ST CLEMENT CHURCH
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY COMMUNITY SERVICE
Good morning
Busy days – expected or thrust upon us – are known to us all and we often complain about them.
Jesus, no matter what suddenly crops up, has time for everyone and everything. He sees much more than the sudden inconvenience, much more than the ‘apparent’ request.
May we be much more aware of the real needs of those around us.
My love to you all
Liz
Lord God, in a universe that seems so immense it is easy to feel insignificant as we gather here today. Yet we know that we are precious in your sight – unique individuals loved and blessed in so many ways. We stand in awe of the one who has created all things and dedicate this time and all our days to your service. Accept this offering we pray, our sacrifice of praise and worship.
Amen
We say together:
Into your presence we come, God of Grace and Peace, who was, and is, and ever shall be the eternal One.
Into fellowship we come, bound together in the love that died and rose again for us, our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen
Hymn: 484 he Church’s one foundation
Prayer of Confession
When faith is tested to the limit and we stumble, forgive us.
When feet stray from the path and we wander, forgive us.
When our neighbour is in need and we pass by, forgive us.
When the voices of this world drown out your whisper, forgive us.
When love draws us to your feet in repentance, forgive us.
Amen
The Collect
O God, the strength of all those who put their trust in you, mercifully accept our prayers and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without you, grant us the help of your grace, that in the keeping of your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; 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 for ever.
Amen
Readings:
Hosea 5. 15 – 6. 6
Romans 4. 13 - 25
Hymn: 339 Be thou my vision
Gospel: Matthew 9. 9 – 13, 18 - 26
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
As he sat at dinner in the house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’
But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those
who are sick. Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’
While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, ‘My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.’
And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples.
Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.’
Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.’
And instantly the woman was made well.
When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute-players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, ‘Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.’
And they laughed at him.
But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.
And the report of this spread throughout the district.
(This is the Gospel of our Lord. Praise to you, O Christ)
Reflection
Do you ever have days when you just go from one thing to the next? Sometimes they are planned appointments or errands; other times they are interruptions of your plans, and often, it’s both in the same day.
That’s the kind of day that Jesus is having in today’s gospel … and it starts even before all the things we have just heard. Ever since the Sermon on the Mount it’s been one thing after another – healing a leper, raising the centurion’s daughter from the dead, healing Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever, teaching, calming a storm on the sea, casting out demons, healing a paralysed man – and it just keeps coming in today’s gospel. You have days like this? I certainly do!
One of the things about Jesus in these situations is just how present he is in the moment. He looks at, listens to and pays attention to what is happening but he sees, hears and engages with what is going on. It’s as if he’s always asking himself, “What’s going on in what is happening? What is the real need here and what is being asked of me?”
What if each situation is calling and asking for a response? What if they are the ways in which God is asking to be made real and present? What if we, just as is Jesus, are being asked to give existence to whatever it is God might be insisting and asking? That’s what we see Jesus doing throughout today’s gospel.
As Jesus is walking along, He sees a tax collector called Matthew and says, “Follow me.” Everyone dislikes tax collectors and thinks of them as poor, greedy, dishonest, collaborators with the Roman oppressors and betrayers of their fellow citizens. They are the kind of people that are often and quickly judged and condemned.
Jesus doesn’t do this. I wonder what He sees in Matthew. I wonder what Matthew feels inside himself when Jesus sees and calls him …hope, self-worth, forgiveness, acceptance, new life? To be seen and heard is a powerful experience of healing. Every day the Matthews of our lives and world sit by the side waiting to be seen and called … and sometimes we are Matthew waiting to be seen and called.
Whatever Matthew experiences of Jesus it is enough for him to get up and follow. There is no hesitation. He follows Jesus and finds a place at the table with other tax collectors, sinners and the disciples. Everyone has a place at the table. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they have done … except to the religious authorities. It matters to them. They interrupt dinner and want to know why Jesus would ‘eat with tax collectors and sinners.’
Jesus responds, “I have come not to call the righteous but sinners.” “Those who are well need no physician, but those who are sick.” Jesus is equating sinners with patients who are hurting and in need of healing.
While Jesus is talking to the religious authorities suddenly a leader of the synagogue shows up and interrupts Jesus. He says that his daughter is dead but if Jesus comes and lays his hand on her she will live. What does Jesus do? He doesn’t say, “Can’t you see I’m eating dinner?” He doesn’t tell the man to make an appointment and he doesn’t tell him to go away.
Jesus is awake and present to what is going on in the interruption. He hears and feels the father’s grief, desperation and faith. He knows it’s a hands-on kind of need and Jesus gets up and follows him in the same way that Matthew gets up and follows Jesus.
What are the hands-on needs in our community. What are they in your and my life and relationships? Everyday we face hands-on needs asking us to get up, go and do something.
Jesus leaves the table and goes with the synagogue leader to his house. On the way a woman suddenly comes up behind him and touches the fringe on his cloak. She is another interruption to his plans. But Jesus turns, sees her and says, “Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well.”
I wonder who may touch you or me today asking us to turn and see him or her and will we have the same empathy or compassion?
When Jesus gets to the leader’s house everyone knows that the girl is dead. Everyone is gathered round the house … there is music and a great to do. They know there is nothing that can be done. They laugh at Jesus … ‘she’s just sleeping’ … ridiculous!
How often have we given up and ‘made music’ or a great commotion sure that nothing can be done. When have we laughed at the possibility of real and meaningful change?
