St Clement Church Community Sunday Service

Good morning to you all as we celebrate our Sunday service of the Third Sunday of Epiphany.

We’re continuing to share worship in our own homes, the PCC and I will review the situation next week.  If Covid levels begin to fall to an ‘acceptable’ level and lockdown ceases we’ll consider when to recommence Sunday worship at St Clement. The First Sunday of Lent (Feb 21^st) may be a possibility, but better safe than sorry, we’ll play it by ear as it were……

May Christ’s love sustain you always.

Much love to you all,

Rev Di and family xx

Let us pray;

God of all mercy, your Son proclaimed good news to the poor, release to the captives, and freedom to the oppressed: anoint us with your Holy Spirit and set all your people free to praise you in Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Our prayers of Penitence

During the season of Epiphany, let us seek the renewal of our lives in the light of God’s love for us, revealed by Jesus Christ:

Jesus, Saviour of all, who revealed the breadth of God’s love, forgive us when we fail to show care to those who are different…

Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, Son of God, who revealed the depth of God’s love, forgive us when we are too busy to pray, or to seek God’s will…

Christ, have mercy.

Jesus, Son of Man, who revealed the cost of God’s love, forgive us when we have made light of our sins…

Lord, have mercy.

May Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray our Collect for today

Almighty God, whose Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence: renew your people with your heavenly grace, and in all our weakness sustain us by your mighty power, 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.

Our Reading is taken from the Gospel of John (2. 1-11)

(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. 

Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.  When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’  His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ 

Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 

Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. 

When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk.

But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

 (This is the Gospel of the Lord.  Response: ‘Praise to you, O, Christ’)

Reflection

At the wedding in Cana, they ran out of wine. Gosh….though John doesn't say it, such a social mistake in those times would have caused great embarrassment to the bridegroom and his family. 

Weddings were joyous occasions, but they were taken very seriously, and were one of the most looked forward to events in that culture. The party would go on for days at a time, which may be why they ran out of wine, the wedding guests just didn’t get the message that it was time to go home!

Yet it might seem like a pretty mundane way for John to portray the beginning of Jesus' ministry, why use a wedding for Jesus to inaugurate his power? Why not a healing miracle? Or an exorcism? That would get their attention!

Why does John start with turning water into wine? No small feat I know, but if we were going to write the biography of Jesus, would we begin with a wedding reception?

John doesn't even mention why Jesus was there, perhaps the groom was a friend of his, we just don’t know.  But this story is probably more compelling because of what John doesn't tell us.

For example, what had transpired in the life of Jesus so far that gave his mother the idea he had the ability to do something about a wine shortage?

Did she expect him to perform a miracle — or as John calls it, a sign, — or is she suggesting he run down to the local shop and buy some more?

Why is there so much water on hand, and what do the purification rites have to do with a wedding? And why does Jesus seem to take exception to his mother's request that he do something about the situation?

It's true: John leaves us with more questions than he does answers. But then again, if he gave us all the answers, we wouldn't have anything to talk about, now would we?

Well, then, what is John's point? I thought you'd never ask….

Everything in this story, all the things John tells us, as well as the things he doesn't say, point to the glory of Jesus. But what does that mean?

First of all, we should understand that a miracle, or sign, always points to something else, something greater than itself.

When Jesus finds himself in this tricky social situation at the Cana wedding, he informs his mother that his hour had not yet come. It's too early to reveal his power, at least to the multitudes.

Then he turns right around and does it anyway, it's almost as if he lets his mother have her own way against his better judgment. Well, we can’t fault him there, how many of us haven’t done that for a quiet life!

But let's keep going with the story… The water is there because of the ritual of purification, the Jews had it right: weddings were times of worship.

I consider an important task when officiating at a wedding, is to impress on the wedding party and everyone else who attends, that the service is first and foremost a sacrament, and an act of worship.

An idea that some folk attending fail to grasp…..

When the first-century Jews attended worship, (including weddings) they purified themselves by dipping their fingers into the water set aside for the purification rite. 

