St Clement Church Community Sunday Service
Good morning to you all as we celebrate the 4th Sunday of Advent.
We will be holding a Eucharist in our church building, this service is if you are unable to attend with us and will be worshipping at home.
With our love and prayers and may Christ’s love sustain you always.
God bless you all. Rev Di and family xx
Hymn: ‘For Mary, Mother of the Lord’
Our prayers of Penitence
Let us confess our sins to the Lord:
Heavenly father, you call us to repent of our sins: soften our proud and stubborn hearts.
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy
Lord Jesus, you declared the forgiveness of God: teach us to forgive one another.
Christ have mercy. Christ have mercy
Holy Spirit, you search our hearts and show us the truth: direct us in your way of righteousness.
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy
May our Almighty and merciful Lord grant us pardon and forgiveness of all our sins, time for amendment of life, and the grace and strength of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray our Collect for today
Eternal God as Mary waited for the birth of your Son, so we wait for his coming in glory; bring us through the birth pangs of this present age to see, with her, our great salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Readings: Micah 5. 2-5a Hebrews 10. 5-10,
Hymn; ‘Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus’
Gospel; Luke 1. 39-55
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.)
Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
(This is the Gospel of the Lord. Response: ‘Praise to you, O, Christ’)
Reflection
The theologian Marshal McLuhan wrote: ‘At Christmas, the mess is the message.’ An excellent phrase I think, if the vicarage is anything to go by, because we’re up to our ears in mess as we prepare for Christmas. It’s a good job we’ve got a fridge magnet that says; ‘God bless this mess’ I can tell you!
Christmas is, in many ways, the messiest time of the year. We work hard to get our homes ready for visitors, we’re in a mess with the extra shopping, wrapping presents and cooking special meals, and if that’s not enough, everybody's conflicting schedules certainly create a mess of everything else.
Christmas is the most hectic, harried, and haphazard time of the year, during which we often wear ourselves out and forget what the mess is all about. So, perhaps we can learn from Elizabeth and Mary on how to make the mess magnificent.
Elizabeth was the first one in our reading to redeem the mess. Though she’d wanted a child all her life, she’d got used to the fact that God hadn’t blessed her with children. But now, in her old age, she was expecting a baby, and just as she has this life-changing experience, her husband suddenly becomes deaf.
What a mess!
We can only imagine the thoughts of Elizabeth, her feelings of both joy and anxiety. At last, she would have a child to care for. But could she really care for this child in her old age? What would happen to the child if something happened to her? Motherhood is an exhausting, never-ending task that young women struggle to keep up with. How would she manage? Her anxiety must have been high with the mess she was in.
And if Elizabeth was in a mess, imagine the mess that Mary was in! Her mental state must have been even more jumbled. She, too, was un-expectedly pregnant. Joseph was understandably confused and upset with her. None of this had gone according to plan. Mary had been looking forward to marriage and setting up a household with Joseph, and then hopefully, a baby. But now, everything was happening at once.
Mary also had to cope with those strange visits from angels, and the stunning news about the identity of her baby. The events and emotions were certainly causing a messy time in her life!
Yet, in the all the mess of life for both women, they each responded with incredible faith.
Our text picks up the story where Mary sets out on a journey to visit Elizabeth. Everything about this meeting is unusual. For a start, it was unusual for such a young woman to make an un-chaperoned trip anywhere, even to family.
Mary speaks to Elizabeth who is immediately filled with the Holy Spirit and the child within her leaped. Elizabeth says:
"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."
In a culture where women seldom played public roles, it’s unusual that we find such theological statements coming from women. And Mary follows with the profoundly theological song that has come to be known as "The Magnificat."
"My soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on, all generations will call me blessed."
These women found truly magnificent faith in the midst of the mess of their lives. And so, our challenge is: ‘how can we make our mess magnificent too?’
Perhaps one of the secrets is, that amid the mess of life, Elizabeth and Mary looked to God. They asked, "What is God saying to me in this mess?’’
I suspect that God speaks to us as well when we’re seemingly up to our ears in it, but we’re so busy with our mess we aren’t listening.
