Tenth Sunday after Pentecost: "Wrestling with God" — Genesis 32:22–31 | St. Peter's by-the-Sea

Fr. Craig Swan: Our service of Holy Eucharist.

Fr. Craig Swan: Rite two begins on the front page of our seasonal booklet or

Fr. Craig Swan: on page three hundred and fifty five of the Red Prayer Book.

Fr. Craig Swan: Blessed be God, father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Fr. Craig Swan: Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known.

Fr. Craig Swan: And from you no secrets are hid.

Fr. Craig Swan: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of

Fr. Craig Swan: your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily

Fr. Craig Swan: magnify your holy name through Christ our Lord.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: And let us join in saying

Fr. Craig Swan: together, glory to God in the

Fr. Craig Swan: highest, and peace to his people

Fr. Craig Swan: on earth.

Fr. Craig Swan: Lord God, heavenly King,

Fr. Craig Swan: Almighty God and Father, we

Fr. Craig Swan: worship you.

Fr. Craig Swan: We give you thanks.

Fr. Craig Swan: We praise you for your glory.

Fr. Craig Swan: Lord Jesus Christ, only son of

Fr. Craig Swan: the father, Lord God, Lamb of

Fr. Craig Swan: God, you take away the sin of

Fr. Craig Swan: the world.

Fr. Craig Swan: Have mercy on us.

Fr. Craig Swan: You are seated at the right hand of the father.

Fr. Craig Swan: Receive our prayer.

Fr. Craig Swan: For you alone are the Holy One.

Fr. Craig Swan: You alone are the Lord.

Fr. Craig Swan: You alone are the Most High.

Fr. Craig Swan: Jesus Christ with the Holy

Fr. Craig Swan: Spirit, in the glory of God the

Fr. Craig Swan: Father.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: The Lord be with you.

Fr. Craig Swan: Let us pray.

Fr. Craig Swan: Let your continual mercy, O

Fr. Craig Swan: Lord, cleanse and defend your

Fr. Craig Swan: church.

Fr. Craig Swan: And because it cannot continue

Fr. Craig Swan: in safety without your help,

Fr. Craig Swan: protect and govern it always by

Fr. Craig Swan: your goodness.

Fr. Craig Swan: Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you

Fr. Craig Swan: and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: Please be seated for the readings.

Reader: The first reading is from the book of Genesis.

Reader: The same night, Jacob got up and

Reader: took his two wives, his two

Reader: maids and his eleven children,

Reader: and crossed the ford of the

Reader: Jabbok.

Reader: He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise

Reader: everything that he had.

Reader: Jacob was left alone, and a man

Reader: wrestled with him until

Reader: daybreak.

Reader: When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck

Reader: him on the hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint

Reader: as he wrestled with him.

Reader: Then he said, let me go, for the day is breaking.

Reader: But Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me.

Reader: So he said to him, what is your name?

Reader: And he said, Jacob.

Reader: Then the man said, you shall no

Reader: longer be called Jacob, but

Reader: Israel.

Reader: For you have striven with God

Reader: and with humans, and have

Reader: prevailed.

Reader: Then Jacob asked him, please tell me your name.

Reader: But he said, why is it that you ask my name?

Reader: And then he blessed him.

Reader: So Jacob called the place Peniel.

Reader: Saying, for I have seen God face

Reader: to face, and yet my life is

Reader: preserved.

Reader: The sun rose upon him as he passed Peniel, limping because

Reader: of his hip.

Reader: The word of the Lord.

Fr. Craig Swan: Thanks be to God.

Reader: Please pray together.

Reader: Psalm seventeen.

Reader: Hear my plea of innocence, O Lord, give heed to my cry.

Reader: Listen to my prayer.

Reader: Which does not come from lying lips.

Reader: Let my vindication come forth from your presence.

Reader: Let your eyes be fixed on justice way my heart.

Reader: Summon by my night.

Reader: Melt me down.

Reader: You will find no impurity in me.

Reader: I give no offense with my mouth as others do.

Reader: I have heeded the words of your lips.

Reader: My footsteps hold fast to the ways of your law.

Reader: In your paths my feet shall not stumble.

