A short service of Morning Prayer, two readings, a hymn and some thoughts on it.

As we are freed from the confines of Covid restrictions, this will be the final Worship and Homily I will put on the site for now. Most of you are now back in church and for those who for other reasons feel unable to come, Stilman has set up a link to a Daily Service that you can access through the website.

With every blessing

Mary Tucker (Rev’d)

This is the day that the Lord has made,

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Let’s sing together,

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand:
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

Together we confess our sins and are forgiven

Have mercy on us and redeem us, O Lord

for our merits are your mercies

and in your judgement is our salvation

Happy the one whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered,

. . . You surround me with songs of deliverance.

Thank you.

Amen.

Let us pray in the words of St Benedict,

Gracious and Holy Father,

give us wisdom to perceive you, 

diligence to seek you,

patience to wait for you,

eyes to behold you,

a heart to meditate on you

and a life to proclaim you,

through the power of the Spirit

of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Readings

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. ³¹ Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

³² So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. ³³ But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

⁵³ When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. ⁵⁴ As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. ⁵⁵ They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

Psalm 23

¹ The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Some thoughts on the Hymn and Readings

It’s dangerous isn’t it? to decide what your favourite hymn is. Different ones I suppose speak to us at different times, but the one we’ve just sung to ourselves or read (and I’m sorry if you aren’t very familiar with it) is one that has always spoken very powerfully to me.

It’s one of those all-embracing hymns which manages to combine the sweep of Jesus life with its enormous significance for us. It’s a song of praise and rejoicing combined with a thumbnail sketch of the basis for our confidence in salvation. I’ve loved it ever since I was first introduced to it at college when I was training for priesthood.

It moves me so much that, when we’re allowed to sing, I can’t help bellowing it out and on more than one occasion have done so with tears of grateful joy streaming down my face, with the obvious consequence of wobbles and croaks and cracks as I sing. But I don’t care.

Imagine then my surprise, and to some extent disappointment, when I discovered a fellow student whose amazing mind I was totally in awe of, couldn’t stand it – wouldn’t sing it! Her problem was with a single line, and yet it seemed to her a very big problem, it comes in verse 2 . . .

“Till on that cross as Jesus died,” it goes “The wrath of God was satisfied.”

And that’s the one she had a profound and fundamental disagreement with.

And so in awe of her mighty intellect was I, that for a while I allowed myself not to enjoy the hymn myself. Her explanation does make sense in light of the readings we’ve shared this morning describing God as a caring shepherd and Jesus giving rest to his disciples and selflessly pouring out of love and healing on all who came.

Her explanation of her dislike was that the picture painted by the words, “The wrath of God was satisfied.” was not one which fitted with the God she loved and knew and was loved and known by. It spoke to her of a vindictive spirit determined on revenge for sins committed and careless of who paid the price; a merciless tyrant sticking to the letter of the law whatever the cost. And as I said, I allowed myself to go with that for quite a while, singing the hymn somewhat guiltily, mumbling that line and thinking, ‘But God’s not like that – is he?’

However as the years have gone on and as, I suppose, my own little understanding has begun to grow, I have been enabled to return with joy to the words of this modern Psalm, partly because, as my knowledge of the Bible, and particularly Old Testament texts has grown I have been forced to face the idea of the wrath of God which appears there so often.

But just because we’re uncomfortable with something doesn’t make it wrong, rather it should make us look more deeply. And to start that process I will use the words of a truly great mind, Paul Tillich ,who says,

“The idea of divine wrath has become strange in our time. We have rejected a religion which seems to make God a furious tyrant, an individual with passions and desires who commits arbitrary acts [but] this is not what the wrath of God means.”

Ours, I’m relieved to say, is not a God of revenge, he is a God of love, total love, and love cannot and will not accept sin of any sort – the two things cannot exist together. His intention and purpose for his world, and that includes us, is perfection, love and joy. And if he were a God who would simply give in and just accept that the world and humans in particular are imperfect and sinful, the hope to which we all cling (that things in the end, whether in our life or beyond it, will be made right) would be in vain and hopelessness would reign.

No, that is not what our God is like. He will be satisfied with nothing but the best. And if we stopped there things would be just as bad, we would know our doom was sealed and that the righteous wrath of God would mean we would never be partakers of that perfection.

But the story of course does not end there. In fact it ends where this hymn begins,

“In Christ alone my hope is found.”

We have said often that Jesus came to show us what God was like and yet he was willing to have to do with us sinners. How does that fit with the picture of a God who is incapable of accepting anything but perfection? And there is the answer, he does not accept it, but in not accepting it he does not reject us in all our imperfection. Instead he finds a way to sort out the problem himself. He is the way, he is the truth that lies behind the truth of a God who cannot accept sin. There is, as C S Lewis puts it in his famous Narnia book – ‘The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe’,

“A deeper magic.”

Imagine it, if you will, (and this will be easier for those of you who are parents or grandparents) one of your children is in deep trouble. In trouble so deep it can only end in tragedy. Your child, because he or she is imperfect, is open only to wrath and destruction. You would do anything to save them, even give your own life instead of theirs.

‘Ah ha!’ I hear you say, ‘that’s is where she’s going with all this, God dying instead of us, for us, as we say regularly.’

You’re right but I want to add another layer to this, a picture which can only increase our wonder and amazement at the pain and sacrifice made by God in saving us from the wrath that was, and is, our just desert

I’ve asked you to put yourself in his place as a parent. And I think we can all imagine that we might, possibly would, be willing to die for our child. But what about this? What if the price to pay was not you yourself dying but instead another child of yours – and you would have to watch your best beloved, your first born, die? And you would look on and let it happen in order that all the others might be saved.

We regularly thank God for his mercy and his sacrifice in dying for us in the person of his son, but there is a deeper layer of sacrifice which should make us even more grateful, even more amazed.

God was both Father and Son. God died himself and God watched in agony the agony of the death of his best beloved.

I’m not sure there is any deeper way in which God could show us his love, show us himself, than to put that self through two parallel and ultimate pains.

“An on that cross as Jesus died the wrath of God was satisfied . . . for every sin on him was laid, here in the death of Christ I live.”

And a few words from St Anselm

‘Jesus, like a mother you gather your people to you, you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.  Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness, through your sweet goodness, through your gentleness we find comfort in fear.  Your warmth gives life to the dead, your touch makes sinners righteous.  Lord Jesus in your mercy heal us, in your love and tenderness remake us, in your compassion bring grace and forgiveness and for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us.’

Final words and a blessing

The Lord bless us and keep us,

the Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious to us,

the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon us and give us peace

And the blessing of God Almighty,

the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,

be with us this day,

with those we love and those we pray for.

Amen

Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord,

in the name of Christ

Amen

Thoughts words and worship for Sea Sunday

Sea Sunday is when we have the opportunity to remember and pray for seafarers, their families and all who support them. It is a day of remembrance, prayer and celebration, and an opportunity to think about and thank those seafarers who work tirelessly throughout the year bringing us goods we often take for granted.

There is no better opportunity than Sea Sunday to pause for thought, to remember the men and women who crew the ships that serve us all. And there is no better time to remember those many Mission teams around the world who work so hard to address their needs and share God’s love in so many different ways.

“Sea Sunday is a day set aside, usually in July, each year for the past 170 years to give thanks to the seafarers (1.6 million today) who quietly, and often anonymously, transport up to 95% of the world’s goods. Seafaring can be a dangerous, lonely and demanding job, with little in the way of official support for the workers who keep the global economy afloat.  The Mission to Seafarers was set up to cater for the welfare and pastoral care of seafarers, and Sea Sunday is one of the most important dates in our calendar. It represents a chance to bring seafarers and sea-faring ministries into the heart of our communities, and for us to celebrate all they do for us.”  Mission to Seafarers

Readings

Part of Psalm 107

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.

² Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
    those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
³ those he gathered from the lands,
    from east and west, from north and south.

²³ Some went out on the sea in ships;
    they were merchants on the mighty waters.
²⁴ They saw the works of the Lord,
    his wonderful deeds in the deep.
²⁵ For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
    that lifted high the waves.
²⁶ They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
    in their peril their courage melted away.
²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
    they were at their wits’ end.
²⁸ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he brought them out of their distress.
²⁹ He stilled the storm to a whisper;
    the waves of the sea^[b] were hushed.
³⁰ They were glad when it grew calm,
    and he guided them to their desired haven.
³¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
³² Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
    and praise him in the council of the elders.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever.

Amen

John 6

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, ¹⁷ where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. ¹⁸ A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. ¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. ²⁰ But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” ²¹ Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

This is the Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God.

Mark 4

³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” ³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. ⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” ⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

This is the Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God.

Thoughts for Sea Sunday Today is Sea Sunday so I have dug out the last talk I gave at the Sea Sunday Service at the Coastguard Station at Sharpness back in 2013 to share with you today.

It was 1979, our first holiday, I don’t know why we chose it but we set off on a small 30 foot narrow boat called Daisy into a passion for life.

I’d been brought up in the Midlands, ‘The Black Country’, famous for having more canals than Venice, but they were just the back drop to our mining communities, little used, mucky, rat infested.

When we set off, from a more rural spot near Stafford, things had begun to change due to the efforts of a growing band of enthusiasts who became the Inland Waterways Association, and to British Waterways (now transformed into the Canal and River Trust). Narrow canals had begun to be rescued from the brink of destruction.

