Trinity 4

4th SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY Hymns 401, 485, 311, 465

FIRST READING Genesis 22: 1-14 After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!' And he said, ‘Here I am.’

He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.’

So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt-offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.’ Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.

Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘Father!’

And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’

He said, ‘The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?’

Abraham said, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together. When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.

But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’

And he said, ‘Here I am.’

He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’

And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’

RESPONSORIAL PSALM 13 Response :Look upon me and answer me, O Lord.

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I bear grief in my soul, have sorrow in my heart all day long?

How long shall my enemy prevail over me? R.

Look upon me and answer me, LORD my God! Give light to my eyes lest I fall asleep in death;

lest my enemy say, “I have overcome him”; lest my foes rejoice when they see me fall. R

As for me, I trust in your merciful love. Let my heart rejoice in your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord who has been bountiful with me. I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. R

SECOND READING Romans 6:12-23 Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

GOSPEL Matthew 10: 40-42

‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple — truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’

NEWS FROM ST MICHAEL'S

A very warm welcome to any new readers, and to visitors and newcomers to St Michael's. A special welcome and thanks to Fr Paul, our celebrant this morning, who will also kindly be saying Mass for us on Thursday at 10.30 am. If you are new to St Michael's, do join us in the Vestry Hall after the service, so that we can welcome you properly.

Today we are particularly happy to welcome little Rupert, who is being baptised during Mass. Please pray for him, and for his parents and godparents. We also congratulate William, who has been a member of our congregation for some months and is now receiving conditional Baptism as he prepares for Confirmation. Please pray for him. And let us resolve, as a congregation, to keep our promise to continue to support our newly baptised members with our prayers and our concern.

Confirmation? If you have not yet been confirmed, or if you have a local godchild who ought to be thinking about Confirmation, Fr Paul will be happy to hear from you. We hope that Bishop Norman may be able to fit in a visit to St Michael's before he retires, and a Confirmation would make the occasion extra-special for everyone.

Warmest thanks and congratulations to all who were involved in planning our Strawberry Fair and in ensuring its success on the day, whether by setting-up, providing merchandise, being behind stalls or counters, and clearing up. It was a real St Michael's team effort, but we are particularly grateful to Sara, who managed to organise the event despite her complicated work commitments, and to Sue and her helpers, who mounted the wonderful strawberry teas. With money still coming in, we have so far achieved over £630.

Last Sunday's Blessing of the Fisheries was attended by Mike and Mary, who report: “Bishop Norman led the worship at the annual Blessing of the Fisheries ceremony on the harbour-side at Folkestone on Sunday, June 25th. The service took place against the backdrop of a serene sea and a cloudless sky. Afterwards the procession of clergy and congregation returned up the hill to St Peter's Church for the closing hymn and blessing. A splendid spread of refreshments was provided on the lawn outside.”

Various good friends of St Michael's were present, including Tim Samuelson.

A diary date for next month – Richborough Festival at St Albans. Join this annual day of fellowship and celebration on Saturday 5th August 2023, with Mass in the Cathedral at noon and then bring your own picnic for lunch in Bishop Norman's garden. In further Richborough news…

Bishop Norman will lead a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham from Friday 8th – Sunday 10th September 2023.To book, please contact the Shrine accommodation office on 01328 820239, indicating when you book that this is for the Richborough Family Pilgrimage. If you couldn't join this August's pilgrimage, here's a fresh opportunity! Or, further afield….Bishop Norman and Canon Adrian Ling are planning a pilgrimage to the Holy Land from 13th - 22nd November 2024. Further details on https://richborough.org.uk/forthcoming-events/pilgrimage-to-the-holy-land/. Please note that the 2023 pilgrimage booked up very quickly, and it would be wise to book, and start budgeting, now. Bishop Norman is an inspiring pilgrimage leader and you can expect a wonderful experience.

Happy Birthday to Malcolm, for whose contribution to our music, both as organist and as singer, we are all deeply grateful.

The PCC meets on Wednesday, 5th July, at 7.30 pm. If there is anything you would like members to discuss, please speak to a member TODAY.

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