A short service and reflection for the Second Sunday in Lent

May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.

Collect 

Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness, and was tempted as we are, yet without sin: give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit; and, as you know our weakness, so may we know your power to save; 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.

Confession

Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.

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.

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

God’s Word - Romans, chapter 4, verses 13 to the end :-

It was not through law that Abraham and his descendants were given the promise that the world should be their inheritance, but through righteousness that came from faith. If the heirs are those who hold by the law, then faith becomes pointless and the promise goes for nothing; law can bring only retribution, and where there is no law there can be no breach of law. The promise was made on the ground of faith in order that it might be a matter of sheer grace, and that it might be valid for all Abraham’s descendants, not only for those who hold by the law, but also for those who have Abraham’s faith. For he is the father of us all, as scripture says: ‘I have appointed you to be father of many nations.’ In the presence of God, the God who makes the dead live and calls into being things that are not, Abraham had faith. When hope seemed hopeless, his faith was such that he became ‘father of many nations’, in fulfilment of the promise, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ His faith did not weaken when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; no distrust made him doubt God’s promise, but, strong in faith, he gave glory to God,  convinced that what he had promised he was able to do. And that is why Abraham’s faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness’. 

The words ‘counted to him’ were meant to apply not only to Abraham but to us; our faith too is to be ‘counted’, the faith in the God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead; for he was given up to death for our misdeeds, and raised to life for our justification.

    Mark, chapter 8, verses 31 to the end :-

Jesus began to teach the disciples that the Son of Man had to endure great suffering, and to be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes; to be put to death, and to rise again three days afterwards. He spoke about it plainly. At this Peter took hold of him and began to rebuke him. But Jesus, turning and looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter. ‘Out of my sight, Satan!’ he said. ‘You think as men think, not as God thinks.’

 Then he called the people to him, as well as his disciples, and said to them, ‘Anyone who wants to be a follower of mine must renounce self; he must take up his cross and follow me. Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel’s will save it. What does anyone gain by winning the whole world at the cost of his life? What can he give to buy his life back? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this wicked and godless age, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’

Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.

Reflection 

In our collect prayer we find this plea to God: “As you know our weakness, so may we know your power to save.” This prayer has always resonated with me. Jesus was “tempted as we are, yet without sin.” We, on the other hand, are tempted and fall. So we need God’s “power to save”.

Last week, I spent some time in interview with someone engaged in a project looking at part-time roles among the clergy. I’d offered myself, a little tongue in cheek, as an example of how not to do it. But preparing for the interview forced me to reflect on two sorts of relationship which both have a bearing on what I do, and they are contract and friendship.

Somewhere between the two of them we find the relationship mentioned a lot in scripture: covenant. In the Old Testament, God makes covenant relationships with his people, via certain individuals - Noah, for example, Moses, and King David; and most importantly, perhaps, Abraham. Abraham connects the three great faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All of them look back to Abraham as in some sense a father figure, and to the promise God made to him and to Sarah his wife.

“I will make you the father of many nations,” said God to Abraham. We find this in chapter 17 of the Book of Genesis. But God goes on to say that Abraham and his descendents must keep the covenant, and live according to his laws. A good Jew like Paul, brought up and schooled as a Pharisee, would have been taught that Abraham was the worthy recipient of God’s blessing, and so therefore was he, as he carefully and scrupulously kept every bit of the Law.

But that was a misreading of the story, Paul now says to the Romans in our first reading. That interpretation makes the covenant a contract, so that God is bound to do as promised, just as an employer is bound to pay the promised wage, so long as the worker turns up as required and completes the allotted tasks. But, says Paul, Abraham’s faith was “counted to him as righteousness” - which means that it’s the relationship that counts here, not the workrate. God is offering Abraham, and therefore us, not a contract but the hand of friendship, not a series of jobs to be completed, but a gracious welcome. And the true children of Abraham aren’t any one particular tribe or race or people, they’re anyone and everyone who lives by faith, and trusts in his love.

Paul had been brought up to love the Law, and to keep the Law, the Law of Moses. For a Pharisee, the way to deserve God’s favour was to keep every bit of the Law. But now Jesus had challenged and overturned this way of thinking, and exposed it for what it was - in the end something joyless and loveless and self-seeking. In Jesus we see the complete opposite of self-seeking, in the person often called “The Man for Others”, who gives all of himself for us.

In our reading from Mark, we find Jesus trying to explain to his disciples what is going to take place in Jerusalem, including that he’s going to die there. But they can’t get their heads round what he’s telling them, and Peter rounds on him and says, “This can’t happen to you.” And it didn’t have to. Jesus could have turned from that path - which is why he speaks to Peter as he does. For Satan, the voice of temptation, if you like, is speaking through Peter, and saying, “You don’t have to do this.”

