St Clement Church Community Trinity 1 Service 22.6.25
Good morning to you as we celebrate our 1st Sunday of Trinity Service. We are holding a Eucharist in our church building at 10.15, this Service of the Word is for those who aren’t able to be with us in person, but will be worshipping with us in spirit.
Much love and prayers and may Christ’s love sustain you always.
Rev Di and family xx
Let us pray;
O Lord, open our eyes to see what is beautiful, open our minds to know what is true, and our hearts to seek what is good, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn: ‘Christ is made the sure Foundation’
Our Prayers of Penitence
As we celebrate the holiness and goodness of God, we remember the shadows in our own lives:
Father God, we confess that we often take the gifts of your creation for granted, and use them chiefly to further our own interests….
Lord, have mercy.
Saviour Christ, we confess that we easily fall into temptation and forget to seek your forgiveness….
Christ, have mercy.
Holy Spirit, we confess that we often close our minds to your influence, and fail to bear good fruit in our lives…
Lord, have mercy.
May Almighty God have mercy upon us, forgive us our failings, and bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray our Collect for today
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 nothing good without you, grant us the help of your grace, that in 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 forever.
Amen.
Readings:
Isaiah 65. 1-9 Galatians 3. 23-end
Hymn: ‘Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise’
Gospel: Luke 8. 26-39
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke)
Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
Luke 8. 26-39
Jesus and his disciples arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs.
When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”— for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.
(For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.)
Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these.
So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.
Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
(This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.)
Reflection
What’s in a name, we might ask? Well, apparently not much, because the Bible doesn’t even tell us what the man in our gospel story today was called.
I’m sure the Gerasenes folk had some names for him, like; “that nutter who lives in the graveyard,” or “that chap who’s a few figs short of a bushel.’
I expect the Jews had a few names for him too. Perhaps at the top of the list was; “Demon possessed” but; “Unclean” was certainly among them.
His was an extreme case of demonic possession, he was unclean and forced to live in one of the most unclean places of those times, the tombs, not even worthy enough to be clothed.
And of course, we would have a few names for this man too. Names like; “Paranoid Schizophrenic with Delusions of Grandeur and Persecution,” or “Dangerous to Himself and others,” “Homeless,” or just plain “Crazy.”
What’s in a name, we might ask? Well, apparently quite a bit, because Jesus asks for a name. Instead of calling this poor man names like the Gerasenes, the Jews, and we might do, Jesus cuts to the chase.
He asks the demon; “What is your name?” In fact, we might notice that this is the only thing Jesus says in this passage except for; “Go home and tell what God has done for you,” at the end.
And even the demon seems to feel that names are important, it knows who Jesus is, and right away addresses him.
Not as; “Jesus of Nazareth,” but as; “Jesus, Son of the Most High God.” And recognizing who Jesus is, pleads for mercy.
Ancient Hebrew belief considered names important. Knowing a demon’s name gave you power over it, that’s why Jesus asked for the demon’s name.
But then the magnitude of the man’s problem becomes apparent. He doesn’t have “a” demon but a legion of demons in him.
But once Jesus has the name, he has the power to command the demons to leave. And in an ironic act of mercy, he allows the demons to enter a herd of pigs. So, Jesus sends them into the swine, which promptly jump into the sea and are drowned. Poor pigs……
Well, the demons seemed to like the arrangement even if the poor pigs didn’t. Though maybe it was best they did drown, after all, having a thousand or so demons wandering around the countryside going; ‘oink, oink’ wouldn’t have been good for the local population, would it?.
Then, in a strange twist to the story, the people demand that Jesus leave the area. Why? Perhaps because he’s removed their means of support, which seems to be more important to them at the time, than the healing of this tormented man. In other words, they would prefer to deal with his craziness, than to the loss in their bank accounts.
It is a terrifying story, so much so that often we try to make it more acceptable by joking about it.
I had a tutor in college, for example, who delighted in telling us that this was the first known instance of devilled ham.
But truth be told, there’s nothing funny about what’s happening here.
Let’s talk about those poor pigs. Even though this is Gentile country, it’s close enough to Jewish Galilee, and remember, Jews are forbidden to eat pork, so you’d think, that pigs wouldn’t be welcome here.
But they were all over the place. Why? Because they were there to feed the Roman soldiers, the same soldiers who were an ever-present reminder that the people who tended the pigs were in bondage to their captors, the Legion of Roman soldiers who lend the tormented man his name: and as if that wasn’t enough, the wild boar was the logo of the Roman legion stationed in Palestine.
When we scratch the surface of it, we discover that there’s a lot of symbolism in this story.
