earth and heaven in songs of everlasting praise [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] as our savior has taught us so we pray [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] we break this bread to share in the body of christ oh [Music] wow um [Music] the gifts of god for the people of god so so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so so the first comedian him 495. [Music] so me one foreign [Music] foreign [Music] uh foreign [Music] [Music] hey oh [Music] ah [Music] um [Music] [Music] oh me [Music] 651 so hey [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] oh [Music] oh oh me is [Music] my gosh [Music] oh foreign is foreign [Applause] oh [Applause] 458 so [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] more foreign [Music] uh oh uh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] the post-communion prayer we use the third prayer on page 148. together we pray almighty and ever live in god we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the most precious body and blood of your son our savior jesus christ and for assuring us in these holy mysteries that we are living members of the body of your son and heirs of your eternal kingdom and now father send us out to do the work you have given us to do to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of christ our lord to him to you and to the holy spirit the honor and glory now and forever amen the lord be with you our help is in the name of the lord and may christ give us grace to grow in holiness to deny ourselves take up our cross and follow him and the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be with you and remain with you and all those whom you love and pray for this lenten season and forevermore amen the recessional hymn 114. [Music] foreign [Music] uh [Music] is [Music] uh [Applause] uh [Music] uh [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] the lord be with you let us go in peace to love and serve the lord oh [Applause] oh now do have a blessed safe and restful night everyone and i pray that your lenten season may truly be reflective and refreshing thank you [Music] [Music] so so so [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: St George Parish Church Outreach Ministry

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Length: 97min 16sec (5836 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 02 2022