St Clement Church Community Sunday Service

 

Good morning and a ‘Very Happy New Year!’                                                                                      Today is the first Sunday in Advent which is, of course, the beginning of the Church’s New Year. Advent is the time when we prepare for the coming of God’s Son.                                                                                                                      This year, perhaps more than any other in recent years, we need to set aside a quiet time each day to gather our thoughts; to think through all that has happened over last year, to prepare ourselves for the special gift that comes at Christmas and to strengthen ourselves, with God’s help, to face whatever 2023 may bring.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

God bless you all.                                                                                                                                             Love Rev Di and family                                                                                                                                     xx                            

 

Advent brings us closer to Christ who is with us. We are reminded that no one is beyond the reach of God’s love. We wait with joy for the Lord, the hope of the world. We are called to reach out to all in need, sharing our hope for a world transformed.

 

Let us pray:

God of hope, who brought love into this world, be the love that dwells between us.                                                                                                                      God of hope, who brought peace into this world, be the peace that dwells between us.                                                                                                                               God of hope, who brought joy into this world, be the joy that dwells between us.                                                                                                                                              God of hope, the rock we stand upon, be the centre, the focus of our lives this Advent and always. Amen

 

Hymn: ‘Come, thou long-expected Jesus’

 

Our prayers of Penitence

God of healing, God of wholeness, we bring our brokenness, our sinfulness, our fears and despair, and lay them at your feet.

Lord have mercy.  Lord have mercy

 

God of healing, God of wholeness, we hold out hearts and hands, minds and souls to feel your touch, and know the peace that only you can bring.

Christ have mercy.  Christ have mercy

 

God of healing, God of wholeness, this precious moment in your presence and power, grant us faith and confidence that here broken lives are made whole.

Lord have mercy.  Lord have mercy

 

May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our failings, and bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Let us pray our Collect for today

Almighty God,                                                                                                                              give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility; that on the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.      Amen.

 

                                                                                            

Readings:

Isaiah 2. 1-5

Romans 13. 11 - end

 

Hymn; ‘Hills of the North Rejoice’

 

Gospel Matthew 24. 36 - 44

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

Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.

‘But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

(This is the Gospel of the Lord.  Response: ‘Praise to you, O, Christ’)

 

Reflection

Today is the first Sunday of our New Year.  While others live out their lives in relationship to the earth’s revolving around the sun, our lives revolve around the Lord Jesus Christ.

And just saying the words, “Happy New Year,” in late November, early December, is a pretty good indication of how out of step we are with the rest of the world. As well we should be.  Christ calls us to a different way of life, where the crowning virtues aren’t consumption and greed, but sacrifice and service.  And in that regard, a question I’ve always found compelling is this: If we were put on trial for being a Christian today, would there be enough evidence to convict us? 

In a word, that’s what I’d like for us to think about this morning: Living in the world without becoming of the world; daring to be different and not just going along with the crowd; in the words of Henry David Thoreau; ‘Marching to the beat of a different drummer.’

Celebrating New Year on the first Sunday of Advent is just the tip of the iceberg.  We’re in the middle of multi-million pound spending extravaganza this weekend, goodness knows how much was spent by consumers throughout the Western World on Black Friday, supposedly getting ready for Christmas. 

And, while I’m all for supporting a healthy economy, what does this have to do with the birth of Jesus?  Do you think he would recognise himself laid out, as it were, between Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman?

I’ve said in the past that the world around us lives by the Gospel According to St Hallmark, and it’s true.  I challenge you to find a Christmas card with these words from Matthew’s gospel:

 

‘For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
and they knew nothing until the flood came, and swept them all away,
so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.’

Merry Christmas!

 

No, this isn’t what the world wants to hear, and that’s because the world is absorbed in its own version of Christmas, which has everything to do with food, presents and glitter, and little, if anything, to do with the Gospel story. 

Talking about somebody who marched to the beat of a different drummer, Noah was in a league of his own.  While the world around him was coming apart at the seams, scripture says; “Noah walked with God.”

Have you seen the movie, Evan Almighty?  Steve Carell plays the part of Evan Baxter, a newsman from Buffalo who wins a seat in the United States Congress.  He moves his family to a Virginia suburb where he hopes to make a difference.  Little does he know what God has in store for him.

First, there’s a big box left on his driveway containing primitive carpentry tools.  Then a load of wood arrives, then another, and another.  After a while pairs of birds and animals start showing up out of nowhere.

He leaves for work only to find God, played beautifully by Morgan Freeman, sitting in the back seat of his car.  To cut a long story short, God wants him to build an ark: “Never mind the stress of public office; never mind the response of the neighbours and your family; I want you to put everything else aside and build me an ark.  And, by the way, don’t ask why.”  So, he does.  And, in time, his family come back to help, the media park on his front lawn, a major confrontation erupts that exposes the corruption local politicians, and, just as a truck moves into place to reduce the ark to splinters, the dam upstream breaks, and – wouldn’t you know it – Evan and his ark save the day.

It’s an entertaining film, suitable for the whole family, which makes a change nowadays, and is worth watching.  In the meantime, here’s the point: God calls us to break with the world around us and march to the beat of a different drummer.   

God calls us to leave behind this world’s self-indulgence and packed shopping centres and walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. Borrowing the quote by Henry David Thoreau made me go back and refresh my memory about him. 

