St Clement Church Community Sunday Service 30.7.23
Good morning to you all as we celebrate the 8th Sunday after Trinity, this service is for you to read at home if you’re unable to attend with us at St Clement. Please continue to keep yourselves safe when you go out and about, especially as our roads are very busy at the moment during this holiday season.
Much love and may Christ’s love sustain you always.
Rev Di and family xx
Let us pray;
Lord Jesus Christ, give us the desire to seek first God’s will in all things. Help us to listen to your Word, and show forth your love, in lives of service and sacrifice.
Amen.
Hymn: ‘New every morning is the love’
Our prayers of Penitence
Christ the light of the world came to dispel the darkness of our hearts. In his light let us confess our failings:
Jesus, Emmanuel,
Forgive our ungrateful hearts…..Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, Son of God,
Forgive our self-centred lives…..Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, Prince of Peace,
Forgive our bitter conflicts…..Lord, have mercy.
May Almighty God, who sent his Son into the world to save us, bring us his pardon and peace, now and for ever. Amen.
Let us pray our Collect for the 8th Sunday after Trinity
Lord God, your Son left the riches of heaven and became poor for our sake: when we prosper save us from pride, when we are needy save us from despair, that we may trust in you alone; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Readings:
1 Kings 3. 5-12
Romans 8. 26-39
Hymn; ‘All my Hope on God is Founded’
Gospel: Matthew 13. 31-33, 44-52
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
Jesus put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’ He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’
‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’
Reflection
I’ve preached quite a few sermons since my ordination, and probably have inflicted many hours of suffering on you good people – but if I had all that time available again, I still wouldn’t be able to bring out all the wealth of meaning in either of the two readings we’ve heard this morning, from Paul’s letter to the Romans and from Matthew’s gospel, but I’m going to try and touch on what Jesus said about the kingdom of heaven.
When Matthew tells us Jesus tried to give people some idea of the kingdom of Heaven, he uses seven different images. In the last two weeks we’ve heard the parable of the sower, and the weeds in the wheat, and today we hear five more images of what the kingdom is like.
I heard a story about a Sunday school teacher who was talking about this with her class. She wanted to find out if the children understood the idea of getting into heaven by believing in Jesus.
She asked them: “If I had a big car boot sale and sold all my belongings, and then sold my house and car and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into heaven?” All the children shouted “No!”
“If I cleaned the church every day and looked after the flowers, would that get me into heaven?” Again, the answer was “No!”
If I was kind to animals and gave sweets to all the children, would that get me into heaven? The children shouted “No!” again. The teacher was just bursting with pride for them.
“So how can I get into heaven?” she asked. A six-year old boy shouted out, “Please, miss, you’ve got to be dead!”
Understandable for a six-year old maybe, but it also seems to be the idea that many adult Christians have about heaven – that it’s a place you go to when you die, as long as you’ve been good. But that’s not what the Bible tells us. Throughout the Bible the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are interchangeable. Within the limits of our language we think of it as somewhere where God rules supreme,
where there is no sin or evil, where we will have perfect peace. But it’s not somewhere else – it starts here on earth and we can be part of it now.
It’s true that just before his death Jesus promised that he was going to prepare a place for his followers, but that doesn’t mean we only get to know heaven after we die. Before Jesus came, the Jewish people believed the kingdom of God would be an earthly kingdom – one where they as God’s chosen people would rule over all other people, instead of being oppressed by the Romans.
But Jesus gives us a different, new idea, of heaven, you only have to think of the prayer Jesus taught us, the Lord’s Prayer – “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” – it’s a prayer that God’s kingdom will come on earth.
We might already have experienced a bit of that kingdom, perhaps in the relief we have when we can give our troubles to Jesus in prayer; the peace and calm that he can bring in times of distress. Some people talk of somehow being lifted onto a higher plane, a higher level of feeling.
The five images in today’s gospel tell us about different aspects of heaven. The mustard seed tells of growth, from tiny beginnings to worldwide coverage – the word being passed on from one person to another. The yeast speaks of the transforming power of Christ in the world, through the people of the world.
The treasure in the field represents the great value of the kingdom of heaven, precious beyond words, so valuable that we should be eager to make the greatest sacrifice to be part of it.
