The Lord be with you

Mary Jean:
And also with you

Praise the Lord

Praise God you servants of the Lord

Blessed be the God of our salvation

Blessed be God’s Holy name

Lord, have mercy

Mary Jean:
Lord, have mercy

Christ, have mercy

Christ, have mercy

Lord, have mercy

Lord, have mercy

Let us confess our sins, firmly resolved to keep God’s commandments and to live in love and peace with our neighbour

Mary Jean:
Patient and merciful God
You are always kind in the ways you invite us to repent
We confess that we have betrayed the wisdom of Ubuntu
for a life of comfort and relative ease
We have not always been clear in our choice to one and not two masters.

Mary Jean
Often, our hearts have grown cold and our vision has narrowed
when we have fixated on accumulation rather than the shared dignity of all your children.
We have allowed shadows of materialism to dim our eyes,
rendering us unable to see what your love demands.

Mary Jean
We ask your forgiveness for when we have valued the coin more than the community, prioritising our own comfort over the urgent need for structural change, and for hoarding resources instead of sharing them.

Mary Jean
Purify our hearts, O Lord. Let your light restore our vision, that we might see the world not as a marketplace for acquisition, but as a sanctuary for your justice. Restore our sight, that we may see the face of Christ in the stranger and the oppressed, and reorient our treasures toward the life-giving work of your eternal reign.

Almighty God,
Who forgives all who truly repent,
Have mercy on us.
Pardon our sins and set us free from them.
Confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and keep us together in eternal life,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen

The leader reads the collect of the day

Holy God, Lord of the harvest,
You send your labourers to spread the
gospel:
Call us to this work,
Equip us by your Spirit
and send us to proclaim your good news;
through Jesus Christ our Lord;
who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit,
One God forever and ever.
Amen.

Mary Jean
The first reading is from: 2 Kings 11:1-4,9-20

Athaliah Reigns over Judah
11
Now when Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, saw that her son was dead, she set about to destroy all the royal family.
2
But Jehosheba, King Joram’s daughter, Ahaziah’s sister, took Joash son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s children who were about to be killed; she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus she hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not killed;
3
he remained with her for six years, hidden in the house of the Lord, while Athaliah reigned over the land.
Jehoiada Anoints the Child Joash
4
But in the seventh year Jehoiada summoned the captains of the Carites and of the guards and had them come to him in the house of the Lord. He made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the Lord; then he showed them the king’s son.
9
The captains did according to all that the priest Jehoiada commanded; each brought his men who were to go off duty on the sabbath, with those who were to come on duty on the sabbath, and came to the priest Jehoiada.
10
The priest delivered to the captains the spears and shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of the Lord;
11
the guards stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house, to guard the king on every side.
12
Then he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the covenant; they proclaimed him king, and anointed him; they clapped their hands and shouted, ‘Long live the king!’
Death of Athaliah
13
When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she went into the house of the Lord to the people;
14
when she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar, according to custom, with the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, ‘Treason! Treason!’
15
Then the priest Jehoiada commanded the captains who were set over the army, ‘Bring her out between the ranks, and kill with the sword anyone who follows her.’ For the priest said, ‘Let her not be killed in the house of the Lord.’
16
So they laid hands on her; she went through the horses’ entrance to the king’s house, and there she was put to death.
17
Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, that they should be the Lord’s people; also between the king and the people.
18
Then all the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars. The priest posted guards over the house of the Lord.
19
He took the captains, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land; then they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, marching through the gate of the guards to the king’s house. He took his seat on the throne of the kings.
20
So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been killed with the sword at the king’s house.

After the reading ...

Hear the word of the Lord,

Thanks be to God.

Mary Jean
The appointed Psalm is: Psalm 132:10-18

10
For your servant David’s sake
do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11
The Lord swore to David a sure oath
from which he will not turn back:
‘One of the sons of your body
I will set on your throne.
12
If your sons keep my covenant
and my decrees that I shall teach them,
their sons also, for evermore,
shall sit on your throne.’
13
For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his habitation:
14
‘This is my resting-place for ever;
here I will reside, for I have desired it.
15
I will abundantly bless its provisions;
I will satisfy its poor with bread.
16
Its priests I will clothe with salvation,
and its faithful will shout for joy.
17
There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;
I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.
18
His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,
but on him, his crown will gleam.’

(After the reading of the Psalm)

Glory to the triune God; Creator, Redeemer and Life-giving Spirit

Amen.

Mary Jean
Listen to the Good News proclaimed in the gospel of Matthew 6:19-23

Glory to Christ our Saviour

Concerning Treasures
19
‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal;
20
but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The Sound Eye
22
‘The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light;
23
but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

After the reading ...

