St Clement Church Community Sunday Service
Good morning to you all as we celebrate our Sunday service commemorating The Baptism of Christ. This service is for you to read at home if you’re unable to worship with us in person at St Clement.
May Christ’s love sustain you always.
Much love to you all,
Rev Di and family xx
Let us pray.
Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new: transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make known your heavenly glory; through Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Hymn: ‘The Sinless One to Jordan Came’
Our prayers of Penitence
In his Baptism, Christ identified himself with sinful humanity. Through our Baptism, we are united with him, in his new Body, the Church. Let us therefore acknowledge all that challenges us about our commitment to God:
When we have grown tired of searching for truth or seeking God’s will…
Lord, have mercy.
When we have strayed from the command to love and serve our neighbour…
Christ, have mercy.
When we have offered less than the best in our worship and service of God…
Lord, have mercy.
May our Almighty God, who sent his Son into the world to save sinners, bring us his pardon and peace, now and for ever. Amen.
Let us pray our Collect for today
Heavenly Father, at the Jordan you revealed Jesus as your Son: may we recognise him as our Lord and know ourselves to be your beloved children; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Readings:
Isaiah 42. 1-9 Acts 10. 34-43
Hymn; ‘O Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness’
Gospel Matthew 3. 13-end
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.)
Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’
Matthew 3.13-end
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved,* with whom I am well pleased.’
(This is the Gospel of the Lord. Response: ‘Praise to you, O, Christ’
Reflection
It’s a human condition that we all want to belong to, and be accepted into, something greater than ourselves. The other night I managed to fight Ken successfully for control of the TV remote, and I was flipping through the channels, when I found a programme about initiation rituals.
The rituals included tattooing and piercings, in places that makes my nose stud quite mundane I might add, as well as a rite of passage, which involves being suspended from the ceiling by hooks through your back.
Gosh, that’s going to the extreme, isn’t it, but rites of passage have always been around, and have always been an important way of gaining cultural acceptance. Thankfully, we in the Christian Church, have baptism, because no way do I fancy being suspended from the ceiling!
The story of the baptism of Jesus was, and still is, an incredible problem for the Church. The early Church had to grapple with the teaching of Jesus being God incarnate, literally God on earth, and by definition, godliness meant perfection.
Early converts were told by the author of the Letter to the Hebrews that this human, Jesus of Nazareth, was just like us in every way, “yet without sin.”
And it’s difficult enough for people to get their heads around the two natures of Jesus — human and divine — existing simultaneously, without having to try and understand the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ baptism. After all, if Jesus was without sin, what was he doing down there in the river with John, who, according to Matthew, was baptising with water for repentance from sin?
Jesus’ baptism was so important that it’s in all four Gospel accounts, and even though the early Church fathers struggled to explain it to the pagan challengers of their day, it really does make sense if we think about it. Jesus was indeed the sinless human, however, he never tried to avoid being around sin. In fact, he repeatedly got into trouble with the religious authorities of the day because he refused to shun the supposed sinful of the community, as they did.
Jesus may not have sinned, but he lived where the sinners lived, and spent his time with them, he made a point of mixing socially with them, therefore it made sense that He would want to undergo what they did when they sought to change their lives, as He had something important to teach them about that new life.
By being ‘baptised’ into their world, so to speak, was to fully disclose God’s love for the outcasts and the sinners, stepping into that shared water of the unclean as the clean one, disclosed God’s willingness to go to any length to show how, not just say, ‘I love you.’
Isn’t that a great image? Jesus stepping into the tepid and somewhat fetid water left by throngs of unclean people as they came to John for the promise of new life. Jesus stepping in without hesitation – even though He certainly did not, for His own good, have to, in order to let us know how God loves us, as we are – dirt and all.
And that brings us to an important point here, when Jesus came up out of the water, after being baptized, Matthew tells us, “Suddenly the heavens were open to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.”
Jesus stepped into the waters of baptism and God sent the Holy Spirit to affirm and identify Jesus and – to paraphrase what is so wonderfully put in our baptismal rite – to mark Jesus as God’s own forever, the same connection wanted for each and every one of us.
The next part of Matthew’s description is, I think, one of the most wonderful statements in the Gospels. A voice rings out from heaven, and for everyone to hear, says, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
Everyone who is reading this is someone’s child. Some folk may have had times in their life when they craved hearing those words from their father.
