WE GATHER IN GOD’S PRESENCE:

Lighting the Candle –

Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness

but will have the light of life.’

Greeting:

The Lord be with you AND ALSO WITH YOU

Call to Worship (Psalm 19)

⁷The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
THE DECREES OF THE LORD ARE SURE,
    MAKING WISE THE SIMPLE;
⁸ the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
THE COMMANDMENT OF THE LORD IS CLEAR,
    ENLIGHTENING THE EYES;
⁹ the fear of the Lord is pure,
    enduring for ever;
THE ORDINANCES OF THE LORD ARE TRUE
    AND RIGHTEOUS ALTOGETHER.
¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
SWEETER ALSO THAN HONEY,
    AND DRIPPINGS OF THE HONEYCOMB.

¹¹ Moreover by them is your servant warned;
    IN KEEPING THEM THERE IS GREAT REWARD.
¹² but who can detect their errors?
    CLEAR ME FROM HIDDEN FAULTS.
¹³Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ LET THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH

AND THE MEDITATION OF MY HEART
    BE ACCEPTABLE TO YOU,
    O LORD, MY ROCK AND MY REDEEMER.

We Sing TIS 148 ALL THINGS PRAISE YOU, LORD MOST HIGH 4vv

Prayer

Eternal and Holy LORD,

we come before you with grateful hearts

and awe filled minds

as we again bear witness

to your unimaginable grace and mercy toward us;

We join in praise of you with myriads of angels

and countless of your saints

in this simple act of worship,

gathered in chapel or at home…

Truly, may the words of our mouths,

and the meditation of our hearts

be acceptable to you,

O Lord, our rock and our Redeemer,

this we pray in the name of the Christ who invites also to say:

The Lord’s Prayer 
Our Father in heaven, 
Hallowed be your name, 
Your kingdom come, 
Your will be done on earth as in heaven.  

Give us this day our daily bread. 
Forgive us our sins,  
as we forgive those who sin against us. 
Save us in the time of trial  

And deliver us from evil. 
For the kingdom, 
the power and the glory are yours,  
now and for ever. 
Amen. 

Welcome

WE LISTEN FOR A WORD FROM GOD

Prayer for Illumination

HOLY AND MERCIFUL GOD,

THROUGH YOUR HOLY SPIRIT

INSTRUCT US

THAT WE MIGHT RIGHTLY UNDERSTAND

THE WORD OF TRUTH

AND FIND OURSELVES AS PEOPLE

WHO REFLECT THE LIVING WORD,

JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD,   AMEN

Scripture 

ROMANS 12:3-16

³ For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴ For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵ so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶ We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸ the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

⁹ Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰ love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. ¹¹ Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.

Reader: this is the Word of the Lord

Response: WE HEED AND REJOICE, O GOD!

MATTHEW 21:33-46

³³ ‘Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. ³⁴ When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. ³⁵ But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” ³⁹ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ ⁴¹ They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’

⁴² Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:

“The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
    and it is amazing in our eyes”?

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. ⁴⁴ The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

Reader: this is the gospel of our Lord

Response: PRAISE BE TO YOU, LORD JESUS CHRIST!

Prayer of Confession: (Romans 12:3-16)

Creator God,

giver of all that is good,

forgive us when we assume that what you have given us

is solely for own benefit and self-aggrandizement…

Lord have mercy: LORD HAVE MERCY

Redeeming Lord,

gatherer of us into one as your body,

forgive us when we overlook our complementary interdependence

and strive as isolated workers for your kingdom…

Christ have mercy: CHRIST HAVE MERCY

Life giving Spirit,

transformer of all that is out of harmony with God’s will,

forgive us when we fail to love truly,

when we accommodate evil

and we allow the good to slip away…

Lord have mercy: LORD HAVE MERCY

The Promise of Reconciliation

The LORD who calls us to offer ourselves

through a life of thanksgiving,

does so because already we have been forgiven all wrong:

God proves his love for us

in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us;

Jesus Christ through whom we have received reconciliation.

Therefore, with our actions of a God directed life,

we also exclaim with joy: THANKS BE TO GOD

Passing the Peace.. as we raise our hands in blessing to those unseen…
The peace of the Risen Lord be with you all 

AND ALSO WITH YOU

We Sing TIS 442 ALL PRAISE TO OUR REDEEMING LORD  6vv

CONTEMPORARY WORD

Charles (Chuck) F Feeney[1] was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1931,

during the Great Depression.

His mother worked as a hospital nurse

and his father was an insurance underwriter.

To cut a long story short,

Chuck made his fortune selling luxury duty free goods to travelers

across the world.

