St Clement Church
Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity Community Service
Good morning
We are continuing with parables - some more difficult than others (!) - told by Luke whose day was celebrated yesterday.
What so often seems simple, can, with extra thought, suddenly raise different and more challenging issues. I think today’s parable does.
What do you think?
My love to you all
Liz
Let us be still for a moment as we draw near to worship God.
Take just a few seconds to remind yourself why we are gathered together, today.
Listen, God speaks even through the background noise of the world around us …
Lord God, in this short time together, open our ears and our eyes to see your vision from this place and our part within it.
Teach us, hear our prayers and enable us for service wherever you might take us, to your praise and glory.
Amen
We say together:
In the meeting of our lives, be the focus of all that we are.
In the singing of the hymns, the prayers that we shall make,
the reading of your Word and the preaching of the same.
Speak to us, encourage and forgive us.
In the meeting of our lives, Lord, be the focus of all that we are. Amen
Hymn: 457 The King of Love my shepherd is
Prayer of Confession
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy,
Slow to anger and of great kindness.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is his mercy upon those who fear him.
Holy God, holy and strong, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has he set our sins from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
So is the Lord merciful towards those who fear him.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all his benefits.
Amen
The Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us your gift of faith that, forsaking what lies behind and reaching out to that which is before, we may run the way of your commandments and win the crown of everlasting joy; 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 for ever. Amen
Readings:
Genesis 32. 22 -31
2 Timothy 3. 14 – 4. 5
Hymn: 357 Father hear the prayer we offer
Gospel: Luke 18. 1 - 8
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
Jesus told his disciples about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.
He said, ‘In a city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.
In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent.”
For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.”
And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says.
And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?
Will he delay long in helping them?
I tell yo he will quickly grant justice to them.
And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
(This is the Gospel of our Lord. Praise to you, O Christ)
Reflection
Today’s gospel reading is the parable of the unjust judge. Its very title suggests that the widow is just. Maybe she is, maybe she isn’t!
We could follow Luke’s lead and say that this is simply a story about our “need to pray always and not lose heart” and the widow is an image of one who perseveres in prayer. But, I don’t believe that God is like an unjust judge who we are supposed to wear out with our prayer until God relents and finally gives us what we want.
Is that your understanding of prayer? Is that the kind of God to whom you want to entrust your life? Is that what you want to teach your children or grandchildren about prayer and God? It certainly doesn’t fit with what we see of Jesus in the gospels when He feeds, heals, and raises from the dead.
What happened to “For God so loved the world …” or his promise “I am with you always.”
Jesus asking. “What do you want me to do for you?” or His promise, “I am with you always.”
We can see the judge as the corrupt systems of power that oppress and the widow as those powerless and oppressed. While that’s the reality of our world, it’s nothing new. We see that every day. Rarely do the cries of the oppressed change the mind or the actions of the oppressor. If it was that simple, every minority group, every oppressed group would have a very different experience of and place in our world today.
We could see ourselves as the widow and echo her cry, “Grant me justice against my opponent.” Who hasn’t wanted that when you or someone you care about has been hurt or injured? Someone needs to pay. It’s only fair. I wonder though, if she and we are more interested in vengeance rather than justice.
We assume that the judge is unjust and the widow just and we are pleased that she’s finally granted justice. But, what if the widow is unjust? Maybe she’s not much better than or different from the judge. What if this parable is challenging our usual idea about justice? What if it’s revealing our willingness to often settle for a simple and superficial understanding and practice of justice?
The usual understanding of justice tends to be organised round three questions.
- What law was broken?
- Who did it?
- What do they deserve?
What they deserve is usually seen as some form of punishment. At a minimum, we want an ‘eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,’ and more if we can get it. That’s what the widow wants too. But didn’t Jesus say something about loving our enemies?
We hear her crying for justice against her opponent. She wants her opponent to be punished, hurt, injured, and suffer in the same way she did or still does. I wonder how often that’s what we want when we cry for justice against our opponent.
Eventually, the judge says that he will rule in her favour “so that she may not wear me out.” He didn’t rule on the merits of the cas he ruled out of self-interest and self-preservation. The widow didn’t get justice, she got what she wanted and so did the judge. I wonder how often we equate justice with getting what we want.
