HARVEST THANKSGIVING
READINGS
Joel 2:21-27
Psalm 126
1 Timothy 2:1-7
Matthew 6:25-33
OPENING PRAYER
Creator of the fruitful earth,
you made us stewards of all things.
Give us grateful hearts for all your goodness,
and steadfast wills to use your bounty well,
that the whole human family,
today and in generations to come,
may with us give thanks for the riches of your creation.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.
Amen.
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
Source of all life,
the heaven and earth are yours,
yet you have placed all things into our care.
Receive these symbols of our labour
we offer you this day,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Creator of the earth and heavens,
in this Eucharist
we find the consummation of all your blessings.
Nourished in these Holy Mysteries
may we, with our lives,
give you continual thanks and praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
YEAR B
HARVEST THANKSGIVING
FIRST READING: Joel 2:21-27
A Reading from the Book of the Prophet Joel
Forget your fear, my beloved land!
Rejoice and be glad,
for your God has done great things.
Forget your fear, you beasts in the field!
The wilderness pastures will once again be carpeted in green,
trees will bear fruit again,
and the fig and the vine will give you their full yield.
Rejoice, Children of Zion! Rejoice!
Be glad in God your Creator,
who sends you rain—
the autumnal and spring rains as of old—
and a new crop in the spring.
The threshing floors will be heaped with grain,
the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
I will repay you
for the years that were eaten away by the locust swarm,
the winged locust, the scavenger locust,
and the bark-stripping locust—
my great army, which I sent against you.
You will eat your fill and be satisfied,
and praise the name of your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you!
My people will never again be put to shame!
You will know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I, Yahweh, am your God,
and there is no other.
My people will never again be put to shame!
Listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
Thanks be to God.
YEAR B
HARVEST THANKSGIVING
PSALM 126
When God restored the fortunes of Zion,
then were we like those who dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy.
Then they said among the nations,
"God has done great things for them."
God has done great things for us,
and we are glad indeed.
Restore our fortunes, O God,
like the watercourses of the Negev.
Those who sowed with tears
will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
carrying the seed,
will come again with joy,
shouldering their sheaves.
YEAR B
HARVEST THANKSGIVING
YEAR B
SECOND READING: 1 Timothy 2:1-7
A Reading from the First Letter of Paul to Timothy
First of all, I urge that prayers be offered for everyone—petitions,
intercessions and thanksgivings—and especially for rulers and those in
authority; so that we may be able to live godly and reverent lives in peace
and quiet.
This is the right thing to do, and it will please God our Saviour, who
wants everyone to be saved and to reach full knowledge of the truth. For
there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and
humankind—Christ Jesus, who was one of us, and who at the proper time
sacrificed himself as a ransom and a testimony for all.
Because of this I have been appointed to be a preacher, an apostle,
and—this is the truth, I am not lying—a faithful and honest teacher to the
Gentiles.
Listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
Thanks be to God.
HARVEST THANKSGIVING
YEAR B
GOSPEL READING: Matthew 6:25-33
The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.
The Holy Gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Matthew.
Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
God be with you.
And also with you.
The Good News
of Jesus Christ
according to Matthew
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus said,
“I tell you,
do not worry about your livelihood,
what you are to eat or drink or use for clothing.
Is not life more than food?
Is not the body more than clothes?
“Look at the birds in the sky.
They neither sow nor reap,
they gather nothing into barns,
yet our God in heaven feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Which of you by worrying
can add a single moment to your lifespan?
And why be anxious about clothing?
Learn a lesson from the way wildflowers grow.
They neither work nor spin.
Yet I tell you,
not even Solomon in all his splendour
was arrayed like one of these.
If God can clothe in such splendour
the grasses of the field,
which bloom today
and tomorrow are thrown into the fire,
will not God do even more for you,
you who have so little faith?
HARVEST THANKSGIVING
YEAR B
“Stop worrying, then, saying,
‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’
or ‘What are we to wear?’
Those without faith worry about these things.
God knows what you need.
Seek first the reign of God,
and God’s justice,
and all these things will be given to you as well.”
The Gospel of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel of Christ.
Praise be to Thee, O Christ.