St Clement Church Community Sunday Service 14.7.24
Good morning to you all as we celebrate the 7th Sunday after Trinity. This Service of the Word is for you to read at home if you’re unable to attend St Clement in person on Sunday.
Much love and may Christ’s love sustain you always.
Rev Di and family xx
Let us pray;
Almighty God, you have created the heavens and the earth and made us in your own image: teach us to discern your hand and in all your works and your likeness in all your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn: ‘Lead us Heavenly Father, Lead us’
Our prayers of Penitence
As we celebrate the grace and goodness of God, we remember our failings and weaknesses:
When we have lived by our own strength, and not by the power of your resurrection. In your mercy, forgive us and help us.
When we have lived by the light of our own eyes, as faithless and not believing. In your mercy, forgive us and help us.
When we have lived for this earthly life alone, and doubted our home in heaven. In your mercy, forgive us and help us.
May Almighty God have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins and failings, and bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray our Collect for the 7th Sunday after Trinity
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things:
graft in our hearts the love of your name, increase in us true religion,
nourish us with all goodness, and of your great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever.
Amen.
Readings:
Amos 7. 7-15
Ephesians 1. 3-14
Hymn; ‘God Moves in a Mysterious Way’
Gospel: Mark 6. 14-29
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.
Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, ‘John the baptiser has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.’ But others said, ‘It is Elijah.’ And others said, ‘It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’ But when Herod heard of it, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.’
For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee.
When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.’ And he solemnly swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What should I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the baptiser.’ Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’ The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
(This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.)
Reflection
The sermon this morning is about promises––rash promises, promises made with every good intention, and broken promises.
We’ll begin with rash promises, since that’s what the gospel lesson is about this morning. I expect we’ve all made a rash promise on impulse, promised something we wished we could take back, the minute the words were out of our mouth. Rash promises, we’ve all made them, haven’t we, and regretted it big time.
Herod was no exception, he threw a huge party to celebrate his birthday and invited all of his cronies to come – and at the height of the celebration, his step-daughter made her entrance and danced for them.
Well, it must have been some kind of special dance, 3 veils maybe instead of 7, as after it was over, Herod blurted out for all to hear; “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it” It was a rash promise. But then, so what? What could a young woman like her want from him? A new wardrobe? Precious jewels? A new sports chariot? He wasn’t worried.
However, the girl asked her mother for advice; “What shall I ask for?” And her mother, nursing bitter contempt for John because he’d condemned her for adultery, said; “The head of John the Baptist.”
When Herodias came back to the banquet hall, a hush must have fallen over the crowd. It was after all, a moment of high drama, what would she ask for? The girl said, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” Herod’s heart sank.
True, John had disgraced him publicly because of Herod stealing his own brother’s wife, so had thrown John in prison, but he’d no intention of killing him.
Yet, he’d made a promise, everyone had heard it, and to go back on his word would mean losing face, and he’d never be able to live that down, so in no time, the executioner came back with John’s head on a platter.
Rash promises, we all make them.
But not all promises are rash promises. Sometimes we make promises thoughtfully with every good intention of keeping our word, it’s just that sometimes things don’t always work out as we planned.
Several years ago now, a wealthy businessman pledged 2 million pounds to a Birmingham hospital that specialises in rebuilding the lives of British servicemen who’d come back from Afghanistan horribly injured.
But no sooner than he’d made the pledge, the price of his firm’s shares dropped, he found himself in financial trouble, and he couldn’t come up with all the money. But he promised; “I can give you a million now, and eventually I’ll pay the rest.” Just imagine that anyway, being able to part with a million pounds…..and in time, as share prices rebounded, he recovered his losses and paid off the pledge in full.
But what about broken promises? Can we expect to be forgiven when we’ve given our word but don’t keep it?
I believe so. I believe God’s grace is sufficient, not only to help us fulfil our promises, but, at times to embrace us when we fail and default on a promise.
I hasten to say, this is serious business, and we ought not to take it lightly. At the very least, we ought to be clear: God’s grace doesn’t give us licence to act irresponsibly, when we make a promise, we ought to do everything we can to keep it. It’s just that there are times when that’s impossible to do.
When it comes to making promises, we all fall short of the mark, we make rash promises we regret … and promises made with every good intention we can’t keep … and promises that in the end, turn out to be broken promises we can’t do much about.