This is the Gospel of Christ

Praise to Christ our Lord

Edwin

The Peace of the Lord be with you

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made.

Mary Jean
For us it becomes the bread of life, blessed be God forever.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation; through your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands.

Mary Jean
For us it becomes the cup of salvation, blessed be God forever.

The Lord be with you

Mary Jean
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 thanks and praise

Mary Jean
Holy Spirit of God, you blow where you will.
You are complete freedom.
Space and time cannot contain you.
You are there when we are born,
when we shout our first breath.
You are there when we die,
when we sigh our last breath.
You are always with us, in us, between us,
among us and present in all creation,
even though we may not always be conscious of your Presence.
You are the ever-present Yes in all creation.

Mary Jean
Yes: You were present at the dawn of creation.
Yes: You were present with the Khoi and the San people.
Yes: You were present with the lepers and the missionaries.
Yes: You were present when the humanity of some was questioned.
Yes: Even now, you are here.

And now we give you thanx for your relentless pursuit of tenderness towards us,
And for revealing your glory in ones as fragile as we are

Mary Jean
Uyingcwele, uyingcwele, uyingcwele,
God of Power and wisdom and might;
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the Highest,
Blessed is the one who comes in the Name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the Highest.

Mary Jean
Holy Spirit, you are indeed present.
You are a gift to all creation.
Jesus is united with you and with Abba God.
You are in Jesus and Jesus is in you.
And you are all united with us, affirming not only our humanity but also our dignity and our divinity.

Mary Jean
On the day before Jesus died, knowing that he wanted to be ever-present and in community with us, so that we can always be in community with each other and live out God’s reconciling love.

Mary Jean
Knowing that the forces of division would always give us reasons to remain divided, Jesus wanted to leave us a sign of that community in unity, rooted in collaboration between us, the earth and in our memory.
Jesus wanted us to make memory of an act of self-offering and reconciling love.

Mary Jean
He asked for bread and wine to be gathered and sat down with his small community.
Jesus knew their strengths and weaknesses, and yet He made them an everlasting part of his community.

He took bread, blessed it and said:
"Thabatani nidle, take and eat, neem en eet.
This is my body that was given for you,
do this in memory of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine,
he blessed it and said:
"This is my blood, igazi lam,
my bloed wat vir julle uitgestort word,
that will be shed for you.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in memory of me."

Together we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

Mary Jean
The Christ has died,
The Christ has risen,
The Christ will come again.

Mary Jean
Jesus, we are all made in your image.
Christians, Jews and Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus, and those who claim to have little or no faith.
With you, superiority and inferiority are both lies. Apartheid is a sin. Division is no more. Inequality is evil.
You love us all. Your love is the Alpha and the Omega. You unite and reconcile, where we divide.
You call on us to love our enemies, to create community with them, to bless those who despise us.
Give us the strength, the will and the grace to do that.

Mary Jean
Give us the wisdom, the patience and the intellect to tell and live and embody your new story of Ubuntu, of beloved community.

May this bread and wine, your body and blood strengthen and unite us.

With you, with one another, with all creation, so that we may truly say:
We who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

In the language of your dreams, we pray together the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples

Mary Jean
Abba God in heaven, hallowed be your name, may your reign become reality, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For to you belong supreme dominion, power and glory forever.

The bread which we break, is it not a sharing in the life of Christ?

Mary Jean
Though we are many, we are one body!

Soul of Christ, sanctify us;
Body of Christ, save us;
Blood of Christ, refresh us;
Water from the side of Christ, wash us;
Passion of Christ, strengthen us;
O good Jesus, hear us;
Within the wounds of Christ, hide us.

Let us never be separated from you.
From the malicious enemies, defend us.
In the hour of our death, call us and bid us come to you, that with your Saints we may praise You forever and ever.
Amen

The gifts of God for the people of God.
Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on him in your hearts, by faith, with thanksgiving.

Mary Jean
Behold who we are:
We are the body of Christ!

Let us give thanks to God

Mary Jean
God's mercy endures forever

Mary Jean
God Almighty, we offer ourselves to you as a living sacrifice, in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Send us out into the world, in the power of your Holy Spirit, to live and work, to your praise and glory.

Mary Jean
God Bless Africa and our World,
Guard our children,
Guide our leaders,
And grant us peace,
For Jesus Christ sake.

May God bless us with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships ...

Mary Jean
... so that we may seek truth boldly and love deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people ...

Mary Jean
... so that we may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless us with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer, especially women, children and sojourners ...

Mary Jean
... so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we really can make a difference in this world ...

Mary Jean
... so that we are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

May the eternal blessing of God, the One-in-Three and the Three-in-One, be among us and remain with us always.
Amen

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,

Mary Jean
In the name of Christ. Amen.

Mary Jean