The pearl is very similar, a thing of great value, but notice there’s a difference with this image – Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like the merchant – the kingdom is within the man himself as he recognises that valuable thing.
What is it that these four images tell us about God’s kingdom? They tell us that although heaven is a realm beyond our earthly understanding of space and time, it can also be within us. In the 1980s there was a pop song called ‘Heaven is a place on earth,’ sung by Belinda Carlisle. Well, it’s not one place, and it’s maybe not in the way she meant, but if heaven is a place on earth, it’s within us.
The treasure that Jesus speaks about is distinct from us, but when we discover it and take it to heart, it transforms us. We become the kingdom.
But we have a choice. We decide for ourselves whether we take it to heart or not, and that’s what the final image is about.
It’s about a great net thrown into the sea that brings in fish of many kinds. In due course they are sorted out, the good from the bad. At one level it means that those who turn their backs on God will be eventually judged, and until then we have to live in a world with evil people. But it also means that those who have sought God’s kingdom will finally experience the full revelation of God’s glory.
The late Father Wynford, who had been a priest for 70 years, once said on the anniversary of his ordination: “I spent the first 35 years of my priesthood trying to bring people into the kingdom. I’ve spent the last 35 trying to bring the kingdom into people.” In other words, never mind trying to get yourself into heaven – try to get heaven into yourself.
As we nurture the kingdom within us, we discover that good and bad are interwoven, like the wheat and the weeds. It’s not always clear how we should cope with this – sometimes we have to make very difficult decisions, sometimes we just have to be patient, but in the end all will be well. For as St Paul says, neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 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; ‘God Moves in a Mysterious Way’
Our Intercessions this week are written by Helen Dunbar
Let us pray for the Church and for the world and let us thank God for his goodness. May the Spirit pray through us as we try to put into words the longings of our hearts for the Church and for the world.
Father, we thank you for all who have helped us to pray and to grasp something of your great love and power. We ask your blessing and empowering for all who teach and minister in your name;
we ask for our Sunday worship to be an overflowing of our daily walk with you, an expression of our deepening love.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Dear Lord, we pray for all people and nations throughout the world whose voices are not heard as they struggle with the effects of war, floods, famine and drought; where anger, hatred and greed seek to destroy any hope of peace. We thank you for the many organisations who seek to bring relief, support and peace to the needy of the world.
We ask for your blessing on the Christian Church throughout the world and here at home we pray for all clergy; for Archbishop Justin, and also for our own diocese here in Truro and for Bishop Hugh. We ask God’s blessing on our own Revd Diane, for the very difficult areas of her ministry she sometimes has to deal with, and we also ask for God’s blessing on all her family.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Help us all to be mindful that we are all created equal in your sight and accept our deep regret that despite this there is so much inequality to be found.
Lord in our mercy; hear our prayer
We pray for all children in our community. We pray that God’s steadfast love may be known to them by the way in which we live and the way in which we serve them. We pray that this summer may be a time of refreshment and enjoyment when they might know the love of friends and family.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Bless King Charles and Queen Camilla and all members of the royal family. We pray for our government and all people in authority. We think of all those who work to help us in times of need, doctors, nurses, health care workers and all those connected with helping in the community.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Dear Lord, we pray for all people we know who are ill, anxious or bereaved; for those who are lonely or living alone and for all those who are weary and carrying heavy burdens due to the economic effects of the rising cost of living.
Lord, our thoughts and prayers go to all the people, whether on holiday or living on the Greek Islands of Rhodes and Corfu who have found themselves in a terrifying situation, with wild fires burning out of control all around them and who have been desperately looking for ways to get to a safe place.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Dear Lord, we pray for our own communities and all of our neighbours. We give thanks for our family and friends, raising before you those we know with particular needs. May your peace and love surround them bringing its comfort and strength and we think of, Ken and Diane, Terry and Dot, Brian, Margaret, Maureen, Rupert and Linda, Pam and David, Barrie and Sandra, Diana, Suki, Michael and Patricia, Rob and Alison, Stella, Alison, Jan, Andy and all those who are known to us.
We remember the recently departed and those whose anniversary falls at this time. We remember Phyllis Davey, Sheila Libby and Lyn P.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our savior 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; ‘God is Working His Purpose Out’
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 remain with us always. Amen.