Round here, of course, things were different, though we didn’t know it up there in the ‘far north’, bumping our way between the floating oil drums, filling bits of canal between locks as we went where local youths had drained them. In Gloucestershire you still had a viable commercial waterway. I remember well, in the early eighties, our shock when we first made it down to the Gloucester Sharpness, on another little hire boat called Muttley, at meeting huge heavily laden barges, carrying oil still I think. And others plying the canal from Gloucester to Purton, dredging out the mud from the city docks and squirting it back into the Severn from an amazing structure which has only relatively recently been taken away from the Purton canal bank by the cottages.

In those days, in most places, the world turned its back on the narrow canals. They were fenced in, walled off and this was part of their charm.

Though central Birmingham, for example, has now embraced its waterways heritage and surrounded it with development making it a tourist attraction, there was something very special about mooring up in Gas Street basin amongst the old working boats along the Worcester Bar, a silent and smoky haven right in the centre of the city, knowing that no one knew you were there.

There was a certain pioneering spirit still that meant we were the only hire boat to make it all the way up to Ellesmere Port on the Mersey for an early Easter gathering of working boats. We were welcomed and included and began to feel what we have felt ever since, that we are part of this gypsy community, a travelling band, who may meet only rarely but who remember the name of the boat or the type of engine rather than the names of the people, but who always, without fail, greet each other with a cheery wave. A vagrant community, who warn each other of problems ahead, who share tall tales of the exciting things they’ve had caught round their propellers. Our two top ones actually are 30 feet of polythene that had been used to wrap a carpet and a length of the thick wire used to strengthen reinforced concrete structures – that was fun – not!

Of course all waterways are potentially dangerous places as the canal and Severnside communities know to their cost. On only our second trip, we arrived at a broad section of canal called Tixall Wide. to find the police divers frantically looking for the body of a father lost overboard trying to save his son. And in one of the more recent flood years we became trapped by waters filling and overflowing canals and rivers down in Oxfordshire whilst boats nearby were deposited in car parks and a woman in Banbury was swept away when her boat became trapped against the uprights of a bridge.

Here in our own docks down at Sharpness, as in many other places on the system, those who have reached the end of their tether have chosen to find a watery grave to the huge distress of those who have to deal with the consequences. And only two years ago, on our annual two month holiday we met staff of The Canal and River Trust at Stourport, having to deal with the tragedy of a child drowned in one of their locks.

The joy of the canals, however, is that still they are a place set apart, a place where the pace of life is slower, a place where different communities of boaters, walkers, cyclists and fishermen find a respite from what they might call real life or in these last 18 months from lock-down.

But everywhere real life goes on, even on the waterways, and it is the strength of these communities, however dispersed, that they offer mutual support in times of distress. I wonder if we realise just how fortunate we are around these particular waters to have specialist teams available to pluck us from the jaws of disaster – voluntary organisations like SARA who have been around for years and whose availability and heroism gives me confidence every time we set out onto the unpredictable waters of our local and potentially most dangerous river.

I wonder as well if those from time to time propose to save money by cutting back on coastguard services and CRT lock and bridge personnel, understand the safety net of huge local expertise they provide for those who ply waterways and coastal areas for work or for leisure.

Whether they realise it or not I want now to offer a vote of thanks to all those people, SARA, our coast guards, our dock authorities and workers and all who work for The Canal and River Trust as well as the volunteers and members of local preservation and restoration groups.

Now given my role in the Benefice you may be waiting, with baited breath or some other feeling, for the moment when God comes into this. Well – he doesn’t ‘come into it’ at all, rather he is, and always has been, an integral part of all that I have been saying.

It is the love of God which inspires and sustains all communities, including the transient water people; that moves people, whether they realise it or not, to serve and support one another in selfless and sometimes sacrificial ways. It is his creation that we celebrate as we gaze on the glorious countryside, wonder at the size of the huge lazy carp in the Marina or battle through the horizontal rain and gale force wind high on the embankments of the Shropshire union canal. It is his creativity, reflected in the engineering feats of humanity that amaze us as we pass, incredulous, across the Llangollen aqueduct 150 feet above the River Dee whose Welsh name I won’t even try to spell or pronounce. And above all it is his generosity, reflected in the generosity of spirit of so many of you, especially the other members of this ministry team, that allow us, Paul and me, a time set apart to take our boat and once again to take to the waterways to refresh our jaded spirits and come back renewed and refreshed to the daily life of this place.

So to you all and to God I offer my sincere and hearty thanks.

Prayers

Lord God, creator of all that is, Hear our prayer.

Gracious God, today, on Sea Sunday, we offer our prayers for those whose lives are affected by the sea. We pray for people whose work takes them to sea; for those in the different branches of the navy; for those who transport goods by ship; for those who catch fish for their living. Be with them as they work and keep them safe when the weather is bad and seas are rough.

Lord God, creator of all that is, Hear our prayer.

We pray for those who give help when people get into difficulties on our waters. For the lifeboat service, and for air-sea rescue; for coast guards, for lifeguards and for inland waterway rescue services. We thank you for their courage, and ask that you will guard and guide them as they work for others in need.

Lord God, creator of all that is, Hear our prayer.

Lord, our waterways and the sea are places full of beauty, but have also been damaged by our greed and by our selfishness. People are not always careful about how they treat the waterways and the sea; poisons are allowed to seep into them; rubbish endangers the plants and creatures that live in them. Be with those whose special work it is to make them clean, and show us how we can share these wonderful resources.

Lord God, creator of all that is, Hear our prayer.

We pray for those who are going on holiday to the seaside or on the waterways, especially those from our own congregations and communities. Keep them safe on the beaches, in the sea and on their boats. May they come back refreshed, and ready for new work and activity.

Lord God, creator of all that is, Hear our prayer.

We pray now for ourselves. As we think of the sea and our waterways, we ask that you will help us to value these wonderful resources, and to play our part in caring for them, so that those who come after us may also have their lives enriched by all that they can offer.

We offer these our prayers in the name of Jesus who called fishermen to be his friends, and who preached from a boat on the Sea of Galilee.

Amen

Blessing

May the Spirit of God, who is above all and in all and through all, fill you with the knowledge of God’s presence in Earth and Sea.

And the Blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you, those you love and those you pray for, this day and for evermore.

Amen

A Service to say at home

Call to Worship

The Lord be with you

And also with you

God in Jesus has revealed his glory

Come let us worship together

From the rising of the sun to its setting

The Lord’s name is greatly to be praised

Hymn – Sing something you enjoy!!

Prayer of Confession

Holy God we bring you ourselves

All that we are and all that we long to be

Our weakness, our failures, our sinfulness and our brokenness

Son of Mary Have mercy on us

Carpenter of Nazareth Have mercy on us

Healer of the sick Have mercy on us

Bringer of light Have mercy on us

Saviour of the poor Have mercy on us

Bread of life Have mercy on us

You who call us sister, brother, friend

Have mercy on us

Your body and Spirit with us

Holy God we bring you ourselves

All that we are and all that we long to be

Our weakness, our failures, our sinfulness and our brokenness Have mercy on us

Bible Readings

Psalm 123

¹ I lift up my eyes to you,
    to you who sit enthroned in heaven.
² As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
    as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
    till he shows us his mercy.

³ Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
    for we have endured no end of contempt.
⁴ We have endured no end
    of ridicule from the arrogant,
    of contempt from the proud.

This is the Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

12 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. ² I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. ³ And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— ⁴ was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. ⁵ I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. ⁶ Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, ⁷ or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

This is the Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

Mark 6:1-13

6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. ² When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? ³ Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,^[a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

⁴ Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” ⁵ He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. ⁷ Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

⁸ These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹ Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. ¹⁰ Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

¹² They went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³ They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

This is the Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

Some Thoughts on the Reading

In my weakness I am strong

And on Sunday he (or she) began to teach in the church and many who heard her (or him) were astonished saying, “Where did this man get all this? What wisdom has been given to this woman? Isn’t this just the man from up the road? We know him of old. She lives just round the corner. We know a lot about her. Who does he think he is?”

They may have gone on, “This church in the centre of our village is a picturesque place but, well, not relevant anymore really. The people who go there, the people who preach there, who think they can tell us what to do, they’re no better than us!”

Is it possible that in this sort of weakness the church is strong?

And every day in the street, in the workplace, on the radio, on the TV, where people stand up and begin to talk about God people are astonished, nay outraged. “Who do these people think they are, with their holier than thou attitude? We know them of old. And some at that point call us hypocrites and quote the things we’ve said and done that we would be the first to admit have not been very Christian. And yet, and yet perhaps even in this weakness we, as Christians, are strong.

For a start when this sort of thing happens the first thing it should do is turn our eyes, with the eyes of the psalmist, to God.

“Have mercy on us.” we cry, and this isn’t a cry against God’s anger it’s a request for his ongoing, generous grace to us though we are, and are often seen as undeserving, without real merit. We have had more than enough of contempt, yet, in our weakness we are strong. Strong because of God not because of ourselves.

Jesus, returning to his home town, isn’t even heard by his old neighbours they’re so full of their amazement and indignation, at the cheek of this mere Carpenter’s son in coming to this place and preaching to them. Who did he think he was?

But is he weak? He’s saddened, but weakness doesn’t seem to come into it. Yet strangely neither does obvious strength.

There are evangelists, and we’ve all heard them or heard of them, who beat people, metaphorically, about the head with their religion, with their own strength and often with their own supposed righteousness.

Jesus however, as he sends out his first batch of evangelists, insists on weakness, even neediness. They are not to take anything, no money, no food, not even a change of clothes, they will be utterly at the mercy of those to whom they go. They will offer the word but if it and they are not accepted they will walk away. In their weakness they will be strong.