Reader: I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me.

Reader: Incline your ear to me and hear my words.

Reader: Show me your marvelous, loving

Reader: kindness, O Savior, of those who

Reader: take refuge at your right hand

Reader: from those who rise up against

Reader: them.

Reader: But at my vindication I shall see your face.

Reader: When I awake, I shall be

Reader: satisfied, beholding your

Reader: likeness.

Reader: The second reading is from Paul's letter to the Romans.

Reader: I am speaking the truth in Christ.

Reader: I am not lying.

Reader: My conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit.

Reader: I have great sorrow and

Reader: unceasing anguish in my heart,

Reader: for I could wish that I myself

Reader: were accursed and cut off from

Reader: Christ for the sake of my own

Reader: people, my kindred according to

Reader: the flesh.

Reader: They are Israelites, and to them

Reader: belong the adoption, the glory,

Reader: the covenants, the giving of the

Reader: law, the worship, and the

Reader: promises.

Reader: To them belong the patriarchs, and from them according to the

Reader: flesh comes the Messiah who is over all God blessed forever.

Reader: Amen.

Reader: The word of the Lord.

Fr. Craig Swan: Thanks be to God.

Fr. Craig Swan: The holy gospel of our Lord

Fr. Craig Swan: Jesus Christ, according to

Fr. Craig Swan: Matthew.

Fr. Craig Swan: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Fr. Craig Swan: Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.

Fr. Craig Swan: But when the crowds heard it,

Fr. Craig Swan: they followed him on foot from

Fr. Craig Swan: the towns.

Fr. Craig Swan: When he went ashore, he saw a

Fr. Craig Swan: great crowd, and he had

Fr. Craig Swan: compassion for them, and cured

Fr. Craig Swan: their sick.

Fr. Craig Swan: When it was evening the disciples came to him and said,

Fr. Craig Swan: this is a deserted place, and the hour is now late.

Fr. Craig Swan: Send the crowds away, so that they may go into the villages

Fr. Craig Swan: and buy food for themselves.

Fr. Craig Swan: Jesus said to them, they need not go away.

Fr. Craig Swan: You give them something to eat.

Fr. Craig Swan: They replied, we have nothing

Fr. Craig Swan: here but five loaves and two

Fr. Craig Swan: fish.

Fr. Craig Swan: And he said, bring them here to me.

Fr. Craig Swan: Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, taking

Fr. Craig Swan: the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and

Fr. Craig Swan: blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples.

Fr. Craig Swan: And the disciples gave them to

Fr. Craig Swan: the crowds, and all ate and were

Fr. Craig Swan: filled.

Fr. Craig Swan: And they took up what was left over of the broken pieces.

Fr. Craig Swan: Twelve Basketfuls.

Fr. Craig Swan: And those who ate were about

Fr. Craig Swan: five thousand men besides women

Fr. Craig Swan: and children.

Fr. Craig Swan: The gospel of the Lord.

Fr. Craig Swan: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Fr. Craig Swan: In the name of God, father, son, and Holy Spirit.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: Please be seated.

Fr. Craig Swan: As I've mentioned over the last couple of weeks, we've been

Fr. Craig Swan: reading all three of our weekly readings in chronological order.

Fr. Craig Swan: They don't necessarily connect because we're in the Revised

Fr. Craig Swan: Common Lectionary, in which the Old Testament lesson is we're

Fr. Craig Swan: reading from the beginning to an end of each book.

Fr. Craig Swan: This year in year A, we're reading Genesis.

Fr. Craig Swan: If you haven't figured that out, we started with the beginning of

Fr. Craig Swan: Genesis, and now we're towards the middle, a little bit past

Fr. Craig Swan: the middle, in the Jacob section of the Abrahamic.

Fr. Craig Swan: Story.

Fr. Craig Swan: And we're at an interesting point of inflection this morning

Fr. Craig Swan: because Jacob's life has finally caught up to him.

Fr. Craig Swan: We all know the story of how

Fr. Craig Swan: Jacob and his brother Esau, his

Fr. Craig Swan: twin brother, in fact, have been

Fr. Craig Swan: wrestling with each other or

Fr. Craig Swan: battling with each other

Fr. Craig Swan: basically since before they were

Fr. Craig Swan: born.

