Liturgy for Holy Eucharist
Participation in the presence of Christ
October 11, 2026
Proper 23
Welcome & Breath Prayer
Acclamation
Blessed be God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen.
(Some cross themselves as a way of praying with their bodies.)
The Collect for Purity
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you, no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Summary of the Law
Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ says:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind. This is the first and most important commandment. And the second is like it. ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ Everything that is written in the Law and the Prophets is based on these two commandments. (Matthew 22:37–40)
Gloria
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
Almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
The Collect of the Day
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
Let us pray:
O God, our refuge and strength, true source of all godliness: Graciously hear the devout prayers of your Church, and grant that those things which we ask faithfully, we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
(A collect is a prayer meant to gather the intentions of the people and to be prayed together. Each week, the same collects are prayed by Christians all over the world.)
First Reading
A reading from Exodus 32:1–14:
When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took these from them, formed them in a mold, and cast an image of a calf, and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.” They rose early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being, and the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to revel.
The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ ” The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, and of you I will make a great nation.”
But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
We will read Psalm 106:1–6, 19–23 responsively. I will read the first line up to the break. Together we will read the second line to the end of the verse.
O give thanks unto the Lord,
For he is gracious,
And his mercy endures
For ever.
O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious, //
and his mercy endures forever.
Who can express the mighty acts of the Lord, //
or show forth all his praise?
Blessed are those who act with justice, //
and who always do righteousness.
Remember me, O Lord, according to the favor that you show to your people; //
O visit me with your salvation,
That I may see the felicity of your chosen, //
and rejoice in the gladness of your people, and give thanks with your inheritance.
We have sinned like our fathers; //
we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.
…
O give thanks unto the Lord,
For he is gracious,
And his mercy endures
For ever.
They made a calf in Horeb //
and worshiped a molten image.
Thus they exchanged their glory //
for the image of a calf that feeds on hay.
And they forgot God their Savior, //
who had done great things in Egypt,
Wondrous works in the land of Ham, //
and fearful things by the Red Sea.
So he said he would have destroyed them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the gap //
to turn away his wrathful indignation, lest he should destroy them.
O give thanks unto the Lord,
For he is gracious,
And his mercy endures
For ever.
Second Reading
A reading from Philippians 4:1–9 (First Nations Version):
My sacred family members, how I long to be with you. You are like feathers in my headdress, making my heart dance. I have shown you how to stand firm on the solid ground of the Chosen One. So now, my much-loved ones, stand firm!
My strong counsel to Good Journey Woman (Euodia) and Blessing Way Woman (Syntyche) is for them to walk hand in hand in their life together with our Honored Chief. I also ask you, Burden Bearer (Syzygus), to be true to your name and help these women who have shared my struggle in the telling of the good story. These women have also worked side by side with Walks with Kindness (Clement) and all the others whose names are written down in Creator’s book of life.
Always dance with joy before our Honored Chief! I will say it again: dance with joy! Let everyone see how kind and thoughtful you are. Our Honored Chief is close at hand. Do not let our hearts be weighted down with anything. Instead, with every step you take, send your voice to the Great Spirit, asking him for the things you need. And in all your prayers, remember to give him thanks. Then the peace and harmony of the Great Spirit, which goes far beyond our small and weak ways of thinking, will watch over your hearts and minds through the Chosen One, Creator Set Free (Jesus).
Last of all, my sacred family members, if anything can be seen as good and honorable, think deeply about these things. Things that are true and noble, upright and pure, full of beauty and worthy of respect. Follow the way of life you have seen in me, the things you have learned from me, heard from me, and received from me. Keep walking in the traditions I have passed on to you. Then the Great Spirit of Peace will continue to walk with you on this road.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The Gospel Reading
The holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew 22:1–14:
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad, so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Christ.
(Some cross their foreheads, lips, and heart as a way to pray that the gospel would always be in their heads, on their lips, and in their hearts.)
Reflection on God’s Word
Song //Come to the Table
Come all proud, come all greedy
Come all liars, come all shamed
Come all wealthy, come receive it
To the table, come today
Come all broken, come all needy
Come all poor, and come all slaves
Come all rulers, come be seated
Come all sinners, come all saints
Come to the table, from near and from far
Come from the shadows, come out of the dark
There's room at the table, we saved you a seat
Come to the banquet, come join in the feast
Every race, every nation
Come all rebels, come all gay
From the fringes, come to Jesus
To a table full of grace
To the table come and stay
Come to the table, come eat and drink
There's no inner circle, come dine with the king
Recline at the table, come let down your guard
You're never a stranger, just come as you are
Come be whole, come be loved
Come accepted, come now come
Prepared is the table, we're ready to feast
The party is waiting, there's more still to feed
The harvest is ready, go fill every seat
Go live out the mission as a kingdom of priests
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, visible and invisible.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
(This has been the summation of the Christian faith since 325 A.D.)