And he doesn’t. Friendship isn’t a contract relationship. It’s something we choose to do. There is a built in fragility to even the deepest friendships, because a friendship can’t be required or enforced; but that’s also its strength, for it speaks of an underlying love, a valuing of the other person just for who they are, not for what they do. God values me - and you - just for who we are. He valued Abraham that way too. Vicars, even part-time ones, have jobs, and therefore a contract relationship - but with the HR department of the Diocese, not with God. I’m here because his love continues to draw me, to kneel before a cross.

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.

Prayer Pointers - We continue to pray for our keeping of this holy season, and that it may be a time of new awareness of God’s offer of friendship, and his cal to us to give of ourselves in the service of our neighbour. We pray for the churches of Central America, and for the Anglican Province of Central America. And we pray for our own Diocese, for Richard our Bishop, for this week’s meeting of Diocesan Synod, and for all involved in the care and conservation, development and re-ordering, of our church buildings.

We pray for the peace of our world, and for all who are denied peace or treated unjustly. We pray for the churches and people of Wales on the eve of St David’s Day. And we pray for co-operation and mutual support in the continuing battle against the Covid pandemic.  

We pray for all who are ill: for their care and recovery, and for the safety and protection of those who care for them. Today we also specially think of those in our world who suffer from rare diseases, and also for the care and treatment of those with eating disorders of various kinds. We give thanks for the ongoing process of ensuring all may receive Covid vaccinations.

We pray for our families and friends, and for the life of our churches and communities. We pray for all attending Lent groups in our parishes and deanery, and for all our local schools. We continue to pray for Covid rules to be respected. Help us to look out for each other, and to keep 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 Christ give us grace to grow in holiness, to take up our cross and follow him; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with us all, evermore.  Amen.

A short sermon for the Second Sunday of Lent

Set readings: (Genesis 17.1-7 & 15-16), Romans 4.13-end, Mark 8.31-end :-

In the collect prayer set for today we find this plea to God: “As you know our weakness, so may we know your power to save.” This prayer has always resonated with me. In it, we are told that Jesus was “tempted as we are, yet without sin.” We, on the other hand, are tempted and we fall, and that’s why we need to ask for God’s “power to save”.

Last week, I spent some time in interview with a fellow priest who, while taking a sabbatical from his parish, was working on a project examining part-time roles among the clergy. I confess that I’d offered myself, somewhat tongue in cheek, mostly as an example of how not to do it. But it was interesting to examine the whys and wherefores of what I’m doing here, as I completed a short questionnaire in preparation for the interview. And I found myself led to consider the two sorts of relationship which both have a bearing on what I do - contract and friendship.

Contract and friendship. Somewhere between the two of those things we find the relationship that gets mentioned a lot in scripture: covenant. In the Old Testament, we find God making covenant relationships with his people, via certain individuals - Noah, for example, and Moses of course, and King David; most importantly, he makes a covenant with Abraham. Abraham connects the three great faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All of them look back to Abraham as in some sense a father figure, all of them look back to the promise God made to Abraham and to Sarah his wife.

“I will make you the father of many nations,” said God to Abraham. We find this in chapter 17 of the Book of Genesis. And God goes on to say that Abraham and his descendents must themselves keep the covenant, by living according to his laws. A good Jew like Paul, who was brought up and schooled as a Pharisee, would have been taught to see Abraham as the worthy recipient of God’s blessing; and so therefore was Paul himself, so long as he carefully and scrupulously kept every bit of the Law.

But that was a misreading of the story, Paul now writes in his letter to the Romans, our first reading today. That interpretation makes the covenant a contract, so that God is bound to do as promised, just as an employer is bound to pay the promised wage, so long as the worker turns up as required and completes the allotted tasks. But, says Paul, Abraham’s faith was “counted to him as righteousness” - in other words, it’s the relationship that counts here, not the work rate. What God offers to Abraham, and therefore to all of us, isn’t a contract, it’s the hand of friendship; we’re not given a series of jobs to be completed, but a gracious welcome. So the true children of Abraham aren’t any one particular tribe or race or people; anyone who lives by faith, and trusts in God’s love, is a child of Abraham.

Now Paul had been brought up to love the Law, and to keep the Law, the Law of Moses. As a Pharisee, he knew that the way - the only way - to deserve God’s favour was to keep every bit of the Law. But now Jesus had challenged and overturned that way of thinking, and exposed it for what it was - in the end something joyless and loveless and self-seeking. In Jesus we - like Paul - can see the complete opposite of self-seeking; Jesus is the one often called “The Man for Others”, who gives all of himself for us.