He founded the Duty Free Shoppers Group (DFS) in 1960

with his college classmate Robert Warren Miller.

He came to mind as I was reading the text: (Romans 12)

⁶ We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us:…

the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence;

the compassionate, in cheerfulness…

It was reported last week that last Monday,

after 38 years, Irish-American billionaire Chuck Feeney

reached his lifetime goal

of wanting to give away his entire $US8 billion fortune.

Feeney has been making secret donations to charities, universities,

and institutions worldwide under his foundation,

Atlantic Philanthropies, for decades.

This included recipients in Queensland…

On Monday, the philanthropist signed the documents

marking the end of his foundation, which was first set up in 1982.

The foundation’s main areas of interest are health, education, reconciliation and human rights.

For the first 15 years of his philanthropic mission,

Mr Feeney donated money in secret

leading to him being dubbed the James Bond of philanthropy,

only emerging from anonymity in 1997.

“We learned a lot. We would do some things differently,

but I am very satisfied,” Feeney, told Forbes.

Feeney is known to be a very private person

and has given few interviews over the years.

He is also known for having lived a very frugal lifestyle,

not owning a car or home, and only one pair of shoes.

Conor O’Clery, who wrote a biography of Mr Feeney, said:

“He read and was very impressed by Carnegie’s famous essay ‘Wealth’, which says such things as

‘to die rich is to die disgraced’.”

Fenney was often quoted as saying, 

“Wealth brings responsibility,”

according to the Guardian newspaper.

“People must define themselves,

or feel a responsibility

to use some of their assets

to improve the lives of their fellow humans,

or else create intractable problems for future generations.”

He continued…

Theologians, including Charles Wesley,

have thought a lot about grace.

Some would accept that Chuck Feeney’s generous spirit,

regardless of any professed Christian conviction on his part,

is evidence of God’s grace being received and at work.

Certainly Chuck’s mind set, focusing on community,

rather than the individual,

echoes Paul’s emphasis on community

as Paul describes community in the reading from Romans.

A first quick reading might have us think simply

in terms of a Christian community,[2]

or a collection of Christian communities

such as we know were the recipients of this letter Paul wrote.

The lines such as:

so we, who are many, are one body in Christ,

and individually we are members one of another

with its imagery of us as being in Christ

brings to mind Paul’s earlier teaching concerning our baptism

which has us share in Jesus’ death and resurrection,

and the new life that generates within us!

¹¹you also must consider yourselves dead to sin

and alive to God in Christ Jesus (6:1-12).

Paul speaks to us of both being in Christ through our baptism,

and Christ being in us through the gifted Spirit (8:1-17 esp. 10,11)

you are in the Spirit,since the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ

does not belong to him. 

¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin,

 the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 

So it is easy to think simply in terms of Christian community.

Paul sets out how to live as Christians within Christian communities.

There is much practical teaching here,

alerting us to appropriate thinking and behaviour,

all influenced by the transformed mind

attuned to the divine will,

rather than a mind merely fitting in with the standards

of the world around us…

Paul lists seven gifted graces,

and then the impact of these within the community… (v6-8)

Byrne explains,

Charisma refers to the way in which the gift (charis)

impacts upon others:

more precisely, charisma denotes the sense of God’s graciousness

that the gifted person communicates to others

through the exercise of his or her own particular charis.

This is why, in the illustrative list that follows (vv 6b–8),

Paul not only indicates seven gifts

but adds after each an indication of each one’s function or effect;

the first term in each case refers to the charis,

the second indicates the charisma.^[3]

The mental picture Paul offers

is of gifted people enjoying sharing their giftedness,

not an image of a stern people dutybound obeying divine orders…

Generosity and cheer enlivens the community.

Let us remind ourselves again about the genuine love Paul urges,

Up till this point in the letter love (agape) has referred to God’s love,

most notably in 5:1–11 (esp. vv 5–8) and 8:31–39.

Love, as C.S. Lewis carefully explains in his The Four Loves,[4]

in English is a rather imprecise word.

In Greek a variety of words may define what sort of love is talked about,

one has, for example, philos, family like love

e.g. philanthropic, lover of humanity…

eros, lusty love, e.g. erotic…

In a sense he echoes an older theologically inclined scholarship

which attempted to distinguish sharply between agapē and erōs (ἔρως). Agapē was (in that perspective) universal and all-embracing, “spontaneous and unmotivated,” “indifferent to value,” “creative,”

and “initiat[es] fellowship with God.”

