St Clement Church
Ninth Sunday after Trinity Community Service
Good morning
What does the word ‘division’ mean to you?
Does it immediately take you back to Maths lessons at school or is it a
word that always makes you think of negative things, breaking apart … or … can it be positive?
My love to you all
Liz
Let us be still as we draw near to worship God … Take a few seconds to remind ourselves 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 for this place and our part within it. Teach us, hear our prayers and enable us for service wherever you may take us, to your praise and glory.
Amen
We say together:
Here we are Lord; your people, your Church meeting together in your presence. We welcome each other and we welcome You. Make yourself known to us in new ways through our worship, our prayers, and our understanding of your Word today. Amen
Hymn: 232 Awake my soul, and with the sun
Our Prayer of Penitence:
Lord God, we have sinned against you; we have done evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your love.
Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The Collect for Trinity Nine
Almighty God, who sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and the light of your Church: open our hearts to the riches of your grace, that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in love and joy and peace; 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:
Jeremiah 23. 23 - 29 Hebrews 11. 29 – 12. 2
Hymn: 484 The Church’s one foundation (omit verse 3)
Gospel: Luke 12. 49 - 56 (Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!
Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division!
From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’
He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens.
And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?’
(This is the Gospel of our Lord. Praise to you, O Christ)
Reflection
A small boy asked his mother, “Do you love God more than me?” His mother was very active in her parish. She was growing spiritually and deeply committed to God. Her son looked at her waiting for an answer. “Yes, son, I do.” She finally answered.
In that answer we hear Jesus’ words from today’s gospel.
“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!”
With the boy’s question and his mother’s answer there is now division between mother and son. I suspect the boy experienced this division as one of diminishment maybe even rejection. The mother, however, understood it quite differently. She knew the fullness of her life and who she was, including her motherhood, had to find its primary identity and meaning in God and not in her son. Only then would she be able to fully love her son and be the mother he needed and she wanted to be.
Our distinct identity as persons is given by our various relationships; biological, natural, social, and political. These include our relationships with family and friends, the natural environment, our work, our country, our beliefs, the things we possess. Some of these relationships are tangible and associated with people, places, objects. Some are not so tangible but no less real; our spiritual relationships, beliefs, attitudes. Think of all the relationships each of us has. Regardless of whether we judge them as good or bad, healthy, or unhealthy, taken together this vast complex of relationships makes you and me the persons we are.
Ultimately, however, only one of these relationships can finally be the most significant and decisive for us. This one relationship makes us uniquely who we are and not someone else. For example, if I decide that my relationship with my parents is the definitive one, then all my other relationships will be seen and lived out through this one relationship with my parents. I will try to live their lives through mine. Their lives will become the lens through which I see and relate to others, the world, and myself. That one relationship will be decisive for who I am. It will become the criterion for determining and incorporating all other relationships that contribute to who I am as a person. The one relationship that ultimately determines our identity is the one to whom we will give existence and life.
Jesus’ relationship with the Father is what ultimately determines His identity and being. He freely chooses that one relationship above all others. That does not mean He rejects all others. Rather all His other relationships are mediated through His relationship with the Father. Jesus’ choice brings about division with the religious leaders, the world, and all who would choose differently.
That’s the choice Jesus sets us today. Who or what is the determining relationship that gives you your identity and being? What relationship matters so much to you that you allow it to shape your life and give you identity. Maybe it’s your children, your partner, your work. Maybe it’s your parents, your church, God, even your country. It is a choice we make over and over, day after day, as we respond to and enter relationships. It’s a choice that always brings division.
“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!”
This is not the Jesus we are used to and probably not the Jesus we want. Where is the water-walking, miracle-working, dying-for-me Jesus? What happened to sweet baby Jesus asleep on the hay, no crying he made? This fire bringing, family dividing Jesus makes us uncomfortable.
God knows we already have more than enough division on the earth. We don’t need any more. We are divided socially, racially, economically, politically, religiously not only in our own country but throughout the world. There is division in marriages and families, in the workplace, in our schools. This is not, however, the division that Jesus brings. The division that we read about in the newspaper and watch on the news is not Jesus’ doing. We humans have caused those divisions by our choices of relationships that ultimately determine who we are and how we act. We have made bad choices. Getting our life turned around means learning ‘how to interpret the present time’ and choose again.
It means choosing the Father as the one primary relationship that finally determines who we are, and what we do. If we choose the Father as that one relationship, then it means our parents, children, partners, or friends do not determine who we are. It means that our jobs, our country, our politics, our possessions do not create our identity. God does. Those relationships do not necessarily have to end. Rather, they exist within the context of our relationship with the Father. There will be new dynamics, new priorities, and new division. Jesus said it would. It is not, however, a division that kills, oppresses, or separates.