Perhaps because they were in a situation where the father was lost to them, either physically or emotionally, and as a result those words never reached expression. Or perhaps the parent thought he made the words plain, but somehow wasn’t speaking the same language and his child.
"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." These words, spoken so seldom perhaps by some parents, and longed for so often by all children, affirm not only that we are loved, but also that we are accepted and acceptable, just as we are, as my father used to say, “warts and all.”
God’s affirmation of Jesus on the day of His baptism was not only incredibly important for Jesus, but it’s just as important for us. While Jesus may have known who He was and what His relationship to the Father was, we often don’t. We desperately need to hear whose we are and how unconditional that love is.
Jesus shared in baptism with us, not because He needed baptising, but because we did and do. Jesus led the way across the muddy bank, going down to death in the baptismal water and coming up on the other side, resurrected and made new again, so that we would know how, and might have courage enough to do the same.
Now I admit that I don’t fully understand these people who hang from hooks. But I am willing to bet that if they’d have done that during Jesus’ day, he would have attended the gathering, spent time with them, and taught them about unconditional love. I think he would’ve said, “You don’t have to go to this extreme to be acceptable. The Father and I love you exactly the way you are. Receive that love and let the Holy Spirit empower you and guide your life.”
Jesus was perfect and Jesus was loved. We are nowhere near perfect and yet we too are loved. Jesus was sinless and was acceptable. We are broken and sinful people, yet we too are acceptable.
Jesus followed God without exception and was affirmed in His life. We, who wander far off and live lives surrounded by sin, are affirmed as God’s beloved because Jesus went first and made the way for us.
Now it’s up to us to carry God’s unconditional love for us into the world, to take the strength and power from the Holy Spirit, gained in our own baptisms and to live lives of disciples; God’s people – not perfect – but reborn by water and the Spirit. Amen.
Hymn; ‘On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry’
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
Heavenly Father, we give thanks for this new day and as we gather here this morning to focus on the Baptism of our Lord, let us remember our own Baptisms and our calling to be Christians/ May we be filled with such joy as we believe in you that our hearts overflow with love to you and for all we meet along our journey. Lord God and Father, help us to understand the mystery of the baptism of your Son. May we walk in your way, live our life for you and be mindful of your presence day by day.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Loving Lord, we remember all countries where there is war or conflict especially for the Ukraine – Russia and Israel – Palestine conflicts and pray that you will look mercifully upon the sufferings of the people involved and all those seeking refuge and those offering it. We pray for King Charles and the United Kingdom government all leaders in the rest of the world. Sharpen their consciences and give them courage to make wise decisions, making wrongs right and meeting the needs of all who suffer.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord God, we pray today for our friends, our families, and our Christian community, that united by our common baptism we may always welcome the newcomer, the stranger and all who are vulnerable. We also remember all involved in education as they return to school, college, and university, praying that their efforts will be justly rewarded and that they will achieve their full potential.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Father God, we pray for those who face difficulties in their personal lives. We bring before you all who are sick, those with problems in their families, their relationships, in their neighbourhoods or in their workplace. Give them a patient faith in their troubles and the knowledge that you share their sufferings with them. We bring before you: Reverend Diane, Ken, Brian, May, Susan, Tony, Jan, Lynda, Dot, Maureen, Pam and David, Sandra, Roger and Helen, Michael and Patricia, Rob and Alison, Mary, Jeremy, Anita and Stephen, Callum and Elaine, Sue and Martin, Margaret and John, Coral and Paul, Barbara, Simone, Felicity, Dinah, Daphne and David, Liz, David and Jeanette, Stanley, Carol, Rachael, all those known to each of us and those who have no one to pray for them.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Great God of unending being, we pray for those whose earthly lives have ended. We remember those whose anniversary occurs at this time, and for the souls of those who have passed away recently. We give thanks for lives well lived and for happy memories. May they find rest in the eternal joy of heaven and may all who mourn their passing find comfort and peace.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Father, we thank you for making us your children, for feeding us with spiritual food which satisfies our longings and for the promise that you listen to our supplications and answer our requests.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Clement, St Allen, St Andrew and all Christian people to your unfailing love.
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; ‘We have a Gospel to Proclaim’
The Peace
Our Saviour Christ is the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end.
May the peace of God be always with us. Amen.
Blessing
May Christ the Son of God perfect in us the image of his glory and gladden our hearts with the good news of his kingdom; 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.