Fr. Craig Swan: In fact, Esau became the

Fr. Craig Swan: firstborn, not because he came

Fr. Craig Swan: out of the womb first, but

Fr. Craig Swan: because his foot came out and

Fr. Craig Swan: the nurse tied a ribbon or

Fr. Craig Swan: string to it to mark him as the

Fr. Craig Swan: firstborn.

Fr. Craig Swan: And as we know from other

Fr. Craig Swan: stories, being first born is

Fr. Craig Swan: significant among the males

Fr. Craig Swan: because to that individual is

Fr. Craig Swan: not just the birthright or

Fr. Craig Swan: inheritance of the father's

Fr. Craig Swan: place at the head of the table

Fr. Craig Swan: after the father has passed

Fr. Craig Swan: away.

Fr. Craig Swan: But they get a double portion of

Fr. Craig Swan: the inheritance of the father's

Fr. Craig Swan: wealth.

Fr. Craig Swan: Esau was the one who was intended to inherit the position

Fr. Craig Swan: of Isaac within the family.

Fr. Craig Swan: But Jacob is a conniver, and we know that one day we heard the

Fr. Craig Swan: story when Esau came in and the hunting was not successful, and

Fr. Craig Swan: he was famished and dramatically about to die of starvation.

Fr. Craig Swan: He gave up his birthright to his twin brother.

Fr. Craig Swan: And then a little bit later on in the story, because Jacob was

Fr. Craig Swan: the favored child of their mother, Rebecca, he was

Fr. Craig Swan: disguised and brought to his father's deathbed, pretending to

Fr. Craig Swan: be Esau, and received the blessing of the father that was

Fr. Craig Swan: intended for the firstborn.

Fr. Craig Swan: And so, as we heard as well,

Fr. Craig Swan: Jacob was sent off at that point

Fr. Craig Swan: by his mother out of fear of

Fr. Craig Swan: Esau.

Fr. Craig Swan: And over the last fourteen years

Fr. Craig Swan: he's been helping out his uncle

Fr. Craig Swan: Laban to purchase both of his

Fr. Craig Swan: wives.

Fr. Craig Swan: But now he has moved on and he is establishing his own tribe at

Fr. Craig Swan: this point with his wives.

Fr. Craig Swan: And he has made a promise that

Fr. Craig Swan: he is not going to keep his

Fr. Craig Swan: people up in the northern area

Fr. Craig Swan: where Laban's lands are, but

Fr. Craig Swan: moves southward.

Fr. Craig Swan: But as he moves southward.

Fr. Craig Swan: Now he's bumping up against his twin brother and his lands, and

Fr. Craig Swan: he's kind of now stuck at a point where, as I said in the

Fr. Craig Swan: beginning, his life has caught up to him.

Fr. Craig Swan: He has to own and live with the

Fr. Craig Swan: consequences of what he has done

Fr. Craig Swan: in his past deal with his

Fr. Craig Swan: brother.

Fr. Craig Swan: But let us also realize that in dealing with his brother, he now

Fr. Craig Swan: must take on the position.

Fr. Craig Swan: As he inherited or was given through Esau's birthright as the

Fr. Craig Swan: head of the family.

Fr. Craig Swan: And that means to become the leader or the patriarch of what

Fr. Craig Swan: was then the offspring and the children of Abraham.

Fr. Craig Swan: That didn't just come with the

Fr. Craig Swan: family fortune and lands and the

Fr. Craig Swan: responsibility for the children,

Fr. Craig Swan: but a very specific relationship

Fr. Craig Swan: with Yahweh.

Fr. Craig Swan: And so as we find ourselves in

Fr. Craig Swan: today's story with him alone,

Fr. Craig Swan: because he has sent his wife and

Fr. Craig Swan: wives and children off for their

Fr. Craig Swan: protection.

Fr. Craig Swan: And he now encamps overlooking where his brother Laban is.

Fr. Craig Swan: He has to make a decision.

Fr. Craig Swan: Is he going to move forward?