And in our reading from Mark, we find Jesus trying to explain to his disciples what is going to take place in Jerusalem, including that he’s going to die there. Not surprisingly, they can’t get their heads round this at all, and Peter rounds on Jesus and says, “No, Lord! This can’t happen to you.” Mark doesn’t give us those words, but we can read them in the other Gospels. And, of course, it didn’t have to happen to Jesus. At any point along the Way of the Cross Jesus could have turned aside from the path. That’s why he speaks to Peter as he does. For Satan, the voice of temptation if you like, is speaking through Peter. “You don’t have to do it this way” was one of the temptations Jesus needed to face up to in his forty days in the wilderness.

“What a friend we have in Jesus,” as I remember singing in Sunday school. Friendship isn’t a contract relationship. Friendship is something we choose to do when we don’t have to. Because of that, there’s a built in fragility to even the deepest friendships - because no friendship can ever be required or enforced. But then again, that very fragility is fundamental to what makes a friendship real, and strong, and vital: for it speaks of an underlying love, and the fact that friends value one another just for who they are, not for what they do. And that’s perhaps why you only discover who your true friends are when things start to go wrong, or the rest of the world turns against you. 

What I find in Jesus is sure testimony that God values me - and you - just for who we are. He valued Abraham that way too. Which is why I can pray from my brokenness and my need of repair and healing, “may we know your power to save,” and know that my prayer is heard. Vicars, even part-time ones, have jobs, and therefore a contract relationship - but with the HR department of the Diocese, not with God. Ultimately I’m here not to earn a crust, but because God’s love continues to draw me, as I trust it draws you too, to kneel before a cross, and know we have a friend.

A short service for the First Sunday of Lent

May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.

Collect 

Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness, and was tempted as we are, yet without sin: give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit; and, as you know our weakness, so may we know your power to save; 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.

Confession

Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.

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.

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

God’s Word - 1 Peter, chapter 3, verses 18 to the end :-

Christ suffered for our sins once and for all, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God; put to death in the body, he was brought to life in the spirit. In the spirit also he went and made his proclamation to the imprisoned spirits, those who had refused to obey in the past, while God waited patiently in the days when Noah was building the ark; in it a few people, eight in all, were brought to safety through the water. This water symbolized baptism, through which you are now brought to safety. Baptism is not the washing away of bodily impurities but the appeal made to God from a good conscience; and it brings salvation through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is now at the right hand of God, having entered heaven and received the submission of angels, authorities, and powers.

    Mark, chapter 1, verses 9 to 15 :-

Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. As he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens break open and the Spirit descend on him, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my beloved Son; in you I take delight.’

 At once the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness, and there he remained for forty days tempted by Satan. He was among the wild beasts; and angels attended to his needs. 

After John had been arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: ‘The time has arrived; the kingdom of God is upon you. Repent, and believe the gospel.’

Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.

Reflection 

Baptism features in both our readings set for today. And in each of them it seems to me there’s a link between baptism and testing. Peter in his letter links baptism directly with the suffering of Christ, through which our salvation is assured - and with the story of Noah’s Ark, where just a precious few were shielded from destruction.

And in our reading from Mark’s Gospel, we see that it’s immediately after his baptism in the River Jordan that Jesus enters the wilderness, where he remained for forty days of testing preparation for the ministry he would begin on his return. Mark doesn’t detail the temptations with which Satan seeks to divert Jesus from the path he has set himself to follow. In fact he moves from baptism through temptation in the wilderness and on to the beginning of his ministry of preaching and healing in literally just a few sentences. In my Bible the headings for each section take up almost as much space as the verses themselves, that’s how brief he is.

But he does use quite a violent word to describe how Jesus goes into the desert. “The Spirit drove him,” we read in the translation I’ve used. The Greek word is the same as might elsewhere be described as thrown, or hurled. Jesus was hurled into the wilderness.

Over recent years there’ve been quite a few TV programmes focusing on things like retreats in holy places, or walking holy pilgrimage trails, the camino to Santiago de Compostela, for example. The people taking part, in some cases minor celebrities, haven’t necessarily had a personal religious faith, but it’s been interesting to see how they’ve been affected by the process of pilgrimage, for example, or the example of the members of a religious community, the monks or nuns, with whom they’ve stayed. I’ve just finished reading a book entitled “Taking my God for a Walk”, the diary of a trek to Compostela made by Tony Collins, whose day job was being the publisher of Christian books. So he had an active faith, but many of those he met on the walk did not.

