Printable services for those unable to attend St C

MC900155368[1]

St Clement Church Community Easter Season Service

Good morning to you all as we commemorate the 6^th Sunday of Easter, sometimes known as Rogation Sunday.

Rogation Sunday is the day when the Church has traditionally offered prayer for God’s blessings on the fruits of the earth and the labours of those who produce our food. The word “rogation” is from the Latin rogare, “to ask.” Historically, the Rogation Days (the three days before Ascension Day) were a period of fasting and abstinence, a ‘mini Lent’ if you like, or not!

The 14^th of May is also the Feast Day of Matthias the Apostle, who was chosen from among Jesus’ disciples to replace Judas as the twelfth Apostle. After receiving the Holy Spirit with the other apostles on the day of Pentecost, he left to preach the gospel in Judea and Colchis, where he was martyred for his faith. And due to his preaching that the Holy Spirit empowers people to exercise self-control so they may experience good health in body and soul, Saint Matthias was later appointed as the patron of alcoholics, bless him.

Much love and prayers and may Christ’s love sustain you always.

Rev Di and family xx

Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Let us pray these traditional words for Rogationtide;

Remember, Lord, your mercy and loving-kindness towards us.

Bless this good earth, and make it fruitful.

Bless our labour, and give us all things needed for our daily lives.

Bless the homes of our parish and all who live within them.

Bless our common life and our care for our neighbour.

Hear us, good Lord. Amen.

Hymn; ‘Love Divine, all Loves Excelling’

Our prayers of Penitence

On this 6^th Sunday of Easter, secure in the knowledge that God, who created us, loves us dearly, let us now confess before him those sins of which we are ashamed and which fill our lives with darkness and despair.

When we try to present a good image rather than to purify our hearts…. Lord, have mercy.

When we seek to please others rather than to speak the truth…….

Christ, have mercy.

When we are slow to admit that others may be right, or to say sorry if we are in the wrong……

Lord, have mercy.

When we honour God with our lips but keep him far from our hearts……

Christ, have mercy.

May the High King in heaven, with Jesus Christ his Son, have mercy on us. May all that dismays us and fills us with fear be cleansed and forgiven, and by the power of the Holy Spirit may we never be separated from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray our Collect for the sixth Sunday of Easter

Risen Christ, by the lakeside you renewed your call to your disciples: help your Church to obey your command and draw the nations to the fire of your love, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Readings:

Acts 17. 22-31

1 Peter 3. 13-end

Hymn; ‘God Moves in a Mysterious Way’

The Gospel Reading

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. (14. 15-21)

Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus said; ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’

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

Reflection

Do you know the song by written by Carole King; ‘You’ve got a friend.’

Okidoki, – I’ve probably lost you for the rest of the sermon as you try to remember the words to the song – or where you were when you first heard it!

I think it’s a beautiful song, a message of commitment and love, with the words, and don’t worry, folks, I’m not going to attempt to sing them!

‘You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am, I’ll come running to see you again. Winter – spring – summer - or fall, all you have to call, and I’ll be there – You’ve got a friend.’

We all need friends, and we’ve all had times when we’ve been glad a friend is there – someone to help when the chips are down, to talk to and listen to our problems, someone who cares, and who loves us even if we’re in the wrong.

And in today’s gospel reading, that’s how the disciples must have felt at the time, lonely and uncertain, like they needed a friend, you might even say that they felt betrayed when Jesus was talking about leaving them.

After all, the disciples had made great sacrifices to follow Jesus, they’d literally staked everything on him. They’d walked away from their ways of earning a living, they’d left their homes, and allowed themselves to believe that Jesus was the one who would turn everything around, who would make everything right.

They believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the one who would save Israel, and now he was talking about leaving them. We can’t imagine how they must have felt, the sense of betrayal! Why had Jesus asked them to follow him if he intended to leave them? Why had he brought them this far only to abandon them?

But Jesus knew that his disciples were afraid, so he made them a promise. He said, "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever." An advocate. A friend. In the original Greek, the word we translate as "Advocate" is "parakletos."Someone called in to help." A parakletos could be a lawyer called in to defend a person, or a witness called in to testify on their behalf, or someone called in to help in an hour of need, a friend.

Jesus, knowing that he would soon ascend back to the Father, promised his disciples such a being, someone whom they could call on when they needed help, someone who would be there for them in their hour of need, and Jesus promised that this friend would be with them forever.

That’s where we come in folks! The friend that Jesus promised to these first disciples is promised to us as well, there to help us when we need help, to guide us when needed, and to protect us from harm.

Of course, with hindsight we know Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit – God's Spirit within us, living in our hearts, an advocate, a helper, a friend to call on in time of need. Jesus is saying in effect;

You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am, I’ll come running to see you again. Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to call and I’ll be there – you’ve got a friend.

We all know of times when we have called out and prayed; ‘how am I going to get through this?’ and somehow we get the strength to do so.

I liken it to the story of an orphaned baby bear who was befriended by a huge male grizzly bear, the bigger bear guided and watched over the baby, and helped him survive.

But one day the baby bear was down by the river on his own, having a go at fishing like he’d seen his big friend do, when along came a mountain lion, who fancied having baby bear for dinner. Cripes! The baby must have thought, or other such words, ‘how am I going to get through this?’ ‘Well, here goes!’

And with all his might he stood up on his hind legs, all three feet of him, and did his best to growl, just like he’d seen his big friend do, only it came out as a tiny squeak.

But to his amazement, the mountain lion suddenly took fright and ran off!

Wow, thought the baby bear; ‘I CAN MAKE IT ON MY OWN, I DON’T NEED FRIENDS!’ Then, full of his tiny self, he got back down on all fours, and turned around. And that’s when he saw his friend, who had been behind him all the time, the big male grizzly bear, up on his hind legs, teeth silently bared, protecting him.

We have such a big friend watching our backs. But even with the presence of a friend like the Holy Spirit we can’t expect easy lives, after all, Jesus never promised us a bed of roses, but the Holy Spirit helps us to prevail no matter how difficult the circumstances.

Jesus promised us such a friend, and has delivered on that promise.

And those of us who have the blessing of faith in Christ have the comfort of that promise, the Holy Spirit to help us when we need help and strength, anytime, day or night.

And by following Christ faithfully, we will become stronger day by day, with a friend to help us live lives solid to the core.

We’ve got a friend indeed. Amen.

Hymn; ‘Come Down O Love Divine’

Affirmation of our faith

Let us declare our faith in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; he was buried; he was raised to life on the third day and afterwards he appeared to his followers and to all the apostles: this we have received, and this we believe. This is the faith of the Church. This is our faith.

We believe and trust in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our intercessions this week are written by Liz Davies

No prayer is made on earth alone; the Holy Spirit pleads; and Jesus on the eternal throne, for sinners intercedes.

O Thou by whom we come to God, the Life, the Truth, the Way, the path of prayer Thyself hast trod; Lord, teach us how to pray.

Gracious God, we are gathered here to offer our praise, and thanks to you. You are the Creator for you made us, our world and everything in it and so we pray with one voice, proclaiming your presence to all the earth.