Paul too, and heaven knows he was possibly the greatest teacher, preacher, theologian, missionary, and had every excuse to claim strength, declares that it is only in his weakness that he has ever achieved anything.

It seems that he has been blessed with some amazing out of body experience, vision, revelation of God that few of us are ever likely to have this side of heaven. But even having had this he realises that to harp on about it will only drive people away.

For those who are open to God, to his word, to Jesus, then and now are often those who are beginning to realise that in all their relative wealth, their good jobs, their houses, cars and families there is something missing – there is a weakness at the centre of their lives.

Or they are those who are right at the bottom of the pit of life, for whom everything has fallen apart, who have lost or never had anything to hold dear, everything is missing, there is total weakness at the centre of their lives and if we are to witness to people in either of these states or to any in between our best starting point, paradoxically, is not a total brave certainty, is not in strong confident assertions but is in sharing our own weakness.

Then the cry of, “But this is only the man/woman up the road, we know him/her of old, s/he’s far from perfect.” will actually be a cry of relief because if we are just the man or woman up the road with all our imperfections on display. Only then it will be clear how much we rely in all that imperfection on a perfect God. We are no threat, quite the reverse. If we can turn to God for strength then so can they. We might just be the beginning of the way out of the pit, for in our weakness we are strong. Perhaps it is through our weakness but also our willingness to expose that weakness that we, or actually God, is strong and his strength becomes available to others.

Prayers

We pray to the Lord for courage and to give ourselves to him.

Give your Church the courage to give up her preoccupation with herself and to give time to your mission in the world. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength and hear our prayer.

May the blood and water flowing from the side of Jesus bring forgiveness to your people and help us to face the cost of proclaiming salvation as we work together and apart in your damaged world. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength and hear our prayer.

Give your world the courage to give up war, bitterness and hatred, and to seek peace and healing for each other. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength and hear our prayer.

May the shoulders of the risen Jesus, once scourged by soldiers, bear the burden of our times. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength and hear our prayer.

Give us the courage to give up quarrels, strife and jealousy in our families, neighbourhoods and communities. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength and hear our prayer.

May the presence of the risen Jesus, his body once broken and now made whole, bring peace and direction as we live with one another. Give us the courage to give up our selfishness as we live for others, and to give time, care and comfort to the sick in ways that are safe for them and for us. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength and hear our prayer.

May the wounded hands of Jesus bring his healing touch to all who suffer, and the light of his presence fill their hearts and homes. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength and hear our prayer.

Give us the courage to give up our fear of death and to rejoice with those who have died in faith. May the feet of the risen Lord Jesus, once nailed to the cross, walk alongside the dying and bereaved in their agony, and walk with us and all your Church through death to the gate of glory. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength and hear our prayer here and in eternity. Amen.

We pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us

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, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.

Amen

A Home Communion

Take bread and wine or juice and pray

Blessed are you O God

For you have brought forth bread from the earth

Blessed are you O God

For you have created the fruit of the vine

Here at your table

You offer us light, bread and wine for the journey

To nourish us as sons and daughters

Jesus took bread, and having blessed it

He broke it and gave it to his disciples saying

Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you

In the same way after supper, he took the cup of wine

And gave you thanks, he gave it to them saying

Drink this all of you, this is my blood of the new covenant

Which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins

So now, following Jesus’ example

We take this bread and this wine and pray

Lord Jesus Christ, present with us now

Breathe your Spirit upon us and upon this bread and wine

That they may be heaven’s food for us

Renewing, sustaining and making us whole

That we may be your body on earth

Loving and caring in the world

Look – The bread of heaven – The light of the world

Here is Christ, coming to us in bread and wine

The gift of God for the people of the world

The table of bread and wine is now made ready

It is the table of company with Jesus

So, come to this table, you who have much faith

And you who would like to have more

You who have been to this sacrament often

And you who have not been for a long time

You who have tried to follow Jesus

And you who have failed

Come – it is Christ himself who invites us to meet him here

Eat your bread and sip you drink and take a moment of quiet before praying

Concluding Prayer

Holy God, we have seen with our eyes

And touched with our hands the bread of life the light of the world

Strengthen our faith

That we may grow in love for you and for each other

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

And may the blessing of God Almighty

the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

be with us all, those we love and those we pray for

this day and for evermore.

Amen

A short service of Morning Prayer

This service is adapted from one used at Sheldon Retreat Centre, Doddiscombesleigh, Devon.

In the name of the Father,

And of the Son,

And of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Opening Prayer

We come to the presence of the one who is making us,

We come to the presence of the one who is healing us,

We come to the presence of the one who is guiding us

We come with love and trust.

The Song of the Church – Te Deum

We praise you O God

we acclaim you as Lord.

All creation worships you

the Father everlasting.

To you all angels, all powers of heaven

cherubim and seraphim, sing in endless praise.

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

The glorious company of apostles praise you,

the noble fellowship of prophets praise you,

the white robed army of martyrs praise you.

Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you,

Father of majesty unbounded.

your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,

and the Holy Spirit our advocate and guide.

When you became incarnate to set us free,

you humbly chose the Virgin’s womb.

You overcame the sting of death

and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

You are seated at God’s right hand in glory,

we believe that you will come and be our judge.

Come then Lord and help your people

bought with the price of your own blood,

and bring us with your saints to glory everlasting.

Save your people Lord, and bless your inheritance,

govern and uphold them now and always.

Day by day we bless you,

we praise your name for ever.

Keep us today Lord, from all sin

have mercy on us Lord, have mercy.

Lord show us your love and mercy

for we put our trust in you.

In you Lord, is our hope,

let us not be confounded at the last.

Bible Readings

Wisdom 1:13-15, 2:23-24

¹³ God did not make death,
and he does not delight in the death of the living.
¹⁴ For he created all things so that they might exist;
the generative forces^[a] of the world are wholesome,
and there is no destructive poison in them,
and the dominion of Hades is not on earth.
¹⁵ For righteousness is immortal.

Lamentations 3:22-33

²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
    his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”

²⁵ The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
    to the soul that seeks him.
²⁶ It is good that one should wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.
²⁷ It is good for one to bear
    the yoke in youth,
²⁸ to sit alone in silence
    when the Lord has imposed it,
²⁹ to put one’s mouth to the dust
    (there may yet be hope),
³⁰ to give one’s cheek to the smiter,
    and be filled with insults.

³¹ For the Lord will not
    reject forever.
³² Although he causes grief, he will have compassion
    according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
³³ for he does not willingly afflict
    or grieve anyone.

Mark 5:21-43

²¹ When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. ²² Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet ²³ and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” ²⁴ So he went with him.

And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. ²⁵ Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years. ²⁶ She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. ²⁷ She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸ for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” ²⁹ Immediately her haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. ³⁰ Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” ³¹ And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” ³² He looked all around to see who had done it. ³³ But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. ³⁴ He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

³⁵ While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” ³⁶ But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” ³⁷ He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. ³⁸ When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. ³⁹ When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” ⁴⁰ And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. ⁴¹ He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” ⁴² And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. ⁴³ He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Thoughts on the Readings

Perhaps it was because I started this sermon on the day I was to take a friend’s funeral that the words of Wisdom and Lamentations spoke so powerfully. Both were ‘alternative’ readings but seemed to sing out on a day of hugely mixed emotions. In fact, the first two verses of the canticle from Lamentations are familiar simply because of their regular use at funeral services.

Both of the Old Testament passages have a message we might find it hard to believe, living as we do in a world where pain and death can sometimes seem to blot out the joy and life, but they are clear and I make no apology for borrowing heavily from the commentary written by Professor Gordon McConville on Lamentations (his lectures on Isaiah during my training left a permanent legacy).

Our God is a God of steadfast love and compassion. In Lamentations, which is really an extended poem, the poet has just finished a section cataloguing his own not inconsiderable afflictions and suffering when he turns suddenly, and perhaps unexpectedly, to expressions of faith.

Rather like Job in an earlier book in the Bible and in a way often seen in the Psalms, his mind has begun to turn from present horrors to things of God, to things that he knows, despite everything, ‘are always true about God.’

Love, steadfast love, is his most typical quality. It never fails, he tells us, judgement cannot be God’s last word for his compassion triumphs over it. Suffering, indeed agony, there may well be, the poem continues but what we know is that it has its most profound expression in Jesus’ own suffering on the cross – God’s greatest judgement on sin, visited upon himself, his final self-giving love a gift for humanity.

Because love and compassion are the chief attributes of God, says the author, they are always fresh, ready to be proved and known again. For this reason those who have been afflicted may always put their trust in him again for their acceptance and restoration. God is both faithful and unchanging in this love therefore the poet can be content that God should be his lot, his ‘portion’ as it says in some translations, whatever the circumstances.

This writer is not unrealistic I’m glad to say, since God is like this he knows it is good to seek him. To do so however may be at a cost. For some it may be that the goodness of God will be known during affliction, but for some only after suffering patiently endured.

I find the very last verse of this passage helpful. The poet obviously finds the paradox of a loving and compassionate God who yet allows, possibly even causes grief difficult to deal with. Most of us do too. My personal feeling is that the God I know does not send cancer or earthquakes, death or destruction but is a God who takes these situations, symptoms of a broken world, and in his love and compassion uses them, brings good from them.

That too has a paradoxical side but it seems to me to fit with what I see around me. The final days of the person I was burying and his funeral being a good example. There was huge thankfulness, not just for his life but for the timeliness of his death, for his release from pain. And the outpouring of loving support from the village and wider community was a healing and positive outcome of what was of course a sad occasion.