It’s an interesting an often amusing book; many of the people he meets while walking are in some way or another trying to find themselves, or perhaps to work through some issue that has in some way changed or damaged their lives. If I’ve had a criticism of the TV programmes about time spent on retreat or in a monastery, it’s mostly that they’ve been focused too on the individual health benefits, rather than asking the questions “Why?” and “What next?” But then, I suppose the cult of the individual is to the forefront of modern life.

After all, Lent can be approached in much the same way. Most of us could do with improving our lives and our selves in some way: a bit of a diet, a bit more exercise, a bit less chocolate or alcohol, or even coffee, which was something John Wesley struggled to give up. We’ll be all the better for it. But if what I do in Lent is all about me, then I’m missing the point of it all - or at least, I’m not really connecting with what Jesus did in the wilderness.

I’m reminded that most of the money I saved as a child by not buying sweets during Lent got spent on me at Easter. We had a little collecting envelope for the church, but only a penny or two got put into that. But Jesus in the wilderness was totally concentrating on the task ahead, and making sure he had faced up to the challenges and the pains and the temptations that would come his way. The vital component was that “What next?”

As it was too for Tony Collins on the Camino Frances. To walk the Camino was an achievement in itself of course, and there were friends to be made, sights to see, and some good food and drink to be taken too. But underlying all of that was the question “Where do you want me next, Lord?” The specific pilgrimage to Compostela had to be connected into the sense of all of life being a pilgrimage.

I’ve moved away a little bit from our readings, and from baptism, so let me return there. Baptism is the start of it all. The voice from heaven heard by Jesus as he came up from the water both affirmed him and commissioned him. And we too are affirmed and commissioned in baptism. In the water of baptism God is saying, “You are my child.” It’s up to us what we do with that; it’s up to us whether we do anything with it.

But if we are going to serve our Lord, then we must also test ourselves. No-one competes at the Olympic Games without making sure they’re trained and fit and ready. What would be the point? Lent is our training time, testing time, our time to get ready. It’s all about that question, “What next?” Keeping Lent well, taking it seriously, isn’t so much about how much we give up, or even how much we take on - but what next? And how can I serve my Lord, and my neighbour?

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.

Prayer Pointers - We pray for the Church everywhere in its keeping of the holy season of Lent. We pray for places of pilgrimage and of retreat, and for Lent as a time for learning, testing and preparing. We pray for Christians in Central Africa, and for the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa. We pray for our own diocese and for Richard our bishop, and for the churches and communities of the Condover deanery.

We pray for all who work to establish and maintain fair trade in our world, as Fair Trade Fortnight begins. This year the theme is about climate change, and we pray for all growers and producers whose livelihood is being threatened by major changes in climate. And we continue to pray for the work of mass vaccination here and around our world, as we battle together against Covid.  

We pray for all who are ill, and for their care and recovery; we continue to pray for all  who work in our hospitals, health centres and care homes, thinking especially about those who are physically and emotionally drained by the demands the pandemic has placed upon them. We give thanks for the ongoing process of vaccinating all who are vulnerable.

We pray for our families and friends, and for the life of our churches and communities. As Lent begins we pray it may be a time of learning and discovery, and we also pray that we may soon be able to reopen churches and shops and community buildings. Till then we pray that Covid rules are respected. Help us to look out for each other, and to keep 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 Christ give us grace to grow in holiness, to take up our cross and follow him; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with us all, evermore.  Amen.

A short service for Ash Wednesday

A Service for Ash Wednesday 

Let us pray for grace to keep Lent faithfully.

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing that you have made, and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent: create and make in us new and contrite hearts that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may receive from you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; 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: Joel 2.1 & 2, & 12-17

Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my holy mountain!  Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming, a day of darkness and gloom is at hand, a day of cloud and dense fog. Like blackness spread over the mountains a vast and countless host appears; their like has never been known, nor will be in all the ages to come. 

Yet even now, says the LORD, turn back to me wholeheartedly with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn back to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, long-suffering and ever constant, ready always to relent when he threatens disaster.  It may be he will turn back and relent and leave a blessing behind him, blessing enough for grain-offerings and drink-offerings to be presented to the LORD your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion, appoint a solemn fast, proclaim a day of abstinence. Gather the people together, appoint a solemn assembly; summon the elders, gather the children, even babes at the breast; bid the bridegroom leave his wedding-chamber and the bride her bower. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, stand weeping between the porch and the altar and say, ‘Spare your people, LORD; do not expose your own people to insult, to be made a byword by other nations. Why should the peoples say, “Where is their God?” ’

 John 8.2-11

At daybreak Jesus appeared again in the temple, and all the people gathered round him. He had taken his seat and was engaged in teaching them, when the scribes and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught committing adultery. 