In contrast, erōs was appetitive, egocentric, and possessive

and even in its most sublime forms incapable of leading to agapē.

This caricature, resoundingly rejected now by most scholars,

resulted in a serious distortion of the significance of the word group.

On the one hand, it rested on a one-sided view of erōs…

ignoring later Platonic treatments of erōs

describing erōs as God-given love that reunites all beings

with their source and moves humans to work for the good of others.

It is probably for this reason that a writer such as Origen,

who knew that the NT did not use the term erōs,

could still use agapē and erōs as equivalents.

On the other hand it ignored the actual usage

of the agap– group in Greek literature,

projecting a special “biblical” meaning of the word (Barr).

Agapē (“to love”), far from being the exclusive domain

of Judean or Christian literature,

is common from the time of Homer onward,

with a wide range of meanings, including “to welcome warmly,

“to be content”, “to set one’s heart on” and, more generally, “to love.”

It is used of the love of friends, the love of children, the rapacious appetite of wolves for prey, the love of praise, and the love of things^[5]

Nevertheless, C.S. Lewis rightly reminds us that Love has two broad categories,  GIFT-LOVE and NEED-LOVE.

Both are valid expression of love,

need-love is not a poor cousin of gift-love.

After all, our recognition of our need for God

is a very useful requirement to looking for God!

Nevertheless, their distinction is obvious…

Paul reminds us the love we express to others is gift-love…

Paul indicates “genuine love” (agapē anypokritos) (v.9)

as the quality distinctive of believers.

With reference to the divine agapē,

he had stressed the way in which God’s saving action in Christ represented a totally unmerited act of pure love and reconciliation

offered to those who were “enemies,”

alienated because of sin (cf. esp. 5:6–10; 8:32).

The agapē asked of believers

represents the outflow in their own lives of this same divine love.

When Paul requires not simply “love” but “sincere (anypokritos) love”

he is demanding a love that,

like the love that inspired God’s action in Christ,

goes beyond mere words and protestations

to embrace the alien and the enemy (v 14; v 17; v 20),

that seeks to “overcome evil with good” (v 21).

The opening phrase—“genuine love”—

sets the tone for the entire sequence.^[6]

Paul has a wider vision than merely the Christian groups

to whom he is writing

when he thinks of who ought to receive such love!

He moves from the Christian community

to the wider community and society,

mentioning even those in positions of power and government! (13:1ff).

Paul is thinking of the whole of humanity, in a sense.

Note the beginning and concluding focus of this section, vv3-16,

at the start, not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think,

but to think with sober judgement, concluding with:

do not claim to be wiser than you are.

This echoes Paul’s condemnation of humanity in chapter one:

Claiming to be wise, they became fools;

To be “superminded above what one ought to be minded”

is to fall back into the primal lie (1:18, 22, 25),

to abandon the Abrahamic promise of inheritance through faith

(4:11–16), to be blind to,

or to refuse to take the earlier argument of Romans seriously,

that we all are sinners formerly in enmity with God

but now saved by grace alone,

and to fall back into sin and death (5:12–6:23).^[7]

Some see also a reference to that first act of disobedience

by Eve and Adam, (Genesis 3)[8]

 ⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,

and that it was a delight to the eyes,

and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,

she took of its fruit and ate;

and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 

The renewed mind does not have an exaggerated sense

of its own importance,

but instead assesses itself and its apparent needs

in proportion to the faith or faithfulness that God has assigned.

If idolatry, a worship of the creature, including one-self,

with a long list of self-focused behaviours culminating with

 foolish, faithless, heartless, merciless,

are the characteristics of fallen humanity in Romans 1:18-31,

reasonable or right worship

and discerning the will of God

through an outgoing genuine love

are the signs of the renewed mind of the community in Christ.

The Christian community, as the God directed community,

is to share the good news of God in Jesus Christ

to demonstrate the co-operation and peace,

care and concern,

which are necessary for human well-being.

This is in stark contrast to the emphasis on a greed driven

survival of the fittest mentality…

the curse of ancient and modern civilizations…

the behaviours of such a mindset Paul describes well in Romans 1:

²⁹every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 

³⁰ They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.

 ³¹ They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless,

and have no mercy. 

The suggested corrective, genuine love and its practical actions,

for that human behaviour Paul so negatively described in Romans 1,

suggests that Paul extends this vision of community well-being

beyond Christian groups…

and his directives will soon move into wider spheres….

He states immediately after this,

take thought for what is noble in the sight of all (12:17)

When Paul recommends that they

“take thought for what is noble in the sight of all”,

he is acknowledging that some views

in the larger culture deserve respect.