The division Jesus offers is about growth. He is growing us into the fullness of life and holiness. Regardless of our age we are always in the process of growing up. Growing up is difficult and often painful work. Division is the way of life and growth.
Look at the miracle of physical life and your body. Watch a child grow up. This, modern science has revealed, is a result of division at the cellular level. Growth and our physical bodies are a result of division. Go into a home where a teenager lives. On the surface you may see conflict between parent and child. At a deeper level it is about division. A young person is discovering his or her life and identity apart from the parent. It may not be fun, but it is absolutely necessary for the child’s and the parent’s life.
Just as division offers physical and emotional growth so it offers spiritual growth. Jesus is calling us to grow up and bringing the division that makes that growth possible. For our part, we must re-examine our relationships and the priorities we have given them. We must choose our relationship with the Father, to the exclusion of all other people, places, or objects, as the one relationship that finally gives us our truest and most authentic identity. This is the division that loses nothing and gains everything. This division does not diminish or reject others. Instead, it offers wholeness and perfection. It is the division that transforms our lives, makes sacred all our relationships, and heals the world.
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 the power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen
Hymn: 296 Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendour
Our Intercessions by Daphne Hawkins
In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ let us pray to the Father.
As we gather together this morning in our beloved St Clement Church we are assured of your divine presence. We find comfort knowing that those who cannot be here are with us in spirit.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Dear Lord, we pray for the world-wide Church that it may thrive and grow in strength and numbers. May our little church be a blessing to the community around us, our door always open to anyone in need of comfort or support.
We pray for all bishops, priests and church leaders, Our own Reverend Diane, Father David, and Liz our Church Reader. We ask you give them strength to take us on our earthly journey.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Merciful Father, we remember before you those countries with the world’s greatest needs and often unnoticed suffering. Those countries where war and terrorism are destroying the lives of so many peoples fleeing for their lives, homeless, hungry, injured, and living each day in terror.
May your blessings rest on each nation and all people.
Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, we pray for King Charles and all the royal family. May they find joy and achievement in all the duties they carry out.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Dear Lord, we thank you for our families and dear friends around us; for those who sustain us with their love and care always. Make us alert to each other’s needs and always encourage one another. May our gentleness with each other reflect your care to us.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, we ask you to be with those struggling to cope with the difficulties of life in our modern world – homelessness, drug addiction, poverty, depression, and all the pressures on families and young persons. Often the road ahead is too hard to face. Dear Lord, give them strength and vision and light and hope in the days ahead.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, we pray for all world leaders and those responsible for keeping peace. Bless them with wisdom, human and divine, as they navigate the path of peace in those countries in conflict.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Dear Lord, we bring to you all who are suffering in body, mind or spirit or just need a little help with their lives, at this time.
From our church and community, we bring: Reverend Diane and Ken, Brian, May, Susan, Tony, Jan, Lynda, Dot, Maureen, Jan, 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, Lawson, Barbara, Simone, and Dinah.
May they trust in the God of peace and hope; remembering his words: “Do not be afraid for I am always with you.”
Lord, we pray you will welcome into your eternal kingdom all whose earthly journey has come to an end.
We remember those we love but see no more. It is with deep gratitude that they have left their mark on our lives. We hold them in our hearts always.
Edgar Davey (Helen’s dear father,) Alfred Hobbs, Ian Tilsley (Angela’s dear husband,) Martin Davies (Liz’ dear husband) who gave so much to our church, Edith Mary Everitt, Joan Gill, Patricia Anne Robins and Elsie Vivien.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Faith is putting one’s foot down in the mist and finding it on a rock.
Amen
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Andrew, St Allen, St Clement, and the blessed Virgin Mary, we commend ourselves and the whole of creation to your unfailing love.
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
Dividing List Poem
divide to be divisive
divide for your quotient of lessening
divide to be 1 of the other 4
divide to expedite the fall
divide to move backwards
divide for rich and poor
divide so the few have so much more
divide for quotation and partition
not indi vis ible
divide for your corner in the pseudoinverse
divided we appall
divide when division by zero is meaningful
beware the divides of marchings …
divide et impera
divide is imperative
divide to bifurcate again and again
divide sea and sky for their horizon
divide time for its past and future
dividing lines like hope and despair
divide and fool
divideth love’s music
divide the rule
that great divide song
divided we pall
the possibility of division by poetry
red sea
div ide
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: 413 Now thank we all our God
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 words.
Amen