St Clement Church Community Sunday Service
Good morning to you all as we commemorate Mothering Sunday, the 4th Sunday of Lent. Traditionally this day is also known as Refreshment Sunday, to enable those fasting to take a break of the rigours of Lent, does this give me a legitimate excuse to indulge in chocolate I wonder, I hope so as I’m beginning to run out of them……(excuses that is, not chocolate!) We shall be celebrating a Eucharist in Church, this Service of the Word is if you are unable to worship with us in person.
May Christ’s love sustain you always.
Much love to you all,
Rev Di and family xx
Let us pray;
God of love, passionate and strong, tender and careful: watch over us and hold us all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Hymn; ‘All people that on Earth do dwell’
Our prayers of Penitence
Listen to God’s commandment:
‘Honour your father and your mother, so that your days may be long.’ (Exod. 20:12)
Today, we remember how we often fail to give enough respect or attention to those we love…
Let us confess such sins to God:
Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
we confess we have sinned in thought and word and deed.
We have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
In your mercy forgive what we have been,
Help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.
May Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray our Collect for today
God of compassion, whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary, shared the life of a home in Nazareth, and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself: strengthen us in our daily living that in joy and sorrow we may know the power of your presence to bind together and to heal; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Old Testament Reading: Exodus 2.1-10
New Testament Reading: 2 Corinthians 1.3-7
Hymn; ‘Now thank we all our God’
Gospel: John 19. 25b-27
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Response: ‘Praise to you, O, Christ’)
Reflection
In celebration of Mothering Sunday this year, I'd like to focus on the relationship of Jesus and his mother, Mary. I think you'll agree, Mary certainly gives us a glimpse of the mysterious and challenging role we call motherhood, and what we know about her is found in several brief stories.
The first comes months before Jesus was born, according to Luke, the angel Gabriel visited Mary and told her that God had found favour with her, she was to have a son and call him Jesus, and after her initial shock, Mary said, 'Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done according to your word.'"
So, long before Jesus ever took his first breath, or before Mary had any idea what was in store for her, she began preparing a place for him in her heart. The feeling that those of us women who’ve been lucky enough to bear children can emphasise with.
The next story comes twelve years later when Jesus and his family had made the long pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. When they got ready to go home, Jesus was safe playing with the other boys, or so they thought. They travelled all day, but when they set up camp for the night, he was nowhere to be found.
They retraced their steps, and when they got back to Jerusalem they found Jesus in the Temple talking with the elders, breathing a sigh of relief, Mary did what any mother would have done: She hugged her son and kissed him – and then gave him a proper telling off!
Have you ever had a child get lost? It happened to me once when my youngest daughter was about 6 years old, and I’ll never forget the fright.
We were shopping in a local supermarket and she just disappeared, and just about everyone in the shop ended up looking for her. After a while, in total desperation, I ran out to the car park, and when I got to the car I found her clinging to the door handle. She said thought that, as long as she had a good hold on the car, I couldn't leave without her. You can imagine my relief, as well as being cross at the same time!
It’s a skill mothers develop very early on in their child’s life, being able to reassure and reprimand their children in the same breath!
Mary appears next in the life of Jesus at the scene of his first miracle, which ironically, she prompts him to perform. The setting is a wedding party in the village of Cana, and as John tells the story, the wine failed, and the party was about to come to a screeching halt when Mary stepped in.
"Don't just stand there, do something!" she said to Jesus. And he said,
"OH MOTHER!" O.K., so that's not a strict translation, but you get the point: Jesus didn’t want to get involved, but he told the stewards to fill the purification jars to the brim, then transformed the water into the best wine they’d ever tasted. Mary just knew her son Jesus would be able to save the day, she had complete faith in him, something else we share with her regarding our children.
One of the most difficult moments for Mary comes later. It was when she heard the gossip going around that her son was acting strangely. "He’s insane," the people were saying and even his friends thought Jesus was possessed by a demon. They sought to reason with him, but when it became obvious that he wouldn't listen, they sent for his mother and brothers to come and take him back to Nazareth.
According to Mark, Jesus was in a house teaching when he got word that his mother and brothers were outside, he said: "'Who are my mother and my brothers?' Looking around at those who sat around him, he said; 'Behold, my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.'"
Just so we're clear, Jesus didn't say that Mary wasn't his mother. Instead, he pointed to a bigger picture. The family circle includes all who belong to God – brothers and sisters through faith.
He didn't deny his relationship to his mother, but he did set the limits of her authority. He made it clear he was accountable only to God. It was now time for Mary to step aside. This is one of the hardest things any mother has to do: Relinquish control; let the child make his or her decisions and mistakes; and be brave enough not to stand in the way.
Frankly, some mothers let go more gracefully than others, and some never let go at all. Those who do, do so in faith – and with every hope that in giving up the parental role they may become friends.
Mary had the courage to let go, she took a back seat, and after this episode we don't hear another word about her until the day Jesus was crucified. At the appropriate time, Mary had stepped aside and allowed her little boy to become a man.
The final scene comes on the hill of Golgotha. Mary was there, of course, at the foot of the cross, we can only imagine the anguish she felt watching the suffering and death of her son, unable to lift a finger to help him. Standing beside her was John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, and in his last moments, Jesus called to Mary and said, "Woman, behold your son." and said to John, "Behold, your mother!"