Although the followers of Jesus must always

stand over against values in the culture

that are in conflict with the gospel,

they must also be alert to where some values may be shared.^[9]

Hence my reference to Chuck Feeney…

He stands apart from the crowd,

recognizing that his wealth requires responsible stewardship!

nevertheless he expects Christians to be the first to model

a caring and loving community!

We live in trying times;

the news from other countries,

even from within nations economically stronger than Australia,

who thought the virus was under control,

reminds us that we dare not be complacent about the pandemic;

The Netherlands, the U.K. Spain, Italy…

all are re introducing restrictions to enable social distancing…

How do we encourage that community of which Paul speaks?

Some aspects pose no coronavirus dilemmas,

e.g. ¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.

¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints

When half or more of our congregation

is still advised to limit going out,

to not go out at all, for those in the vulnerable groups…

to limit gatherings in their homes,

other urgings are problematic…

extend hospitality to strangers.

Mind you, our facilities will be used every second Saturday

by a Syrian Refugee group…

who are hiring our hall through Communify

at very low rates…

Obviously phone and social media come to mind as virus safe

ways to connect as community…

I have been resistant to social media since it appeared,

perhaps I need to recognize the signs of the times,

and learn how to offer the good news of God

and genuine love with its care

through Social Media… !  

(I can’t believe I said that!

note also, I held back from adding AMEN!))

We Share Our Community Life 

Prayers of the People[10]

In peace let us pray to the Lord, saying,

Lord have mercy.

For the church throughout the world,

that all who bear the name of Christ

may find true repentance for their sins

and walk in the ways of love,

let us pray… Lord hear us, LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

For the church throughout the world,

that all who bear the name of Christ

may find true repentance for their sins

and walk in the ways of love,

let us pray… Lord hear us, LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

For the nations of the world,

wherever there is poverty, war, or oppression of human spirit,

that all people may repent of the evil they do to one another,

let us pray…

Lord hear us, LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

for the planet Earth, God’s gift to humankind,

that we repent of selfish or thoughtless exploitation

and tend it with care so that all may share generously in its bounty,

let us pray… Lord hear us, LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

For the leaders of the nations,

that they may work for the common good of all people

and repent of arrogant nationalism,

let us pray… Lord hear us, LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

For our enemies,

that we may learn to love them with regard for God’s compassion,

forgiving wrongs, and seeking reconciliation,

let us pray… Lord hear us, LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

For those who are sick or in trouble…

  and we silently name here – pause

for the defenseless, the weak,

and those struggling to provide shelter and food for their family,

  and we silently name here – pause

that they may find help in time of need,

and that the church may heed their cry,

let us pray… Lord hear us, LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

Loving God,

hear the prayers of your people for the sake of our world,

with our prayers, accept the dedication of our lives

that we may minister with genuine love

to the world in the name of Jesus,

through whom we pray,

Lord hear us, LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER,    AMEN

SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION

We Sing: TIS 524 COME RISEN LORD… 4vv

We Bring Our offering to God

setting aside our gifts to support the local and wider work of the church

and we bless our gifts in an act of praise…

The Words of Institution (1 Cor 11)

²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: 

The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,

 ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 

“This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

 ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying,

 “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; 

do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 

²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup,

you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

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

OUR THANKS AND PRAISE

You are indeed worthy to receive our praise O God,

for having created us and all within which we are placed,

you bestowed on us a privilege and responsibility

beyond all imagining…

yet we turned our backs on you,

ignoring your creative power visible to all,

and laughing at your compassionate mercy,

believing ourselves to be wiser than we are,

acting as gods rather than creatures…

yet you kept offering us reconciliation,

through Noah promising us a covenant of non-destruction,

through Abram a blessing to all nations,

and as witness to your good intentions,

you offered Torah and the prophets

to your special people,

promising a new heart and a new song

by means of your Spirit driven servant;

therefore we join in singing the song of your unending praise

HOLY, HOLY, HOLY LORD,

GOD OF GRACE AND MERCY,

HEAVEN AND EARTH ARE FULL OF YOUR GLORY.

HOSANNAH IN THE HIGHEST.

BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO COMES

IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!

HOSANNAH IN THE HIGHEST.

We praise you for Jesus

who shows us the way of working with you

through his faithfulness to your plan

for the restoration and transformation

of humanity and creation

so that our living might reflect his living,

and creation might be rebirthed to your divine purpose.

His determined service brought about his death on a cross;

but death would not be the end of him;

you raised him to life,

and henceforth we know death is not our end!

