Eucharist with the Blessing of Oils and Renewal of Ministerial Commitment Maundy Thursday 11am 1 April 2021 Streamed from Christ Church Cathedral Today we celebrate the ministry of the whole people of God. Christ has entrusted his ministry to the whole Church and in this service we are all invited to renew the public promises we made to serve in our respective ministries. United as the whole people of God, we re-affrm our commitment to God in Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit. We gather on Maundy Thursday, on the threshold of the holiest days of the Church’s calendar as we remember the passion and death of Jesus, and prepare to celebrate his resurrection on Easter morning. For centuries, ministers have gathered together as these days have begun, to receive for their parishes the olive oils which are used in the Church’s sacramental ministry. This becomes an appropriate context for the renewal of ministerial commitment, a custom frst introduced by the Roman Catholic Church in the mid-twentieth century. Clergy and lay ministers prepare to lead God’s people in the traditional renewal of baptismal promises on Easter Day by rededicating themselves to their ministerial promises, as Christ consecrated himself to God’s service in the institution of the Eucharist and the agony of Gethsemane. In this cathedral, the renewal of commitment is led from the shrine of St Frideswide, the patron saint of the diocese, to signify that all ministry is Christ’s, entrusted to his Church with its saints, and accountable to him. From the shrine, the oils will be taken to the altar to be offered to God along with the gifts of bread and wine. This year, like last year, we cannot gather in large numbers to worship together; yet we still come together in prayer and praise. We look back on a year when ministry has been constrained and diffcult, dealing with pressures we could never have anticipated and responding to enormous need. We look back aware of the loss in all our communities and the need for our witness to healing and hope. Together we lift up our hearts to God, in all their complexity and sorrow, seeking grace and healing. We look back ultimately in thanksgiving that God has been faithful to us and that we have ministered faithfully to the people God has given us. The Gathering The Sub Dean, the Revd Canon Richard Peers, welcomes all those who gather in their homes and in the cathedral. The procession enters the cathedral during the opening hymn. Hymn Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation; O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation: Come ye who hear, brothers and sisters draw near, Praise him in glad adoration. Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work, and defend thee; Surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend thee; Ponder anew What the Almighty can do, If to the end he befriend thee. Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him! All that hath life and breath come now with praises before him! Let the Amen Sound from his people again: Gladly for ay we adore him. Words: Joachim Neander (1650–1680), trans Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878) Music: Lobe den Herren, anonymous German (1665) recorded remotely by the Revd Marcus Green and members of the benefce of Steeple Aston, North Aston and Tackley The Greeting Bishop Jesus Christ has made us a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father. All Glory and kingship be his for ever and ever. Bishop Grace, mercy and peace be with you All and also with you. The Bishop of Oxford introduces the service. 3 Prayers of Penitence Deacon Come, let us return to the Lord and say: All Lord our God, in our sin we have avoided your call. Our love for you is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early. Have mercy on us; deliver us from judgment and heal us; bind up our wounds and revive us; in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. We keep silence, as the Song of Penitence is played. Song of Penitence I’ve come to wash my soul in the living water Wash my heart in your cleansing stream Here is mercy and forgiveness I shall be clean again. I’ve come to bathe my eyes in your word Lord Jesus Cleanse my thoughts, my imaginings May these eyes see as your love sees Light food my being. O wash me whole in your rushing river My Saviour Take me down to die and rise again Now I’ve been bought with the blood of Jesus Now my life is not my own A temple holy for you only Where you are loved and known. Words and Music: Graham Kendrick (b. 1950) sung by Liam Cartwright, Director of Music at All Saint’s, High Wycombe. 4 Absolution Bishop The Lord enrich you with his grace, and nourish you with his blessing; the Lord defend you in trouble and keep you from all evil; the Lord accept your prayers, and absolve you from your offences, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. All Amen. The Collect Bishop Let us pray. Silence is kept. Bishop Heavenly Father, who anointed your Son Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit and with power to bring to the world the blessings of your kingdom: anoint your Church with the same Holy Spirit, that we who share in his suffering and victory may bear witness to the gospel of salvation; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. All Amen. 5 The Liturgy of the Word First Reading 1 Samuel 16: 1-13a read by Denise Dempsey, New Congregations Team Administrator The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’ Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.’ And the Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you, and say, “I have come to sacrifce to the Lord.” Invite Jesse to the sacrifce, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.’ Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, ‘Do you come peaceably?’ He said, ‘Peaceably; I have come to sacrifce to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifce.’ And he sanctifed Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifce. When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.’ But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his ap- pearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen any of these.’ Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.’ He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.’ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. This is the word of the Lord. All Thanks be to God. 6 Psalm 89: 19-29 The psalm is sung antiphonally by Canon Sarah Meyrick, Cathedral Public Engage- ment Manager, and the Revd Ben Phillips, Vicar of Goring and Streatley with South Stoke. 19 You spoke once in a vision and said to your faithful people: ‘I have set a youth above the mighty; I have raised a young man over the people. 20 ‘I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him. 21 ‘My hand shall hold him fast and my arm shall strengthen him. 22 ‘No enemy shall deceive him, nor any wicked person affict him. 23 ‘I will strike down his foes before his face and beat down those that hate him. 24 ‘My truth also and my steadfast love shall be with him, and in my name shall his head be exalted. 25 ‘I will set his dominion upon the sea and his right hand upon the rivers. 26 ‘He shall call to me, “You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation;” 27 ‘And I will make him my frstborn, the most high above the kings of the earth. 28 ‘The love I have pledged to him will I keep for ever, and my covenant will stand fast with him.