St Clement Church Community Third Sunday after Trinity Service

 

 

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

I know that many people feel that one can only really worship in church, but 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;

 

Dear Lord, as we rise to meet each new day, please let us be filled with Your Spirit.

Wherever we go, let us spread love, joy, peace, goodness and faithfulness.

Let us desire to become more like You and to worship You in all that we do.

Help us desire these things so much more than the sin that entices us.

Thank You for always going before us.

In Jesus’ name

Amen

 

Hymn: 352 Crown him with many crowns

 

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 Third Sunday after Trinity

 

Almighty God, you have broken the tyranny of sin and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts whereby we call you Father: give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service, that we and all creation may be brought to the glorious liberty of the children of God; 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 forever.

Amen

 

 

Readings:

 

Isaiah 66. 10 – 14

Galatians 6. 1 - 16

 

 

Hymn: 456 Teach me my God and King

 

Gospel: Luke 10. 1-11, 16-20

(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke 

Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)

 

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.”

‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’

The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

 

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

 

Reflection by Reverend Di

 

When I read today’s gospel earlier this week, the first thing that struck me (and that had never occurred to me any of the other times I’ve read it) was the way that Luke talks about peace: ‘Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you.’  

Luke almost makes it sound as if the peace is a tangible object, something we could hold in our hand and offer to someone.  

It’s said that we read the Bible from the context where we are at the time, and perhaps I focused on the word ‘peace’ because that’s what I needed at the time. We’d just had the news that our eldest daughter had contracted Covid and was quite poorly with it, followed by the news that a dear friend and colleague had died under tragic circumstances. Peace was much needed in the vicarage that day.

So with that thought in mind, I wondered how this tangible kind of needed peace might draw together some of the big themes in Luke’s gospel, and indeed, with St Luke himself.

We know St Luke first of all as an evangelist - the author of the third gospel – and said to be the author of the Acts of the Apostles, the work which records for us the earliest history of the Christian Church.

His Gospel contains precious material which we know only from his writings: for instance, stories such as; the birth of John the Baptist, the Annunciation, the story of the Presentation, and the only story we have of the childhood of Jesus - his visit to Jerusalem at the age of twelve years, and the beautiful words of the ‘Benedictus’, the ‘Magnificat’ and the ‘Nunc Dimittis’, are found only in St Luke’s Gospel.

But we know very little about St. Luke’s own personal history. There’s a widespread tradition that he was an artist, a painter of pictures, but the evidence is uncertain.

But we do know, both from the Acts of the Apostles and from St Paul’s Epistles, that he was a companion of St Paul on missionary journeys. St Paul speaks of him with affection as the ‘beloved physician,’ and for that reason, St Luke has been traditionally regarded as the patron of doctors and nurses, and of the medical profession and healing ministry in general. 

So the first thing I wondered about was how this tangible peace relates to healing, to wholeness, to restoration, within us human beings.

St Luke the physician is concerned with the healing not just of the body but of the entire person, and puts our encounter with Christ at the centre of that process. 

We all sit here with our own stories, what hurts we carry from the past to the present, the scars that come from our own mistakes, or the mistakes of others.

We’re here with our doubts and uncertainties for the future, especially now Covid cases are once again on the increase.

But thankfully, we know that in our Eucharist, albeit in one kind at the moment, Jesus comes among us offering something tangible – a peace that the world cannot give.  He comes bearing that gift and he stays with us, as take that tangible peace in our hands and into our hearts.

Secondly, St Luke is also concerned for the gap between the rich and the poor – he writes more about this than any of the other gospels – his focus being on the outsider, the outcast, the people who don’t fit in.

Jesus’ ministry is seen by Luke as one that brings the outsiders into the centre of the community, a ministry that breaks down boundaries and restores communities to wholeness.  

And Jesus certainly did this with the skill of a surgeon; by cutting through the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of his day, and their obsession with boundaries and pecking orders, so that the people themselves could be healed and reconciled with God and one another.  

So, we might ask ourselves; we may already welcome the stranger and the outcast, but how can we do more, in Jesus’ name?  Because Christ’s gift of tangible peace isn’t just for our own healing, but for the wholeness of those around us.

The third thing about the gospel of Luke is that, of all the gospel writers, he’s by far the most concerned to root the story of Jesus in history.  We can see this most easily by the sheer number of difficult to pronounce names of people and places, in his gospel!

Luke talks about who’s who, he mentions the names of the places Jesus went, and the names of all the Roman Governors, and the High Priests.  And this is partly because one of Luke’s concerns was to establish that Jesus wasn’t a myth, or an idea, but a real person.

But more profoundly, rooting Jesus’ story in political history shows that this tangible peace isn’t something limited to the individual, nor even just to the local community, but is a gift to the nations, and to the whole world, given to real places and real times.

