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St Clement Church Community Second Sunday after Trinity Service

Good morning

Disciples, apostles, what are they? Are they the same thing? Both words appear in the Gospels and refer to Jesus’ group of friends. Why? We often take for granted what we read, but sometimes we need to question why and when certain words, terms, phrases are used, because their very use is the core of the meaning. Today, in our Gospel reading we find the answer.

With love Liz

Let us pray

Heavenly Father, we come before you today in humility and faith. We thank you for all you have given us and the many blessings in our lives. We ask for your guidance and strength. Show us the way and fill us with courage and wisdom. Help us to remember your love and grace and to be faithful in our service to you. Give us the patience and understanding to face life’s challenges with grace. We ask these things in your name. Amen

Hymn: 346 City of God how broad and far

A prayer of Penitence

When we cry out to the Lord in our trouble he will deliver us from our distress.

God will bring us out of darkness and out of the shadow of death.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy. Christ have mercy.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

May the Father forgive us by the death of his Son and strengthen us to live in the power of the Spirit all our days. Amen

Let us give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and the wonders he does for his children.

Let us offer him sacrifices of thanksgiving and tell of his acts with shouts of joy.

Amen

The Collect

Lord, you have taught us that all our doings without love are nothing worth: send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love, the true bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whoever lives is counted dead before you. Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen

Readings

Exodus 19. 2 – 8a Romans 5. 1 - 8

Hymn: 495 God is working his purpose out

Gospel Reading: Matthew 9. 35 – 10. 8 - 23 (Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew Response: Glory to you, O Lord)

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of his kingdom, and curing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for labourers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town.

See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord. Response: Praise to you, O Christ

Reflection

I wonder, are you a wild-life fanatic? I am? Do you love watching the amazing programmes from around the world of young animals following their mothers, watching, and learning from what she does? Then one day, she sends them out on their own and they really are on their own. Unlike humans, most animal, indeed all wild life, parents do not keep any contact with their young once the sending out has occurred.

Sorry, back to today’s Gospel reading - but there is a connection!

As I mentioned at the beginning of the service, are disciples the same as apostles or how do disciples become apostles? When does a follower - a disciple - turn into one being sent - an apostle?

Over the last few weeks, we’ve watched those first disciples of Jesus gather in fear after the crucifixion, be amazed at Christ’s resurrection and ascension into heaven, and receive the Great Commission to make disciples. We’ve seen them return to Jerusalem with joy, praising God, and we’ve looked on as they gathered once more in a room together, praying to receive what Jesus has promised them, power from on high. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit blows them out into the city to share the Good News, and the Church is born. Somewhere in there, they’ve been transformed from frightened followers to bold announcers of the Gospel. Somewhere in there, they’ve changed from apprentice craftsmen to master builders in God’s kingdom here on earth. They’ve joined Jesus in the work of healing and driving out demons and preaching Christ. They are no longer disciples, but apostles; no longer following behind, but being sent out ahead. How does this happen?

Matthew’s Gospel gives us a clue, but it isn’t at the end of the story, as we might expect. This transformation begins much earlier, and if we’d been there at the time, we probably wouldn’t have noticed that a change was happening. It’s one of those things that only makes sense when one looks back.

Think back to the reading – did you catch it? Did you hear when the switch happened? Listen again:

‘Then Jesus Summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.

These are the names of the twelve apostles: …’

Right there in the middle of it all, Jesus calls his twelve disciples and gives them authority to cast out unclean spirits and cure every disease and sickness, and they become apostles, or ‘sent ones.’

Disciples who place themselves under the authority of Jesus are given authority to act in His name, performing the same works and speaking the same truths as Jesus. That’s how they become apostles.

That’s how we become apostles. I think sometimes our unwillingness to submit fully to Christ’s authority over us keeps us from experiencing the power of Christ’s authority working ‘through’ us.

Think back to when you were a child – as a child you had to learn everything. As a child you watch what your parents do, what your siblings do, what people with whom you come into contact do – your eyes follow initially, and then you follow them, watching. You begin to copy them, but eventually, someone says,’ You do it!’ You change from a follower into a ‘sent one.’’ You’ve been given authority to be a ‘doer.’ As time goes on, if younger siblings arrive you have the authority to be the ‘doer’ that they follow.

There is a man on horseback who sees a group of exhausted soldiers digging a trench. On the side is their section leader who is barking orders. The passer-by asks the leader why he isn’t helping his men. The leader just says that he is in charge and her tells men what to do. The man decides to join in and help the soldiers dig until the trench is finished. After that, he approaches the commander on foot and tells him that the next time his rank prevents him from supporting his men, he should notify the top command, and that he will give him a permanent solution to it. The section leader suddenly realizes that the person he is talking to is none other than General Allenby. Let’s face it – the best leaders are always willing to help and give aid to their followers.

At the beginning, Jesus is doing what Jesus does, travelling from town to town, healing the sick, teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom. Then, He sends out His followers to do exactly the same.

This brings us to the heart of the message, the point that Matthew wants us to get. “These are the … apostles.” No longer are they the disciples. No longer are they the apprentices. These are the sent ones.

We are then given the names. Did you notice, Matthew lists them two-by-two? This isn’t an accident. When we are sent into the world to proclaim good news, we dare not go alone. The ‘mate/buddy/friend’ system is always Christ’s model for discipleship, and it’s the best model for apostleship, too.

There’s something else, have you ever thought about what a ‘motley’ crew, the disciples are? They all come from different backgrounds, hold very different opinions, and have very different ideas about Messiah. Social class, politics, theology – you couldn’t ask for a more diverse bunch. We have Matthew, a tax collector, who upholds (and profits from) the Roman occupation, right alongside Simon the Zealot, who wants to overthrow the government. We have Peter, leading the pack with his impetuous loyalty, and Judas the betrayer. We have Thomas, who blurts out whatever is on his mind, and Thaddeus, who never gets quoted in any version of the story. How on earth do these twelve men manage to get along? What qualifies them to become the spokespersons for the kingdom of God?

Well, it’s the same thing that qualifies you and me, the same thing that keeps us united in faith, even when we disagree dramatically on just about everything else. It’s the One who does the sending. The One who gives authority, who walks beside us, who promises to never leave us. It’s Jesus.

The core of the good news of the Kingdom of God is found right here, among us all, in the people who choose to follow Jesus, loving God with all their hearts, souls, minds and strength, and loving their neighbours as themselves. We are the Gospel. We are the good news.

Christ’s promise is to be with us always as He sends us out. We are given the opportunity to respond to God’s infinite grace with promises of our own. May we step out in faith as the apostles did so long ago.

We, too, will follow where the Saviour leads us. We, too, will answer when we hear his call. We’ll use the gifts that God has given freely In loving service both to great and small. So may we also turn as God directs us Or stay the course, ‘til Christ is all in all. Jo Anne Taylor

Amen

Affirmation of Faith

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit the Lord, the giver of life who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen

Hymn: 137 Come down O love divine

Intercessions by Daphne Hawkins

In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ, let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we ask your blessing and presence with us as we gather in our beloved St Clement Church, together with those who join with us in mind and spirit in our service this morning. We thank you for our world-wide Church and ask you to help us maintain and grow in these times of challenge and change. We pray for all church leaders and those who guide us on our Christian journey. May they have strength, vision and faith to carry out the tasks they face each day.