In the miracle stories we heard in our Gospel a little girl is restored to parents alive and well and hungry and a woman, ostracised and made unclean by her particular affliction, is healed not only of her illness but also of her twelve year isolation from family and friends.

One of the problems people have with healing miracles is that Jesus in his time on earth, though he healed and restored countless numbers cannot have made even a dint in the vast numbers of sick and distressed in his country or in the world – so what was the point?

The point, I think was that these healings arose not from a desire to show off his power (Jesus had already dealt with that particular temptation in the wilderness before his ministry began) but from genuine, overwhelming empathy and sympathy.

Jesus, God made man, showed through this exactly what the poet in Lamentations claims for him, that he is motivated more than anything else by steadfast love and compassion and in raising Jairus’ daughter he demonstrates God’s power over death, the ultimate enemy.

This little girl of course would, we hope, have then lived to a ripe old age but at some point she would have died. It was only with the death and resurrection of Jesus that God demonstrated just what his plan for us after earthly death was. When Jesus rose his body was changed and so, we are told, we too will be changed into immortal beings living in joy for ever.

‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,

His mercies never come to an end,

They are new every morning

Great is his faithfulness.’

Canticle

Behold God is my salvation,

I will trust and not be afraid,

for the Lord God is my strength and my song,

and had become my salvation.

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation

and in that day you will say,

give thanks and call upon the name of the Lord.

Make known among the nations what the Lord has done,

proclaim that the name of the Lord is exalted.

Sing praises for the Lord has triumphed gloriously,

let this be known in all the earth.

Shout and sing for joy you people of God,

for great in your midst is the Holy One.

Glory to God, source of all being,

Eternal Word and Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now

and shall be for ever. Amen

Prayers

That this day may be holy, good and joyful . . . we pray to you, O Lord.

That we may offer to you our worship and our work . . . we pray to you, O Lord.

. . . pray for the day ahead, its tasks and possible difficulties

That we may strive for the well-being of all creation . . . we pray to you, O Lord.

. . . pray for the world and its leaders and your own part in its needs

That in the pleasures and pains of life, we may know the love of Christ and be thankful . . . we pray to you, O Lord.

. . . pray for those you know who are unwell or in any kind of trouble

That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit, in communion with all your saints, entrusting one another and all our life to Christ . . . we pray to you, O Lord.

. . . pray for the bereaved, those you have loved and lost and all who care for the dying

Let us commend ourselves, and all for whom we pray, to the mercy and protection of God.

Amen

Life giver, Pain bearer, Love maker

Source of all that is and shall be,

Father and Mother of us all,

Loving God, in whom is heaven;

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe,

The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world,

Our heavenly will be done by all created beings,

Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.

With the bread we need for today, feed us.

In the hurts we sustain from one another, forgive us.

In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.

From trials too great to endure, spare us.

From the grip of evil, free us.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and for ever,

Amen

Closing Prayers and Blessings

Almighty and everlasting Father

we thank you that you have brought us safely

to the beginning of this day.

Keep us from falling into sin or running into danger.

Order all our doings and guide us to do always

what is right in your eyes,

through Jesus Christ our Lord

Amen

Christ be with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me,

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

Silence

Let us go in peace to love and serve our Lord

In the name of Christ

Amen

Once again a service to say at home for those of you preferring still to worship using our website. This one a ‘special’ for Fathers’ Day, whether we remember with love our own fathers or want to concentrate on the fatherly (motherly?) love of God.

With every blessing

Mary Tucker

Opening Litany

In the beginning God made the world

Made it and mothered it

Shaped it and fathered it

Filled it with seeds and signs of fertility

Filled it with love and its folk with ability

All that is green, blue, deep and growing

God’s is the hand that created you

All that is tender, firm, fragrant and curious

God’s is the hand that created you

All that crawls, flies, swims, walks or is motionless

God’s is the hand that created you

All that speaks, sighs, cries, laughs or keeps silent

God’s is the hand that created you

All that suffers, lacks, limps or longs for an end

God’s is the hand that created you

The world belongs to the Lord

The earth and all its people are his

Prayer of Approach

Let us pray

Before the world began when everything was shapeless you were there

Hovering over chaos

Planning the texture, the taste, the sight and the sound of things

Balancing the opposites

Weaving the rainbow

Turning the random into the real

And for this we praise you

Before we began when in the womb, we were shapeless

You were there

Calling us your own

Planning the nature and novelty in us

Weaning our potentials

Making us unique

Turning the random into the real

And for this we praise you

And even now when we dream dreams

Or puzzle over the future

Now, when our ideals are challenged

And the second best becomes attractive

You are there

Upsetting our easiness

Contradicting our compromises

Replacing our narrow vision

With the sight and sound and taste of a better life

Picking up the loose stitches of our devotion

Turning the random into the real

And for this we praise you

And it always will be so

For you did not say you were the answer

You said you were the way

You did not ask us to succeed

You asked us to be faithful

You did not promise us paradise tomorrow

You said you would be with us to the end of the world

Turning the random into the real

And for this we praise you

Now and for ever

Amen

The Word of God

Readings from the 15^th chapter of Luke and the 4^th chapter of Mark

The Parable of the Lost Son

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him

Jesus Calms the Storm

³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Thoughts on the Word of God

The first of our readings today is part of one of the most famous of Jesus’ parables commonly known as ‘The Prodigal Son’ but one I think would be more appropriately titled, ‘The Unconditionally Loving Father’ and this of course makes it particularly appropriate for today, not only because we are celebrating the best of human fatherhood but also because this is a parable where Jesus explains to us, in the simplest of terms, what our Father, God, is like. In fact I would go so far as to say that it is only with this picture of God in our mind that we can make sense of our faith – for it is the story of an unconditionally loving father.

The picture of God it gives us is of one who welcomes us in whatever we have done, is waiting for us, arms outstretched, not even letting us say the words we’ve prepared about how unworthy we are, but who grabs us, embraces us, kisses us and before we can even raise our worried eyes to his welcomes us into the rooms prepared for us.

Now some of us, many of us I hope, will have had experience of a loving father, husband, brother, friend, and the best of them will have offered (as well as they could being only human) unconditional love. Unconditional love, not depending on what people deserve but freely given.

The problem of belief in an unseen God is that we need help to understand what this person, spirit, being, is like. Jesus was well aware of our difficulty. He knows how hard it is to believe things that cannot be seen or proved, how difficult it is just to have faith.

One way he helped the people of his day was through stories like this the most famous of his parables. The picture it gives us of the character of God is of a God looking out for us from the roof top, waiting for us and finally gathering us in, even though we may not feel we deserve it, because he loves us –

Unconditionally.

However whilst we can begin to accept this as a picture of God, down here in the real world as we live it every day it can be tough being a parent or a carer or a grandparent. And the unconditional love, that ideal to which we can aspire, may be a challenge even in the most well-regulated of families.

There must have been some of us who, whilst we accepted gladly this parable’s truth as a picture of

God’s fatherhood, parenthood, felt totally inadequate.

Our second reading may touch another nerve and one that is particularly the preserve of men and Dads and husbands in particular. And that is the, still common, expectation that in any situation, however disastrous, difficult or dangerous, the man will sort it, the man will know what to do. He will be tough but calm and everything will be all right!

In the boat on that stormy sea we see normal men, not this unrealistic macho image though they must have been physically strong and tough, they were, after all, fishermen in an age before modern the gadgetry.

Jesus, of an age with many of them, possibly younger than several, had however become a father figure, one to be turned to in a crisis.

One wonders how this had come about. Though carpentry no doubt calls for good muscles and a life on the road, such as they had been living, isn’t one for wimps, the picture we have painted for us of Jesus in scripture is not one of an obviously mighty hero, or not in human terms, Yet something about this man inspired confidence and meant that in the moment of greatest fear, greatest danger, it was he they turned to.

Their fear at the storm was a very rational fear. In that time, on that lake, in that boat, there was a very good chance that they might not make it. However their fear of the storm is not the fear that Jesus is referring to when he finally wakes, calms the sea and wind and asks them, “Why are you afraid?”

Given the weather conditions that have just abated that would have been a foolish question. What Jesus sees now is a fear, mixed with amazement and possibly terror. The fear of men who realise, basically, that they are in a boat with God!

In the parable of the Son, Jesus gave them and us a helpful picture of what God is like. Now these rough fishermen are faced, not with a picture, but with the real thing. He who has seen Jesus has seen God. She who has seen the power of Jesus, who commands the very elements, has seen the sheer power of the God they worship.

We are not surprised at their shock and fear, but with the hindsight of two millennia, we come to Jesus as a human version, picture, of what God is like and see, I hope not with fear but with joy and perhaps relief, the power at his and our disposal. His trustworthiness in every situation.

So – relax Dads, don’t panic men, and everyone else who is put in a position of parental type care. Trust in this unconditionally loving Father, in this powerful friend and it is he who will bring us through.

He does not have unrealistic expectations of our ability to be the hero in every situation but what he brings out in us may surprise us as much as it surprises anybody else.

Prayers

Heavenly Father

You entrusted your son Jesus the child of Mary

To the care of Joseph, an earthly father.

Bless all fathers and step fathers as they care for their families.

Give them strength and wisdom,

Tenderness and patience;

Support them in the work they do,

Protecting those who look to them,

As we look to you for love and salvation

Through Jesus Christ our rock and our defender

Lord hear us

Lord graciously hear us

We give thanks for fathers all around the world.
Bless these men for their hard work, their caring,
for their generosity and their loyalty to their families.