Jesus sees the possibility of hope in the midst of despair, light in the midst of darkness, and life in the midst of death. He is always looking for what is happening. He took the girl by the hand and she “got up.” When has someone done that for you? Who has helped you when you were in despair, darkness, or death? Who are the people in our lives or community waiting, needing to be taken by the hand and helped up?
Today’s gospel sounds like a series of interruptions. That’s how these kinds of day often go. But what if what we experience as interruptions are really points of realignment?
All along the way Jesus is aligning himself in two directions. He aligns himself with the people, events, circumstances, concerns and needs that are before him regardless of who they are or what it is. He aligns himself with whatever is being called for in the name of God: love, acceptance, forgiveness, meaning, hospitality, mercy, hope, healing, life.
It’s a picture which is the way of the cross but it’s also a person with a face, a name and a need.
Is there alignment in each of our lives today? If not, what needs to be trued and realigned? What might alignment look like in each of our lives today and what is it asking each of us?
Amen
Hymn: 376 I heard the voice of Jesus say
Our Intercessions
We come before God to pray for our ourselves and our world, knowing that the Lord sees our hearts and knows our needs. We therefore bring our prayers to him with confidence in our Heavenly Father.
Father God, we come before your throne of grace with our concerns, our burdens, and our thanksgiving for all your people throughout the world. Help us to put our trust in you and in our Saviour Jesus Christ who taught us that you love us as a parent and want only what is right for us.
May the seeds that are being planted in our churches grow into branches that reach out into every part of our county and beyond and help us as we try and focus on the big issues that so often threaten to overwhelm us.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
We pray for the Christian Church throughout the world and especially for churches in places where religious faith is suppressed or where Christianity is an unwelcome minority.
We pray for the priests who serve your Church and pray for guidance and wisdom in all the work that they do. We especially pray for our much-loved Reverend Diane as she carries such a heavy workload and for Father David who is such an important part of our church.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, we pray for our world which seems to be forever caught up in violence and conflict. Through the media we are witnesses to terrorist violence in so many parts of the world. As we continue to pray for peace and goodwill towards all people we also pray for the innocent victims and their families caught up in conflicts which are not of their making.
Lord, we pray for those who govern the nations of our world on behalf of the people. Give them strength in time of trouble, grant them your light and wisdom, and support them through the prayers of our hearts.
Lord of compassion, guide all those who bear public office that they may use their power for the common good. May they remember their promise to serve all the people and take from them, we pray, the thirst for power and wealth.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, we ask for your help in all our efforts at building communities within our community. You have promised that, no matter how small the initiative, if we plant it and tend it, you will send the sun and the rain to help it flourish. Though we may not succeed in the first attempt, give us the courage to try again, and the readiness continually to persevere, should that be needed. May all that we do be to your greater glory.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, we bring before you all those who pray for shelter from the storm, and protection from thunder, lightning, and rain. Teach us instead how to undergo the tempests of life, which come to us all. Instead of craving security above all, show us the comfort of sheltering with friends and sharing the bare necessities. Help us to comfort each other in moments of shared danger or distress. Bring us hope out of our emptiness, energy out of fear and new life out of grief and loss.
Loving Lord, we bring before you all those in need in our own community and further afield; the elderly, the housebound, those in care homes, hospitals, and hospices. We remember the victims of violence, abuse, and cruelty; those tormented with mental health issues; those lonely and afraid. We give thanks for all those who care for the sick within the family, and for all our medical and voluntary services. We especially pray for: Reverend Diane, Ken, Sabie, Brian, May, Susan, Lauren, Lynda, Sandra, Daphne and David, Pam and David, Dot, Maureen, Mary, Rob and Alison, Catherine, Jan, Anita and Stephen, Michael and Patricia, Jeremy, Felicity, Callum and Elaine, Barbara, Roger and Helen, Lorrie, Jeanette and David, Kate and all who have no one to pray for them.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, your love reaches beyond the grave and so we bring before you those whose earthly journey is now at an end. Welcome them into your eternal kingdom. We pray for those who face the pain of grief at the loss of a loved one. Help us to support all those who mourn, both with our prayers and with practical help both this day and in the weeks to come. May they be comforted by the light of Christ which eternally shines and brings so much hope.
We think of those whose anniversary falls at this time:
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, we ask you to lead us into the coming week. Help us to believe that you are close by us. Keep us from making mistakes and help us never to disappoint you. When we face hard decisions or difficult work, when we enjoy ourselves and have fun with others, may we know that you share these times with us.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Andrew, St Clement, St Allen and all your saints, we commend ourselves and all Christian people to your unfailing love.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen
We say together:
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
Jesus as a Healer
A quiet hush fell through the crowd,
Where human pain had cried aloud.
The weary, broken, and the blind,
Left all their weary grief behind.
A trembling hand reached for His hem,
A sacred touch, a saving gem.
Her weeping ceased, the virtue flowed,
And light replaced her shadowed road.
The blind man looked upon the sun,
The lame leaped up, the work was done.
Not just the flesh, but deep inside,
Where hidden scars and sorrows hide.
He spoke the word, the tempest stilled,
The broken vessels gently filled.
A grace so vast, a love so free,
That makes the wounded spirit whole.
The Peace
Jesus says: ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled,
Neither let them be afraid.’
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
Hymn: 346 City of God, how broad and far
The Blessing
May the Father’s hand keep you from stumbling,
the footprints of Jesus give you confidence to follow,
and the fire of the Spirit keep you warm and safe in your walk with God this day. Amen