And just as it was offered then, it’s offered to our own time and our own place, here and now. Throughout the last two thousand years, there have been glorious moments when, by the grace of God, our own nation and even the world has grasped this peace with both hands.

But we know all too well that there have been even more times when Jesus has patiently held peace out to us, and, as a species, we have failed to grasp it.  

And so, in these troubled times we pray for that peace which the world cannot give, to be given now to the world.  For the leaders of the nations and all who hold the future of this planet in their hands to be given the wisdom, humility and courage to reach out and grasp what God most desires to give us.

And we think about our own role in enabling that kind of tangible peace – our right to vote, our spending power, our engagement with current affairs are just some of the ways in which we can contribute to the peace of God taking root and growing here and now.

So today, let us keep in our minds that image of Jesus’ disciples, sent out by him to take a tangible gift of peace. And then realise that he sends us out today to do the same, he gives us that same peace, for ourselves, for the people we meet and for the wider world.

Whether it’s in our own hearts, in our relationships, in our community, or at work.  In our dealings with people face to face, albeit behind a mask, or online, our interaction through commerce, and with people we’ll never meet, let us bring that tangible peace with us, and may we let it be the very first thing we offer. Wherever we are, and whatever we do, may be healers and evangelists, just like St Luke.

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: 408 Love Divine all loves excelling

 

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.

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.

 

Lord, hear us

Lord, graciously hear us

 

Creator God, look with compassion on the whole human family; take away arrogance and hatred that infects the hearts of those who pursue violence and terrorism; break down the walls that separate us and unite us in bonds of love and peace.

We pray for the people of Ukraine as their suffering continues especially remembering those killed or injured in the attack on the shopping mall.

We pray today for peacemakers throughout the world, may they bring hope out of despair, peace out of conflict and prosperity out of poverty.

 

Lord, hear us

Lord, graciously hear us

 

Father God, we pray for our families and friends and especially for young people that they may grow up knowing love and hope, valuing life and respecting others. We pray for those who have left school and are moving on to the next stage of their lives, and for those for whom what happens next depends on exam or assessment performance.

 

Lord, hear us

Lord, graciously hear us

 

Merciful God, we pray for all who suffer in body, mind or spirit and for those who care for them. We especially remember today, those injured in the shopping mall in Ukraine and those found hanging on to life in the lorry in Texas.

Comfort and sustain all who feel that they have no where to turn and no one who cares - may they know that they are never alone.

We pray for any who are in special need of our prayers at this time:   especially those known personally to us. We bring before you Ken and Diane, Terry and Dot, Ollie and his family, Jenny, Margaret, Brian, Gavin, Paul and Jan, Jane and family, Travis Lyne and all who have no one to pray for them.

 

Lord, hear us

Lord, graciously hear us

 

Heavenly Father, we pray for those whose hearts have been saddened by the death of someone close and dear to them, for members of our families who have died and whose anniversary we recall.

We bring to you Dame Deborah James whose five-year battle with bowel cancer came to an end on Tuesday. We give thanks for all she achieved during those years. We also bring to you all those who died in the attack in the Ukrainian shopping mall and those found dead in the lorry in Texas – welcome them all into your eternal kingdom and be with their families.

Help us, and all families grieving, to experience the comfort of the Holy Spirit within us, and the fellowship of the church family around us until we are reunited once more in your heavenly kingdom.

We especially remember Trevor Roberts and his family at this time.

 

Lord, hear us

Lord, graciously hear us

 

Faithful God, we pray for ourselves; as we go from our worship today to start the week ahead, may we always hold fast to our belief in you and we ask that in all we do, we may walk more closely with you at our side safe in the knowledge that your Fatherly love and care knows no bounds.

 

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 our risen Lord 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.

 

Notices

 

Hymn:  186 Tell out my soul

 

Footsteps in the sand

 

One night I dreamed a dream.

As I walked along the beach with my Lord

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,

Especially at the very lowest and saddest times,

There was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.

“Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,

You’d walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,

There was only one set of footprints.

I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you

Never, ever during your trials and testings.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you.”

 

The Peace

 

Lord Jesus Christ, you know our faults and have heard our prayers. You have ripped apart the barriers that separate us from God and opened us to the grace of God through Your sacrifice of love on the cross and Your resurrection from the dead.

Promise of God, fill your people and give us peace.

 

Let us greet one another as a sign of God’s peace.

The Blessing

 

The love of the Lord Jesus

draw us to himself;

The power of the Lord Jesus

strengthen us in his service;

The joy of the Lord Jesus

fill our hearts;

and the blessing of God Almighty

the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

be amongst us and remain with us always.

 

Amen.