Making her stand in the middle they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery.  In the law Moses has laid down that such women are to be stoned. What do you say about it?’  They put the question as a test, hoping to frame a charge against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.  When they continued to press their question he sat up straight and said, ‘Let whichever of you is free from sin throw the first stone at her.’  Then once again he bent down and wrote on the ground.  When they heard what he said, one by one they went away, the eldest first; and Jesus was left alone, with the woman still standing there. Jesus again sat up and said to the woman, ‘Where are they? Has no one condemned you?’  She answered, ‘No one, sir.’ ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus said. ‘Go; do not sin again.’

Thanks be to God for this his holy word.

Reflection on the Readings

What happens when we repent, and turn to God to save us? The prophet Joel tells the people to turn back to God. That’s what God wants you to do, he tells them. So will it change his mind? No. What changes is not the mind of God, but the relationship between God and his people, between the people and God.

Even the smallest scrap of sin changes that dynamic, and takes away from us the power and the right to act as though we had God’s approval - as we see in the story of the woman taken in adultery. “Let the one without sin cast the first stone,” Jesus tells them. Not one of those there can claim the right to do it.

Lent is God’s gift to us, so we can admit our failings and work to correct them, so we can grow in discipline, and maybe take on some new commitment of service or care, and so we can place ourselves under God’s authority and judgement, but also under God’s mercy, as mediated to us by our Lord Jesus Christ.

For while sin remains real, and deadly, if we are striving to do what is right and good, even though we fail and fall short, God meets us in our striving with generosity and grace, and makes us more than mere dust and ashes.

Prayer:  

Let us call to mind our sin and the infinite mercy of God.

God the Father:

have mercy upon us.

God the Son:

have mercy upon us.

God the Holy Spirit:

have mercy upon us.

Holy, blessed & glorious Trinity:

have mercy upon us.

From all evil and mischief;

from pride, vanity and hypocrisy;

from envy, hatred, and malice;

and from all evil intent:

good Lord, deliver us.

From sloth, worldliness and love of money;

from hardness of heart, 

and contempt for your word and laws:

good Lord, deliver us.

From sins of body and mind;

and from the deceits of the world, the flesh and the devil:

good Lord, deliver us.

In all times of sorrow;

in all times of joy;

in the hour of death, and at the day of judgement:

 good Lord, deliver us.

By the mystery of your holy incarnation;

by your birth, childhood and obedience;

and by your baptism, fasting and temptation:

good Lord, deliver us.

By your ministry in word and work;

by your mighty acts of power;

and by your preaching of the kingdom:

good Lord, deliver us.

By your agony and trial; 

by your cross and passion;

and by your precious death and burial:

good Lord, deliver us.

By your mighty resurrection;

by your glorious ascension;

and by your sending of the Holy Spirit:

good Lord, deliver us.

Give us true repentance;

forgive us our sins of negligence and ignorance, 

and our deliberate sins;

and grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit

to amend our lives according to your holy word.

Holy God, holy and strong,

holy and immortal, have mercy upon us.

Silence is kept

Father eternal, giver of light and grace, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour, in what we have thought, in what we have said and done, through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault. We have wounded your love, and marred your image in us. We are sorry and ashamed, and repent of all our sins. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past; and lead us out from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen.

May the Lord enrich us with grace, and nourish us with his blessing; May the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil; May the Lord accept our prayers, and absolve us from our offences, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen.

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 God the Father, who does not despise the broken spirit, give to us a contrite heart. Amen.

May Christ, who bore our sins in his body on the tree, heal us by his wounds. Amen.

And may the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth, speak to us words of pardon and peace. Amen. 

So may the blessing of the Holy Trinity rest upon us, and remain with us, this season of Lent, and always. Amen.

A short service and reflection for the Sunday next before Lent

May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.

Collect 

Almighty Father, whose Son was revealed in majesty before he suffered death upon the cross: give us grace to perceive his glory, that we may be strengthened to suffer with him and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Confession

When Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. As he is pure, so all who have grasped this hope make themselves pure. Let us confess the sins that mar his image in us.

Your unfailing kindness, O Lord, is in the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 

Lord, have mercy:

Lord, have mercy.

Your righteousness is like the strong mountains, and your justice as the great deep. 

Christ, have mercy:

Christ, have mercy.

For with you is the well of life: and in your light shall we see light. 

Lord, have mercy:

Lord, have mercy.

