1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!
2 Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, Stir up Your strength, And come and save us!
3 Restore us, O God; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!
4 O LORD God of hosts, How long will You be angry Against the prayer of Your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in great measure.
6 You have made us a strife to our neighbors, And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!
8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations, and planted it.
9 You prepared room for it, And caused it to take deep root, And it filled the land.
10 The hills were covered with its shadow, And the mighty cedars with its boughs.
11 She sent out her boughs to the Sea, And her branches to the River.
12 Why have You broken down her hedges, So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?
13 The boar out of the woods uproots it, And the wild beast of the field devours it.
14 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; Look down from heaven and see, And visit this vine
15 And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, And the branch that You made strong for Yourself.
16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down; They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
17 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we will not turn back from You; Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!
*At the end of the Psalms this is sung or said
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.
18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame -- who set their mind on earthly things.
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
Officiant: The Word of the Lord.
The People: Thanks be to God.
Deacon: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you. Or And with your spirit.
Deacon: May the Lord be on our minds, on our lips, and on our hearts as we hear His Holy Gospel. The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew.
People: Glory to You, Lord Christ.
Deacon: We are reading from Matthew's Gospel chapter 21, beginning at verse 33.
33 Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. 35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. 37 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' 38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' 39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?' 41 They said to Him, 'He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.' 42 Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'? 43 Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.'
After the Gospel reading, the deacon can elevate the book and says:
Deacon: The Gospel of the Lord.People: Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.Prayers of the People
Prayers of the People for: Proper 22
Brothers and sisters, let us ask God to look upon us with mercy as we lift up our prayers for ourselves and for those of the whole world.
That the Patriarch, all Bishops, Priests, and Deacons will live holy and righteous lives for the Glory of God and be an example to His people.
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
That the witness of those who are persecuted for Christ's sake will lead to the conversion of their oppressors.
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
That the Church will take seriously Her call to be a household of prayer for all nations.
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
That the Jewish people will come to know Jesus as their promised Messiah.
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
That we will set our minds and hearts on the things above and not on the things of this world.
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
That we would have eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to respond to what the Holy Spirit is saying and doing in our lives.
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
For our own special intentions. (Pause)
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Most Merciful God, You have called us to be a kingdom of priests unto our God.
Hear our prayer and give us the grace to be fruitful for the sake of Your Kingdom.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.AMEN