The Good News however, is our hope in the one whose promises are steadfast and sure, Jesus Christ. Such as he promised his disciples; “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” And; “I am the resurrection and the life, those who believe in me, even though they die, will live; and everyone who lives and believes in me, will never die.”
The gospels are full of promises Jesus made to his disciples, and they’re just as valid today for us, and for all who put their faith in him.
May his grace give us the strength to make promises we can keep, and keep the promises we have made. Amen.
Affirmation of our faith
Let us declare our faith in God:
We believe and trust in God the Father, source of all being and life, the one for whom we exist. We believe and trust in God the Son, who took our human nature, died for us and rose again.
We believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God and makes Christ known in the world.
This is the faith of the Church. This is our faith. We believe and trust in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Hymn; ‘The Church’s one Foundation’
Our Intercessions this week are written by Daphne Hawkins
In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ let us pray to the Father. Merciful Father - thank you dear Father for bringing us to a new dawn and for the night of sleep and rest. Thank you for renewed health and energy as we start the new day, for your love and guidance that whatever the day may hold we do not face it alone. You are always beside us and will never let us down.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, we pray for your Church world-wide that she will grow in strength and number bringing the Christian faith to all people. We pray you will guide and nurture all bishop, priests and church leaders often serving many churches and communities with little support. We pray for our own priest Reverend Diane and her family as she cares for our church and our community with kindness and compassion.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Dear Lord, we bring to you our Royal Family and pray for the recovery of our dear King and the Princess of Wales. We offer our prayers for the whole family who are sharing the extra duties during this difficult time. We remember Princess Anne who is recovering from her accident. Being royalty does not exclude them from pain and sickness.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Dear Lord, we pray for those members of our church who work so hard and contribute so much to the running of St Clement. Liz who has taken on so many tasks and donates so much of her time as well as collecting some of us, enabling us to attend St Clement.
Helen who does so much in the running of the financial side of the church ensuring everything is taken care of efficiently. Terry who is always on standby to provide our music. Ken and Nigel who carry out so many tasks maintaining our buildings so willingly, in good humour and no charge. Kate with the flowers and Jack, and all who help with the cleaning and keeping St Clement looking so lovely. Everyone on the Coffee rota which encourages the lovely friendly get-together at the end of our services.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Merciful Father, we can only come to you with heavy hearts as we offer our prayers for all our dear brothers and sisters who are suffering the atrocities of the wars in Ukraine, Palestine, and Israel. We ask that you are merciful to those in such desperate need grieving the loss of loved ones and so many dear children denied a life; those hungry, homeless, suffering with no hope in these dark days. We are helpless and can only come to you in prayer for peace.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, we bring to you all people in need of your presence at this time; those who suffer in body, mind or spirit, those alone and unloved. In our little community and known to us are: Reverend Diane and Ken, May, Susan, Lauren, Lynda, Barrie and Sandra, Pam and David, Terry and Dot, Margaret, Maureen, Alison and Rob, Jan, Anita and Stephen, Michael and Patricia, Jeremy, Stella, William, Callum and Elaine, Jay, Andy, and Ann. We remember those who have lost their faith with no hope for the days ahead. So Lord, please give comfort, peace, and love to all in need, be with them and lay your healing hands on them.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
We pray for the souls of all who have ended life’s journey and are with you reunited with those who have gone before. May they all find rest and peace in everlasting life.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, in you our lives are not meaningless. You have shown us what we are in the world for, not for just ourselves but for others; not to get what we can but to give what we can; not to make a name for ourselves but to glorify your name; to share what we have and do what we can. Help us to acknowledge these things and live our lives as you would have us live them. Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Andrew, St Clement, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, we commend ourselves and all Christians and those who work for your peace to your unfailing love.
Merciful Father: accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen
Gathering our prayers and praises into one, let us pray with confidence as Jesus 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.
Hymn; ‘To God be the Glory!’
The Peace
We are the body of Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised into one body. Let us then pursue all that makes for peace and build up our common life. May the peace of God be always with us.
Amen.
Blessing
May God the Holy Trinity make us strong in faith and love, defend us on every side and guide us in truth and peace. And may the presence of God watch over us, the power of God protect us, those whom we love, and may we never forget that wherever we are, God is with us always, to the end of the age.
Amen.