Collect, Readings and Prayers for the 4^th Sunday of Lent and Mothering Sunday

Collect for 4^th Sunday of Lent

Merciful Lord,

absolve your people from their offences,

that through your bountiful goodness

we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins

which by our frailty we have committed;

grant this, heavenly Father,

for Jesus Christ’s sake, our blessed Lord and Saviour,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

Readings

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Samuel Anoints David

16 The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’ ² Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.’ And the Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you, and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.” ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.’ ⁴ Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, ‘Do you come peaceably?’ ⁵ He said, ‘Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.’⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’ ⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ ⁹ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ ¹⁰ Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen any of these.’ ¹¹ Samuel said to Jesse ‘Are all your sons here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.’ ¹² He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.’ ¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

Ephesians 5:8-14

⁸ For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— ⁹ for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. ¹⁰ Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹ Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; ¹³ but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴ for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

‘Sleeper, awake!
    Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.’

John 9:1-41

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight

9 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ³ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. ⁴ We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ ⁶ When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, ⁷ saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. ⁸ The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?’ ⁹ Some were saying, ‘It is he.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am the man.’ ¹⁰ But they kept asking him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ ¹¹ He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.” Then I went and washed and received my sight.’ ¹² They said to him, ‘Where is he?’ He said, ‘I do not know.’

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. ¹⁴ Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. ¹⁵ Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, ‘He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.’ ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?’ And they were divided. ¹⁷ So they said again to the blind man, ‘What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.’

¹⁸ The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight ¹⁹ and asked them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ ²⁰ His parents answered, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; ²¹ but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.’ ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. ²³ Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’

²⁴ So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.’ ²⁵ He answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ ²⁶ They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ ²⁷ He answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?’ ²⁸ Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹ We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ ³⁰ The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. ³² Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’ ³⁴ They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out.

Spiritual Blindness

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ³⁶ He answered, ‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ ³⁷ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’ ³⁸ He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him. ³⁹ Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ ⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see”, your sin remains.

Collect for Mothering Sunday

God of compassion,

whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary,

shared the life of a home in Nazareth,

and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself:

strengthen us in our daily living

that in joy and in sorrow

we may know the power of your presence

to bind together and to heal;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

Readings

1 Samuel 1:20-28

²⁰ In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked him of the Lord.’

²¹ The man Elkanah and all his household went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and to pay his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, ‘As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, that he may appear in the presence of the Lord, and remain there for ever; I will offer him as a nazirite for all time.’ ²³ Her husband Elkanah said to her, ‘Do what seems best to you, wait until you have weaned him; only—may the Lord establish his word.’ So the woman remained and nursed her son, until she weaned him. ²⁴ When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh; and the child was young. ²⁵ Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ And she said, ‘Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. ²⁷ For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him. ²⁸ Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.’

She left him there for the Lord.

Colossians 3:12-17

¹² As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. ¹³ Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

John 19:25-27

²⁵ Standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

Prayers

God our Father, in your unfailing love and goodness, hear us as we bring to you our prayers for the world and for all people.

• A contemplative breath prayer

“But those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

(Breathe in) I place my hope in you.
(Breathe out) Lord, renew my spirit.

In the beginning was the Word: the Word inspires and infuses all of our words, our stories and songs.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us: God’s story of hope and life was opened for all.
This becomes our story, our song: all things work together for good for those who love God.
 May our lives tell your story, loving God and our song be for you, today and forever.                                                                     In Jesus’ name. Amen.

• On this Mothering Sunday, we reflect on Motherhood and mothers throughout the world. We pray:

• With thanks for our own mothers in their love for us, the sacrifices they made and their hard work.
• For mothers who are refugees fleeing war and oppression with their children; for those whose children have been left behind, may they know God’s strength
• For women expecting a child and for those beginning their journey as mothers with new-born infants; for confidence and courage
• For those women who long to be mothers but, for many reasons, are unable to have children; for consolation, peace of mind and support
• For mothers - whose children have died or are missing from home; may they feel the comfort of God’s loving presence.
• For organisations and charities who work to help mothers in crisis.
• For the work of adoption agencies and local authorities making difficult decisions about the welfare of mothers and children.
• For those whose mothers have died; may they be comforted and may their loved ones rest in peace.

         Amen

• Loving God, 
  Thank you for mums and children 
  and for all the joy of family life. 
  Be with those who are grieving because they have no mother;
  Be close to those who are struggling because they have no children;
  Be near to those who are sad because they are far apart from those they love.
  Let your love be present in every home, 
  And help your church to have eyes to see and ears to hear the needs of all who come. 
  We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

        Amen.

• Jesus, like a mother you gather your people to you;
  you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.
  
  Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness;
  through your gentleness we find comfort in fear.
  
  Your warmth gives life to the dead,
  your touch makes sinners righteous.
  
  Lord Jesus, in your mercy heal us;
  in your love and tenderness remake us.
  
  In your compassion bring grace and forgiveness,
  for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us.                                                                                                                                        Amen                                                                                                                                                                                 (Based on the writings of St Anselm)

• God of love,
  As we see and hear the news of the devastating violence wrought upon
  and within the Middle East,
  we hold your broken world before you in prayer,
  We pray for lives lost, for people who mourn, and for those living in fear
  We pray for people stranded and in need of safe routes and safe harbours.
  We long for peace and pray that those who wage war might exchange weapons for words.
  Help us to know how to pray, how to speak and how to act,
  that we might remember our call to follow the Prince of Peace,
  In whose name we pray,
  Amen.
   

• We thank you Lord for the many blessings which we enjoy. In the week when Red Nose Day takes place, we thank you for the charities that give support to people in the UK and around the world. and for the people who give their time and money to make the world a better place. We pray for those around the world who are suffering, lonely, or hungry. Help us to be kind, respectful, and generous, using what we have to support others. Strengthen our efforts to make a big difference, ensuring children and families everywhere feel safe, happy, and loved Help us to remember that we all have the power to make a big difference to those in need. Amen.

• Heavenly Father,

We come before You to pray for our local community, for the streets we walk and the neighbours we live alongside. We ask for Your blessing upon every home, school, business, and service in our area. 

We pray for our local councillors and for all leaders and decision-makers, that You would grant them wisdom, integrity, and a heart for justice. Protect our schools, our children, and our elders.

We lift up those who are struggling, lonely, or facing hardship, that they may find comfort and practical support. 

Help us to be good neighbours who care, strengthening the bonds of community through kindness and peace. May the place we live in be a safe haven filled with hope, where all people can thrive and know Your grace. 

In Your name, we pray.
Amen.

• We thank you Father for your many miracles of healing, and we pray for all who work with the sick and infirm. We name in our hearts those we love who are in need of your healing touch. We pray that your blessing be upon them and those who love and care for them and we pray that they may find encouragement and peace, that their sorrows and concerns be transformed into comfort and their loneliness into fellowship with you. Jesus Christ is the light of the world, a light which no darkness can quench, and which eternally shines and brings hope. We remember too those whom we love but see no longer. Almighty Father, be with all those who are grieving today over the loss of a loved one and bring them comfort and peace. Amen

• We offer you our hands, O Lord, to do your work; our lips to sing your praise; our life to proclaim your glory and our heart to serve you in our neighbour; for Jesu’s sake. Amen.

    Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)