Lord hear us

Lord graciously hear us

We pray especially for fathers
who are struggling to care for their children
because of economic or other crises.
Fathers who have been laid off, who are looking for work,
who are in despair about keeping a secure roof over their families’ heads
in this country and in countries around the world.

Lord hear us

Lord graciously hear us

We pray, too, for fathers who cannot care for their families
because they are ill, or because they are separated from their children by marriage break up or divorce.

Lord hear us

Lord graciously hear us

We pray for the millions of fathers who are imprisoned,
who are immigrants, refugees or displaced persons,
who have experienced violence and are wounded, in body and soul.

Lord hear us

Lord graciously hear us

We pray for all who are missing Fathers today,

Particularly for those whose fathers have died

Recently or long ago.

Bring comfort in loss

Joy in remembering

And healing to broken hearts

Lord hear us

Lord graciously hear us

You who give life and give it abundantly,
Son of our heavenly Father,
be with all fathers this day,
and grant them your grace and your healing
so they may live out their vocation
with dignity, strength, and peace.

Amen

Closing Responses and Blessing

For all that God can do within us

For all that God can do without us

Thanks be to God

For all in whom God lived before us

For all in whom God lives beside us

Thanks be to God

For all the Spirit wants to bring us

For where the Spirit wants to send us

Thanks be to God

Listen

Christ has promise to be with us

In the world as in our worship.

And the blessing of God Almighty
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Be with you all
Those you love and those you pray for
Today and for ever

Amen, we go to meet him.

Worshipping Together

For all of you still not back with us in church here is a Kitchen Table Communion to say at home.

With every blessing and our prayers

Mary Tucker

A Service to say at home

Call to Worship

The Lord be with you

And also with you

God in Jesus has revealed his glory

Come let us worship together

From the rising of the sun to its setting

The Lord’s name is greatly to be praised

Hymn
– Sing something you enjoy!!

Prayer of Confession

Holy God we bring you ourselves

All that we are and all that we long to be

Our weakness, our failures, our sinfulness and our brokenness

Son of Mary             Have mercy on us

Carpenter of Nazareth     Have mercy on us

Healer of the sick        Have mercy on us

Bringer of light        Have mercy on us

Saviour of the poor        Have mercy on us

Bread of life            Have mercy on us

You who call us sister, brother, friend

Have mercy on us

Your body and Spirit with us

Holy God we bring you ourselves

All that we are and all that we long to be

Our weakness, our failures, our sinfulness and our brokenness                    Have mercy on us

Bible Readings

Mark 4:26-34

The Parable of the Growing Seed

26  He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,  27  and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.  28  The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.  29  But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

30  He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?  31  It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;  32  yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”  33  With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it;  34  he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

Ezekiel 17:22-24

22  Thus says the Lord  GOD:

I myself will take a sprig
        from the lofty top of a cedar;
        I will set it out.
I will break off a tender one
        from the topmost of its young twigs;
I myself will plant it
        on a high and lofty mountain.

23  On the mountain height of Israel
        I will plant it,
in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit,
        and become a noble cedar.
Under it every kind of bird will live;
        in the shade of its branches will nest
        winged creatures of every kind.

24  All the trees of the field shall know
        that I am the  LORD.
I bring low the high tree,
        I make high the low tree;
I dry up the green tree
        and make the dry tree flourish.
I the  LORD  have spoken;
        I will accomplish it.

Some Thoughts on the Reading

I received a present a few years ago and when I got it realised that it was very well timed.  I was so chuffed with it I even wore it the next time I was at Sharpness church.  I shared with the congregation with both pride and some shame.  It was . . . . an Incredible Hulk arm band!!!

The significance of it was and is that there are times when things happen that make me so cross I feel like bursting from my cassock into just such a monstrous form.

For those of you unfamiliar with this Marvel Comic antihero – it’s a bit like a modern American Jekyl and Hyde, where the apparently pleasant hero Bruce Banner, is transformed from time to time, bursting from his clothes and changing into a huge and terrifying green monster.  Like Jekyl and Hyde the good side of the character, Bruce, is constantly trying to rid himself of his horrific alter ego and find a cure.

Considering there was no mention of green monsters in either of our two readings today you may wonder where I’m going with this, bear with me.  I can think of two incidents which illustrate what I mean (and as always with things like this I change the names and locations to protect the innocent).  They were both things that threatened to bring out my inner hulk.

The first was a Baptism service where, having reassured the congregation that I had a big enough voice to talk over babies who wailed, I found myself instead talking over two adults who sat throughout the service, right in front of me, having a long and obviously very interesting conversation!

Never mind my inner hulk, it was my inner teacher I had to restrain.  I so nearly stopped, gave them my mark four glare and said, “If you can’t listen now you’ll listen at break-time when everyone else is out to play!”

The second, even worse, was when I was approached by a friend, obviously quite upset, who wanted to check out with me whether she was going to hell because a minister, taking a funeral, had that day said that if the congregation had not said a particular prayer of repentance at just the right moment then that was what was going to happen to them all!

I allowed my inner hulk full rein and actually it helped for her to see how cross I was because it convinced her as I reassured her, with illustrations of what God is actually like, that this was a wrong vision of God, a seriously wrong idea of our loving Father waiting, longingly, lovingly to forgive each and every time we turn to him, never mind what words of sorrow we do or do not use.

The trouble is, like poor Bruce Banner when he is de-hulked, I am left exhausted and depressed and you may feel the same sometimes as you look out on our largely non-Christian society.

“Why do I bother?” I start to ask, “What’s the point?” you may find yourself wondering, “if the world just seems to be going to hell in a handcart!”  Why do any of us bother as we pray and praise and plead with our God to do something, to intervene, to bring his kingdom in with all the joy and peace he has promised us?

So today, God himself speaks from the pages of scripture and he does so in a way we can understand – he uses pictures we are familiar with, analogies if you like, parables.

The first, in Ezekiel, is the illustration of a huge cedar tree.  God takes a cutting, a single tiny sprig, it looks like nothing.  It’s so small when he plants it we wonder why he’s bothered, what’s the point?

And yet, as those of you who are any kind of gardeners will know, against all the odds and after weeks, possibly months, of just sitting there looking weedy and useless, things happen.  And the eventual outcome, says God, is a tree even bigger and better than the parent plant.

“It’s just like me and my kingdom,” he tells us, “however hopeless it all looks I, the Lord, have spoken and I will accomplish it, the kingdom will come and it will be bigger and better and  more perfect than you can ever imagine!”

Jesus, in Mark’s Gospel, is using exactly the same illustration and as he and his audience were familiar with Isaiah’s writings, as well as the incredible growth of large plants from small seeds it will have been a meaningful picture.

Words written by Dr Alan Cole explain the metaphor so well:-

“
The sprouting seed reminds us of the quiet and continuous growth of God’s kingdom in our hearts.  We do not need to be anxious or struggle. The seed will bear fruit of its own accord. . . . so the kingdom will grow from insignificant beginnings to final triumph.

This is a great encouragement to those of us living in lands where Christians are increasingly a tiny and often despised minority.  We work with confidence, waiting patiently for God to fulfil his promise.”

So next time you, like me, feel your inner hulk emerging when the world around us, even sometimes within the church, appears to get things so wrong;

when you, like me, find the green monster just as suddenly disappearing, leaving you overtaken by feelings of hopelessness; turn to the God who has already triumphed, turn to the God who is your loving Father, who is bringing in his Kingdom in his own good time and in the words of Paul be confident,

for in Christ there is and will be a new creation into which all will be welcomed, even I guess the Incredible Hulks of this world.

Prayers

We pray to the Lord for courage and to give ourselves to him this Lent.

In this continuing time of crisis, give your Church the courage to give up her preoccupation with herself and to give time to your mission in the world.  



Lord, meet us in the silence,

give us strength and hear our prayer.

May the blood and water flowing from the side of Jesus bring forgiveness to your people and help us to face the cost of proclaiming salvation as we work together and apart in your damaged world.  



Lord, meet us in the silence,

give us strength and hear our prayer.

Give your world the courage to give up war, bitterness and hatred, and to seek peace and healing for each other.  



Lord, meet us in the silence,

give us strength and hear our prayer.

May the shoulders of the risen Jesus, once scourged by soldiers, bear the burden of our times.  



Lord, meet us in the silence,

give us strength and hear our prayer.

Give us the courage to give up quarrels, strife and jealousy in our families, neighbourhoods and communities.  



Lord, meet us in the silence,

give us strength and hear our prayer.

May the presence of the risen Jesus, his body once broken and now made whole, bring peace and direction as we live with one another.  Give us the courage to give up our selfishness as we live for others, and to give time, care and comfort to the sick in ways that are safe for them and for us.  



Lord, meet us in the silence,

give us strength and hear our prayer.

May the wounded hands of Jesus bring his healing touch to all who suffer, and the light of his presence fill their hearts and homes.  



Lord, meet us in the silence,

give us strength and hear our prayer.

Give us the courage to give up our fear of death and to rejoice with those who have died in faith.  May the feet of the risen Lord Jesus, once nailed to the cross, walk alongside the dying and bereaved in their agony, and walk with us and all your Church through death to the gate of glory.



Lord, meet us in the silence,

give us strength and hear our prayer here and in eternity. Amen.

We pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us

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, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.

