St Edburg's Church - Bicester

Collect of the Day

Almighty God,
you have knit together your elect
in one communion and fellowship
in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: grant us grace so to follow your blessed saints
in all virtuous and godly living
that we may come to those inexpressible joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
 

First Reading

Wisdom of Solomon 3.1-9

1The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.  2In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be a disaster, 3and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace.  4For though in the sight of others they were punished,
their hope is full of immortality.
5Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,
because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
6like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt-offering he accepted them.
7In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble.
8They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them for ever.
9Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he watches over his elect. 

 

Psalm   Psalm 24.1-6

Refrain: The Lord of hosts: he is the King of glory.

1                 The earth is the Lord’s and all that fills it, the compass of the world and all who dwell therein.

2                 For he has founded it upon the seas and set it firm upon the rivers of the deep. ‘Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord, or who can rise up in his holy place?’  ‘Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, who have not lifted up their soul to an idol, nor sworn an oath to a lie;

5                 ‘They shall receive a blessing from the Lord, a just reward from the God of their salvation.’

6                 Such is the company of those who seek him, of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
Refrain: The Lord of hosts: he is the King of glory.

O Lord of hosts, purify our hearts that the King of glory may come in, your Son, Jesus our redeemer.

 

Second Reading

Revelation 21.1-6

1I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,    ‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples,           and God himself will be with them;        4he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’ 5And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ 6Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.’

 

Gospel   John 11.32-44

32When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ 35Jesus began to weep. 36So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ 37But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’

38Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.’ 40Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ 41So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ 43When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’ 

 

Post Communion Prayer

God, the source of all holiness and giver of all good things:
may we who have shared at this table as strangers and pilgrims here on earth be welcomed with all your saints to the heavenly feast on the day of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Copyright acknowledgement (where not already indicated above):

John 11.32-44 ©  1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ, USA.  Revelation 21.1-6 ©  1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ, USA.  Wisdom of Solomon 3.1-9 ©  1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ, USA

Psalm 24.1-6 ©  The Archbishops' Council 2000

Collect (All Saints’ Day) ©  The Crown/Cambridge University Press: The Book of Common Prayer (1662)