PREPARATION

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O God, make speed to save us.

All     O Lord, make haste to help us.

Let your ways be known upon earth

All     your saving power among the nations.

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Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be glory and praise for ever.
As we behold your Son, enthroned on the cross,
stir up in us the fire of your love,
that we may be cleansed from all our sins,
and walk with you in newness of life
singing the praise of him who died
for us and our salvation.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

All     Blessed be God for ever.

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That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.

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Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and for ever.

All     Amen.

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THE WORD OF GOD

 

Isaiah 5.1-7

 

Let me sing for my beloved
   my love-song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
   on a very fertile hill. 
He dug it and cleared it of stones,
   and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watch-tower in the midst of it,
   and hewed out a wine vat in it;
he expected it to yield grapes,
   but it yielded wild grapes. 

And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
   and people of Judah,
judge between me
   and my vineyard. 
What more was there to do for my vineyard
   that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to yield grapes,
   why did it yield wild grapes? 

And now I will tell you
   what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
   and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
   and it shall be trampled down. 
I will make it a waste;
   it shall not be pruned or hoed,
   and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;
I will also command the clouds
   that they rain no rain upon it. 

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
   is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah
   are his pleasant planting;
he expected justice,
   but saw bloodshed;
righteousness,
   but heard a cry!

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This is the Word of the Lord

All     Thanks be to God

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CANTICLE

The Song of Christ’s Glory, 

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All     At the name of Jesus

every knee shall bow. 

 

1 Christ Jesus was in the form of God, 
but he did not cling to equality with God.

2 He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, 
and was born in our human likeness.

3 Being found in human form he humbled himself, 
and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

4 Therefore God has highly exalted him, 
and bestowed on him the name above every name,

5 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 
in heaven and on earth and under the earth;

6 And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 
to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2.5-11

All    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.

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All    At the name of Jesus
        every knee shall bow. 

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Matthew 21.33-46

 

‘Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’

Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:
“The stone that the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
   and it is amazing in our eyes”? 
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

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Responsary

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you;

All     by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Christ committed no sin, no guile was found on his lips.

All     We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree
that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

All     By your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

By his wounds you have been healed.

All     We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you;

by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

cf 1 Peter 2

GOSPEL CANTICLE

The Magnificat 

 

All     God’s love for us is revealed

in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.

1 My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; 
he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.

2 From this day all generations will call me blessed; 
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his name.

3 He has mercy on those who fear him, 
from generation to generation.

4 He has shown strength with his arm 
and has scattered the proud in their conceit,

5 Casting down the mighty from their thrones 
and lifting up the lowly.

6 He has filled the hungry with good things 
and sent the rich away empty.

7 He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, 
to remember his promise of mercy,

8 The promise made to our ancestors, 
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Luke 1.46-55

All     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.

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All     God’s love for us is revealed

in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.

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