May the God of all healing and forgiveness draw us to himself, that we may behold the glory of his Son, the Word made flesh, and be cleansed from all our sins, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

God’s Word - 2 Corinthians, chapter 4, verses 3 to 6 :-

If our gospel is veiled at all, it is veiled only for those on the way to destruction; their unbelieving minds are so blinded by the god of this passing age that the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, cannot dawn upon them and bring them light. It is not ourselves that we proclaim; we proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For the God who said, ‘Out of darkness light shall shine,’ has caused his light to shine in our hearts, the light which is knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

    Mark, chapter 9, verses 2 to 9 :-

Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And in their presence he was transfigured; his clothes became dazzling white, with a whiteness no bleacher on earth could equal. 

They saw Elijah appear and Moses with him, talking with Jesus. Then Peter spoke: ‘Rabbi,’ he said, ‘it is good that we are here! Shall we make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah?’ For he did not know what to say; they were so terrified. Then a cloud appeared, casting its shadow over them, and out of the cloud came a voice: ‘This is my beloved Son; listen to him.’

Then suddenly, when they looked around, only Jesus was with them; there was no longer anyone else to be seen. On their way down the mountain, he instructed them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.

Reflection 

A fairly constant theme in scripture is the hiddenness of the truth. The Old Testament prophets are voices in the wilderness, speaking God’s uncomfortable truth, but ignored by many if not most of the people, who would rather listen to the self-serving false prophets whose message is soothing and pleasing. In the New Testament we have Paul writing to Timothy about those who would rather have their ears tickled than listen to the truth. And Jesus talks to his disciples about the narrow gate by which they will enter the kingdom, compared to the wide gate and easy way of the world, whose end is destruction. And about parables - stories everybody hears, but not everybody gets the message.

Paul himself was going the wrong way, and not seeing what was really there, until on the road to Damascus God broke through very forcibly to convert him. I remember hearing the former gang leader turned international evangelist Nicky Cruz speaking about his conversion many years ago; his was a story of having to reach the lowest of low points before he could begin to hear the truth, and of God’s saving grace experienced and received at the point where he believed himself to be beyond salvation.

The world is a very testing place, always, but rarely more so than now, as we look to enter our second lockdown Lent. Lent is a time when we choose to be tested, but also perhaps when we choose to make ourselves more aware than we generally are of God’s hidden glory in our dark and fallen and often broken world. These days in which winter hangs on grimly but spring drops hints of the coming warmth and brightness and colour seem to me a good time to have Lent: I don’t imagine it works quite so well in an Australian autumn. Out walking a few days ago, I found myself in a landscape virtually without life or colour: washed out greys and browns at best. But then there was a single star of yellow, a celandine determined to break out ahead of the rest, but a sign of what is to come.

Signs of what is to come. Jesus was constantly talking about the Kingdom of God. Theologians sometimes call this a message of “now but not yet” - the Kingdom of God is happening around us, wherever people’s kindness and love, and their generous and open-hearted response to our generous Lord, wherever these things change hearts, open minds, heal hurts, and brighten our world. And that’s like my celandine, a sign of what is to come - when God’s reign is complete, and when God’s love reaches and touches and enlightens every heart.

Till then, what we have is glimpses of glory: and that takes us to the story of today’s Gospel reading from St Mark, the event we call the Transfiguration. On the mountain as Jesus prays, three of the disciples see him transfigured, his clothes and face shining with a brightness too strong for their eyes. It’s a glimpse of glory so sharp and bright it terrifies them - but it is just a glimpse. The next time they raise their eyes all is as it had been before; and Jesus tells them on the way down the hillside to say nothing for now of what they have seen.

I’ve always understood this as being not so much that Jesus was changed, as that for a moment the disciples were able to see the true glory that was always there, but which their eyes and minds couldn’t comprehend. And indeed they still didn’t truly understand what it was they’d glimpsed; they would only really begin to understand that after Easter. For what glorifies Jesus is his complete obedience to his Father’s will, and the fact that, having set his face to Jerusalem, he doesn’t turn back or aside from that road, even though he knows it must lead to the cross.

The American singer-songwriter Jim Croce had a song called “Time in Bottle”: ‘If I could save time in a bottle / the first things that I’d like to do / is to save every day till eternity passes away / just to spend them with you.’ Lovely words about being in love, appropriate for Valentine’s Day. We are of course, prisoners of time, and that, more than anything, is what limits our vision. And on that mountain-top, for a brief space, those three disciples were lifted out of time and into eternity - for even time, the dominating factor in our lives, is just part of God’s creation.