Most of the time, we complain about the mess we’re in, we make plans how to get out of it, or we at least try to find techniques to cope with it. But perhaps sometimes we should focus on that profound question, "What is God saying in this mess?"
Both Elizabeth and Mary heard loud and clear the voice of God in their messy lives, and we can too if we only listen.
So, in all our mess of preparing for Christmas, may we hear God’s voice, remembering that in the midst of the Christmas story, is Jesus, born in a messy stable, a new baby out of place amid the mess of the straw, the smells and the sounds, the mess that is the message of Christmas.
And thankfully, there’s no stable, no place in our world, or a situation in our lives, that’s too messy for God not to be found there if we allow ourselves to listen for him.
As we approach a New Year with all its mess of hopes, dreams and challenges, may we always hear the message of the Christmas story throughout it all. Amen.
Hymn; ‘Hark the glad sound! The Saviour Comes’
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 Helen Dunbar
Everlasting God, we share today with Mary and Elizabeth their love and joy as the waiting for Jesus’s birth nears its end. Quieten our hearts and lives so that we can hear your voice amongst the hustle and bustle of everyday life as Christmas approaches.
Dear Lord, we bring our prayers and requests to you, please help us to put aside our busy rushing about, putting together Christmas preparations and to sense that awe and wonder which comes from an awareness that we are in your peace. We know that you understand our worries and fears, and so we pray trusting in your willingness to share our concerns for ourselves, and others. Keep your people faithful to the revelation that they have received, to be believing, and to receive your promises.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Dear Lord, we pray for the people in parts of the world where life is precarious, whether through terrorism, disaster, poverty, disease, drought, flooding or war.
We pray that the time may be hastened when there is peace on earth and goodwill between all people. Especially as we pray for our precious world and the need for every nation to aim for ways to stop the pollution of our seas and rivers, and to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Lord in heaven, we pray for your church today, gathering worldwide in churches, chapels and cathedrals, to praise you and to hear your holy word. Give us a sense of expectation as we enter and inspiration as we leave.
Dear Lord, bless all in positions of authority, that they may lead with integrity and respect for others, also to be mindful of the power they have and that they act with humility and a sense of right; may unjust practices be changed for good and conflicts and great tension be peacefully resolved.
Lord In your mercy; hear our prayer
We pray for your blessing on all those who play a part in church life and we pray especially for our own clergy here in the diocese as they seek to do your will and guide us through our spiritual and worldly journey of Advent, until the day when we celebrate together the birth of your Son on Christmas Day. We pray for our own much-loved Rev Diane and her family here in St Clement.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Give blessings to King Charles and Queen Camilla and all the royal family.
Loving God, we thank You for the gift of life and pray for those whose lives are troubled by illness, grief, poverty or injustice. We pray that in the darkness of their suffering and pain Your Advent light will shine to bring them the assurance and hope of the coming of your son Jesus. We remember at this time those known personally to us: Ken and Reverend Diane, May, Susan, Lauren, Lynda, Terry and Dot, Margaret, Maureen, Pam and David, Barrie and Sandra, Roger, Michael and Patricia, Rob and Alison, Stella, Jeremy, William, Jane, Anita and Stephen, Callum and Elaine, Andy, Anne, Sue and Martin, Margaret and John, Dave and Jeanette, Jane, Carrie and John Paul, and those who have no one to pray for them.
We pray for all those who have died in faith, especially remembering Mary; giving thanks for the shining lives of the saints and asking that with them we may come to share in the endless joy of heaven.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Dear Lord, who sent John the Baptist to proclaim the Good News, help us as we go from this church to be true heralds of the coming of Christ and to proclaim the Gospel through all we do and say.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Clement, St Andrew and St Allen and all the saints.
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; ‘Hills of the North Rejoice’
The Peace
In the tender mercy of our God, the dayspring from in high shall break upon us, to give light to those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
May the peace of the Lord always be with us. Amen.
Blessing
May Christ the sun of righteousness shine upon us, scatter the darkness from before our path, and make us ready to meet him when he comes again in glory; 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.