Great is the mystery of faith.

CHRIST HAS DIED;

CHRIST IS RISEN;

CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN.

As we eat this bread and drink this cup,

renew us by your Holy Spirit,

that we may be united in the body of your Son,

our love genuine:

hating what is evil,

holding fast to what is good; 

loving one another with mutual affection;

outdoing one another in showing honour. 

Rejoicing in hope,

patient in suffering,

persevering in prayer. 

Contributing to the needs of the saints;

extending hospitality to strangers.

Blessing those who persecute you;

blessing and not cursing them. 

Rejoicing with those who rejoice,

weeping with those who weep. 

Living in harmony with one another;

associating with the lowly; 

not claiming to be wiser than we are.

zealous, ardent in spirit, serving the Lord

as he serves us…

To you now and always be the glory in the church

and in Christ Jesus to all generations,

in the communion of the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever,   AMEN

The Present Christ (Rev.3:21)

it is Jesus who invites himself to sup with us here,

joining us if we but say the word:

Here I am! Jesus said, I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, 

I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

COME, LORD JESUS

The Distribution of the Bread

My body, broken for you, Jesus said.

Do this for the remembrance of me…

The Distribution of the Cup

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood; Jesus said

do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me

Prayer                          Generous and welcoming God,

in Jesus Christ

you desire to embrace all.

Grant us of your own

generous Spirit

that we might speak

words of invitation

and practice actions of welcome

in a Spirit of hospitality

to bring all within your embrace.

May they and we enjoy feasting

at your table,

revelling in your gracious gift

of abundant life,

to the praise and glory of your name. AMEN

WE GO TO SERVE GOD

We Sing  TIS 531  SENT FORTH BY GOD’S BLESSING 2vv

1.2 Sent forth by God’s blessing, our true faith confessing,
the people of God from his table take leave.
The supper is ended: may now be extended
the fruits of his service in all who believe.
The seed of his teaching, our hungry souls reaching,
shall blossom in action for all humankind.
His grace shall incite us, his love shall unite us
to work for his kingdom, his purpose to find.

2.2 With praise and thanksgiving to God ever-living
the tasks of our everyday life we will face,
our faith ever sharing, in love ever caring,
embracing as neighbours all those of each race.
One feast that has fed us, one light that has led us,
unite us as one in his life that we share.
Then may all the living, with praise and thanksgiving,
give honour to Christ and his name that we bear.

Omer Westendorf   1916– alt.

Text © Copyright 1964, World Library Publications, a division of J. S. Paluch Company, Inc.
3825 N. Willow R., Schiller Park, IL 60176. USA. All rights reserved.

Words: additional permission required. Available from LicenSing & Word of Life

Sending Out

Go!

to love with integrity,

to hold fast that which is good,

Rejoicing with those who rejoice,

weeping with those who weep. 

Rejoicing in hope,

patient in suffering,

persevering in prayer; 

ardent in spirit, serving the Lord!

Blessing

May the blessing of God,

Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit,

nourish and sustain us,

surprise and reorder us,

and strengthen us in faith, hope and love

for this life and the life to come

      AMEN, AMEN, AMEN

---

[1] Much information is available simply on the Internet, look up search engines using the name: Charles Feeney.

[2] Byrne, B. (1996). Romans. (D. J. Harrington, Ed.) (Vol. 6, p. 369). Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press. who labels 12:9-16 Love in Action Within the Community, vv17-21 as Love in Action Outside of the Community…

^[3] Byrne, B. (1996). Romans. (D. J. Harrington, Ed.) (Vol. 6, pp. 369–370). Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press.

[4] Lewis, C.S. (1999) “The Four Loves” in Selected Books  (pp 5-88) London , HarperCollinsReligious.

^[5] Kloppenborg, J. S. (2006–2009). Love In The NT. In K. D. Sakenfeld (Ed.), The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 704). Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

^[6] Byrne, B. (1996). Romans. (D. J. Harrington, Ed.) (Vol. 6, pp. 375–376). Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press.

^[7] Jewett, R., & Kotansky, R. D. (2006). Romans: A commentary. (E. J. Epp, Ed.) (p. 741). Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.

[8] Grieb, A. Katherine. (2002) The Story of Romans (p. 120). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition

^[9] Lancaster, S. H. (2015). Romans. (A. P. Pauw & W. C. Placher, Eds.) (First edition, p. 215). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

[10]Long, Kimberley Bracken, Editor (2012) Feasting On The Word  Liturgies for year C, volume 1, (pp 98,99) Louisville, Westminster, John Knox press, used with minor adjustments…