Amen

A Home Communion

Take bread and wine or juice and pray

Blessed are you O God

For you have brought forth bread from the earth

Blessed are you O God

For you have created the fruit of the vine

Here at your table

You offer us light, bread and wine for the journey

To nourish us as sons and daughters

Jesus took bread, and having blessed it

He broke it and gave it to his disciples saying

Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you

In the same way after supper, he took the cup of wine

And gave you thanks, he gave it to them saying

Drink this all of you, this is my blood of the new covenant

Which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins

So now, following Jesus’ example

We take this bread and this wine and pray

Lord Jesus Christ, present with us now

Breathe your Spirit upon us and upon this bread and wine

That they may be heaven’s food for us

Renewing, sustaining and making us whole

That we may be your body on earth

Loving and caring in the world

 

Look – The bread of heaven – The light of the world

Here is Christ, coming to us in bread and wine

The gift of God for the people of the world

The table of bread and wine is now made ready

It is the table of company with Jesus

So, come to this table, you who have much faith

And you who would like to have more

You who have been to this sacrament often

And you who have not been for a long time

You who have tried to follow Jesus

And you who have failed

Come – it is Christ himself who invites us to meet him here

Eat your bread and sip you drink and take a moment of quiet before praying

Concluding Prayer

Holy God, we have seen with our eyes

And touched with our hands the bread of life the light of the world

Strengthen our faith

That we may grow in love for you and for each other

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

And may the blessing of God Almighty the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with us all, those we love and those we pray for. Amen.

Trinity 1 – 2021

A short service of Morning Prayer, today’s Gospel Reading and some thoughts on it.

With every blessing to you all,

Mary Tucker

This is the day that the Lord has made,

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Let’s sing together,

Holy, holy, holy!
Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning
Our song shall rise to Thee Holy, holy, holy!
Merciful and mighty
God in three persons
Blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy!
Though the darkness hide thee
Though the eye of sinful man
Thy glory may not see
Only Thou art holy
There is none beside Thee
Perfect in power, in love and purity

Together we confess our sins and are forgiven

Have mercy on us and redeem us, O Lord

for our merits are your mercies

and in your judgement is our salvation

Happy the one whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered,

. . . You surround me with songs of deliverance.

Thank you.

Amen.

Let us pray in the words of St Benedict,

Gracious and Holy Father,

give us wisdom to perceive you, 

diligence to seek you,

patience to wait for you,

eyes to behold you,

a heart to meditate on you

and a life to proclaim you,

through the power of the Spirit

of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Gospel Reading

Mark 3:20-26, 31-35

Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law

²⁰ Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. ²¹ When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

²² And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

²³ So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶ And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come . . . “

³¹ Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

³³ “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

³⁴ Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Some thoughts on the Reading

Misunderstanding – that’s the text for today. Misunderstanding of Jesus by the authorities, by his disciples, even by his own family. And, in the, frankly worrying, passage we’ve just read from Mark’s gospel, the possibility, nay probability of misunderstanding of Jesus by us too.

This is a piece of scripture which has caused pain and worry for many Christians down the ages and certainly makes uncomfortable reading. So we must be willing to look the problem straight in the eye and give it some time and thought. If we are not willing to do this we may become guilt ridden and fearful, but if we will do so we have words that, in the end, are the words of eternal life.

Jesus is, not surprisingly, the central figure in today’s gospel reading. People are crowding around him for several reasons. To begin with, he has been healing the sick, forgiving sins, casting out the powers of evil and teaching with authority and conviction. There’s no doubt that he has power. Even his enemies have to admit that – and he does have enemies. The opposition that will eventually bring Jesus to the cross has already started. Their accusation of him as working for Satan is shown quickly and forcefully to be arrant nonsense and dismissed with the contempt it deserves. But, there are the people who aren’t his enemies who still don’t understand him, in fact, think he’s gone mad – that he’s crazy. Sadly, these include some members of his own family. They want to take him home and sit him down quietly until he’s better. They are, I am sure, genuinely worried for him. Put yourself in their place and perhaps you will have some sympathy for them but also for Jesus.

They see their son/brother/friend giving up everything, pouring himself out endlessly, sacrificially to all and sundry. Not only that, but they see the attitude of the authorities. They see the danger he’s putting himself into. They truly believe that it’s all been too much, that the balance of his mind has been disturbed, that they need to restrain him and so they come to persuade him to abandon his mission of madness as they see it.

For Jesus however the painful truth is that even his family misunderstand him. What must it have cost this supremely loving man to say those words, knowing that God’s work for him could not be abandoned even for the ties of kinship and love?

Had Mary told him of Simeon’s words to her in the temple three decades before? If she had then the sword piercing the heart had perhaps become a reality for the first time that day – not just for the mother but for the son too facing the true cost of faithful obedience.

It is a sword which has pierced the hearts of many Christians down the ages and the accusation of madness still goes on.

‘Much learning has made you mad,’ says Festus to Paul at his trial in Rome.

‘What crack brained fanatics,’ cried the men of the Eighteenth century to Wesley and Whitfield.

‘God is a delusion. . . invented by mad, deluded people,’ asserts Richard Dawkins in his famous book denouncing Christianity in favour of Science.

On the other hand this Gospel reading may bring great comfort to those, rejected by home and family when they commit to Christ. One hopes such folk will find love and support in him and in his church but, like Jesus, they must not cease to love and care for their families

It does not, however, make any easier the following of a Lord who in his own life points to a loyalty and a commandment far more basic even than hearth and home – the claim of God that goes far deeper than the claims of an earthly family.

Let those of us who can then, give thanks that God’s call for us is one that is, thus far, inclusive not just of loving but also of being with and alongside our own whether they consider themselves Christian or not. Let us pray that we may be protected from having to make such soul piercing decisions but let’s also be mindful of those whose sacrifice of family ties down the years has added to the growth of the kingdom though at great personal cost.

Misunderstanding of the priorities of God’s way will continue to be a stumbling block in the eyes of the world but there is reassurance for, in apparently turning from his own, Jesus turned to us the surrounding crowd, the Church, turned to us opened his arms and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.”

A reassuring poem based on Psalm 121

I lift up mine eyes to the quiet hills,

And my heart to the Father’s Throne;

In all my ways, to the end of days,

The Lord will preserve his own.

And a few words from St Anselm

Jesus, like a mother you gather your people to you, you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.  Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness, through your sweet goodness, through your gentleness we find comfort in fear.  Your warmth gives life to the dead, your touch makes sinners righteous.  Lord Jesus in your mercy heal us, in your love and tenderness remake us, in your compassion bring grace and forgiveness and for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us.

Final words and a blessing

The Lord bless us and keep us,

the Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious to us,

the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon us and give us peace

And the blessing of God Almighty,

the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,

be with us this day,

with those we love and those we pray for.

Amen

Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord,

in the name of Christ

Amen

Worshipping Together –Apart

For those of you still preferring to worship at home here, once again, a short ‘Kitchen Table Communion’ today’s readings and some thoughts on them. Looking forward to seeing you in church when you feel safer

Every blessing
Mary Tucker

A Service to say at home

Call to Worship

The Lord be with you

And also with you

God in Jesus has revealed his glory

Come let us worship together

From the rising of the sun to its setting

The Lord’s name is greatly to be praised

Hymn – Sing something you enjoy!!

Prayer of Confession

Holy God we bring you ourselves

All that we are and all that we long to be

Our weakness, our failures, our sinfulness and our brokenness

Son of Mary Have mercy on us

Carpenter of Nazareth Have mercy on us

Healer of the sick Have mercy on us

Bringer of light Have mercy on us

Saviour of the poor Have mercy on us

Bread of life Have mercy on us

You who call us sister, brother, friend

Have mercy on us

Your body and Spirit with us

Holy God we bring you ourselves

All that we are and all that we long to be

Our weakness, our failures, our sinfulness and our brokenness Have mercy on us

Bible Readings

Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. ⁵ “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

This is the Word of the Lord, Thanks be to God

John 3:1-17

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spiritgives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[c] must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

⁹ “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man ¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

This is the Word of the Lord, Thanks be to God

Some Thoughts on the Reading

Today is Trinity Sunday and in our Bible readings we are faced with a Trinity of transformations, with the possibility of transformation, of complete change.

Many of us have lived lives of change especially recently, or if we have not it may be that we have lived a sort of ‘if only’ life – if only this were different hen everything would be all right. If only I had more money. If only I had a different job. If only I lived in a different place. If only this virus thing was over and done with. If only . . .

And for a few of us perhaps, some of these ‘if onlys’, these transformations may have come about. My experience however is that whatever the outcomes of these changes they are rarely if ever the total transformations, the complete answer to all life’s problems, that we had hoped they would be.

So today we meet Isaiah and Nicodemus and with them we meet God.

With Isaiah we meet the almost terrifyingly holy and powerful Father Almighty whose mere presence shakes the doorposts of the temple, whose glory is so overwhelming that all who look on him, even angelic beings, are forced to cover their eyes.

With Nicodemus we meet God in his human form, we meet Jesus and possibly, along with this apparently learned and knowledgeable Jew, we are confused by the God we meet, we fail to understand what he offers.

And yet both these encounters offer transformation and they offer it not just to the prophet, not just to the Pharisee but to us too.

With Isaiah, faced with the enormity of a totally righteous God, creator, sustainer and judge, we cry out in hopelessness, “Woe is me, I am lost, I am a man/woman of unclean lips” and we might add, “I can’t cope with this, I shouldn’t be here, I am a sinner and the righteous God will surely have nothing to do with me. I am lost!”

With Nicodemus, we hear the answer from the lips of God incarnate, come down to us as man in a form we feel we can bear. And yet we have no idea what he is saying to us. Perhaps we are still blinded by the fear of that smoke filled vision of total righteousness, holiness and glory we experienced with Isaiah.

