St Clement Church Community Sunday Service
Good morning to you all as we celebrate our Sunday service, whether in your own home or our church building.
Next Sunday 6th September, I shall take our first Eucharist service in church since lockdown. For those attending we shall be using our usual service booklets, folk at home will receive our community Service of the Word.
We held our first ‘social distance’ PCC meeting on Tuesday, during which it was requested I include the introduction, ending, and responses to the Gospel reading.
We also discussed why I don’t ask folk in church to stand when the Gospel is read, I explained that this is to cut down on the movement of folk. It’s up to you what you do at home!
Please continue to keep yourselves safe when you go out and about, and don’t forget your masks if you are joining us in church, as wearing masks became mandatory from August 8th.
Much love and may Christ’s love sustain you always.
Rev Di and family xx
Let us pray;
God of constant mercy, who sent your Son to save us: remind us of your goodness, increase your grace within us that our thankfulness may grow, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our prayers of Penitence
Let us confess our failings to the Lord:
When our deeds do not match our words:
Lord, have mercy.
When we let evil go unchallenged, and are afraid to speak the truth: Christ, have mercy.
When we are preoccupied with ourselves, and give little attention to others:
Lord, have mercy.
When we trust in earthly treasures more than in God’s unfailing care:
Christ, 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 12th Sunday after Trinity
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than either we desire or deserve: pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
Our Reading is taken from the Gospel of Matthew 16.21-end.
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew. Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’
But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’
Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.
Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’
(This is the Gospel of the Lord. Response: ‘Praise to you, O, Christ’)
Reflection
Death and taxes: It turns out that only one of life’s certainties remains absolutely certain, and that is our physical demise from this life has no loopholes, shelters, or rebates.
The Inland Revenue may be foiled by relocating offshore, but we still have nowhere to hide when mortality comes calling.
Science, decent sanitation and nutrition have helped kick the tin can down the road a few decades. Advertisements are awash with pills and potions promising the fountain of youth. I could do with some of those! Seventy is the new fifty.
But take it from someone who has attended many final bedside vigils; our appointment with death can be put off, but never cancelled.
And let’s be honest, we don’t like hearing about that fact, let alone face it, and in this week’s gospel reading, neither did Peter.
For Peter everything had been going along so well… the miracles, the adulation, the recognition. Then all of a sudden, Jesus bursts his bubble when he talks about betrayal, suffering, sacrifice and death.
He’s taking all the fun out of being a disciple, after all, the Messiah is supposed to be victorious, isn’t he? He’s going to put the Romans on the run, after which the disciples expect to live like kings… or at least like princes.
But if Jesus is arrested, tortured and executed, they can kiss all that goodbye. So Peter tells Jesus to stop talking about all that gloom and doom, it was never going to happen.
‘Get behind me, Satan!’ is Christ’s answer. The same Jesus, who’d not long ago named Peter the rock of the church, now calls him the Prince of Darkness.
But in his anxiety Peter missed the really big news; when Jesus said on the third day he will rise from the dead. So, in fact, he wasn’t predicting a terrible end but instead proclaiming a glorious beginning.
Jesus wasn’t here to gain victory over the Romans, he’d come to conquer sin and death; to grant us entry into the eternal glory of heaven. And to do that he was prepared to pay the ultimate cost… by laying down his sinless life for us.
His mortality for our immortality. We simply can’t get there without it.
In this gospel reading Jesus is telling us that the grave is not the end of the story for him or for us.
He will conquer death, so that we may likewise conquer death as well. To get there Jesus must carry his cross, and to follow him each of us must carry our own cross, too.
And with that knowledge we have the comfort that death is not a onetime event that we must spend a lifetime running from.
To follow Christ means to be dead to the world over and over again… dead to pride, dead to infidelity, dead to escapism, dead to cutting corners, dead to making a quick pound or two.
But those many little deaths are a small price to pay for living with Christ… here and hereafter.
There are no parables or stories in this gospel. To the amazement of the disciples, Jesus lays it straight on the line, telling them:
‘Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world but forfeit their life?’
Clearly, to follow Jesus was never meant to be like skipping down the yellow brick road to the Land of Oz.
Even under the best of circumstances, active Christianity is often inconvenient and costly, at times it can be lonely and disappointing, and let me tell you, these aren’t the best of circumstances to live by.
But we don’t come here to our lovely country church, or take the time to read this service at home, to get a patronizing pat on the head from Jesus for what we do, we come to be challenged. And we are.
Straight from the shoulder, this is the basics of Christianity: To give up the self-centered, fleeting life of the world, and make the leap of faith to live in Christ. To grow in his love, to share in his love, and whilst we’re about it, proclaim it too.
In return, death is diminished and life is exalted… moving seamlessly from the finite to the infinite, our souls transcend the life of our bodies.
Sure there’s pain, and fear, there’s sorrow and separation. We’re only human. But in Christ, our last breath and our final heartbeat are not a tragic finale. They are a joyful welcome home.
And the best part is; it’s all for free, though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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 Liz Davies
Loving God, we recognise our responsibility to encourage and uphold one another and to live together in peace and love. We also recognise our needs and our human weaknesses and come to You now with our prayers and petitions.
Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.
Creator God, as we bow our heads, in the little church of St Clement or at home, we thank You for all the wonders of your creation….. for the beauty, the ruggedness and the dramatic coastline of our own county; for the amazing scenery around the world with its distinctive flora and fauna; for the wonders of the wildlife, so much of which is so close to extinction due to our demands.
Help us to acknowledge and accept responsibility for the care of the natural world so that, not only may it be here for generations to come but that it may continue to play its part in the wellbeing of all that live on this planet.
Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.
Everlasting God, we pray for all the leaders of the nations of the world as they struggle to work out the best ways to support their people and deal with the difficult situations and serious problems associated with the Covid Pandemic. No nations have escaped the effects of this disease. We pray that each and every individual will accept responsibility for taking care of themselves and each other and not be selfish in the way they choose to live their lives.
Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.
Father God, we pray for our children and grandchildren who will be returning to school, college and university in September to continue their education. We especially pray that all places of education will find ways of making teaching and learning safe as well as effective in such strange and difficult times. Help students in their daily lessons; give them the wisdom to listen and learn to keep safe. Help their teachers and give them patience and knowledge to teach well and help them all as together they learn the lessons of life.
Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.
Loving God, we ask for Your wisdom to discern Your wishes and direction in our lives and ask for Your help to discern how to deal with others in our daily lives; those we live and work with; those we meet in shops and supermarkets; those with whom we share our roads and those who serve us in cafes and restaurants. May we never be a ‘stumbling block’ to those we meet in our daily lives and to always follow the social distancing rules.
Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.
Gracious God, we pray for all who we know who are housebound and in nursing homes; those in hospitals, in recovery and rehabilitation. We give grateful thanks for all the doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and every single person who works to help keep us safe. We pray for all those who work in health centres and clinics and for all those who work in sheltered accommodation and care homes. We pray for all those who work in our hospitals and may I say a huge ‘Thank you’ and ask for a special blessing on all those who work in St Michael’s Hospital, Hayle. We especially remember at this time; Father Harold, Esther, John, Pip, and all those known to each of us.
Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.
Merciful God, we pray for all those who have departed this life and for those who grieve their passing. Help us to be sympathetic, caring and loving with those who are struggling to cope with the loss of loved ones and may we always be ready to help practically and try to pray diligently in the time of their greatest need.
Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.
Holy God, we thank You that Your wisdom not only enlightens us but transforms and guides us as we go from this place of worship, or the quiet time in our own home, and into our daily walk through life with You.
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.
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.
Amen.