Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Praise
Creator of the heavens,
who led the Magi by a star
to worship the Christ-child:
guide and sustain us,
that we may find our journey’s end
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Psalm 72.1, 10-13
Give the king your judgements, O God,
and your righteousness to the son of a king.
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute;
the kings of Sheba and Seba shall bring gifts.
All kings shall fall down before him;
all nations shall do him service.
For he shall deliver the poor that cry out,
the needy and those who have no helper.
He shall have pity on the weak and poor;
he shall preserve the lives of the needy.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Reading
Mark 6.45-52
Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
When evening came, the boat was out on the lake, and he was alone on the land. When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the lake. He intended to pass them by. But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
Reflection
Last year’s reflection on this reading is available here: https://corbyglenchurches.uk/reflection-for-6-january-2021/
Prayers of intercession
Let us pray to God, who rules all things in heaven and on earth.
Fill the Church with the zeal of the Gospel, that your word may go out into all the world. With eyes fixed upon our Saviour, may your people never fail in faith.
Calm the storms that trouble the world. Through the word of truth, bring a new vision of Christ who is close to all but unseen by many.
Grant that we shall live in peace with all around us. Give to our community the spirit of mutual love, that all may be one in you. May Christ, always present among us, draw us all to himself.
Bear up those who sink beneath the waves of pain and sorrow. Bring them close to you in perfect trust.
Receive into your care the dead who have heard and trusted in your word. Have mercy on those whose faith was weak but in their lives sought to reach you.
That the power of Christ may uphold us in peril and in our weakness, we pray in his name.
Prayer for the week
Almighty God,
who by the light of a star
led wise men to Jesus:
by the light of your Word
lead us and all nations to him,
the Saviour of the world;
that together we may bring him our best gifts,
and pay homage to him as our King.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Grace
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore. Amen.
Hymn
By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered
and confidently waiting, come what may,
we know that God is with us night and morning,
and never fails to meet us each new day.
We know that God is with us night and morning,
and never fails to meet us each new day.
If once again, in this mixed world, you give us
the joy we had, the brightness of your sun,
we shall recall what we have learned through sorrow,
and dedicate our lives to you alone.
We shall recall what we have learned through sorrow,
and dedicate our lives to you alone.
Fred Pratt Green (1903–2000), Keith W. Clements (b. 1943)
based on the German of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945)
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