Printable services for those unable to attend St C

St Clement Church Community Fifth after Trinity Sunday Service

Welcome to this Act of Worship, wherever you may be, on this, the Fifth Sunday after Trinity.

While many people feel that one can only really worship in church, I firmly believe that, as God is with us wherever we are, worship and praise can be given at any-time, anywhere and everywhere.

So, as you share worship with us offer your praise and thanks to the Lord for all His many gifts to each and every one of us.

My love to you all

Liz

Let us pray;

Remember, O Lord, what you have wrought in us and not what we deserve, and as you have called us to your service, make us worthy of our calling; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Hymn: O for a closer walk with God

God of the open road, God of the twisting path; God of the narrow and upward way; your people are gathered for worship. In this hour, give us provision for the journey: courage, faith, compassion and endurance to face any hardship. Open our eyes to see you walking beside us: protecting us, encouraging us, loving us. We pray this in the name of Jesus who moves us.

Amen

Prayer of Penitence

Gracious and Loving God, we come into Your presence asking for Your forgiveness. Forgive us for aspirations that never get translated into action and for promises that we have not kept. Forgive us for having good intentions that were not fulfilled and for the good deeds that we never got around to doing. Grant us a new vision and help us to move from intention to action. Help us, Lord, to keep our eyes on You and to be faithful in all that we say or do, In Christ’s name we pray.

Amen.

Let us pray our Collect for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified: hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people, that in their vocation and ministry they may serve you in holiness and truth to the glory of your name; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen

Readings:

Ezekiel 2. 1 - 5

2 Corinthians 12. 2 - 10

Hymn: Lead us Heavenly Father lead us

Gospel: Mark 6. 1 - 13

(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.

Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)

Jesus came to his home town, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town and among their own kin, and in their own house.’ And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went about among the villages teaching.

He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.’

So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

(This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ)

Reflection

Now please don’t think that I am likening myself to Jesus, but reading today’s Gospel reminds me of when I first returned to Truro after being away for fourteen years – I’d been home for holidays during that time but I hadn’t lived here. One day when I was in town, I was suddenly stopped by a woman who snapped, ‘That you, an Eddy, should have done what you’ve done!’ and she ‘stomped’ off.

To say I was stunned, is an understatement. What was she on about? What on earth had I done? But, that ‘accusation’ went straight to my heart and I went home in tears. My father, a very wise and gentle man said, ‘Forget it, my love, you have done nothing to feel guilty about. Some people judge on what they do not know. Give it a week and someone else will be in the firing line.’

I had grown up in Truro, my family was well known and respected. Many of the older generation had had my grandfather as their head master, my father was their GP, but on coming home to my home city I was now being judged and condemned out of hand and unjustifiably.

Last week, Reverend Di talked about the need to forgive ourselves because God has long since forgiven us, but the memory of certain things or deeds in our past can often haunt us and we don’t forgive ourselves easily even when we have nothing to forgive.

Jesus, having healed a woman who touched His garment and then brought Jairus’ daughter back to life is now going home. His family is well known and respected and one would expect Him to be welcomed – and maybe He is, initially, but then He dares to teach in the synagogue. The reaction isn’t what He might have hoped for – yes people are amazed but not in a positive way. They seem to think that this local boy has become ‘far too big for his boots.’ There’s even a hint of scandal as the people of Nazareth question His authority. They ask, ‘Isn’t this Mary’s son?’ instead of, ‘Isn’t this Joseph and Mary’s boy?’ At that time, it’s just short of an insult to skip over naming the father as head of the household. It hints at the possibility that Jesus is an illegitimate child, bringing shame to His whole community.

Shame and honour form the foundation of social interaction in Nazareth at this time. If someone gains honour in the community, that means someone else has to lose. Keeping the balance between shame and honour is important. And here is Jesus claiming the honour of a prophet for Himself! This upsets the whole hierarchy of social standing. It means that someone – probably the synagogue leaders – would have to lose honour. The young upstart needs to be put in His place, and reminded that they know who He was before He became famous – just a common builder and carpenter – nothing more. Jesus has been busy amazing people in Capernaum, across the Sea of Galilee and even in the middle of the lake itself, but now it’s His turn to be amazed. What makes Jesus shake His head? It’s the lack of faith He sees in His hometown friends and family. We read that ‘he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.’ Does this mean Jesus wouldn’t or couldn’t work any miracles? Or maybe the question should be, how does our lack of faith affect the way God works? Do we really keep God out of the miracle business, simply because we lack faith? Yes, I know, God’s omnipotence and grace is not dependent on anything we do, but what does happen in Nazareth? Jesus does heal a few. There are at least some who seek Him out in faith.

Perhaps this is the key – Jesus responds when we fall at is feet and ask for His mercy. He can’t answer our prayers unless we pray them. He can only transform our lives to the extent that we allow Him to. Jesus’ ability to do great things in Nazareth was only limited by the fact that nobody bothered to ask – except a few and they were healed.

What if we need to accept the possibility that we actually have something to do, that we have an important role to play in the manifestation of the kingdom. Each of us is invited to play a role in sensing, experiencing and making known God’s will and work in the world.

How might we be encouraging God’s work in our lives? How might we be preventing him from doing the work he wants to perform in us? It isn’t only about accepting God’s grace to save us and inviting Jesus into our hearts. It’s about being true disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. It’s about trusting God enough to ask him to change us, and mean it.

The disciples who followed Jesus to Nazareth didn’t abandon Him when the town rejected His message. They were watching closely to see what He would do. As Jesus kept on with His ministry of preaching good news and healing the sick, casting out unclean spirits and giving hope to the poor, the disciples were learning what it means to be a true follower of Christ.

In the second part of the Gospel reading Jesus gives some very specific directions to His disciples. He tells them what to take and what not to take with them on their journey. It’s clear that Jesus wants His followers to go out in His name, completely depending on God to provide for their needs through the hospitality of others. Jesus knows that they will probably face rejection in at least some of the towns they visit. The disciples see the way Jesus leaves Nazareth and goes into the nearby villages to keep preaching and healing. Now He tells them to shake the dust off their feet as they leave any place that does not receive them or their message. So they go, and their ministry is fruitful. No doubt they run into some opposition from time to time. We know from the rest of the story that Jesus will face growing resistance from those who feel threatened by His message. But that doesn’t stop Him from seeing it through, from dying on the cross for us, from rising on the third day to defeat death and sin once and for all.

Sometimes rejection is the springboard for ministry. Sometimes, do we fear rejection so much that it prevents us from experiencing God’s power at work in our lives? When we shrink back from stepping out in faith, we short-change ourselves and Christ can do no deed of power in us. We become what John Wesley calls an ‘almost Christian,’ living out the form of a godly life without experiencing its power.

Following Jesus means putting it all on the line. We may find some don’t want to hear our message of hope. That doesn’t mean we should stop sharing it. Some may ridicule us or walk away. There are others who will respond to the good news that God loves them. When we put our full faith in Christ, living into the assurance that He will act, He can change our brokenness into fruitfulness.

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 in God the Holy Spirit who gives life to the people of God and makes Christ known to 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: Breathe on me breath of God

Our Intercessions this week

We lift our prayers to you, O Lord, for all people everywhere, those close to us and those far away.

We pray for those who minister and preach that they may never find themselves rejected out of hand as our Saviour Jesus Christ was in His home town synagogue.

We pray for the worldwide Church and ask your help for it to grow in faith. Help us to respect the beliefs of others even if we do not share them, to celebrate what we have in common and accept our differences. Guide us in our ministries as we live each day determined to spread the Good News of your Son Jesus Christ.