23rd Sunday C

The following are prayerful resources rather than a liturgy.

  • The gospel for the day
    (a useful commentary on the reading
    here)
  • Some optional questions for reflection
  • Prayers of Intercession
  • Cluster Prayer
  • The gospel of the week ahead with questions

Luke 14: 25-33   None of you can be my disciple

unless he gives up all his possessions.



Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way

and he turned and spoke to them.

‘If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too,

he cannot be my disciple.

Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me

cannot be my disciple.


‘And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower,

would not first sit down and work out the cost

to see if he had enough to complete it?

Otherwise, if he laid the foundation

and then found himself unable to finish the work,

the onlookers would all start making fun of him and saying,

“Here is a man who started to build and was unable to finish.”


Or again, what king marching to war against another king

would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men

he could stand up to the other

who advanced against him with twenty thousand?

If not, then while the other king was still a long way off,

he would send envoys to sue for peace.

So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple

unless he gives up all his possessions.’

This is the gospel of the Lord


Copyright © 1996-2021 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.

Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). All rights reserved.

Having used our prayer resources, you might want simply to reflect yourself on them and how that might flow into your coming week. Some people have found it very helpful to meet with others and share their thoughts.
If you are interested  in joining a small group to share your thoughts and feelings about God's Word from any of the resources you have watched please email us.         
cluster.alpha@outlook.com

Questions for reflection (framed for a group discussion)

This week, Jesus invites is disciples to think carefully about the cost of being one of his disciples.

They must discern a way to 'live with' rather than 'live for' the values of a prodigal world.

Concern for the poor; care for the planet - that's a good place to look for a way forward.

  1. To be a disciple of Jesus means carrying a cross of some kind. What does yours look like?
  2. How do you try to discover what God is asking of you?

Prayers of Intercession

 

We pray for Pope Francis and the church; that they be a voice of hope throughout the world, reminding us all of our responsibility to care for and protect God’s precious gift of creation.

Lord Hear Us…

 

We pray for the people of Pakistan who through the effects of Climate change have been experiencing flash floods causing loss of life and destitution, and for all who are already facing floods, storms and droughts; that God may grant them strength and hope for the future as they work to adapt to the changing climate.

Lord Hear Us…

 

We pray for the world we live in; that God may open our eyes to recognise the goodness of all creation and help us to do what we can to restore and care for the wonderful gift that we have been given.

Lord Hear Us…


For the children and young people as they settle into a new school year, college or University that their eyes and ears may be opened to their learning and they show respect for all those who are there to teach and support them.

Lord Hear Us…

 

For all those who are housebound, the sick in mind or body, that they will be given the courage of the Holy Spirit. We particularly pray for all those on the prayer foundation list and for our own personal prayer intentions.

Lord Hear Us…

 

We pray for all those who have died recently, especially Jim Healy and Raymond Jacobs and for all those whose anniversaries occur at this time; we especially remember Charlie McAuley, Thomas Brock and Mike Knox. We pray for all those who mourn the death of loved ones.

Lord Hear Us…



We will now say our cluster prayer.

Prayer to be Missionary Disciples

Picture of Jesus at door

Lord continue to bless our community
in this time of transition.
Help us on our journey
to grow from a maintenance church
to a missionary church.
Give us the courage
to be missionary disciples.
Make our doors wide enough
to receive all who need
human love and fellowship;
narrow enough to shut out
all envy, pride and prejudice.
Kindle in us the fire of your love
that all who come here
will find joy, peace and love.
Make this a house of prayer
and a gateway to your kingdom.
AMEN

Preparing for next week -  23rd Sunday of the Year C

Luke 15:1-32
There will be rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner


The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus

to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained.

‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’

So he spoke this parable to them:
‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one,

would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness

and go after the missing one till he found it?

And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders

and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours?


“Rejoice with me,” he would say “I have found my sheep that was lost.”

In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven

over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men

who have no need of repentance.


‘Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost one,

light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found it?

And then, when she had found it, call together her friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” she would say “I have found the drachma I lost.”

In the same way, I tell you,

there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.’


He also said, ‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father,

“Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.”

So the father divided the property between them.

A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.


‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine,

and now he began to feel the pinch,

so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants

who put him on his farm to feed the pigs.

And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating

but no one offered him anything.

Then he came to his senses and said,

“How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want,

and here am I dying of hunger!

I will leave this place and go to my father and say:

Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;

I no longer deserve to be called your son;

treat me as one of your paid servants.”

So he left the place and went back to his father.


‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity.

He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly.

Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

I no longer deserve to be called your son.”

But the father said to his servants,

“Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him;

put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it;

we are going to have a feast, a celebration,

because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life;

he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.


‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back,

as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing.

Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about.

“Your brother has come” replied the servant

“and your father has killed the calf we had fattened

because he has got him back safe and sound.”

He was angry then and refused to go in,

and his father came out to plead with him;

but he answered his father,

“Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders,

yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends.

But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property –

he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”


‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours.

But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice,

because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”

This is the gospel of the Lord.


Copyright © 1996-2021 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.

Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). All rights reserved

Questions for reflection (framed for a group discussion)

These parables speak of things lost. In our world today, the human race seems to have lost not only its own humanity, but it continues to destroy the common good of all life

and to threaten the very existence of the planet itself.

  1. Promoting the common good in our local area in the coming months will mean more than
    giving from our surplus. What must we do (and do without) so that others may live with dignity?
  2. When have you persistently sought after a member of your family who has lost his or her way?