You may wish to light a candle before you begin.
May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.
Collect
Merciful God, teach us to be faithful in change and uncertainty, that trusting in your word and obeying your will, we may enter the unfailing joy of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Confession
Jesus says, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” So let us turn away from sin and turn to the Lord, confessing our sins in penitence and faith.
When we are slow to follow the example of Christ, Lord, have mercy:
Lord, have mercy.
When we turn aside from the way of the cross, Christ, have mercy:
Christ, have mercy.
When we fail to be recognised as disciples of Christ, Lord, have mercy:
Lord, have mercy.
May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God’s Word - I Thessalonians, chapter 2, verses 1 to 8 :-
You know for yourselves, my friends, that our visit to you was not fruitless. Far from it! After all the injury and outrage which as you know we had suffered at Philippi, by the help of our God we declared the gospel of God to you frankly and fearlessly in face of great opposition. The appeal we make does not spring from delusion or sordid motive or from any attempt to deceive; but God has approved us as fit to be entrusted with the gospel. So when we preach, we do not curry favour with men; we seek only the favour of God, who is continually testing our hearts. We have never resorted to flattery, as you have cause to know; nor, as God is our witness, have our words ever been a cloak for greed.
We have never sought honour from men, not from you or from anyone else, although as Christ’s own envoys we might have made our weight felt; but we were as gentle with you as a nurse caring for her children. Our affection was so deep that we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but our very selves; that is how dear you had become to us!
Matthew, chapter 22, verses 34 to the end :-
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees came together in a body, and one of them tried to catch him out with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?’ He answered, ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” That is the greatest, the first commandment. The second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Everything in the law and the prophets hangs on these two commandments.’
Turning to the assembled Pharisees Jesus asked them, ‘What is your opinion about the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ ‘The son of David,’ they replied. ‘Then how is it’, he asked, ‘that David by inspiration calls him “Lord”? For he says, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’” If then David calls him “Lord”, how can he be David’s son?’ Nobody was able to give him an answer; and from that day no one dared to put any more questions to him.
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
Reflection on the Readings
Paul’s letters are among the earliest pieces of Christian writing, and his letters to the new churches in Thessalonica were among the first he wrote, we think, set in a time when the Church was not yet fully formed, but still taking shape. The Thessalonian Christians had not been followers of the Jewish faith, by and large. Before hearing Paul and accepting his message, they’d worshipped the pagan idols in the same local temples, as everyone around them. Accepting this new faith had brought upon them some degree of opposition and persecution, but they had held firm.
And now Paul writes to them about perseverance in the face of suffering, using his own experience as an example - for he’d experienced plenty of suffering himself, not least in Philippi just before he came to Thessalonica. Paul hadn’t allowed this to deter or silence him. The message of salvation was too important for that, and this message wasn’t an idea or philosophy or programme - it was a person.
Paul had surrendered his life to Christ - and this was what gave him and his fellow workers the courage to pursue their mission. Hardship and opposition could never halt them. Some people rejected or opposed their message, but nonetheless they continued to preach it. Theirs was a mission rooted in the power of God; they knew themselves to be called by God, energised by God, and answerable to God.
Paul goes on to say something about the humility of leadership. He isn’t interested in being flattered or honoured, he’s not currying favour. He has a sacred commission to fulfil, and his model is the servanthood of Christ, who said to his disciples, “Take note of this: I am among you as one who serves.”
Mike Kirk and I, as Rural Dean and Lay Co-Chair, have signed a mission agreement last week between our deanery and the diocese. It covers the work of Mark Hackney as Intergenerational Missioner, but it’s not just about him, it’s also about how we as a deanery will share and support his work. Mark is with us as a missioner, so mission is what he’s here to do, not for us but with us. There’s a list of expected outcomes in the document - targets for mission and growth. That can seem a pretty big ask at a time when we think of our churches mostly in terms of decline - but Paul too was working with small groups and facing a huge and daunting task. It’s nothing new.
With that in mind, as the song goes, “It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it.” Paul’s words suggest that successful mission requires perseverance and humility. Nurture comes into it as well, I think. There isn’t a sudden thunderclap moment that changes someone into a Christian disciple. Or not often, anyway. For some of us it can take years; in fact, for all of us, it takes at least a lifetime, for there’s always further to travel and more to experience and understand. That’s why Paul wrote his letters - to keep in touch, to respond to issues, to encourage, to maintain contact.
Our second reading has the Pharisees making one last effort to trap Jesus into saying something they can use against him. “Which is the greatest commandment?” they ask. That’s a typical Pharisee question, given how hooked they were on keeping every last nuance of the Law of Moses. But Jesus quotes back at them not a single commandment, but instead the summary of the Law. Everything in the Law and the Prophets rests here, he tells them. All of it is really one single commandment.
There’s no separation between Love the Lord your God and love your neighbour as yourself: they are closely intertwined. Jesus is perhaps warning the Pharisees against any thought that their passionless and compassionless concentration on the legal minutiae could be the same thing as “loving God”. You can only really love God if you love your neighbour too. So mission is about caring, reaching out, being there for others. It takes a kind and gentle touch. It puts God first, and our neighbour alongside him. If we get that right, then we really can grow God’s kingdom - or, I should really say, God’s kingdom can grow through us, if his love is seen in us.
Statement of faith -
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.
Prayers -
Today is Bible Sunday, and we pray for the mission of the Church world-wide, and for the Bible Societies and all they do. We pray too for mission where we are, and for Mark and the other Intergenerational Missioners working around our diocese. In the world church our prayers today are asked for the churches of Wales, and for the Anglican Church in Wales just over the border from us here. Within our own diocese we pray for Richard our Bishop, and today for the churches and communities of the Leominster deanery.
We pray for the world, and for those in places of authority and power, in government, in commerce and as opinion formers. We pray for integrity, awareness and compassion in those in leadership roles. We pray for peace and justice in those parts of our world where there is division and conflict and where people are suffering.
We pray for all who are ill today, including those infected by the Covid virus. We pray for all who work in hospitals and healthcare, and also that where stricter rules have to be applied, they will be obeyed. We pray for all who are working to improve treatment and tracing, and to develop a vaccine.
We pray for our families and friends, and for the life of our churches and communities. We pray for Greg Smith, announced last week as the new Rector of Pontesbury and Stiperstones, as he and his wife prepare for their move to our diocese. And we pray we may continue to act with responsibility and care, looking out for each other, and keeping safe ourselves.
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.
Blessing -
May we walk in the light of our Lord, and may his love be our guide and strength. May his blessing rest upon us, and give us the courage, the kindness and the compassion to be a blessing to others in his name. Amen.
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