Fr. Craig Swan: And accept all the things he

Fr. Craig Swan: connived for himself and now

Fr. Craig Swan: bear out the responsibilities

Fr. Craig Swan: that means.

Fr. Craig Swan: Or does he run?

Fr. Craig Swan: Will he enter into relationship with Yahweh and assume that

Fr. Craig Swan: sacred role as patriarch.

Fr. Craig Swan: Or will he run.

Fr. Craig Swan: And as much as a story is about

Fr. Craig Swan: a physical wrestling match with

Fr. Craig Swan: an angel, with God, etc., I

Fr. Craig Swan: think it's also a spiritual

Fr. Craig Swan: wrestling match.

Fr. Craig Swan: A wrestling match between Jacob and God.

Fr. Craig Swan: Over.

Fr. Craig Swan: Will he assume the mantle?

Fr. Craig Swan: Will he put his trust in the direction of Yahweh and fulfill

Fr. Craig Swan: that dream or not?

Fr. Craig Swan: And as I look at this story, I

Fr. Craig Swan: see it as a metaphor for our own

Fr. Craig Swan: spiritual lives, because the

Fr. Craig Swan: wrestling of Jacob with God at

Fr. Craig Swan: Peniel leads to the etiology or

Fr. Craig Swan: the origin of what it means to

Fr. Craig Swan: be Israel.

Fr. Craig Swan: Those who have right with God.

Fr. Craig Swan: That's the translation.

Fr. Craig Swan: One who has wrestled with God, ultimately becoming the people

Fr. Craig Swan: who wrestle with God.

Fr. Craig Swan: And we as baptized people,

Fr. Craig Swan: adopted as Christ's own and

Fr. Craig Swan: God's own through adoption, are

Fr. Craig Swan: part of that reality and are a

Fr. Craig Swan: peace people who wrestle with

Fr. Craig Swan: God.

Fr. Craig Swan: Now for some of us, we're saying.

Fr. Craig Swan: We wrestle with God.

Fr. Craig Swan: Is that okay?

Fr. Craig Swan: Because many of us grew up in an era I know I did through my teen

Fr. Craig Swan: years, where what you heard about is absolutes.

Fr. Craig Swan: There is no room for doubt when it comes to our faith.

Fr. Craig Swan: I also remember growing up and that healing was predicated.

Fr. Craig Swan: Physical healing was predicated on the strength of our belief in

Fr. Craig Swan: God and trust that God would technically physically heal us.

Fr. Craig Swan: But as I look at this story and I think about other passages

Fr. Craig Swan: through the New Testament that I will get to, I realize there's

Fr. Craig Swan: never been any intention that our faith should be contained

Fr. Craig Swan: without elements of doubt.

Fr. Craig Swan: Because, as Paul reminds us, we

Fr. Craig Swan: hope in things that are unseen,

Fr. Craig Swan: not seen.

Fr. Craig Swan: Faith in its translation means to put one's trust in not one's

Fr. Craig Swan: rational understanding in and even in our day to day lives.

Fr. Craig Swan: When we hit those moments when.

Fr. Craig Swan: When suddenly we have nowhere to

Fr. Craig Swan: turn and it feels as if darkness

Fr. Craig Swan: surrounds us, we oftentimes find

Fr. Craig Swan: ourselves questioning our own

Fr. Craig Swan: Belief.

Fr. Craig Swan: Where is God in this moment of personal suffering?

Fr. Craig Swan: And it is part of our own growth

Fr. Craig Swan: experience that as we enter into

Fr. Craig Swan: our teenage years and early

Fr. Craig Swan: adult years, that part of

Fr. Craig Swan: growing into a mature faith is

Fr. Craig Swan: not about just simply believing

Fr. Craig Swan: what we were taught in Sunday

Fr. Craig Swan: school, but actually going with

Fr. Craig Swan: what we were taught in Sunday

Fr. Craig Swan: school.

Fr. Craig Swan: That eventually leads to a

Fr. Craig Swan: mature faith and a faith that is

Fr. Craig Swan: owned and understood and lived

Fr. Craig Swan: by ourselves based on our own

Fr. Craig Swan: struggle, just like Jacob at

Fr. Craig Swan: Peniel.