Unfortunately, more often than not, hurt people will hurt people. We know that. We’ve seen it happen. We’ve experienced it. We’ve done it. That’s not justice. That’s the cycle of violence. If we want it to change maybe we need to change first.
What if justice isn’t primarily about just deserts, punishment, or revenge? What if justice is about restoring balance and making things right as best we can? What if justice isn’t only about individual actions but the systems in which we all participate? What if justice is about meeting the needs of hurt people, both victims and offenders? What if justice means some should be held accountable for meeting those needs but all are responsible?
This isn’t about ‘them’ somewhere out there. This is about all of us everywhere.
How are we, each of us doing justice today? How will we do justice tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that?
I think that’s what Jesus is getting at when he asks, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
I don’t know if He will. That depends on you and me.
Amen
Let us declare our faith in God
We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.
We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love.
We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high.
We believe in one God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen
Hymn: 333 All my hope on God is founded
Our Intercessions by Helen Dunbar
Let us pray for the Church and for the world and let us thank God for his goodness.
St Luke, Saintly Physician was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write an account for us of the life of Jesus and the beginnings of our Church. In faithfully detailing the humanity of Jesus, he also demonstrated his divinity and his genuine compassion of all human beings.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
We pray for the worldwide Church and all who minister in it; Also, for our church family whether they are here in Church or at home this morning. We ask for your blessing on all those in need in our community, the elderly, the housebound and those in care homes, and hospices and for those who with skill and compassion, look after them. For all those who spend their lives trying to make ours better – for those in public service, for all people who commit themselves to charitable works, and for all those who help others to find you. We pray for Revd Diane and Ken and hope that they return from their holiday feeling rested and refreshed.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Lord, help us to show kindness and compassion to all we meet. We pray for our world, for all those who are in need, all those who are suffering in the destruction caused by war, all who face poverty and famine, for all who feel that the world is a dark place where no light shines. We hold in our prayers the people of Israel and Gaza and hope in our hearts that the fragile peace process will gather strength and remain in place for a long time to come.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Bless and guide King Charles and Queen Camilla and all working members of the royal family, as they go about their duties.
We pray for those who are sick or struggling at this time whether in body, mind or spirit. We take time to think of those we know who are in need of your comforting presence and know that in your hands they are safe and loved and we bring before you those known to us: Reverend Diane, Ken, Brian, May, Susan, Tony, Jan, Lynda, Dot, Maureen, Pam and David, Sandra, Roger, Michael and Patricia, Rob and Alison, Mary, Jeremy, Anita and Stephen, Callum and Elaine, Sue and Martin, Margaret and John, Barry, Coral and Paul, Barbara, Simone, Dinah, Daphne and David, Stanley , Carol, John, all those known to us and all who have no one to pray for them.
We remember all those who have died in the faith of Christ, please God, surround them with your loving arms and give them peace and everlasting joy in your heavenly kingdom.
We pray for all those whose anniversary falls at this time and we especially remember: Pat Brown, Terry Gill, Henry Davies, Don Thompson and William Wyatt.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Clement, St Andrew and St Allen
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen
We say together:
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
Faith on Earth
The anchor holds when storms begin to sweep,
A quiet, certain comfort, held so deep.
We cannot touch the wind, but feel its force,
So faith, unseen, can set and guide our course.
The garden grows, though winter holds its sway,
A promise held beneath the frozen clay.
And doubt dissolves like mist in morning’s light,
As something stronger conquers darkest night.
It is the light that shines within the grey,
A path revealed when all is led astray.
To trust the process, even when we bend,
And know the story doesn’t truly end.
For in this faith, a solace can be found,
A sacred strength upon this earthly ground.
A silent knowing, born of peace and prayer,
That finds its home in trust beyond compare.
The Peace
Jesus said: ‘Love one another. As I have loved you, so you are to love one another.’
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
Hymn: 186 Tell out my soul
The Blessing
As we take our worship, praise and prayer from this place and into our daily lives, may our lives be sustained through the love of our Heavenly Father. May we feel the presence of our Saviour walking beside us, and know the power of the Spirit in both our actions and our deeds. Amen