Opening Sentence

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him. Psalm 96:9

Confession

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

Invitatory

O God, make speed to save us.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

O Gracious Light Phos hilaron

O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

Psalm 128 Beati omnes

1

Happy are they all who fear the LORD, *
and who follow in his ways!

2

You shall eat the fruit of your labor; *
happiness and prosperity shall be yours.

3

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house, *
your children like olive shoots round about your table.

4

The man who fears the LORD *
shall thus indeed be blessed.

5

The LORD bless you from Zion, *
and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

6

May you live to see your children's children; *
may peace be upon Israel.

Psalm 129 Saepe expugnaverunt

1

"Greatly have they oppressed me since my youth," *
let Israel now say;

2

"Greatly have they oppressed me since my youth, *
but they have not prevailed against me."

3

The plowmen plowed upon my back *
and made their furrows long.

4

The LORD, the Righteous One, *
has cut the cords of the wicked.

5

Let them be put to shame and thrown back, *
all those who are enemies of Zion.

6

Let them be like grass upon the housetops, *
which withers before it can be plucked;

7

Which does not fill the hand of the reaper, *
nor the bosom of him who binds the sheaves;

8

So that those who go by say not so much as,
"The LORD prosper you. *
We wish you well in the Name of the LORD."

Psalm 130 De profundis

1

Out of the depths have I called to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice; *
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.

2

If you, LORD, were to note what is done amiss, *
O LORD, who could stand?

3

For there is forgiveness with you; *
therefore you shall be feared.

4

I wait for the LORD; my soul waits for him; *
in his word is my hope.

5

My soul waits for the LORD,
more than watchmen for the morning, *
more than watchmen for the morning.

6

O Israel, wait for the LORD, *
for with the LORD there is mercy;

7

With him there is plenteous redemption, *
and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.

Gloria Patri

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Gospel

Matthew 9:9-17 (NRSV)

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. 10 And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12 But when he heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." 14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?" 15 And Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved."

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Canticle 15 The Song of Mary
Magnificat Luke 1:46-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

• The Angel's Annunciation of John the Baptist to Zechariah

The Angel's Annunciation of John the Baptist to Zechariah
On this day we commemorate the Angel's annunciation of John the Baptist to his father Zechariah the Priest. Zechariah was well advanced in years and his wife Elizabeth was barren and the time for begetting children had passed. Zechariah was praying and beseeching God continually to give him a child because the Israelites used to revile the families who had no sons, believing that they lacked God's blessings because God commanded Adam in the words: "Be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28).

The Lord had compassion on Zechariah and He harkened to his petition. He sent him Gabriel the angel to announce to him the birth of John. The angel came to him while he was in the sanctuary as is described in the Holy Gospel (Luke 1:11) and announced to him the birth of the Prophet John, and that John should precede Christ as it was said in the Prophets: "He shall go before Him".

Zechariah said to the angel: "Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years". The angel told him that he was sent from God and it is not seemly for him to doubt. He then told him that he shall be dumb till John's birth.

On the day of John's circumcision, they asked him about the child's name. He asked for a tablet and wrote on it John and straightaway his mouth opened. Then he spoke and praised God and prophesied concerning his son John and concerning the Lord Jesus and that his son would be a prophet and should go before the face of the Lord.

May the prayers of this Priest be with us. Glory be to God forever. Amen.

Apostles' Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. 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,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Suffrages A

Show us your mercy, O Lord;

And grant us your salvation.

Clothe your ministers with righteousness;

Let your people sing with joy.

Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;

For only in you can we live in safety.

Lord, keep this nation under your care;

And guide us in the way of justice and truth.

Let your way be known upon earth;

Your saving health among all nations.

Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;

Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.

Create in us clean hearts, O God;

And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

Collect of the Day: Pentecost, proper 22

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

For Protection

O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

For Mission

World Cycle of Prayer

We pray for the people of Malaysia.

Sarawak Tribune (newspaper)

Ecumenical Cycle of Prayer

We pray for our sisters and brothers, members of the Episcopal Church.

The Episcopal Church

For Cities

Heavenly Father, in your Word you have given us a vision of that holy City to which the nations of the world bring their glory: Behold and visit, we pray, the cities of the earth. Renew the ties of mutual regard which form our civic life. Send us honest and able leaders. Enable us to eliminate poverty, prejudice, and oppression, that peace may prevail with righteousness, and justice with order, and that men and women from different cultures and with differing talents may find with one another the fulfillment of their humanity;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For Those Who Influence Public Opinion

For the Future of the Human Race

O God our heavenly Father, you have blessed us and given us dominion over all the earth: Increase our reverence before the mystery of life; and give us new insight into your purposes for the human race, and new wisdom and determination in making provision for its future in accordance with your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer of Self-Dedication

General Thanksgiving

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

Benediction

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Thanks be to God. Alleluia. Alleluia.