St Clement Church Community 10th Sunday after Trinity Service 26

St Clement Church Community Sunday Service 9.8.26

Good morning to you all as we celebrate our service, the 10^th Sunday after Trinity, if you’re unable to be with us in person I hope you will join us in worship at home with this service of the Word.

May Christ’s love sustain you always.

With much love and prayers,

Rev Di and family xx

Let us pray;

Almighty God, you search us and know us: may we rely on your strength and rest on you in weakness, now and in all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hymn: ‘Praise my Soul, the King of Heaven’

Our prayers of Penitence

Let us recognise those failings in us that undermine relationships, and cause hurt to others…..

We confess the failings that bring hurt and betrayal upon those who trust us. Lord, have mercy.

We confess the failings that cause love to grow cold, and attitudes to harden. Christ, have mercy.

We confess the failings that impede the way to forgiveness and reconciliation. Lord, have mercy.

May our almighty and merciful Lord grant us pardon and forgiveness of all our failings, time for amendment of our lives and the grace and strength of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us pray our Collect for the 10^th Sunday after Trinity

Lord of heaven and earth, as Jesus taught his disciples to be persistent in prayer, give us patience and courage to never lose hope, but always to bring our prayers before you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Readings:

1 Kings 19. 9-18. Romans 10. 5-15

Hymn; ‘Father, Hear the Prayer we Offer’

Gospel: Matthew 14. 22-33

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

Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’

When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’

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

Reflection

When I’m working on a sermon, along with other parish duties, such as, this week; writing funerals, preparing a marriage service, and a baptism, it has been a ‘’hatches, matches and dispatches’’ few days, as well as answering emails and admin, I must admit, none of it gets done very well unless I’m also listening to music.

So, as is my habit, as I was preparing these words, I had the radio on in the background. And whilst considering in the gospel reading; “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him’’ I heard the radio play the lovely song; ‘When you say nothing at all’ sung by Ronan Keating. And during it I couldn’t help but get a mental picture of Peter and his relationship with Jesus on hearing the words; ‘There’s a truth in your eyes, saying you’ll never leave me. The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall.’

Coincidence or what?

Anyway, back to the plot…St. Augustine wrote that our gospel story for today was an allegory for Jesus and the Church. That the Church was represented by the boat the disciples were in. And that’s an example often drawn on, hence the reason the part of the church you’re sitting in is called the nave, coming from the same word as “navy” and “navigate,” and many church ceilings look like the upside down hull of a boat.

Augustine also said that the Church may get thrown around by the storms and high seas of life – and he equated the devil with the power that keeps the storms blowing – but with the help of Jesus, the Church can weather whatever storm blows. I like that, but I think the story of Peter’s interaction with Jesus tells us something more meaningful today.

Peter can still be the perfect example of Christian discipleship for us in these modern times, he shows us faith in action, but he also shows us what not to do, like following action with a failure of faith.

But every time Peter decides to do something, believing he can do it on his own merit, and taking his eye off of Jesus who enables all things, Jesus takes him back and saves him from the world – and from himself. What an example for us.

This morning’s story follows that of the feeding of the five thousand, and remember, before that happened, Jesus was looking for a place to get away from the crowds; to rest and pray.

So, after the crowds had been fed, Jesus sent the disciples in the boat to go across the Sea of Galilee, and he stayed behind to go up on the mountain alone to pray.

Now, The Sea of Galilee is about 8 miles across at its widest point, and that’s a pretty easy sail if the winds are right. But that night the sea and the wind were working against the disciples. Matthew tells us that the disciples were “far from the land” and that it was “early in the morning” when Jesus approached the boat.

Other versions of the Bible translate “early morning” as “the fourth watch,” which would be between 3 and 6:00am. And In John’s version of the story, he says the boat had travelled some 3-4 miles.

So, the disciples, who were tired out by the crowds before they even got into the boat, have now spent most of the night trying to get 8 miles – and they’ve only made it halfway.

Let’s try to put ourselves in that place for a minute. Two days earlier they’d heard the news that John the Baptist had been executed by Herod. Andrew and John had been disciples of John the Baptist, they loved John, as did his cousin, Jesus, and they hadn’t been able to mourn John’s death because of all that was happening in Jesus’ ministry.

So, they were emotionally spent and physically exhausted – and they found themselves stuck in the middle of the lake, in a raging storm, too tired to fight the rest of the way across.

It’s no wonder then, that when they saw Jesus walking towards them, three miles from the shore, they were petrified. But instead of cowering as the others did, their unofficial leader, Peter, stood up to get a better look. Jesus, still walking toward them on top of the waves, said, more or less; “Come on everyone, cheer up! It’s me, don’t be afraid.” And when Peter hears his master’s voice, he responds, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

Now, I must admit, I would not have said what Peter did. I think my response would’ve been something like; “Lord, if it is you, get us out of here pronto!” But not Peter, he was a true disciple and wanted to walk where Jesus walked – even on the water.

So Jesus calls Peter to him, and Mr. Enthusiasm jumps out of the boat and starts walking in the Way of the Lord. But what happened to him next? He took his eye off Jesus, looked around at the storm, and like his name, Petros, or Rock, he started to sink. And this is the ultimate example for us, I think.

We’re all very much like Peter, we want so much to be disciples, learning from Jesus and trying to live as Jesus lived. We want to have the great faith on which Jesus could establish the Church – we want to be the cornerstones that Jesus told Peter he was. But like Peter, when we lose our concentration, when we take our eye off Jesus, even for a moment, we sink. I know it’s true of me, let some stumbling block get thrown in my way, and I’ll look at it long enough to trip over it. But thankfully, no matter how much we may struggle in our ability to be good disciples, Jesus never gives up on us. Petros the rock, sank early that morning in the Sea of Galilee, but Jesus was there, hand held out at the ready, to take him into the boat, and the same is true for us.

So as our discipleship and outreach continues to grow and take shape in this changing church community, don’t worry about; “what if we can’t do it? Or what if our plans are too difficult, or what if something goes wrong? Let’s remember Peter and the incredible storm; and put our hand out to receive that of the Lord.

As we face all that life throws at us, the joys and the sorrows, the good days, as well as those days that seem as though we’re sinking into the dark depths of the sea, let’s step out in faith – just as Peter did. And take heart, even if we do start to sink, look on the bright side, with the help of our Saviour, we’ll all end up in the same boat!

And thanks be to God for that. Amen.

Hymn; ‘Lord, Enthroned in Heavenly Splendour’

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 are written by Liz Davies

In the quietness of this ancient place and away from the busyness of the world around us, we offer our prayers to Almighty God.

Dear Lord, we have so much to give thanks for and yet, so often we forget to say ‘thank you.’ Not far from us, are those who are homeless, hungry, neglected, and unloved. Open our eyes to the needs of those less fortunate than ourselves and in whatever small way we are able, to give our help. We thank you for all your goodness to us, so freely given, but unearned. May we willingly take steps to pass it on, to share your loving kindness given to us, amongst others.