Fr. Craig Swan: Oftentimes we come out injured but secure.

Fr. Craig Swan: With God.

Fr. Craig Swan: Even Paul Saint Paul struggled

Fr. Craig Swan: with his faith as secure and

Fr. Craig Swan: absolute as he presents in his

Fr. Craig Swan: letters.

Fr. Craig Swan: As I read through the second letter to Timothy.

Fr. Craig Swan: And I hear him say to him as he

Fr. Craig Swan: faces execution, I have run the

Fr. Craig Swan: good race.

Fr. Craig Swan: I have fought the good fight like a libation about to be

Fr. Craig Swan: poured the victor's crown.

Fr. Craig Swan: Now lays before me.

Fr. Craig Swan: And as I read those words, what

Fr. Craig Swan: I hear in those words of both

Fr. Craig Swan: expectation and vulnerability is

Fr. Craig Swan: why does the victor's crown lie

Fr. Craig Swan: before him?

Fr. Craig Swan: Is it because of all the

Fr. Craig Swan: converts he brought to

Fr. Craig Swan: Christianity?

Fr. Craig Swan: Is it because of all the Pharisees and other leaders that

Fr. Craig Swan: he ticked off?

Fr. Craig Swan: And the answer is no. It has to do with through the trials and

Fr. Craig Swan: tribulations of his journey with Christ throughout his journeys

Fr. Craig Swan: of the Mediterranean world.

Fr. Craig Swan: He remained faithful to Christ even through times of doubt and

Fr. Craig Swan: darkness, and the.

Fr. Craig Swan: Victor's crown is not the award for what he accomplished in his

Fr. Craig Swan: ministry, but the reward of never giving up in losing trust.

Fr. Craig Swan: with God through Christ.

Fr. Craig Swan: Each and every one of us lives

Fr. Craig Swan: both with faith and trust in

Fr. Craig Swan: God.

Fr. Craig Swan: And at times that trust and that

Fr. Craig Swan: faith is challenged and we begin

Fr. Craig Swan: to waver.

Fr. Craig Swan: And just like Jacob at Peniel, we find ourselves wrestling with

Fr. Craig Swan: God, asking God, why?

Fr. Craig Swan: Where are you?

Fr. Craig Swan: And why aren't you doing it the

Fr. Craig Swan: way I think you should be doing

Fr. Craig Swan: it?

Fr. Craig Swan: And ultimately, as we move into that struggle and embrace that

Fr. Craig Swan: struggle, we are blessed.

Fr. Craig Swan: Blessed by God for our perseverance and blessed by God

Fr. Craig Swan: with new understanding, new trust, Deeper faith.

Fr. Craig Swan: So this week, as we go out into

Fr. Craig Swan: the world, we go out with the

Fr. Craig Swan: nourishment of the Eucharist and

Fr. Craig Swan: the support of one another,

Fr. Craig Swan: knowing that life in the world

Fr. Craig Swan: is difficult.

Fr. Craig Swan: And faith is something so unseen

Fr. Craig Swan: that even in our times of

Fr. Craig Swan: struggle that we will have this

Fr. Craig Swan: week, God is present and God

Fr. Craig Swan: blesses it.

Fr. Craig Swan: And ultimately, at the moment of our death, our faithfulness to

Fr. Craig Swan: that unseen hope gives us the same reward as Paul himself.

Fr. Craig Swan: The victor's crown.

Fr. Craig Swan: Life everlasting.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: Please stand as you're able and

Fr. Craig Swan: join me in affirming our faith

Fr. Craig Swan: with the words of the Nicene

Fr. Craig Swan: Creed.

Fr. Craig Swan: We believe in one God, the father, the Almighty, maker of

Fr. Craig Swan: heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

Fr. Craig Swan: We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,

Fr. Craig Swan: eternally begotten of the father, God from God, light from

Fr. Craig Swan: light, true God from true God, begotten, not made of one being

Fr. Craig Swan: with the father.

Fr. Craig Swan: Through him all things were made.

Fr. Craig Swan: For us he came down from heaven.

Fr. Craig Swan: By the power of the Holy Spirit.