But back to the plot…...the end result of naming the demon was that the man was returned to his senses. The people found him sitting at Jesus’ feet clothed and in his right mind. But what would they call him now? “The man who used to be a few figs short of a bushel?”
And what about the unnamed man? He asked to follow Jesus to presumably become one of his disciples, but Jesus sent him home with the command to tell others how much God had done for him.
So, what’s in a name? A lot, if we name the right thing. Everyone was spending a lot of time calling the man in this story names, yet because they were afraid of him, they didn’t try to name his problem, they labelled him instead. But Jesus was able to see past those labels, name the real problem, and help him.
Society nowadays spends a lot of time labelling people instead of getting to know them.
What’s in a name? When dealing with demons it’s everything. People who have dealt with such demons as mental ill-health, or alcohol and drug dependency, will tell you that admitting and naming the problem is half the solution.
Naming the demon is the first step in casting it out.
Too often we can’t name our own demons, albeit lesser ones than Legion. The demons of a worry we can’t let go of, or guilt because of a past hurt caused.
But for Christ naming the demons is easy. He knows us by name, and he knows our problems.
So, what’s in a name? The world, if the name is “Jesus.” In the name of Jesus there is healing and hope. He can name our demons and cast them out.
Who will we be though when he does that? It might even change the name everyone calls us by. But Jesus knows our true name; ‘Child of God’ – So let us remember the words of Isaiah; ‘Do not be afraid, I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.’ Amen.
Hymn: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You have Come to us’
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.
Intercessions
Heavenly Father, we come before you to pray for our ourselves and our world, knowing that you see our hearts and know our needs. We therefore bring our prayers to you with confidence. 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.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, we pray for your Church throughout the world, for those that are thriving and those that have lost a sense of direction. We give thanks for our church here at St Clement and its people. We thank you for all the gifts you have given us through its life. We ask you to open wide our hearts that we may welcome the stranger and share our faith with others; open wide our minds that we may receive new truth and understand your will; open wide our doors,
that as we have come into worship so we may go out with you to the service of the world; open wide our lives that through discipline and prayer we may experience your power in our daily living.
We pray that we may all work through any differences and disagreements so that we work for the good and well-being of all.
We pray for an increase in faith and strength in God, and for the ability to love one’s neighbours, even those considered to be enemies. We pray for the grace to share God’s love with others and for the courage to face challenges with faith.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord of the universe we praise you and give thanks for your creation. You have provided mankind with everything it needs for life and health. Grant that the resources of the earth may neither be hoarded by the selfish nor squandered by the foolish, but that all may share your gifts.
We remember all who bear the responsibility of leadership, for heads of state, ambassadors, and political advisers. Let your will for our world be accomplished through the decisions that they make and give them a vision of peace and reconciliation.
Lord, we pray for peace in the world, especially remembering the people of Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, and other war-torn countries. Create in us a love of peace, not peace that is absent from struggle, nor peace that is blind to injustice but peace that makes whole that which is broken.
We remember those who struggle against injustice, for men and women who try to establish love’s supremacy in violent and oppressive societies, and for those whom war and famine have robbed of homes, families, and friends. May they be filled with your strength and wisdom and grant that where the love of man has failed, your divine compassion may heal.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Father God, as the holiday season builds towards its peak at the end of next month, we pray for all who come to Cornwall on holiday. May they enjoy their time here and the time spent with family and friends. May their visit bring not only pleasure but also restoration and healing.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Loving God, we bring before you those in need of comfort and reassurance; all those in pain and mental suffering. We pray for those who are struggling in any way. We especially bring before you those on our prayer list: Reverend Diane, Ken and his brother Brian, May, Susan and Tony, Beth, Jan, Lynda, Dot, Maureen, Pam and David, Sandra, Roger, Michael and Patricia, Rob and Alison, Stella, Jeremy, Anita and Stephen, Felicity, Callum and Elaine, Sue and Martin, Margaret and John, Dave and Jeanette, Carrie and John Paul, Nan, Barry, Paul and Barbara, those known to each of us and those with no one to pray for them. Be with them all and may they feel your love and care in their times of need.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Merciful God, have mercy on those who have recently died and those who are on their last journey now. We pray for those grieving the loss of loved ones and may those who have gone before us, rest in your eternal peace.
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.
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: ‘Be Thou my Vision’
The Peace
We are the body of Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised into one body. Let us then pursue all that makes for peace and build up our common life. May the peace of God be always with us.
Amen.
Blessing
May God the Holy Trinity make us strong in faith and love, defend us on every side and guide us in truth and peace. And may the presence of God watch over us, the power of God protect us, those whom we love, and may we never forget that wherever we are, God is with us always, to the end of the age. Amen.