‘We are such things as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.’ so wrote Shakespeare in “The Tempest”. But what if those limits to what Cardinal Newman called “this troublous life” were removed? The glimpses of glory that come my way matter a lot to me. They don’t remove all doubt, they don’t banish all fear, but they do restore and rekindle my hope, and keep me travelling on. John was one of the three disciples up there on the mountain that day. Later he wrote that “there is no room for fear in love; perfect love banishes fear,” and “We love because God loved us first.” Knowing that I am loved frees me to love; and each act of love plants a new flower, and lights a new star.

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.

Prayer Pointers - 

We pray for the Church everywhere to be a sign of God’s glory and a channel of God’s love. We pray today for Christians in Canada, and for the Anglican Church in that land. We pray for our own diocese, and for Richard our Bishop, and  for all that helps develop and establish our parish churches within the communities they are called to serve. In the week that commemorates Thomas Bray, we pray for the work of USPG and SPCK.

We pray for the dark places of our world, the places blighted by poverty and hunger, by injustice and conflict, and by greed too. We pray that those who misuse the power or the wealth they hold may realise the futility of what they do. We pray we may quickly help poorer nations to vaccinate their people against Covid-19.  

We pray for all who are ill, and for their care and recovery; we continue to pray for all  who work in our hospitals, health centres and care homes, and for their safety and protection. We pray for a considered response to the new variants of Covid that are emerging, and for all engaged in the process of vaccination.

We pray for our families and friends, and for the life of our churches and communities. On Valentine’s Day we pray for all who are in love, and for those preparing for marriage in our churches. We pray that people may observe the Covid rules, and that we may we look out for each other through this testing time, and keep 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 Christ the splendour of the Father and the image of his being draw us to live in his light and share his glory; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with us all, evermore.  Amen.

A short service and reflection for the 2nd Sunday before Lent

You may wish to light a candle before beginning the service.

May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.

Collect 

Almighty God, give us reverence for all creation and respect for every person, that we may mirror your likeness in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Confession

We come to confess our sin and to seek God’s grace; in particular we pray his forgiveness for our thoughtlessness and neglect as stewards of his creation.

When we have treated the world as if it were our own and not yours, 

Lord, have mercy:

Lord, have mercy.

When we have failed to treat our neighbours with respect and compassion, 

Christ, have mercy:

Christ, have mercy.

When we have treated the talents with which you bless us with neglect,

Lord, have mercy:

Lord, have mercy.

The Lord forgives our sins and restores us as his people; he redeems our life from the grave, and crowns us with mercy and loving kindness.  Amen.

God’s Word - Colossians, chapter 1, verses 15 to 20 :-

Christ is the image of the invisible God; his is the primacy over all creation. In him everything in heaven and on earth was created, not only things visible but also the invisible orders of thrones, sovereignties, authorities, and powers: the whole universe has been created through him and for him. He exists before all things, and all things are held together in him. He is the head of the body, the church. He is its origin, the first to return from the dead, to become in all things supreme. For in him God in all his fullness chose to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, making peace through the shedding of his blood on the cross—all things, whether on earth or in heaven.

    John, chapter 1,  verses 1 to 14 :-

In the beginning the Word already was. The Word was in God’s presence, and what God was, the Word was. He was with God at the beginning, and through him all things came to be; without him no created thing came into being. In him was life, and that life was the light of mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never mastered it.

There appeared a man named John. He was sent from God, and came as a witness to testify to the light, so that through him all might become believers. He was not himself the light; he came to bear witness to the light. The true light which gives light to everyone was even then coming into the world.

He was in the world; but the world, though it owed its being to him, did not recognize him. He came to his own, and his own people would not accept him. But to all who did accept him, to those who put their trust in him, he gave the right to become children of God, born not of human stock, by the physical desire of a human father, but of God. So the Word became flesh; he made his home among us, and we saw his glory, such glory as befits the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.

Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.

Reflection 

Our lectionary readings give a theme to each of the last two Sundays before Lent (of which this is the first). Next Sunday happens this year to be Valentine’s Day, but it also takes as its theme the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain top. But first, on this the Second Sunday before Lent we are asked to think about creation, and our responsibility under God for all that he has set into our care.

And it feels right that we’re doing this just as the world around us starts to come slowly back to life after its winter shut-down. I’ve been seeing snowdrops and aconites, primroses and the first few celandines, and even a few early daffodils, coming into flower - and I’ve been hearing the birds as they start to try out their spring songs. In fact the traditional association of Valentine’s Day with lovers is linked to the fact that the middle of February is when many of our native birds begin to pair up.