It was his final act of devotion, to entrust the care of his mother to his closest friend, who he knew would provide for her and protect her in his absence. In turn, Mary would become as a mother to John, she went with him to Ephesus, where she lived a long life and served as a model of faith and devotion in the development of the early church.
Well, that's the sermon. What follows is a postscript, it’s by the theologian Erma Bombeck. She writes,
"When the Good Lord was creating mothers, he was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said, 'You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.'
The Lord said, 'Have you read the job spec on this order? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have 180 movable parts – all replaceable – run on black coffee and leftovers, have a lap that disappears when she stands up. Have kisses that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair and have six pairs of hands.'
The angel shook her head slowly and said, 'Six pairs of hands ... not possible.'
'It's not the hands that are causing my problems,' said the Lord. 'It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have.' 'That's on the standard model?' asked the angel. The Lord nodded. 'One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, "What are you kids doing in there?" when she already knows. Another in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn't, but what she has to know; and, of course, the ones in front that can look at a child when he does wrong and reflect, "I understand and I love you," without so much as uttering a word.'
'Lord,' said the angel, touching his sleeve gently, 'go to bed and rest, perhaps tomorrow ...' 'I can't,' said the Lord, 'I'm so close to creating something like myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she’s sick, can feed a family of six on one pound of sausages, and can get a nine-year-old to stand under a shower.'
The angel circled the model of The Mother very slowly. 'It's too soft,' she sighed. 'But tough!' said the Lord excitedly. 'You can’t imagine what this Mother can do or endure.' 'Can it think?' asked the angel.
'Not only think, it can reason and compromise,' said the Creator.
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her fingers across the cheek. 'There's a leak,' she said. 'I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model. You can't ignore the stress factor.'
The Lord moved in for a closer look and gently lifted the drop of moisture to his finger where it glistened and sparkled in the light. 'It's not a leak,' he said, 'It's a tear.' 'A tear?' asked the angel. 'What's it for?' 'It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, compassion, pain, loneliness and pride,' the Lord replied. 'You're a genius,' said the angel.
The Lord looked sombre and whispered. 'But I didn't put it there.'"
Amen.
Hymn; ‘Love Divine’
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.
Our Intercessions this week are written by Liz Davies
Everlasting God, as your Son Jesus Christ showed his love on the cross in his compassion for his mother and his sacrifice for us all, may we know what it is to love and be loved, in words and in actions.
Heavenly Father we pray today for our Mother Church and our church here at St Clement. We give you thanks for our Church family and pray that all may find in her their true home; that the lonely, the marginalized, the rejected may be welcomed and loved in the name of Jesus.
Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us
Creator God, as we see the brokenness of our world, we pray for healing among nations; for food where there is hunger; for freedom where there is oppression; for joy where there is pain; that your love may bring peace to your children. We especially pray for all mothers who are raising their children in places where there is war, famine, terrorism and great uncertainty; for mothers who have had to flee conflict to another country or are far from their homes and relatives.
Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us
Gracious God, you have given us the right to be called children of God. Help us to show your love in our homes that they may be places of love, security and truth. Your Son was born into the family of Mary and Joseph; bless all parents and all who care for children; strengthen those families living under stress and may your love be known where no human love is found.
Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us
Loving God, we know that for many people this is a difficult day holding hurt, grief and perhaps anger. We pray that you will draw alongside those who are hurting today to comfort them and surround them with your loving care.
We pray for women who grieve because they are unable to have the children they long to hold and love; for those mothers who grieve because they have had to see their child die too soon; for those mothers who grieve because they are cut off from their children by disappointment, anger or bitterness; for those mothers who are worried or afraid for their child’s well-being or safety. We ask you, heavenly Father, to bring healing, comfort, forgiveness and peace to the hearts and minds of hurting mothers. We pray for children who grieve because they have lost their mother through illness, accident or violence; for children whose mothers have been unable to give them the love and care that they need so that they now live in families and homes that are not their own;
for children who are still living in homes that are unsafe and with adults who do cannot put the child’s needs before their own; for children who through hardship and poverty are not provided with an adequate diet or basic medical care. We ask you heavenly Father to bring love and security, courage and hope into the lives of all hurting children today.
Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us
Father God, we remember as we celebrate Mothering Sunday today, that there are those who do not share our happiness, those who are sick, those who are sad, those who are lonely, those who are separated from their families and those who live in families where there is little joy. We bring before you now all those who need healing in their lives and give you thanks where healing has taken place. We especially ask your blessing on: Ken and Reverend Diane, May, Susan, Lauren, Lynda, Angela, Terry and Dot, Margaret, Maureen, Pam and David, Barrie and Sandra, Rupert and Linda, Alison and Rob, Jan, Anita and Stephen, Michael and Patricia, Jeremy, Stella, Alison, Linda, William, Callum and Elaine, Jay, Andy, and those who have no one to pray for them.
Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us
Merciful God, you commanded us to honour our parents. Have mercy on the souls of our Mothers and Fathers who have departed this life and hear us as we now remember too, the recently departed, and those whose years mind occurs at this time.
Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us
Gracious God, as we go out into this coming week may we reflect your love for us, love in our families, our church and our community; so that the world can see that we are followers of your Son, Jesus Christ, and draw others into your loving care.
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; ‘Tell out my Soul’
The Peace
‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name’ says the Lord,
‘I am there among them’
May the peace of God be always with us. Amen.
Blessing
May Christ give us grace to grow in holiness, to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him; and may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among us, those whom we love, and remain with us always. Amen.