St Clement Church Community Second Sunday of Epiphany Service

Good morning on this the third Sunday in January.

As we continue to share worship in our homes, let us remember all those front- line workers who continue to put their own lives at risk caring for those struck down with Coronavirus.

May we do our part to help by staying at home and avoiding other people, however hard we may find it.

God Bless

With my love

Liz

Let us pray;

Holy God, we will be honest: things are really hard. It is really hard to wear masks, to avoid public gatherings, to spend so much time watching screens. We are losing patience and we’re losing hope and we’re losing our grip on faith. We’re caught between the selfishness of wanting to do whatever we want without regard for others, and wanting to be helpful and generous. Please help us. Help us to lean on you and each other when things get hard and we get depressed. Remind us every day that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Encourage our hearts and help us to be your people, to the best of our ability in these strange days. This we pray in the name of Jesus, who is with us always.   Amen.

Our prayers of Penitence

Lord, you were sent by the Father to bring good news to the poor:

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, you came to save us from sin:

Christ have mercy, have mercy.

Lord, you were sent to proclaim the grace and mercy of God

Lord, have mercy.

May our Almighty God, who sent his Son into the world to save sinners, bring us his pardon and peace, now and for ever.

Amen.

Let us pray our Collect for today

Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new: transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make know your heavenly glory; 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 (1. 43 – end)

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

Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee.                                                                                   He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’                                                               Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’                                                                                                                                      Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’                                           Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’                                                                              Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’

Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’

Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!

Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’

And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

(This is the Gospel of our Lord.0

Response: Praise to you, O Christ.

Reflections

In our Gospel reading today, we read that ‘Jesus found Philip and said to him, ‘’Follow me.’’

Now I don’t know about you, but when I was young, I was taught that when you are told to do something, you do it, straight away. So, why doesn’t Philip do as he is told? Why doesn’t he drop everything and follow Jesus? Why does he go off to find Nathanael?

In an earlier part of this Chapter, we have already learnt that Andrew is a follower of John the Baptist. He hears John say, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ as Jesus walks by. So, on hearing this, Andrew follows Jesus to find out where He is staying. He spends the whole day listening to Jesus, but then, he doesn’t keep it to himself, he goes off to find his brother, Simon Peter, and says to him, ‘We have found the Messiah.’ It’s Andrew who takes his brother to meet Jesus.

Jesus decides to go to Galilee. There is something about Jesus that draws people to Him. Inevitably, people who hear Him tell others and the crowds and followers grow.

He wants to recruit suitable and willing companions to help Him establish the reign of God, a universal movement of men and women committed to compassion and self-giving love.

If you think about it, that is how the Christian faith is passed from person to person. That’s how it starts with Jesus – people hear Him and encourage others to come and hear Him and more and more follow Him.  

‘Jesus found Philip.’ So, when Philip goes to find Nathanael, he is not disobeying Jesus, he is doing exactly what Jesus does. He doesn’t keep it to himself, but goes to find Nathanael so that he can share in the wonderful news, too.

Philip ignores Nathanael’s scornful ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ and says, ‘Come and see!’

Jesus recognises Nathanael’s innate goodness and integrity. He immediately ignores his cynicism and goes straight to the core issue for Nathanael. Jesus doesn’t play games but penetrates to the yearning that Nathanael feels most and Nathanael responds with simple faith and joy. He tells Christ, ‘You are the Son of God, the King of Israel.’                                                         Jesus then promises him that he will see greater things, the fulfilment of the prophecies, the establishment of the reign of God over humanity.

Jesus found Philip but He also found Nathanael.

Jesus finds each one of us, we don’t find Him. He gets past our defences to speak to our longings. He reminds us that we are designed and created with dignity. We are given talents and abilities that should be used for a purpose. As God’s people, we are cherished and loved.

Life at the moment is difficult. We are all afraid - of catching Coronavirus; of whether we can bear an indeterminate lockdown in the bleak and wet of winter; of what the future holds.

BUT, Jesus found Philip; He found Nathanael; Jesus has found each one of us. So, if like Philip and Nathanael we ‘follow Him;’ we trust in Him; His love and compassion will guide us through these difficult times.

Trust and obey,

For there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus,

But to trust and obey.                        (Hymn: When we walk with the Lord)

Amen

Affirmation of our faith

Let us declare our faith in God.

We believe and trust in God the Father                                                                from whom every family                                                                                                           in heaven and on earth is named.

We believe and trust 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 and trust in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Our Intercessions this week are by Liz Davies

Dear Lord, You call us to speak to You in prayer, even when the places we would usually go to are not available.

Help us to know Your Spirit’s presence is with us wherever and whenever we pray.

Lord of all hope, we call on You today. We pray for those living in fear: fear of illness, fear for loved ones, fear of other’s reactions to them. We also pray for those who have not yet realised the urgency of the situation – protect them, and all of us from harm.                                                         May Your Spirit give us a sense of calmness and peace.       

Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.

We pray for Your Church in this time of uncertainty: for those people who have been worried about attending worship; for those needing to make decisions in order to care for others; for all clergy and PCCs who are worrying about their churches’ state of finances; for those who feel more isolated by not being able to attend church.

Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.

Loving Lord, if we are ill, strengthen us.                                                                                 If we are tired, fortify our spirits.

If we are anxious, help us to consider the lilies of the field and the birds of the air.

We especially remember at this time, Kate, Sue, Hilary, Martin and all those who have no one to pray for them.

Lord, hear us. Lord graciously hear us.

Dear Lord, You wept at the grave of Your friend Lazarus. Be with us as we remember before You all those who are coming to the end of their journey here on earth and for all those who have died this week. Sadly, there are too many to name. We pray that You will welcome them all into the fullness of Your eternal kingdom. We especially remember Renee whose funeral was on Wednesday; put Your loving arms around Brian and her family.

Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.

Dear Lord, we need You now, more than ever. We ask that You direct our hearts and minds towards You, and fill us with Your Spirit, bringing refreshing renewal, peace and joy. You remind us in Your Word that You are faithful to carry our burdens. You tell us that You will renew our strength and promise to give us rest as we come to You.

Dear Lord, You ‘found’ Philip and Nathanael. Please ‘find’ each one of us so that as Your followers we may truly know Your love, follow in Your footsteps and live our lives as You would wish us to.

Lord, we believe, help our unbelief.

Merciful Father: accept these prayers for the sake of You 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

God is love and those who live in love live in God and God lives in them.

May the peace of God be with us always.

  Amen.

For your goodness and generosity in giving us all we need,

help us to praise you O God.

In every circumstance of life, in good times and bad,

Help us to trust you, O God.

In love and faithfulness, with all that we have and all that we are,

help us to serve you, O God.

As we speak or write or listen to those nearby or far away,

help us to share your love, O God.

In our plans and work for ourselves and for others,

help us to glorify you, O God.

In every thought and word and deed, by the power of Your Holy Spirit,

this week, may we live for you, O God.

Blessing

Now may the Lord of peace himself give us peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with us all.

Amen