Fr. Craig Swan: He became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

Fr. Craig Swan: For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate.

Fr. Craig Swan: He suffered death and was buried.

Fr. Craig Swan: On the third day he rose again

Fr. Craig Swan: in accordance with the

Fr. Craig Swan: scriptures.

Fr. Craig Swan: He ascended into heaven and is

Fr. Craig Swan: seated at the right hand of the

Fr. Craig Swan: father.

Fr. Craig Swan: He will come again in glory to

Fr. Craig Swan: judge the living and the dead,

Fr. Craig Swan: and his kingdom will have no

Fr. Craig Swan: end.

Fr. Craig Swan: We believe in the Holy Spirit,

Fr. Craig Swan: the Lord, the giver of life, who

Fr. Craig Swan: proceeds from the father and the

Fr. Craig Swan: son.

Fr. Craig Swan: With the father and the son.

Fr. Craig Swan: He is worshiped and glorified.

Fr. Craig Swan: He has spoken through the prophets.

Fr. Craig Swan: We believe in one holy, Catholic and apostolic church.

Fr. Craig Swan: We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

Fr. Craig Swan: We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the

Fr. Craig Swan: world to come.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Reader: Let us pray for the church and for the world.

Reader: Grant Almighty God, that all who confess your name may be united

Reader: in your truth.

Reader: Live together in your love and reveal your glory to the world.

Reader: Lord, in your mercy.

Fr. Craig Swan: Hear our prayer.

Reader: Guide the people of this land and of all the nations in the

Reader: ways of justice and peace, that we may honor one another and

Reader: serve the common good.

Reader: Lord, in your mercy.

Fr. Craig Swan: Hear our prayer.

Reader: Give us all a reverence for the earth as your own creation, that

Reader: we may use its resources rightly in the service of others, and to

Reader: your honor and glory.

Reader: Lord, in your mercy.

Fr. Craig Swan: Hear our prayer.

Reader: Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours, and

Reader: grant that we may serve Christ in them and love one another as

Reader: he loves us.

Reader: Lord, in your mercy.

Fr. Craig Swan: Hear our prayer.

Reader: Comfort and heal all those who suffer in body, mind or spirit.

Reader: Give them courage and hope in their troubles and bring them

Reader: the joy of your salvation.

Reader: Lord, in your mercy.

Fr. Craig Swan: Hear our prayer.

Reader: In our parish cycle of prayer,

Reader: we pray for Harry and Nancy and

Reader: Tom and Kim Hanson and Dave and

Reader: Angel Hilliard.

Reader: Lord, in your mercy.

Fr. Craig Swan: Hear our prayer.

Reader: In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray.

Reader: We pray for the church of the Transfiguration.

Reader: Cranston.

Reader: Lord, in your mercy.

Fr. Craig Swan: Hear our prayer.

Reader: We commend to your mercy all who have died, that your will for

Reader: them may be fulfilled.

Reader: And we pray that we may share

Reader: with your saints in your eternal

Reader: kingdom.

Reader: Lord, in your mercy.

Fr. Craig Swan: Hear our prayer.

Fr. Craig Swan: In our prayers this morning, I

Fr. Craig Swan: ask your continued prayers for

Fr. Craig Swan: all who live in the midst of

Fr. Craig Swan: violence.

Fr. Craig Swan: We pray for peace throughout

Fr. Craig Swan: this world, especially in the

Fr. Craig Swan: Middle East, the Congo, and in

Fr. Craig Swan: Ukraine.

Fr. Craig Swan: And we pray for all who have been forced from their homes due

Fr. Craig Swan: to war and violence, and in their search for safety.

Fr. Craig Swan: May they be received throughout

Fr. Craig Swan: this world and offered a place

Fr. Craig Swan: to rest.

Fr. Craig Swan: O Lord our God, accept the

Fr. Craig Swan: fervent prayers of your people

Fr. Craig Swan: in the multitude of your

Fr. Craig Swan: mercies.

Fr. Craig Swan: Look with compassion upon us and all who turn to you for help.

Fr. Craig Swan: For you are gracious, oh lover of souls.