He was born in 1817, died in 1862, and believed that the best way to know God was through personal thought, rather than religious doctrine, you wouldn’t have caught him in a church service. 

As an example of his faith, the story is told that, as he lay on his death bed, his Aunt Louisa asked him if he had made his peace with God.  Thoreau replied; “I didn’t know we had ever quarreled.”  In a word, Thoreau was a free thinker and not one simply to accept the status quo.

While others were going crazy over the prospects of industrial development, he championed the cause of protecting the environment. 

While others embraced the practice of slavery, he was an outspoken Abolitionist.  He even went to prison for refusing to pay his taxes rather than support a government that wanted to expand slavery into Mexico. 

He was among the first to advocate non-violent civil disobedience.  He was his own man.  And so, the quotation fits him to a T:

‘If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
Perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer;
Let him step to the music he hears however measured or far away.’

Now, I’m not suggesting that we baptise Thoreau as a sort of Christian-in-disguise, he was who he was.  No, what I’m suggesting is that there’s a valuable lesson to be learned here – a lesson about how to live out our lives intentionally and not be afraid to stand apart from the crowd.

Think about it: If he could be as influential as he was acting solely on the thoughts of his own conscience, think how much more effective we might be in transforming our world into the kingdom of God by marching in step with Jesus Christ? 

So let’s step out to his music this Advent, and encourage those we know to remember just what Christmas is really about, as we await the birth of Christ.  Amen.

 

Hymn; ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’

 

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 Elizabeth Davies

As we await the coming of Christ, let us pray for the Church, the world, and for all people according to their need.

God of Hope, be with us on our Advent journey, be with us in our gathering and in our travelling together. Be with us in our worship and our praying together. Be with us on this Advent journey of Hope.

This Advent time, we remember Mary and Joseph, giving thanks for their faithfulness, courage, and obedience, stepping out into the unknown in the strength of your spirit, playing their part in the fulfilment of your plan to bring your people home. We pray that their example may be the pattern of our lives, that when your gentle whisper breaks through the noise of this world and into our small corner, we may be ready to listen and having listened, to act.

Lord, hear us, Lord, graciously hear us.

 

Lord, in this season where every heart should be happy and light many of us are struggling with the heaviness of life, with burdens that steal our joy. Fill us with your light instead of our darkness, help us clear the way in our hearts and minds to concentrate on the true meaning of Christ’s coming and not on worldly things which so often block out our thoughts and worship of you.

We live in disturbing days across the world; a world filled with doubt and conflict, inequality, and injustice. Make this time of waiting, the time of a new awakening of thought, consideration, endeavour, and action, by all leaders and all nations, to bring health, peace, freedom and understanding.

Lord, hear us, Lord, graciously hear us.

 

We pray for our government and all governments, and those in authority in the Church as they struggle to seek to do what is right and fair in these difficult times. We pray for all children – in war torn Ukraine, in troubled Afghanistan, Yemen and all countries torn apart by made-made or natural disasters; in this country where there are children who are living in sub-standard accommodation, who are hungry and cold. We are all concerned about the difficult times ahead but, compared to many, we are so fortunate. We pray for a world and a country where all are treated equally, no matter what colour, race, faith or differences.

Lord, hear us, Lord, graciously hear us.

 

Almighty and merciful God, whose Son, Jesus Christ, understood people’s fear and pain before they were aware of them, have mercy on those in need: for the hungry and the homeless, for those in refugee camps, hospitals, and care homes, for those who are cared for in their own homes. Bless those who work to bring them relief, inspire generosity and compassion in all our hearts at the time when we are preparing for the time of goodwill to all men. We pray for all those we know and love, those who are unwell and those who need comfort and strength. We especially remember Reverend Diane and Ken, Alison and Rob, Terry and Dot, Margaret, Maureen, Brian, Rupert and Linda, Paul and Jan, Lyn, Stephen, Mary, Alison, those known to each of us and those who have no one to pray for them.

We learn daily of lives taken in war, in violence, through ignoring of basic needs, through natural disaster, through accidents, and of lives coming to their natural end. We pray that you will surround all those who mourn with your continuing compassion and love.

Lord, hear us, Lord, graciously hear us.

 

God of hope, who brought love into this world                                                                                 Be the love that dwells between us.                                                                                                      God of hope, that brought peace into this world                                                                                  Be the peace that dwells between us.                                                                                                      God of hope that brought joy into this world                                                                                          Be the joy that dwells between us.                                                                                                          God of hope, the rock we stand upon                                                                                                        Be the centre, the focus of our lives                                                                                                         Always, and particularly at this Advent time.

Merciful Father, 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; ‘Stand up! -stand up for Jesus!’    

 

The Peace

May the peace of Christ sanctify us: may he so strengthen our hearts in holiness that we may be blameless before him at the coming of our Lord Jesus with his saints. 

Amen.

 

Advent God, we journey with You to Bethlehem’s stable and a new-born King, ears attuned to the song of angels, eyes alert for Bethlehem’s star.                                                                                                                                      Forgive us if on our journey we are distracted by the tempting offers of this world. Keep our hearts aflame with the hope of Christmas and the promise of a Saviour.

Amen

 

Blessing

May God give us grace to follow his saints in faith, hope and love; 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.