Chad of Lichfield, Bishop, 672

The Collect:

Rite I:
Heavenly Father, whose son our Lord Jesus Christ didst take the form of a servant for the sake of his brothers and sisters: Strengthen us with the prayers and example of thy servant Chad, who became the least of all to minister to all; through the same Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with three and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Rite II:
Heavenly Father, whose son our Lord Jesus Christ took the form of a servant for the sake of his brothers and sisters: Strengthen us with the prayers and example of your servant Chad, who became the least of all to minister to all; through the same Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns, with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Leviticus 10:1–3

¹Now Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his censer, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered unholy fire before the Lord, such as he had not commanded them. ²And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. ³Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the Lord meant when he said,
“Through those who are near me
   I will show myself holy,
and before all the people
   I will be glorified.” ’
And Aaron was silent.

Psalm: Psalm 84

¹ How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! *
       My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of
                             the Lord;
       my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
² The sparrow has found her a house
   and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; *
       by the side of your altars, O Lord of hosts,
       my King and my God.
³ Happy are they who dwell in your house! *
       they will always be praising you.
⁴ Happy are the people whose strength is in you! *
       whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way.
⁵ Those who go through the desolate valley will find
                             it a place of springs, *
       for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.
⁶ They will climb from height to height, *
       and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.
⁷ Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; *
       hearken, O God of Jacob.
⁸ Behold our defender, O God; *
       and look upon the face of your Anointed.
⁹ For one day in your courts is better than
                             a thousand in my own room, *
       and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God
       than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
¹⁰ For the Lord God is both sun and shield; *
       he will give grace and glory;
¹¹ No good thing will the Lord withhold *
       from those who walk with integrity.
¹² O Lord of hosts, *
       happy are they who put their trust in you!

Gospel: Luke 14:1-14

¹On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. ² Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. ³ And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, ‘Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?’ ⁴ But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away. ⁵ Then he said to them, ‘If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?’ ⁶ And they could not reply to this.

⁷ When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. ⁸‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; ⁹and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. ¹¹For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’

¹² He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. ¹³But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’

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