Fr. Craig Swan: And to you we give glory father,

Fr. Craig Swan: son, and Holy Spirit, now and

Fr. Craig Swan: forever.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Fr. Craig Swan: Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you

Fr. Craig Swan: in thought, word and deed, by what we have done and by what we

Fr. Craig Swan: have left undone.

Fr. Craig Swan: We have not loved you with our whole heart.

Fr. Craig Swan: We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

Fr. Craig Swan: We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

Fr. Craig Swan: For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and

Fr. Craig Swan: forgive us that we may delight in your will and walk in your

Fr. Craig Swan: ways, to the glory of your name.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: Almighty God, have mercy on you.

Fr. Craig Swan: Forgive you all your sins

Fr. Craig Swan: through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Fr. Craig Swan: strengthen you in all goodness

Fr. Craig Swan: and by the power of the Holy

Fr. Craig Swan: Spirit, keep you in eternal

Fr. Craig Swan: life.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: Please be seated and I invite anyone who has a birthday or

Fr. Craig Swan: wedding anniversary during the month of August to come forward.

Fr. Craig Swan: Oh, it's Bruce's birthday today as well, so he gets a double

Fr. Craig Swan: blessing for that.

Fr. Craig Swan: So anyway, the Lord be with you.

Fr. Craig Swan: And let us pray.

Fr. Craig Swan: Oh God, our times are in your hand.

Fr. Craig Swan: Look with favor we pray upon

Fr. Craig Swan: your servants as they begin

Fr. Craig Swan: another year.

Fr. Craig Swan: Grant that they may grow in wisdom and grace, and strengthen

Fr. Craig Swan: their trust in your goodness all the days of their lives.

Fr. Craig Swan: Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: Oh God, you have so consecrated

Fr. Craig Swan: the covenant of marriage that in

Fr. Craig Swan: it is represented the spiritual

Fr. Craig Swan: unity between Christ and His

Fr. Craig Swan: church.

Fr. Craig Swan: Send therefore your blessing upon these your servants, that

Fr. Craig Swan: they may continue to so love, honor, and cherish each other in

Fr. Craig Swan: faithfulness and patience, in wisdom and true godliness, that

Fr. Craig Swan: their homes may be havens of blessing and peace.

Fr. Craig Swan: Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you

Fr. Craig Swan: and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: And the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Fr. Craig Swan: Let us greet one another with a sign of Christ's love for us.

Fr. Craig Swan: Walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself for us an

Fr. Craig Swan: offering and sacrifice to God.

Fr. Craig Swan: All things come from you, O

Fr. Craig Swan: Lord, and of your own have we

Fr. Craig Swan: given you.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: The Lord be with you.

Fr. Craig Swan: Lift up your hearts.

Fr. Craig Swan: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Fr. Craig Swan: It is right to give him thanks and praise.

Fr. Craig Swan: It is right and a good and joyful thing, always and

Fr. Craig Swan: everywhere to give thanks to you, father Almighty, creator of

Fr. Craig Swan: heaven and earth.

Fr. Craig Swan: Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who on the first day of the week

Fr. Craig Swan: overcame death and the grave, and by his glorious

Fr. Craig Swan: resurrection, open to us the way of everlasting life.

Fr. Craig Swan: Therefore, we praise you, joining our voices with angels

Fr. Craig Swan: and archangels, and with all the company of heaven who forever

Fr. Craig Swan: sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your name.

Fr. Craig Swan: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.

Fr. Craig Swan: Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Fr. Craig Swan: Hosanna in the highest.

Fr. Craig Swan: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Fr. Craig Swan: Hosanna in the highest.

Fr. Craig Swan: Holy and gracious father, in

Fr. Craig Swan: your infinite love you made us

Fr. Craig Swan: for yourself.

Fr. Craig Swan: And when we had fallen into sin and become subject to evil and

Fr. Craig Swan: death, you and your mercy sent Jesus Christ, your only and

Fr. Craig Swan: eternal son, to share our human nature, to live and die as one

Fr. Craig Swan: of us, to reconcile us to you, the God and Father of all.