We hear the words from Jesus about being born again and with poor Nicodemus say, “How can this be?” – “What on earth are you talking about. I don’t understand.”

A trinity of transformation I said at the beginning but thus far this seems to be a trinity of fear, confusion and misunderstanding for Isaiah, for Nicodemus and for us.

It would be tempting to give up at this point and admit that this is all beyond us but an amazing and unexpected thing is about to happen. As we stand with Isaiah, turning with him to run out of the temple, to escape from the presence of a God so mighty, so holy, so wholly ‘other’ that we cannot bear to be near him – God intervenes.

It is not we who are to bring about transformation, he will do it. His angel approaches and touches us, bringing us to a standstill with his words, “Now that this has touched your lips your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out” – “This is a sign for you, you are forgiven, you are accepted, it’s alright, it’s OK.”

And as we stop in amazed incomprehension about to cry out with the prophet

“But how can this be true?” when God himself speaks, and it’s not roaring thunder and it’s not with ear-splitting noise, it’s a still small voice and it asks a question, “Who shall I send? Who will go for us?” And the answer, amazing and unexpected as it is, leaps to our cleansed lips before we realise it, “Here I am – send me.”

We have been transformed in an instant from quivering wreck to willing, if apprehensive, servant. Offering ourselves we know not how to the service of the Almighty. Knowing beyond all hope that he is to be with us, that it is he who will enable us.

Nicodemus too may well have had such an epiphany for, though the gospel writer

doesn’t tell us exactly what happened to him next, we do come across him again later on. First, defending Jesus before the Pharisees (a dangerous thing to do), and at the very last assisting Joseph of Arimathea at Jesus’ burial (an equally risky endeavour for a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the temple to be involved in.)

But that was still to come, Nicodemus’ first reaction was one of utter confusion, a complete inability to understand which was causing him, and with him possibly us, to want to walk away shaking our heads and saying, “This makes no sense. This is impossible.”

This time it is the still small voice of Jesus, with possibly the most famous and certainly the most significant words in the whole Bible, who stops him and us in our tracks with a picture of God and his Son still so holy, still so wholly ‘other’ yet, in this case, unbelievably amazing.

“God so loved the world,” he reminds us, “that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

Today – this Trinity Sunday we are faced with a Trinity of transformations, the possibility of complete change.

Isaiah was changed, Nicodemus seems to have been changed and we can be changed all because God loves you so much that he has come to earth as a human being, has taken the punishment upon himself, to release us from the threat of death and to offer us an answer to all our ‘if onlys’ in a transformed life with his Spirit in and beside us now and into eternity.

Prayers

We pray to the Lord for courage and to give ourselves to him for transformation.

Give your Church the courage to give up her preoccupation with herself and to give time to your mission in the world. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength, transform us and hear our prayer.

May the blood and water flowing from the side of Jesus bring forgiveness to your people and help us to face the cost of proclaiming salvation as we work together in your damaged world. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength, transform us and hear our prayer.

Give your world the courage to give up war, bitterness and hatred, and to seek peace and healing for each other. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength, transform us and hear our prayer.

May the shoulders of the risen Jesus, once scourged by soldiers, bear the burden of our times. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength, transform us and hear our prayer.

Give us the courage to give up quarrels, strife and jealousy in our families, neighbourhoods and communities. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength, transform us and hear our prayer.

May the presence of the risen Jesus, his body once broken and now made whole, bring peace and direction as we live with one another. Give us the courage to give up our selfishness as we live for others, and to give time, care and comfort to the sick in ways that are safe for them and for us. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength, transform us and hear our prayer.

May the wounded hands of Jesus bring his healing touch to all who suffer, and the light of his presence fill their hearts and homes. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength, transform us and hear our prayer.

Give us the courage to give up our fear of death and to rejoice with those who have died in faith. May the feet of the risen Lord Jesus, once nailed to the cross, walk alongside the dying and bereaved in their agony, and walk with us and all your Church through death to the gate of glory. Lord, meet us in the silence, give us strength, transform us and hear our prayer.

We pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us

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, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.

Amen

A Home Communion

Take bread and wine or juice and pray

Blessed are you O God

For you have brought forth bread from the earth

Blessed are you O God

For you have created the fruit of the vine

Here at your table

You offer us light, bread and wine for the journey

To nourish us as sons and daughters

Jesus took bread, and having blessed it

He broke it and gave it to his disciples saying

Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you

In the same way after supper, he took the cup of wine

And gave you thanks, he gave it to them saying

Drink this all of you, this is my blood of the new covenant

Which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins

So now, following Jesus’ example

We take this bread and this wine and pray

Lord Jesus Christ, present with us now

Breathe your Spirit upon us and upon this bread and wine

That they may be heaven’s food for us

Renewing, sustaining and making us whole

That we may be your body on earth

Loving and caring in the world

Look – The bread of heaven – The light of the world

Here is Christ, coming to us in bread and wine

The gift of God for the people of the world

The table of bread and wine is now made ready

It is the table of company with Jesus

So, come to this table, you who have much faith

And you who would like to have more

You who have been to this sacrament often

And you who have not been for a long time

You who have tried to follow Jesus

And you who have failed

Come – it is Christ himself who invites us to meet him here

Eat your bread and sip you drink and take a moment of quiet before praying

Concluding Prayer

Holy God, we have seen with our eyes

And touched with our hands the bread of life the light of the world

Strengthen our faith

That we may grow in love for you and for each other

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

And may the blessing of God Almighty the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with us all, those we love and those we pray for. Amen

MORNING PRAYER
I know there are some of you who are still finding this morning worship on the web useful so here is this week’s offering. Mary Tucker Come, Spirit of God!
Come with your power to transform us.
Come Fire of Love!
Come with your wisdom to enlighten us.

PSALM 113 God’s glory shines over the heavens. Who compares to our God?
Servants of God, praise,
praise the name of the Lord.
Bless the Lord’s name
now and always.
Praise the Lord’s name
here and in every place,
from east to west.

The Lord towers above nations,
God’s glory shines over the heavens.
Who compares to our God?
Who is enthroned so high?

The Lord bends down
to see heaven and earth,
to raise the weak from the dust
and life the poor from the mire,
to seat them with princes
in the company of their leaders.

The childless, no longer alone,
rejoice now in many children.

Hallelujah.

CANTICLE
Be glad, rejoice, give glory to God!
I will draw you from the nations,
gather you from exile
and bring you home.

I will wash you in fresh water,
rid you from the filth of idols
and make you clean again.

I will make you a new heart,
breathe new spirit into you.
I will remove your heart of stone,
give you back a heart of flesh.

I will give you my own spirit
to lead you in my ways,
faithful to what I command.

Then you will live in the land,
the land I gave your ancestors.
You will be my people
and I will be your God.

READINGS

Acts 2:1-21

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,^[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³ Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵ These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! ¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ “‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy.
¹⁹ I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
²⁰ The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
²¹ And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

This is the Word of the Lord, Thanks be to God.

John 15:26-27, 16:4-15

The Work of the Holy Spirit

²⁶ “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. ²⁷ And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

⁴ I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, ⁵ but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. ⁷ But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ about sin, because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰ about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹ and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

¹² “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. ¹³ But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. ¹⁵ All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

This is the Word of the Lord, Thanks be to God.

Thoughts on the readings

Welcome again to one of the great days of the Christian calendar, welcome to Pentecost, welcome to Whitsun, welcome to the Holy Spirit and . . . welcome to journeying.

One of the joys of our Eucharists, our communion services, is the way they lead us on a journey, a journey through prayer and praise, a journey through word and teaching, a journey once again through the last great journey of Jesus from life, to death, to eternal life.

Today I could have wished a slightly different order in the journey, if only in the order of our readings. We started with the great and familiar words telling of the coming of the Spirit in wind and flame and then, as it were, stepped back a pace to Jesus telling the disciples that this was what was going to happen.

But as those of you with dodgy sat. navs. or poor map reading skills will know, many a journey is actually enhanced by an unexpected detour or, as I like to call them, scenic routes! Welcome then to Pentecost, welcome then to a journey or, as it happens, three journeys.

The first is a shared journey, shared by the Israelite nation and us the Christian descendants of Abraham. It’s a journey of learning, a journey into faith and understanding and takes up much of the Old Testament. For much of that time God’s chosen people had special holy places, perhaps a tent, like that set up for God to live in by the wandering Israelites in the wilderness. It seems strange to us but is part of the journey to understanding what God is like and where he is.

In those early days it helped the people of God to have a special place to, as it were, ‘keep God’. They feared as well as worshipped him and perhaps the tent and later the temple (and for us our churches) was not just a special place to worship, but an attempt to keep God where they wanted him – safe and out of the way!

Throughout their journeying, and ours since, we have eventually come to realise that God is not to be caged or limited by our imagination of him. So the journey continued and God became man. Jesus lived and died and rose again to show that the fearful God they, and possibly we, were tempted to hide away was actually a God motivated entirely by love.

The man Jesus demonstrated that this God was powerful indeed but also and overwhelmingly a God of love, a God of forgiveness, a God for all people however undeserving. And today we celebrate another step on the journey, another step in God’s patient explanation of what he is like, in the stories of the Ascension and of Pentecost,

In the second reading, our reading from John, Jesus prepared his disciples for the fact that he was going to leave them, to ascend. That his physical body, which had shown so clearly what God was like, was to go but that this was to be a good thing, that something even better was on the way.