So there’s a link with the natural world there too. But just at the moment I suppose we see creation running a bit out of kilter, for all the early signs of spring around us. We may think of ourselves as masters of the world, but the machines, technology and sophistication by which we bend the natural world to suit our needs and pleasures, is being thrown off key and derailed by the Covid virus. We have felt frustrated and helpless for a long time, and, as I heard someone comment last week, “There is light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s still a very long tunnel.” It looks as though there’ll be a fair way to go yet before we feel safe and secure - and “normal” again.

The Old Testament prophets would certainly have linked any plague or disease with God’s displeasure at our thoughtlessness and our sin. Hosea basically and rather bluntly told the people of Israel that, given the way the poor were being exploited, and how the merchants were cheating on the scales, how power was misused and greed praised rather than called out for what it is, how are they surprised to see the world around them falling apart.

And though we might not see things in quite the same way, there is a connection between how we behave and how the world is. Scientific analysis suggests that, whether the Covid virus escaped from a medical research facility as some think, or was transferred from animal to human hosts via the “wet markets” selling wild creatures for people to eat, the way we use or misuse the natural world has been a major factor.

The recent David Attenborough series assures us that we live on an “ideal planet” that circles the sun in what scientists call the goldilocks zone (in other words, like the porridge it’s just right). And our planet seems to have a remarkable ability to correct its imbalances. But now the sheer pace of human activity is changing things too fast for our planet to keep up. But what can we do about that? We’re not the ones bulldozing or burning rain forests, or bulk-tipping chemical waste into rivers or seas, or for that matter buying and eating bats or pangolins or other bushmeat in the wet markets. We’ve not been elected to high office, nor do we have the ability to influence opinion because the media hangs on our every word. So what can we do?

Well, I surely need to do something. Not for my own sake, but for my children and my grandchildren and onwards beyond; and because each individual life form is precious and nothing should be wasted or abused; and I surely need to do something also because this isn’t my world but God’s, and how can I honour God if what he has made is being exploited, abused or despoiled, and I’m doing nothing about that?

I’m reminded of the words of St David to his monks at the end of his life. “Keep on doing the small things,” he told them. I’m reminded too of Desmond Tutu saying that the little things we can do, when you add them all together, begin to make a big difference. We’re not powerless when we act together. And acting together begins with being concerned, and being informed, and having faith.  It’s for that reason that I want to use as our Lent course this year (via Zoom) a course offered by USPG entitled “For such a time as this” - looking at ecological justice. We need to go behind the news bulletins, and hear the voices of people on the ground. And we need to link that in with what the Bible has to say, those Old Testament prophets included.

And of course that has to lead to action, and I know we’re already doing a lot of these things. Things like reducing our intake, and reducing our waste; things like recycling everything we can, and buying local where we can; things like growing more ourselves of what we eat, using renewable energy and not using more of it than we need to; and even things like feeding the birds and allowing a wild corner in our gardens, and maybe making a pond. 

And, I think, disciplining ourselves to be aware, to be looking beyond our own immediate situation, and not closing our eyes and ears to the bad news and the hard things. And where we can’t change things ourselves, we do need to be campaigning and helping to support those who can. How good am I at this? Not as good as I should be! I know I need to get better, and to be doing more than I do. But I know too that as a believer in God and a believer in life, I need to play my part in helping the repair process to take place in our world, and that my own footprint on this planet needs to be as light as I can make it.

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.

Prayer Pointers - We pray for Christians to take a leading role on green issues, and the care of both natural and human communities, and so to honour God as the creator of all that is. We pray today for Christians in Burundi, and for the Anglican Church in that land. We pray for our own diocese, and for Richard our Bishop, and  for the churches and communities of the Clun Forest deanery.

We pray for all in our world whose communities and livelihoods are put at risk by climate change or the destruction of natural resources. We also pray for the safe use of internet technology, and for victims of trolling and cyber bullying. We pray for co-operation across our world on environmental issues and the continuing battle against the impact of Covid-19.  

We pray for all who are ill, and for their care and recovery; we continue to pray for all  who work in our hospitals, health centres and care homes, and for their safety and protection. We pray that we may respond well to the impact of new variants of Covid, and for all who are involved in the process of vaccination.

We pray for our families and friends, and for the life of our churches and communities. We pray for Greg and Fran Smith, as Greg is licensed this week to Pontesbury and Stiperstones, and also for this week’s meeting of our Deanery Synod. We continue to pray that people may observe the Covid restrictions, to ensure their own safety and that of others, and that we may we look out for each other through this testing time, and keep 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 God the Father be our strength, may Christ Jesus be our shield and protector, and may the Holy Spirit be for us healing and peace; may the Holy Trinity pour upon us the light of his blessing.  Amen.