Fr. Craig Swan: He stretched out his arms upon

Fr. Craig Swan: the cross and offered himself in

Fr. Craig Swan: obedience to your will, a

Fr. Craig Swan: perfect sacrifice for the whole

Fr. Craig Swan: world.

Fr. Craig Swan: On the night he was handed over to suffering and death.

Fr. Craig Swan: Our Lord Jesus Christ took bread, and when he had given

Fr. Craig Swan: thanks to you, he broke it and gave it to his disciples and

Fr. Craig Swan: said, take, eat.

Fr. Craig Swan: This is my body which is given for you.

Fr. Craig Swan: Do this for the remembrance of me.

Fr. Craig Swan: After supper he took the cup of wine, and when he had given

Fr. Craig Swan: thanks, he gave it to them and said, drink this, all of you.

Fr. Craig Swan: This is my blood of the new

Fr. Craig Swan: covenant, which is shed for you

Fr. Craig Swan: and for many for the forgiveness

Fr. Craig Swan: of sins.

Fr. Craig Swan: Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.

Fr. Craig Swan: Therefore, we proclaim the mystery of faith.

Fr. Craig Swan: Christ has died.

Fr. Craig Swan: Christ is risen.

Fr. Craig Swan: Christ will come again.

Fr. Craig Swan: We celebrate the memorial of our redemption.

Fr. Craig Swan: Oh father, in this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving,

Fr. Craig Swan: recalling his death, resurrection, and ascension, we

Fr. Craig Swan: offer you these gifts.

Fr. Craig Swan: Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the

Fr. Craig Swan: body and blood of your son, the holy food and drink of new and

Fr. Craig Swan: unending life in him.

Fr. Craig Swan: Sanctify us also, that we may faithfully receive this holy

Fr. Craig Swan: sacrament and serve you in unity, constancy, and peace at

Fr. Craig Swan: the last day.

Fr. Craig Swan: Bring us with all your saints

Fr. Craig Swan: into the joy of your eternal

Fr. Craig Swan: kingdom.

Fr. Craig Swan: All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ, by him, and with

Fr. Craig Swan: him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

Fr. Craig Swan: All honor and glory is yours,

Fr. Craig Swan: Almighty father, now and

Fr. Craig Swan: forever.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to

Fr. Craig Swan: say Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Fr. Craig Swan: Thy kingdom come, thy will be

Fr. Craig Swan: done, on earth as it is in

Fr. Craig Swan: heaven.

Fr. Craig Swan: Give us this day our daily bread.

Fr. Craig Swan: And forgive us our trespasses,

Fr. Craig Swan: as we forgive those who trespass

Fr. Craig Swan: against us.

Fr. Craig Swan: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Fr. Craig Swan: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,

Fr. Craig Swan: forever and ever.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: Alleluia.

Fr. Craig Swan: Christ, our Passover is sacrificed for us.

Fr. Craig Swan: Therefore let us keep the feast.

Fr. Craig Swan: Alleluia.

Fr. Craig Swan: The gifts of God for the people of God.

Fr. Craig Swan: Take them in remembrance that

Fr. Craig Swan: Christ died for you and feed on

Fr. Craig Swan: him in your hearts by faith,

Fr. Craig Swan: with thanksgiving.

Fr. Craig Swan: Let us pray.

Fr. Craig Swan: Eternal God, you have graciously accepted us as living members of

Fr. Craig Swan: your son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have fed us with

Fr. Craig Swan: spiritual food in the sacrament of His Body and Blood.

Fr. Craig Swan: Send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength and

Fr. Craig Swan: courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of

Fr. Craig Swan: heart through Christ our Savior.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: And the peace of God which passes all understanding.

Fr. Craig Swan: Keep your hearts and minds in

Fr. Craig Swan: the knowledge and love of God

Fr. Craig Swan: and of His Son, Jesus Christ our

Fr. Craig Swan: Lord.

Fr. Craig Swan: And the blessing of God Almighty, the father, the son,

Fr. Craig Swan: and the Holy Spirit be with you and remain with you always.

Fr. Craig Swan: Amen.

Fr. Craig Swan: Let us go forth in peace, in the name of Christ.

Fr. Craig Swan: Thanks be to God.