Had we been there in those far off days, I suspect that we, like Mary Magdalene outside the tomb, would have been too keen to hang onto Jesus in his bodily form, to keep him with us as he was. But the job of Jesus on earth was done. The job of showing us God. The job of salvation which required God to die for us was also done and now the next part of the journey was to begin and for it, a completely new understanding of God was needed.

This was to be an even more constant support than a human version of God, this was to be an unseen but powerful presence available to us all, everywhere and for ever. The Spirit of Jesus. The Spirit of God – of God with us.

So there’s journey one and how fortunate we are to live in these days, to have all the learning of thousands of years of developing understanding of God which is wrapped up in our scriptures, our growing knowledge of God as powerful father, loving Son and present Spirit.

But the journey is not over and, in Peter, we have a wonderful example of just what the power of God’s Spirit can do for those who are journeying. Peter, who today we heard inspired and confident, speaking to the assembled crowds without fear and full of conviction.

Hang on a minute! This is Peter. This is Peter the impetuous. This is Peter of ‘foot in mouth’ fame who so often got things so badly wrong that at one point Jesus said to him, ‘Get behind me Satan.’

This is Peter who tried and failed to walk on water, who pulled out a sword and chopped off a servant’s ear’, a tired fisherman, the man who swore to keep faith and then ran away, the man who swore blind three times that he didn’t even know Jesus.

If we are tempted to look on the Holy Spirit as some lesser manifestation of God – stop right there. Just look at Peter’s journey. A journey from confusion to conviction, from fear to faith. A journey of change so profound it beggars belief except that in the power of the Spirit, of God’s Spirit, of the Spirit of Jesus, all things are possible, for all people, everywhere and for ever.

And so to the third journey, our journey.

We may take huge comfort from today’s reading about Peter and the disciples for it is full of promises of what is available to us as we journey on with God. First and foremost of course is that promise of presence. ‘I will be with you always,’ says Jesus to each one of us, ‘even to the end of the world.’

We may feel God’s presence, especially in church or out and about in the beauty of nature. We may even, like the early Israelite people, have a particular awareness of him in a ‘tent’, some corner we have set aside for him in our homes or gardens, but oh how much more precious is that feeling of him beside us, with us, in times of trail and torment. That knowledge that we can call on him, deep in our own hearts at any hour of the day or night.

And there’s another promise too, and it’s one that makes me smile enormously – it’s that drunkenness allegation! So it can be with us! It’s a promise of joy, of confidence, of overflowing love so great that we may feel, and appear, drunk on it!

And what better advertisement can there be for a world lost in sadness and fear, but to see Christians living in exactly the same circumstances as their own but filled with God’s Spirit of love, so much so that we appear drunk with it!

So as you journey on, and we’re all at different stages on that journey, rejoice that we are in a time and place on the whole journey of God which means we know him as Father, Son and Holy Spirit anywhere, everywhere and for ever.

Welcome to journeying. Welcome to Pentecost. Welcome to Whitsun. Welcome to the Holy Spirit.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.

Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who shepherds the people and sets them free.

God raises from David’s house a child with power to save.
Through the holy prophets God promised in ages past to save us from enemy hands, from the grip of all who hate us.

The Lord favoured our ancestors recalling the sacred covenant, the pledge to our ancestor Abraham,
to free us from our enemies, so we might worship without fear and be holy and just all our days.

And you child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will come to prepare a pathway for the Lord by teaching the people salvation through forgiveness of their sin.

Out of God’s deepest mercy a dawn will come from on high, light for those shadowed by death, a guide for our feet on the way to peace.

INTERCESSIONS
Jesus, you promised us the Spirit to be our advocate and guide. Recognizing your fidelity and our many needs, we pray:

~ Fill us with your Spirit, and send us forth to serve you.
That we may be renewed in heart and mind:

That we may see you in your people who are poor:

That we may speak the truth in love:

That we may make wise choices for the common good:

That we may work to bring about a new heaven and a new earth:

That we may be credible witnesses to your mercy:

THE LORD’S PRAYER

PRAYER
Spirit of Jesus, on Pentecost you stirred the apostles to go out and proclaim the Good News. You blessed them with the faith and courage to carry the gospel throughout the world. Kindle in us zeal for the coming of the kingdom. Translate our vision of a more loving world into daily acts of justice. This we ask in the name of Jesus, our friend and Saviour. Amen

BLESSING
May the Spirit of God dwell within us. Amen.
May the Spirit of God animate us. AmenMay the Spirit of God create new hearts in us. Amen.

Easter 7 – 16^th May 2021

A short service of Morning Prayer, today’s Psalm and some thoughts on it from Mary

This is the day that the Lord has made,

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Let’s sing together,

O God our help in ages past,

our hope for years to come,

be Thou our guard while troubles last

and our eternal home.

Together we confess our sins and are forgiven

Have mercy on us and redeem us, O Lord

for our merits are your mercies

and in your judgement is our salvation

Happy the one whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered,

. . . You surround me with songs of deliverance.

Thank you.

Amen.

Let us pray in the words of St Benedict,

Gracious and Holy Father,

give us wisdom to perceive you, 

diligence to seek you,

patience to wait for you,

eyes to behold you,

a heart to meditate on you

and a life to proclaim you,

through the power of the Spirit

of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Psalm 1

¹ Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

⁴ Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

I wonder how you react to that Psalm. You may feel comfortable or uncomfortable. You may feel neither. I must admit that, for me, a brief moment of comfortable-ness (if that’s a real word!) quickly transformed into great discomfort, even worry and then strangely, back again.

The comfort came, momentarily, as I identified with the happiness, the blessedness of the first 3 verses. So often, even in bad times I DO feel like a well-watered tree, as though my roots somehow go right down into something much greater and powerful than me. As it says in another place I feel safe because I feel rooted in God’s loving-kindness. It’s amazing how often, usually on a bereavement visit or at somebodies sick-bed, a friend, a parishioner, will say something like, ‘How do people manage if they can’t turn to God?’ and I have to respond that I don’t know but that somehow I hope he can make his loving presence felt.

However, the discomfort which almost immediately replaced the slightly self-satisfied pleasure in my apparent situation came when I looked more closely and saw who these people were who were to feel all this peace and tranquillity deep down, to say nothing of guaranteed prosperity! Whichever translation you look at it is clear that these folk are ‘the righteous’ – they don’t appear to sin or do wicked things and spend the entire time in deep prayer and Bible study – if only! That is most certainly not me and I doubt (though of course I don’t know) that you feel it is you.

Comfort disappeared after an even shorter millisecond as I moved to verses 4 & 5. The self-satisfaction mentioned earlier clung on just long enough for me to dismiss the idea that I was one of ‘the wicked’ before, I’m relieved to say, it was swiftly replaced by a realisation that, probably, I was more properly to be filed amongst these people than amongst the aforesaid ‘righteous’!

And yet . . . and yet when I read the whole thing again, despite all the evidence against, my overall feeling was one of safety in the arms of God. How could this be?!

I turned to my trusty Bible Commentary to try and square this circle, and immediately the wisdom of its writers and patience of the Almighty began to explain the apparent un-explain-ability (another made up word?) of my reactions.

God and the commentators grabbed the bull by the horns immediately to deal with the palpable nonsense of words which seem to promise a lottery win for any and all who manage to live a perfect and godly life. Here is what they have to say,

“This promise of prosperity is not a pledge of good fortune in return for good behaviour – the Psalmist knows life too well for that! Rather, just as we continue to say ‘I believe in God the Father Almighty’ yet find that life often seems to deny both his fatherliness and his almightiness (glad I’m not the only one who makes up words!), so also this Psalm professes a creed: this world is God’s world and those who side with him will surely and ultimately enjoy blessing.” It fits so well with so many who I have heard, even in the depths of distress and pain, stating that however awful things are they are better with God than without him.

That helps a bit but still leaves us with the idea that this blessing from God, this feeling of his presence with us is bound up somehow with being ‘righteous’.

Again, in the power of the Spirit, our trusty commentary team gallop to the rescue by simply explaining what that word means. ‘Righteousness’ means ‘being right with God’, and if this present Easter season has taught us nothing else it is that ‘being right with God’, far from being something we can achieve ourselves, is a gift from him, bought at great price when he became man , died and rose again carrying away our guilt. We are right with him simply by accepting that priceless present.

If we accept the gift of salvation and allow ourselves to be transplanted, like a sapling tree, into a life where we try to live God’s way, we will feel our roots firming in, we will stand strong in his power through the storms of life however they may rock us. We will fail sometimes to live the distinctive way of his laws but we will also know that every time we turn back to the light of his presence we will be made anew, made right with him – indeed made ‘righteous’, and that means we will be blessed indeed. What comfort!

A reassuring poem based on Psalm 121

I lift up mine eyes to the quiet hills,

And my heart to the Father’s Throne;

In all my ways, to the end of days,

The Lord will preserve his own.

And a few words from St Anselm

Jesus, like a mother you gather your people to you, you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.  Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness, through your sweet goodness, through your gentleness we find comfort in fear.  Your warmth gives life to the dead, your touch makes sinners righteous.  Lord Jesus in your mercy heal us, in your love and tenderness remake us, in your compassion bring grace and forgiveness and for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us.

Final words and a blessing

The Lord bless us and keep us,

the Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious to us,

the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon us and give us peace

And the blessing of God Almighty,

the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,

be with us this day,

with those we love and those we pray for.

Amen

Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord,

in the name of Christ

Amen

---

Stilman was at Slimbridge this morning