It didn't take much, it was more a symbolic gesture than it was hygienic, but John goes out of his way to let us know there's six stone jars, each holding about 20 or 30 gallons or so at the wedding, that's an abundance of water, especially in such an arid place.

But the point of the story isn’t that Jesus can take plain water and make it 20 per cent proof. It’s that those who once found access to God by means of the ritual of purification, can now find their way to God through the abundance of Jesus.

Now, there are at least two clues that pull this idea together.

The first has to do with the way John opens the story. He says it was; "on the third day." But he's not merely offering a timeline, he’s using terminology that points to something else, in this case the resurrection.  Look in any of the New Testament gospels, and we’ll find that all references to; "the third day" point us to an empty tomb.

The other clue is found in the reaction of the steward. ‘‘You have kept the good wine until now.’’  He's merely commenting on the quality of the wine, but John takes his remark and gives it a theological twist. God saves the best for last, and now – after Abraham and Moses, after the law and the prophets – God gives us his very best. And the best is Jesus.

Jesus tells his mother that "his hour" has not yet come. The hour of his glory when he will be lifted up to the cross.

This story, as simple as it appears to be, points to his death on the cross and the resurrection that follows. 

That is his hour, Jesus gives us his best, his glory.

So the miracle of Cana, the sign of Jesus’ abundant love for us continues, he changes the ordinary that wearies us, into the wonder of the cross that renews us, an abundance that will last for eternity. 

He indeed saves the best for last, doesn’t he?

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

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,

forgive our foolish ways;

re-clothe us in our rightful mind,

In purer lives Thy service find,

In deeper reverence praise.

Dear Lord, from whom ALL blessings flow, we are gathered quietly in our own homes to praise Your Holy name and to give thanks for all the wonders of this world. We join our voices with those of the generations who have gone before us to worship our Lord and maker.

Oh Lord, we look with wonder at the beauty of the world that You created. A world so varied in its mountains, valleys, deserts, rainforests, ice and tropics. With the aid of modern technology, we are able to see these wonders and give thanks and praise to their creator.

We are also able to see how man is destroying so much of the beauty of our natural world without thought for the consequences of his actions on future generations. Help us to see that we are but custodians of the natural world and we must ensure its safety for generations to come.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Dear Lord, so many people are struggling with the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, families who have lost their nearest and dearest; front line NHS workers who are giving their all to help critically ill patients; the support services who are having to deal with so many who ‘didn’t make it.’ May we all do our bit, however small, to help slow down and prevent the spread of the disease.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Across the globe we see such atrocities – dictators demanding power and wealth at the cost of their people; inter-tribal warfare and genocide; feuds – the origin of which is long forgotten; inter-racial hatred for no reason but that people are different in colour and creed.

So often, unrest and violence is done in the name of religion. Dear Lord, we give thanks that the population of the world IS made up of so many different and varied colours, cultures and creeds.

We ask Your blessing on all people. We ask that all nations, cultures and creeds may learn to live together in peace and harmony; that every nation and government may work for the peace and prosperity of its people; that everyone may be free to worship as they wish without fear of retribution; that each and every man and women may be able to speak their views free from the fear of reprisal

Dear Lord, we are all so different and yet are so alike. We pray that all may learn to live in harmony with each other and that religion should never be used as an excuse for violence.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We ask Your blessing on all those who are suffering in body, mind or spirit. We especially remember Sue, Kate and Martin.

We remember all those whose life’s journey has ended this week; grant them peace in Your eternal kingdom, and we ask Your blessing on all their families.

Dear Lord, breathe through the heats of our desire

Thy coolness and Thy balm;

Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;

Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,

O still small voice of calm.

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

Our Saviour Christ is the Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end.

May the peace of God be always with us. 

Amen.

Blessing

May Christ the Son of God perfect in us the image of his glory and gladden our hearts with the good news of his kingdom; and may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among us, those whom we love, and remain with us always.

Amen.